It’s hot … real hot … and you’re on a tight budget. Could there be anything higher on a young geek’s list of things to do this summer than building a makeshift air conditioner?

The hot weather’s settled in and the mercury’s rising.

Maybe you missed Geoff Milburn’s site when it rose to fame earlier this summer. Maybe you didn’t.

Geoff is the engineering (literally!) college student who figured out how to build his own air conditioning system from a garbage can, an electric fan, and a bag full of stuff from Home Depot and Radio Shack. If you have more time than money this summer, a homebrew AC unit could be a fun diversion. (Kids, don’t try this at home!)

But if you have a spare hundred bucks in your pocket, a window air conditioner might do the trick. You’ll want to make sure you get the right unit for your room by checking an air conditioning sizing chart.

Roasting in a dry climate? An evaporative swamp cooler might be just the ticket … then again, this episode of CSI with a homemade swamp cooler gone bad sounds ominous …