Wednesday, December 26, 2007

"Vene" myytävänä



Want to get something really special for someone this holiday season?
Something that can't be picked up in your local Sharper Image or Hot Topic? How about the late Saddam Hussein's 269-foot mega-yacht: the "Qaddisat Saddam?" For the low entry fee of $34 million, you'll get you a massive gold, silver, and marble adorned ship replete with Arabesque arches, fountains, dining and silverware for 200, a clinic with a surgical suite, a helipad, 14 cabins, plus bunk space for 35 crew members (or servants, if you will), and a secret passageway to an escape boat and sub-pod (in case you too are paralyzed by fear of assassination attempts). The sellers have thoughtfully renamed the craft the "Ocean Breeze," but we're fairly confident that no matter what you call it, the overwhelming vibe of mustachioed dictator will be impossible to obscure. Check the read link for a thorough tour of the entire ship -- and make sure you have your credit card handy.

Vakoilua a.d. 1969


This 1969 prototype Kilfitt spy-camera watch is currently bid up to $59,000 and climbing fast.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Baari puussa



No matter where you are on this planet, you will find throngs of people longing to get loaded—and they will often go to great lengths to do it. Case in point is this bar built inside a 72ft Baobab tree in Limpopo, South Africa.
When Baobab trees reach 1,000 years old they begin to hollow naturally. This particular tree is around 6,000 years old and the hollow is big enough to hold 15 people comfortably (or 54 people very uncomfortably as they discovered a few years ago).

As you might imagine, the bar has attracted quite a bit of attention over the years despite its remote location. It now serves more than 7,000 visitors from all over the world annually.

Manned Cloud - uusi Zeppelin


While I try to quell thoughts of "Oh, the humanity," take a look at another fanciful attempt to bring back the glory days of the Zeppelin airships. This one is called the Manned Cloud, and can fly fast enough to take a round trip around the globe in three days. The 1640-square-foot craft, whose French designers say could take to the skies in a year or so, will have 60 rooms and travel at a breakneck speed of 173mph. Since this behemoth gets its lift from helium, there's not much danger of a fiery hydrogen explosion like that ill-fated Hindenburg, so we're thinking it might be fun to float around the world in a luxo-hotel. Of all the ideas like this, maybe this one will be the one to actually fly.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

LED-ohjattu suojatie



School Zone
is essentially a high-tech crosswalk system that consists of illuminated LEDs working in tandem to direct foot traffic. Or in other words, "they time themselves to pre-existing crosswalk signals and turn off one by one indicating time is running out."

The prefabricated nature of the system means it can be manufactured to the highest of standards and installed anywhere. You can take it a step further and create temporary crosswalks for special events like concerts and outdoor festivals

Thursday, December 20, 2007

LED-sovellutuksia


Christmassy touch to your garden with these solar-powered fairy lights
.They feature 50 bright white LEDs, and charge automatically during the day to give you around 9 hours of light at night. They will set you back $29.95, which is a little steep, but the bulbs will last 10,000 hours which is enough for several years' fairy-lit evenings. Praying for sun around Christmastime will have never felt so normal. –



When the LED flashes at you that means you need to fill your tires up with some air. You lost about 4 cents a gallon when pressure drops below 2.96 psi so it’s worth it to know when you should be filling those rollers back up. It’s self calibrating, which is nice, but make sure those tires are up to snuff to begin with. The VECSAFE valve caps are $34.95.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Lentäviä autoja


This time it's an actual drag racer driven by an actual race car driver,
and it's setting NHRA electric vehicle quarter-mile records: the Current Eliminator V, driven by Dennis "Kilowatt" Berube, beat the old record on Saturday by posting a quarter-mile time of 8.10 seconds at 153.6MPH at the Speedworld Motorplex strip in Tuscon. That's somewhat behind the KillaCycle's record of 7.82 seconds at 168MPH, but given the added weight of the car's chassis and problems we've seen others have with high-torque all-electric transmissions, it's still pretty impressive




Cell Craft introduces the G440,
a flying car concept that comes equipped with "four turbines allowing VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) capability, high-speed horizontal flight and easy handling."
The controls are simplified, with just two levers - one on each armrest of the car-like driver/pilot's seat - controlling thrust and steering according to BusinessWeek. The left lever handles power while the right manages tilt and direction. The left lever also features a trigger-like control that allows the G440 to spin on its axis by computer-controlled thrust tube adjustments to the exhaust tubes of each of the four turbines.



Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Hinausta tuulen voimalla



The SkySails system,
a huge computer-controlled kite that can tow cargo vessels and superyachts, reducing their fuel consumption by up to 30%, has been successfully tested this weekend. The ship HV Beluga Skysails started its maiden voyage from the city of Hamburg and deployed its 1,722-square-foot to save around 10% of fuel. The SkySail is completely automatic, and looking at it in motion makes you wish all ships had one:
The technology is different than traditional sailing systems because the sail area and the ship are separated by a towing rope. According to them, this result in higher power, easier deployment and higher safety than traditional sails (even automated ones.)
The company plans to sell kites that will generate 6,800HP (5,000kW.) And while fuel consumption can be reduced by 50% under optimal wind conditions, they say the average will range from 10 to 35%, enough to guarantee that transportation companies would adopt it, if not to reduce resources, save the planet and hug trees, to help their bottom line against oil prices.

Juomat lukkojen taakse



This just in for parents who want to control every aspect of their teenagers' lives: The Liquor Lock secures your Christmas spirits under a three-digit combination.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Timantinkovat kuulokkeet



The iDiamond ear
, built by Heyerdahl jewelry, is slicked up with 18 karat gold and 204 diamonds, but we can't help but seeing a pair of cheap headphones with glitter on them -- with a $6,400 pricetag slapped on just for kicks. Good thing we're not filthy rich, we'd be so terrible at frittering away our cash.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Hampaiden harjausta ja puudutusta

Delivering an enamel rattling 40,000 SPM (that’s strokes per minute for the anti-dentites), the Flexcare is the manliest toothbrush alive (it’s not really alive). Price: $180

The Flexcare is a major overhaul for Sonicare. All of the mechanics are now contained within the body and such the bursh heads no longer contain any moving parts. Like all current Sonicare brushes, it features several intensity settings, but the Flexcare expands on previous models by offering settings like massage, which actually feels more like a jack hammer, and various other operations.

The other major addition is a major one for those of us with misophobic tendencies. The Flexcare includes on its base station UV sterilization unit. After brushing, place your brush heads inside the container and turn the light on to kill all the baddies that might have spawned in your mouth.




Developed by Laguna Hills-based BioMedDevice Limited, and recently approved by the FDA, the so-called gumEase uses no conventional anesthetics, instead relying on cryoanesthesia: basically, the freezer-stored device chills your mouth into numbness. One application of gumEase, which lasts up to 20 minutes, is said to relieve 90% of a patient's pain within two to three minutes -


Saturday, December 15, 2007

Banaaniin sisältöä


DestapaBanana is a device that sucks the insides out of a banana while it is still in its peel, so that you can fill resulting cavity with the filling of your choice.

Jazzia robotilla



Japanese researchers have developed the world's first saxaphone-playing robot,
which is capable of playing highly complex pieces such as John Coltrane's "Giant Steps".

Friday, December 14, 2007

Väriä suihkuun


Temperature-detecting faucets have been available here for a while, but the same concept for shower heads has been mostly a Japanese-only affair. Imagine our surprise when we found these shower heads from China, which have four different shades to correspond to different temperatures: white for "I need to pay my utilities," blue for "damn it, I should have waited for the water to heat up," pink and violet for "ahhh, time to pee," and hot red for "ouch my nads." And since it's from China, it's pretty likely that this shower head should appear in cheap online and offline stores sometime soon.

Kemiallinen laser



Boeing’s Advanced Tactical Laser has been successfully installed on a C-130H.
The high energy chemical laser was completed on the 4th of this month in New Mexico at Kirtland Air Force Base. The entire system weighs an astonishing 12,000-pounds. Testing of the system along with a demonstration will occur sometime next year where the laser will be fired from a rotating turret on the belly of the C-130H at mission-representative ground targets. Previous tests were done in June on a ‘low-power’ setting where the laser found and tracked moving and stationary targets.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Vakoilukirja



As if you needed yet another household object to hide a spy cam in, here's a book camera
. It hides a pinhole camera and microphone and can record video for you to check out from afar. The only problem? It'll cost you over $1,300, which is more than some therapy to get you over your addiction to peeping would set you back.

Korkeatasoista tennistä


This tennis court, located atop the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, is the world's highest. When not used for extreme sport matches, it doubles as a helicopter landing pad.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Keksijä edellä aikaansa


1845: Robert W. Thompson, a Scottish engineer, receives a British patent for his new carriage tire. It has an inner tube inflated with air, which is encased inside a heavy rubber tire stretched around the rims. Behold the world's first pneumatic tire.

Thompson's design was an improvement over the solid rubber tires that had been around for a while. It reduced vibration, which made for a smoother ride and improved traction.

But his tire was not a commercial success, since it preceded the existence of both the bicycle and automobile. Thompson's tire was made for horse-drawn carriages but never really caught on and eventually it faded from the scene.

It would be another 40 years before the pneumatic tire reappeared, this time "reinvented" by John Boyd Dunlop, who claimed later to have no knowledge of Thompson's work. The timing was right for Dunlop; the bicycle was popular and his tire did a lot to enhance that popularity, again by providing a much smoother ride.

Dunlop's tire remained the industry standard for half a century, until the appearance of the bias ply tire.

Luksusta raiteilla



Simply put, this train -- operating on the Kishigawa Line in Japan
-- is the most luxurious train we've ever come across, boasting TVs, capsule toy machines, kitchen(s), and more. Though it's aimed at the younger crowd, we sure hope they come out with a gadget/gamer version.

Uusimpia kulkuneuvoja




Japanese researchers have unveiled EV-X7
, a hybrid magnetic motorbike that can run up to 112-miles on a single charge (6 hours), and has a top speed of 93mph.


Toyota has developed a pod-like single passenger vehicle
that can drive itself on special highway lanes in Japan -- stands upright at lower speeds and reclines on the highway. At the push of a button, riders can customize the shell's color to their liking.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Sanomalehdet pakettiin ja pesään


The Newspaper Brick Maker is the perfect device to add a little eco friendly to your pyro transgressions. You fill the brick maker with wet pieces of newspaper. The brick maker (and a bit of your muscle, were sure) smashes out the liquid while smashing together the paper. Allow the brick to dry and, at long last, you have a decent excuse to watch Garfield pay for his cinematic sins. And for $29.98, it's a legitimately a neat gift and perfect for that neighbor who is always asking to take those fallen branches off your hands. I have a fire pit, too, asshole! And mine is copper.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Nopea vety-auto



Ford's Fusion 999 is currently the world's fastest hydrogen car, reaching the break-neck speed of 207mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. It boasts a 770hp electric motor powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Tapaturma-/henkivakuutus kunnossa?







As if a pogo stick wasn't already an accident waiting to happen, now here comes the Flybar,
catapulting you four feet (and maybe even six if you push it) off the ground with its heavy-duty rubber bands. To give you an idea of how dangerous this is, notice all of the users are wearing helmets. Another indication: One of its designers/endorsers, Andy MacDonald, is a pro skateboarder who probably thinks nothing of balancing atop a metal banister as he slides down its length that runs alongside a long flight of concrete stairs. If you have an extra $300 lying around, along with some really good health insurance to cover all those broken bones you're sure to soon acquire, this Flybar might just be for you.



If you didn't get enough of the Vertipod from last month, another Segway-like flying vehicle called PAM
has shown up on the radar —literally. Like the Vertipod, a simple shifting of the weight points the PAM in the appropriate direction. So, in theory, it should be simple to operate (so why do you need a pilot's license?).
The $50,000 PAM is powered by two 105-hp engines that can propel it up to 60 mph. Compare that to the Vertipod's 440cc lawnmower engine, 40 mph top speed and sticker price of $10,000. That having been said, it is probably not surprising when I say that I would have to recommend the Vertipod as my flying nerd-killer of choice.

Polttoainelaskin




Mapquest
has added a few features to its gas prices page, including a calculator that will let you figure out how much your next road trip will cost you. Mapquest has allowed users to look up gas prices at nearby filling stations since last year, but now you can take the number, plug it into a calculator, enter you car's mileage and get a decent estimate. We know you could do the same calculation in your head, but why waste the brain cells when you don't have to?
Mapquest has also added alternative fuel stations to its listing, making it easy to find a place to fill up with biodiesel, ethanol, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, propane, or liquefied natural gas.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Puhalluskoe



Nothing will make you look like more of an oaf than having horrible breath and being wasted. If you somehow aren't sure if either of those are the case after washing down a garlic-and-blue-cheese sandwich with a tall glass of straight bourbon, you should get the Etiquette Checker. Simply breathe into it to get a clear readout of just how horrible your breath/state of mind is on scales from 1 to 6. Hit the jump for a video of someone ambushing Japanese guys on the streets with this and showing the world how stank their breath is and how drunk they are at 11am.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Vesijumppaa


The Hydro Physio Lifestyle Water Resistance Treadmill basically combines "the water resistance of swimming with the monotony of running to create a really strange form of exercise."
The tank is filled and emptied each time which means you can enter through a door on the back, rather than having to climb in which would be problematic for people using the treadmill for rehabilitation purposes. This also means the water level can be adjusted on the fly to allow different muscle groups to be targeted during the exercise routine.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Huipputuotteita

With the holidays rapidly approaching, people will most likely be doing a bit of entertaining, and after a few glasses of your aunt's famous eggnog, carrying that tray of hors d'oeuvres becomes quite a challenge. This self-balancing serving tray—whose arm is positioned in such as way to make it hard to tip—could be just the ticket to save a plate full of stuffed mushroom caps. The 15" tray features a handle for one-handed carries, leaving that second hand free for your beverage. Another bonus: The handle lets you carry breakables closer to the ground, reducing the chance of major catastrophe. Available in green or blue, it sells for $60.



The brush -- which contains a moisture-activated, titanium dioxide rod in the neck -- works by creating a chemical reaction when light hits the rod, releasing electrons which combine with acids in the mouth to help break down plaque. The toothbrush has a solar panel at its base which transmits additional electrons through a lead wire, making this version more effective that previous iterations. The Soladey-J3X doesn't use toothpaste but does lead to a, "Complete destruction of bacterial cells," according to Komiyama. Let's just hope no one from Crest tries to bump him off.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Musiikkia pyöraillessä


In today's NYT, a feature (with lots of great photos) about folks who build elaborate stereo soundsystems for their bicycles. It's not a new phenomenon, but it's neat to see it treated with such formal examination

Ostosideoita




To most people, camping involves a fair share of roughing it—sleeping in a tiny tent in an uncomfortable sleeping bag on a rocky floor, but for a mere $50,000 the Treetent can spare you the grief. The 13-foot-tall tent resembles an under-inflated balloon, but it features a round hardwood floor that's nine feet in diameter and a round bed that comfortably fits two adults. The Treetent also includes "adjustable planetary landing steps" to get in and out easily.




Just when we thought we'd stop writing about things that are coated in Swarovsky crystals, they had to go and slap their shiny mess all over a toilet. It costs $75,000, which means you could easily coat a regular toilet in 750 $100 bills and have it come out looking better than this. Actually, you could take a dump, pick up said dump, rub it all over the outside of your can, then urinate all over the finished product, and still have it look better than this. Harsh? Yes, but fair



In today's NYT, a feature (with lots of great photos) about folks who build elaborate stereo soundsystems for their bicycles. It's not a new phenomenon, but it's neat to see it treated with such formal examination