Thursday, October 25, 2007

Interactive LEGOS

LEGOS have come a long way from the simple building blocks I remember from my childhood. Today they can become a total engineering feat which is why I gave up on them. Designer Jin Woo Han wants to bring people back and he believes autonomous interactivity could be the next big thing.

His idea? Electric LEGOS. You will still buy LEGOS in kits but this time, you’re not bound by what you see on the box. The main circuit board looks like an ordinary LEGO piece but each notch conducts electricity. By connecting and arranging LEGO pieces on the board, your creation comes to life - a living diorama.

He uses the Simpsons as an example. Place Marge and Homer on the board and they’ll talk to each other. Throw Bart into the mix and the conversation totally changes. Place a TV in the setting and the characters will comment on what’s showing. The possibilities are endless.

Designer: Jin Woo Han


source

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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

A Very Musical Shower

If you like listening to tunes while showering, then you probably have a shower radio or stereo in your bathroom. But why not kill two birds with one stone. What if your shower head were a stereo also? I mean the little holes already look like a speaker grill. Just imagine a digital MP3 player

that detaches from the shower head/speaker. You could load up your favorite tunes and use it like any other MP3 player. What sets it apart is the ability to dock it to your shower head activating the external speaker and when you’re done, just grab it and go.

Designer: Hae Lim

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Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Levitating Man Draws Crowd At White House

People snapped pictures and stared as a man "levitated" in front of the White House on Monday. Dutch magician Wouter Bijdendijk, also known as Ramana, said he couldn't say much about his magic trick.
"This is an art," he said. "And in India, they see it also as a science. I hope I make people wonder." "I just wanted to show that reality is not all that you think that it is," Bijdendijk said.



Image Gallery: Nbc4
Video: Reuters
Source: Nbc4
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An Unusual Street-Cleaning Machine
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An Unusual Street-Cleaning Machine


A Chinese city has introduced a new street-cleaning machine, composed of a tractor and more than a dozen bamboo brooms.

The street cleaner, spotted by tourists in Qinghuangdao city, Hebei province, is a great source of amusement. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but it was really cleaning the street", said a passer-by.

More than a dozen brooms are attached to a machine able to turn clockwise or counter-clockwise. But the cleaner is only able to move litter and dust to the side of the street, where another has to clear it later.
source

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Coat Hanger Gorilla

This sculpture of a gorilla is created by David Mach and it is actually made from coat hangers. Click on it for a larger view. David Mach also creates awesome artwork from matchsticks as posted previous here.

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Japanese People Dressed Like Vending Machines

A recent NY Times article discusses a new clothing line by a 29-year old Japanese fashion designer who created skirts-that-disguise-themselves-as-vending-machines for paranoid pedestrians. WTF? Does she really think this will fly? I mean what if the stalker/flasher wants a drink and pushes the "BUY" button, which happens to be conveniently situated right on her left nipple? That would be SO much worse. But actually, I don't think it's so much the designer that thinks this is a real crime deterrent than it is the reporter who wrote the story.

Besides, this isn't a new concept at all. Vending Machine Red has been tearing shit up in Tokyo for months!

The designer hand-sews these things and sells them for about $800 each.


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Griffin's Evolve: Wireless iPod speakers that are... actually wireless

There are a lot of dubious claims in the world of consumer electronics. Some of my favorites are "DVD-quality video" and "CD-quality sound" (for digital media that is often anything but) and the always classic "installs in just minutes." But one of the biggest truth-benders in recent years has been "wireless speakers." As resident blogger Steve "The Audiophiliac" Guttenberg recently pointed out, many so-called wireless speaker systems actually introduce more wires into the equation. That's exactly why Griffin Technology's new Evolve Wireless Sound System looks so promising: The $300 iPod speaker system includes two speakers that look to be completely and totally free of cables.

How'd Griffin do it? By including rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in the speakers themselves. Once they're fully charged (just sit them on the base station's cradle), Griffin says they can be placed anywhere within 150 feet. And because they communicate via RF, walls and obstructions shouldn't pose a problem--adjoining rooms and nearby outdoor spaces (patios, decks) are fair game. Griffin says the fully charged speakers should deliver 10 hours of playing time before needing another juice-up. And the detached speakers aren't limited to what your iPod can play; the base station's line-in cradle accepts a stereo input from virtually any source. (Yes, the base station still needs a power cord--but that's the only wire that the system should require if you're listening to your iPod.)

Of course, there can often be a big chasm between concept and execution. Griffin's sending us a review sample, so we should know if the Evolve measures up in just a few days. (It begins shipping today, and will be available at Best Buy's online and brick-and-mortar stores.) In the meantime, you can find more detailed info at the product's dedicated Web site at evolvespeakers.com.

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Friday, October 19, 2007

Hanging Hand Treats


You’ll find plenty of helping "hands" to hang these Halloween treats.
Prep time: 20 min.
Baking time: 12 min., Set Time: 120 min.
Decoration time: 30 min.
Difficulty: Easy
What you'll need:
  • 1 bag M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies Pumpkin Patch Mix
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1 18-oz roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
  • 3 tablespoons egg white powder
  • 1 16-oz. box confectioner’s sugar
  • 6 tablespoons warm water
  • Yellow and orange food coloring
  • Neon green food coloring
  • 3 cookie sheet pans

  • Straw
  • Thin ribbon
  • Printable template
What to do:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.
  2. Knead the flour into the cookie dough until smooth. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using the printable template cut out 24 hands, re-rolling the scraps. Transfer to prepared cookie sheet pans and randomly press-out one hole in each cookie using the straw.
  3. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
  4. Meanwhile, beat the egg white powder, confectioner’s sugar and 6 tablespoons of warm water until smooth and thick. Divide the frosting into 3 small bowls. Tint 1 bowl yellow, 1 bowl orange and 1 bowl neon green. Completely cover each cookie with assorted tinted frostings.
  5. Gently press M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies Pumpkin Patch Mix into the frosting and then set cookies aside to dry until firm, about 2 hours.
  6. Tie a knot on one end of each strand of thin ribbon. Thread the other end through the cookies and hang at desired lengths on scary tree limbs or decorative tree.
Makes 24 hands.
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Scary Ghost Cookies


These simple graham cracker goodies will please even the feistiest of little goblins!
Prep time: 10 min.
Decoration time: 25 min.
Difficulty: Moderate
What you'll need:
  • 1 bag TWIX® Brand Caramel Cookie Bars FUN SIZE®
  • 1 bag M&M’S® Brand MINIS® Milk Chocolate Candies Halloween Mini Packs
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 16-oz. container vanilla frosting
  • 1 package graham crackers (10 cracker)
  • Ground chocolate cookies
  • Wax paper
  • Sheet pan
  • Wire rack
  • Food processor
What to do:
  1. In a food processor or blender, pulse 10 graham crackers and 1 bag TWIX® Brand Caramel Cookie Bars FUN SIZE® until fine.
  2. Remove the mixture and put it in a bowl. Add the peanut butter and confectioner’s sugar to the bowl and blend together.
  3. Divide the mixture into 16 pieces. Shape each piece into a ghost. If too sticky, add extra confectioners sugar as necessary. Place the ghosts onto the wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  4. Heat the frosting in the microwave for approximately 10-20 seconds, until thinned and looking slightly like whipped cream. Place the ghosts on a wire rack over a sheet pan lined with waxed paper. Spoon the heated frosting over the ghosts until completely coated. If the unused frosting begins firming up, simply reheat it for 5 to 10 seconds. Place 2 M&M’S® Brand MINIS® Milk Chocolate Candies on each ghost for the eyes.
  5. Sprinkle the ground chocolate cookies on a plate like it is "dirt". Nestle the ghosts in the "dirt".
Makes 16 treats.
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R.I.P. CAKE



8-inch square baked chocolate cake (from mix or scratch)
Store bought chocolate icing
1 cup shredded coconut

Green food coloring
White chocolate bar
Black icing (can also use semisweet chocolate morsels, melted in microwave)

Coat cake with chocolate icing. Combine coconut and enough green food coloring to make green "grass".

Break the white chocolate bar into squares for tombstones. Break off a few with jagged edges to look like old stones.

Place black icing or melted chocolate into a plastic zip-tip bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner. Pipe 'RIP' onto the chocolate squares. Allow to dry. (You can place them in the refrigerator for a few minutes for a quick dry.)
Sprinkle grass over top of cake. Insert pieces of white chocolate to make tombstones.


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