Archive for August, 2008

…It’s Things Thursday: Black Stealth 3-Channel R/C Helicopter?

Black Stealth RC Copter

I’ve played with one of these small R/C copters before, so I can vouch for the fun that can be had with one of them, but ThinkGeek’s Black Stealth 3-Channel R/C Helicopter looks like it opens up a whole new world of possibilities with full 3-channel control.

Unlike most small R/C copters (like the one that I played with) which can only be controlled on two channels (up and down and rotate right and left), the ThinkGeek copter gives you full 3 channel control over up and down, rotate right and left, and move forwards and backwards.

In addition to the extra channel of control, the ThinkGeek copter features a dial trim adjuster (rather than the buttons that you find on most copter controls) for precise trim adjustments, and counter-rotating blades for amazing hover ability and stability.

The copter charges in just 10 minutes, and you get a full 7 minutes of play time out of a single charge, so you’ll never be left empty handed, and you can even change channels and fly with a friend, since each features two different channels that you can program it to.

All that fun for just $29.99?

I’ll take two.

[ThinkGeek - Black Stealth 3-Channel R/C Helicopter]

…It’s Website Wednesday: Pencil Rebel?

Pencil Rebel

Grzegorz Kozakiewicz’s Pencil Rebel is made with “Interactive Mixed Media Web Design”, which basically means that he takes cardboard, clay, and whatever else he can find lying around the house and turns it into a website.

Forget Web 2.0; this is Web 0.5, but it’s fantastic, and it shows what’s possible with a ton of imagination, a fair amount of skill with an X-acto knife, and lots and lots of patience.

The goal is to work your way through the puzzle, finding places and secrets along the way, but the journey is definitely greater than the goal, and you’ll enjoy the neat little touches that he added in along the way.

[Pencil Rebel]

…Fonts can be naughty?

Porn Poster

I’m definitely not a fontophile, but the occasional mix of letters and subject matter is so perfect that it makes me stop and take note.

Pedro Campiche’s poster, which spells out “I Spent All Day Watching Porn” in letters that are far from PG, is one such font. It’s subtle enough that you might miss it on first glance, but risqué enough that you definitely won’t miss it a second time around.

[Via: SwissMiss]

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Pimped Prius?

Sure, your Prius gets 45+ MPG when it’s rolling down the freeway doing 55 in the slow lane, but does it get looks from fellow motorists?

No, unless you’re head’s on fire and there’s a unicorn sitting next to you, then you probably don’t get looks like the Prius you see here does.

This Prius, customized by a crew from Classe’s Garage, is what happens when you dump over $180k into a car and film the process along the way. (The car was made for Sweden’s TV4, which wanted to do a show about ‘building a custom car’.)

Everything you see here (except for the chrome trim on the grill) has been smoothed, stretched, widened, waxed, painted, polished, and pampered to the limits of what most automotive enthusiasts, let along Prius owners, ever thought possible.

To get the body looking right, a wide-body kit from an XC90 Volvo was grafted on. The back doors were smoothed over, the fronts were given a scissor style opening, and the rear windows were reshaped, and the back window was scrapped all together.

A carbon fiber wind splitter sits under the front bumper, as do wind splitters under the doorsills, and a rear venturi made entirely from the stuff sits out back. Air suspension keeps all four corners planted, and the stock rims have been swapped out for 20-inch replacements, including an over-sized brake kit for extra stopping goodness.

Don’t think they stopped there though. The interior had to match the exterior, so a fully custom dashboard was crafted, along with a custom center console to house the 4,400-watt stereo (five subs, eight speakers, a 15 inch LCD, a tablet PC with internet access, and a quarter mile of cable). Racing seats keep anyone brave enough to get behind the wheel firmly in place, and everything was covered in orange, black and red so the colorblind won’t miss it.

Think you’ve got what it takes to roll around in the world’s most pimped green mobile?

Yeah, me neither.

[Via: Wired]

…Skating in slow motion is spectacular?

When you slow down the movements of a skateboarder as he goes through a set of tricks, the intricacy of each move, and the difficulty of each moment become apparent like never before.

By shooting at 120 frames per second using the new RED camera, Opus Magnum Productions was able to create this beautiful film, called simply: “Skate”.

It’s Movie Monday: Chainsaw Maid?

Chainsaw Maid

Chainsaw Maid

Though there probably weren’t a whole lot of candidates for the title, Chainsaw Maid lives up to its promise of being the most brutal clay-animation you’ve ever seen.

[Via: Boing Boing]

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Nike Ill-Mobile?

Nike Ill-Mobile

If you want to go anywhere and do anything, then you need a…Nike Ill-Mobile?

The as yet nameless machine is “a souped-up, tricked out, action sports shred-mobile: part amphib, part 1970’s camper, and 100% rock and roll”.

The 8-wheeled ill-mobile can cross deserts, climb mountains, and search out any secret spot on the planet. Once there, it deploys rack mounted bikes, surfboards, wakeboards, and skateboards for any session that you can throw at it.

Can’t find a place to board?

No problem.

Nike Ill-Mobile 2

Grind rails line the sides, and a quarter pipe folds down from the rear for an impromptu session.

Need to chill for a bit?

Got you covered there too. The ill-mobile has an on deck bbq, a deluxe camper shell, a basement couch front seat, and a stereo to piss the neighbors off with if you ever have any.

Ride on.

[Nike - Ill-Mobile]

…It’s Movie Monday: Hulger.tv?

Hulger 3D

Here’s a simple video with a neat little twist: Hulger makes Skype phones for the Mac and PC, so to show you what their phones actually look like, they have created a few 3D Vimeo videos for you to check out.

To get the full effect, you have to look at the screen with a piece of cardboard between your eyes (yes, this will make you look like a dumbass, but stick with me here) and just like a Magic Eye trick, the image will suddenly start to pop off the screen.

Give it a try:

To view the rest of their ‘catalog’, just visit the Hulger.tv site.

[Hulger.tv]

[Via: Josh Spear]

…It’s TGI Friday: Skating and snowboarding sail?

Skateboard And Snowboard Sail

With some tarp, a few feet of duct tape, clear plastic material from grandma, fiberglass shock chorded poles, and two feet of plastic tubing, you can build your very own hand held skating and snowboarding sail that folds up when you’re done using it for easy transportation.

Self propulsion is now officially out of style.

[Instructables - Handheld Skating And Snowboarding Sail]

…It’s Things Thursday: Waboba Ball?

Waboba BallThe Waboba Ball is a cool new invention that actually bounces on water.

Made of polyurethane with a lycra coating, the mix of different polyurethanes allows the ball to bounce along the surface of the water until it runs out of energy, at which point it just floats, waiting for you to pick it up and throw it again.

The Waboba Ball was perfected by the Swedish inventor Jan von Heland, and grew in popularity on the beaches of Australia.

According to Jan: “I first got the idea when I was throwing a frisbee upside down on the water trying to get it to bounce, I thought it would be good to get something that used the water to bounce off and began to experiment.”

[Waboba Ball]







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