Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though it’s probably one of the most passive sports I can think of, there seems to be an endless supply of contraptions and other equipment designed to improve your golf game. Now I realize that it can take years to develop the ‘perfect’ swing, but unless you’re dreaming of a career in the PGA, the SensoGlove just seems like overkill to me.

It looks like your standard white leather golf glove until you notice the small computer with the LCD display on the back. This computer uses various sensors that are strategically placed throughout the glove to measure your grip on the club while you swing. Audio feedback lets you know when your grip has become too tight, while I assume the club flying out of your hand lets you know when your grip is not tight enough. The LCD also provides a visual indication of which fingers are gripping the club too tightly, and you can even adjust the sensitivity depending on what level of grip is right for you.

The SensoGlove is available on the company’s website for $119 in both men and women’s sizes, while replacement gloves are just $26.67. (You can simply transfer the small computer to the new glove when the old gets worn out.)

[ SensoGlove ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I unfortunately missed Daft Punk’s Alive tour last year, so the first time I saw them wearing their awesome electroluminescent suits was at the Grammy Awards where they performed with Kanye West. And probably like a lot of other people, I realized my own wardrobe could definitely benefit from the electroluminescent treatment, but since I have no experience with glowing clothing I abandoned the idea. But it turns out that the person responsible for Daft Punk’s getup has actually put together a fairly in-depth tutorial on Instructables so anyone can make their own.

Finding the EL wire is not that difficult, nor is it particularly expensive, but the tutorial has some useful tips when it comes to designing an EL garment so that it lasts for more than just one night out on the town. And don’t expect this to be as easy as using your Bedazzler either, making your own EL clothing involves wiring, soldering and other areas where things can go terribly wrong. But if you pull it off I think the results definitely speak for themselves.

[ How to add EL wire to a coat or other garment ] VIA [ Engadget ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Thinking back to Summer vacations during my own childhood and what my parents had to deal with, traveling with kids in tow can’t be a fun experience. And while I’ve thankfully never had a screaming baby or child on a single flight, I can’t imagine that it would make for an enjoyable trip. (Given how already un-enjoyable flying can be.) But I’m also the type who tries to see the humor in every situation. So if I ever lost the airline seating lottery and got stuck next to a young kid, I’d have to cut them some slack if they were wearing this clever ‘Congratulations! You get to sit near me’ shirt. But if they started to wail once we got airborne, you’d better believe I’d still be riding that flight attendant call button.

The shirt (or snapsuit) is available from Milkbomb in a variety of child and infant friendly sizes, ranging in price from $20 to $24.

[ ‘Congratulations! You get to sit near me’ Shirt ] VIA [ YoKiddo! ]

By Andrew Liszewski

At the moment there are a few different tutorials on Instructables for making your own arc reactor as worn by the Tony Stark character in Iron Man. Of course by the time Hallowe’en rolls around I’m sure that number will grow dramatically, but this particular tutorial by Instructables member msraynsford will be tough to beat. Like with most of the cooler tutorials on that site, making your own arc reactor requires a bit of doing including molding some polymorph plastic as well as wiring up and soldering a set of surface mount white LEDs. But as you can see the final results are very convincing, particularly when hidden behind a shirt.

On a side note, given the amount of Iron Man merchandise that came out alongside the movie, I’m surprised no one has made a light-up shirt like the T-Qualizer that mimics the arc reactor effect. So if you’re a t-shirt manufacturer who makes those electroluminescent panel shirts, you’re free to use my idea, just send me one when it goes on sale. I’m sure Marvel will be cool with it.

[ Instructables - How to make an Iron Man Arc Reactor ] VIA [ MAKE: Blog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Not everything available from Valve’s online store can be downloaded. I already knew they sold plush versions of various Half-Life baddies, not to mention the Weighted Companion Cube from Portal, but this is the first time I’ve seen this amazing Headcrab hat. Now normally the words ‘headcrab’ and ‘hat’ don’t make an appealing combination, but just check out how cool this guy looks (I assume he’s a medic based on his sweater) wearing one of these. The back of the hat features an adjustable velcro strap so it can fit any sized head and while your friends, co-workers and family might not be impressed with you wearing it everywhere you go, I’m sure Gordon Freeman would be proud of you. And who else do you really need to impress than a fictional video game hero?

You can get your own Headcrab hat from the Valve online store for $29.95.

[ Half-Life 2 Headcrab Hat ] VIA [ Geekologie ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m all for incorporating retro trends into a pair of sneakers, but I’m afraid these Tetris print Pumas just don’t do it for me. The shoes are custom variations of the Disc Blaze model which first came out in 1994 and besides the Tetris pattern print, they also feature some early ’90s color schemes. Remember when we couldn’t get enough neon? Yeah, I’ve forced myself to forget those times too. The ‘disc’ in Disc Blaze refers to the large dial on top of the tongue which is used to tighten the shoes instead of traditional laces. The system has since been copied by other shoe manufacturers with relative levels of success, so I’m wondering if Puma is hoping the Disc Blaze shoes will become more popular this time around.

Like a lot of cool stuff the shoes were first available in Japan, but should be hitting the US in the coming weeks. Not surprisingly you won’t be able to find them at your local Foot Locker since they’re only being released to selected Puma ’boutiques’.

[ Puma Disc Blaze 1990s Tetris Pack ] VIA [ Albotas ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I guess when I think about it, the problem of your fly accidentally coming open really only dates back to the invention of the zipper. But even if it’s not an ‘age old’ problem, it’s still a problem, particularly if it’s ever happened to you. So this simple solution created by Lisa Sjövall seems so obvious that you have to wonder why it hasn’t been thought of or even incorporated into pants already. (At least I haven’t seen it before.) The ZipHolder is basically an elastic loop that fastens to the pull tag on your zipper. When it’s done up, the loop is placed around the button on your fly which prevents the zipper from accidentally coming open. In fact it’s so simple there’s really nothing else to say about it, so to fill out this post here’s a collection of euphemisms for your fly being open.

- Your zip code is invalid.
- Your pod bay door is open, Hal.
- You’re flying low.
- I thought you were crazy; now I see you’re nuts.
- Paging Mr. Johnson…
- You need to bring your tray table to the upright and locked position.

You can get the ZipHolder from SmartaSaker for about $6.40.

[ ZipHolder ] VIA [ Smart Stuff ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Remember the T-Qualizer shirt? Not only do these frames use the same technology and gimmick, but they’re actually made by the same company. So if your pad has come to be known as the place where the party stops instead of starts, just stick a few of these all over the place and you’ll have a line around the block every Friday night. (That’s when the kids do the club thing right?)

The SpeaQualiser comes in 2 flavors. The TQ Raver, which has a red, orange and green theme that looks similar to an actual graphic EQ. And the TQ Chiller, which featues a pink, teal and blue theme. Just like the shirt they use a built-in microphone to react to the frequency and beat of your music with electroluminescent, retro-style jumping light bars.

They’re both available from FlashWear.com for about $40.

[ SpeaQualiser TQ Raver And TQ Chiller ] VIA [ technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Remember the John Maeda designed Reebok Timetanium shoes I wrote about last November? Well given they sold out in only 14 hours Reebok thought it would be a great idea to have him give it another go. This time he created a shoe exclusively for women called the Reebok x Maeda Emoretion. While the Timetanium was inspired by (wait for it) …time, the Emoretions are inspired by the 7th law in his book The Laws of Simplicity which is of course, emotion.

Using Reebok’s iconic Freestyle as his canvas, Professor Maeda’s handwritten code decorates the shoe’s lining and creates the digital paisley print, representing a burst of pure energy and emotion. Holographic straps bring this design to life with every move, while the velvet-wrapped mid-sole and tongue-liner give a little elegance to the shoe.

The shoes will be limited to just 100 pairs and will be available for sale on the RbkCustom website starting March 31. And if you’d like to see more photos of the shoes I highly recommend checking out this Flickr gallery.

[ Reebok x Maeda Emoretion ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Seeing how small digital video spy cameras have become is not as impressive as it used to be. But seeing where people try to hide those cameras is still pretty entertaining. A company called Ajoka has managed to integrate one into a fairly normal looking belt buckle. While the 176×144 pixel 3GP videos it captures fall well below even YouTube quality, they only weigh in at about 500kb per minute. So when capturing to a 2GB MicroSD card that equals about 65 hours of video. It’s just too bad that current battery technologies limit the actual recording time to about 3 hours on a single charge.

On the bottom edge of the buckle you’ll find the MicroSD card slot, a record button, a power switch allowing you to conserve battery life and a USB port for downloading the video files to your PC. Since it’s self-contained and doesn’t broadcast the video or audio signals the belt buckle spy camera won’t be picked up by a wireless camera detector, so the only people you’d have to worry about is the fashion police. I just hope the camera uses a wide-angle lens because I’m not sure if secret footage of someone else’s crotch will hold up in court.

[ Belt Buckle DVR With Camera ] VIA [ Spy Review ]