Like the movie and its “the numbers all go to eleven” amp joke, This Is Spinal Tape really only exists for a single, marginally clever, gag. It’s a basic roll of clear plastic tape, 82 feet in length, with a spinal cord graphic printed along its length. For novelty purposes it’s actually pretty pointless, even as a gift for your favorite chiropractor or surgeon. As far as I’m concerned it really only exists for the purpose of providing a humorous product shot that can be passed around in emails. Or posted as a loosely affiliated ‘gadget’ on a tech blog. It’s also $8 for a single roll, which is about $8 more than I’d be willing to pay for it.
I find it hard to believe that there are people out there who really want plants in their homes, without having to deal with the minor inconveniences involved with caring for them. To me, you either like plants and like tending to them, or you could happily live without them. So I’m not sure who this computerized planter called the Click and Grow is aimed at. As the ’80s era tagline implies, it’s chock full of sensors and other electronics which makes caring for it as minimally intrusive as a pet rock. You just stick it somewhere the sun shines in and fill its reservoir about once a month. That’s it.
The planting process is as easy as inserting a special ‘seed cartridge’ which contains everything needed to foster botanical life. You don’t even need to muster a smile during the process. And after you insert 4xAA batteries, which power all of the electronics, and top off the water reservoir, you can ignore it until an indicator light on the side instructs you to change the batteries or add more H20. The kit takes all the wonder and awe out of gardening, which seems like a crucial part of enjoying whatever happens to bloom. But I guess if you have a track record of accidentally killing plants, you could consider it a ~$78(£49.99) hail mary for finally creating a successful garden.
Yeah, I know, it’s not even October yet and I’m already posting Hallowe’en related gadgets. But if you want your house to be truly memorable to local trick-or-treaters, you gotta start sooner rather than later. Particularly if you’re looking to integrate something like this into your haunted decor. The Asylum Door prop looks exactly like it sounds. A grimy, weathered door at an insane asylum. Except that instead of a reinforced glass window, there’s a 22-inch LCD display showing footage of an inmate trying to escape. The cracking glass effect when he hits the window with an ax is cute, but it’s when he starts swinging at the door that the real tomfoolery begins.
As you can see in that video, thanks to some cleverly hidden pneumatic mechanisms, it appears as if the blows from his ax are actually having an effect on the metal door. Bulging it out on the viewer’s side. After a really lame effort the inmate gives up — probably to go watch Wapner — and the door subtlely returns to normal. A company called Pale Night Productions claims to have first created the effect, and sells a slightly different version on their site for $3,750. While the one appearing in the video is available on Etsy for $3,500.
You might think it’s far too early to start thinking about a Hallowe’en costume, but if you had hopes of following in Volpin Props’ footsteps and making your own Daft Punk helmet, you’re about 3 months too late. That’s because it took them 4 months to make this replica of the robo-like helmet that Thomas Bangalter wears during performances and other public appearances.
And even if you did have aspirations of building one of these yourself 3 months ago, the process looks very involved, particularly if you’re completely unfamiliar with prop-making techniques. And, Harrison Krix has been through all of this before, as last year he completed a 17-month build of Guy-Manuel’s helmet. AKA, the other Daft Punk guy.
So you’re probably better off just sticking with that tried and true hobo getup come October 31st.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got a desk covered in random flash drives that once contained instruction manuals, images or press kits. They end up getting randomly used throughout the day, which is why mine never get stashed away in a drawer. And occasionally, one will go missing. So here’s a novel way to wrangle a handful of your flash drives and memory cards.
Memory City can hold up to 4 USB flash drives, turning them into towering skyscrapers and architectural masterpieces in a miniature town. There’s also room for 3 SD cards, 3 microSD cards and the best feature of all, 3 places to store flash drive caps because we all have a few that haven’t gone the retractable route yet. Available from design3000.de for ~$14(€9.95) in red or white.
Before anyone gets too excited about the prospect of finally finding a way to easily turn a roman candle into a handheld ‘flaming ball of pain’ launcher, let me dash those dreams. This handheld fireworks projector is actually designed for kids, so safety standards and lawyers pretty much guarantee it’s not going to be as fun as the name implies. Instead, it simply projects images of fireworks, one of eight as selected on the rotating barrel. But it’s not completely boring.
The projector features a pump action handle which ‘launches’ a shell, complete with mortar-like sound effects and a whistling trail sound as it races across the sky… of your imagination. Squeezing the trigger then detonates the shell/projects the selected fireworks image with accompanying booms, crackles and whistles. It’s powered by 3xAA batteries which is probably one of the reasons it only has a projectable range of about 5 feet. Lame? Yes. Far safer than a handheld device that launches actual fireworks? Probably also yes. Available from Hammacher Schlemmer for $39.95.
The Big Big Cursor isn’t your typical touchscreen-friendly stylus. Not only is it big x2, but it’s also available in two versions shaped like a traditional arrow tip or a pointing hand. The stroke (black border) around each cursor is made from conductive foam so it will pretty much work no matter how you hold it, or where you touch your device’s display. And it’s even magnetic so you can store it on a fridge, filing cabinet or on the device itself. They’re available here for$12.99 each, with free worldwide shipping.
This ArchRuler design is so brilliantly simple that I have to assume it’s been thought of before. But, it’s new to me, and I’m going to assume new to at least a handful of you too. As someone with the unfortunate habit of biting their fingernails, picking flat or thin objects off a flat surface is next to impossible. Dropped change often has to be abandoned, and in grade school rulers had to be slid off the edge of a desk lest they be imprisoned on top forever.
Those problems I had to deal with as a student though would not have been so difficult had I been issued an ArchRuler at the start of the school year. As its name suggests, it arches upwards in the middle, making it easy to pick up off a flat surface. But it’s just as easy to use as a regular ruler by pressing down on the middle when you need to draw a straight line or make a measurement. Available from the Japanese online store Rakuten for ~$6.50, and probably a lot of other places too.
I’m not sure what sparked the recent trend of novelty-shaped ice cube trays. I’m assuming some breakthrough in silicone mould production which makes them easier to mass manufacture. Whatever the reason, it looks like Porsche Design has jumped on the bandwagon too with this simple blue ice cube tray that produces frozen miniature versions of their 911, Cayman, Cayenne and Panamera. It also features the Porsche logo, is dishwasher safe and is available from their online store for just $19.
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