Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s two reasons you’d want to buy this Baseball King Ball Set from the Japan Trend Shop. 1) You’re a fan of Japanese baseball, particularly players from teams like the Giants, Dragons and Eagles who have endorsed these balls. 2) You’ve always wanted to hurl pitches like they do in the major leagues (without the years of training) because each ball features a specially designed band running through the center allowing a pitcher to control the air resistance flowing over the ball in relation to the holes in the band. As a result it’s easy to throw pitches like a sinker, curveball, knuckleball, riser or screwball, though it goes without saying that these balls are in no way regulation. $24 plus an extra $25 for shipping.

[ Baseball King Ball Set ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Thanks to the RadarGolf system you golfers will never lose another ball again, though you will have to jump through a few hoops for it to be really useful. The system uses BPS, or Ball Positioning System technology, along with three key components to make it easy to locate a wayward ball. Both the special RadarGolf balls and the handheld receiver use RF signals to talk to each other, and when located an LCD display and an audible tone on the handheld unit will help you pinpoint in what direction and how far away your lost ball lies.

According to their site the special RadarGolf balls meet all USGA specifications for size, weight, distance, initial velocity and symmetry, and the embedded transmitter chip is small enough that it doesn’t affect the ball’s performance. However, the balls don’t each have a unique RF signal, so the handheld receiver will actually detect all the RadarGolf balls in its vicinity, even if they’re in your golf bag or your pocket. So the balls that aren’t in play have to be stored in a special ‘Shield-it’ pouch that’s made with a metallic fabric to block the RF signals. It’s not a major inconvenience, but I can’t see the system being that useful if too many people are using it on the same course.

A RadarGolf starter kit which includes a dozen balls, the handheld receiver and a couple of Shield-it pouches runs $199.95, while a dozen replacement balls (if the system really works why are these necessary?) is $39.95.

[ RadarGolf ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]

By Evan Ackerman

You can make a cell phone call from the top of Mt. Everest. They’ve got internet on the ISS and even further. So it seems like the only places left that you can’t have something more important that you should be doing are caves, and the ocean, but Ocean Reef has gone and ruined a whole bunch of that with their underwater cell phone. Learn how, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

Since everything is funner when it’s a competition, you can now get a Hacky Sack with a built-in counter to keep track of how many times it’s been kicked into the air. Except that since the term Hacky Sack appears to be a trademark currently owned by Wham-O, you’ll have to settle for referring to this as a ‘Football Keepy Uppy.’ Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

And besides keeping track of the number of kicks, there’s also a timer to keep track of how long it’s been in motion I assume, and a high score function in case you ever forget who’s the king of the ‘Football Keepy Uppy.’ (I’ll never get used to saying/typing that.) ~$20 from The Random Shop.

[ Football Keepy Uppy Counter ] VIA [ I New Idea Homepage ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If dropping $200 on a Wii plus another $40 or so on a miniature golf game still doesn’t satisfy your virtual putt-putt needs, I’m afraid the next step up is a big one. This Video Arcade Miniature Golf Game available from Hammacher Schlemmer uses real golf putters and balls, but the actual courses and obstacles are virtual and only appear on the 32-inch vertically mounted LCD display.

You putt the ball with the club just like you’d do in real miniature golf, but after it passes below the screen its position and trajectory is calculated and transferred to the in-game ball, where it continues on its course. Sound effects and annoying music are provided by a set of three speakers, and there’s an automatic ball return for added convenience. It will set you back a whopping $6,900, but that includes “White Glove delivery” which sounds like it would make the investment totally worthwhile.

[ Video Arcade Miniature Golf Game ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re looking to take your golf game beyond that tricky windmill hole, the X-Force Swing Trainer from Callaway Golf is designed to help you develop “the feel for the pendulum sensation of a proper golf swing” since the club is about twice as heavy as a standard driver. So not only do you develop muscle tone while swinging the club on a regular basis, but the extra weight also makes this club particularly effective for dealing with rats, snitches or anyone who owes you money. The X-Force trainer also has an ‘impact feature’ which simulates the feeling of a ball strike, and is available from Dick’s for $119.99.

[ Callaway Golf X-Force Swing Trainer ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

By Andrew Liszewski

According to a recent article on the New York Times website, getting hit in the head with a baseball traveling at a ‘mere’ 32 MPH will result in a skull fracture every time. So you’d expect that major league ball players would want the utmost protection for their heads when they step up to bat, like the new S100 helmet from Rawlings which can protect an athlete’s head from a 100MPH pitch thrown from just 24 inches away. But surprisingly when the helmet was shown to some MLB players they scoffed at the new design citing concerns that the extra padding was too bulky and too geeky-looking… Seriously?

[ NYTimes.com - Safer Batting Helmet Draws Resistance From Some Players ] VIA [ Popular Science ]

By Andrew Liszewski

In the olden days, bicycle dynamos were really only used to power safety lighting on a bike. But in these modern times a cyclist can be using everything from a GPS device to a cellphone to an MP3 player while they’re out for a ride. So the PedalPower+ system safely harnesses the power generated by an AC dynamo and turns it into a safe DC source where the current is regulated and the voltage is consistent enough for electronic devices to be recharged.

The PedalPowerr+ system uses either a bottle dynamo (pictured above) which is relatively easy to install, or a hub dynamo which will probably require the assistance of a bike shop since it requires a re-spoking. But it’s flexible and modular enough that it can also be adapted to a pre-existing hub generator if your bike is already equipped for power. And during the times when you’re not riding, the battery charging unit can be easily removed and used to trickle charge your gear until your next ride, or until the battery is depleted.

[ PedalPower+ ] VIA [ Gizmag ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The BMX bike’s heyday may have ended back in the 80’s, but Rintendo has found a way to make me want one again. They’re currently selling this little contraption known as the Fire Trick Bob which appears to be an actual rocket-powered bicycle. According to their site (Google translation) the turbine engine spins at a rate of 120,000 RPM and produces the equivalent of 4.4 horsepower. The 1 liter fuel tank is good for about 7 minutes of continual thrust, and you’ll probably want to be careful about where you’re riding this thing since the exhaust can reach about 700 degrees. So is it dangerous? Yes. But is it worth 1,000,000 Yen or about $10,000? Double yes!

[ Fire Trick Bob ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]