Emotional Dimmer Switch Wants to Keep You in the Dark

Set the mood for a romantic evening by dimming the lights. And if this particular dimmer switch had its way, then it’s going to stay dark and dim for good.

That’s only if you want to keep it smiling, though.

dimmer switchThis switch is by designer Danny Taylor, who wanted to use it to teach kids about the concept of using energy responsibly. When the lights are on, the switch’s face indicates a sad face. Turn the lights all the way down, and the switch is smiling again.

I’m not sure if this is the smartest or most effective way to get kids to stop wasting energy, but it’s definitely a neat idea and an interesting concept. What say you?

[via Inhabitat via Gizmodo]


Baby’s First Baby Doll is Horrifically Twisted, But Sends a Strong Message

A pregnant baby doll that has its own pregnant baby? This ‘toy’ would probably become every mothers’ worst nightmare, if it actually existed. Aside from that, the whole concept is just plain wrong and twisted.

Fortunately, it’s not really a toy.

Babys First BabyRather, the ‘Baby’s First Baby’ doll is actually an art piece by Darren Cullen. With this project, he wanted to make a statement on teen pregnancies, consumerism, and how each gender is prepared for adulthood, by way of the toys that are being made for them.

Babys First Baby1

Stretch marks? Water that really breaks? Darren really didn’t hold anything back. Maybe that’s why a lot of people were outraged when they thought that this was actually a real doll. Then again, creating an actual listing for the doll on Etsy probably made a lot of people think that it was actually for sale.

The doll is going to be displayed at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland, UK from October 26 to January 12, 2013 as part of a group show called Moral Holiday.


Everything You Need To Ride Out a Serious Storm

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know there’s an epically huge storm about to crash against the East Coast. If you have been living under a rock, you might be about to drown under it. More »

Boxee hands out free Boxee TVs to its most eager cloud DVR fans

Boxee TV hands-on

If you like the idea of the Boxee TV, you’ll be glad to hear that Boxee is handing units out like so much Halloween candy… as long as you live in the right areas, that is. Those who’ve signed up for product notifications and live in the cloud DVR coverage areas of Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, DC can get a free Boxee TV just by filling out a survey. They’ll even have the privilege of getting their units ahead of everyone else. Boxee hasn’t said if any new sign-ups will qualify, though it can’t hurt to try the source link and potentially get a welcome treat.

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Boxee hands out free Boxee TVs to its most eager cloud DVR fans originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Oct 2012 11:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Is Steve Jobs’ Yacht

Venus, the incredible luxury yacht Steve Jobs had been designing up until his death a little over a year ago, seems to have made its first apperance as a finished product in the city of Aalsmeer in the Netherlands. Unsurprisingly, its design is breathtaking. More »

noPhoto Aims to Screw over Traffic Cameras

Yes, everyone hates traffic cameras. They catch you rushing through the intersection when the light changes from yellow to red, and if you make a right turn on red when you aren’t supposed to. The worst part is not even realizing you triggered a traffic camera, and just getting that damned ticket in the mail with a photo of your car. People are always trying to come up with ways to defeat traffic cameras, but most of the methods are straight-up snake oil – or straight-up illegal.

nophoto speed camera jammer

The guys over at noPhoto aim to defeat traffic cameras by developing a portable xenon strobe circuit that goes off the instant the traffic camera triggers, blinding it with a light source mounted on your vehicle. According to its developers, the noPhoto doesn’t violate any laws that prevent you from obscuring or obstructing your license plate – instead just overwhelming the camera’s sensor, and creating a useless, overexposed image.

Sure, the whole idea is borderline illegal, but it’s still kind of cool to know that it can be done – and doesn’t everyone want to stick it to those damned traffic cameras? If you’re interested in exercising your right (or not) to have a flashing strobe mounted on your license plate frame, head on over to IndieGogo and show your support for the noPhoto project. A pledge of at least $285(USD) will get you in on the action.

[via r/gadgets]


Creeper Coffee Mug Is Oddly Square and Oddly Satisfying

Creepers always ruin your hard-earned progress in Minecraft, and it’s time to take revenge.  Don’t be a cotton-headed ninnymuggins, get the Creeper Coffee Mug, which has the face of your (least) favorite Minecraft monster printed on its side.  Whether you enjoy jumping up in fear whenever you look at your coffee mug or if you plant to take a sledgehammer to the thing, everyone at work will appreciate your sense of style, and it’s not because of the skinny tie your wearing.  “But everyone said they liked my skinny tie!”  They also said you looked like Jabba The Hutt when you dressed up as the green lantern last Halloween.

void0

As you can see, the Creeper mug isn’t your typical coffee mug, but it is your typical “captured a Creeper and DRILLED A HOLE THROUGH ITS SKULL TO CREATE A RESERVOIR FOR MY COFFEE.”  While that may be a little harsh at the moment, next time you strike diamond and then get destroyed by a Creeper, revisit your thinking and make another judgement.

You can pick up this wonderfully geeky coffee mug for about $21(USD) in about 3-4 weeks, but you can pre-order it now to ensure your satisfaction in the future.  Not everything involves instant gratification, you know, and patience is a bird-chew.  “Is it?  Is it a bird-chew?”  I believe it is, my friend, I believe it is.  Cleaned it off my windshield yesterday.

If you’re looking for some more Minecraft fun, check out the Periodic Table of Minecraft and the Real Life Minecraft Blocks if you’re cool enough.

[via: That’s Nerdalicious]


This super awesome post was written by Jack, lead blogger at Cool Gizmo Toys, a great place for geeky stuff.


These Crazy Light Patterns Stretch On to Infinity

Mirrors can be for so much more than just gawking at your slack-jawed mug first thing in the morning. They can, for example, be used to give the illusion that towering designs made of light reach out past you, to an indeterminable vanishing point seemingly so distant as to be infinitely far. That second one is what Carsten Nicolai is into. More »

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: 30-foot-tall ‘BUCKYBALL’, diatoms and zombie pumpkins

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green 30foottall 'BUCKYBALL', Diatoms and zombie pumpkins

In one of the week’s biggest green architecture stories, Inhabitat reported that Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill unveiled plans for Chengdu Tianfu District Great City, China’s first self-sufficient, carless city. Singapore also unveiled the world’s first commercial vertical farm, Facebook’s green cred got a boost when it was announced that its Prineville Data Center in Oregon achieved LEED Gold status, and architecture firm HNTB won a contest to redesign Los Angeles’ Sixth Street Viaduct with a gorgeous high-flying ribbon bridge that promises to be one of the hottest new pieces of urban infrastructure in the US. In another exciting West Coast development, the San Francisco Planning Commission signed off on Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects’ 61-story Transbay Tower. And at Madison Square Park in New York, Leo Villareal created a 30-foot-tall “BUCKYBALL” geodesic dome sculpture with pulsing LED lights.

Continue reading Inhabitat’s Week in Green: 30-foot-tall ‘BUCKYBALL’, diatoms and zombie pumpkins

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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: 30-foot-tall ‘BUCKYBALL’, diatoms and zombie pumpkins originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pokémon Etch-A-Sketch: Nintendo ES

When I was a kid, I never thought much of the Etch-A-Sketch. But a tool is only as good as the one using it. Did I just insult myself? I think I just praised Jane Labowitch, who calls herself Princess Etch-A-Sketch. And for good reason.

pokemon etch a sketch by jane labowitch princess etch a sketch

Now that’s Pokémon Black-and-White. Below are her other Pokémon Etch-A-Sketches:

pokemon etch a sketch by jane labowitch princess etch a sketch 2

pokemon etch a sketch by jane labowitch princess etch a sketch 3

pokemon etch a sketch by jane labowitch princess etch a sketch 4

I wonder how long it would take to animate one battle sequence on an Etch-A-Sketch. Check out Jane’s deviantART page for more of her work, including her awesome business card.

[via albotas]