Hasta La Gadget!

Here’s a fun project from Al Linke, the creator of the PIXEL. He used the board that he made for his pixel art LED frame to turn an LED matrix into a comically huge and interactive jewelry, which he affectionately calls the iBling.

Al flashed a low power firmware on the PIXEL board then wired it to a 16×32 LED matrix. He used a 2,000 mAh battery as a power source, which should last up to 7 hours per use. Then he pimped out the iBling with gold spray paint, a fake gold chain and some Swarovski crystals. Like the PIXEL, Al can use his Android phone to display text or images on the iBling.

Here’s a fun commercial that Al made for the iBling. Note the even bigger iBling on Al.

SHABBA! Head to Instructables like you’re Shab, Shabba Ranks for more on the iBling.

[via Hack A Day]

Roll20 is an interesting game platform. It’s designed for you and your distant friends to get together, just like the good old days, for a session of a tabletop RPG. The difference is that you’re using a virtual tabletop that comes with a ton of digital apps and assistance. The Orr Group, which is the company behind Roll20, has released some stats on what its players are playing. Where is your game of choice?

One of the things that the Orr Group mentioned in the report was that 10% of players identify as Warhammer 40K gamers, but less than 2% are actually playing the game on Roll20. The report says that this is puzzling to the group, based on the fact that 40k is usually played 1v1, but if you look at what is actually listed under “Warhammer 40k” on the website, it’s all RPGs that aren’t Dark Heresey, which has its own heading.

It seems that nobody is playing 40k, but that the Orr Group thinks that’s what this heading refers to. Notice anything else interesting in here?

[via The Orr Group]

Earlier this week, this huge Pac-Man maze showed up in the LA Fashion District. Apparently it is for a Bud Light Super Bowl commercial they’re filming. It even has life-size ghosts and dots.

The commercial is called “Coin” and focuses on a man being alerted via a beer bottle message to go outside. A giant coin appears and when he inserts the coin into a giant slot, a life-size Pac-Man game begins. I have had dreams just like this.

Screw the video game. This commercial is what I want to see.

[via The Nerdist and Apparel News]

We have seen some crazy folks waiting in lines at Apple stores around the world when new iPhones are launching. Sometimes there are hundreds of folks in these lines. Recently in Japan, one Apple Store offered up some items called “Lucky Bags” that are more in line with what we would call grab bags here in the States. In other words, it’s a bag you buy for little money that might have something of value inside.

The Apple Store Lucky Bags are known for being very good deals for some folks. The bags have in the past had MacBook Airs, iPads, and other valuable items inside. They sell for about $300. When the Apple store in Sapporo, Japan announced that the bags would go on sale, lots of geeks showed up and got in line. Things started out cold, but got much worse.

These folks were sitting in line huddled in the snow by the end of the day just for the chance of landing a Lucky Bag with some goodies inside. At least the Apple Store workers rolled out hot cans of corn soup for the people waiting in line. Apparently, the worst of the Lucky Bags came packed with an iPod touch and some other trinkets, while the best ones had an iPad Air 2 or an MacBook Air. Would you wait in the snow for hours for a grab bag full of Apple gear?

[via Kotaku]

I think The Walking Dead’s Michonne has the right idea with her katana sword. It never runs out of ammo and can kill the undead with ease. The only downside to having a sword is that when you inevitably run up against evil humans bent on pillaging what you have, you have the literal knife at a gunfight. I think I’d like both a sword and a gun personally.

Actually, as I would cut myself on a sword, I’d rather have something easier to wield by the uninitiated like this M48 Tactical Survival Series 2.0 hammer or Kama. The hammer almost looks innocent enough; it’s just a hammer other than the big sharp skull-puncturing spike on the end. It can hammer up wood barricades by day and poke zombie brains at night. I like it!

There is nothing innocent looking about the Kama version with its wicked curved blade. Both of these are made from 2Cr13 stainless steel and come with a nylon sheath. You can get either one for $39.99(USD) at ThinkGeek.