Hasta La Gadget!

Before we arrive, his manager, Hex Murda, warns us that the producer’s setup is “minimal.” It’s hard to say, precisely what that means in these days of bedroom superstars, but we’ve done our best to tamp down expectations in the wake of our visit to the sprawling analog forests of John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone studios. Black Milk moved to Dallas from his native Detroit roughly eight months before, to a relatively quiet street 10 minutes from downtown. In spite of having lived in the space for the better part of a year, the apartment has that just-moved-in feel. There aren’t many places to sit, unless you’re willing to set up camp on top of one of the stacked boxes of Synth or Soul 12-inches he and his girlfriend are packing up ahead of the upcoming Record Store Day. Not exactly the sort of studio environment one anticipates when visiting one of alternative hip-hop’s leading producers / MCs with a resume that includes the likes of Slum Village, Guilty Simpson and Jack White.

“I’m thinking of extending the studio out there,” he tells us. At the moment, there’s not a lot in the common area, save for a couch and a TV he says he never really watches. It would be ideal for some additional recording equipment and the drum set he left back in Michigan, assuming the neighbors don’t mind, that is. For the time being, however, it’s ground zero for Black Milk mail order — buy something through blackmilk.biz, and there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be boxed up and shipped out by one of the apartment’s two residents.

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As a guy, I prefer a watch with a large face to one with a small one. Though I’m not sure I’d be comfortable wearing this beast. It’s a new watch from Diesel, called the Grand Daddy (model DZ7262), and it measures a ginormous 66mm x 73mm (~2.6″ x 2.87″).

The Grand Daddy offers four completely independent chronograph movements, so you can keep time in four different timezones at once – or better yet, run four different stopwatches simultaneously.

All of that mechanical glory is set into a black ion-plated steel case, with an anti-reflective, irridescent mineral crystal, and set onto a black leather strap. It’s also waterproof to 3ATM (~100 Feet).

Only 1,000 of this massive watch will be produced, and you can get your hands on one of those over at Watchismo – where it sells for $998.99(USD).

Remember last year when Apple got into trouble for blatantly ripping off the iconic clock design of the Swiss railway? Well, after that hullabaloo, Apple had to pay for the rights to use this design in iOS. Well if you really like its style, then check out the Mondaine Evo watch.

The Mondaine Evo watch is quite iconic, and looks especially great in its “Big Date” variant. The Swiss railway clocks that inspired this watch collection were originally designed by Hans Hilfiker in 1944. They were later adapted by Mondaine under an official license from the Federal Swiss Railway.

It’s available in a variety of different styles, with prices starting around $158(USD).

[via dezeen]

If you know me, you know I like cool watches. In fact, I have way too many of them, since I keep seeing ones I like. And while this wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve seen a watch which can’t decide whether it wants to be analog or digital, it’s clear which side has won out this time.

The Digital Destruction Watch looks like a traditional analog watch on its face, but it’s been busted wide open to reveal a digital display underneath. You’ll also notice a couple of busted hands circling around its perimeter, ensuring that its analog side will never work again. The display is set into a black stainless steel case, with a leather wristband.

Keep in mind that the LCD tells time in 24-hour military format, and it’s not clear if it can do 12-hour format. But if you’re ready to say goodbye to analog and hello to digital, you can get the Digital Destruction Watch over at Gadgets & Gear for $140(USD).

Just about every gamer we know has wanted to alter a game world on the spot, whether it’s to cheat, fix game mechanics or experiment. Special Stage Systems’ Ming Mecca system is built entirely around that concept — and will definitely appeal to anyone with a fondness for analog electronics. Knobs and switches on its World Core synthesizer module adjust the game machine’s maps, graphics, characters and even physics through voltage tweaks. Players only have to load assets on an SD card if they’d like a different look, and they even have access to the firmware and schematics if they want to go completely off the beaten path. Input is just as unconventional: a Control Core turns NES-compatible gamepads into signal generators that can be used just as easily for music making as for playing. Ming Mecca isn’t expected to ship until summer 2014, and it won’t be cheap at an estimated $999 for a World Core and $350 for the Control Core. Even so, we’re sorely tempted to splurge — it’s not often that a gadget scratches so many of our nostalgic itches at once.

Filed under: Misc, Gaming

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Source: Special Stage Systems