Hasta La Gadget!

I agree with the old adage that dogs really are man’s best friend. Since best friends goof around together all the time, I don’t think your canine buddy would mind if you dressed him (or her) up in some funny rider costumes this Halloween, right?

And by rider, we mean harness-type accessories that’ll make it look like someone (or something) is riding your canine. From monkey jockeys to headless pumpkin horsemen, I’m willing to bet you’ll find something fitting for your four-legged buddy.

The best thing with these ‘costumes’ is that they’re probably a whole lot more comfortable than the usual pet costumes that you can find in stores today. You know, the ones that look like human clothes that require wrapping your pooch in full-body get-ups that’re probably as uncomfortable as they look.

These Dog Rider Pet harnesses are available online, with prices starting at around $15.

[via InStash]

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

There’s definitely more than a touch of a biological theme to proceedings this week. In fact, so much so that we thought we might well end up with enough ingredients to make our own cyborg. Or rather, a light-responding canine cyborg with a really cool voice. Yep, science and technology is working hard to make all of these things possible — albeit independently. If science ever does do the right thing, and pool its resources on such a project, you can thanks us for the tip off. This is Alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 9.1.12: growing bones, repairing voices, and a pair of satellites

Filed under: Misc, Science, Internet, Alt

Alt-week 9.1.12: growing bones, repairing voices, and a pair of satellites originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Yeah, you love your dog, but is he or she really pulling his or her weight? A new project from Adafruit brings an on-board computer to your roaming canine, tracking the distance to your and your pup’s goal with a progress bar. The project is pretty simple, and Adafruit offers up most of the supplies, including the GPS and Atmega32u4 breakout boards — though you’ll have to procure your own fabric to make the big flower and some black nail polish to blot out the bright LEDs. The functionality isn’t quite as advanced as, say, products from Garmin — nor is it going to fill up your Twitter stream, but the collar does have the potential to track your mutt’s walks around the neighborhood with a few tweaks.

Continue reading DIY GPS dog collar helps your pup fulfill its mobile computing potential

Filed under: GPS

DIY GPS dog collar helps your pup fulfill its mobile computing potential originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 22:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Adafruit  | Email this | Comments

Are you sick and tired of having to throw a tennis ball for your dog, just to have him bring it back to you in almost no time at all?  If that is an accurate description of you, read on.  You weigh more than the average person for your height, enjoy pizza, and live in a single bedroom apartment.  “Wow, you’re good.”  They don’t pay me for nothing!  Scratch that – I meant to say “they pay me nothing” but it came out funny.

The Hyperdog Tennis Ball Launcher is a great way to shoot balls far off enough that you will be able to take a quick bite of that delicious foot-long hot dog with relish.  “How do you know all this about me?”  I peep through your windows when you shower while I watch TV.

The Hyperdog Tennis Ball Launcher shoots tennis balls up to 220 feet away!  But you know advertising – the “up to” number was attained with some strange malarky involving steroids, speedos, and a convenient wind pattern.

Just load up the ammo, pull back the surgical-tubing-lined slingshot piece, and boom!  Let ‘er fly!  Right into your neighbor’s window.  That’s when you’ll be glad you bought those really expensive Air Yeezy’s walk barefoot like a nomad and can run with the breeze between your bunion-filled toes.

Of course, there are tons of alternative uses that I think are more fun than the old “play fetch with a dog.”  You could play fetch with your neighbors!  And by “fetch,” I mean you sit up in a tree and try to nail them between the eyes at their annual neighborhood barbecue.  That’ll teach them not to invite me to social occasions.  *Knocks down another guest*

If you like this tennis ball launcher, be sure to check out the more dangerous handgun drill and the less dangerous banana gun.  I’m feeling a bit violent today, especially after that great session of P90X.  I feel like the great Liam Neeson from Taken!  WHERE IS SHE?

Note that every link in this post goes to something gun-related.  I support the right for bears to have arms, since armless bears make me cry bitter tears.  Bitter, bitter tears.

[via Bless This Stuff]

Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a blog with geeky lists for your eyes to feast on!