Hasta La Gadget!

The ready availability and widespread usage of surveillance technology is enough to drive most level-headed people paranoid. Drones, hidden and visible security cameras, sensors, communications tracing systems… they’re all around us and at any given moment, they could be used to track your whereabouts and monitor your every move.

People have been protesting these technologies for use, with news that various government organizations employ them on a regular basis. No one has been more vocal about them than designer Adam Harvey, who made his stand clear through his newest fashion collection called ‘Stealth Wear.’

The pieces in his collection stay true to his message, with one them being dubbed as the ‘anti-drone hoodie’, which is crafted from a metalized material that makes it impossible for drones to detect your thermal image with their sensors. Then there’s the ‘XX-shirt’, which I presume protects against X-rays since it’s supposed to “protect your heart from X-ray radiation.”

Harvey explains: “Military technology is coming home from the war. These pieces are designed to live with it, to cope with it–to live in a world where surveillance is happening all the time.”

I think it’s an awesome thing that he’s doing with ‘Stealth Wear.’ What do you think?

[via Slate via Dvice]

There are plenty of different reasons why these eyeglasses are a great idea. For one, plenty of people don’t need to wear their glasses all of the time. So flipping them like this keeps them pretty handy. Also, there are people who already wear their glasses on their heads, despite not always holding in place very well.

Lookie Lous Headbands were developed by Kelly Coty. They can easily rest on users’ heads while not in use because they are flexible, smooth, and lightweight. When they flip down, they have a small notch cut into them so that they can rest comfortably on your nose.

They were principally designed to provide magnification for small print and UV protection, and  are available in a  magnification of 0, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0. I wonder when you’ll be able to put in your normal prescription inside of these – that would really be very handy.

[via designboom]

When it comes to bags and backpacks, the holy grail is a bag that’s completely waterproof, to protect all of your precious gadgets from rain and snow. Check out what Allen Mowery at DIY Photography has come up with. It’s an easy way to make any canvas bag water-resistant.

In order to make your canvas bag bead water, you’ll need two pots (or a double-boiler you don’t care about,) a mixture of paraffin and bee’s wax, and a brush. Water needs to be boiled in one pot. The other pot is going to be placed inside of this with the wax, causing it to melt. Use the brush to coat the bag with wax. Once you’ve covered the entire bag, let it dry. Toss it into an old pillowcase, and then tumble dry for 15 to 30 minutes. Once it’s done, you’ll have a water-resistant bag for a fraction of the price of an off-the-shelf one.

It’s also cool to just buy a cheap waterproof bag, but they are often less versatile and good looking as canvas bags. Waxing bags to keep water out isn’t anything new, and you’ll probably have to periodically refresh the wax coat as it wears, but it’s definitely a nice cheap way to keep your gear from getting soaked.

[via DIY Photography]

I’ve seen a lot of weird shoes in the past few years. Remember the Scary/Beautiful shoes that looked more scary than beautiful, and the pimp shoes with fish tanks in them? But I think none are quite as strange or interesting as Julian Hakes’ Mojito heels.

Hakes’ design went viral back in 2009 when he posted a concept that garnered widespread attention. His design explored the idea of how a shoe would look like if it were thought of as a bridge was certainly strange, but as you very well know, strange is ‘in’ and considered all sorts of awesome these days.

Models wrote asking for his shoes, blogs covered his design, and almost everyone was wondering the same thing: could it be turned into a reality? The answer is yes, and it has been a reality, for a couple of years now.

The design looks extremely uncomfortable, but then again, looks can be deceiving. A variety of colors are available for purchase online, with each pair costing between £125 – £175 (~$201 to $283 USD).

[via OhGizmo!]

One of the things you may not expect to see at CES is wristwatches. Despite that fact, it’s not uncommon for companies to show up with geeky timepieces claiming to be the “world’s first” or “world’s most” this or that. This year a company called Central Standard Timing has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s thinnest watch called the CST-01 (The CST stands for “Central Standard Timing“.)

The CST-01 watch is only 0.80mm thick. That means it’s thinner than a credit card. It uses E Ink electronic paper display to help achieve this feat. The patent-pending design is assembled by laminating the flexible watch components into a 0.5mm deep pocket etched into a single piece of flexible stainless steel. That flexible piece of stainless steel holds the display and acts as the watch bracelet.

Power for the watch comes from an embedded Thinergy Micro-Energy Cell that promises to charge the watch in just 10 minutes using an external dock. Thanks to the energy efficiency of the E Ink display, that charge is enough to power the watch for an entire month. One other unique feature is that you actually set the time on the base station, which cuts down on the need for buttons or a touchscreen on the watch itself.

The makers of the CST-01 are currently raising funds for production on Kickstarter, and you can pre-order one before February 22 for $129(USD). The watch is expected to ship in Q2 of 2013.