Hasta La Gadget!

The laser-crazy toymaker Patrick Priebe recently shared what he admits to be the dumbest thing he’s ever made: lasers mounted on a pair of goggles. There are actually two pairs of lasers on the goggles, with the lower-powered red beams used for aiming.

Patrick was inspired by Cyclops, but any X-Men fan will tell you that Scott’s optic blast is more of a sledgehammer than a laser beam – it won’t burn you, but it will push you through a mountain. On the other hand, anyone who’s a fan of life will tell you not to argue with a madman packing lasers and flamethrowers.

Gene Splice your browser and head to Patrick’s website for more of his custom weapons.

[via Engadget]

3D modeling software is often used to visualize and develop concepts – anything from a piece of furniture to a video game. Those programs make it easy to transition from idea to prototype and to refine or duplicate sketches, but they require a lot of practice and training to master. A new company called Gravity thinks it can make sketching in 3D almost as easy as doodling with pen and paper.

Gravity uses an infrared pen, a control pad with sensors and a pair of augmented reality glasses. You use the pen to sketch in midair, just above the control pad. You won’t need to be M.C. Escher to start creating 3D models though, because Gravity only allows for sketching in one plane at a time. A switch on the pad lets you switch planes, rotating your virtual object to the side where you want to draw. Your sketch will then be visible to anyone wearing the glasses – it could just be you, or a roomful of people.

The founders of Gravity believe that “CAD [computer-aided design] generates perfect shapes that don’t leave room for the imperfection of your early modeling to allow imagination to keep influencing the idea. CAD requires thinking in terms of functions and variables. This is where imagination is defeated. There is much lost in the process of moving from 2D to 3D.” I’m not sure I buy that. Sure, making complex technology user-friendly can help drive innovation and speed up the development of concepts. On the other hand, professionals need the precision and the shortcuts that CAD and other 3D modeling software provide. For example, will Gravity users be able to cut, copy and paste an exact part of a sketch, and will the commands for those features still be intuitive without being tedious?

Sketching in 3D looks cool, but I’m going to let the pros decide if this is just a high-tech whiteboard or a legitimate alternative to 3D modeling software.

[Gravity via Gizmodo]

Whoever said that food and fashion don’t mix obviously haven’t seen these dainty and appetizing hats by MaorZabar Hats. Granted, the concept is strange and a bit far out, but the execution is just gorgeous.

Of course, it’ll take a playful personality (and possibly a large head) to be able to pull some of these hats off. But if you’re looking for one-of-a-kind fashion pieces that make a statement (mostly about your love of food), then these hats will do exactly that for you.

Sushi, fried eggs, salad, and pies – there’s a hat for each and every one of them.

They’re available for $266 each. Not cheap, but you have to admit, they are pretty amazing. You can check them out on Etsy.

[via Incredible Things]

If you want to play the old “head in a jar” prank for April Fools’ Day this year, Instructables editor Mikeasaurus has you covered. Best of all, you don’t need an actual severed head to scare your friends. In fact, the gag is a lot simpler than it looks.

Basically you will be blending two pictures together in a photo editor to create flat image of a head, which is then laminated and submerged in a jar. When the flattened image in inserted into the curved jar, the distortion from the water gives the illusion of a decapitated head in a jar of preserving fluid. See. It’s simple.

See, no decapitation required. And it looks super freaky. So go scare some friends.

[Make: via Nerd Approved]

Anyone out there that has kids has probably seen more Disney movies than you care to see. We certainly watch more than our share of cartoon films around my house. I happen to prefer The Walking Dead.

I’ve never wondered exactly what a Disney princess and her man would look like if they were to have to fight the zombie hoard. Artist Kasami-Sensei has though and we end up with these blood spattered Disney girls and guys.

I recognize the characters from a few of the images, like the girls from Frozen and Mulan. Some weren’t quite as obvious – like Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie. We have seen the some of the Disney characters as zombies in the past, but killing zombies is certainly better than being a zombie.

[DeviantArt via Nerd Approved]