Some pet owners love to humanize their pets by dressing them up in human clothes and accessories. From dogs to cats to rodents to reptiles – whatever pet you’ve got, someone out there has probably made clothes for them.
The latest animal to get the couture treatment is the guinea pig.
Guinea Pig Fashion is a store created by Japanese designer Maki Yamada. As the name clearly implies, it’s a shop that’s dedicated to providing guinea pig owners with fashionable wares for their fuzzy pets. In stock are ninja costumes, tank tops, kimonos, and frilly dresses.
You can even hold your own guinea pig wedding since Maki’s store has tiny wedding dresses and tuxes.
Forget shelling out good money to get a professional haircut. Real men cut their own hair and they prefer to do it with one hand tied behind their backs. The Single-Handed Barber should help. It’s basically a one-handed Flowbee.
This $59.95(USD) gadget will cut your hair evenly in any direction, giving you a closely cropped, clean-cut hairstyle while keeping that haircut money in your pocket. It’s just like combing your hair – and losing it as fast as you comb it. The trimmer’s rotary cutting system and razor-sharp stainless steel blades will cut your hair as the unit is moved circularly through your head. Really, this thing would sell tons if it looked more like a UFO and cut deep crop circles in your hair. I’d buy that.
You get a few attachments to cut hair in four different lengths (1/8″, 1/4″, 3/8″, or 1/2″), and the rechargeable battery can deliver four five-minute haircuts after a 16-hour charge. You can also just plug it directly into an outlet if you can’t cut that fast.
Unsurprisingly, Hammacher Schlemmer doesn’t show any before and after pictures of haircuts done with the Single-Handed Barber.
Valve’s Steam platform has earned the loyalty and respect of many desktop gamers because of its progressive online marketplace and social network. The frequent deals and discounts help too. Recently Valve launched a new meta-game designed to keep its members locked in to Steam. It’s called Steam Trading Cards.
The idea is to collect a complete set of certain cards. To complete a set, you have to spend time playing the supported games and trade cards with other Steam members. Note that you can’t complete a set just by playing or trading alone; you have to do both to be the very best.
When you complete a set, you can use them to craft a badge. These badges are unlike the normal Steam badges. They come with random goodies such as emoticons, profile backgrounds and even DLC or game coupons. If you collect the same set multiple times, the badge of that set levels up. The badge’s image and title changes with each upgrade.
Crafting or leveling up badges also levels up your Steam profile. When you level up, you earn non-tradable items such as extra slots on your friend list. Here’s a demo of the crafting courtesy of YouTuber PlaysVidyaJames:
Steam Trading Cards is still in beta, so as of now it’s only tied with 6 games – DOTA 2, Half-Life 2, Portal 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Don’t Starve. I guess the Beta status also explains the errors and hiccups in the video. Are you ready to play a game about your gaming habits? Then sign up for the Steam Trading Cards Beta on Steam. Read the FAQ as well while you’re at it.
3D printing is changing how people make and build things these days. From printed guns to gowns, the sky’s the limit when it comes to 3D printing. This, you can clearly see, with the shoes that Alan Nguyen of Freedom of Creation has come up with using 3D printing technology.
The iPhone Mashup Shoe features an overlapping strap with an intricate heel that has its very own iPhone case. You can slip your smartphone snugly into the case so you can carry it with you wherever you’re headed in the most unconventional way possible. Each shoe comes with its own iPhone case, so you can carry up to two phones at a time.
While they look kind of cool, it’s not a very sensible design, since your phone will probably be worse for wear after a short while. But while the wedges won’t be so gentle on your iPhone, at least they’ll be kind to your feet.
The iPhone Mashup Shoe was exhibited last year at Milan Design Week and Maison et Objet Paris.
Nguyen explained: “They actually work. I heard they’re pretty comfortable but I haven’t tried them myself.”
Being a mom is no joke. It’s a tiring role, but with what’s expected of moms, they might as well call it a job. The hardest part is having to discipline the kids. It’s no fun, their hearts might break when they have to punish the kids, but it’s something that must be done all the same.
Mother’s Day may have come and gone, but one thing that was created because of it lives on: the Momtract.
It’s a tool that was created by Mother New York, which essentially creates binding contracts for “sons and daughters to contractually forsake control over one part of their lives.”
The contract goes on to make the following warning: “If you don’t meet the terms of the agreement, she can sue you.” The contract is legally binding for one year and “should there be a default on the contract, penalties include fines of up to $20,000 and a maximum number of 12 non-holiday visits from your wronged mother.”
Check it out here, and draw a Momtract up between you and your mom. Remember, it’s better late than never.
Gollum is far from being cute and cuddly. Most kids I know don’t like him because he’s a shady character overall, but that’s probably because he wasn’t meant to be a cute or cuddly creature anyway.
That said, it’s probably clear that this Gollum night light wasn’t made or intended for kids to have, because it kind of defeats the purpose of having a night light in the first place.
“Look son, there are no monsters under your bed. I’ll just leave this Gollum night light in your room so you can see for yourself…” Yeah, I’d like to imagine how that’d turn out for the son (and the father, when he eventually wakes up to howls and cries from his terrified child.)
On the other hand, the Gollum night light would be awesome for fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise, as it’s made with intricate details and is hand-painted to boot.
It’s available from the Neatoshop for $17.96 (USD).
Last year we found out about Brian Egenriether’s pet project – a machine that automatically separates Skittles by color. It’s fun to watch it work, but ultimately it was a novelty invention because it went about its task at a leisurely pace. It turns out Brian kept working on his machine and has finished its third version.
The Skittles Sorting Machine 3 can sort different types of Skittles as well as M&M’s and Reese’s Pieces candies. It’s easy to use too – there’s an on and off switch up top, and a series of switches on the body lets you indicate what candy you’re about to put in. It’s also more polished than its predecessor, thanks to the parts that Brian made using machinable epoxy. There’s only one problem:
Yep, it’s still slow. The Skittles Sorting Machine 3 – more practical, still impractical. You can find out more about the machine on the video’s description on YouTube.
Want a massage? Then give yourself one by getting one of the many available self-massaging devices available on store shelves in most retailers.
Massagers are pretty common gadgets and they’re usually pretty easy to use. Most of them anyway, with the notable exception of the foot-powered back massager with hand tool that you see pictured below.
Even their model looks like she’s having a hard time with the device, but maybe that’s just me imagining what it would be like to try using this thing they call a massager.
It’ll probably be easier to use though, once you get the hang of it. The massager is described as allowing “the user to apply firm pressure for extended periods of time while completey relaxing the target muscles.” It also instructs users to adjust the push-button locking pin for back pain relief. Or you could just go see a good massage therapist.
The foot-powered back massager retails for about $50 (USD) over on Amazon.
We’ve already seen a handful of concept videos – somelegit, somehumorous – about the real world use cases of Google Glass. Digital creative agency Playground Inc. illustrates more practical applications of the much hyped augmented reality headset in its own concept video. They also have good news and bad news.
Like any other computer, the functionality of Google Glass is as dependent on its software as it is on its silly-looking hardware. The video below focuses entirely on apps, from simple ones like a map and a barcode scanner to fancier ones like an emergency service hotline and a guitar tutor.
What you saw are just mockups, but the good news is that according to Playground Inc., each and every single one of those apps could be made today. Put another way: what you just saw wasn’t a vision of the future. It’s a window to a parallel present.
The bad news? Playground Inc. says that there are two things that make it virtually impossible to implement these apps – the Glass’ battery and its API. I’d add a third: try filling a street, a room or even just an elevator with people using Google Glass. See how that works out. Seriously though I highly recommend you read Playground Inc.’s blog for more on the agency’s thoughts on Glass.
You can be a romantic by wanting to lay yourself down on a bed of roses, but I’d rather be comfortable and lie down on a bed of foam balls instead. Not just regular foam balls because they’ll clearly roll all over the place, leaving you to lie on nothing but the hard floor.
Rather, I mean the Feel Seating System Deluxe. While it can be used in the home, it’s also office chair, but it looks far from being a chair – and for the office, at that.
The entire thing is comprised of 120 fabric-covered balls that are linked together with elastic strands. You’re not limited to just having a chair with the Feel Seating System, since the buckles on the edges let the user reconfigure the shape. Push and move the balls around to come up with a recliner, or flatten it some more to make a cushy bed.
The Feel Seating System Deluxe costs $7,950(USD). It’s steep, I know, but where else can you find an office chair that’s as comfortable, versatile (and productivity eliminating) as this? Fortunately, there are smaller, significantly less expensiveversions for kids and smaller adults.
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