Hasta La Gadget!

I’ve been wary of any “vibrating massage” devices ever since the beating I received after rummaging through my parents’ closet as a child, but I’m willing to check out the USB Massage Scarf because of one amazing component: “high energy particles”. That and the amazing email pitch that landed in my inbox today: “Dear editors, The gadget I recommend today is surely a revolutionary tech item and will capture everyone’s eyeball closely.” Who could resist?

Actually, the pitch is so good, here is the rest of it, for your information gathering pleasure:

The scarf features high-energy particles with warm and wind-proof cloth, which is pretty suitable for wearing during cold days. Most importantly, it is USB powered (not like battery operated massager) and hand washable, which makes it an ideal companion at work, on the train or in the comfort of your own living room!

The Massage Scarf is scary enough, a kind of plushie Ouroboros, the snake that swallows its own tail. Read further into the description, though, and it starts to look suspiciously like the personal massagers bought surreptitiously from mail-order catalog by 1960s housewives. Witness it stealthily slipping downwards, as it can be used on your “neck, shoulders, thighs or waist”. From there you can “get into relaxation mode” with the “adjustable vibration level” which “improves blood circulation” and will “release your tense muscles”.

Tempted? We are. The USB “scarf” will cost just €7.91 ($11.83) in currency, and a lifetime of shame and ridicule should you ever be caught using it.

Product page [UXsight. Thanks, Frank!]

These Sonic Fabric neckties from Supermarket are plastic fantastic. Woven from boring old cotton mixed 50:50 with awesome old cassette tape (used), they lend the wearer the same delicious contrast as eating hot apple pie and cold ice cream together.

But, whatever, right? Who really cares about a corporate leash, even if it is made from old geekwear? Well, these suckers are playable, if you are willing to rip apart an old Walkman (and you should be, as it is otherwise useless). It’s a pretty easy project: you free the playhead from the player and then rub it over the fabric, creating some rather garbled, underwater-sounding sonic susurrations (the video is embedded below).

The ties cost $90 each, but for that you get the tape portion of the fabric hand recorded before weaving. This particular batch contains the designer’s own music, a soundscape of samples grabbed from the NYC metro system.

Product page [Supermarket]

See Also:

• Cassette Tape Measure: Punniest Retro-Tool Ever?
• Cassette Tape Belt Buckles
• Bye-Bye Cassette Tape: UK Chain Kills Romantic Format
• Lamps Made From Old Cassettes Exude Warm Retro Glow

Why not celebrate the launch of Windows 7 with the Windows Blue Screen of Death belt to remind you of the bad old days? The belt is fashioned from 44-inches of cotton and acrylic and can be cut to length, whilst the buckle is a tiny Windows tablet computer in its natural state.

Kidding! It’s a chrome buckle with the graphic protected under a glossy coating, and the perfect gift for the geek in your life (unless you happen to be Melinda Gates). $22.

Product page [Geek Gone Chic via Geekologie]

See Also:

• 7 Reasons to Avoid Windows 7
• 7 Things You Should Know About Upgrading to Windows 7
• Review: Windows 7 Is Microsoft's Best Yet
• BSOD Through the Ages
• Leopard BSOD Icon Continues To Amuse

I know we’ve been bringing a lot of news about bike lights, and I had promised myself I’d stop for a while. That was until I saw the Lazer Urbanize, a helmet with integrated lamps that not only has the word Lazer in its name (made even more awesome by using a “z”), but that looks as if it was styled by Tron, with the influence of the original 1980s Cylons and Buck Rogers thrown in. In short, it is the coolest helmet ever.

The Urbanize can be had without lights, too, but where’s the fun in that? Front and back LEDs are integrated, although sadly they don’t scan and pulse, KITT-style, and as you’d guess from the battery requirement of a CR2032 cell, this isn’t going to light your way on a night trail ride, but keeping the lamps up top means good visibility for the drivers around you.

And while style is certainly important, the helmet is really there to protect your melon, after all. To this end it has Lazer’s Rollsys adjustment technology, which lets you roll a knob up top and adjust all the internal strapping at once. It might not be suited for the summer, with the closed-shell design it could get hot, but in the winter, whilst pretending to play Tron’s Light Cycles game, it looks fantastic.

$100, or $80 without the lights

Product page [Lazer via Urban Velo]

See Also:

• Magnet Powered Bike Lamps Light Up the Night
• Ultra-Bright Bike Tail-Light Resembles Star Wars Spaceship …
• Electric Bike Lights Up The Track
• Pedal-Mounted, Pedal-Powered Lights
• Reelight Handlebar Lights. Battery-Free Lamps Climb Higher …

Granted, the winter is coming upon us (in the populous northern part of the planet at least), so your thoughts may be turning more to toasty woolen slippers and scarves than open, flip-flop style footwear, but these Japanese slippers are both ingenious and probably easy to make yourself. Pair with thick socks for winter warmth, but please don’t go out wearing such a combination unless you are a genuine Embarrassing Dad.

The Pop-Up Slippers are simply two ovals of foam, cut to allow the edges to be folded over the foot and secured with a hole and a metal stud. Ingenious, and as easy to make as a trip to the hardware store to buy the foam and a craft knife.

In fact, would this work with old car tires, or are they too heavy to bend (and we know how hard they are to cut, having hacked a few from wheel rims in our younger days)?

Or save yourself the trouble of making this fold-flat, suitcase-friendly flip-flop by buying one for $25 ($35), made in Japan.

Product page [Curiosite via Book of Joe]