Hasta La Gadget!

This nerdy neck-wrench is actually pretty pretty

This is the Honeycomb Pendant with Cord. It is also the necklace that MacGyver would wear. Take a closer look and you’ll see that these “honeycombs” are in fact wrenches.

It’s not just a fashion coincidence, either. These hexagonal holes are made to twist nuts. You can tweak any bolts sized 8, 10, 12 and 14mm.

I wish that it extended just a millimeter more at the top end, so it could be used to take the wheels off a bike. Still, the 2.75 x 1.25 x 1/8-inch lump is made from stainless steel, so it probably isn’t any lighter than the little wrench I already carry. And that one has a bottle opener built in.

The Honeycomb Pendant with Cord is available for pre-order now, for $74 (currently discounted to $55).

Honeycomb Pendant with Cord [Blend Creations]

See Also:

• Titanium Pocket Wrench Weighs Almost Nothing
• Hands-On: Surly Jethro Tule Bike Wrench and Beer Opener

These awesome glasses will totally disguise your identity, even to your mom

Urban Outfitters, purveyor of designer clothing and plastic tat to the masses, is now selling these rather fetching censorship shades. Called the “Embarrassing Photo Protective Sunglasses”, the sunnies prove that Urban Outfitters’ marketing department is as tone-deaf to quality a the buying department.

The shades feature a strip of plastic which is suspended before your eyes by the familiar nose and earpieces. To you, it is see-through. To an unwelcome paparazzo it appears as if your eyes have been censored from the photo.

The problem is that these black strips, however they are applied, do nothing to obscure your identity. Black out the eyes of a genuine superstar, like David Hasselhoff or Jean Claude Van Damme, and you would have no problem recognizing them.

The only people who would be disguised by such a gimmick are those who are already unknown. People like you, me and the entire cast of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!. Fortunately, they come at a price us plebs can afford. The Embarrassing Photo Protective Sunglasses will run you just $12.

Embarrassing Photo Protective Sunglasses [Urban Outfitters via PetaPixel]

See Also:

• Infra Red Shades Protect You From the Man

Moleskine has started stamping its name on plastic bags

You now how sometimes a strong brand, known for making one thing, and making it well, branches out and slaps its trademark on all kinds of other goods? We call it a “cash-in”. On a completely unrelated note, Moleskine has expanded its product rangie.

The “iconic” notebook company has added a whole range of bags and pens to its lineup, and the results aren’t pretty. Let’s take the messenger bag, a black plastic number who’s sole similarities to Moleskine’s books are the high price and the elastic strap that keeps it closed. A strap that works perfectly on a small, rigid book, but less so on a big floppy plastic bag.

The base is rigid, though, so it can stand up on its own, and the bag has several divisions and flaps for holding laptops (up to 15 inches) and Moleskine’s own accessories, such as the Multipurpose Case. This “case” is in fact several soft pouches which velcro to the inside of the bags to help organize things.

The bag is fine, and would be a great deal if you bought it in the junky suitcase store downtown for $20. As it it, the messenger bag comes in at €118, or $170. Even if the U.S price ends up lower, as is likely, that’s still a lot for a plastic bag.

But if you are going to buy one, drop me a line after you have done so. I have a very nice Adidas notebook you may be interested in. Just $120.

Moleskine messenger bag [Moleskine]

See Also:

• Moleskine
• Kindle Case from Moleskine Mixes Paper and E-Ink

The Garmin Forerunner 610 features a weather-proof touch display for training in any conditions

For serious runners who want to track their progress, a GPS sports watch can be indispensible.

Garmin has outed a number of wrist-mounted trainers over the years, but the new Forerunner 610 is its first touchscreen model. It’s also a bit more attractive than previous members of the Forerunner line.

The 610 can keep track of pace, distance and, with an optional heart monitor, heart rate. It will deliver vibration alerts for when audible ones can’t be heard. Its slim black form also houses “Training Effect” and “Virtual Racer” features, for tracking workout intensity and beating your own personal bests. The Garmin Connect online service provides access to additional functions, including an online fitness community and tools for logging run metrics and plotting them in charts and illustrations.

For those who prefer alternating between running and walking, Auto Lap and Auto Pause help keep track of this type of training session.

You don’t need to buy a GPS watch. Tools like the Nike+ GPS app, which run on your smartphone, can do many of the same things. But a watch is less cumbersome than carrying your phone on every run.

We recently took a look at the Nike+ SportWatch GPS, which offers similar run-tracking features. It has a large, bold-numbered display that’s operated by three buttons and an easy to use, intuitive interface.

The Forerunner 610 functions with a combination of buttons and touchscreen taps, which looks like it could potentially be more complicated and less user friendly than Nike’s answer to the GPS watch.

The Garmin Forerunner 610 is definitely designed for the fitness buff, with a price of $350. No word on when it will be officially available for purchase.

Forerunner 610 [Garmin via Crunchgear]

The Circuit Board Tie is the tie I would have loved to wear in school

When a man dons a novelty necktie, that man is telling the world that he has given up, that he is removing his lineage from the gene-pool, and that — far from being a wacky, fun-loving guy — he is in fact crying on the inside. He is the modern-day equivalent of the sad clown: creepy, and to be kept away from children at all costs.

Even knowing this incontrovertible fact, I am still tempted by the Circuit Board tie. The design is screen-printed by hand in metallic copper and silver inks. The tie itself is made from green or black microfiber, which makes it ideal for cleaning phone screens or spectacles, and can be had in normal, narrow or skinny widths.

Perhaps it is the fact that the design is more like a piece of art than the ker-azy novelty pictures normally found on this genus of apparel that draws me so? Perhaps this isn’t a novelty tie at all. Or am I wrong? If I wear it, am I doomed to forever eat alone, with only my Tweety Bird and Sylvester tie to keep me company?

The Circuit Board tie is currently sold out.

Circuit Board Tie [Etsy via @Arikia]

See Also:

• Playable Neckties Made From Old Audio Tape
• Solar Powered Tie Charges Cellphones
• USB Cufflinks, For the Man Who Has Everything (Except Taste …