Link roundup

1. Common sense security for your iPhone.

2. "Santa Monica Place recently unveiled the nation's first camera-based 'Find Your Car' system. Shoppers who have lost track of their vehicle amid a maze of concrete ramps and angled stripes can simply punch their license plate number into a kiosk touch screen, which then displays a photo of the car and its location." Via.

3. Michael Weinstein has redesigned the logos for the Clippers, Warriors, Nets, Hornets, and Kings. Via these sites.

*Buy iPhones at eBay.

Fun with the Dyson Air Multiplier

Fun with balloons and Dyson Air Multipliers (bladeless fans). Via.

*Previously: Balloon Boy t-shirt.

*Buy Air Multipliers for every room in your house at Amazon.

Banning cheaters with style (link roundup)

In Guild Wars, the Grim Reaper appears and slaughters cheaters. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Beautiful photo of a smart-grid demo center in Yangzhou.

2. The giant hole in Guatemala is a "piping feature," not a sink hole.

3. Anyone with young kids has probably figured this out for themselves, but an experiment confirmed that "self-control is an exhaustible resource." Via.

*Previously: Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Santa Claus, and the Grim Reaper star in ads for Meltin' Pot jeans.

*Buy vintage computers at eBay.

Many-eyed monster wreath (link roundup)

Many-eyed monster wreath by Mandy Jouan, who has various items on sale at Etsy.

And a few more links:

1. Reebok claims its shoes will tone your butt and legs, and according to the NY Times, bases that claim on "a single study involving just five people, not published in a peer-reviewed academic journal."

2. Interactive database and map that includes test score data for all Los Angeles Unified School District magnet programs.

3. Read about "The Lobster All-Sky X-Ray Monitor."

*Previously: McDonald's serves lobster.

*Buy telescopes at Amazon.

New DigiLegs video

New video of Kim Graham's bionic DigiLegs shows how well they work.

*Previously: Bionic satyr stilt legs.

*Buy circus posters at eBay.

Bionic Satyr Stilt Legs (and more)

That's right, Kim Graham created bionic satyr stilt legs. You can see her walking around in them in the video below, and halfway through the video she wears the furred version:



The "Digigrade leg extensions" are just the tip of the iceberg of the wonderful creations on display at her site, including this giant paper mache treeman:



And if you visit her blog, you'll see lots of work in progress photos.

*Previously: Drink Coca-Cola, gain a bionic arm.

*Buy Six Million Dollar Man toys at eBay.

Watch as Lindsay Soto tries to cover up her cleavage on live tv (link roundup)

It's tough being a girl. In the middle of trying to interview a hockey player, Lindsay Soto is apparently told she's showing way too much cleavage and spends the rest of the interview trying various techniques to cover up. Via.

And a few more links:

1. The fear was that allowing antiquities to be sold on eBay would encourage looters to redouble their efforts. But what actually happened was the looters decided it was far easier to sell fakes on eBay. Via.

2. Trish Van Pilsum, a reporter for a Fox affiliate in Minnesota, apparently planned on driving around a school trying to ask young children for directions to see how easy it was to kidnap them. I'm not clear whether it happened, or she came to her senses before scaring kids for the sake of journalism. (One Halloween, a creepy van followed me and my friends around until we spotted a security patrol, who scared the guy off.)

3. I'm still on the fence as to whether I think this a sweet story:

Katie Kirkpatrick, 21, held off cancer to celebrate the happiest day of her life. Katie had chased away cancer once, only to have it return - to clog her lungs and grab hold of her heart. Breathing was difficult now, she had to use oxygen. The pain in her back was so intense it broke through the morphine that was supposed to act as a shield. Her organs were shutting down but it would not stop her from marrying Nick Godwin, 23, who was in love with Katie since 11th grade. Five days later, Katie died.

Photo gallery. Via these sites.

4. Old Honeywell ad shows once upon a time, email was terrifying. (Heck, neither of my parents use it.)

*Previously: Katamari Damacy wedding cake.

*Choose from thousands of cake toppers at eBay.

Most beautiful computer tower, ever

I realize there's not much competition for the prize, but man what a beautiful computer tower by BMW Group Designworks USA. It's called the "Level 10":

The inspiration for this approach the design team took right from the computer worlds themselves - expressiveness, virtual townscapes and futuristic game components served as orientation for the arrangement and the look of individual components.

Each high-quality component featured by the "Level 10" concept is enclosed within its own protective case, rendering it not only an integral part of the design but also guaranteeing interchangeability and transportability.

The concept also has an aesthetical answer to the physical necessity for best possible cooling, this also being associated with the virtual world of the gamer. The asymmetric arrangement of the robust vertical heatsink and the horizontally located individual components creates a strong architectural statement, clearly revealing the powerful cooling characteristics of the Thermaltake Gaming Tower.

Via these sites.

*Previously: Concept art for a magnificent tower in Australia.

*Buy vintage computers at eBay.

Water bottle lighting (link roundup)

The video shows how someone harnessed sunlight with water bottles to light a large room. Apparently each bottle threw off as much light as a 50 watt bulb. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Rex Crowle's Grip Wrench is on Twitter. Sample Tweet:

Punching a unicorn in the eye. Stupid unicorn.

2. Tropicana's hideous redesigned packaging caused its sales to plunge. Via.

3. Keypad with different buttons for the vocal samples from Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger."

4. Free toy with every order at Tenacious Toys in April. I recommend Horvath's Bossy Bear, Doktor A's Mechtorians, and Tokidoki's death's head plush.

*Previously: Daft Punk's "Something About Us" performed with a DS and theremin.

*Buy Daft Punk posters at eBay.

Minutemen cosplay (link roundup)

Go here for several photos of these Minutemen cosplayers.

And a few more links:

1. Deanna Marsigliese claims she was never paid for work she did on Coraline.

2. Relatedly, here's advice for avoiding the problem of submitting work to an art show, only to have the gallery refuse to return your work.

3. Man intends to have prosthetic eye equipped with camera.

4. Detroitblog is an excellent source for news on the post-apocalyptic city that is Detroit.

*At Evil Buttons: How to make Coraline cakes; Homemade Coraline doll.

*Buy Coraline Dunks at eBay.

Happy television paper toy

Download Anneka Tran's happy television paper toy here. Also at Anneka's site, a giant stack of Slimes made of snow.

*Previously: Tentacled tv paper toy.

*Buy Dragon Quest toys at eBay.

Professional bowler who uses both hands (link roundup)

Professional bowler Jason Belmonte uses both hands to bowl. "The ball can top 600 revolutions per minute, up to 17% more rotation than the nearest elite one-armed competitor and twice what some other top pros generate." Established bowlers apparently don't like him, opining that he hasn't properly earned his spots in tournaments and will likely burn out out due to injury.

And a few more links:

1. Seth Godin offers enough genius ideas for an improved version of the Kindle that I'd consider buying one.

2. Professors of the Humanities are freaking out that people are finally realizing a bachelor of arts degree is worthless. Please let the college system be transformed in the next decade before I have to waste an absurd amount of money so my boys can sleep in for four years.

3. St. Patrick's Day Bear desktop wallpaper and embroidery pattern.

4. Justin Parpan's excellent contribution to Kevin Dart's Yuki 7 book.

*Previously: More art from the Yuki 7 book.

*Forget what I've said, support the economy and buy a Kindle.

Dr. Zeus, Master of Lightning

Dr. Zeus, Master of Lightning. Here's video of Dr. Zeus playing with tesla coils and lightsabers:



Via.

*Previously: Lightning Bolt letter opener.

*Buy tesla coils at eBay.

A CFL spares a dime for an old-fashioned lightbulb

A CFL spares a dime for an old-fashioned lightbulb in this image by John Martz.

*Previously: CFL Triumphant t-shirt.

*Buy editorial cartoon collections at Amazon.

Buttersafe

I've never heard of the webcomic Buttersafe before, but it's hilarious. Alex Culang and Raynato Castro draw two comics a week, and they have two years worth of archives for you to explore. I recommend you start with this epic battle against a monstrous watermelon.



Via.

*Previously: Watermelon-Flavored Sigmund Freud Head Pops.

*Buy Penny Arcade collections at Amazon.

Personal movie theater visor (link roundup)

The Only 52 Inch Widescreen Personal Movie Theater:

This is the only personal media viewer that provides a private viewing experience equivalent to watching a widescreen 52" television from 9' away. It connects to a video iPod, portable DVD player, or personal video game system and uses two high-resolution LCDs and dual stereo headphones.

$250.

And a few more links:

1. Gawker bloggers not happy with working conditions, and former Gawker bloggers having a hard time finding new employment. Via.

2. Pitchfork's 100 best tracks of 2008.

3. The ultimate mustache.

4. All of the gold produced worldwide in one year could just about fit in the average person's living room. Via.

*Previously: Hierarchy of beards poster.


*Buy "The World Beard and Moustache Championships: The First Official Book" at Amazon.

Whistler's mother checks her email

Whistler's mother checks her email in an entry for the TechRen Photoshop contest at Worth1000.

*Previously: Whistler's mother with a machine gun.

*Buy "Yiddish with Dick and Jane" at Amazon.

The remote controls everyone's grandparents want for the holidays

Raise your hand if you don't know someone who would absolutely love these simplified remote controls as a gift. Via.

*Previously: What Steve Jobs said when he saw the Segway.

*John Maeda's "The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)" is 32% off at Amazon.

Timesculpture commercial does a great job promoting the advertising agency...

This new "Timesculpture" commercial is marvelous to watch (be patient until bullet time kicks in):



It's by Grey London and you can read all about how it was made here. It's certainly a great promotion for the artistic wizards who made the commercial, but how does it promote Toshiba? I kept waiting for them to talk up built-in Tivo like elements of Toshiba tvs (or something), but the commercial hardly even mentions the product. Via.

*Previously: Here's an example of how to use art to actually sell a product.

*Buy "The Erotic History of Advertising" at Amazon.

Abandoned tv monster

Abandoned tv monster


dumped by *FilthyLuker on deviantART

*Previously: Breakfast sandwich monster.

*Buy kaiju at eBay.