World's Geekiest Dad » Gizmodo

ExiTool: A More Practical Approach To Escaping Your Automobile [Multitools]

GeekDad — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:20:00 +0000

Here are a few things you don’t have time to do when your car plunges into an icy lake: remove a Leatherman multitool from your glove compartment; unfold it; cut through your seatbelt; refold it; smash through your window.

Thankfully there’s the ExiTool, a clever little gadget that attaches to your seat belt for quick access when your shit goes “glug, glug, glug.” It includes a high-carbon stainless steel slicer, a tungsten carbide smasher, and, just for good measure, an LED light.

Sure, having an open blade attached to your seat belt all the time isn’t ideal, but it’s definitely more ideal than being trapped in your car at the bottom of some murky body of water.

The ExiTool will be available soon for $27, so if you’re the type of person that worries about this thing it’s probably a worthwhile investment. [CRKT via The Awesomer]

ExiTool: A More Practical Approach To Escaping Your Automobile [Multitools] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

MIT Media Lab Extension: The New Home of Face-Melting Research [MIT Media Lab]

GeekDad — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:00 +0000

The world-renown MIT Media Lab is a place where every project is an amazing, unbelievable glimpse into humanity’s technological future. Now, thanks to a massive $90 million extension, the architecture can match the wondrous excitement created within.

In case you haven’t had the opportunity to swing by this particular block in Cambridge, Massachusetts, here’s what the old Media Lab looks like. It’s still there. In fact, you can see the extension under construction, and marvel at the stark contrast in design.

Mensa Tetris

The six-level, interconnected extension, the work of the famed, award-winning architectural firm Fumihiko Maki and Associates, is like an immense Tetris puzzle. Every piece represents a functional element that is tightly connected to others, giving anyone inside the feeling of being inside a finished puzzle. Maki, himself the winner of a Pritzker Prize, was on hand over the weekend to officially open the MIT Media Lab. (It’s technically been in operation since December.)

As he described it, each piece of this six-level building connects to the next. Balcony offices overlook open air labs and work spaces. Colorful stairways bisect the central atrium, their red, blue and yellow coloring inspired by Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red.

Color aside, the trait hitting visitors in the face before they even walk through the door is glass. Cambridge building codes prevented a 100% glass exterior, so Maki came up with a loophole: bamboo. Inspired by translucent Japanese bamboo screens, Maki covered the remaining exterior with a mix of glass and aluminum tubes.

The result is at the same time beautiful and energy efficient, but also functional. We’re constantly reminded that this is one incredibly open, collaborative working environment.

From the street, especially at night, passers-by can literally see lab work happening within. Maki called this “filtered views,” inspired by the work of the pointillist artist George Seurat (lots of dots!). MIT played a part too, having provided Maki with an image of the Visible Man to further drive home the point that this lab space be open.

But enough architecture? What kind of world-changing stuff can we expect this multimillion dollar, 163,000-sq. ft. incubator to pump out in the future?

Well, if the past is any indication, plenty. The place that saw the beginnings of Guitar Hero, e-ink displays, OLPC and Lego Mindstorms is still driving much of the stuff that gets the Gizmodo editors, at least, sweating profusely in their blogging sweatpants.

The Media Lab will help “plumb the depths of how technology can have a greater impact on industry, society and business,” said Media Lab director Frank Moss.

To net denizens and geeks like you and me, that boils down to robotics, prosthetic limbs, AI and the obligatory Minority Report UI reference that any article mentioning 3D interfaces must include.

Fluid Media

As part of the opening, I was lucky enough to get a tour or some, but not all of the departments at the Media Lab. Departments like Biomechatronics, Cognitive Machines, Fluid Interfaces, Molecular Machines, Personal Robots, Smart Cities, Synthetic Neurobiology. It reads like Stephen Hawkings’ shopping list.

In any event, Fluid Media was one of the labs I got to tour first.

If you know Arduino, you’d be at home here, alongside the luminescent wallpaper, smart fabrics, “sewable computing” and inexpensive 3D fabricators that had me waxing nostalgic about Cory Doctorow’s Makers.

Above: No, not coasters or doilies. Sewable computers. If you aren’t wearing your mp3 player now, you will be soon.

Kindergarten Kids, Forever

The sense of play felt throughout the Media Lab’s open spaces owes itself to the students, of course, but it’s certainly assisted by the design. Moss called the atmosphere “serious fun,” in a building where bright minds “design by serendipity.” It’s pretty spot on. One lab leads into the other, encouraging social and professional interaction. Artists huddle with biomechanical engineers. Sometimes the union is short-lived, and sometimes it’s Guitar Hero.

But it’s serious fun: There’s a mission here, one that’s produced limbs for soldiers maimed in war; helped children learn robotics with crazy new Lego software; and created a paint brush, simply called I/O, that captures the essence of whatever you point it at—visual, musical or otherwise.

Even so, the fun, relaxed environment is apparent in this lab that director Moss says will change our futures. He and others, like Lifelong Kindergarten Department grad student Karen Brennan, were genuinely having fun while working with these high concepts and brain-bending experiments. The future, wild as it will be, looks pretty fun. Seriously.

Image credits: The Visible Man is a well-known see-through anatomy model from Craft House Corp. Composition in Yellow, Blue and Red from Wikipedia.

MIT Media Lab Extension: The New Home of Face-Melting Research [MIT Media Lab] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

4N Watch Pulls the Time From a Scattered Pile of Numbers [Watches]

GeekDad — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:59:00 +0000

The 4N Watch was designed with a relatively simple goal—display digital time through mechanical, analog function.

Despite the exposed gears and jumble of numbers, the watch operates upon logic that anyone can grasp. Really, three numbered discs rotate to display the proper 3 to 4 digits of time (we’re assuming the hour disc displays the 11 and 12 hours on its own). That’s much more reasonable than a tiny arm sorting through a large pile of numbers with every new minute, which is pretty much what we imagined upon first glance.

Unfortunately, only 16 watches will be produced. So enjoy the picture. [4N via SlashGear]

4N Watch Pulls the Time From a Scattered Pile of Numbers [Watches] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

Turn Your Old Computer Into A Brand New Hookah [DIY]

GeekDad — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:13:43 +0000

You’ve got a broken, old computer, but what you really want is a shiny, new hookah. Well, with a little bit of effort you can turn that old gadget into some peculiar-looking smoking paraphernalia. [Instructables via Nerd Approved]

Turn Your Old Computer Into A Brand New Hookah [DIY] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

Newegg Confirms That Counterfeit Intel Core i7 Processors Were Shipped [Intel]

GeekDad — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:38:17 +0000

There have been allegations that someone’s been supplying online retailer Newegg with fake Intel Core i7 processors and then proceeding to threaten anyone who reports on the issue. Here’s what Newegg has to say:

Newegg is currently conducting a thorough investigation surrounding recent shipments of questionable Intel Core i7-920 CPUs purchased from Newegg.com.

Initial information we received from our supplier, IPEX, stated that they had mistakenly shipped us “demo units.” We have since come to discover the CPUs were counterfeit and are terminating our relationship with this supplier. Contrary to any speculation, D&H Distributing is not the vendor that supplied us with the Intel Core i7-920 CPUs in question.

Newegg’s top priority is to proactively reach out to all customers who may have been affected to ensure their absolute satisfaction. We have already sent out a number of replacement units and are doing everything in our power to resolve the matter promptly and with the least amount of inconvenience to our customers.

We have always taken pride in providing an exceptional experience for each customer, and we apologize for any inconvenience to our valued customers. We take matters like this extremely seriously, and are working in close cooperation with Intel and the appropriate law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident.

Kudos to Newegg for handling the entire matter so well and apparently taking good care of the customers affected.

Newegg Confirms That Counterfeit Intel Core i7 Processors Were Shipped [Intel] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

PlayStation Arc Motion Controller May Have a Wii-Style Nunchuk Add-On [Playstation]

GeekDad — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:41:30 +0000

While PlayStation still hasn’t confirmed whether its motion controller will be called the Arc, the rumor mill has gone one step further this week with a forum-poster claiming it’ll work alongside a Wii-like nunchuk.

GDC is kicking off over in San Francisco this week, so if ever there was a venue to announce a new add-on—or even confirmation of the name—that would be it.

The forum-poster at NeoGAF, by the name of Ichinisan, reckons the pictures he saw of the nunchuk included an analog stick, plus X and O buttons, along with L1 and L2 buttons under the D-Pad. The wand-shaped Arc meanwhile apparently has “one very big button on top” (no word if s/he meant the big glowing globe, or something else), and X, O, triangle and square buttons. The trigger is the ‘T’ command, according to this mysterious poster—who could very well be full of shit, as he’s just a junior member of the forums. He does comment that “it’s actually long, not like the Wii Nunchuk”—which measures 22.9 x 17.8 x 5.7cm. [NeoGAF via VG247 via TechRadar]

PlayStation Arc Motion Controller May Have a Wii-Style Nunchuk Add-On [Playstation] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

Tron Legacy Trailer Leaks, Leaves Us Wanting More [Tron]

GeekDad — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:17:48 +0000

You’d be able to conceive and give birth to a baby faster than the Tron Legacy takes to come out (just nine months and nine days left!), but here’s a trailer to sate you for a while longer.

You won’t be able to make much out in the leaked video, but hey—there’s audio! Here’s the official synopsis, if you missed it last time:

TRON: LEGACY is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (GARRETT HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (JEFF BRIDGES), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant Quorra (OLIVIA WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

How about someone at Disney, still high off their “Up” win at the Oscars yesterday, press the button and make the official trailer appear on YouTube? Anyone? [Giant Freakin Robot via Digg]

Tron Legacy Trailer Leaks, Leaves Us Wanting More [Tron] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

Robot Pokemon: Kojiro Would Destroy Asimo with Muscoskeletal Jujitsu [Robots]

GeekDad — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Kojiro here is the work of Tokyo’s JSK Robotics Laboratory. With his 60 degrees of motion, provided by a network of Super Effective! artificial muscles and tendons, he’ll utterly destroy Asimo in the inevitable slow-motion robot battle in their future.

I say slow motion because, I mean, look at this thing. He’s getting more hand holding help than grandpa at the retirement home. Hell, even grandpa doesn’t need someone fiddling with an original PlayStation controller and a UI to get him to perform basic tasks. Like turning at the waist (see video).

Geezer speed aside, it’s the musculature that’s the takeaway here. Modeled after human muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments, the system is incredibly flexible for robot, and its 60 degrees of motion bests the aforementioned Asimo by a good 26 degrees. It’s also lighter than your traditional humanoid robot, which designers content will make it more friendly when humans have to interact with it.

Mental note: Lighter materials also mean one can chuck it farther, perhaps off a cliff, should “more friendly” actually be “more deadly” if and when it goes haywire. [IEEE Spectrum via Engadget]

Robot Pokemon: Kojiro Would Destroy Asimo with Muscoskeletal Jujitsu [Robots] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

Transforming Nissyoku Solar Eclipse Lamp Powered By LED, Not Fusion [Lamps]

GeekDad — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:30:00 +0000

Things I thought of while viewing the solar eclipse-inspired Nissyoku lamp: GLaDOS, a glowing tennis ball and, oh yeah, a solar eclipse:

The designer says that unlike those fleeting solar eclipses we see in the sky, this lamp lasts for up to 10 years.

It’s also capable of morphing from one simple shape to the next, and can be suspended from the ceiling, a la a chandelier, or placed on a table, where it will neither burn out your eyes nor damage your table.

The light source, sadly, is not fusion or even fission, but a 5W LED in each of the two panels. [Igendesign via Design Blog]

Transforming Nissyoku Solar Eclipse Lamp Powered By LED, Not Fusion [Lamps] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.

Coffee-Powered "Carpuccino" Infuriates Car Lovers, Coffee Lovers, Pun Lovers [Cars]

GeekDad — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Point: As my fellow Jalopnik readers would agree, the thought of an au-to-MO-bile running on some coffee beans is equally laughable and insulting. Counterpoint: As my fellow coffee drinkers would agree, this is an utter disgrace to our holy bean.

Countercounterpoint: Carpuccino? Really?

A while ago we read that coffee-based biofuels were feasible. Knowing the internet as we do, we figured it was only a matter of time before somebody took that novel possibility and turned it into an absurd reality. We were right! The Carpuccino, a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco modified to run on ground coffee, will drive 210 miles between Manchester and London in the coming weeks.

The trip will require over 150 pounds of coffee, with the car getting a mileage of roughly 1.4 miles per pound. The vehicle can hit speeds of 60mph, though the trip could take as long as ten hours, as the car has to stop every 60 miles to clean out its coffee filters (seriously).

The joke on wheels was built by the BBC1 show Bang Goes The Theory as a reminder that unconventional fuels can power vehicles. Sidebar: the Carpuccino’s trip will cost up to 50 times as much as it would if it were running on gas.

All that being said, I think we can agree to set aside whatever qualms we may have with the Carpuccino in light of its similarities, aesthetic and otherwise, to Doc Brown’s Mr. Fusion-equipped DeLorean from Back to the Future II.

Espresso? Where we’re going we don’t need espresso. [Daily Mail via Green Diary]

Coffee-Powered "Carpuccino" Infuriates Car Lovers, Coffee Lovers, Pun Lovers [Cars] is a post from: World's Geekiest Dad ... and all my favorite geeky toys.