I was heading out for one of my occasional gambling binges this holiday weekend, when what did I see? It looks like online auction house eBay has gotten their very own slot machines.
By the time I managed to stumble my way over from the buffet line, the eBay slots were so busy that I didn’t even manage to donate my money to them.
From what I could tell, they’re those typical nickel slots with tons of perplexing jagged lines which must match up in order to pay the big bucks. Of course, unlike the real eBay, there’s no guarantee that the highest bidder will win anything.
The machines have icons for popular auction categories such as electronics, motors, collectibles and fashion, but they only take (and occasionally dole out) cold hard cash. And while there won’t be any money showing up in your PayPal account, all of the players on the system can win a free spin at the same time, so I guess that’s better than nothing.
Wanna play the eBay slot machines in person? Head on over to the oh-so-addictive new Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, MI (just over an hour East of Chicago).
[Thanks for pointing these out Roadside Scholar!]
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Written by technabob on July 5th, 2008 with no comments.
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I’m kind of an insomniac, so I don’t usually oversleep. But for those of you who like to hit the snooze bar 10 times before waking up, even though you’ve absolutely got to be awake on time, this super-loud alarm clock should do the trick.
The Screaming Meanie 220 portable alarm clock offers three settings: normal (75dB), loud (95dB), and earsplitting (120dB). To put those decibel levels in perspective, the lowest setting is as loud as a vacuum cleaner. If you happen to crank it up to the highest level, you’re somewhere between sitting in the front row of a rock concert and sitting in front of a jet engine. And just to make sure you don’t oversleep, there’s 5 and 10 minute “pre-alarms” which remind you that the REAL alarm is coming. While you can turn off the pre-alarm with a single button press, you need to press three buttons at once to shut off the main alarm.
While they’re certainly not pretty to look at, I can pretty much assure you that you won’t sleep past the buzzer with one of these things. So if you’re ready to be jarred awake, you can find one at the Perfect Present for about $36 (including shipping).
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Written by technabob on July 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
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Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s a bad idea to strap a live hand grenade to your wrist (or any part of your person, for that matter). I’d especially be wary of one that’s making a subtle ticking noise. But that’s exactly what the guys at Vestal would have you do, thanks to their over-the-top Grenade wristwatches.
The Grenade watch looks like an explosive device, but when you flip the lever, it opens to reveal a clock movement. While they won’t actually withstand an explosion, they should hold up pretty well thanks to their Stainless Steel case construction, durable mineral glass crystal and water-resistance to 3ATM.
They’re available in Army Green or Matte Black finishes and come with either a skinny canvas or wide leather and canvas wristband. I managed to find all four styles over on WatchWear.com starting around $125 each.
Just don’t blame me when you get stopped trying to go through airport security with one of these strapped to your wrist.
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Written by technabob on June 30th, 2008 with no comments.
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I thought I’d seen some awful electronic gadgets in my travels, but this has got to be the worst one that I’ve seen in a long time.
Somebody must have thought this thing would be cute, but this “dog doll” MP3 player turned out hideous and disturbing. Not only does it look nothing like a dog, it seems incredibly impractical as a music player thanks to its strange lumpy (yet fuzzy) shape.
Unless you think a troll doll on all fours in a green leotard with a tracheotomy tube sticking out of its neck and a USB port in its ass is charming, you’ll probably want to avoid this.
I really can’t think of any reason that you’d ever want to buy this thing unless you’ve want to play a really cruel joke on someone. You know, one that goes something like this: “Hey, you know that new iPod Touch you’ve been begging for? I already bought you a brand new MP3 player that’s waaaaay better!”
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Written by technabob on June 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
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The guys over at Crabfu Motionworks have been responsible for some weird and wonderful robotic creations over the years, and their latest is no exception.
The Crabfu R/C Tortoise ‘bot crawls along the ground like a turtle, with a set of 4 sub-micro servos controlling its pokey little legs.
I just love the clever usage of cable ties to keep the tips secured onto his little legs. Each leg is tied to an independent channel and axis on the remote joysticks, which let it move around by wildly gesticulating your thumbs.
The way it ambles about, I don’t think this tortoise will be beating any hares in a race anytime soon.
[via MAKE:]
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Written by technabob on June 21st, 2008 with no comments.
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It’s just what you need: a memory stick and camera studded with hundreds of diamonds!
The accessories are a collaborative effort between Dalumi, LG, and Ricoh. They’re made with white gold and more than 200 diamonds each. The camera is a mere $25,000 and the memory stick a reasonable $10K. Which, of course, is SO worth it. What a great use of thousands of dollars! I mean, why buy a car when you could have this?
[via BornRich]
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Written by karen on June 20th, 2008 with no comments.
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Hot off the presses is the A.M.P.Bot, a unique roller-bot that moves around using a gyroscopic balancing system that works much like the Segway Personal Transporter.
A.M.P. stands for “Automated Musical Personality”. That’s because the wheeled robot can follow you around and play your tunes wherever you go. When set to tracking mode, the robot will even keep tabs on your location and keep the speakers facing you at all times. The self-balancing 29-inch tall robot rolls along courtesy of a piezoelectronic gyroscope which keeps it from tipping over on its narrow 2-wheel base. There’s also an obstacle avoidance system to keep A.M.P. from bumping into walls or tumbling down the stairs.
As the ‘bot moves around the room, it’ll “dance” (more like wobble) to the tunes on your connected MP3 player, keeping with the beat - with a bunch of synchronized LEDs blinking all the while. A built in 12-watt amp and a set of three speakers pump out the music. You’ll be able to control the audio mix and a variety of sound effects by interacting with A.M.P.bot’s touch-sensitive mixing pad “hands”.
The A.M.P.Bot will be coming to the States courtesy of Hasbro’s Tiger Electronics this October (it’s available from SegaToys in Japan). Expect it to retail for about $500.
[A.M.P.Bot via SlashGear and Toyology]
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Written by technabob on June 19th, 2008 with no comments.
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The Lightpipe is a supercool light that looks like an industrial pipe.
I love how they’ve photographed it next to “real” pipes, but on the flip side it makes it a bit difficult to imagine what it might look like, say, in one’s own living room. I mean, this would be a lot easier to work with if I was like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance and went home after my welding job every day to unwind by dancing around in my grungy converted factory floor apartment, you know what I’m saying? But I digress. The detailing on this light is terrific and adds to the overall pipey realism.
You can buy one for €395 (Appx. $612 USD) from DaWanda. Finding an industrial warehouse in which to showcase this unusual light will be completely up to you, though.
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Written by karen on June 18th, 2008 with no comments.
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