Only the dutch, I swear. Who hotboxed the conference room at this brainstorming session?

Apple should at least think about including wireless transfer capabilities in some sort of firmware update soon for the iPod Touch. It'd be really nice to at least be able to stream something from a buddy's iPod, or to pass non-DRM tracks over.

Add a defrost button and the ability to teleport me halfway across the world with a single thought and I'm sold on this thing!

You'd think Manson would be interested in relaying the absinthe experience at a lower price for his confused-goth-kid-in-high-school audience. But I guess Manson is reaching out for that niche, high-brow absinthe-drinking market.

Good luck with a name like Mansinthe...

Aside from the valid cases which Peter mentions (used car inspecting, etc.), the only other types I see using this are car nerds inspecting their far-too-expensive custom paint jobs.

Being one of the last people I know to ever have High Speed Internet - I lived for a while in the utter boonies of Inland California where it was a hassle enough getting a decent 56k connection - I don't think I'll ever obsess over speed.

Just connection reliability and a page that loads before I have time to read a New York Times article would be nice.

It's a quadruped robot. How would YOU like to eat trash as you primary function when you're capable of doing other fun things like annoying people?

Fantastic! Brownlee finally scores the plush BoingBoing gig. Fan of yours from Ectomo and other places I won't mention so you don't feel you're being stalked. =P

Anyhow, who didn't have or need to have an organ in their basement in the 1960s? This guy's organ is just cooler than everybody else's.

Apparently all geeks are 1337-speakers. Got a press release for this on a geek blog I write for, and I don't think we'll do a post for it.

Posting it on BoingBoing was a good move though, as I'm curious to see what other people think about it. =P

I'd be afraid I'd throw it in the trash accidentally, or forget to bring it to the coffeehouse with me too much to make it worthwhile.

"But the drawback is declining birth rates and a collapsing social infrastructure. 40% of Japan's population will be over 65 in less than fifty years."

It's a double-edged sword, not reproducing. It solves our overpopulation problems, but when you're talking about losing a large percentage of a generation world-wide, it'll also hurt us faster than we realize.

Suddenly we'll be a planet full of geriatrics and that will create a shock-wave of birth declines in the next couple generation after us. (Older couples having kids makes for higher birth defects, etc.)

Regulating childbirth, is definitely the better option - as socially oppressive as it sounds. Although, you can argue too that Mr. & Mrs. Joe Blow having 5-6 kids is socially oppressive too.

A great paradox of mankind.

#6: Interesting. If the whole thing was powered via AC adapter, I'd be stoked on it. But it sounds as if Oregon Scientific cut some corners to make their product a little cheaper.

Obviously they've done something really cool, but the pictures don't do very much to validate their accomplishments. If I didn't know better, I'd think this was Photoshopped on a zoomed picture of hair.

This reminds me of those really crappy LifeAlert commercials on TV where an old lady pretends to be having a heart attack and can't call anyone for help.

Don't know why. Just thought I'd throw that out there...

This looks so damn fun. I can guarantee you this markup is ridiculous though. It can't cost them any more than a couple hundred dollars in supplies to make that $2,000 table.

Anybody working on a homebrew one yet?

This was, no doubt, created for the Sumo Wrestlers that come to the Cafe - who often find normal plates and utensils appetizing after slamming down hundreds of Sushi Rolls in the same sitting.

Minimizes risk. Smart.

Notice how Steve Jobs hasn't even bothered to release the cease-and-desist hounds on these guys yet. He doesn't even have to. The tech blogs will boo this thing off the stage before it even starts its crappy comedy act.

Why don't we see more of this everywhere? Really, young kids don't care/know that their toys aren't made from new plastic/metal.

In a world environment where plastic and metal are being discarded and not recycled properly at an alarming rate, I think it's high time we started turning this stuff into the toys of the future.

Whiling away the days just got a lot more depressing.

I think this game is harmless. Even Schindler's List, horrifyingly graphic as it was, won Oscars for its constructive look at human depravity vs. human kindness.

Are we really going to deny the game a chance to be socially impacting and take a sugar-coated look at history in a far, far less gruesome way than Schindler's List did?

Nice idea, Joel. Sadly though (if my math is right), it would take roughly 80 waterbuoys to keep me afloat. A couple dozen won't cut it for a human flotation device. =P

Do want! Seriously, is there anything more annoying than getting distracted at work and going back to a lukewarm sip of coffee from your standard mug? At least this way, I'd have a warning. =P

This is hilarious. Now I can see how horribly-atrociously slow I type! =P

Doubles well as a chastity belt buckle too!

I demand that Roland give one of these to Jenny Conley from the Decemberists. I think she could actually make good sounds come out of it.

Something like this would make me incredibly happy. If you had a bed that did something similar, I wouldn't see any reason to have a place larger than a loft or a studio in an urban setting.

Unfortunately, many of us are relegated to our headphones in our workplaces. There's really something to be said for a nice pair of stereo monitors.

I'd advise just making sure they're more than 5 feet apart from each other. A 5 foot space around each is a bit much to ask for, even in many of today's studios (which are increasingly smaller with the innovation of Pro Tools).

I think my childhood dreams just came true. The Medieval Legos were cool as it was, but Chess + Legos = pure win.

I agree with you, KLUV. It may look horrible now, but those old school space Legos were the shit. I got hours upon hours of enjoyment out of those things as a kid.

My favorite review of his (so far) has to be Bioshock. Something about that bit where he's complaining about dying being of no consequence showing the character whacking a Big Daddy with a wrench just always makes me laugh when I think about it.

Almost every guitar tuner has a bypass switch now so you "don't sound like a twerp." I do like the whole volume knob positioning though. I would be slightly worried about accidentally turning it on while adjusting volume in the middle of a gig or something.

God, you gotta love that in the 70s you could sell anything to anyone if you added class and the possibility of sex.

My job (marketing) would be so much of easier if I could still do that.

I guess it's probably a matter of how inundated your kids are with technological stimulation. If they aren't playing with the latest edutainment devices or watching TV incessantly, wooden toys probably sustain their attention and get the imaginative juices flowing better.

For some reason, a lot of tech nuts (myself included) we really oblivious to how horrendous computer and device waste was to the earth. It's just in the last five years that we're starting to see some really smart recycling programs to make the most of these things that we upgrade every 3 years and get rid of.

What's next? The Strawberry Shortcake Harley? Honestly, there are no words.

The BeerTender looks pretty rad, Heineken aside.

As far as the microbrew scene goes, where I'm at in the Pacific Northwest is becoming a nice hub of sorts. Mac and Jack's, Deschutes, Pike Brewing Co. - all exceptional beers.

What are you talking about? Riffing on Portal will never get old. Also, the cake is a lie!

@Cory: Can't believe you actually called the school to find that out. That's dedication, my friend. Seriously though, the story would've been a lot more fun if it were true.

So rad. But uh, you'd still have to plug a cable in and have it dangling from your hand. Let's go wireless here, people.

If only the actual cities were as cool looking as eBoy's renderings. I would live in an isometric pixel universe.

"Sumiyama told police that he was irritated after having been dumped by a woman and carried out the spitting attacks to relieve some stress."

Something tells me we're not gonna see this example in any stress management class curriculum.

The one on the right looks like a volcano spewing blue lava.

Wait. Woah, woah, woah. This isn't a bomb? Great. How am I supposed to blow up random things now?

Chat Noir, from the makers of Real Cats.

I'm sure the ability to blow out the neighbors' windows with his kickin' system outweighs the limitation of barely being able to pedal it down the road.

"It's too bad that Colbert is on strike; this would have merited an entire segment from him."

Elisha would definitely be on notice.

I, personally, think this is a neat merging of technology and fashion.

The "meat is murder" argument should be saved for another thread. Let's face it, whether we like it or not, people are going to manufacture leather bags, shoes, etc. Why not put a solar panel on the thing to curb some energy usage?

Who knew? Critters in compost?!? I guess that's cool that 14 distinct organisms were found though. My guess in one cup of compost would've been maybe 4-5 critters.

I guess it's kinda cool that you can do this online, but I can do this with digital camera pictures in Adobe Illustrator just as well with more control over the final vector output. Sorry, just nitpicking the crap out of this. =P