Candyland: Twisted Tarts Candy Factory

Go on...play with your food

I was watching the Food Network last night and they were covering the Candy Convention. This is a conference where candy makers come out and show the newest innovations in sugary sweets. A company called Creative Concepts have developed a machine called the Twisted Tarts Candy Factory. This machine, resembling an arcade style video game, allows you to combine powder in several flavors and color (mostly sour) and transforms them into solid tarts right before your eyes. The machine filters the flavored powder into the mold and using 1200 pounds of pressure turns it into a candy tart. [Watch it in action]. Creative Concepts also has a similar machine that allows you to mix your own (pixie stick basically) sour tube of sugar treat ( I guess that's what I can call it). The treat is called Pucker Powder. (The website is pretty interesting [Check it out]).

[Source: twistedtarts.com]

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Bling Bling: Electrolux Crystal Ergoripado

You can Bedazzle almost anything

Ok, I'm just going to be honest. Why on earth would you ever need a vacuum cleaner embellished with 3,730 Swarovoski crystals? With the help of Polish fashion designer Lukasz Jemiol, Electrolux has created the Crystal Ergoripado. Even though this vacuum is mainly made from recycled parts it is valued at $29,000. The crystals are from the CRYSTALLIZED - Swarovski Elements collection.

To be fair, this was not necessarily created for every day use. The vacuum made its debut during Jemoil's collection in a fashion show. The Good Housekeeping Institute in London showcased the vacuum on March 17 of this year. With this price this vacuum is quite possibly the most expensive vacuum ever. I doubt even those with the money to purchase it actually clean their houses themselves or would even trust their cleaning people to clean with it. I know I'd take some crystals. [Source: T3.com]




[Source: designyearbook.blogspot.com]

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Redefining Pitstop: Urine Powered Car?

A Powerful Pitstop

Picture it: You're taking one of your infamous road trips when suddenly the all familiar tune starts playing in your head "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now". At the same time you notice you're a bit low on fuel. But there are no rest stops or gas stations around. No problem, you just pull over and fill your tank with your own 'special fuel'. Yes, you read it right. Power your vehicle with your own urine.

As we are all aware, scientist and automobile manufacturers across the globe are looking for a more sustainable source of fuel. They have been testing out a multitude of alternative fuel sources, one of them being hydrogen. Scientists have been developing ways to extract hydrogen from water. However a major hurdle in this development is the amount of energy needed to power the equipment to extract the hydrogen. Once extracted the next obstacle is how to distribute it.

Well, Garadine Bottle, a scientist at Ohio University, has developed a catalyst capable of extracting hydrogen from urine. How? Let's give you a minor flash back to high school science class, shall we? Extracting hydrogen from the water molecules is possible but it takes much more energy because the bond to oxygen is tighter. Bottle has found that the hydrogen in urea is not as tightly bonded to nitrogen. Therefore, using a nickel-based electrode, the device can extract the hydrogen with less energy. It only uses less than half the amount of energy in a AA battery (0.37 volts) and less than 1.23 volts used to extract hydrogen from water.


With the device using less energy, Bottle is able to make it small enough to integrate into an automobile. The current prototype is about the size of 2 CD jewel cases and can produce up to 500 milliwatts of power. According to wired.com, Bottle stated that "An electrolyzer built into a car would eliminate the need for a hydrogen storage tank, and with the right partnership, I believe we could have pee-powered cars capable of 60 miles per gallon on the road within a year.” Since the body produces 2-3 liters of urine a day, it becomes one of the most abundant fuel sources on the planet.

Though Bottle is working with the Department of Defense to develop electrolyzer technology for military use, she hasn't gotten much federal funding for the project. However, because the technology is so light, conventional car companies have a variety of ways they can incorporate it into their cars. Like all of the other green technology emerging, we'll just have to wait and see what becomes of this.

[Source: wired.com]

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Backyard BBQ sans The Yard: Plek 66

The Plek 66 Grill

Modern design, meet the grill. Rocal's Plek 66 is ideal for lofts, townhouses and other places where you may not have room for your traditional grill. I'd love to have this on my back porch right now. Very practical and designed to occupy little space, the Plek66 barbecue folds to a thin rectangle when not in use. Unfolded, the grill reveals a double grill, big container for storing charcoal and ashes, and two useful side shelves which allow to accommodate all necessary things for cooking. It can be placed on the floor or hanged on the wall.

Though it is used primarily as a charcoal grill, it can allows for wood grilling. Once you close the hood and the drawer the ashes are automatically dumped into an ash collection drawer. The drawer below, made of stainless steel, holds about 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) of charcoal ashes and about 11 lbs (5 kg) of wood ashes. The lower most drawer serves as storage for any additional charcoal or wood as well as your cooking utensils. The grill, while sufficiently insulated to prevent your house from catching fire, can safely heat up to 1,112°F. The hood and the drawers prevent rainwater from flooding the grill and the paint is highly water resistant.

While there is no price listed, you can contact the company. But be prepared, the manufacturer is located in Spain.

[Source: digsdigs.com]

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Ride It: Google Wave

Google Wave Demo at I/O 2009

During this year's I/O convention, Google demonstrated the developer's versions of the Google Wave. This boasts to be a powerful open-source web based communication and collaboration tool. It allows users to communicate in real-time and share photos, videos, maps and more. Participants can reply to any part of conversations and begin from any part of an email thread. People can be added to the thread at any moment and see the entire conversation in the manner in which it unfolded. It works across browsers and mobile devices, can be embedded into blogs, edited, shared and more.

The innovations demonstrated in this video are quite impressive such as context aware spell checker, real-time typing view and drag and drop photo sharing. Viewers of the demo all received accounts to help with the development of the program. There are also game, rsvp gadgets, and many more options available for this api, all from the view of one browser window. Developed by the people who brought us Google Maps, it is expected to be released later this year.

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88 Keys: Bösendorfer Concert Grand Piano

Classic Tradition Meets Modern Design

I've played the piano for decades, but I've never played on anything like this. When someone says 'Grand Piano' we all have an idea of what it looks like. Bösendorfer, a Austrian piano manufacture, teamed up with Audi's German design studio and reinvented what most consumers would think is a Grand Piano.

This is a challenging task because a piano's shape is what determines the quality of sound that the instrument produces. Working together as a team they have managed to redesign the shape and keep the quality of sound. The Audi design features a closed bass side rim that allows it to project the mass more strongly. The lid reaches seamlessly to the floor and the pedal lyre is completed in a sleek and simple aluminum finish. There are no visible hinges anywhere on the piano, the hydraulically attenuated fall board is recessed and the music rack is covered with a net material for perfect sound permeability.

This would make a beautiful addition to any contemporary space at $140,000. (Yikes!)

[Source: gentlemansgadgets.com]

[Source: dezona.com]

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Picture Perfect? iPhone Gets Camera Lenses

Factron iPhone Case with Removable Lenses


So, I'm not sure I understand the total need for all of this. Factron out of Japan has created a case for the Apple iPhone SP that will allow users to attach several camera lenses to work with the built-in camera. According to the roughly translated website, they are working on modifications to make it compatible with the new 3GS. Apparently the resolution and performance upgrade wasn't enough. The lenses are called the Quattro and the package comes with a fisheye converter (185° and 170°), a super wide conversion lense (120°), and a close up lenses with a focal length of 25mm and 40mm. The lenses alone will range from about $11 - $50 dollars or so. The case to attach it to however is about $160. In my opinion, if you want to do all of that with your pictures, just go buy a real camera.

[Source: factron.net]

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