The Doctor’s Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey machine just got more wuvable.

This 9″ plush is bursting at the seams (i.e.; bigger on the inside). The overstuffed TARDIS lights up and goes “Vworp vworp vworp” when squeezed. There’s even a Dalek plush, although it’s not a fan of hugs. It shouts: “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!” and “You are an enemy of the Dalek. You must be destroyed.”

Don’t miss out on these officially licensed Doctor Who collectibles. When they first went on sale in December, they sold out in no time. Not surprisingly the TARDIS vanished first.
Available @ ThinkGeek.com

Doctor Who Talking Plush is a post from: L7 World

Are you tired of wasting money on toys that your kids will play with once? Toygaroo lets you rent toys and return them for new toys each month. Billing itself as the “Netflix for toys,” Toygaroo offers several plans starting as low as $24.99 for 4 toys every other month. Of course the look on junior’s face when you take away his favorite toy is priceless so if your child becomes too attached or the toy parts become unattached, you can purchase the toy at a discount.

Netflix for Toys is a post from: L7 World

Ideally products should improve life but the kawamura-ganjavian architecture and design studio takes the opposite approach.

Earshell Hearing Aid
We use earrings as symbols of distinction since time immemorial, however they are not particularly useful items. The EARSHELL is a simple, efficient and elegant sound enhancing device. It can be used to improve our listening of music or opera. Its refined and sleek profile gives it a jewellery feel.

Edward Utensilhands
There is an unwritten etiquette rule that says “Don’t eat with your fingers”, however most of our daily-life munching requires our fingers’ help (nuts, chocolate bars, toasts, sandwiches, tapas…). EAT WITH YOUR FINGERS consists of a set of three mini-pieces of cutlery (knife, fork, spoon) that fit at the end of our fingers reinventing to a small degree the experience of eating and finding a hygienic middle ground between the etiquette rule and our daily routine.

Ostrich Pillow
Working patterns are constantly evolving. We gradually spend more time in our working environments, and this in turn means that we often need to make work and rest fully compatible within the same space. Some cultures have assimilated this concept more naturally than others, but in general the workplace has rarely adapted to this new working-resting paradigm.

OSTRICH offers a micro environment in which to take a warm and comfortable power nap at ease. It is neither a pillow nor a cushion, nor a bed, nor a garment, but a bit of each at the same time. Its soothing cave-like interior shelters and isolates our head and hands (mind, senses and body) for a few minutes, without needing to leave our desk.

Much like an ostrich, these ill-conceived concepts will never get off the ground.

Design Flaw is a post from: L7 World

Now that I’ve upgraded to a wireless mouse (Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500) rechargeable batteries are a must. I nearly bought the Duracell Value Charger CEF14DX4N in part because it was first listed on Amazon. Fortunately, a review from “NLee the Engineer” wised me up. Like many of these value chargers, the Duracell brand requires batteries to be charged in pairs. That’s not just inconvenient, it could lead to overcharging if the pair isn’t equally empty.

Not so for the Sony Cycle Energy BCG34HLD4KN Power Charger. It charges batteries individually so any combination of AA or AAA is possible, and a safety timer prevents overcharging. It even has a voltage monitor to let charge anywhere in the world. Now that’s a real “value” charger.

Included are 4 pre-charged 2000 mAh AA Batteries, which sell for individually for $11.26, making the $13.98 charger practically free. Even in bulk 4 alkaline batteries cost about $2 so after just 7 charges it will pay for itself and if these batteries last for even a fraction of the advertised 1,000 charges it will be well worth the purchase.

Sony Cycle Energy BCG34HLD4KN Power Charger with 4 Pre-Charged 2000 mAh AA Batteries – Review is a post from: L7 World

Nothing’s worse than having to wear 3D glasses over regular glasses, except maybe shocking yourself to simulate the glasses shutter effect.

Filmmaker Francois Vogel demonstrates this Flintstones technology on Youtube by attaching wireless electrodes to his temples, which sync his blinking to a 120Hz monitor!

If replacing clunky glasses with temple tasers doesn’t sound like an improvement in comfort, don’t worry. It’s fake. While the electric shocks have no problem putting his eyelids into overdrive, there’s hardly any movement in the rest of his face.

Fortunately, glasses-free technology does exist. It’s called autostereoscopy and it works at the source by aligning one set of pixels to show to one eye and the other set to the other eye. Unfortunately, it’s much more expensive than traditional 3D displays (for now).

Glasses-free 3D is a post from: L7 World

I received the Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 as a Christmas present, which was great since it’s something I’d never buy for myself even though I really needed it.

I was still using the mouse that came with my computer even after the glued on glide bumpers came off. That combined with the USB cable dragging on the table made it feel like carry around a ball and chain, at least that’s how it felt after I started using the wireless.

It’s only 3.75 inches long and the only reason it has any weight to it is a single AA battery (included). BlueTrack technology allows you to use the mouse on virtually any surface, including my grooved wooden table, which it flew across. In fact, it was too fast. You’ll need to do a Windows update to get the latest drivers then adjust your mouse settings in the control panel to your liking.

The Nano Transceiver (#2 in picture) is so small that you can leave it plugged into a laptop without worrying about it snapping off. You can even plug it into the front of your desktop and leave your media card reader cover closed.

The battery life is up to 8 months, assuming you turn it off when not in use, but an indicator light (#3 in picture) located below the scroll wheel will warn when the battery is about to die.

The basic Loch Ness Gray model is available for $17.49 or you can get it in Black, Dragon Fruit Pink, Imperial Purple, Poppy Red, or Sea Blue for $24.95 and finally a Special Edition White for $26.44.

UPDATE:

After 3 weeks the battery died. Not bad considering I have my computer on about 14 hours a day AND I forgot to shut the mouse off a couple nights, which equals more than 300 hours of battery-life. The advertised 8 months is apparently based on usage of about an an hour a day. When the battery starts to die (about 5 hours of life left), the indicator light will blink red but it stops blinking when the mouse is inactive to save power.

No matter how often you use it, you’ll probably want to get some rechargeable batteries. I suggest the Sony Cycle Energy BCG34HLD4KN Power Charger with 4 Pre-Charged 2000 mAh AA Batteries
(review).

Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 – Review (update) is a post from: L7 World

Never overdraw your bank account again with the “Proverbial Wallet.” It connects to your account through Bluetooth smart phones and provides tactile feedback on your virtual assets.

“The idea is to restore that physical sensation of money slipping away,” explains co-creator John Kestner, a research affiliate of the MIT Media Lab. “We just authorize credit cards. You have this disconnection between the actions and the real world consequences and it leads to bad financial decisions.”

There are three prototypes:

Bubblebee – buzzes during transactions, real or fraudulent.

Mother Bear – turns your wallet into a spring-loaded bear trap.

Peacock – inflates or deflates based on your available funds.

Smart Money is a post from: L7 World

Children can be cruel, especially to their toys. “These creatures cannot defend themselves. They cannot run away only escape. Insanity is there there only escape,” explains Dr. Kindermann of The Asylum – Psychiatric Clinic for Abused Cuddly Toys (parapluesch.com).

The German toymaker calls the toys therapeutic. “Children and grown ups like their vulnerability and find something in them that gives them a great sense of comfort in helping to heal them,” says founder Martin Kittsteiner. “I think some adults see it as a form of therapy for themselves.”

Patients:

• Sly, a rattle(less) snake with fears of inadequacy.
• Lilo, an obsessive compulsive hippo that’s too busy trying to solve his puzzle to communicate.
• Kroko, a paranoid crocodile with a fear of water.
• Dun, a depressed turtle overwhelmed by the fast-paced world.
• Dolly, a sheep with multiple personality disorder.

They’re all adorable but Dolly is sheer genius, and not just for the allusion to the infamous cloned sheep. Dolly is literally a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It can be turned inside out to become a wolf or partially transformed to show the inner struggle.

Each toy sells for 29.90 Euros (about $39) or buy all 5 for 129.90 Euros (about $169).

If you can’t afford to adopt one of these little guys, you can still volunteer at the Asylum in a free online game (http://www.parapluesch.de/whiskystore/test.htm). At your disposal are a host of psychiatric techniques including: talk therapy, play therapy, dream analysis, and of course lots of trippy drugs. But be careful it’s surprisingly difficult and your patients can experience relapses. If that happens you’ll need start over with a clean slate courtesy of some good old fashioned electroshock therapy!

Mentally Ill Stuffed Animals is a post from: L7 World

Last year, Hinako tried to get otakus into shape with her animated workout video: Isshoni Training: Training with Hinako.

This time Hinako is making sure they actually participate with an Android app that synchronizes her movements to those of the exerciser via the phone’s touch and accelerometer sensors (demo below).

You can download it at the Android Marketplace (creepy anime pillow not included).

Training with Hinako Android App is a post from: L7 World

The hoverboard uses 2 Crealev Levitation Modules CLM-1+ (crealev.com/products/clm-1-2/).

The base magnets are concealed inside the pedestal.

The future is finally here!

Inspired by a 2008 exhibition called “Back to the Future” French artist Nils Guadagnin set about recreating the floating skateboard featured in the movie Back to the Future II.

Guadagnin calls it “a reflexion on the multiple possibilities of how to give a sculpture full spatial autonomy.” That’s my kinda sculpture!

The hoverboard can only support 2kg (4.4 lbs.) and it requires magnets beneath it, but Guadagnin intends to “make a track with a series of magnets on it and with more strength so somebody could skate along, like Marty McFly does in the film.”

Real-Life Hoverboard is a post from: L7 World