Dance Dance Immolation, Redux

It seems Gizmodo has (finally!) discovered DDI, the beta test for which we blogged about here at Doublejack, Inc. back in July. Morely, the artist responsible for this hot, hot treat, is a Close Personal Friend® of ours, even if she won't be camping with Fandango this year. (Traitor!)

Still, we love Gizmodo anyway, and we thank them for many fine tips, ideas, and so forth.

The Return of Comments

I liked getting comments, but I simply will not tolerate those #@*%! spammers. But, Blogger to the rescue, they've made word verification an easy option. Thanks!

Sweet Dreams -- NOT!

See, this is just the kind of thing my friend Malderor would have loved back when... wait, who am I kidding? He'd still love these. See SinInLinen's whole collection here.

[via BoingBoing]

Here Am I Sitting In A Tin Can...

If Bigelow Aerospace needs beta testers, I'm available. Seems they're testing inflatable structures for use in space, picking up where NASA's TransHub program left off.

Why inflatable space habitats?
Gold said the technology offers several advantages. For one, an expandable structure can be tightly packed inside a variety of rocket nose farings, at econo-class prices. Additional, once in orbit, they offer increased pressurized volume for crew and experiments. Lastly, they provide a lot of instant room at low-cost.

[via (and thanks to) Pasta & Vinegar]

Balls!

Anima Causa has a nice idea here that I wish I could duplicate on the cheap. I have no idea how much they want for this massively mutable bunch of furniture, but I'm pretty sure it's way more than the sum of its parts. Kinda reminds me of cluster ballooning.

[via popgadget]

Serious Ninja Sh*t

Still too busy to provide proper descriptions, but this thing is all over the blogosphere today. A laser-sighted wrist rocket, two versions; $50 for the pretty accurate one, $70 for the very accurate one. I could get into so much trouble with this thing.

Analog Digital Tape

Simple and self-explanatory. Get yours here. [via MAKE:blog]

Batblades

I was mostly impressed that this new product I'd never heard of already had a Batman-style version, presumably to capitalize on the Batman Begins movie. Either way, I think they're Kinda Neat®. Instead of looking through them like sunglasses, these Sunblades create a little shade for your eyes, blocking the sun's glare and letting you see more clearly.

A Tiger in Your Tank, and a Monkey in Your Trunk?

Now I'm kinda wishing I were in the market for a new car. Here are some nice ads for a cool new feature, available only from Suburban Auto Group. (BTW, at least in Safari, I found it helpful to open the Quicktime movies in a new tab.)

Great F*cking Show, from the C*cksuckers at HBO

Yeah, I'm f*cking late to the f*cking party, but that's why they invented DVDs. I just started watching Deadwood. (In fact, I watched 5 episodes in a f*cking row last night -- thanks, insomnia!) And not to put too fine a f*cking point on it, I f*cking love this show.Now I want this hat and this shot glass. Email me if you'd like to learn how to buy 'em for me. =)

Turn Your Love Drill Light On

O.k., I don't remember where I saw this -- I think ProductDose? -- and I don't have any links right now, but if you're as interested in a cordless Makita impact wrench/drill with a built-in LED light so you can see what you're doing there behind the fridge (hey, what are you doing there behind the fridge?), then get thee to a Googlery. Man, why do I always have to do all the work?

Speaking of T-shirts...

Here's a nice idea I think I'll steal someone stole from me. This Hugh guy prints up 200 T-shirts of each design, never to be reprinted. And since his cartoons are cute and clever, I'll bet they sell pretty well. Anyway, I liked this one.

We All Live in a Jelly-Fish 45...

Right, so today the Internets are just chock-a-block with cool things I want to inform you, my reader[s], about. But, of course, I'm also extra busy with the job that pays the bills. So I'll tease you with this one for now, and hopefully I'll get to report on the other stuff later on.

What's this? It's the Jelly-Fish 45, and I want one soooooo baaaaad! It's only $2,500,000 -- just 2.5% of what it would cost you for a trip around the moon and back. Bargain!It consists of five levels connected by a spiral staircase. The top level is 5.6 metres above the sea level and has been kept for study rooms. The next lower level is situated at 3.5 metres above the sea level and contains the night time zone while the next lower level at 1.4 metres contains the daytime zone with a kitchen and bathrooms. The lowest living level at 0.8 metres above the sea level is semi-submerged and has been kept for the guest room, bathroom and technical spaces.

[via OhGizmo!]

Urine luck!

Getting ready for Burning Man, and came across a suggestion for the Travel John -- perfect for those middle-of-the-night pee urges.
Finally, a unisex emergency restroom that is non-spill! Unique contoured spillguard opening accomodates men, women and children. Liqsorb(tm) super absorbent pouch turns urine or liquid into a biodegradable, odorless, self-contained Gel Bag for spillproof, puncture-resistant disposal. Each pouch can be used several times until reaching its maximum capacity of 20 oz. Compact at 2 in. x 2 in. x 5 in. for storage - unfolds to 12 in. x 5 in. for use.

Pre-Playa Art Map

Apparently, there's an entire Tribe devoted to playa maps. That's kinda cool. Also, there's some interesting GPS-related playa map foo goin' on over here.

Bonus!

Yay! I just got a bonus for being with my current employer for 1 year. I wonder if I get two of these next year...

DVD Player for the BitTorrent Fiend

When I was first introduced to BitTorrent, I have to say I was astounded by the quality. I was watching hour-long episodes of Battlestar Galactica at full-screen on my 12" Powerbook, from a 350MB file, and it looked even better than a DVD -- to my untrained eyes, at least. But now, well...it seems it may be possible to burn, like, a whole season of Battlestar Galactica on one DVD-R, and then play that DVD-R on my (imaginary) 60" flat-panel TV. Of course, I'd have to shell out a whole $93 to buy this Evergreen D900SX DVD player first.

[via OhGizmo!]

Again with the ThinkGeek Foo?

$25 seems pretty steep for such a simple little doohickey (battery not included? Yeesh!), but oh the joy torment it will bring. It's the Mind Molester, and it emits a quick little beep every three minutes.

From the ThinkGeek's mouth:

The Mind Molester is an instrument of creative electronic harassment. ... Your friends/enemies will become obsessed, awaiting the next chirp trying to determine its location, completely disrupting their normal activities.

Just connect this device to a 9-volt battery and plant it in an appropriate location. It produces a one-second electronic chirp about once every 3 minutes. Due to the chirp's duration, frequency, and sound characteristics, it's a very difficult, time-consuming, frustrating and maddening task to locate the unit. And even if they find it, they'll have no idea what it is.

Cooooooooooool.

This is why it pays to check back in at ThinkGeek frequently. I can't wait to play with these battery-powered infrared-beam Lazer Trip Wire thingamahoozits. I can't tell you why I need 'em -- that's need-to-know, and you don't need to know -- but let's just say those monsters in my closet are gonna be in for quite a surprise!

Neat OS X Trick

I love a good hidden feature. If you're running OS X, try CTRL+ALT+CMD+8. You can keep working in all your programs with the new color scheme. It seems to slow things down just a bit, so you probably don't want to leave it like that, but it's still fun. Unfortunately, a screenshot only captures the usual colors -- thus the crappy shot from my Treo 650.

Up in the Air, Junior Birdman!

I haven't read this yet or anything, but it's certainly piqued my interest. As a big fan of all things that allow we mere mortals to soar with the birds, The Rocketbelt Caper sounds like a great story.

From the cover:
'We finished the rocketbelt, and from then on there was murder, kidnapping, and all kinds of other stuff.'

James Bond meets the Coen Brothers in this riveting true story of three friends and their quest to build a Buck Rogers-style flying machine - the amazing Rocketbelt 2000. Perhaps the least incredible thing about their tale is that they succeeded in building and flying their futuristic device. But their obsession with the rocketbelt shattered their friendship and set in motion an astonishing chain of events involving theft, deception, violent assault, a bizarre kidnapping, a ten million dollar lawsuit, and a horrifically brutal murder.

[via MAKE:blog]

*Pop!* Goes the Realtor

This amusing (if you're a renter, like me) T-shirt (or hoodie, or coffee cup, or mouse pad, etc.) is available here.

Star Wars IV Sans Mark Hamill!How Cool Is That?

OMG, I am just aglow with the geekiness of this. Watch Star Wars Episode IV in ASCII via Telnet. Here's how: Open a command line (Terminal in OS X, CMD in Windows), type in "telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl" and hit enter a few times -- the show should start after a minute. I've only watched the first few minutes so far, but I can already tell you it's way better than Episode III. You have get to supply your own voices and sound effects, though too.

[via GearLive]

Ryder Rules!

Ryder, the same outlet in Fremont that we rented from last year, had a cancellation, and unlike Penske, they're not afraid to treat their customers like adults, so Fandango is back in business. Woo, as they say, Hoo!

Batman: Dead End

Wow, you start Googling things like "Batcave" and you never know what you'll find. I don't know how I missed this -- Batman: Dead End, a short film by Sandy Collora. The high res version's a pretty big file, but that doesn't scare you, does it?

Excuse me, Is It By Any Chance Clobberin' Time?

Last year, I bought some Hulk Hands to add just a soupçon of whimsy to my otherwise ever-so-adult studio apartment. I think they look quite nice on top of my bookcase, and my cat Barry gets the message pretty quick when I make with the "Hulk smash!!" sounds.

Unfortunately, I don't think I have room to add The Thing Hands -- one small studio can only take so much whimsy. Maybe when they go on sale somewhere for less than $20, though.

Perfect for Your Batcave

I saw these at Toys R Us the other day while shopping for some The Thing hands to complement my Hulk hands. If I had the Batcave I've always wanted, I'd totally have to get both the Batman 13" TV and the Batman DVD Player. Wouldn't you?

Go Gonzo or Go Home

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas had a bigger influence on my formative years than has probably been strictly good for me. Ah, but no regrets. Dr. Hunter S. Thompson knew how to hang it all out there, and I feel like there's now a Hunter-shaped hole in the world since his passing this last February. Now I can't promise that any booze is going to help you fill that hole in your life, but if you'd like to find out for yourself I suppose I'd recommend the Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog Ales.

A special tribute batch has been brewed up by Hunter's friends at his local brewery, with labels designed by longtime Gonzo collaborator Ralph Steadman. If you hurry, you can even buy one of 1500 750ml bottles signed by Mr. Steadman. BTW, the guy pictured here is Brian Harvey, the "Gonzo Golden Ticket" winner. Seems Johnny Depp was feeling inspired by his recent turn as Willy Wonka and placed a Golden Ticket with one of the signed bottles. The ticket is an invitation for two to Hunter's memorial at Owl Farm in Woody Creek, Colorado on Aug 20. Curse you, Brian Harvey! That was my ticket!

More Cowbell!

This seems to be legit, but what do I know. From the website:

"Our great country is in a terrible downward spiral. We're outsourcing jobs, bankrupting social security, and losing lives at war. We need to focus on what's important-- paying attention to our children, our citizens, our future. We need to think about improving our failing educational system, making better use of our resources, and helping to promote a stable, safe, and tolerant global society. It's time to be smart about our politics. It's time to get America back on track.

Good Design Thrills

It's so true. Download some free BadDesignKills propaganda yourself, and spread the word. I said, spread the word!

Where would we be without art?

I really like these pieces. The artist, Tara Donovan, recontextualizes everyday objects in a delightful way. Here we have toothpicks and styrofoam cups. [via Art MoCo]

I spy, with my little Celestron C90 Mak Spotting Scope

Of course I would never use something like this to look in people's windows...why do you ask? It's the Celestron C90 Mak Spotting Scope, and I tumbled to it by following a link from Make:Blog. Around $185, at least here. But what I was really hoping to find was the "Universal Camera Adapter that [he] found online last week." I'll let you know when I find one that works with my camera.

UPDATE: Oh Google, you spoil me! One Universal Camera Adapter, coming right up.$35, here.

The Nose Knows Radio

What we have here is simply the best Internet radio station between Sol and Saturn. An eclectic mix of genres, compiled by someone with great taste in music. Check it out at OwenWilsonsNose.com.

Be Will Return Here Now

I happened upon one of these cute clocks in a shop on Valencia street in San Francisco today. $12 there, $11 here. Designed and produced by David Dear.

Night Court on TV Land!

Wow. Too bad I only just now found out about this. TV Land is showing (right now -- since 6am Saturday) a Night Court supermarathon! Like, 60 or so hours straight of Night Court. Now that's a lot of good Funny.

Watch this, Mr. Bond

And now I point you to a nice couple of pages about the watches of Bond...James Bond.

[via RedFerret]