Everyone who’s done it knows that cleaning is a lot like warfare (and if you have children, it’s always a losing battle). Hugo Tornelo and Pedro Alegria of Cabracega have just the weapon for your next house cleaning adventure: "Make Household Not War," a conceptual design of broom, dust pan and feather duster shaped like rapier swords.

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Similar: BBQ Sword Spatula

This intricate device was custom-made for someone living at a latitude of 59 degrees, 55 minutes, 20 seconds.  My guess would be that the recipient lived somewhere in St. Petersburg, but other locations are possible.

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Addendum:  Some additional searching has revealed that devices such as these were known as “sundial cannons” or “noon cannons.”  The best description/photos I’ve found is at this pdf by the British Sundial Society.

Handily, the Prankster features a time delay setting, so that after installing it, you can make your getaway safely before it startmisbehaving.

The Prankster is highly annoying, but itll never activate the Enter key or close or save documents, so it’s mostly mischievous, not super-dangerous.

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Using a new, high-tech material, German scientists Klaus Sedlbauer and Herbert Sinnesbichler have developed a coffee cup that will keep your drink at the optimum temperature for drinking. Phase change material (PCM) was already in use as a building and clothing material because of its temperature-regulating capability. Now it will keep your coffee from going cold!

CM is able to absorb and maintain heat or cold for long periods of time. It melts when warmed and solidifies when cooled. Different PCMs have different melting points. If a hollow-framed mug were filled with PCM that becomes liquid at exactly 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit (the ideal drinking temperature for warm beverages) and the mug’s reservoir filled with a warm beverage, the PCM would absorb excess heat, bringing the liquid down to drinking temperature and keeping it there long enough for you to enjoy your coffee.

Sedlbauer and Sinnesbichler are looking for a manufacturer and distributor for their coffee cup. Link – via babycreativeblog

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Babycreative.

The Australian programmer who claims to have created the world’s first Apple iPhone virus as a prank has told Computerworld he does not regret writing it.

The worm, ‘Ikee’ changes iPhone owners’ wallpaper and replaces it with a photo of ‘80s pop star Rick Astley and the message “ikee is never going to give you up”.

Twenty-one-year-old Wollongong resident Ashley Towns, said he created the virus out of curiosity and boredom.

“I had just formatted my iPhone and it told me to set the password in bold, big letters and I wondered how many people have actually done that," Towns said.

“So I ran a scan on my [Optus] 3G network and there was 26 phones running the service that’s vulnerable, and out of that 26, 25 hadn’t changed their passwords.”

Link – via Buzz Log

At one time or another, everyone wishes they could control a bowling ball after it leaves his/her hand. The RC900 remote-control bowling ball makes that dream come true! A weight in a threaded shaft inside the ball determines its direction, and the user controls the weight. The purpose of the ball is to give young children a bit of success as they learn to bowl, and to help disabled people paticipate in the sport. Don’t even think of sneaking the RC900 into a competition! Link (with video) -via Gizmodo

That’s why veterinarian and computer scientist Sarah Baillie has created the “Haptic Cow,” a virtual, touch-feedback device that mimics the feeling of real bovine anatomy, placed inside a fiberglass model of a cow’s rear end.

“With this technology, students can feel something that feels like the inside of a real cow, but I or another instructor can be following their movements on a monitor,” said Baillie, who teaches at the Royal Veterinary College in London. “This means we can say, ‘Come back a bit or go left a bit.’ It actually means you can direct them.”

Not only can professors follow a student’s exact movements and critique the technique, but they can also keep track of how much force is being applied. If a fledgling vet gets too rough and exceeds the number of Newtons considered safe by experienced vets, virtual Bessie will belt out a cautionary “Moo-oo!”

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(image credit: Sarah Baillie/Royal Veterinary College)

Because you can’t out-tech the sleek iPod and iPhone, it’s much better to go low-tech when showcasing Apple’s coveted gadgets. Behold, the log dock by Woodtec:

Again from Woodtec, the dual iPhone/iPod docking log takes the single log dock and adds room for another device. Now you can charge your iPhone and iPod simultaneously via a single length of tree limb. Unsurprisingly, as there’s more wood and an extra connection, the dual dock comes in at a higher price but for something so unique, $119.00 is surely money well spent.

Zoombits got more on wooden iPhone accessories: Link – Thanks Dave!

Photo: NEC

NEC is developing a gadget that will translate spoken words into text displayed on a user’s eyes:

The prototype device called a “Tele Scouter” is a glasses type display that translates the foreign language being spoken by a partner and projects the translation onto a tiny retinal display.

The device mounted on an eyeglass frame consists of the retinal display, front-mounted camera and microphone, but doesn’t perform the translation itself. Rather the microphone picks up the conversation and transmits it to a portable computer worn on the user’s waist. This computer in turn transmits the information to a remote server, which is responsible for carrying out the heavy processing of converting the speech to text, translating it and sending it back to the wearable parts of the system to be displayed on the retinal display.

Link via DVICE

Photo: Robonable

This is Nissan’s prototype for a personal mobility device. Just step on to the footpads and lean in the direction that you want to go:

The device has two foot boards, both of which are balanced on two wheels. The device’s tilt sensors detect when you shift your weight to turn, traveling at a maximum rate of about 5kph. The foot boards have handle bars attached to help you maintain balance, and can be connected in a variety of positions or separated.

When separated, the device only moves forwards and backwards. To turn, you simply lift and turn your leg as if you were wearing stilts. The overall effect is one of ski-less skis.

Link via DVICE

The Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt isn’t just a t-shirt. You can actually play music on it. Use a magnetic pick over the string markings and press down on the frets with your other hand. There’s also a volume nob and an amplifier that fits on your belt.

Link via GearFuse

Vadim Ryazanov built a robot that rolls away from you as you reach for it. He calls it “Mr. Wake.” As soon as the alarm goes off, an IR sensor on the robot turns on. The robot is programmed to move in the opposite direction of any object moving toward it:

Now, to give you idea how Wake works: Alarm clock mechanism I used has 3 contacts, Plus, Ground, and Alarm, which goes high when alarm goes off. This was really fortune for me, as I had only to connect the grounds and use this Alarm pin as analog input (Could not use it as digital as clock runs on 1.5V) and it workes just fine. So, whenever Alarm pin goes high, my code picks this up and switches Mr. Wake from “standby” to “alarm” mode, which makes him switch on IR leds and red LED in Magic Button on, read ambient reading from IR transistors and wait till the reading inceased above ambiant one, which means something is aproaching from above (I have the detection only from above, where clock and Magic Button are.

Link via Make

Hit play or go to Link

“With this speed bump, people will feel rewarded for obeying the law,” says Carlos Cano, the company’s president.

The technology is relatively basic: The speed bump is formed by two steel plates that form a triangle sticking out of the pavement. When a car tire touches the plate, a patented device under the triangle measures the force of the impact.

If the tire’s impact is gentle enough — that is, if the vehicle is traveling slowly — both plates immediately collapse into the ground under the weight of the car.

Link via DVICE | Image: Sergio Solache, USA Today

YouTube Link

Quite possibly the best Halloween prop ever.

via UniqueDaily.

The observers asked walkers if they had noticed anything unusual, and for those who didn’t, they asked specifically if they had seen the unicycling clown. Even when directly asked, the cell-phone users were less than half as likely to notice the clown as those listening to music players or single individuals without any electronics. People who walked in pairs were the most likely to see the clown.

“So it’s not the conversation that’s the problem; it’s not an electronic device that’s the problem,” Hyman told LiveScience. “It’s something about a cell phone conversation is where the problem is.”

He speculates, as do other researchers, that when talking to someone in person you both can modify your conversation based on the environment, so if a clown, say, pops up you can both look up. “That’s not the case with the cell-phone conversations,” Hyman said.

Link via Gizmodo | Image: Ira Hyman

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Don’t go unprepared to your next party. Forget those clumsy disposable cups, bring your own portable beer glass. The Port-A-Pint Beer Glass pops open in seconds with a flick of your wrist. From the Neatorama Shop: Link

A stylish new fan has been creating a buzz in the world of technology. 

In this clip, inventor/engineer James Dyson, famous for his vacuum cleaners (you may have seen his commercials with his vacuum that can round corners), introduces his latest product, the bladeless air multiplier fan.  It uses a system of low pressure area and suction device in the bottom to create a smooth, continuous flow of air.

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

Yep, a t-shirt with a fully functional graphic equalizer embedded on the front. It changes with the music around you, and even reacts to conversation! $39.99 from Think Geek. Link -via Everlasting Blort

Make your own scary character that pops up out of trash can to scare trick-or-treaters! Instructables user Back Roads shows you how to create this prop that uses compressed air. Link -via Lifehacker

Here’s one for your next party: the Stone Cold Ice Tray that makes ice shaped like the moais of Easter Island! Perfect for your tropical drink.

From the Neatorama Shop: Link | More cool and unusual ice trays

The Rovin’ Pumpkin’ is a simple robotic pumpkin, and a close cousin of the Snap-O-Lantern. Silently, it sits on your porch– camouflaged amongst the humble squashes.

After a minute, its green eyes start to glow, and it creeps… moving about one foot to the left… and stops. The eyes go dark again. It fades into the darkness. And it waits.

After several minutes and several steps, it reverses direction, and begins to creep the other way. Hopefully before it falls off of your porch.

The Rovin’ Pumpkin is made from Lego parts, a small motor, LEDs for eyes, and a pumpkin. Instructions and a video are included in the article. Link

The Impossible Project is a worldwide effort to restart and reinvent and save instant photography – their aim to re-start production of analog instant film for vintage Polaroid cameras in 2010.

Personally I love the instant photography as it gives a really unique effect it’s impossible to gain from other photography effects.

This is a really clever campaign backed by the likes of Urban Outfitters and Wallpaper.

Polaroid is transforming itself from an analog Instant Film Production Company to a global Consumer Electronics and Digital Imaging company.

Production of analog Instant Film stopped in June 2008, closing the factories in Mexico (Instant Packfilm production) and the Netherlands (Instant Integral production).

Link – via cakeheadlovesevil

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by cakehead loves evil.

Benjamin Franklin invented a radically new arrangement of the glasses in 1761 after seeing water-filled wine glasses played by Edmund Delaval at Cambridge in England in 1758.[6] Franklin, who called his invention the “armonica” after the Italian word for harmony, worked with London glassblower Charles James to build one, and it had its world premiere in early 1762, played by Marianne Davies.

In Franklin’s treadle operated version 37 bowls were mounted horizontally on an iron spindle. The whole spindle turned by means of a foot pedal. The sound was produced by touching the rims of the bowls with moistened fingers.

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It might not be comfortable or all that functional, but this shopping cart chair is just undeniably cool. It can even work as a wheelchair if necessary. Instructables can tell you how to make one of your very own.

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This is a clever one by Carl Mitsch of Fred Studio: a set of measuring cups shaped like matryoshka (babushka or Russian nesting dolls). They’re cute and functional! And perhaps best of all, they nest inside of one another so they don’t take up much cabinet space. At $11.95 each, they’re the perfect gift for those who love to cook … and who knows, maybe you’ll get dinner out of it, too.

From the Neatorama Shop: Link

I have a soft spot in my heart for geeky wristwatches. Maybe it’s all those childhood conditioning (Dick Tracy’s wrist phone, anyone?) but when Tokyoflash came out with their limited time offer of the Casio Databank 2888JA, I’m all over it. It’s a bit pricey, so for the budget-conscious geek, may I suggest our retro-fun Cal-Q-Tek 2000 wrist watch over at the Neatorama Shop?

Links: Casio Databank 2888JA – Thanks Paul! | Cal-Q-Tek 2000 Calculator Watch