dogs

If you want to be green, get rid of your dog

They tell us not to drive Hummers.

They tell us to disconnect our cell phone chargers, once our cell phones are juiced. They tell us to switch off our laptops, burn candles rather than electric light, and sail boats rather than fly planes.

But do they ever tell us to wean ourselves off the animals that we cynically use as substitutes for our failed relationships with other humans?

I only ask because an article from the New Scientist has wafted in front of my breakfast bowl and slapped me about my flappy jowls.

Quoting such luminous organizations as the Stockholm Environment Institute at York, UK, … Read more

Urban Hopper robot can leap over 25-foot walls

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has demoed its Precision Urban Hopper robot, a wheeled ground unit that can leap over 25-foot-tall obstacles and keep on truckin'.

Seen in the video below, released last week by the Sandia National Laboratory, the shoebox-size Hopper easily takes on a chain-link fence, bounces a bit after landing, and then keeps rolling. It seems that a piston-fired leg makes it fly.

The Precision Urban Hopper is being developed by Sandia and Boston Dynamics, creator of the famously creepy BigDog robot, for surveillance operations in urban terrain. Guided by GPS, it is designed to "… Read more

Bowlingual gives dog barks a human voice

Japanese toymaker Tomy has released a new dog translator gadget that can turn barks into words.

Bowlingual Voice is an update to Bowlingual, first released way back in 2002. The new version speaks with a human voice from a handheld unit wirelessly linked to a microphone around the dog's collar. The original version had no voice synthesizer.

Bowlingual Voice recognizes six basic canine emotions. Tomy says it can simultaneously translate the woofs of about 50 breeds of dog into Japanese.

Not surprisingly, the dogs say things like "I love you!" and not "Stop feeding me the … Read more

Hot dogs forever

There is a certain way to eat hot dogs. Or rather, there is a preferred combination of ingredients that make for the perfect hot dog. What that particular combination may be, nobody can tell you. Sure, they can offer you suggestions; but it all comes down to enjoying hot dogs based on individual preferences. When that magical combination is found, then hot dog eaters tend to go back to it time and time again. No matter if you like them classic-style with onions, mustard, and maybe sauerkraut, or if you prefer a more pile-it-on approach and use all the condiments … Read more

Put a pet calendar on your iPhone

If you're the kind of person who melts at the sight of kittens, puppies, and other furry friends, check out iPhoneCalendars.com. The site is home to two dozen animal-themed calendars for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Specifically, these are like small-screen replacements for those month-at-a-glance calendars people traditionally hang on the wall.

Consequently, they're best suited to people who dock their devices at their desks, where the calendar can stay visible throughout the day.

The selections include cats, kittens, puppies, and over a dozen individual dog breeds (from Beagle to Yorkshire Terrier). Coming soon: nonanimal calendars like flowers, … Read more

Pet's Eye View camera keeps tabs on mischievous mutts

I don't have a dog right now, but if I did, I totally wouldn't trust it to roam around my apartment while I'm not there. Who knows what kind of mischief it'll get into or what it'll find lurking in my sock drawer. This Pet's Eye View Camera makes it easy to keep track of your dog, but $55 is too expensive for what appears to be a glorified Webcam.

There's not a lot going on here in terms of technology: the little USB still camera attaches to your pet's collar and … Read more

Gadgettes 141: The Food Issues Episode

These days, it always seems to come back around to food, and analyzing each other's food issues is pretty enlightening. Here are some tools to appease the inner food critic.

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EPISODE 141

Flint woman invents Corner Cap to keep boxes of food from spilling

World’s smallest microwave also has world’s worst name

Aero Blue Robot prepares to dish out unemployment to Japanese waiters

Chocolate scented calculator is torture for dieters

Hot Dogs to Go (thanks, engnr_chik!)… Read more

Gadgettes 138: The Type A Episode

If it's not a right angle, it's a wrong angle. That's exactly the ethos that has inspired the type of precise, structured and rigidly useful gadgetry that we highlight in today's episode.

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EPISODE 138

The perfect father’s day gift for the Type A griller

Size your burgers your way

Cocoon’s laptop bag is perfect for type A personalities

Sensor-laden kokoro adjusts playlist to match the rhythm of your heart

GameDr destroys recreation of youth

Sony’s 400-disc BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Mega Changer reportedly coming soon… Read more

Gadgettes 136: The dog people are weird (but cat people are weirder) episode

Treat your pets right this Mother's Day! We spend equal time talking about gifts for mom and for fluffy. Go figure.

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EPISODE 136

Petairways.com–for the pet who loves to travel (Thanks Sheala!)

Honda unveils dog-friendly car

The Tweeting Cat Door (Thanks Nathan!)

New worm-like floor-cleaning robot threatens Roomba’s dominance

Digigrade Leg Extensions

Dog poo recycler

Special Edition Mother’s Day Gender Gap Danielle Steel Limited Edition Reader Digital Book is More of the Same just in Red (No! Don’t do it! Get a Kindle instead!)

Mother of the Year video

Mother’s Day shirt for the geeky mom-to-be

A propos (of) nothing Lego sunglasses let you build your own fashion

What a concept Portable toaster

Why didn’t I think of that? PermaFLOW Self Cleaning Drain System

Pretty Gorgeous iphone cases (thanks fernando!)

Good Vibrations (Thanks Fred!) DIY Steam punk vibrators… Read more

First genetically altered dogs get superlame power

You can't tell me someone didn't think of glowing red eyes. Or even glowing white eyes. Just glowing eyes in general is cooler than a glowing red body...under ultraviolet light.

The Associated Press is reporting that South Korean scientists have cloned four dogs with the "power" to glow under ultraviolet light.

By day, mild-mannered (assumed) beagles. By night, they glow red...Um, OK?

Basically, the scientists did this to prove that it's possible to insert a specific trait into a living animal. The scientists hope that this process could be used to fight diseases.… Read more