Retro

'Pac-Man' belt is a wow find at WonderCon

While I was at the three-day WonderCon convention in San Francisco this past weekend, not only did I get an eyeful of loads of comics books and celebrities like the original Lois Lane, Noel Neill; Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson; and Chase Masterson (Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). I also got some great schwag.

Standing toward the back of the hall at Moscone South was what appeared to be a majestic Borg cube-esque structure of T-shirts, hoodies and the like. It was there that I not only found a classic Amazing Spidey shirt, but a Namco Pac-Man belt. … Read more

The shoe phone lives!

Maxwell Smart would be so proud. While we've seen other high-tech uses for footwear, most notably GPS devices, what we've really craved is an authentic shoe phone.

So even though we'd prefer that it come in the form of an oxford or loafer, we'd be happy to have a tennis shoe version like this Sports Illustrated collectible found by Red Ferret. Unfortunately, it's corded, which would definitely put a crimp in our sit-com spying missions. But for top-secret conversations in person, we at least have the "Cone of Silence."

Charles Darwin + Audiobook = Next-generation torture device

Boing Boing has alerted us to a public-domain audio recording of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection that you can download and plunk onto your iPod. Now, I did a bit of the History of Science thing in college, and I must have taken at least four seminars in which Origin of Species was on the syllabus. I can consequently tell you that this is the most boring book ever written.

Yes, it's difficult to express just how influential a work of research and literature it was, and it's still obviously … Read more

'Phaser' remote for lonely Saturday nights

Apparently, attraction to the opposite sex isn't nearly as important as it used to be. That's the only explanation we can fathom for the continuing trend of new Star Trek items on the market.

The latest date repellant is a $70 "Phaser Universal Remote Control," which claims to feature sound effects from the original series provided by Paramount. Alas, Red Ferret notes that it's already sold out. (What a surprise.)

But don't despair, Sparky. If you play your cards right, you might still be able to score a "Lightsaber Umbrella."

4,096 lights for your playlist

We're not terribly fond of gadgets that change colors just for the sake of doing so--some Cravers are downright indignant, in fact--but this one may be an exception. If nothing else, Aigo's "Omnisphere" deserves at least some credit for its sheer number of colors: 4,096 of them in "high-illumination LED," according to Gadget Candy.

Like so much raver chic gear we've seen, this one has a brightness control that can be set to the beat and volume of the music. Not only that, but it will play the songs from an iPod … Read more

This week in imminent doom at the hands of cyborg animals

What the hell is going on these days? Seriously.

All of a sudden, scientists have created living remote-control pigeons, monkeys that can control huge robotic arms using only their brains, and cats that are getting pimped-out bionic eyeballs. And then there's that gaming helmet that can read your mind. It's awesome, but it's also creepier than 70 clown Draculas.

Here is what I'm talking about, yo.

Real-life pigeon cyborgs: Simply by placing a bunch of electrodes and red wires in a pigeon's brain, scientists at the Robot Research Center at the Shandong University of Science … Read more

And now, your moment of Zen

It's Wednesday afternoon. The work week's over halfway done (assuming you're in the States). So here's a really cool video for you to enjoy: the 1902 silent film Voyage Dans La Lune set to a mesmerizing techno soundtrack. It'll boggle your mind! Then you can head over to YouTube for part two.

What's the gadget angle, you say? Well, um, they're building a spaceship. That counts.

(Via Table of Malcontents.)

It's taking over, and it's called 'Internet'

This is the funniest YouTube video you will see all day. Yes, funnier than that video you just watched of the cat who can play the piano while walking on a treadmill underwater. It's even funnier than that video of the skiier dressed up as Borat who falls off a roof and into a hot tub full of naked people. It's a Canadian news broadcast from the early '90s about the mystical phenomenon known as "Internet." Dial-up noises and all! Guaranteed hilarity!

Sure, it's not new, but I just saw it for the first time, … Read more

Spock's spacesuit sells for $10,100

What a day for date repellants. Just hours after we mentioned the "Lightsaber Umbrella" did we hear of another ill-advised purchase, one that would be the envy of every nerd at the convention: Spock's spacesuit.

As noted by Spluch, an eBay auction that ended today claimed to have the "authentic spacesuit featured prominently in Star Trek I: The Motion Picture when 'Spock' (Leonard Nimoy) left the Enterprise to conduct a mindmeld with the 'V' Ger Probe." Wow. The frightening thing is there are people out there who will instantly recognize this scene by that description, … Read more