The Power of an Earthquake Turns Train Tracks to Spaghetti

 

This past September, a quake rocked Canterbury, New Zealand. But rather than scenes of destruction and rubble, the tremors left behind some bizarre scenes—like these warped tracks atop pristine countryside.

Dave Petley, blogging at the American Geophysical Union, isn't exactly sure what caused the strange deformations, but speculates that "The compression on the very strong railway line was accommodated when a weak point was found, leading to a comparatively rapid deformation to form the main buckle on the left. This then concentrated stress on both sides of the buckle, allowing the other (right side) bends to form." Hm! Either way, it is a reminder of just how incredibly powerful the physical forces underneath our shoes are.

The Ultimate La-Z-Boy

The reasons I like this chair are quite simple: it looks comfortable, it massages you and, most importantly, it's fitted with some badass 180-degree screen that looks multi-tasking friendly (and far more ergonomic than any tablet or laptop).

Now if only the chair were any more attainable than the life of rest and relaxation. Like parking your prop plane on a sandbar for lunch, the Galatea Spa chair is little more than a fantasy.

Jaybird's SB1 Sportsband Bluetooth Headphones Should Be Taken Literally

Nothing remarkable to see here (for audiophiles anyway), but the design is undeniably sleek, sexy and slick. Called the SB1 Sportsband, these Bluetooth headphones are literally a simple band that wraps your head with about eight hours of wireless audio.

And a bonus, for those of you who get a bit, well, heated while listening to your favorite tunes: The controls are moisture-protected. For you perceptive no-nonsense folks, that also means they're handy in a rainstorm.

Available now for $89, which includes call and Skype support.

Sanwa Throat Mic, For Your Very Tactical Cellphone Conversations

Special forces may use throat mics to coordinate near-silent attacks on enemy bases, but Sanwa wants to bring all that convenience to your next supermarket run.

Sanwa's hands-free throat mic looks like a military headset, but it's made for use with your cellphone. Good for noisy environments and just those times you don't want the cabbie to know about your ass rash, Sanwa's system should be available for import soon.

The Eminently Washable Clean Bottle Unscrews at Both Ends

The 22-ounce bottles are available in retailers and on Clean Bottle's website for $9.95, with 10% of proceeds going to eco-friendly charities. For a problem I've encountered for years and years, it's the best kind of solution: an incredibly simple one.

The White House Has a Flickr Stream

If you can't get enough of your Obamas and presidential dogs, look no further. If not, look at little further.

Also, if you've got one of those digital picture frames with Flickr support, you can probably hook up your frame to directly feed photos from the White House stream and pretend you're some kind of secret agent or witch, being able to see their every move. The White House Flickr Stream

Spoonachos Are The Holy Grail of Chips

The Tostitos Scoop was a momentous moment in the history of dipping. But it has one glaring flaw: your thumb takes up half the scoop. Spoonachos, however, have a handle. Brilliant. My salsa to chip ratio just got WAY better.

I'm saddened to say Spoonachos are only a concept at the moment, designed by Denis Bostandzic. But I have high hopes that this ingenious, marvelous development in chip and dip evolution will see its way onto market shelves in the not-too-distant future.

Crank This Battery To Charge Up

The Wind Up Battery is a rechargeable battery with a little pop-out hand-crank to power up using some good ol' fashioned elbow grease. I'd probably looks like an idiot using it, but better than suffering without a AA.

Designed by Qian Jiang, the concept is actually rather brilliant since it wouldn't require an additional gadget to recharge your batteries and depending on how many recharges it would allow for, it might be a rather good deal too. Since this battery is still a concept, he claims that it could be fully charged in 20 minutes, but that would be fast enough for most of us. Those of us who haven't got the arm muscles of a noodle that is.

A Cylon Mated with KITT, and Out Popped This MK 2 Circuit Watch

Worthy of a sultry Number Six, but priced at a more commonfolk level, the MK 2 Circuit watch from Storm of London is one of those rare gadgety watches that actually displays the time in a meaningful manner.

There's no chronograph, or really anything else other than time and date, but it's got a slick look that can no doubt be read in the dark, in a black Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, or in the blackness of deep space amongst the gods.

A somewhat hefty $200 and this new release is yours.

Super-Thin Waterproof Speakers Are Swimming Their Way To Cellphones

As you can tell from the picture, these speakers are dead skinny. 0.9mm thick, to be exact, making them perfectly-sized for cellphones, cameras and other portable gadgets which may require all the parts to be waterproofed.

Murata, based in Kyoto, Japan, created what they're calling the world's first "ultra-thin waterproof piezoelectric speaker," which is said to be cheaper than the usual waterproof speakers found in Japan, thanks to the way the output holes have been waterproofed. Normally speakers are covered with waterproof "sheets," which cover the output holes—understandably reducing the sound quality, but also proving costly to create. Murata gets around that problem by getting rid of the waterproof sheeting altogether, instead redesigning the speaker holes entirely.

Waterproof phones are pretty popular in Japan we hear, with Murata claiming that around one in four phones released in Japan last year were actually immune to moisture. They're on sale to manufacturers now, at around 250 Yen ($2.70) per unit.

Folding Laptop Concept Offers Full-Sized Keyboard

A niche concept for those who really miss their full-sized keyboards when using a netbook, designer Yang Yongchang has cooked up this folding laptop idea with top-notch spec.

I would've liked to have seen the right-hand side fold out to a large touchpad or even soft mousepad for a little Bluetooth mouse, but could be kept happy with this sturdy-yet-dinky design. Perhaps the designer could even offer bespoke keyboard arrangements, with extra space dedicated to a numeric keypad, or accented letters?

Devon Tread 1 Watch Keeps Your Wrist Busy At All Times

Devon claims that their $15,000 Tread 1 watch, a motorized, belt-driven contraption, is "a big, bold sexy declaration of independence from the status quo." The status quo, in this case, being affordable, legible, sensible timepieces. But all those belts.

If your sense of what defines a good watch is how many moving parts it has, and, better still, how many of those moving parts you can see at any given time, then the Devon Timepieces Tread 1 would be right at home on your wrist.

All of the numbers are on independent belts, carefully interwoven, as the company says, to give "the illusion that the parts are floating." Floating there on your honking $15,000 watch, that is. The belts are driven by four tiny motors, all of which are coordinated by an on board microprocessor. Just for good measure, the window is made of a bulletproof polycarbonate.

Facebook's Privacy Changes Get Scary

Facebook's long had some privacy issues, and now that they're broadening their reach on the web, who knows what'll happen next? Oh, right. We do:

2007 - Facebook Beacon links your purchases at online stores to your Facebook account so your friends (and marketers) can see what you're buying.

2010 - Facebook makes it impossible for you to hide certain information, such as your interests and location, from everybody.

2011 - Facebook History Tracker makes your web surfing history publicly viewable on your feed (and to marketers). After a brief uproar, Facebook enables an "incognito mode" for when you want to look at porn, but it's buried deep within the settings and automatically shuts off after each session.

2012 - Facebook Life Recorder is a small camera apparatus that's worn on your head, automatically tagging the friends you interact with via facial recognition and posting to your wall. Information such as where you shop and what you buy is put into a database (for marketers).

2014 - Facebook Implant combines a chemical scanner with a GPS chip. Everything you eat and everywhere you go are automatically posted to your News Feed in minute detail. This setting can be deactivated through outpatient surgery.

2015 - Facebook Guy Who Moves Into Your House With You and Is Always On the Phone With Potential Advertisers Telling Them What You're Doing meets initial resistance, but once the site starts publicizing its "Watcher Marriages"—instances where a follower and followee have fallen in love—public opposition melts away.

2016 - Mark Zuckerberg is elected president in the first election that allows voting via Liking candidates on Facebook.

2017 - Facebook User Relocation to Facebook's Headquarters ensures Facebook's ability to track every single thing you do to post to your Feed. Considered necessary after "Watcher Marriages" resulted in too many compromised Facebook Guys Who Move Into Your House With You.

2018 - Facebook Pods provide remote 24 hour contact with Facebook, as well as all bodily needs, including food delivery and waste removal (which is then provided to marketers for analysis).

2020 - Facebook Genital Pictures takes pictures of everyone's junk, which was real easy what with everyone in those Pods. Finally, Facebook fulfills its ultimate destiny: showing you (and marketers) everyone you've ever met with no clothes on.

Sony's BDP-S770 Player Takes Blu-Ray Into the Third Dimension

Remember when you thought your new Sony Blu-ray player was the bees' knees? Well now Sony has a 3D Blu-ray player (and accompanying 5.1 channel speaker system). Don't worry, though, there's a 3D firmware upgrade for your old BDP.

Sony's Blu-ray 3D BDP-S770 will have built-in 802.11n  for $300. It will play beautiful Blu-ray movies in 3D. What else do you need to know?

Sony's older Blu-ray players, the BDP-S470 and BDP-S570 , aren't being left in the dust, though—they'll be able to play Blu-ray 3D with a free online firmware update (and get DLNA compatibility for the trouble).

And if you want the full Sony Blu-ray 3D experience, the $800 BDV-HZ970W package comes with the pretty-lookin' 5.1 channel surround sound system seen in the top image.

All this 3D Blu-ray is very cutting edge, so it's only right that you'll be able to control it all from your iPhone or iPod Touch with Sony's BD Remote app, which is slated to come to Android soon. All of this gear will be available next month to make sure your basement set-up displays Avatar more impressively than any of your neighbors.

A Nerdy Wedding Ring (Full Of Memories)

Ray Arifianto, who works on the Xbox Platform team at Microsoft, is getting married. He's got the nerdiest wedding ring to prove it.

While his blushing bride is not a gamer or a nerd for that matter, she is totally cool with the idea of getting hitched with one. "So cool," Ray writes, "that she ordered a custom made ring for me."

That's right, Ray's bride ordered him a USB-drive styled ring. The best part? The engraving. "For a lifetime of memories".  Memories? Memory? USB?

Logitech Z506 Surround Sound Speaker System Is Only $99

If you're in the market for a 5.1 sound system, the Logitech Z506 sounds like it could be a decent deal at only $99. There aren't too many details aside from the price though:

We know that you'll get 75W RMS power, two 8W front and two 8W rear speakers, a 16W center speaker, and a 27W subwoofer. We also know that the system should be available in August. That's it. But hey, it's cheap.

Pinhole Camera the Size Of A Thumbnail Actually Takes Photos

The creator of this tiny camera made two mistakes. One: it's styled like a Lomography Fisheye camera, but can't shoot fisheye photos. Two: they're NOT FOR SALE yet. I demand ten.

According to creator Francesco Capponi, this little toy-like cam is a working, snappingpinhole camera, capable of taking photos. Ok, so it's hardly going to give Lomography a run for its money, but the small size is mind-blowing.

The New and Improved iPod Nano Watch

The first iPod Nano watch, designed for Apple's new watch-sized iPod Nano, was basically just a nylon strap. Pretty unimaginative. These new funky-color silicone bands from Hex actually make Apple's diminutive iPod look like a not-entirely-ridiculous timepiece.

The $24.95 Hex band has a pop-in design which incorporates the Nano into the watch (as opposed to just sticking it on a band, like the first one did). It has integrated control buttons and comes in 9 colors.

HydroFILL Squeezes Electricity Out of Your Tap Water

Fuel cell outfitter Horizon is now offering a personal hydrogen power plant for use with its MiniPAK and HydroSTIK products. Although it isn't cheap, the system will (cleanly!) charge all of your small devices using the same water you drink.

The HydroFILL allows users to generate their own hydrogen and recharge the company's proprietary HydroSTIK miniature hydrogen tanks themselves, rather than having to spring for new ones when expended. Those two components, combined with the HydroPAK charging dock, will allow you to use essentially water to charge a variety of devices and peripherals. No more phone wall chargers, ever!

Still, for the time being this technology won't enter your home cheaply, with the HydroFILL tank priced at $499.99 (plus an optional $649.99 solar panel if you want to go truly off the grid). But each HydroSTIK packs the juice of 1,000 AA batteries, so hardcore chargers should be able to earn that back. Plus, next time someone is over at your place and needs to charge their phone, you can say, "Oh, one sec, let me see if my personal power plant is done generating hydrogen."

Freecom CLS External Drives an Homage to Obsolete Storage

Freecom's CLS external hard drive series take an aesthetic page from cassettes and floppies of our already distant memory. Each 2.5" drive is minimal, durable, and can be hand-labeled for quick reference to its contents.

The German-made, Belgian-designed drives can also be docked three at a time, via a single USB connection, allowing you to consolidate space and admire the retro look. Why do things look cooler when they're vertical?