A Cool Gadget

Check out this pocket game system which plays arcade games including Pac-Man and several other classic Namco games.

Created by modder Sam Thornley, the portable Pac-Man Mini console gets its brains from one of those Jakks Pacific Namco Arcade Classic systems, seamlessly melded with a tiny 2.5-inch LCD display and powered by a set of 4 rechargeable AA batteries for easy travel.

While the screenshot photos below look a bit blurry, Sam assures us that the screen is actually very sharp thanks to a direct composite video connection to the Jakks circuit.

Besides Pac-Man, the chunky portable system can play Galaxian, Rally-X, Bosconian, and my personal arcade version of crack, Dig Dug.

The only thing left out of the portable console is a sound system. That’s because those Namco “arcade on a chip” systems that run those Jakks systems don’t offer the exact same sounds that the original versions played, and Sam is clearly an arcade purist.

Sure, I suppose Sam could have just gone an grabbed a copy of Namco Museum for the Nintendo DS, GBA or Sony PSP, but what fun would that have been?

[via Ben Heck Forums]

The guys who designed this LEGO block lamp managed to dig up some sort of industrial-strength blocks that won’t melt into a pile of smelly goo when subjected to the heat of a lightbulb.

What makes the Block Light really cool is the fact that you can rearrange the pieces into pretty much any configuration you’d like.

The kit comes with 219 small, 16 medium, and 4 large heat-resistant clear acrylic blocks which can hold up to the heat of a 40-watt lightbulb. Of course, if snapping all those blocks has you intimidated, you could always buy one of these giant LEGO block lamps instead.

Ready to build your own custom lamp? Head on over to RED5 and plunk down your £25 (appx. $45 USD) for the kit. Keep in mind that RED5 is located in the UK, which operates on 240-volt power, so you might need to swap out the plug and lightbulb for use in North America.

Marubeni InfoTec will be coming out with 10 different wooden animal USB drives. There are 5 different animal shapes, and they come in maple or walnut.

I can’t find out too much more info about these cute flash drives, but the 411 is that they’re coming out in Japan on September 1st. For 1GB of memory and a blocky little block of wood, you’ll need to shell out ¥7290 (about $72.)

I appreciate their childlike blockiness, and like the juxtaposition of low-tech design and high-tech function, but I will concede that they seem too angular and pokey for maximum pocket comfort. Also, there’s that whole problem of having to go to Japan to get one.

[Marubeni Infotec via Fareastgizmos]

I was surfing around in search of this desktop R2-D2 mini USB can fridge that I recently read about, when I happened upon something much, much cooler than that cooler.

Turns out that this awesome R2-D2 compact refrigerator was apparently made back in 2002 as a promotional prize for an Attack of the Clones contest held at 7-11 Stores in Japan. Word has it that just 1000 of these rare refrigerators were ever made, and now this one can be yours (assuming you’ve got the dough). Even rarer than the elusive Google mini fridge, this is definitely a serious über-geek collectible.

The guys over at ToyEast managed to get their hands on one of these rarities, and it’s in pristine condition. Priced at $1070 USD, it’s not exactly cheap, but if you’re a serious Star Wars fan, you might not be able to pass this up. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, I could overdraw my my checking account for this one.

I was tooling around over at Chicago’s Bucktown Arts Fest this past weekend, and thought to myself, what are the chances that I’ll actually stumble onto any good geeky crafts? But lo and behold, the first booth I step into had these great handmade robot ceramic cups.

Designed by artist Amy Allison of Soda by Amy, each porcelain robot vessel features the likeness of a robot man, woman or child. Since each one is hand built, they’re all slightly different shapes, sizes and textures. Thanks to their simple design, you can use ‘em for sipping coffee, organizing pens and pencils or as a flower vase. And yes, they’re lead free and dishwasher safe, so drink up!

Amy’s robot cups range in price from $16 to $20 each. While they’re not shown on the Soda by Amy Etsy shop at present, I’m sure she’ll be happy to accept your orders if you drop her a message. Think of it as a secret club that only we know about.

Maybe I’m just too geeky, but I have a tendency to be drawn to ultra-modern digital watches. But sometimes there’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned analog dial. At least the guys over at Nixon are thinking a little outside the box with their latest analog watch design, the fashionably geeky R1G1.

The R1G1 ($150 to $200 USD) features a set of four mechanical hands to keep track of time and date. Two hands rotate around the middle of the dial, one displaying seconds and the other showing minutes. A pair of speedometer-like gauges display the current hour and the day of the month.

Each watch is powered by a quartz movement housed in a sleek brushed stainless steel case. All four hands live beneath a sturdy hardened mineral glass crystal to keep them safe and sound. They’re available in several different color ways, all with stylish leather bands.

You can find all four R1G1 designs over at NixonNow.

Do you remember the oh-so-low-low-tech game Snake? Now it can be played on a monome with an accelerometer. You don’t even need a controller, since the tilting motion is all you need to control the snake’s movements.

Check out the video here, which demonstrates how intuitive the game becomes when all you have to do is tilt the board to make the snake slither and slide around the pixelated board.

In case you’ve never heard of a monome, it’s a device that has a grid of backlit buttons that can be used for a variety of things, including games. They don’t make a whole lot of them, but you can check availability and try to convince them to make more at the monome website.

Even with the fancy device, though, this game doesn’t seem all that action-packed. And yet, on the faster levels, I’ve been known to blow through large chunks of time playing Snake on my cell phone without being able to stop…

[via Make:]

Looking for a nice digital alarm clock that you can dock your iPod or iPhone in, but don’t have room on your bedside table for anything decent? Then look no further than this nifty contemporary digital clock radio which can be mounted easily on your wall.

The CVT i3101 media center alarm clock is slim enough to hang next to your bed, and is especially nice if you have a narrow room without space for a table. The clock offers a bright 3.5″ blue LED display and sleek touch controls for changing channels and controlling your media player. And when your significant other walks off with your media player, you can always listen to the built-in FM radio or any tunes you’ve got saved on an SD memory card.

And if you do happen to have some table or counter space to spare, a kickstand lets you use it without wall-mounting. It looks like the clock’s Hong Kong manufacturer, CVT is also working on another version with an LCD video screen, but I haven’t found anyone retailing these yet. For now, you’ll have to settle for the version shown above, which is available from 100milligrams for $99.95 USD.

I just got invited to a formal wedding this Fall, and have been stymied as to what I would wear since it’s been about 15 years since I had to wear a tuxedo to anything. While I still might have to rent a tux and bow tie, at least I know what I’ll be wearing on my sleeves.

How could you resist going out on a night on the town with these great Pac-Man cufflinks on your wrists? Handmade by Sarah Lynne Designs, they feature the likeness of Pac-Man on one cuff and a blue ghost (presumably spawned after a tasty power pill) on the other.

Sarah makes the cufflinks from sturdy brushed aluminum and then coats them with a heavy-duty resin for that glossy sheen. The intricate character designs are made from hand sculpted wire and paint, while the dots are made from teeny, tiny beads.

You can find these and other cool contemporary jewelry over on Sarah’s Etsy shop.

You can cop a feel every single day with these bizarre computer mice shaped like hot women’s torsos. Unfortunately, since they have no heads or limbs, it will probably make you feel like a creepy necrophiliac serial killer type with each right-click.

There are two types available: lingerie torso and cropped World Cup t-shirt torso. All of the torsos are wearing lacy painted underwear which only serves to highlight their unfortunate limblessness.

To add to the perviness factor, the mice are given names like Francesca and Michaela, depending on nationality. Oddly enough both the French and Spanish torsos are named Luisa. Then again, I’m guessing if you are the type to buy a mouse of this nature then such trivialities will not bother you.

As far as a novelty mouse goes, I will grudgingly admit that a woman’s curves do seem like they would make for a pretty ergonomic mousing experience, and it’s clever to make boobs clickable, but that doesn’t make this any less creepy. And if you’re willing to shell out €30 ($45) for one of these, then you’re not only kinda pervy, you’re also pretty spendy. Get them here.