Katsuya Matsumura is apparently a Japanese computer case modder with a penchant for creating creepy female computer cases. The linked page shows the step by step process he used to make his most recent... "creation," a bikini-clad woman referred to as "On the Beach." So, if you've been aching to use the phrase "my girlfriend can run Windows 95," feel free to attempt his complex and detailed process. After all, by completely avoiding the female population, you'll have more than enough time to create a whole neighborhood of girlfriend computers. Just don't forget to name them and knit them clothes and wedding gowns; you need to keep things sensible.
Dutch design studio Buro Vormkrijgers finally gives you a legitimate reason to have a talking headless dog in your house. The Woofer is simply a cast resin dog with a speaker in its neck. A single dog will provide you with a subwoofer, and a pair of dogs will give you stereo sound. The studio also has plans to create smaller "Tweeter" speakers that apply this concept to birds. Plastic dogs might get the job done, but if you really want high quality sound, I suggest you take your stereo to the local taxidermist. Nothing says "high quality sound" like a bear carcass filled with speakers.
Finally, someone has designed a product that never lets you forget death's cold grip constantly firming on your wrist. A patent was filed in 1991 for the "Life Expectancy Watch," which monitors and displays the "approximate time remaining in a lifespan of an individual" by decrementing years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds to your actuarially-determined death date. The watch also has the ability to shift the countdown as the individual ages. This would be a great way to evaluate choices in your daily life. Thinking about jumping the Snake River Canyon in a rocket-powered skycycle? Your watch says you won't die until 2012, so I say go for it.
Apparently someone named "Crazy Jon" decided to install twelve 30 inch monitors on a wall in his house. The monitors are powered by three networked computers with two 512MB video cards in each, producing a total resolution of 49,152,000 pixels. This project required additional support beams for the wall, an intricate series of 48 fans to keep the monitors cool, and three 1,000 watt power supplies. As to why Jon spent thousands of dollars on the setup, I'm sure it's to watch twelve Ernest movies at one time. No price is too high for that much Ernest.
South Korean company Iljin Display is working on miniscule LCD projectors that can be placed inside cell phones and digital cameras. The projectors will cast a seven inch, full color display onto walls, floors, and the backs of a large people on the bus. The technology for the projectors is currently as large as a pack of cigarettes, but the company aims to get it down to the size of a matchbox by the end of the year. Unfortunately, enlarging your contact list with a projector won't change the fact that you only have numbers for your mom and Dunkin Donuts. Also, it's been around a half an hour since you last talked to your mom, so you might want to give her a call.
The Russian space agency is pressuring NASA to allow a cosmonaut to hit a golf ball from the international space station. A Canadian golf company has paid the Russian space agency and undisclosed amount of money to hit a special gold-plated golf ball into orbit, but they must get NASA's approval before the cosmonaut can tee off. NASA officials have stated that one of the biggest concerns is that the golf ball or the golf club will accidentally hit the space station, which was not designed to withstand golf-related attacks. "We are doing this for the sport of golf, not for the money" a Russian space agency representative said, immediately followed by "I will take off my pants right now for four dollars cash." Or I might have said that. I can't remember.