Oct 22 2009 Retractable Speed Bump Awards Slow Drivers
The Intelligent Bump is a speed bump that lowers itself if a driver is under a predetermined speed. It has no effect on me though because I drive a hovercar from the future.
Dubbed the Intelligent Bump, this clever system by Mexico-based Decano Industries actually retracts if you're "going slow enough", rewarding cautious drivers. These bumps are priced at an affordable $1,500 each.
"The system uses metal plates that measure the force of an impact against them. Cars going slow enough will cause the plates to lower, though any faster and the speed bump will remain where it is."
Listen, I hate speed bumps as much as the next person, but if I find out my state government is blowing $1,500 a pop for the things I'm gonna stop paying taxes. And by stop I mean never start. I'm flying under the radar, whee! Oh -- now I'm barnstorming! NNNNNNEEEEEAAAROOOOOOOM.
Hit the jump to see an animation of the bump in action that may or may not have contracted out to a kindergarten art class.
Continue Reading " Retractable Speed Bump Awards Slow Drivers "
Sep 15 2009 I Smell Hoverboards!: Scientists Successfully Float Mice Using Magnetic Fields
That's right folks, scientists have successfully hovered mice using nothing but magnetic fields. You read correctly: no black magic this time! (I'm still skeptical)
Scientists working on behalf of NASA built a device to simulate variable levels of gravity. It consists of a superconducting magnet that generates a field powerful enough to levitate the water inside living animals, with a space inside warm enough at room temperature and large enough at 2.6 inches wide (6.6 cm) for tiny creatures to float comfortably in during experiments.
The researchers first levitated a young mouse, just three-week-old and weighing 10 grams. It appeared agitated and disoriented, seemingly trying to hold on to something."It actually kicked around and started to spin, and without friction, it could spin faster and faster, and we think that made it even more disoriented," said researcher Yuanming Liu, a physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They decided to mildly sedate the next mouse they levitated, which seemed content with floating.
I want to float! Remember that time in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie and his alcoholic grandfather drank the Lifting Fizzy Drink and then floated around the bubble room? Yeah, I did that one time when I was tripping. It was awesome. Well, until I swallowed a bubble and got the hiccups. I was hiccuping colors!
Mice Levitated in Lab [yahoonews]
Thanks to Totex, who once made his assistant hover before somebody in the audience yelled, "I can see the wires!" and ruined the illusion.
Jan 16 2009 WTF!: The World Thorium Fuel Vehicle
The Cadillac WTF is a conceptual car by designer Loren Kulesus that runs on Thorium, a possible alternative nuclear fuel to uranium. You know, because there's nothing like driving a car packed with radioactive metal to keep you under the speed limit. Just kidding, I'd speed anyways. And glow! Did anybody else think that picture was real at first? No? Me neither then. I spotted that rendering from a mile away. Hawkeyes they call me. Well, hawkeye. F***ing falcon.
Hit the jump for several more renderings, all of which reminded me of the DeLorean from Back To The Future because 1. they look nothing like it and B. I'm still hoping to do a dinosaur. What? No, I didn't stay up all night drinking. Funny story: I stayed up drinking all night.
Oct 28 2008 Man Restores Hover BMW From BTTF
Jeff Chabotte is a Back to the Future fanboy and somehow managed to get his hands on Griff Tannen's BMW 633 HoverCar from the second movie. Unfortunately, even after a complete restoration it still doesn't hover an...Jeff -- what in the f*** kind of pose is that?
Fan Restores Back To The Future Hover BMW [thebadandugly]
Thanks to ray, who, had he restored the vehicle, would be hovering his ass off right now.
Aug 29 2008 Guy Makes Full Size Driveable Landspeeder
Daniel Deutsch went and built himself a 1:1 scale replica of the Star Wars Landspeeder that looks so good, I swear it's been shopped. But allegedly I'm wrong, and the vehicle has "a custom aluminum chassis, fiberglass body, and an electric drive system that hits lightspeed at 25 mph." Freaking sweet! Now you know what they say, "The Vette gets 'em wet, but the Landspeeder, well, the Landspeeder dries 'em out while they make fun of you." Awesome!
Hit the jump for several more pictures of the unbelievably accurate and good looking speeder, including a couple of the build.
Continue Reading " Guy Makes Full Size Driveable Landspeeder "
Aug 19 2008 Man Designs IFO, Seeks Funding
Kevin Brown is a man. A man who designed an IFO and is now seeking funding to start production. Introducing the VTOHLJATT: A Vertical Takeoff Hover Landing Jet Aerial Terrestrial Transport (you've gotta admit, it's got a ring to it).
The vehicle has four models starting with the single seat version, capable of lifting the pilot and one passengers. The 2 seater version is capable of lifting the pilot, co.-pilot and 2 passengers and the 4 seater version is capable of lifting the pilot, the co.-pilot, engineer, navigator and 3 passengers. Each version configuration is maintained by an equal weight to thrust and lift ratios.
All vehicles will enable the occupants to take off and land vertically, by use of 4, jet vectored thrust engines. counter rotation turbo fan-jets; appox: 17" Dia. by 37.8 in Length, 300 pounds in dry weight. Capable of thrusts of up to 1200 Static 4 time that, well 4800, you see my point.The purpose of the vehicle is to enable this vehicle to maneuver in very tight, confined, spaces. Models depending on size of Occupancy range from 4 square meters to 10 square meters. The overall size of the vehicle will be no larger than an ordinary, domestic compact import car for the single seater version.
So, who's investing? Somebody better be, because I want one of these things. Think about it: owning your very own IFO! Finally, a chance to turn the table on those wonk-eyed aliens. Nobody probes this this ass and get away with it! Well, except a very special cellmate of mine. Miss you, call me when you're out.
Hit the jump for a bunch of different models of the craft, and email Kevin at kevbro007[at]hotmail[dot]com if you want Kevin to contact you with more info.
Jul 24 2008 OMG: Marty McFly's Hoverboard On eBay
After spotting the post about Marty McFly's Nike's on eBay last week, loyal Geekologie reader (and all around handsome devil) Dave was kind enough to inform me that THE FREAKING HOVERBOARD IS UP FOR SALE TOO!
This is one of the hero Mattel Hoverboards used by Michael J. Fox in his most famous role as "Marty McFly" in the Robert Zemeckis classic 80s trilogy, Back to the Future. Two styles of Hoverboard were made for and employed in the film - lightweight boards of styrofoam construction and thick and durable wood-based props - this example is the latter, and is recognized as the best example of all wood Hoverboards to have survived the rigors of filming.
It is in used but outstanding condition, and is very rare in that it is entirely complete and intact. Given the wood build and use of metal components, it looks and feels like a "real" prop. This piece has the complete fully functional and rear ballbearing-mounted footpad that rotates 360 degrees, as well as the bottom "magnet plates". Of the two styles of stickers used for the effects, this prop has the "photoboard"-style sticker affixed. In addition, there is other textured styling and hand painting. This Hoverboard also features the hole in the top, representing where the handlebars were that "Marty" pulled off after borrowing the "toy" from the little girl in the film.
Oh man, I need it. You think it still works? Unfortunately the bidding starts at, are you sitting down -- $30,000. So yeah, what I'm gonna do is this: Build a time machine, travel to the future, pick up a sports score book, travel back to now, place some huge bets, and then buy that mother. I'm original!
Hit the jump for a couple more pictures of the board in the movie, ALONG WITH A VIDEO OF THE WHOLE CHASE SCENE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. KISSES!
Jul 18 2008 eBay: Back To The Future II Shoe Prototype
This is a working prototype of the futuristic Nike's Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future II. This is not the shoe worn in the movie, it's the prototype from which the others were made. Oh, and it isn't a pair, it's just a single shoe.
They were originally called "Slamball Shoes," and that's what most people called them around Nike. There was supposed to have been a scene in the movie in which Marty plays Slamball, a game like 3D racquetball where the participants wear magnetic shoes which allow them to climb up the walls. That scene was never shot because the cost of building a huge room on gimbals to create the effect was too great.
The REAL name of the shoes in Marty McFly's world of 2015 was the "Nike Mag" because of their magnetic properties, and that's what is molded in the back of the heel.
The shoe is in "good" condition for what it is, but since the polyurethane midsole and fabric body of the shoe were simply spray-painted in the suggested color, some of the paint has flaked off over time. The LEDs, the electro-luminescent panel on the ankle strap, and one of the two electro-luminescent panels on the midsole still work. The other midsole panel comes on if you flex the shoe slightly.
Current bidding is at $2,550 with two days left. I'd bid on it, but I have two feet. Oh, and I try to stay clear of footwear that requires you have a battery pack strapped to your junk. That's just me though. Somebody call me when the hoverboard from the movie is for sale. And it better still hover.
Hit the jump for a couple more pictures of just how poorly things age when brought back in time.
Continue Reading " eBay: Back To The Future II Shoe Prototype "
Jul 7 2008 Back To The Future II Marty McFly Hyperdunks Coming Next Month, No Word On Hoverboard
In a move that makes Nike infinitely cooler in my eyes, the company had decided to release a model similar to those seen in Back to the Future II. Of course I'll never buy them, but at least they're trying. Unfortunately the Marty McFly Hyperdunks have laces and don't vacuum-fit to your feet. So the similarities basically end at looking kind of like the ones in the movie. They do sport "Flywire technology" though, which doesn't mean anything really except they're allegedly lightweight. Available late next month (July) for an undisclosed amount of future money, I'll most certainly be passing. The time machine is near completion so I'll just travel to the future and snag the real thing.
UPDATE: Just went for my first spin into the future.
Bad news: There are no cool shoes in the future, only killer robots.
Good news: I called it, pay up!
Hit the jump for the scene in the movie where Marty first puts the shoes on.
Nov 28 2007 Santa: All I Want For Christmas Is A VertiPod
Dear Santa,
This is the Geekologie writer. I don’t want to waste any of your time, but I thought you might want to know what I want for Christmas. All I want is a VertiPod. I know what you’re thinking, the name is dumb as hell -- but I can look past that. It's a personal hovercraft! It hovers 5-15 feet above the ground and can reach a top speed of 40mph. Wow! They come as an assemble-yourself kit with either petrol or ethanol engine (I'll take the ethanol). The cost is about $10,000, but apparently they're not on the market yet. Having been such a good boy this year I though that you could get together with the Easter Bunny and maybe steal me the prototype or something. I swear I'll cut down on the penis jokes and cheating behind my girlfriend's back. I may even give up drinking. Okay, not the drinking. What do you say? Listen Santa, I've already pounded a fifth of bourbon writing this and I'm getting pretty worked up. I'm not asking for the VertiPod anymore, I'm demanding it. You will bring me that VertiPod or I'll slice your package off. You know, the one you haven't seen in years because you're such a fat bastard. I've caught word that Mrs. Claus is completely unsatisfied. S you know I'm totally gonna lay the hump down on her. Hell, we may even have a sex party with some elves and reindeer. So yeah, one VertiPod please.
Yours truly,
The Geekologie Writer
VertiPod is Segway of the sky [ubergizmo]
Sep 4 2007 Personal UFOs Now Available
You may have seen this video already, but I'm here to announce that the vehicle featured, the Moller M200X is to be available before the end of the year. Depending on the number of orders, prices should be around $90,000 for a model that is limited to 10 feet of levitation (and thus requires no FAA certification). A rescue configuration capable of docking with skyscrapers will run around $450,000. Now call me crazy, but I'm going to wait for the model that doesn't require a crane overhead to keep it from dropping out of the sky and killing me.
A few more videos of other Moller hover-things after the jump.
