Author Archives: Jonathan Berisford

Tiny Snow Globe Inspired Christmas Keycaps: For Typing Your Gift List

Posted on by

The Dwarf Factory Artisanta 2023 Christmas Artisan Keycaps are a set of three keycaps inspired by classic Christmas archetypes. Available in gingerbread man, gingerbread house, and nutcracker varieties, each $49 keycap has a chimney base with a solid resin “snow globe” on top and is sure to bring some holiday cheer to your otherwise cheerless keyboard.

The festive keys are compatible with Cherry MX switches and clones but are not compatible with my laptop keyboard. A shame, although they probably would shatter the screen whenever I closed the computer, so it’s probably for the best. The last thing I want is to have to ask Santa for a new computer because he’s been stingy lately on account of all my bad behavior.

Did I mention the snow accents in each globe are glow-in-the-dark? Because they are! That’s fun, glowing in the dark is always value-add as far as I’m concerned. Especially when it comes to being able to find the toilet in the middle of the night. Note to self: if you see keycaps glowing, you’re in the wrong room, do NOT pee in there.

Eye of Sauron Christmas Tree Topper: You Cannot Hide. It Sees You.

Posted on by

The brainchild of Redditor ancienteuphoria, this Eye of Sauron Christmas tree topper is the perfect decoration for terrifying your children into being good for the remainder of the year. Remember, kids, Sauron is always watching! Be good, or he’ll feed you to his orcs.

The topper features an illuminated Eye of Sauron atop the pinnacle of Barad-dûr Tower, which projects a moving, fiery sky onto the ceiling above. Honestly, I feel like the color scheme really works for the Christmas season. It’s like a roaring fire but on your ceiling. Just be sure to close the curtains before turning it on or neighbors will call the fire department.

My Christmas tree topper? It’s a dog angel my wife bought from a rescue organization to remember one of our dogs who passed. She was a good dog. The dogs we have now? Little monsters. They would totally fit right in with Sauron’s army, because there’s no question they would destroy the entirety of Middle Earth just for a treat.

[via Reddit]

Arcade Cabinets Chiseled from Marble

Posted on by

Available from artist Harold Sangouard (aka Harow), ARCADIA Arcade Cabinets are custom-made gaming cabinets with finishes chiseled from Calacatta marble. The photos here are just AI renders, but allegedly, Harold and team will chisel you a real one starting at least $100,000 and with a year lead time. Or maybe he’ll just take your money and run. At least, that’s what I would do.

If you had to pick an arcade game to be made in marble, what would you choose? That’s a tough call. I’d say my first choice would probably be Joust. Runners up include Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. You know what, I’ll take all three. I just can’t have them upstairs or they will rip through the floor and crash into the kitchen.

Could you imagine an arcade where all the machines are made of marble? I doubt it would just cost a quarter to play them. They’d probably all take $100 bills, and I do not have that kind of money. The only kind of money I have jingles when I walk.

 

 

 

 

[via The Awesomer]

The Hydraulic Press Impaler 10,000,000

Posted on by

Because there’s no limit to the fun and destruction that can be generated with a hydraulic press, Finnish workshop owner Lauri Vuohensilta of the Hydraulic Press Channel created a custom tool for his press called the Impaler 10,000,000. The Impaler features a pointed cone-shaped pressing head, which is received below by a negative space of the same shape for MAXIMUM IMPALEMENT. Honestly, I’m getting nervous just looking at it.

Lauri described the impaler’s action as a three-part process: first, the spiking, then some traditional crushing action, and finally, extrusion. In the video, he impales a variety of objects, including a bunch of fruit with googly eyes, crayons, candles, books, toys, and other household objects. I’d pop some popcorn and watch it on the big screen if I were you.

Did I ask for a hydraulic press for Christmas? Of course I did. Will I get one? Not a chance. My wife knows me far too well to think that me and a hydraulic press is a combination that could end in anything but absolute disaster. Which is why I need you to get me one and say it’s from Santa.

Dark Lord Sauron Headphones Stand: The One Stand

Posted on by

Inspired by the look of Sauron’s helmet in the Lord of the Rings movies, Etsy seller SlantedDesigns has created this headphone stand in the likeness of the dark lord. The 3D-printed head can hold up to two pairs of headphones (one between the three front spikes and middle two, and one between the two middle and rear spikes) and is available in a variety of colors and finishes to compliment your existing LOTR home decor.

Is this the headphone stand for you? Well, it is the ONE stand. I’m not sure everyone is ready to wield all that power, though. At least not anybody I know; they’d all do a terrible job at ruling. Most can’t even keep their houses clean; imagine them trying to govern all of Middle Earth!

Now all I need is an Eye of Sauron Playstation controller stand, and my Lord of the Rings gaming accessory holder collection will be complete. Does somebody already make one of those? I wouldn’t be surprised. About anything, really, except waking up in the morning actually feeling rested.

Unitree’s ‘Affordable’ Humanoid Robot Tackles Uneven Terrain Without Tripping

Posted on by

Billed as a much more affordable humanoid robot than others coming to market, Unitree’s H1 Evolution V2.0 humanoid is now available for sale at a cost of just $89,000. I say ‘just’ because most others will cost significantly more. At least not for anything besides immortal life, and even then, I’d try to get the wizard down to $600 or $700.

In the video, the robot demonstrates its ability to autonomously tackle unknown and uneven terrain without falling, thanks to its “LIVOS-MID360 3D LiDAR system and Intel RealSense D435i depth camera for real-time acquisition of high-precision spatial data to achieve panoramic scanning.” But will it be able to dodge a rolled bowling ball? I only ask because I live close to a bowling alley and could access a lot of ammo in the event of a robot uprising.

The H1 Evolution 2.0 weighs in at just over 100 pounds and is advertised as “the world’s first full-sized general purpose humanoid robot that can run in China.” But can it run other places as well? That’s the question. And if it can run in the United States, how fast can it actually run, because I may need to start a cardio regimen if I’m going to survive the robot apocalypse.

[via TechEBlog]

A Working Gingerbread Instant Camera with a Candy Glass Lens

Posted on by

The brainchild of Polish photographer Dmitri Tcherbadji, this is a Fujifilm instax SQUARE SQ1 camera that he covered with gingerbread and added a lens made out of candy glass. Could he have actually constructed an entire functional camera out of gingerbread? Don’t be ridiculous. Only Santa’s elves have the skill and dexterity to do that.

According to Dmitri, “the images are very soft, lack contrast, and show lots of other distortions. Still, cranking them out of a piece of bread and sugar never ceases to feel exciting (and a little hilarious). There’s certainly room for improvement. I’ve learned a lot building this, and I will be learning more as I attempt to expose a few more packs of film before breaking it into pieces later with friends.”

He’s going to break and eat the camera when he’s done with it! I mean I was hoping he would, but you never know – some people are wasteful. Me? I eat things. The five-second rule? It’s never been a rule to me!

[via PetaPixel via TechEBlog]

Vintage Macintosh Inspired Mini PC Packs a Retro Punch

Posted on by

With styling pulled almost directly from the beige Macintosh Plus of yesterday, the AYANEO Retro Mini PC is a modern mini-computer packed with enough power and storage for retro gaming and typical computing. At prices starting at just $149, that’s like three trips to Taco Bell!

Available in a number of configurations, the most basic $149 model features an AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, 8GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage, while the top-of-the-line $379 model includes a Ryzen 7 5700U APU, up to 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. There are also five other models between those two with varying amounts of RAM and SSD storage, depending on your needs. Me? I need a computer that will stop getting viruses and trying to steal my identity all the time. What do you mean that’s a “user error?”

The computer measures approximately 5″ x 5″ x 2.5″, making it ultra-portable, and includes every time of common connection interface to attach monitors, controllers, and other peripherals. It also comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Home Edition, so you have an operating system. Maybe not might not be as good as Windows XP, but like my own questionable mind and body, you work with what you’re given.

[via bgr]

Georgia Tech Researchers Built a Robot that Plays Tennis

Posted on by

Developed by a team of researchers at Georgia Tech’s College of Computing, ESTHER (Experimental Sport Tennis Wheelchair Robot) is a wheelchair-based robot designed to play tennis. The team was led by Assistant Professor of Interactive Computing Dr. Matthew Gombolay, who named the robot after Dutch wheelchair tennis world champion Esther Vergeer.

The robot is built around a motorized version of a wheelchair designed specifically for playing wheelchair tennis, with the addition of a racket-holding robotic arm in its seat. The robot uses optical-tracking technology to figure out where it needs to be on the court in order to meet the ball with its racket at the predicted intercept point in the ball’s trajectory. Currently, the robot is able to hit balls launched by a machine and has started to learn how to hit against human players. That definitely beats just hitting human players.

The researchers hope that in the future their robot might actually be able to volley against human opponents, and potentially be used as a training tool. Me? I’m hoping the robot can also be trained to hit the objects kids throw at me when I’m yelling at them to stop playing in front of my house. Kids these days, I swear. They have good aim.

[via Mashable]

Super Mario 64 Reimagined as First Person VR Game for Quest 3

Posted on by

Redditor yeldellmedia recently showed off footage showing what a first-person version of Super Mario 64 might look like using the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality system. It looks like a good time. Will Nintendo actually make a VR version of a Mario game? Probably not until they develop their own VR headset, and it becomes the must-have but impossible-to-get toy for like three Christmases in a row.

In the video on Reddit, you can see the player in front of Princess Peach’s castle wandering around and interacting with objects, including Mario’s hat. Unfortunately, in its current state, not all of the in-game objects are interactive yet, so it’s more just imagining what the game might look like.

Would I live in a virtual reality version of the Mushroom Kingdom? There’s no question. Of course, they would need to mod the game further to include a snack bar and toilet in every other level so I don’t forget to eat and go to the bathroom in real life. Otherwise, I might find myself crouching over a warp pipe to do my business, and knowing my luck, it would be a pipe inhabited by a piranha plant.

[via Reddit]