Imagine, if you will, a world where we all carried around our own power sources. One company which obviously has this ideal is Freeplay but there are others moving in the same direction. I’ve been testing out the Aladdin Power hand generator for a while now, and while it’s far from being the 21st century solution we’re all looking for, it shows us how things could go in the future. You basically press the lever with your hand rapidly around…

This is such a sweet article on how to take your own photographs using nothing more than a geranium plant and a bit of iodine. The author calls it Roman Photography for some strange reason, but it’s really fun in a geek sort of Blue Peter way.

Oh now look at this. So you’re a book freak, and you know all about Amazon and stuff, but you’re sure there’s a better way. Well there is. Try Book Genie, a sort of online search engine and price comparison site for books. What’s really neat is that they include second hand prices too from Half.com and Powells, so you may well be able to trace that long out of print book (as I just did). Very very cool. And…

I’ve just spent the past few hours ruining a CD. All in the cause of science mind you, and to make it more pleasurable it was a detestable AOL sign up disc. I was testing out this here Skip Doctor which the company claims is ‘scientifically proven’ to repair CD, DVD and optical media, as long as it isn’t warped, the gouges aren’t too deep and the damage is not label side – which they say is inoperable. So of…

Oh great, as if a load of staggering students types staggering around singing loudly wasn’t enough, some researchers at Bristol University have developed a watch that will help them get to the next nearest pub, no matter how inebriated they are. The watch is basically a hyper GPS system which gives directions to the nearest hostelry. Hopefully it can be read in pitch dark, with watery eyes and double vision. Personally I’d rather have one of these!

Every so often you are reminded about how good really good companies can be, and it really does something to restore your faith in the whole commercial thang! Happened to me yesterday. Last year I sent my beloved BeyerDynamic DT550 headphones in for refurb, because I love them and good – read comfortable – headphones are like hen’s teeth. Anyway they did the job as promised for a fair price no hassles. A couple of days ago I noticed that…

Big shock! Fahim, the author of Blog gave The Ferret a mention and now people are reading it! Good grief. Whatever next? :-) Anyway it’s a really interesting feeling to be published and read by strangers. But enough already. And thanks to Jason for the nice email.

I’m sorry but this is scary. As far as I can tell Bid for Surgery is a sort of auction for…er…well medical services. You want your teeth fixed or bunions removed? Post your requirements up on the site (US only) and doctors will bid to do it. Yeah great. I’m really gonna take the lowest bid on laser eye surgery, no sweat. Thanks to Mike for link.

There’s a lot of funky and enjoyable things I got out of working as a dotcommer. One of them was meeting with and dealing with people like Scott here. OK, I never met him, but this is typical of the kind of thing they would/could and did do all the time during the ‘revolution’. C’mon, how many other CEOs do you know who would take a job at McDonalds to ‘stay in touch’?

I’m sorry I just can’t help myself with this one. I just LOVE these little PostPets. Aah! They’re so cute, and unlike those useless Tamagotchi things these little digital pets are actually useful. I mean they deliver your email for you for goodness sake! :-)

Update. Oh I’ve just realised what they’re trying to do at Google. Each story has multiple headlines from different sources, so you can scan different versions of the same headline story in one hit. Now that IS interesting.

The folks at Google look like they’re going to be taking no prisoners. Could they become the Microsoft of the Web? Here’s their latest little product – a news feed. Not sure how useful it will be to people outside the US, but you never know when those wacky Googlies do ya? :-)

Clock Fest. I just love this. Some really cool online clocks which show incredible ingenuity, creativity and artistry. Visit and be amazed. Thanks to the Metafilter thread and Paul Nagai’s fabulous clocks page for the links. They should all open up in their own windows and note that some need Shockwave and some need Java, and some take a little while to download. Be patient. :-) Pencil Ready? A selection of calendar clocks. Incredibly complex! Quirky but fun! Absolutely my…

Now this is NOWHERE as cool as the iPod, but it looks like it might be the closest competitor at the moment. The Rio Riot – quaint name guys! – has all the design cred of a Scottish haggis, but the capacity – and more especially the software features – look to be killer. The big loser? The fact that it only has a USB connection. Forgedaboutit folks. You think downloading 400 albums across USB is going to be fun?…

OK, so it’s not quite cricket, but I love these types of things. Not for nasty surveillance stuff, but more for the thought of the kind of fly on the wall things you could do with them. They’re just cool, especially the sunglasses camera. For a mere $1270 you can have a pair of 2.4GHz wireless shades with a colour wide angle camera embedded inside. Oooh yes.