Make Your Own Animated Pong Clock
By Chris Scott Barr
While not the first video game in existence, Pong was the first widely-successful video game and is responsible for kick-starting the video game industry. It’s natural to want to pay homage to this gaming legacy in a variety of ways. We’ve seen a few Pong clocks in the past, but this is the first DIY kit I can recall coming across.
Not only does this purchase net you a cool clock that will make you the envy of your geeky friends, but it gives you a fun little project. It’s a fairly simple kit that even a beginner should be able to tackle in 2-3 hours. There’s just something about the satisfaction you get when you assemble something like this on your own (even if it did come from a kit). The going rate for one of these is $80, but unfortunately you’ll have to be patient. It looks like everyone else wanted one to, as they’re currently sold out.
[ Adafruit ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]
http://www.geekalerts.com/animated-pong-clock/
Cassette Tape Measure Is Simple, Brilliant
By Chris Scott Barr
Cassette tapes have little to no useful purpose in today’s world. Sure, in their prime you would record sappy love songs to give to your girl/boyfriend, or just listen to your favorite album. With CDs (and more importantly) digital media, these ugly plastic rectangles are little more than a memory of better days. Of course if you’re feeling nostalgic, you can always get one that’s been re-purposed into something a little more useful. We’ve seen MP3 players and USB hubs tucked away inside one, but what about a low-tech device?
The Cassette Tape Measure is another one of those ideas that makes you wonder why you didn’t think of it. Okay, maybe it’s not the most practical of applications, but it is pretty cool. I’ve no idea how long the tape is, as the only numeric value is 120 minutes. Not sure how that translates into inches. We do know that it will only take $8 to get this strangely appealing tape measure.
Super Mario Chess Set
By Chris Scott Barr
Chess is a rather timeless game. I can think of few other games that are just as old and are still played as much as this one. The best part is that the game pieces can be modified to reflect just about any part of pop culture. This particular set has a Super Mario theme.
This $40 set would be go well in the house of almost any video game geek. You’ll find many of the classic characters ready to duke it out on the board. There are two things that I find rather odd. First, the pawns seem to be represented by coins. Since when are coins used as a weapon? Second is that you’ll find Luigi in the queen’s spot. This just raises a whole host of questions that I’m not even going to touch.
[ ThinkGeek ] VIA [ CoolestGadgets ]
