BBQ Donut is a boat with a grill, not nature’s perfect snack

Boing Boing:

“The “BBQ Donut” is a round pontoon boat with a grill in the middle,
made mobile with a small outboard motor. Tool around a lake while
grilling, suggests its manufacturer, enjoying music from its optional
soundsystem. I can’t imagine spending more than a few minutes in one
before I’d go stir crazy.

I do like the idea of a grill on a boat, however, nestled
next to a cooler full of lemon and butter. Who wants to eat hot dogs
when you’ve got a fishing pole or spear gun?”

Company Page (Flash with music) [BBQDonut.de via Serious Eats]

Oscar Pistorius free to qualify for Olympics on prosthetics

Sounds like something from a scifi novel…

Engadget:

“Good news for the cyborgs in the crowd: the ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations that barred double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorious
from a shot at the Olympics has been overturned by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport. Detractors from Oscar’s entry into the Olympics
have cited a suspect study that says Oscar could be using as little as
25% of the energy of other sprinters, thanks to the mechanical
advantage of his “Cheetah” prosthetics, which basically act as springs.
Others feared that this could set a dangerous precedent for the entry
of bionics into athletic competition, but the ruling was rather tightly
worded, and if related cases come up they will be tried individually.
Of course, Oscar still has to qualify, and his personal best in the 400
is about a second off the qualifying time for Beijing. Even if he can’t
make it, he plans try for the world championships and the London
Olympics in 2012.”

Again and Again: The OS X desktop as music video

Boing Boing: “Digital filmmaker Dennis Liu has produced a video for the The Bird and the Bee’s
lovely single “Again and Again,” in which the lyrics, melody and vocals
unspool in surprising ways across his Mac’s desktop in a beautiful
visual harmony… ending in an artfully delightful pimping of the band
in question that makes buying the track on iTunes almost hypnotically
compulsory.

This is the sort of video that would drive you mad if you had to
experience it endlessly looped on the big screen of your local Apple
store, yet Liu’s film is far, far more brilliant and joyful and
effective than any ad campaign Apple’s ever done… a wonderful zen
fusion between one filmmaker’s uncynical enthusiasm for his platform of
choice and an adorable little pop song.”

Transparent Post-Its let you see what you’re editing

Genius….

DVICE:

“It’s not often you see an innovative twist on an already good idea,
but 3M’s done it with their transparent Post-It notes. Called Sheer
Colors, the see-through notes have a host of uses — from highlighting
borrowed books to marking up photographs without actually defacing
them. They also might be a decent choice to cover the eyeholes in your Iron Man mask.”

3M, via Cool Hunting

Cigarettea: Tea Bags Shaped Like Cigarettes

Neatorama:

“Don’t smoke your cigarettes … drink ‘em! Here’s an idea so crazy it’s brilliant: Cigarettea by Schnaider.

Cigarettea are tea bags that look like cigarettes. All you have to
do is dip one in a cup of hot water and let it steep (the “filter” will
act as a fluotation device). Instead of tobacco, the cigarettes have
tea leaves!”

LINK - via GearFuse

Super Mario as Unreal Tournament level

Boing Boing: “The fun-loving gamers at the Unreal Tournament forum have recreated Super Mario Bros as a rockin’ UT2D level.”

LINK

Star Trek Bottle Opener

Neatorama:

“Open your beer with the starship Enterprise! This item should be in stock by the end of June, but you can preorder now.”

Link -via Gizmodo

Dell’s Bamboo PC is tip of an iceberg of cool designs

Boing Boing:

“Dell’s Bamboo-cased mini-PC is about the most beautiful thing the company—often derided as the dullest
of PC manufacturers—has produced. Ostensibly an eco-friendly thing, its
real appeal of this wooden machine is its simple, well-designed beauty.
It is an item of good taste, though it is also available in plastic
tat.

At CES this year, Dell gave me and other writers a look at
prototypes it probably will never take to market. These devices were
universally gorgeous, inventive and cleverly designed. The only thing
from this team/division to see the light of day, I think, is the
crystal LCD monitor that’s now getting some unfortunate reviews.

Dell’s new computer, specs undisclosed, will be available later this year at a “likely” price of $500-$700.”

Pictures of Dell’s Eco Bamboo Computer [Earth2Tech]

Light fixtures made from old CRTs

Boing Boing:

“I love these light-fixtures made from obsolete CRTs from Technoscrap (whose site, unfortunately, has no way to directly link to them, hence the link to Make).
“

LINK

Computing for literary sneaks: a laptop concealed in a book

Boing Boing:

“
Is Kyle Bean’s
laptop design our age’s equivalent of a pistol hidden in a bible? The
answer is “No,” but I still prefer the idea of it being a violence
facilitator for literary ninjas, rather than yet another comment on the
changing nature of media in an increasingly virtual world.

Next: in the thick of battle, the villain springs onto a table to
grab what briefly appears to be an ornamental wall-mounted axe, but
finds himself wielding a slimline iPod dock.”

The Future of Books [Yanko]