Are you reading?

By Andrew Liszewski

When Luke wrote about this ice sphere mold last May there was no pricing info available, but now it seems like it would have been a worthwhile investment no matter how much they were charging for it. That’s because a California-based company is now selling a “premium ice product” called Glice which are basically perfectly spherical 2.5-inch balls of ice. The Glices are supposedly hand-carved in Canada (sure they are) and delivered in “elegant packaging” complete with dry ice, and are designed to compliment even the most expensive of drinks.

And besides their claims that a sphere is “among the most efficient ways to cool your drink” the company does use purified water to ensure there are no contaminates in the ice spheres to alter the taste of premium drinks or liquors. The whole concept has a sort of ‘Pet Rock’ vibe to it, and I guess until the novelty of round ice wears off, they’re probably going to make a small fortune.

[ Glace Luxury Ice Co. ] VIA [ BallerHouse ]

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By Andrew Liszewski

Here’s another example where the previous generation occasionally had better toys than we did. Back in the 60s Mattel sold this Vac-U-Form playset allowing kids to reproduce pretty much any small object they could fit into its mold. Using the Vac-U-Form was as easy as clamping a piece of plastic into a hinged frame and then heating it over a metal plate. When the plastic was soft enough to be molded the frame was swung over to the other side and pressed over the object you wanted to duplicate. As you pressed down a vacuum was formed, sucking the plastic into shape. Pretty much the same way vacuum forming is done today.

Of course if such a toy existed today, not only would it be missing that exposed metal heating plate, but it would probably come with a warning that the Vac-U-Form should only be used for making backup copies of your existing toys, and not for making copies of toys to be distributed to friends.

[ Sam's Toybox - Vac-U-Form ] VIA [ Architectradure ]

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If General Motors has anything to say about it, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. will be the first early adopter markets for its plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt. The company is currently working with the local municipalities to flesh out the details. The goal is to make tax incentives for purchasing electric cars and build an infrastructure that’ll support them. San Francisco is already part of the way there since they, along with San Jose and Oakland, have already endorsed Better Place’s $1 billion plan to put electric grids in the Bay Area. Of course, GM’s deeds aren’t exactly selfless — after all, more markets mean more potential Volt customers — but if this is what it takes to foster an eerily silent rush hour, we’re all for it.

[Via Yahoo!]
Source

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By Andrew Liszewski

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a clever ice cube mold that truly brings something new and unique to your next party. And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing quite as refreshing as sipping a drink that’s been chilled by a LEGO minifig or Han Solo frozen in carbonite, but these shark fin ice cubes are pretty great. They’re engineered like an iceberg so that the fin part always stays upright in your glass, just visible above the beverage line, while the rest of the ice cube remains submerged. And for just over $8 from Play.com, how can you go wrong?

[ Shark Fin Ice Tray ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

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Here they are, folks: the world’s first wall-mountable Blu-ray player alongside the ultra-sleek BD-P3600 (pictured above). It only takes a glance to see that Samsung has certainly broken away from the boxy mold with its latest BD decks, and we couldn’t be happier about it. The BD-P4600 — which we spotted on the show floor a few days back — is just 1.5-inches thin with a piano black design, ruby highlights and a clear, “prism-like edging.” Both units support Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) interactivity, DVD upscaling, DivX support (huzzah!), touch sensitive controls, 1GB of internal memory and a pair of USB 2.0 ports. Of note, one of those USB sockets will get filled with an included 802.11b/g/n WiFi dongle, but those still wary of cord-free internet can hook things up via Ethernet. Finally, we’ll mention that the pair decodes the latest high-res audio formats and includes an HDMI 1.3 port, while the P3600 includes 7.1-channel analog audio outs for good measure. Take a wild guess at the pricing and availability — you might be close.
Gallery: Samsung trots out BD-P4600 / BD-P3600 Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players at CES 2009

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