Well, I've come across quite a few new things. I thought that I would post them all together so I waited to get all the links gathered and I realized the list was getting long, so I felt it better to go ahead and share what I have. Let's start with the music gizmos.
Music:
First thing that I found is a device called the Monome (homepage). There are several models which provide increasing number of buttons. Basically, it's a programmable midi controller with a grid of LED illuminated buttons. There isn't one set way for a person to play/use the monome, it all depends on what software you are running. You can use it as a drum machine, a beat mixer, a simple scrolling LED display, etc. There are several examples of this slick device on youtube, let me share a few with you here that I like in particular:
David Phipps of Sound Tribe Sector 9 shows his DIY monome
A monome 256 running the mlr patch (very pretty)
A track called Voices
That last video shows off another device that I recently discovered, a single Percusssa AudioCubes cube. They work by touch, as shown in the Voices video above, and if you have multiple cubes you can use them to interact with each other. Each side of the cubes can be programmed to play a specific loop, or perhaps to alter the pitch of a loop. You can create your music by changing which sides of several cubes you face together, as well as how close together they are. Check out this video for an idea of how this can work. It looks like a really neat tactile and somewhat visual way to interact with your music production.
Transportation:
Perhaps you've heard of folding bikes before; I myself have only seen them mentioned briefly in a Dwell magazine. However there are many out there, ranging in compactness, comfortablility, style and price. I'm sure that listing them all here would be silly so I'll just give you a few links to point to a few interesting ones. First off, a few review sites that list several makes and models:
RideThisBike
The Folding Cyclist
And here are a few links to videos of a few that I thought were neat looking and not outside the possiblity of owning in the future:
Mobiky Genius
Kent Ultralite
Schwin Hide-A-Way
Strida 5.0 (the music in this one is a blast)
I tried to find some interesting car videos and I wasn't able to come up with much. Smart makes some neat vehicles that I really like. The car they use in the Wii commercial is a Smart. I came across this video that Edmund's produced and was a little shocked at the results (Smart was NOT on top!!). It's a comparison of the Toyota Prius, the Smart fourtwo, Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel, and the Ford Focus SES coupe. They list various test results of fuel economy in city and highway driving, carbon footprint, etc. Worth a watch if you have the time.
I also came across this car that a man in Camden, Maine built. I confess, it was his location that really caught my eye when browsing through my results. I've been to Camden several times and enjoyed seeing it as the setting for this little car. However, the car itself is kind of neat looking and and of itself. Enjoy :)
Gadgets:
I found a new site that showcases a LOT of really cool, nerdy inventions, products, news etc. Nerd Beach covers a really wide range of topics, so I encourage you to just hop on over there and check it out for yourself!
Lastly (phew!), there is this little gem, the Ogo. It seems to be like the Sony Mylo 2, but perhaps a slightly more appealing package. Well, at least it appeals more to me anyway.
That's all for now!
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