The top photo commemorates a classic scene in a 1964 episode that featured the Daleks invading London.

Those pesky mutants in their robot vehicles have been mistakenly thought as cyborgs, but they aren’t! They’re mutants! Steven Moffat announced recently that the Daleks were being retired from Doctor Who, much to the chagrin of many.

There are now various Dalek models on display at The Doctor Who Experience exhibition in London’s Olympia until this November.

[DailyMail via DVice]

Farmer Top Pearsy decided to create a Harry Potter corn maze, which he calls a Maize Maze in York, England. It was unveiled in photos yesterday, and I have to say that it looks pretty impressive. It always amazes me when I see stuff like this. I just wonder how it was exactly designed and laid out. Maybe Google Earth helped.

Needless to say that fans everywhere will be mourning the end of the beloved movie series. To be honest, after the last book was released in 2007, I kind stop watching the movies. Maybe it’s time to watch them again.

[via Design You Trust]

If you are a UK geek, you can pre-order your own Angry Birds plush toys right now on Firebox. The company has three different lines. The largest of them are 8-inch plush toys in blue, red, and yellow birds or the green piggy. Any of the 8-inch offerings will sell for £9.99 with shipping.

You can also get backpack clips in blue, red, or yellow birds for £3.99. If you really want to annoy the people around you, you can get a collection of the toys for £4.99 each that make sounds. The sound collection is offered in black, blue, red, white, and yellow birds and the green pig. I want to know where king pig is. Pre-orders are underway now with shipment set for March 1.

The mobile telco is offering a new subsidized iPad with a 24-month data contract for £199 (appx. $312 USD). That is a significant discount and if you planned to pay for data anyway, this will save you some upfront cash. You can get a plan for data only and pay full price of the iPad with no contract if you want.

Orange also notes on the iPad ad that its network covers 93% of the population and you can take advantage of Orange Wednesdays with discounts for subscribers like 2 for 1 movie tickets and pizza. You had me at pizza.

Both of the wireless carriers will be offering the iPad in stores. The deals are expected to be as low as £200 for the iPad (appx. $318 USD) on a 2-year or 18-month contract. I would assume that the iPad at that price would be the smaller storage capacity version, but I could be wrong.

The normal price of the 3G iPad in the UK starts at £429 and goes up to £699, so the subsidized price is significantly cheaper. This is a no-brainer for shoppers that were planning to get a data plan anyway and can live with a contract.

I don’t know what’s more amazing, this little stop-motion reenactment or the fact that the USA is actually doing pretty well in the World Cup this year. If you don’t know it by now, the USA actually tied England in this match. And I guess that tying in soccer is impressive. I guess it’s better than losing.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The only thing missing from the clip is a bunch of tiny LEGO vuvuzelas. Somebody better get on that.

[via Presurfer]

If I was alive during that time, instead of relying on this machine I would have hired teenagers to do the job; all they needed was a booth, and they could receive messages all day long, not to mention keep them for more than two hours. Would’ve made me a pretty penny.

[via Boing Boing]

Brown is biased towards older models and has vacuum cleaners dating back to 1919. He can’t fully explain why he’s fascinated with the gadget, but he does note that when they were first invented they were a luxury: “When they first came out they were seen as things of wonder. High society families would throw parties to celebrate getting their first vacuum cleaner.”

But nowadays, unless it’s a robotic one with a cat riding on top of it, I think it’s safe to say that we don’t show much love to vacuum cleaners. Not Brown though, who claims that he has spent a total of £50,000 (approx. $77,000 USD) on his collection. The most expensive vacuum cleaner in his collection cost him £2,000 (approx. $3,100).

But more than the money Brown has spent on vacuum cleaners, perhaps the ultimate proof of his passion is that he claims that he can identify and differentiate models based only on the sound that they make. The Telegraph actually put his claim to a test, which he promptly aced. That’s (the other) James Brown – Mr. Vacuum Cleaner. I don’t know if his museum sees a lot visitors, but the place won’t be gathering dust anytime soon, that’s for sure.

[via BBC and Neatorama]

The results of the exposé are frightening: of the 6 repair shops, only Pix 4 in Shepherds Bush fixed the problem while the Sky News agent waited. The Pix 4 technician didn’t even ask for payment. The other 5 shops did all sorts of jackassery: nearly all of them informed Sky News that the laptop’s motherboard had to be replaced, a false and expensive diagnosis. Worse, the technicians at Laptop Revival in Hammersmith and Digitech in Putney perused the contents of the laptop – Sky News intentionally placed pictures of women in swimwear as well as fake bank details – and copied what they liked. The technician at Laptop Revival even tried to access the fake bank account. Here’s the report:

As the PC Pro article says, please please please back up your data and remove anything sensitive from your computer before sending them in for repairs. And try to get other people’s opinion about a repair shop before entrusting them with your computer, because you never know what’s going to happen if it falls into the hands of jerks like these.

That’s the British for you. Let’s hope the Australians respond by beating England at the tournament.

[via Forever Geek]

The limited-edition Storm Synth conceals the current time by taking standard hour hand, minute hand, second hand equation and multiplying it by three. The trick to reading the time on the Synth is to keep your eye on the hands that have the tiny pointers on their tips. All of the other hands are actually decoys.

At least if it’s gonna confuse the heck out of you, the Synth looks good while doing it. The watch features a substantial modern metal design and suspends the watch movement inside of an open “cage,” encased in crystals on all sides.

So if you’re ready to start tripling the amount of time it takes to check the current time, you can grab the Storm Synth in either stainless steel ($170 USD) or slate black finishes ($199 USD) over at Watchismo.

[via The Watchismo Times]

The bridge’s design takes into account the wonderful scenery, which means that instead of merely being something to pass through, people can actually chill out on the bridge and enjoy the view, turning the bridge itself into a destination. To that effect the bridge has curving benches in the middle of the pathway.

Here’s an excerpt from World Architecture News’ article on the bridge: “The boards run longitudinally along the bridge and over the benches (with anti-slip strips on the edge) and are fitted together by a unique concealed clamped-fixing system, tailor made for the project. This system avoids invasive drilling and minimises disruption to the bridge’s slender deck and streamlined form. It presents the maximum timber surface to walk on, while allowing the wood to expand, contract and weather naturally.”

Castleford bridge’s safety features were also integrated without sacrificing aesthetics. Lighting is embedded into the handrails that span the length of the bridge. The supports are curved to discourage stupid people from climbing them, and as you saw above, the benches are divided by arm rests. The arm rests not only create “personal space”, they also deter skaters from grinding on the bench. Castleford Bridge is just one of the structures built in the revitalization of Castleford. One other cool bridge that was made is named Tickle Cock Bridge. I kid you not. The design must be so cool that when you enter the bridge I am going to stop there.

[also via square magazine and dezeen]

Designed by inventor Wayne Poulton of Addject, Machine PP3 glides and spins along any smooth surface while his little bug-like red eyeballs light his way. His buddy bOb is only described as “a bit more skittery” than PP3, and buzzes along to keep him company on your desktop. With no 9-volt battery, he’d not likely to be as mighty as PP3, either.

Still, with his googly eyes, and vibraty metal ball feet, what’s not to like. You couldn’t possibly separate this dynamic duo, could you?

Both Machine PP3 and bOb can be found over at UK hobby shop AntiGravity for £9.99 (appx. $14 USD) each.

Featuring a stealthy face design that looks like some sort of bar code when the watch is dormant, you’d never know the time was hiding beneath its unassuming surface. But with a push of the button, a bright red LED dot-matrix display comes to life.

Ambition watches are available in four finishes: silver, black, brown or red, and feature a sturdy, shiny stainless steel band.

You can find the Ambition series over on Storm Watches’ UK website for £89.99 (appx. $160 USD).

[Funshop Korea via e-Potpourri]

Tetris Tiles come in a variety of shapes inspired by the classic arcade puzzler, and let you create unique patterns on any wall or floor. Just like the game, it’s up to you to interlock them to fill in every single spot. They come in just about every color under the sun, and are made from fine Italian ceramics.

Tiles are custom cut to order by their UK creator and it takes about 3 to 4 weeks for delivery. Ready to decorate? Just drop the guys at Tetris Tiles an e-mail to place your order.

[via DesignMilk via Apartment Therapy]

A series of cryptic looking numeric black on white segments are printed on vertical sliders which gradually move into position within a black masking box to reveal the current time. As time passes, the sliders climb to the top, until the 9th digit on any given position hits. After that, the mechanism disengages and drops the slider all the way back to the zero position. Each slider is pushed and pulled through the device by a set of 3 servos driven by a PIC16F628 microcontroller.

Check out the video clip below to see this amazing clock movement in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Duncan – can I please have one of these in my living room?

[Digimech via NOTCOT]

I’m not sure if SuperMario Plumbing & Heating thinks they can avoid the wrath of the Big “N” by removing the space from the name, or if the fact that Luigi doesn’t work there is is enough to differentiate them. (Although I do wonder if Princess Peach is their receptionist).

I don’t know about you guys, but if I lived in Edinburgh, I’d definitely want guys who have experience tossing Koopa shells, jumping over flaming barrels, and eating 1-up mushrooms fixing my toilet.

[via Flickr]

Designed by UK studio Axelsson Design, these awesome dragon speakers look like something that belong in the villain’s lair in a John Woo film. The 2-way speakers are made from sturdy polyurethane plastic cabinets, and bass is actually ported through the mouth of each dragon (no fire breathing, however). Both the 1-inch tweeter and 4-inch woofer are provided by respected audio manufacturer Peerless.

The speakers measure about 15.4-inches tall, and are available in gloss black, white or candy apple red finishes. Axelsson also says they’ll embellish them in a color of your choice if you have something else in mind (how about something really off the wall, like a GREEN dragon?)

A pair of Axelsson’s dragon speakers will set you back $940 USD.

[via Home Theater Blog]

Each spherical puzzle has a set of movable bands, covered with hieroglyphic images. You’ll need to decipher a set of 10 encrypted clues in order to figure out the correct sequence for the glyphs. Since each puzzle is unique, you’ll need to register online to reveal the specific set of clues for your ISIS. If you manage to crack the puzzle, you’ll get access to the maker’s “Award Zone”, which gives you a chance to win some actual cash prizes and gifts. But finishing the puzzle is probably reward enough.

The ISIS comes in both a monochromatic silver/black finish and purple/gold version that reminds me more of New Orleans at Mardi Gras than ancient Egypt. They measure about 2.75″ in diameter, and weigh in at about a pound, so they’re definitely substantial. At $199 each, they’re not inexpensive. But if you have a serious puzzle fanatic on your holiday shopping list, this really is something special.

While the whole concept is a wee bit reminiscent of Richard Lawson’s minimal 9-Volt LED lamps, it’s different enough that I’ll give Sam and Jude a break. I especially like the pull-chain switch. It’s a nice little touch that makes it just a little more like a regular table lamp.

The $35 Little Lamp is available for pre-order now from Generate.