Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

I’m here in Tokyo this week for the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, and while here, I stopped by the new headquarters for the Toyota Research Institute – Advanced Development (TRI-AD) to check out some of the technologies the company and their partners are working on.

If you grew up any time in the latter half of the 20th century or later, you’ve been promised that flying cars (and personal jetpacks) would someday take to the skies on a regular basis. While there certainly have been a number of concepts and prototypes over the years, living like the Jetsons has yet to materialize.

Do you love retro arcade games? I certainly do. While the pixel art character sprites get a whole lot of love, the fonts used to display your score and life status deserve much more appreciation. Typeface designer Toshi Omagari’s book catalogs dozens of the chunky pixelated fonts used in arcade games from the 1970s through the 1990s.

I don’t smoke, nor do I advocate filling your lungs with tar and nicotine. But if you must reach for a cigarette, let it be this one. This whimsical lighter is designed to look just like a cigarette, but you can use it to do healthier things like lighting candles, or starting a campfire.

If you’ve ever encountered a sasquatch, you know how rancid and rank all that damp fur can get. What you need to do next time you see one is hang one of these Bigfoot air fresheners around his neck to try and cover up his odiferous ways. 

While I prefer to walk my dogs, there have been times when the weather has been bad, or I’m just too tired at the end of the day, and they end up pooping in the yard.

When you have a newborn, it’s all about safety. You have to go over the house with a fine-tooth comb and make sure that all of the dangers are gone. That means stuff like covering electrical sockets, padding sharp table corners or getting rid of them, removing small choking hazards from their reach and of course, for the love of God people, covering up any Sarlacc pits.

Out of all of the fast food french fries out there, McDonald’s still makes some of the best. They’re skinny, crispy, salty, and delicious. If you like Mickey D’s fries and know how to play guitar, you might want to pick up this rare instrument that looks just like a box of yummy french fries.

Ladies, do you have a ton of junk you carry around in your purse? Well, why not just admit it, and buy a bag that suits its contents? This Recycle Bin Bag should do the trick.

Artist Takanori Aiba has elevated the art of miniature sculptures to a new level. His intricate structures replicate dreamlike architecture, complete with tiny vehicles, umbrellas, street lamps, flags, and other details. Takanori crafts his models from paper, plastic, acrylic resin, paint and rocks.

Do you want to travel to strange and exotic places across the universe? Then you need something more than your mom’s old station wagon to get you around. What you need is some kind of transportation portal.

Do you like cats? Got some electronic devices that need charging? Then have I got something for you! These battery packs from Japan look just like cat heads. And just like real cats, they’re kind of weird.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the kitchen and pour yourself a soothing cup of tea… dammit, sharks. Yes, Daisho Suisan’s awesome tea bag looks like an angry great white shark floating in your tea cup.

Whether you use your them for sending endless text messages to your friends, or playing a round of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe on your Nintendo Switch, your thumbs are getting a workout. After all, opposable thumbs are one of the more useful bits of human anatomy.

Earthquakes are a fairly common occurrence in parts of Japan, so they have a tendency to think more about earthquake safety there than other places. One of the more important things to do in the event of a quake is to protect your head from falling objects.

I’ve always been fascinated by those crazy looking reptiles that can puff out their necks to scare off predators. But I don’t have the time or patience to take care of a living, breathing lizard. Now, you can enjoy all the thrills of a frilled dragon, with none of the pesky cricket feedings.