We’re all familiar with the foldaway bed, but what about foldaway rooms?

The ergonomically-inclined Japanese have done it again, as if the Bento Box wasn’t enough! This time, designer Toshihiko Suzuki has created Kenchikukagu, aka, rooms that fold up and can be wheeled away.

For about $7,500 US each, you can choose between a bedroom, kitchen or office.

I’ll bet natural disaster survivors, such as though who suffered through Hurricane Katrina, are wondering wear these were when they needed them!

The funny part is, if you can afford the portable rooms, you probably could afford to just buy a bigger place! Even in a sardine-packed city like Tokyo.

I don’t know about your office, but we have already run out of space at ours. How long until corporations start rolling these in to replace our already cramped cubicles?

The future not only looks bright, but crowded as well. Watch a video here.

For kids, Halloween is all about candy. For teens, it’s an excuse for deviant behavior. And for adults, it’s all about living vicariously. Hence the number of slutty pirate costumes.

But as the dudes who dressed up as iPhones last year proved, geeks partake in the fun too!

If you don’t feel like looking like Stephen Hawking, here are some of the geekier costumes I’ve see so far.

Geek Couple: Plug and Socket

Odd Geek Out: Hung Like a Horse

Geek Girl Looking for Action: Twister

Nostalgic Geek: Pez Dispenser

Guaranteed to Go Home Alone Geek: Pickle Vendor

Grow the F Up Geek: Speed Racer

Three Years Too Late Geek: Cartman

Best Friend Geeks: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates

I might have a party to go to. For now, I’m 404 costume not found. Any ideas?

Any band that can sing about owning a ‘Dungeon Master’s Guide’ has the ability to earn a bevy of geeky fans.  Unlike most who are a flash in the pan, Weezer has proven themselves the official band of dorkdom.

Proving that they can still rock and are always relevant, River Cuomo and the boys are back with their highly-anticipated “red” album.  The lead single is “Pork and Beans,” written by the band’s frontman after a meeting where the record company requested that Weezer write more ‘commercial material.’

The new video, which can be viewed here, is the epitome of viral.  Among the Web stars featured are:

- Tay Zonday
- Kelly the shoe girl
- Chris Crocker
- Kevin Federline
- Miss Teen South Carolina

You’ll also enjoy the familiar Mentos Meets Soda fountain throughout.

Rock on Weezer!

I’m doing exactly what I promised myself I wouldn’t; I’m falling for the Indy hype.  Previously convinced that Harrison Ford was too old to play the role, I’ve decided to take matters into my own capable hands.

Step 1: Indiana Jones Fedora Hat

Rugged, bold and adventurous, you’ll risk life and limb to protect your official head covering.  Heck, for $41.99, you better believe I won’t let it our of my sight.

Step 2: Indiana Jones Sound FX Whip

Straight out of an S&M catalogue, this iconic weapon is just as important to Indy as his sarcasm.  While I doubt the original ran on three AAA batteries, this three-foot whip will help you discover ancient relics in your own backyard.  Just wait for dark so the neighbors don’t see you.  I’m storing this one under my bed.

Step 3: Crystal Skull Adventure Projector

Let’s be honest, you probably won’t wear your hat or crack your whip outside of your own home.  That’s why you need this special projector that will display audio slides from a glowing eye.

Who cares how old Harrison Ford is – this great movie franchise lives forever.

Does our planet have an expiration date?  The Mayan calendar ends in 2012.  While some believe a global cataclysm will take place on or about 21 December 2012, most scholars have dismissed this as a misinterpretation.

Hollywood thinks otherwise.

John Cusack is in negotiations to play the lead character in fictional 2012, where a large group of people face natural disasters like erupting volcanoes and killer typhoons.

The movie has some big bucks behind it (What, you thought the world could end with CGI?!)

Cusack would reprise his turn as a limo driver (wasn’t he one in Identity?) and shooting is slated to begin this July. It will also be his second movie with numbers as the title – he was also in Stephen King’s 1408.

Since this doesn’t feel like a feel-good Christmas-time release, we have a hunch the movie will open during the summer.

I love the way technology has evolved, but until I have George Jetson’s spacemobile folding up into a suitcase, I’ll remain unsatisfied.

But there is another briefcase that’s pretty cool that you can get your hands on right now: The Solar Briefcase.

If you’re constantly on the road and tired of worrying whether or not you charged your eneloops, there’s a cure!  This “hidden” energy supply
will provide you with 13 watts of power, enough juice to charge a mobile phone in about an hour – assuming the sun is shining bright.

For about $98US this amorphous receptor can be yours.  With integrated, adjustable angle support, and flashing charge indicator, you’ll never be able to use that ‘my phone died’ excuse again!

The solar panel will charge most 3V, 6V, 9V and 12 volt appliances.

Learn more at CNET.

Congratulations are in order for Smart Lid Systems, the inventors of a disposable color changing coffee lid.  The firm just walked away with the ‘Best of Show’ AmeriStar Packaging Award hosted by The Institute of Packaging Professionals.

You probably remember the infamous early 90s court case when an elderly  woman sued McDonalds for a McFortune when she burned herself with hot coffee served by the fast food chain.

The smart lid, which communicates temperature via color, (the lid is bright red when covering hot liquid, and turns dark brown as it cools), hope that restaurants around the world will embrace the ‘technology.’

The Australian-based company currently has sample packs available for purchase online. For $9US, you’ll get:

5 X 12oz Smart Lids
5 X 12oz Foam Cups
5 X 8oz Smart Lids
5 X 8oz Foam Cups
2 X 8oz Smart Lids
2 X 8oz Paper Cups

They expect to start shipping mass quantities around the world in late ‘08.

The new Eye-Fi Explore, a 2GB SD memory card, automatically adds geographic location tags to you photos and allows you to upload your candid shots from and Wi-Fi spot.

Using a collection of 10,000 Wayport hotspots in America, the $129 product takes the work out of ‘marking up’ your photos.  Each purchase includes hotspot access for one year, unlimited geotagging, unlimited use of the company’s WebShare service and wirless uploads to your computer duh!).

If geotagging isn’t your thing, but you still want to turn your dinosaur of a digital camera into a wireless device, the Eye-Fi share is available for $99.

Specs:

* Wi-Fi Security: Static WEP 40/104/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK
* Range: 90+ feet outdoors and 45+ feet indoors
* Storage Capacity: 2.0GB (1GB is defined as 10^9 Bytes)
* Power: advanced power management optimizes use of camera power
* Card Dimensions: SD standard 32mm x 24mm x 2.1mm
* Card Weight: 0.1oz.

Football season might be long over, but that doesn’t mean the tailgating has to stop.  With baseball in full swing and beach picnics right around the corner, there is now a way you can cook some yummy food and keep it hot – all the way up until game time.

Check out the Electric Tailgate Hotbag, composed of 1000 Denier nylon.  With extreme insulation and electric heating elements on the top and bottom, your sausage and peppers can stay blazing hot while the beers in the cooler stay mega-chilled.

Just plug into any 12v outlet and the hot bag heats to approximately 170 degrees.

The bag fits an entire meal and features an independent thermostat controlled heating system.

Available in two sizes…

The Side-Loading Electric Tailgate Hotbag is 17X18X5 and is perfect for keeping flat dishes like wings and casseroles oven hot.

The Large Side-Loading Tailgate Hotbag is 17X19X12 and is best for big parties and foods that can be stacked, but need to be kept hot, like sandwiches and pizzas.

Don’t like sports?  Be the envy at the back of the line as you patiently line up outside of Game Stop for the latest Wii phenomenon.

Learn more here, hot stuff.

Video games have moved from a sedentary pastime to an off-the-couch experience.  In doing so, entire families have a new-found willingness to give the games a chance.

The latest such game is Rapala Fishing Frenzy, allowing amateur anglers and sport fishing enthusiasts to dip their hook into the virtual lake.

“Rapala is the gold standard when it comes to quality sport fishing games, and Fishing Frenzy is the natural progression for the franchise,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “Fun Labs has refined the controls for fishing enthusiasts while making the game easy to learn and action-packed for amateur anglers.”

Thanks to authentic gear (Rapala is a fishing lure manufacturer) you can jig the bait and reel in fish in 20 tournament events. – all without getting seasick.

The game will be released this summer for the Wii and PS3.

Freshwater never looked so clear thanks to Activision.

I love a good puzzle but absolutely hate getting stumped.  It was because of this, I was the guy who took some liberties with the Rubik’s Cube stickers.

There’s a new cube in town with no wrong answers!  Meet the Neocube. Composed of 216 individual ‘high-energy rare-earth magnets,’ you can  create and re-create billions of different shapes.

According to the manufacturers, the NeoCube is great as a: Innovation Initiator, Creative Outlet, Dual Hemisphere Brain Stimulator, Stress Relief, Boredom Buster, Total Control, Educational Tool.

Put a universe in your palm for $40.  If you want hours upon hours of good times and are on a budget, spring for the mini-cube, a mere $14.

Be warned!  Even this nearly-perfect toy has several risks.  The product is not intended for children under eight, folks with pacemakers and must be kept away from your electronic devices.

Some final words of caution:

“The NdFeB material which is the magnetic material in the NeoCube
is a relatively new material, and long term effects of direct skin exposure are therefore unknown.  Although there have been no studies which indicate that it is in any way transdermaly toxic.”

No risk, no reward!

Read more at Gizmodo.

As much as I keep telling myself that Wii Fit will transform my accordion tummy into a firm six-pack, I realize that’s probably unlikely.  Us geeks generally don’t like exercise, but we sure love gadgets that can help alleviate the pain.

Enter the Seiko SlimStick.  It’s like a pedometer on steroids.

The exercise monitor is about the size of a pack of gum and utilizes dual-axis accelerometers to track the magnitude of your movements.

The SlimStick counts burned calories, the amount of time you were active for, and the number of steps walked.  All of this data will be processed to create an overall exercise quality score, allowing you to compare and analyze different days.  The device stores up to three months of data.

Currently available in Japan, the SlimStick is available in silver, pink or orange – all three in an aluminum case.  The device, which runs on a  Lithium battery, sells for approximately $60 USD.

Is it just me or do geeks tend to like Natalie Portman? One thing’s for sure, this geek certainly does.

Making her even more desirable to our nerd hearts, is the fact that the actress has just been named the most eco-friendly star by green Website Grist.org.

From working to save the gorillas in Rwanda to representing a low-energy light bulb company, the creator of vegan shoes beat out two other hunnies, Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts for the biodegradable crown.

I think the movie roles she chooses help make her prime geek bait.

- Kicking ass in V for Vendetta and Domino.
- Her turn as Padmé in the Star Wars movies
- Awkwardly lovable in Garden State and Beautiful Girls
- Down right sexy in Closer

And who could forget the aliens-come-to-the-White-House flick, Mars Attacks! OK, even the coolest women make some mistakes!

She was ahead of the curve on becoming a vegetarian; she’s been one since 8. And she’s a self-proclaimed math geek, because according to her, “there’s always an answer.”

Is there anything about her for a geek not to love?

Wii Fitness lurks in the distant future, giving couch potatoes one less excuse to live a sedentary lifestyle.

But there’s another game that could hit store shelves that I’m more excited for.  It’s a game that will have me drop Guitar Hero and SingStar and live out my dream…

to become a stripper.

OK.  I really have no intention of stripping.  But my wife better learn how.  I’m writing out her Christmas list early, and it will include Peekaboo Pole Dancing.

The company, which manufactures ‘pole dancing fitness products’ has put out an open call for game developers to turn their concept into a reality.

“Shake your booty” and “spin your thing” for points.

While I don’t think Vegas hot spots like the Spearmint Rhino will shutter up anytime soon, I do like the prospect of having my very own stripper pole in my crib.

All the product is missing is a celebrity endorsement from perennial lad mag hussie Carmen Electra.  I’m going to start saving my dollar bills right now.

There never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we want to do. Part of the reason is that we spend so much time responding to e-mails, text messages and phone calls. What if you could have a single device that would set a status message for everything?

The Tame concept is just that; a simple black cube that has the potential to sync all of your devices and applications with a message. From Facebook to IM to phone calls – tell the world to buzz off (or that you’re available).

Each side of the cube holds a message. For example, ‘Call you back, I’m driving’ or ‘It’s mom’s birthday, let’s catch up tomorrow.’ Enter your message and simple rotate the cube to the desired message to send the signal out.

Tame is also useful when you’re at work. Much like a sign that says, ‘the doctor is on,’ the cube contains color-coded lights that match the functions of a street signal.

Stay connected, yet stay in control. I like it. Would you buy Tame if it actual made it to store shelves?

Read more.

Try as you might gadget manufacturers: I’d still prefer a phone in my shoe than on my wrist.  Hey, I never said I was normal.

As you probably already know, the late-60s TV show Get Smart is primed for a summer release.  Starring Steve Carell as secret agent Maxwell Smart, moviegoers can expect the staple shoe phone along with a flame throwing Swiss Army knife that shoots a miniature harpoon tied to spider-silk nanothread.

Nice!

For the original, writer Mel Brooks, tried to base the gadgets in enough reality and then ’stretch it an inch.’  In all seriousness, I would love a shoe phone.  Rather, I’d love a shoe that could my phone.

Remember KangaROOS?  These were 80’s sneakers that boasted a side pocket.  In reality, you’d be lucky to fit two silver quarters in those bad boys.

Phones and mobile devices continue to shrink.  But I still hate the way they bulk up my pockets or geek out my waistline.  Why not a shoe with a cavity in the sole that seals tight as a drum?

Would you buy it?  Or is it already out there somewhere?