Driving In A PUMA Has Nothing To Do With LL Cool J

Posted: April 7th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: automotive, battery, concept, cool, dork, electric vehicle, futuristic, transportation, Vehicles | Tags: , | 3 Comments »

gmi-segway
Awwww.. Noone can blog quite like I can,
Writing posts about Segway and GM.

Alright, GM and Segway have joined forces and upgraded the famous and much maligned dorkmobile. This coalition is being called the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project, or PUMA. You could call it awkward 2.0, or if you wanted to name it like a movie sequel, we could call it Segway II: Geeks In Cages.

This incarnation is both less strange looking and much more useful. Plus, it has a rollcage. (Anti- wedgie bonus!) Not only does it reach a much higher top speed (a very useful for running away from bullies 35 MPH), but it also has a better range- 35 miles. So basically, you can drive at top speed for an hour on a single charge of the lithium batteries.

Sadly, if you want to have a demolition derby in these things, you’re going to have to disable the internal communications device that prevents it from colliding with other PUMAs. Why is it that safety features always take the fun out of things?

Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project [Ubergizmo]

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When DIY Goes Awry, or: This Jacket Has Got Your Back

Posted: June 25th, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: clothes, dork, fashion, self defense, ugly, wedgies waiting to happen | No Comments »

I like innovative homemade inventions as much as the next guy, maybe even more. Unfortunately, when it comes to DIY, a little style can go a long way.

Take this jacket for example- it combines a camera, an LCD and a jacket to form a flank monitoring system. Unfortunately, there are problems with this design.

First, it’s ugly. If it is intended to prevent a rear assault, then I proclaim that this is an epic fail, is the design is more likely to provoke an attack due to the extreme dorkiness involved. This jacket might as well be called the bully magnet.

Second problem: Summer. I can think of three months out of the year that would make you very uncomfortable while wearing this, and three more that would make you very passed out from heat exhaustion. Granted, I live in Arizona. We wear shorts and t-shirts in October.

Third problem: Rain. I wouldn’t want to get my fancy LCD or camera wet.

This leaves you with a jacket that you can’t wear about half the time more or less, depending on the climate in which you reside. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention reason number four: this jacket is ugly as sin. I wonder what this guy wore before he invented this?

A flank-monitoring thanks goes to the Geekologie writer for writing about this first. Hey, I think that’s him coming up behind me right now- time to look inconspicuous!