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• Panasonic ready to pump $1.1 billion into solar energy business
• Disgusting: The GUMMI-X toy kit is an edible insect maker
• Daily Crunch: Space Jump Edition
• One step closer to our robot overlords: the VTOL UAV
• The Vestal ZR3 Chronograph isn’t really a chronograph, really, is it?
• When Photoshop attacks: The cwatch
• Behind The Scenes at Cirque du Soleil
• BMW expanding its electric presence with Active-E leases
• Everything you need to know about Halo: Reach
• No camera on iSlate? That ain’t right
• Surprise! webOS 1.3.5.2 adds Bluetooth tethering
• WrapAgain: Save the world one boxed tie and cologne combo gift at a time
• Project ExciteBike: exercycle accelerator for racing games
• BioWare tries to balance the BioWare way with the attraction of new fans with Mass Effect 2
• Two-minute diversion: jump Mario right out of the cartridge
• Proporta Antimicrobial case protects your iPhone 3GS from your nasty, nasty hands.
• webOS bumped up to 1.3.5.2, but only in Europe
• Comforting: Some unknown object to buzz Earth tomorrow morning
• Everything you need to know about Apple’s new gesturing systems
• Looks like someone can check ‘Own Super Mario Bros. Sweater’ off his bucket list

Panasonic ready to pump $1.1 billion into solar energy business Posted: 13 Jan 2010 05:20 AM PST There’s a reason why Panasonic paid $4.4 billion in this economic downturn to acquire former rival Sanyo, and the reason is that Panasonic wants to go as “green” as possible in the future. Sanyo isn’t only the world’s leading maker of lithium ion batteries, but also the (now former) company behind the eneloop brand, which consists of a range of eco-friendly solar products. But buying Sanyo wasn’t enough for Panasonic’s solar ambitions, as the company says it’s now ready to invest another $1.1 billion by fiscal 2015 in its solar business segment. By that time, Panasonic aims at being among the world’s top three solar cell makers. The company wants to reach the top spot among Japanese makers as early as 2012. Panasonic President Fumio Otsubo also said that his company is expecting to generate a whopping $33 billion in revenue in its energy business segment by fiscal 2018 (Panasonic’s 100th anniversary). By way of comparison: Panasonic’s total revenue in last fiscal stood at $77 billion, which means the company plans to totally change its face in the next few years. Sharp is another Japanese powerhouse that sees its future in solar energy, but Panasonic says the future competitor to beat in this area will be Samsung. Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

Disgusting: The GUMMI-X toy kit is an edible insect maker Posted: 13 Jan 2010 03:01 AM PST What Japanese toy maker Megahouse is offering here is truly disgusting: A toy kit that you can use to form edible insects made of juice and other liquids. The so-called GUMMI-X [JP] is geared towards teenage boys, but it has the potential to seriously freak out certain adults, too. Users will be able to create a total of four exotic insects and such that they can put into their meals. Choose between the stag beetle, the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, the especially disgusting pill bug and the Procambarus clarkii, a freshwater crayfish. Other animals, a frog for example, are sold separately. Users can follow instructions that come with the GUMMI-X to pour liquids (for example cola or hot chocolate) into casting molds, wait a while for the gummy “insects” to stiffen and, ultimately, eat them. This stag beetle, for example, is made primarily of coffee: This is how a lunch box with one of our friends in it looks like: The GUMMI-X will hit Japanese stores on February 1. The starter kit will cost around $40. Two extension kits (with two more casting molds each) will be available at the same time (price: $18 each). Ask the Japan Trend Shop or Rinkya if you want to get the GUMMI-X but live outside Japan. Via Maikomi Jounal [JP] Hat tip to Akky

Daily Crunch: Space Jump Edition Posted: 13 Jan 2010 12:00 AM PST Two-minute diversion: jump Mario right out of the cartridge Comforting: Some unknown object to buzz Earth tomorrow morning Looks like someone can check 'Own Super Mario Bros. Sweater' off his bucket list Modern movies set adrift as Atari games WrapAgain: Save the world one boxed tie and cologne combo gift at a time

One step closer to our robot overlords: the VTOL UAV Posted: 12 Jan 2010 11:39 PM PST Bad news folks, a defense contractor just revealed that they have successfully tested an unmanned vertical take-off and landing drone. This is getting just a little too close to the hunter-killers seen in the Terminator movies. All joking aside, the defense contractor Urban Aeronautics has been working on the AirMule. Intended to ferry supplies and rescue wounded soldiers, the AirMule project finally managed to complete a hovering flight. [via Make]

The Vestal ZR3 Chronograph isn’t really a chronograph, really, is it? Posted: 12 Jan 2010 07:59 PM PST Oh, Vestal, what were you thinking? Listen, I’m totally down with a cheap chrono movement in a classy watch. But no letters or numbers? You can barely read the thing, let alone use any of the functions. Watchismo seems to like it, calling it “bold” but I’m of the school where tools should have some indication of their function. What if everything had no markings? Where would we be then? Think of the children. Available now for pre-order for $279. It also comes in black.

When Photoshop attacks: The cwatch Posted: 12 Jan 2010 07:30 PM PST In a fine example of design gone bad, Thomas Cruyl from Belgium put together the cwatch. And amazingly, it has a chance of winning some kind of internet design contest. I’m not sure exactly why someone would want this, but as a design experiment, it is certainly interesting. The cwatch is reportedly a concept rendering of a tribute to Swiss watch making. This doesn’t make much sense, considering that the cuckoo clock is more known from the Black Forest region of Germany, but to each their own. As an entry into a contest, it’s interesting. As something to wear, I wouldn’t give it to my worst enemy.

Behind The Scenes at Cirque du Soleil Posted: 12 Jan 2010 07:00 PM PST I’ve always been a fan of Cirque du Soleil and I make sure to go to a show when they are in town either in San Francisco or in Las Vegas. I got a backstage tour of their latest extravaganza, OVO, in San Francisco when they were in town. I caught up with Gerard Edwards-Webb, the Technical Director of the show, and we chatted about what really runs the show. Most people see the show, and are amazed at all the work the acrobats have put in, but me, being the geek that I am, decided to dig deeper, and go technical. Cirque du Soleil is known for many things, but you know Cirque is in town when you see their big yellow tent in the horizon. What many people don’t realize that when Cirque comes to town, they set up a mini-city, also known as the “village.” Now this includes the actual main tent, the artists training area, the mess hall, a school, and much more. A school you ask? Well, yes. Many of the acrobats are still young, and travel with a teacher so they can keep up with their studies. Also, the acrobats don’t stay in the city — they rent apartments for each of the artists, and the crew for extended periods of times. First, lets get some background on the show. OVO is a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. The insects’ home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion. When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It's love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual. OVO is overflowing with contrasts. The hidden, secret world at our feet is revealed as tender and torrid, noisy and quiet, peaceful and chaotic. And as the sun rises on a bright new day the vibrant cycle of insect life begins anew. The entire site needs to be at least 180,000 square feet (4.2 Acres or 17,000 square meters) in order to house the entire site including the tents and trailers, and still have room for all the rest. It takes 11 days, and more than 200 workers, including 100 hired locally, to complete a city to city transfer of the infrastructures. It’s also interesting to note that Cirque uses their own generators, and don’t use the city power, which seems pretty logical — if the city has a power outage, Cirque doesn’t have power. The only recourses Cirque uses for the show is water, at least in the case in San Francisco. The entire show is carried on tractor trailers, where an average of 55 are needed to carry the show from one city to another. It doesn’t matter if the city is 10 hours away, or 45 minutes away, the show has to move, and the same setup takes place for each city. Which if you think about, just sounds like a pain in the ass for the crew and site technicians which actually have to move everything from one city to another. Gerard took me were not too many folks go to go — under the stage. What most people also don’t know is that there is only about 4-10 feet from the bottom of the stage, to the concrete floor that the show is setup on. So the actors use moving carts to travel across under the stage to get from one place to another. The stage is quite complex, and uses a various amounts of different material, and even includes three trampolines. I shoot some video of the main trampoline bed opening in the middle of the stage. The trampoline bed opens up in a matter of seconds, and uses a hydraulic system to actually open and close. Overall, the operations behind running a multi-million dollar circus is quite complex, and Cirque du Soleil have truly mastered the art, and that’s what makes them such a success. I highly recommend that anyone go and check out the show that’s nearest you — you won’t regret it.

BMW expanding its electric presence with Active-E leases Posted: 12 Jan 2010 06:30 PM PST You’ve probably heard about the BMW Mini E lease program — 500 or so of the little buggers were let into the wild to be given real-life, long-term testing by regular people. It seems like the program was a success, because BMW is doing it again, this time with their Active-E (Activeeee!) concept, a more practical car for most people, but also mighty expensive. The Active-E is a converted 1-series, yet weighs nearly 4000 pounds and as a result, acceleration and handling are probably nothing to write home about. Still, I’m sure it’d be a nice car to get around in, although you’ll be paying through the nose: $850/month, plus a grueling application process. Like the Mini E, the Active-E is extremely pre-production, so all these specs are probably going to change, I suppose most notably the weight and range, as batteries get more efficient over the next couple years of testing. [image credit: Chuck Squatriglia/Wired.com]

Everything you need to know about Halo: Reach Posted: 12 Jan 2010 06:00 PM PST Bungie has done a great job of making fans salivate over Halo: Reach by keeping most the aspects of the game under wraps. Thus far, all the info we have been able to discern has come from the trailers which Bungie released–until now. Yesterday, leaked pictures (shown below) of an upcoming Game Informer magazine hit the web, and the information is quite revealing. It looks like the team at Bungie is going all out on this title. The magazine deals mostly with the campaign–profiling new weapons, characters, and vehicles–but tidbits regarding the multiplayer experience were included as well. All the info we have gathered is after the jump. Story: Rumors were floating around that the game would follow the book Fall of Reach, but this is not the case. The game will instead follow the Spartan soldiers, codenamed Noble Team, as they traverse the world of Reach before it is destroyed (the happenings on Reach occurred before anything in Halo 1). Given that the levels will show Reach being destroyed in a progressing manner, we infer that the game will take place over a considerable amount of time, instead of just a few days. The game is also purported to be darker than the previous Halo games. We will also be able to alter the appearance of the main protagonist, Lone Wolf, a feature new to the Halo series. Gameplay: The biggest difference in gameplay is Bungie’s use of an overhauled graphics engine. As we saw in the in-game trailer, Reach will show a massive improvement over the graphics in Halo 3 and ODST. Reach has outsourced facial animations to Image Metrics, who have worked on titles such as Assassin’s Creed 2 and Gears of War 2. Besides better graphics, Reach will increase the scale of combat. Previously, only 20 AI characters could be on the screen at a time, but with the new engine, over 40 AI and 20 vehicles can be present! Cut-scenes have been improved as well, and are going to be more cinematic. The HUD is now yellow instead of blue, and the health bar has made its return, alongside the energy shield we have grown accustomed to. The motion tracker is now oval-shaped instead of the customary Halo circle. Assassinations are different as well. Instead of simply coming behind an enemy and meleeing, one must hold down the melee button; resulting in a satisfying knife slash. Reach is said to incorporate full stealth gameplay. You are now able to sprint via the use of equipment permutations (there are other permutations, we just don’t know what they are yet) available at certain points in the levels. Co-operative campaigns, splitscreening, theater, and Forge all make a triumphant return in Reach. Characters: Reach introduces a slew of brand new characters, starting with the Noble Team, comprised of 5 Spartan III’s, and 1 Spartan II. Carter 259, Kat 320, Emile 239 (He has the skull helmet in the trailer), Jun 266 (the sniper), and Lone Wolf are the Spartan III’s (with Carter and Kat being the only original members of NT), and Jorge is a Spartan II heavy weapons specialist, and thus larger than the rest of the team. Marines similar to those in Halo 1 will be in this game, and it is possible that Human Insurrectionists will make an appearance. The covenant are back, and deadlier than ever. The grunts look considerably more threatening but will most likely continue to be pushovers. Elites make a return in Reach as well: they seem taller and are no longer hunched over. If Reach multiplayer allows for both Spartans and Elites, then this is a significant improvement as Elites won’t have the same hitbox issues that we’ve seen in previous versions of Halo. Jackals seem to have been replaced with “Skirmishers,” an enemy who attacks in packs and flank secure positions. They should prove to be annoying at the very least. An unfortunate change, especially for those who play with the IWHBYD skull on, is that Covenant soldiers speak in their own languages, instead of English. Weapons: There are a few exciting changes and additions to the weapon repertoire available in Reach. The sniper, assault rifle, and magnum will be returning, but it seems the battle-rifle will be replaced with a single shot rifle dubbed the “Designated Marksman Rifle.” It’s possible they removed the BR due to its inaccurate spread, but we can’t be certain. The needler also gets an overhaul, and has been morphed into a mid-range headshot capable weapon. Due to inconsistencies in the game physics of spike and flame grenades, both have been removed. This leaves only frag and plasma grenades. Vehicles: I’ve always thought that if there are vehicles in a game, you should be able to drive them, no matter what. It seems Bungie felt the same way. We will be able to drive civilian vehicles, alongside the more common warthog. A new helicopter transport, the Falcon, has also been introduced. Covenent Spirits (the dropships in Halo:CE) return alongside the more powerful Phantoms, which now have a search light. Our Take: Halo: Reach is looking to once again disrupt the first person shooter genre. The graphical overhaul is much needed, and thus far is impressive. Halo has always had a compelling storyline and the introduction of new characters, enemies, and most importantly a new world, are sure to keep players enthralled. This little sneak peak sure leaves me wanting more, and I cannot wait until the Beta is available to the public.

No camera on iSlate? That ain’t right Posted: 12 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST Sources have sources who have insider information that there’s an internal rumor that there may not be a camera on the Apple tablet, which, of course, does not exist itself. That’s the word being passed around now, and personally I don’t buy it. A slate computer is a versatile object meant to be comfortable in many situations. On your lap, propped up on a stand, or cradled in your arms like a lozenge-shaped, glass-faced baby. The camera makes it even more versatile, and video chatting or blogging is something Apple would be happy to encourage. But let’s play along for a bit. What reason is there not to have a camera on there? Can’t be cost. Let’s assume it’s the type of camera you find on a Nano or in the bezel-mounted iSight. Those things cost like $9. It’s practically a bare sensor, the type that was current maybe four or five years ago. The tablet will probably cost upwards of $600 at least so an extra couple bucks is no big deal. Appearance? The camera can be integrated with the bezel so completely that it’s almost invisible. Unless Apple is really deviating from their other hardware, there’s very little reason to think the camera would detract from the device’s appearance. Could it be symmetry? So you can hold it horizontally either way? A bit of a minor issue to scrap a whole hardware feature. Apple would just make it clear which side was “up.” Maybe they don’t want video chat apps like Skype on there? Possibly. This is the most likely option, I’d say — they don’t want the slate to be so all-purpose that a few people can hack it and make it an all-you-can-eat anywhere video phone. That said, if they don’t include a camera it’s practically an invitation to the rest of the industry to focus on that exact weakness. I can just imagine the ads for some Acer device: “HD webcam – unlike some other tablets.” And honestly, any 3G-connected device with sufficient power is going to be Skype-enabled after a few months on the market. People love making that happen. On the other hand, I feel they could include the camera just because of the advertising opportunities. Picture a person holding the slate in one hand, sitting at a couch. The slate shows a husband or wife in a video chat window, with a small picture-in-picture of the person holding the slate. Apple wants to be the one doing that. I’m sure they’re conflicted about how to do it without opening themselves up to the same kind of hacking that’s made the iPhone an everything device, but I don’t see them forgoing the opportunity entirely. Remember, they’re launching a platform here, not just some accessory device. It’ll be updated later, but like the iPhone, they want to make sure that when they launch, they can answer all questions with a “hell yeah it does that” and not a “we’ll see about that in the next version.” [Daring Fireball]

Surprise! webOS 1.3.5.2 adds Bluetooth tethering Posted: 12 Jan 2010 04:44 PM PST You know that Europe-only Palm Pre update we mentioned just a little while ago? Turns out there's an undocumented, hidden feature tucked inside. That's our favorite kind of feature!

WrapAgain: Save the world one boxed tie and cologne combo gift at a time Posted: 12 Jan 2010 04:30 PM PST This hit our radar a little late for Kwanzaa but it’s an interesting idea: reusable cloth wrapping paper. The company, called WrapAgain, offers multiple sizes and styles. The stuff is completely reusable and includes ribbons for tying. Here’s how to use them: All Wrapagains are roughly square. Each has two corners with ribbon permanently attached. Lay Wrapagain out flat with the side you ultimately want facing out face down (just like you would a conventional package) and ribbon corners positioned at "Noon" and "six." Wrapagain should be laying at a 45-degree angle to your table edge. Position item to be wrapped in the center of the wrapagain with the long side (if there is one) pointing to the ribbon corners. Fold in the non-ribbon corners first, adjusting your centering, if needed. Fold in the ribbon corners. Flip package over and tie the ribbons together in a bow. Before you say I can do this at home with a dishtowel and some twist ties, remember: you didn’t think of this and the colors are pretty.

Project ExciteBike: exercycle accelerator for racing games Posted: 12 Jan 2010 04:00 PM PST Putting on a few inches from playing games all day? Maybe you should invent yourself an exercise machine that controls in-game acceleration so you don’t just sit there all day, lazy one. Man, I think I need one of these that controls tab changing in Firefox. The creator says at Reddit that he only used about $70 worth of parts in addition to the exercycle itself. Basically a magnet on the wheel triggers a series of sensors, and the frequency with which the sensors are hit determines the “pressure” on the analog stick. I’m thinking it must be pretty hard to use the controller at the same time. I’d fall off right away. More info and schematics at the project’s site.

BioWare tries to balance the BioWare way with the attraction of new fans with Mass Effect 2 Posted: 12 Jan 2010 03:30 PM PST Cool guys don’t look at explosions Ladies and gentlemen, I have a conundrum. As many of you know, Mass Effect 2 comes out on January 26. It’s the first big game of the year. There’s only one problem: I’m having a heck of a hard time getting excited about it. What’s wrong with me, because clearly something is? At CES last week, I spoke to BioWare’s Casey Hudson, who’s the game’s project director. He was the project director for Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Needless to say, he’s overseen some pretty big games. Good games, as a matter of fact. Me? I make Netherweave Bags all day in WoW. My initial question touched on the so-called controversy involving BioWare and JRPGs. It seems someone at BioWare had recently made an off-hand remark about the lack of evolution in JRPGs in the past few years. Now, this wasn’t an official BioWare position, obviously (and as I was politely reminded), but rather one man’s opinion. Regardless, let it be known: BioWare respects the JRPG, it just has its own way of telling a story. The BioWare way, if you will. After that incredibly awkward opening, we moved onto a subject which is something that I’ve seen discussed in various message boards: whether or not Mass Effect 2 will move far away from the traditional BioWare model in order to attract a new audience. (You can almost hear every single person on NeoGAF lamenting, “Oh, but we liked Game before it became too mainstream, now we hate it.”) You know, perhaps transforming the game from a space opera into little more than GTA or Call of Duty with a dialogue wheel. To that, Hudson responded by saying it’s all about balance. Does BioWare want to open its games up to new audiences? Sure, but at the same time, there very much is a BioWare-style game, and these games have done pretty well so far. While perhaps a little less dramatic than “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” BioWare, Hudson said, absolutely realizes that it has a knack for a certain type of game. It just so happens that more than a few people out there enjoy that type of game. So please don’t think that Mass Effect 2 is going to mutate into Resident Evil in Space or anything. It’s not. Come to think of it, Resident Evil in Space… isn’t that Dead Space? But back to my original premise: why can’t I get excited for Mass Effect 2? Or, more generally, why can’t I “get into” BioWare games? (Someone should answer that with, “You’re doing it wrong!”) I never thought I’d like Fallout 3, but after forcing myself to play it, yeah, I ended up liking it quite a great deal. I suspect the issue is, BioWare games have such a fantastic reputation, that I expect to start a new game and immediately be all, “THIS IS INCREDIBLE.” Luckily, I bought Mass Effect during the big Steam sale over the holidays, so I’ve committed myself to take at least one night off from WoW to give them game a game. (I probably should have mentioned earlier, if for no reason other than to maintain a sensible paragraph structure, that my previous BioWare experience consists of less than one hour of Kotor, less than one hour of Jade Empire, and occasionally watching my brother play Dragon Age.) Make no mistake that after talking to Mr. Hudson at CES (and reading more and more about Mass Effect 2 since then), I’ll be playing the game come January 26. This, of course, provided there’s no last-minute unlocking shenanigans on Steam like the kind that marred the release of Modern Warfare 2.

Two-minute diversion: jump Mario right out of the cartridge Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:30 PM PST Can’t believe it’s only Tuesday? Relax for a minute and let Mario demonstrate how to bust out of your everyday grind. More at the always fun Retro Sabotage.

Proporta Antimicrobial case protects your iPhone 3GS from your nasty, nasty hands. Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Look at your hand for a second. No, closer than that. Really close - like an inch for your face. Okay, now lick your hand.

webOS bumped up to 1.3.5.2, but only in Europe Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:43 PM PST Just as all of us yanks were riding high on our brand new upgrade to webOS 1.3.5.1 , Palm goes and gives all our Pre-toting brethren over in Europe webOS 1.3.5.2. Considering that it's a trivial enough upgrade that it only bumps the overall numbering up an earth-shattering zero-point-zero-point-zero-point-one, we're not all that jealous - but we'll admit that we might be a little bit jealous.

Comforting: Some unknown object to buzz Earth tomorrow morning Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:30 PM PST Telescopes at the ready! Tomorrow morning at 7:47 AM Eastern, an unknown object between 33 and 50 feet wide will come within 80,000 miles of Earth. NASA's finest are saying that it might be space junk, it might be a little asteroid, or it might be something else. Whatever it happens to be, it's not large enough to cause any damage if it were to collide with Earth. Not that it will, being that it's 80,000 miles away. If you're in the western portion of the US, you might be able to see the object with a telescope. Let us know what it is, eh? I'm guessing it's merely the next in a series of Balloon Boy hoaxes. Mystery object to whizz by Earth Wednesday [Yahoo! News/AP]

Everything you need to know about Apple’s new gesturing systems Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:00 PM PST With the official closure of FingerWorks, the multi-touch interface company Apple purchased five years ago, it is interesting to note just what FingerWorks had to offer and, more important, what Apple may be implementing into the upcoming tablet and, potentially, iPhone 4.0 software. Aside from the obvious click, drag, and pinch, FingerWorks has a large collection of odd gesture and swipe combinations aimed at making basic data entry easier. Their two products, a multi-touch touchpad and the odd MacNTouch Gesture Keyboard designed to fit into 13-inch PowerBooks and iBooks. Here’s the original description: MacNTouch Keyboards integrate the functions of a large-area super touchpad, a multi-hand, gesture input command station, and a ZeroForce ergonomic keyboard, all on the same smooth surface. The MacNTouch’s non-mechanical, silent, ZeroForce keys require only the lightest touch and are remappable to suit the needs of the individual user. MacNTouch users never have to move their hands between the ZeroForce keys and the pointing device since the “mouse” is always under their fingertips. The layout of the keys is both novel and beneficial. The arch and inward rotation of each key row acts to reduce unhealthy wrist angles that makes conventional laptop keyboard usage cramped and uncomfortable. In addition, the mirror-symmetric slant of the key columns was designed to perfectly fit the fingers’ natural movement, which tends to maximize typing efficiency. Both Qwerty and Dvorak keyboard layouts are being offered for the MacNTouch. Here are the basic gestures we can expect to see based on current patents. Some of the them are quite crazy but we tried to show as many as we could in the video above – using the Microsft Surface, incidentally. As we see, the gestures may add an entirely new level of user interaction and experience to the tablet and could offer quite a steep learning curve. Developers have already reported that this is probably the case and we eagerly await the first example of “side non-adjacent sliding and clicking repetitive stress syndrome” reported after extensive tablet use. Will Apple use all of these? None of these? There’s no way to say, but it’s a fascinating movement towards new and improved pointing techniques. With David Diaz, Sophia Kittler, and Greg Kumparak

Looks like someone can check ‘Own Super Mario Bros. Sweater’ off his bucket list Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:00 PM PST See the young man in the above photo? He's older than you think. His wife made him that sweater. I don't know his wife but I can tell you right now that any future argument the two of them have can be ended rather quickly by her saying, "I knitted you a Super Mario Bros. sweater vest and this is how you thank me?!" Seriously, until they die she can play that card. People all over the internet have such a boner for this thing (understandably) that the designer has promised to make the pattern available for other aspiring seamstresseseses. Until then, you can take a gander at the list of necessary supplies and head over to Michael's or wherever it is you buy stuff to make the coolest sweater vest in the history of clothing. The Nerdiest Sweater Vest in the World [Happy Seamstress via technabob]

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