The Hot List: Volume 11

Every week we sift through a truly amazing amount of “stuff” in the dozen or so hours we spend online—you know, the time spent not driving sweet cars. A lot of the cool stuff we find has to do specifically with new cars, naturally, but there’s also a huge amount of awesomeness that doesn’t completely fit in the normal Winding Road world. Once, we were in the habit of simply reading, watching, or talking amongst ourselves about this web detritus, but recently we thought it might be a good idea to start sharing it with you all. Thus, The Hot List.

 

We aim to bring you a list of the most interesting bits of information we run across. Ten worth-knowing-about things that may or may not be related directly to the world of cars, but all of which we think our typical enthusiast readers will be able to really dig into. We don’t know, from week to week, what will show up on this list, which is part of the fun for us and for you.

 

Read, enjoy, and comment. If you happen to know of something that you think would make for a good inclusion on next week’s list, drop us a line at [email protected].

 

 

 

 

This ball is a camera. Throw it up into the air, and at its zenith, it takes a photo with all 36 lenses, and compiles it into a spherical image of its entire surroundings. The results are impressive, as you’ll see in this video.

 

 

 

Take a virtual tour of this mansion on wheels. We’ve talked before about living in a car out of necessity, but the Palazzo is something many of us would consider an upgrade from our present digs. Plus, this RV looks totally badass.

 

 

 

This system allows you to project a touchscreen interface onto any surface. Dial up pizza delivery on your desk. Turn you friend’s jacket into a search engine. Play games on your hand. The accompanying video offers a lot of other uses, too.

 

 

 

Soon, BMW will be able to offer laser headlights. Yes, brightness is an obvious advantage, but the lasers also use less energy, even, than LEDs, which is helpful for increasing the range of electric vehicles.

 

 

 

Motorola revealed its Droid Razr smartphone this week. The skinny phone is Kevlar-wrapped, features an 8-megapixel, 1080 HD video camera, videoconferencing capabilities, plus a slew of other tech-goodies.

 

 

 

Don’t put birds in your pocket, please. Unless it’s this Pet Pocket Bird Carrier. You can take Polly anywhere with you with this vest/birdcage. Finally, a product that makes it easier to be “that weird bird guy” with risking losing your feathered friend.

 

 

 

Hammacher Schlemmer is now offering this giant, gas-powered trike for adults. It has a 45-inch front wheel, and a Harley-Davidson V-twin engine good for 60 horsepower. It can reach 50 miles per hour, but costs $75,000 and makes you look tiny.

 

 

 

This is an absurd new Tumblr blog that has been making waves on the Internet lately. It’s just a bunch of pictures with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles drawn over people’s noses. Now it’s hard not to look at someone’s nose without seeing Donatello (nobody’s favorite TMNT) staring back.

 

 

 

The country’s national tourism agency may be giving away 10,000 free tickets to Japan. After the nuclear disaster, tourism has suffered, and Japan hopes this will get people visiting again, talking about their experiences, and revitalizing the tourism industry. They’re just waiting on government approval.

 

 

 

A group of reasearchers claim to be 95 percent certain they have found the Yeti. This elusive cryptid, a version of the Sasquatch or Abominable Snowman, supposedly lives in the Kemerovo region of Siberia. Apparently, they’ve found hair and other evidential artifacts.