HyperQuake

If I had been alive and in Tokyo in 1978, I would have had many a smile at their reminder posters. Images ranging from Manga to Toulouse-Lautrec remind you to be considerate of others and, most importantly, not to forget your umbrella. See them all at Pink Tentacle.

Inconsiderate train monsters

No smoking

Remember your umbrella!

Yep, you read the title of this post correctly. It’s apparently true that Apple has filed a patent for a bicycle.

As an avid cyclist and an Apple fan (not Fan Boy), I’m more than intrigued and excited by this. When you combine the technological know how that Apple has with something like cycling, that has a number of variables that Apple could somehow integrate with, the future for a product like this seems endless.

It’s important to note that from essentially, innovation in the world of cycling has always been confined to:

1.) Making frames and components out of new materials, so they weigh less, enabling riders to move faster.
2.) Building frames with new and improved geometry to maximize the physical output of the riders body.

Aside from carbon fiber dominating the bike frame landscape over the last 5 years and replacing things like aluminum, there really hasn’t been much more evolution.

But this patent, this could begin writing a whole new chapter in cycling….

So, If you think of the Nike + iPod products out there, you’ll get an idea for what this iBike could potentially be about. The iPod + Nike product essentially measures a few key metrics output while an individual is running. With cycling though, the ability to get more rich and robust data, from heart rate, cadence, wind speed, distance, mph, etc. is more than possible. I can only imagine how awesome and more importantly informative in my training, an integrated LCD screen on my bike measuring all this data would be. I literally could talk the most informative levels of trash to my cycling buddies after we finish fighting it out against one another as we climb (i.e. race) up some of the hills in Indian Hill.

As far as the whole liquid metal thing goes, I’m not to sure what to make of that. Apparently Apple has signed a contract with a company called Liquidmetal Technologies so it’s probably a pretty safe bet this will happen. Apparently the material looks like glass, but is infinitely stronger and requires little machining and polishing.

Could this material be the next carbon fiber? If Apple is committed to making it work, I’m willing to put bets down that it will.

My only fear is that this bike, with all the technology that it could have, will be priced so astronomically high that very few cyclists may be able to afford right away.

I’m already salivating over this so I’ll just have to start saving my pennies.

Oh, the only other thing to add here is that apparently this kangaroo will be helping out with the testing of the bike. Maybe not, but it’s still an awesome image.

So long as we are talking Trapper Keeper and Nerf we might as well take a minute to remember Yikes pencils. REMEMBER YIKES PENCILS?! Aw yeah.

But enough of tacky 80s nostalgia, let’s take a classy look at pencil brands with Bob Truby’s Brand Name Pencil website. They sure don’t make pencils like they used to, eh?

As the world continues to get smaller, large multinationals have recognized that their products and promotions need to be altered according to culture. After Nike had to recall 800,000 of its shoes in 1996 due to a cultural clash of symbols, global companies have devoted much research, time, and money to cater to emerging markets, in this case, Muslims.

Three multinationals in particular: Sunsilk (Unilever), Colgate-Palmolive, and Nokia, have captured significant portions of the 1.57 billion person market by realizing the pay-off of foreign consumer insights in a nearly untapped market.

Sunsilk determined after consumer research that the biggest complaint among Muslim women was oily hair resulting from wearing a tudung. The solution: Lively Clean & Fresh, the 1st Western shampoo to speak directly to the tudung wearer.

Colgate-Palmolive claims to be the first international company to have obtained halal certification in Malaysia for toothpaste and mouthwash products. This distinction clearly communicates to the Muslim consumer that this product contains no alcohol, which many toothpastes/mouthwashes do and is forbidden under halal guidelines.

Now one of the most respected multinational cell phone companies in the Muslim world, Nokia developed a series of Apps centered around religious traditions like the 5 daily prayers, and Ramadan greetings, that come automatically on a Nokia phone. The user chooses which of these Islamic lifestyle based Apps he or she wants.

Q: Can you identify this airline, based on the logo on the tail of the plane?

A. If you said, “Duh, obviously it is Continental. I have seen this globe a million times. I am very worldly and have become familiar with various airlines’ marks as well as their names, which is basically the point of branding, right? To be recognizable like that?” then you are WRONG SIR. Oh ho ho, don’t you feel foolish.

Because OBVIOUSLY the correct answer is “United and Continental recently merged and as a result hacked their two very different logos into one. United. United Airlines is the answer. Excuse me while I go die.”

Ready to see?

Drumrolllll…

Ta dah!

Not even Brand New can find anything nice to say about it. Let’s all cross our fingers that this is just a transitional thing. Wish upon a star, toss coins into a fountain, whatever we have to do to make this right. I just can’t stand another heartbreak like this.

Here are the two old marks for your consideration, I bid them a fond farewell (United) and early-’90s-tech-company good riddance (Continental):

Last known United and Continental logos. Both marks designed by Saul Bass, if you’re into that sort of thing.

And you thought YOUR boss was crazy. Read all the memos here.

Favorite quotes:
“Do not speak to me when you see me. If I want to speak to you, I will do so. I want to save my throat. I don’t want to ruin it by saying hello to all of you sons-of-bitches.”

“In case anyone does not know who owns Tiger Oil Company or Tiger Drilling Co., Inc., it is me – Edward Mike Davis. Do not let anyone think they are the owner but me.”

Remember back in the 80′s when NERF toys were new, cool and for the most part just weird looking fluorescent colored toys that fired foam balls and darts with zero accuracy and control?

I’m talking about things like the Blast-A-Ball and the Bow-And-Arrow (I can still hear the music from that commercial in my head).

If you don’t for some reason, these pictures should help give you some sort of perspective on the evolution of this toy.

So here’s NERF back in the 80′s….

Probably the oddest toy in the NERF arsenal.

Well, fast forward to 2010 and you’ll see a whole new NERF. I never would’ve anticipated that the brand would’ve evolved to what is today, but thanks to a post on Uncrate.com I’ve come to find out that NERF has unleashed upon the world the NERF-N-Strike Longstrike CS-6 Dart Blaster. (Say that 3 times fast, right!)

This thing is crazy. Not only does it shoot foam darts up to 35 feet (what do you need to shoot with a foam dart 35 feet away?), according to NERF even when your target is a moving one:

“You never have to worry about ammo, since your blaster can store two quick-reload clips. (One clip is included.) So grab your gear, steel your nerves and prepare to go long.”

I’ve never been in a position where I had to steel my nerves, but I’m tempted to buy one of these just to see what the experience is like.

Mostly though, I have to say that I am a bit worried as there are a few people here at HyperQuake that are big fans of the NERF line. I have no idea what might be lurking around the corner in the future, but I’m going to make sure I try to stay upwards of 36 feet away from a few people in particular.

Let’s all take a nostalgic look back at the totally cracked-out things we looked at as children that led us to our respective creative professions, shall we? VIEW THE GALLERY

P.S. The Trapper Keeper brand still exists but it is like totally boring now. Mead needs to reconnect with Rad Dog, stat.

ALL HAIL MAGIC TRACKPAD

This is a small step in a larger direction but i think its a good one. Obviously there are trackpads that exist out there, but just like the iPhone changed how we interact with telephones, if this becomes a standard for apple machines, this will alter the way we interact with our regular computers.

Tom Cruise was right!

Back in 1992 when the network launched, I MAILED a POSTCARD to Cartoon Network and in return they sent me a pair of Secret Squirrel Decoder Markers. SECRET SQUIRREL DECODER MARKERS. Kids those days.

I’m definitely not alone in my continued adult fandom of Cartoon Network, and after a few years of a wonky-perspective bug, I’m happy to say that they’ve returned to the former glory of the original checkerboard logo. Read the full story on Brand New.

The new graphic system is sooooooo awesome, brought to you by Brand New School. They also made this really really awesome animation demonstration, you’re a sucker if you don’t watch this.

Montage from Cartoon Network’s 2010 On-Air Brand Expansion from Brand New School on Vimeo.