Geekery

Gripping gadgets

Posted on 22. Jul, 2009 by Jake in Gadgets

Whoever thought gadget’s were tame, think again, ole buddy ole pal.

 Checking out Wired.com this week, I came across the most hardcore mofo stuff out there – Pimp My Assault Rifle.

So you have your little Swiss Army Knife on your keyring and you use it to unscrew the screws on that old desktop for tinkering. But if civilian technology is being used in the military, how are military gadgets helping us, hey?

I mean, gajillions a year of our tax bucks a year are spent on some pretty hardcore blow-em-to-bits tech, but, just like rocket science, we, the people, only get the benefit of the byproducts of this research ( debate open here, folks, throw in your comments below. I’ll start: I mean, Is missile guided global nuclear war a good price to pay for your laser-guided pool cue? Huh?)

 When I asked a buddy why he decided to serve in the navy, he said that, while the army had cooler toys, there’d be the risk he might actually have to shoot someone. Um, yeah…there is that. Having said that, he did  get to ride around in some pretty nifty little speed boats – but then so can you.

The potential for atomic catastrophe did produce one obvious benefit (no, not the internet): the global positioning system. Yeah. GPS. 

Which you can then use to go out, explore the world, and have some fun.

Which brings us full circle to Wired’s more benign tour of ‘Survival Gear That’s Just Crazy Enough to Work’ (quote unquote).

Among the kooky and awkward is something really useful: the solar cooker.

Heating up to 90 degrees, and cooking at a constant temperature, it’s better than trying to cook breakfast on the bonnet of your overheated beat up old car.

The obvious drawback is that you’ll need a decent amount of sun. But hey, South Africa. Right?  And I’d definitely take my solar cooker out with me partying in the Karoo, just par example.

Tags: Gadgets, survival gear, technology, wired