Gizmodo: belts

Tough Times Belt Puncher: Try the Recession Diet

Sean Fallon — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:00:00 EST

Taken literally, the idiom "tighten your belt" means it's time to cut back on your strict bacon diet in lean economic times. A recession diet calls for sacrifice—and this belt puncher can help.

The concept, developed by Brooklyn-based SONIC Design, utilizes a 3-disc adjustment mechanism to dial in the user's net income and estimated cost of living. The resulting calculation determines where the next hole in the belt will be punched. In other words, it's a physical representation of how much you need to save—in this case, the grocery bill is an ideal area to target. You could probably stand to lose a few pounds anyway. [Sonic Design via Core77 via Newlaunches]

Kickbee: Now the World Can Know What Your Fetus is Up To

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST

Corey Menscher, in a fit of fatherly devotion, constructed a device that notifies him when his unborn baby kicks inside the womb. Even better, he's training his kid to post on Twitter right from conception.

The Kickbee is a wearable device made of elastic and a whole mess of sensors and electronics. Piezo sensors detect the baby's movement and transmit electrical charges to an Arduino Mini microcontroller, which in turn transmits the data to a Java application via Bluetooth. This Java app deciphers the meaning of the signals, and posts on Twitter when it determines the baby has kicked.

The actual Twitter posts are somewhere between adorable and hilarious, and I think the sensors might be a little too sensitive:

"Wow I'm being very active! I kicked Mommy 84 times at 03:44AM on Thu, Dec 11!"
12:46 AM Dec 11th from web.

Kudos to Corey for the project! [MAKE]

Buckle-less Belt Goes Against All T's Principles

AddyDugdale — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:54:00 EDT

Yeah, me again. I got into the Gizmodo office using a trebuchet Hannibal and I constructed from a drainpipe, a coupla ball bearings, some old tyre rubber that I ripped with my bare hands and a buckle-less belt. Now this ain't no infomercial brought to you on the ~~QVC~~QVT shopping channel, but I am Mr T and I approve this message. When I first heard about the Buckle-less belt, I thought, "What the hell is a buckle-less belt? Is it like a zipless fuck?

(Sorry Momma, I know you don't like me to cuss, but it's it's a quote from a famous book by a learned author, you know?) And yeah, I guess you're surprised that I read Erica Jong. Hell, I'm surprised I read Erica Jong. I like her. If you don't know her, she wrote a book way back in the Seventies, when I was still in 'Nam—or was I in military prison, framed for a crime I did not commit?—memory's a bit woozy these days. Anyway, this book, it's called Fear of Flying, so of course I picked it up. Well, Face gave it to me, actually, said some ladyfriend of his had recommended it. So, I starts reading it, thinking it'll cure all my travel woes. Nope. No, it had absolutely bugger fuck nuthin', sorry Mamma, to do with gettin' on a plane. Well, it sort of is, but it mostly isn't.

But T's getting off the subject here. Don't push him off the buckle-less belt. It's made by Sruli Recht, it comes in three sizes—three, four and five cm—and four colors, three of which I approve (flesh, bone, rust) one of which I don't (ash, don't smoke, kids. And respect your Momma). It's cut using a jet of water and made in Iceland. Oh, and before I go, get one thing straight, fool, I don't like Ice. I don't like Ice-T. And so it goes without saying I probably don't like people from Iceland. [Cool Hunting]

686 Snow Tool Belt Just Needs Batarangs

Mark Wilson — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:36:15 EST

In our never-ending quest of building our own super-powered utility belt, we came across this 686 Snow Toolbelt. While appearing to be a normal pant-holder-upper, this snowboarder waistpiece is really packing two screwdrivers, a hex socket wrench and one ever-useful bottle opener. BoingBoing's Cory Doctorow quite literally tried one on for size and has been pleased with the results. And at around $20, it's really no more expensive than the non-geek version would cost you at the Gap (though admittedly, Gap gives you a free tool with every purchase). [product via boingboing]

Belt Lighter, Like a Cancer Inducing Batman Utility Belt

Travis Hudson — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 12:42:45 EDT

Sometimes the simplest ideas end up being the most convenient. The buckle on this belt is actually a removable lighter. I highly doubt this one will get through airport security, but if you aren't trying to fly, then there is no worry about misplacing that lighter ever again. We don't need no water, let the motha' f'er burn (for $26). – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via uncrate]

TuneBuckle iPod Belt Doesn't Suck

gizmodo.com — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:58:38 EST

Before you start yammering about how this is "yet another iPod belt" and what not, let me bring this to your attention: It actually looks like a real belt. Yes, TuneBuckle is made of fine quality leather that comes in black and real metal buckles so you don't look like a total ass. The iPod Nano slips into the front where you then can run your headphones up your shirt. Not bad. It looks great with a pair of jeans and will provide protection for your nano as long as you're not bumpin' and grindin' on the dance floor. The TuneBuckle is available for pre-order currently at a price of $50, which is reasonable considering a good belt costs about that and an iPod case is usually around $20-$30.

TuneBuckle iPod Nano Belt [Popgadget]