The original had the distinction of being the first talking quartz clock, and the newer version appears to retain much of its functionality. However, the update also features LED lighting and speaks the date, weather and temperature data (in Japanese or English) when the top of the pyramid is pressed twice. Unfortunately, the clock is only available in Japan at the moment, but if Seiko does not bring it to the States, it will undoubtedly make its way here through exporters like Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya. [Seiko via Crunchgear]

[BGM project via Design Boom]

Measuring 8 x 8 foot, three words are always lit up on the board, symbolizing the hour, minute and second. I've still got no idea how it works exactly, but it's like a big, arty version of a Tokyo Flash watch, isn't it. [Miss Moun via Moco Loco]

Honestly, I don't even know why this caught my attention, but somehow curiosity had me refreshing the site every few minutes just so see what happens. Will that girl strip? Will the next minute bring a different lady? Is she going to...do something with that stick?

Yes, you can certainly check the time by glancing at your system clock, but this is somehow so much more fun, especially since it'll be quite a while before you've seen all 1440 images. Unless you sit there refreshing the page for 24 hours straight, that is. [AV-Tokei via Asiajin]

The watch, a form of which we've previously seen as a concept, hides red LEDs inside the pattern of the bracelet, which is kind of cool in theory but dorktacular in practice. Some highlights from the bizarre product description:

[It has] blood red numerals encased in stark samurai sword steel like the final battle between all the forces of good and evil in the multiverse

Yes, The Iron Samurai has been known to increase its wearers' strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma by as much as 20 points each! Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal are said to be Iron Samurai owners, as is David Bowie and Brian Eno. In reality, this watch is perfect for Presidential dinner crashers, Facebook celebs with over 1000 fans, Youtube directors with over 2,000,000 views, anyone who can play the entirety of Neil Zaza's I'm Alright on electric guitar, iPhone 3Gs owners, or anybody who is a somebody.

Yes, it's garish as all hell, but how many products can claim to be owned by both Steven Seagal and Brian Eno? [OhGizmo]

The fact that the most recent versions are really the youngest aside, is it wrong that I think the wrinkly-pixels make the older Mario look kinda sexy? [Etsy via Technabob]

[Henrik Amberla via The Design Blog via Unplggd]

There aren't any notes on how long it would take to wear out a vase on average, but the entire idea is to have different chime sounds due to switching the flower pots so it can't be too long. I just hope Gerogios never decides to make an alarm clock like this, because just imagining the porcelain shards near a bed makes my feet hurt. [Yanko Design via The Design Blog]

Technically, the moment to hop back in time is whenever 2 a.m. strikes in your time zone (or sometime last week if you're in Europe), but if you're getting ready to snuggle up in bed then you might want to take care of the clocks first.

Now let's be open and honest with each other. What are you doing with your extra hour? Will it be spent spooning, snuggled up with a loved one? Getting a head start on the next month? Recovering from chocolate overdose? Reading through Gizmodo comments? [Thanks for the DST reminder, Jrsy Devil's Advocate®!]

Photo by Robbert van der Steeg

Of course, looking at these videos it is plain to see the Mr. Wake is a moron. I'm pretty sure I could capture him even when my eyes are half open and I'm stumbling around the room. Still, it's a good proof of concept. Perhaps you can use Vadim Ryazanov's notes on the build to make Mr. Wake more elusive—although I have no earthly idea why you would want to torture yourself like this. [Let's Make Robots via Make]

Do kids need to learn how to tell time on a digital clock? It's been a long time, but I figured if kids can count they pretty much have it down. [Ponoko via Technabob via DVICE]

Designed by Greg Wolos, the Emily alarm clock is both wall-mountable and sideways oriented so that it is by your bed and easily readable when you're in a prone position. It mixes retro looks with some modern styling, but will make your pockets $130 lighter. It still might be worth it. [Generate Design via Oh Gizmo via Gadget Lab]

The instructables version may not be as glossy, or as polished, or as big as the real version, but it works on the same principles. Head on over to test out your self-making skills. [Instructables via Make]

This strange little nook, hidden behind a clockface, pictured below, that thousands of people see every day, doesn't even exist as far as most people are concerned, except for the few intrepid graffiti artists who've made it up here—"SODA TIME" is an easy favorite defacement, but click through to the panorama to find your own—and the guy who comes up here to keep this ancient timepiece greased and running with appropriately quaint, old-timey oil cans.

His name is Vernon—an overly distinguished name, he thought; one he always hated, and which the kids at the foster home made sure to hold against him. He was stricken with a rare fungal growth at the age of 14, which transformed his right eye—the good one, the one he could use to seek refuge in comic books—into a grizzled keloid. He was given, or bequeathed, really, a job by the friendless old man who'd been oiling the gears since the early 1900s, and who took a shine to the boy, for, however offensive his visage, he had a fine heart.

Until it was broken, by a girl from Hoboken. Her name is Tiffany, and she just couldn't find it in her being to love him, no matter how many times Vernon made it clear, with kindness, affection, and even once, heroism, that she was a rare—nay, his only hope for a life that wasn't miserable. Now, as Vernon sits idly in this faintly luminescent cell, oiling gears and scratching words into the walls, Tiffany sits in a courtroom, on trial for murder. But trust Verne—and trust me—she didn't do it. [Victor Hugo via the NYT via Fark]

Apparently built by some Polish tinkerer, this clock uses LEDs and the hard disk's natural reflectiveness to create these crazy patterns and colors. It's remote controlled too, in case you need to switch to a different eye-piercing background color. It doesn't seem to be available for purchase, but let's be honest—would you really put display this in your house? If you answered yes, take the lights out of your mouth and go back to Burning Man. [Elektroda via Hacked Gadgets via Boing Boing Gadgets]

So if you notice that you use a lot of energy around 7pm, maybe it's time to turn off the TV, lower the thermostat or eat that steak raw rather than using the Earth's dwindling natural resources to char it all fancy-like.

The only real design flaw with the Energy Aware Clock is that the face only looks more interesting by displaying your corpulent energy spikes. So while your data could be handy, the end product positively reinforces wastefulness. A better idea, and I'm just spit-balling here, would be a clock that kicked you in the nuts every time you left a room without turning off all the lights while running a hairdryer, or something. [designboom via DVICE via geek via BBG]

Features:

•Cool glowing blue tube with 8 digits and alarm on/off dot
•Adjustable brightness
•Alarm with volume adjust
•Precision watch crystal keeps time with 0.002% accuracy!
•Clear plastic enclosure protects clock from you and you from clock
•Battery backup will let the clock keep the time for up to 2 weeks without power
•Selectable 12h or 24h display
•Displays day and date
•10 minute snoozer
•Integrated boost converter so it can run off of standard DC wall adapters, works in any country regardless of mains power
•Great for desk or night table use, the clock measures 4.9" x 2.9" x 1.3" (12.5cm x 7.4cm x 3.3cm)
•Completely open source hardware and software, ready to be hacked and modded!

Again, the design is completely open source, so if you prefer to build from scratch you can hit up the project page for the full schematics, source codes and files. [Ladyada via Slashdot]