Navigation Lights --- for the bathroom!

Joe Colletti writes: Dick, I don't know whether you have seen this, but this might be an essential gadget for you GizWiz listeners. The light's colors don't conform with coast guard approved port and starboard lights, but it shouldn't be too confusing in this application.

Yes, I have one and we talked about it on the Weekly Daily Giz Wiz a long time ago. All the info to help you get ahead is here:

Yes, it’s no joke. Well, it might bring laughs, but this gadget is so simple, it will “bowl” you over. (Sorry about that.) LavNav is the Lavatory Navigation Night Light. The less pleasant sounding name: Toilet Night Lights. Bathroom lights can be so blinding in the middle of the night when you flip on the switch. And they can  disturb your partner's sleep, especially in a small apartment. Sure you can use a nightlight, but non-LED nightlights waste electricity all night long. Worse, they occupy valuable electrical sockets and they don't put light where you need it. The LavNav solves those problems. A motion sensor turns it on when you approach in the dark, and turns it off after you leave. It shines a gentle light that is sufficient for you to do what you have to do. But wait there’s more!! The LavNav uses a RED or GREEN light to cleverly show the position of the seat. RED means the seat is up. Green means the seat is down. This can also end fights between male and females who share the same bathroom. I’ve used LavNav for a couple of days now and it works great. It uses two AA batteries, which you supply. To install them follow the “slide direction arrow” on the front of the LavNav. Pop off the cover and insert the batteries. There is no on/off switch; it’s all automatic. It installs to the toilet seat cover (in the open position, of course) in seconds. Just peel the backing off the attached adhesive tape and follow the two easy-to-understand photos on the package. Now you’re set to “go”. (Sorry again.) $19.95 

www.lavnav.com      And as low as $12.99 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_6?url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=lavnav&sprefix=lavnav%2Caps%2C310

But will it fly? Yes!

Here’s a phrase you don't hear often. Most likely, you’ve NEVER heard any one use the phrase: “street-legal airplane!” Well there is one, and it’s on display at the NY International Auto Show until Sunday, April 15^th. (Javits Convention Center.) According to the company, the Transition Street-Legal Airplane is now a significant step closer to being a commercial reality after completing its first successful flight at Plattsburgh International Airport on March 23, 2012.  This bizarre, but I guess, now practical gizmo was developed by Terrafugia, Inc. The Transition is a two seat personal aircraft with folding wings, capable of driving on roads and highways. It can fit in a single car garage, and use unleaded automotive fuel for flight. Of course on the road, and especially when filling it up at a local service station, you can expect your auto-plane to really get a lot of attention. At the auto show it had quite a few people checking it out. Terrafugia will continue its testing program, as they get ready to deliver their first plane within the next year. After their first flight Terrafugia CEO/CTO and co-founder Carl Dietrich said: "This is a very exciting time for Terrafugia.  We are on our way up – literally and figuratively!" The first flight was modest, but it was a proof of concept flight. The Transition reached an altitude of 1400’ above the ground and lasted eight minutes while staying in the vicinity of Plattsburgh International Airport. Didn’t the Wright Brothers first flight last like just seconds?  The Transition demonstrated the controllability and safe operational characteristics of the aircraft. And now for the bad news: The Transition aircraft also has a highflying price, approximately $279,000. But a spokesperson said the company has already 100 deposits, so there are some serious customers out there. The Transition Production Prototype is on display at the New York International Auto Show till Sunday April 15th at the Jacob Javits Convention. Lots more info at the company website:

www.driventofly.com

Another MAD Magazine mini-poster!

More fun stuff at http://www.madmagazine.com

A Great Find From Dick's Gadget Warehouse.

Talk about weird gadgets. The idea of this coffee pot was not only let you smell the coffee aroma as it brewed, but it was designed to let you listen to the coffee as it was brewing! Perk Awake from KitchenAid included two stereo speakers with built-in mini-amplifers to increase the brewing sounds! You could even make it loud enough so you would 'perk up' and be awake. And when you weren't making coffee, a cable in the back let you play your stereo cassette tapes or MP3 tunes through the speakers. It retailed for $79.99. This was about 10 years ago. And this is also was an APRIL'S FOOLS gadget!!  

Thanks to Christine Miles who provided the photo. She posted that great picture when I asked "What Was Your Favorite Gadget of the past ten years" on the "Giz Wiz Asks You" part of this website. Christine answered: My favorite gadget of the last 10 years has to be my KitchenAid Coffee maker with speaker system. Ahhh the amplified sounds of coffee brewing in the morning!  --- It turns out Christine bought mini speakers for her iPod and noticed they were the same color as the her coffee pot. So she couldn't resist being silly and making up that answer, complete with photo! Great fun. Thanks, Christine.

They Invented the iPad for this???

Launching on Sunday --- April Fools Day (2012) --- and why not?  Digital MAD.

Once it launches, you'll be able to buy a digital subscription, buy single issues, buy back issues - or even --- and this may be a marketing 1st --- buy nothing at all! But wait, there's more! You can do the famous MAD fold-in electronically, or manually. Manually, you have to buy a new monitor each time you do it, but it makes for a great YouTube video! John Ficarra, VP and editor of MAD, thinks the magazine's new app just might be the sales boost that "saves the struggling iPad." Then again, "it may be just the thing that kills it altogether." The Usual Gang of Idiots know a lot of people who would like to read MAD out in the open, but wouldn't be caught dead holding a copy. Unfortunately, that includes most of the UGOI! But now anyone can have a copy of MAD, without having to hold it in their hands." And in a second, if caught reading it, just hit the menu button and it disappears! The MAD app is free and you can download it on April 1st, so you CAN feel like a fool! (It will be available after April 1st too, you clod!!)  It will include exclusive content, interactive stories, MAD TV videos and access to an archive of issues from the past.

More Details here:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/MAD-ipad-app-april-fools.html