Pilates is popular. We know lots of Pilates fans, and many do or have used Winsor Pilates workouts from long-time pilates advocate Mari Winsor.

No surprise then to find Mari Winsor on TV alongside the lovely Marisa Tomei – promoting a new fitness/weight-loss gadget called the Accelerator. Like P90X and 1,000’s of other fitness products in infomercials, you get a wide range of items along with the weighted bar, including several DVD’s with workouts that target different areas of the body. They even thoughtfully included a tape measure, though that surely couldn’t have cost them much to throw in.

For $60 this looks like it could be a good workout-at-home product for pilates fans, and certainly could be much cheaper alternative to studio sessions (often $10 and up each time). We have not yet gotten a review unit to put through its paces. For now, check Mari Winsor Slimming Pilates Reviews or find more information on the official website, WinsorSlim.com.

Aside: Folks love As Seen On TV products and a quick look at Gonzo Gadgets statistics confirms it. For instance, our review of the Xpress Redi Set Go was one of our most-popular pages of 2009. We promise to bring you more infomercial goodness in 2010! Do you have any particular As Seen On TV products you’d like us to review? Send us a note.

Not ready to install a personal nuclear reactor in your backyard? Listen up. A new hope for living off-grid may be around the corner, called Bloom Box. [More recently the company has been calling the large units "energy servers"].

Bloom Boxes look un-remarkable – large silver enclosures that resemble supercomputers from a few years ago. Despite the lack of style they can boast a NASA pedigree. Some of the underlying Bloom Box technology was developed to support a proposed NASA manned mission to Mars. The mission was later scrapped but from the ashes has risen an interesting gadget.

Each Bloom Box contains specially manufactured discs that convert common elements in the air, principally oxygen, into power once the box is fully warmed up (to a sultry 1,000 degrees C).

Corporate-sized units sell for $700,000 – $800,000 USD, and founder/CEO K.R. Sridhars claims these are in use today at major corporations, including FedEx, Walmart, Staples, Google, Coca Cola, Bank of America, Cox and eBay.

The fuel may be free but there are downsides to consider. First, the energy-producing process produces carbon emissions. Carbon neutral power generation however can be achieved by choosing to use bio-gas from landfill waste (as eBay is doing). Second, the fuel savings must be weighed against the high price of the generators. eBay claims to have saved $100,000 in energy costs over 9 months, but that is with 5 Bloom Boxes installed at a total investment of roughly $4M USD. It will take eBay 30 years to recoup that investment, and it’s unclear what maintenance will cost or what life expectency these units will demonstrate.

Smaller Bloom Box units may be on the way – adequate to power a typical American household, and presumably at a price much, much lower than the corporate-sized giants. Sridhar, likely speaking idealistically, would like to see household units cost as little as $3,000.

CBS News has an extensive interview with K.R. Sridhars, for those interested in more information.

The Kempler & Strauss W Phone Watch has made tech blogger news since October and continues to intrigue tech folks and turn heads.

Wired’s Gadget Lab now has more photos and a decent rundown of the W Phone Watch features. We still are still looking for a detailed hands-on review, but it’s certainly looks like a fun attention-getting gadget for technophiles.

Note the W is not a smartphone and does not browse the internet. It is however a nicely designed unlocked phone suitable for AT&T and T-Mobile networks. Likely you’ll find yourself still wanting your BlackBerry or iPhone near at hand too for their smart-phone features.

The US army must have some serious gadget fans on staff, as evidenced by the news that they just greenlit for production of a 1 pound reconnaissance aircraft that will -they  hope – soon be able to not only follow targets, but perch like a bird and perform additional tracking and targeting duties.

The Persistent, Perch and Stare Air Vehicle System (SP2S) is being built upon AeroVironment’s Wasp platform. A similar UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) kicked off the movie Eagle Eye, and was featured in our article <>Top 10 Movie Gadgets of 2008.

What price tag can you put on fun? Apparently $10 million Washingtons.

If tests pan out the program will be refined and expanded. Why do spies get all the cool toys?

Read the full Wasp SP2S Summary.

The Zen Alarm Clock rouses you from slumber with a Tibetan bell which resonating like a Buddhist monk in the key of E. From that moment on your day can’t help but be centered and on the right track.

This Zen Alarm Clock is digital, but uses the bell inside to produce a very soothing and natural sound. It can also be used as a countdown timer for meditation. Not being a meditation buff myself, I use the countdown feature to alert me when my allotted time for a specific task is over. This helps keep me on track, relaxed and organized throughout the day when time is in short supply.

This little gadget costs $136. Takes AA batteries or can be plugged with the included AC adapter.

The Terrafugia Transition – A New Twist on Hybrid Cars

Hybrids get a lot of press these days. But kudos to startup Terrafugia for daring to take things up one or two notches with the Transition – a vehicle that can travel in both air and on roads.

So is it a flying car or a plane that can drive? Technically the Transition is a “roadable” airplane. No matter. The idea behind Terrafugia’s new creation is that you park your Transition in your own driveway and you  commute is to the nearby airstrip for takeoff. No rental car needed at your destination – just convert back to driving mode and head to wherever you’re going on surface streets.

Terrafugia says the Transition is aimed at licensed pilots who need to travel between 100 and 500 miles at a crack. It’s definitely not for flying down to the mailbox or grabbing groceries and it won’t be too much use escaping from the cops during a high-speed chase.

Bad weather coming? No problem – land at the nearest airstrip and continue your journey on the ground. And say goodbye to rental cars at your destination.

Project Status

The Transition concept was formed back in 2006 by MIT engineers and may be ready to bear fruit soon in the form of actual production models to consumers – in late 2009. Not bad for such a radical concept.

Terrafugia admits they are still perfecting the one-touch folding wing mechanism and a power train that can convert smoothly between flying-mode and driving-mode but have developed proofs-of-concept solutions for these designs that offer reason for optimism.

Price & Availability

Only $148,000 gets you a two-seat vehicle with a 450+ mile range in the air and 25 MPG on earth. At the time of this writing Terrafugia has already taken roughly 30 orders for the Transition but no firm launch date has been provided. Safe to say you have a bit of time yet to get that pilot’s license so you’re ready when the Transition is ready.

Further Reading

Read Terrafugia’s page on the Transition vehicle.

The Register posted a detailed story on the Transition and talks about other emerging vehicle options such as NASA’s PAV (Personal Air Vehicle) concept.

Check the MIT Technology Review writeup.

Alternative fuels be damned, what’s wrong with good old fashioned nuclear power? OK to be fair that’s not exactly the message coming from Hyperion Power Generation. Hyperion, along with Los Alamos National Labs, has developed somewhat of a personal generator that can be shipped right to your backyard and generate more power than you could possibly use. That is if your “person” can afford the $25 Million price tag (USD).  Your very own mini nuclear fission reactor comes sealed with enough fuel to power 20,000 typical U.S. households and according to Hyperion, the units overall cost per watt is lower than existing fossil fuels or alternative fuels currently available.

Read the full press release from Hyperion.

Here’s the scoop. Each reactor module is roughly the size of a hottub. It comes factory sealed and is designed to stay sealed. There are no moving parts and thus minimal to no maintenance required. Modules can even be chained together to provide more power for larger applications. The amount of waste after 5 years is roughly the size of a softball and the waste itself can be reused via fuel recycling to further reduce environmental impact. A side benefit of the generating process is it can also be used to purify water – a double bonus in remote/rugged situations.

On the safety front, Hyperion claims the amount of fissionable material in each module is so small that even if exposed the fuel cools immediately avoiding any kind of explosion or emergency.

This has interesting applications for communities, remote sites and super wealthy folks like Tony Stark. Talk about a new target for the “not in my backyard” crowd, though!

Maybe Ghostbusters-style proton accelerator backpacks are closer to reality than we thought?

Update: Will Boulder, CO be an early leader in nuclear energy alternatives?

Horror Halloween Handrest
Do monsters get full right before finishing the last bite or is it that you simply can’t be a member of the clean plate club when you wait for your victims in pitch black?  Whatever the case, this clever handrest is certain to amuse and possibly disgust your coworkers and family.  Designed to be the perfect ergonomic size for using a mouse or keyboard, it can also double as a Halloween prop.  But you really want to get a reaction at work don’t you?  See Horror Halloween Handrest.

Spooky Shadow Light
Not earth-shattering but we’re a sucker for anything that reminds us of Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.  You’ll definitely want a dark room for this as the light is not too powerful.  But it’s great to watch as the ghosts, spiders and other nightmares go spinning across the walls.  Just don’t get this mixed up with Junior’s usual revolving lights with all the friendly animals, ok? See Spooky Shadow Light

Halloween Lighted Spider Garland
These are great because they’re unusual.  Instead of the usual pumpkins or just regular christmas-lights-turned-orange, this swarm of creepy arachnids are lit by the included 50 orange lights on a 9′ string. They’re happy to scare visitors and children both indoors and outdoors.  See Halloween Spider Garland Light Set.

Webcaster Gun
Ever wanted to fill your home with professional-looking cobwebs?  The Shadows Edge has you – and your household – covered with the Webcaster Gun.  Aided by Webcaster Stick refills and a typical air compressor, the Webcaster Gun will throw realistic spiderweb strands wherever you point it.  Up to 12 feet away!  The Sticks come in 6 varieties.  Unfortunately this appears only to be available at retail in select states.  Watch the video this thing is very cool.  From what we can tell this is not yet available online but in this case don’t let that deter you.  Guests will never have seen anything like what this can provide.  See Webcaster Gun.

USB Pumpkin Light String
Brando peddles a lot of useless crap but these are worth checking out. A string of 8 glowing (ok, blinking) pumpkins that will plug easily into your computer and instantly provide a spooky vibe. Anything that gets friendly with the computer always has a place in our heart, especially for Halloween.  Available only from Brando online.

Coffin Fogger
This skeleton is boiling mad and pushing his way out of a 10″ coffin.  Perfect size for a serving table or countertop to add a bit of Halloween flair to the festivities.  Just add water and the mist will start pouring from the coffin while also changing colors from underneath.  See Coffin Fogger Skeleton
online, also available at Target (if you can still find any).

Just One More: Crazy Pumpkin App (Free App for iPhone and iPod Touch)

This is a popular and fun free application on iTunes.  It shows a glowing pumpkin.  OK, no surprise there.  The look is very nice with an effective animated glow.  Swipe the screen and ‘carve’ new eyes, nose and mouth.  Shake it and get a random scary sound effect and change the color.  This app looks even better in the dark – make sure you have it on hand for halloween parties!  Get Crazy Pumpkin (iTunes).