The weather effects in Grand Turismo 5 look off the freakin’ chain.  Checkout this short video.

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This is an ingenuious concept — an online-enabled coat rack that checks the internet for the day’s weather and shows it to you on an analog display, even nagging you to pick up a jacket before you head out. It’s functional, well-designed, and just a good conversation starter. Now, you could argue that a quick peek outside the front door could tell you what the weather is like — and it will — but the coat rack could warn you about the rainstorms expected later in the day. And with all the WiFi enabled devices out there now, it really shouldn’t be too hard to make sooner rather than later.

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Ain’t nothing like a hot piece of metal in your pocket to get you through some cold days this winter.  The Zippo Hand Warmer uses a platinum catalyzed glass fibre burner to provide up to 10 times more heat than your average hand warmer.  Capable of burning for 12 hours at a time, the Zippo Hand Warmer uses 12ml of everyday lighter fuel.  Sounds like a great compact solution for those in colder areas suffering poor circulation.

It comes packed with a warming bag for optimal handling and is priced at only $30.  I really like the aesthetic and wouldn’t mind owning one if I lived in a cold weather area.

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Taking a different approach to personal weather monitoring, the Oregon Scientific Magic Weather Forecaster uses familiar symbols to express what’s going on outside.  Displaying the symbols through a transparent glass it also shows the current time, ambient weather, and local reports on the bright LCD at the bottom of the weather station.

The Weather Forecaster also features a light sensor that automatically dims in accordance to surrounding light so you never get caught squinting.  A little gimmicky for my tastes, this weather station will run you $204.  Ouch.

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Well, folks, it’s almost Groundhog Day again, and you know what that means.  No, the post office doesn’t get yet another screwball holiday off to screw up your Netflix queue–it means that once again, Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his hole, look for his shadow, and give us yet another nigh-meaningless prediction of how much longer winter will go on.

And not surprisingly, animal rights groups are protesting, saying waking Phil up and taking pictures of him is cruel, and he should be replaced with a robot.

Now, leave aside the obvious fact that putting a gadget in place of an icon like Punxsutawney Phil is downright sacrilege, from an operational standpoint, how could it possibly work?  Is there some kind of light sensor that tells the Phil robot to hide from its shadow?  Does it test barometric pressure to provide an estimate on weather conditions?

Or does it just pop up and do something at random, and everyone else interprets, kind of like the ACTUAL groundhog does now?

Not sure how this works, and frankly, I agree with Bill Deeley of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club who said this about replacing Phil:

“I mean, come on, this is just crazy.”

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A cold and crackling face can be the death of your “mind over matter” in extreme temperature situations.  Surprisingly not developed by some mainstream brand name, the Cold Avenger Balaclava will keep your face warm and dry while humidifying inhaled air.

Made from medical grade plastic, the Cold Avenger mixes the cold inhaled air with warm exhaled air, creating a delicate balance of heating your face and keeping it dry at the same time.  The Cold Avenger will keep your face between 40-60 degrees fahrenheit depending on the scenario.

Priced at $80, I can imagine this product being very appealing to anyone engaging in winter and cold weather activities.

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Don’t forget Newegg’s $7 coupon: EMCMNLW33 (expires: 12/14)

Living in sunny So Cal rarely requires me to look up the weather, but when I do I only want to know two things: what will the temperature be and will it rain.  The Weather Station by Jacob Jensen, who by the way is a product designer for B&O lets you forgo the complex weather stations by allowing you to purchase individual units as you see fit.  Each unit stacks on top of one and other and the complete set includes an indoor thermometer, outdoor thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, alarm clock, temperature station, table stand and wall mounting plate.  Course, all of this individualism doesn’t come cheap; the cheapest unit starts at $49.

[via Slipperybrick]

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Looking to be pretty comfortable in your kitchen area, Oregon Scientific’s solar powered weather station, the +Eco Clima Control will keep you alert to all things related to your immediate inside and outside world.  Now priced at $120 (originally it was $99) and set to release this fall, the Solar Powered Weather Station will operate for three months on an 8 hour initial charge.  Seems like a good gift right?

Full press release after the ‘leap’

Tualatin, OR – July 7, 2009 – Oregon Scientific announced today the release of the +ECO Clima Control weather station, the first in its innovative new line of energy-conserving electronics.  The +ECO product, operating with solar energy, offers essential timing and weather features while helping to reduce energy consumption and improve battery life.

The +ECO Clima Control is equipped with a built-in solar panel, and is powered by the sun.  It allows its users to monitor the current temperature and humidity in up to four locations within the home and outdoors, using remote wireless temperature and humidity sensors.  With only an 8-hour charge, the +ECO Clima Control will operate for up to three months before another charge is needed.

“We are excited to introduce our first solar-powered weather station into our ever-growing line of Oregon Scientific household products,” said Mike Prager, President of Oregon Scientific, US.  “We are committed to exploring alternative sources of energy to power our products, and will continue to look for new innovations to serve our consumers.”

In September, two additional solar-powered installments will be added to the +ECO line.  The first, the +ECO Solar Weather Station will monitor current indoor and outdoor weather temperatures, humidity and shows an iconic future weather forecast, as well as the precise Atomic time.  Second, the more compact +ECO Solar Weather Clock will monitor the current indoor and outdoor weather temperatures and humidity, as well the Atomic time.  Both products are equipped with detachable solar panels and remote wireless temperature and humidity sensors.

One quick ‘take’ of the Weather Station Mood from Oregon Scientific and you’ll know if the forecast calls for cloudiness, partially cloudiness, rain or sun.  The base of the clock changes color accordingly, while displaying the exact temperature and time thanks to the PTB in Brunswick, Germany.

Available here for about $60

I’m not a home owner and nor will I be one any time soon considering LA’s average house price. But if I were, I’d wanna save money and hopefully while doing so save the environment. More importantly, the city of LA has a lofty goal of cutting water consumption by 50% in the next 5 years. That’s 10% incrementally per annum. The aforementioned goal is ludacris to say the least, but if more products like the Cyber-rain keep hitting the market it might just be possible.

The device is a Smart Wireless Sprinkler System from Cyber-Rain. It hooks up to your Internet via WiFi and through the magic of forecasting, historic seasonal figures, and current weather it adjusts your sprinkler’s water usage and output. Some states are even offering a 50-100% rebate on the cost of the device since it saves them money, but regardless it’ll pay for itself over time from the water you save.

You can pick up a complete Cyber-rain system here for $350

Update: Dustin of Cyber-rain sent along a ‘delicious’ link containing rebate info. It’s pretty sparse right now but he says he’ll be adding more very soon.

Weather Channel video after the ‘leap’