Thanks to PCMag's Assistant Art Director Aaron Able for the tip!

Say it isn't so! An extension cord cast from real tree branches?

It's called the Electrici-tree, and it's a "three-branch daisy-chainable rubber extension lead." In Laiman's terms: it's an extension cord. It can be plugged in, chained up, or strung along the wall.

Designed by Vahakn Matossian, the idea behind the Electrici-tree is that "it's a physical representation and reminder of how much electricity we are using...and what we are polluting with our over-use of power."

So, I guess he wouldn't like the fact that we're using power while on our computers nine hours a day writing about gadgets and tech, eh?

Click on the photo for a closer look.

[via Core77]

Gadget Countdown #12: Inflatable Flying Manta Ray

Here's something that will make your weekend waves of fun...and you don't have to own a pool to enjoy it (actually, I recommend only LARGE bodies of water for this inflatable craft).

Design: Made by Sevylor, the Inflatable Flying Manta Ray lets you hover over water with an 11-foot wingspan with two inflatable backrests and one footrest made of nylon. (Sevylor absolutely discourages attempting to hover with 2 people.) Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Features: A two-position rope bridle for controlling the direction of your hovering; an included safety strap for the young'ins; a repair kit and rider's instruction guide.

How It Works: You attach the Flying Manta Ray to a speed boat and let it lift you up in the air. It takes approximately 23 mph moving against the wind for an average adult to hover and 28 mph with wind.

Price: The Inflatable Flying Manta Ray sells for $499.95 on hammacher.com or much cheaper at Amazon.com for $399.99.

Lovin' Factor (1-10): 10

I never thought we'd do a podcast explaining why Mongolia is better than the US, but we've done it.  Tune in for all the details:

-> Download the MP3: Gearlog Radio: iBlackberry Rumors, Cable TV's HDTV Problem & Why Mongolia Kicks Our Butt

On this week's show:

• Will there be an iBlackberry or an iPhone?
• Can cable TV companies provide as much HDTV as you can get from satellite or fiber?
• Mongolia is a better place to live in for cell phone junkies (See the Mongolia rap video that we discussed.)
• The most important gadgets and announcements from the Digital Life Press Preview

Host: Robyn Peterson

Panelists: Dan Costa, Jen DeLeo, Sascha Segan

Audio Engineer: Mike Kobrin (and Jim Louderback)

-> Subscribe to the Gearlog Radio podcast

Thanks to PCMag's Associate Editor Kyle Monson and Audio analyst Mike Kobrin for their commentary on this rather odd audio accessory!

KYLE: Here's the gist of the Gemini iKey: you connect any audio device's headphone or line-out jack to the iKey's line-in jacks and connect a USB mass storage device to the iKey's USB port at the other end. The iKey takes the audio signal from the line-in source and converts it to an MP3 or WAV file on the USB device (a mass-storage class MP3 player or USB key). You can record your analog phonographs, or any analog or digital music, onto an MP3 player, and once they're MP3 or WAV files, you can do what you want with them.

But there are a lot of things I don't understand. Lots of MP3 players have line-in recording capabilities, including the latest iPod (here's PCMag.com's complete list). Some of them even cost less than the iKey, they're ALL smaller, and they aren't just plastic boxes that don't do anything else. So why would you pay $150 for a middleman? [[UPDATE: The price has dropped since we posted this--CM.]]

Plus, the iKey is remarkably poorly designed. To put in the four AA batteries (not included, natch), you have to unscrew four tiny screws on the faceplate. And the bottom of the device gets quite hot when you use it for more than 10 minutes. And the iKey's pretty big, considering it has no screen, no onboard storage, and no navigation buttons to speak of. Add a B&W screen with a progress bar or something and maybe I'd be more of a fan.

MIKE: Well, it is an audio interface meant for devices that don't have one, not ones that do. But even so, many MP3 players that do line-in recording only do so in either WAV or MP3--not both. This gives you a little more flexibility.

But I think the main thing missing here is that if you hook it up to a mic and a preamp, you've got a portable live recording interface for a USB device. And even more important, although the iPod does do line-in recording, there's still no mic/line adapter for it (though a couple have recently been announced) and it's been out for quite a few months already. Also, think bigger, and forget MP3 players for a moment. You could hook up a 300GB hard drive and record a whole 3-hour rehearsal in WAV.

KYLE: About the 3-hour rehearsal, that would indeed be useful (especially for bands that just jam around for snippets of ideas like mine does), but I'd be nervous about relying on a device like this for that simply because it doesn't give any indication that everything's going smoothly and working right, and there isn't a convenient way to check.

MIKE: I agree; it is indeed poorly designed, and the craftsmanship looks crappy. But as for the purpose, I think it could have been a valuable tool if it had been designed better (and cost less).

So what do our readers think? Is there some great use for this device that both Kyle and Mike are missing? Sound off in our comments.

For more info on the Gemini iKey, visit www.ikey-audio.com.

Thanks to senior editor Sean Carroll for this post!

Got so much beer lying around that it's just going to go bad if you don't get rid of it by the end of this weekend? I can't tell you how many times that hasn't happened to me. But if you do have suds to spare and you live in or near Manhattan, you might lug some of it down to bag-maker Crumpler's New York stores and barter it away, Aussie style.

Crumpler is an Australian company with a bit of an attitude; they sponsor a variety of events like nude footraces, mountain bike races, road bike races, and concerts. The "beer for bags" event is a nod to the still thriving Australian reliance on barter as an informal, friendly medium of exchange, according to Crumpler. When I stopped in at the event, it was already in full swing, and the store was jammed with cases, sixpacks, loose bottles and cans of beer stacked nearly to the tops of the storefront windows. There were plenty of limes, too. Oh, and bags.

I got a handsome Barney Rustle Blanket bag (shown here), which goes for one case of Coopers and two Fosters oil cans.  The Barney Rustle is a small, sturdy messenger bag with one main compartment with several smaller subpockets, a zippered pocket for documents, and one of those luxuriously padded and somewhat complicated (to those of us who aren't professional bike messengers) shoulder straps with a variety of adjustments and straps hanging off it. (It'll keep the bag firmly behind you and secured to your waist when you're leaning low over your handlebars terrorizing pedestrians and disregarding traffic signals.) If you prefer to pay with boring old filthy lucre, the Barney Rustle, which comes in a variety of colors, will set you back $85.

Otherwise, you can trade in your beer at 45 Spring Street or 49 8th Avenue in New York City, through June 11. Only certain combinations of given beers net you bags, so don't plan on just showing up with a case of The Beast and hoping for the best. Check out the virtual beer spinner at Crumpler's U.S. Web site for a list of what'll get you what.

Now that Windows Vista beta 2 is available for free download, it's time to get another drive for your computer, either to install Vista on, or to backup your old drive in case something goes wrong. Even if you're not quite ready for Vista, there's a good chance you're not backing up yet, and that means all your precious digital photos and videos, your Quicken files, email, and the music files you spent days ripping are all at risk. Fortunately there are a lot of great deals right now on drives. I'm partial to external drives. You don't have to open your case to install them, they also work on notebooks, and you can store them away from your PC for extra security.

newegg.com has some good deals going on right now on drives:

• Fantom Titanium 300GB external USB 2.0 drive: $129.99
• Cavalry 400GB external USB 2.0 drive: $169.99 after $25 rebate
• Western Digital 250GB SATA internal drive: $79.99 after $10 rebate

If you want to build your own external drive, Dealsonic has an excellent selection of hard disk enclosures starting around $20.

And if you want a new laser printer to print this eloquent posting (sorry, couldn't come up with a better segue), newegg still has the 22 page-per-minute Samsung ML-2010 for $49.99 after $50 rebate. Read PC Mag's review.

People always want to pamper mom for Mother's Day, and we here at Gearlog endorsed the idea. But who says Dad doesn't deserve some self-indulgence? Here are a few ideas for Pampered Dad.

Shower radios are old news by now. But how about a low-price iPod shower radio? The iPod/MP3 Shower Radio from Future Memories (at left) keeps your precious music player safe from water but gives you great backup music to your shower singing. The battery-powered device also has an AM/FM radio and a lighted, fog-proof mirror for Dad's shaving time. Best of all, it's only $24.95.

Make Dad's shaving experience better with a Heated Gel and Lather Machine ( $29.95, at right). Dad's shaving cream or gel canister fits right into the dispenser. The gel can be heated to a preset temperature, and the warmer goo helps open Dad's pores for a better shave. To give Dad an even better shave, check out the Panasonic Arc Shaver with Vortex Cleaning System (yeah, it even sounds impressive). This super-duper shaver has nanotechnology-cut blades, and it cleans and dries itself when placed on its plug-in charging stand. But you'll have to be really desperate to pamper Dad with this price tag of $249.95.

Don't let Dad take this whole pampering thing too seriously, though. Record him a funny message on a talking toilet paper holder ($14.95).