Text mining for large bodies of literature, Tim Walter created Textour, an interactive tool that visualizes text in radial patterns.

"...it is possible to discover certain rules which show that every text is a system of words where length, position and frequency do not appear at random."

For fairly complex blocks of text, the process involves an intricate system based around sentences, words, and letters. Filters also help aid the process by providing text restrictions, lengths, and frequency.

"Every time a letter, word or sentence is entered into the program, the visualisation integrates the new item and the elements appear on the right point of intersection of line through the center and the circles and re-arranges the rest of the elements in a clockwise manner."

Walter's site includes the detailed documentation for Textour in German.

Russian geek dolls.

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With an uber-geeky name like Export to World, you know their products have to be virtually awesome and useless at the same time. The concept coverts virtual Second Life objects into tangible elements with the use of paper. Like IKEA, all the objects can be constructed with simple scissors and glue. A Flickr album helps give some added context to the conversion.

Conceptual in form and function, a hard drive proposed by Degroenebanaan would visualize your data storage in an artsy way. Called the IVY, the gizmo focuses on manipulability and customization. Depending on the amount of data stored, the OLED screen can change from being completely blank to saturated with a Mondrian-like design

Concepting a cute hub for the holidays, designer Sang-Hoon Lee created the Chocolate Portable HDD. Unlike other gadgets named Chocolate, this design would allow users to actively "break off" USB pieces of memory similar to a candy bar. Complete with a touchscreen interface, this design is best suited for those who have a sweet tooth for storage.

[A weekly link post of skipped over (and slightly stale) sights and stories]

• Getting dressed inside-out: Mobius dress

• More cringe-worthy than white after Labor Day: MySpace users recruited to help fashion marketers

• An entire book dedicated to s'mores with marshmallow-y food porn goodness

• Chopsticks + spoon = choon?

• Carpet alarm clock makes you get out of bed

Leave it to "dumb phone" consumers to be dirty minded. A few recent models of Motorola phones featured a 3D image of a clock face that some users selectively saw an image of a penis in. Embarrassed, Motorola quickly responded:

“The image that you see is actually the result of shading applied to the clock background graphic to give it more of a three-dimensional appearance, in line with the theme of the phone. The graphic is actually built as concentric circles stacked on top of each other, with a lighting filter applied to give it depth."

A sofa explores the concept of "dirty" in a social format. Users can make marks on the sofa that build on each other or easily be ironed out of existence. The "graffiti sofa" was created by Teruhiro Yanagihara to show scratch marks. The concept may be more revealing than intended depending on what your usual activities are on sofas. However, given the intentionally "dirty" design, it may be a more effective way of leaving a message for a lover than a steamy mirror.

We've seen our share of unusual condom usage over time, so the DIY condom "decor" should come as no surprise. Bored and perhaps a bit "frustrated", someone created an instructables-esque way to make a colorful flower vase. By rolling colored condoms over an appropriately-sized vase and cutting off the tip, you're left with a beautiful place to put flowers and weird out house guests all in one. Let's hope that the spermicide smell doesn't over-power the petunias.

Conversational clock.

Clothesline Display, a project that recently popped up in Austria, uses both a delightful and yet delicate technique to create large lines of text. With 250 boxer shorts used to "type" out the text, it's not surprising that it felt a bit breezy between some legs. The wind reportedly over-pixelated the underpants more at times, but was an overall success. The brains behind the boxers showcased the sight between two buildings at Ars Electronica. Shake Well Before Use was not in attendance to Ars Electronica, however, did just buy tickets for the follow-up conference, called Arse Elektronika (if the spelling didn't tip you off, it's about sex and technology) in San Francisco.

Save energy when you're between the sheets with the Hourglass Nightlight. Like most partners in bed, the illuminated electricity saver stays turned on until you fall asleep. The nightlight becomes active when you turn it over and syncs up with a stream of sand. The battery and plug -less lamp powers purely from the internal energy generated by the sand, so when the sand ends, the light turns off. Created by Sun-Young Lee, the Hourglass Nightlight will hopefully have you resting easier knowing you're going green.

Google is great for getting off, but what if you could bring your search engine between the sheets? The Google News Cushion is a nice addition to the bedroom, listing the top news stories for specific years. At up to $250 per pillow, Google appears to be attempting to claim some extra cash it didn't earn last quarter. With call-outs to Britney, Janet Jackson, Paris and Podcasting(!?), we could only wish Google would spit out a "Top Searches" pillow list for every year instead of swallowing it into "SafeSearch On" mode.

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Using solar power to make effective advertising, WWF is once again heating things up. A fairly simple setup, a billboard with an awning casts a shadow during the day that corresponds with the marketing message. Previously, WWF created an ad that also held a very shocking visual of the tangible amount of carbon monoxide we create in one day's worth of driving. Trendhunter points to further explanation of the billboard:

"It’s perpendicular to the equator, with an unobstructed exposure to the west. The “waves” start at about 12:00. The challenge was not azimuth (the daily path of the sun), but altitude, which due to the Earth’s tilt, required the scalloped awning’s shape to be distorted to compensate for 43N latitude, during the life of the posting (about 8 weeks)."

Seductively surprising, a new brand of condoms is playful with its packaging. The Danish brand, Hanky Panky, has designed its product to specifically spice up "doing the deed". Seemingly inspired by childhood memories of the "Toy Surprise Inside!" Cracker Jacks, the box contains two compartments: one for the condoms, and one for a "surprise". Apparently, the surprise can be anything from massage oil and "manuals" to masks. You'll need the surprises, as the three condoms that come with only satiate most for one day's duration. Regardless, the concept seems perfect for those in need of a mid-day "snack" and surprise.

Srsly postcards pwn wishyouwerehere.

As if straight out of some Bug's Life movie, the Rideable Vacuum Cleaner looks like a CG snail. The snail sucker is intended to encourage children to help out with carpet-cleaning chores, by inviting them to ride the vacuum. While a cute idea, adults would have far more fun with this. The concept doesn't specify any weight limits, but given some sturdy standards, the prospect of riding out your vacuum vibrations may 1up sitting on your washing machine.

Not getting any action? You can always play pretend. A flirty and fashionable new set of pillows and couches can help give the illusion of and left out lingerie and messy spills. Created by the Sid Lee Collection, the set is titled Sit! by Sid. Heavy on both graphics and typographics, it's sure to give your home some much needed excitement, as everyone knows you certainly aren't getting any.

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Apparently still not jaded by years of gadget babes, Gizmodo gets giddy over the latest gearhead girl. Perhaps it was the pigtails, or the pink bustier, but seemingly any picture of a babe with a gadget backdrop is worth one thousand words (or less). Tagged the Smart Eleanor (you know, that other object in the photo), the machine is a mod cross between a smart car and a Eleanor Mustang. The Smart Eleanor is not yet in production, but there's at least a limited production of pink-pantied-and-pigtailed girls globally to keep you satiated while you wait.

[Thanks, David!]

In wake of the recent Olympic logo chaos, a friend of a coworker of mine made this lovely logo. While less creative than imagining Lisa Simpson giving head, it's still to be one of the many user-generated-content to come.

[A weekly link post of skipped over (and slightly stale) sights and stories]

Wall hooks are hung. [Thanks, Greer!]

JetBlue employees look for suga mommas in leftover credit cards.

Goodby Silverstein & Partners create an interactive mural for the launch of Adobe CS3.

"The All-Sounds Catch Cubic Pillow is a sound-absorbing headrest that diverts all ambient sound directly to your ear, in case you're too lazy to undertake the strenuous effort of pushing the "Volume-up" arrow on the remote control."

Richard Branson pushes more puns with Flick Off, a campaign about conservation.

Black is back and just in time for spring/summer. It might not be the latest fashion trend, but it's the most recent response to an energy saving tip from earlier this year. It was reported that an all white web page uses about 74 watts to display, while an all black page uses only 59 watts. Over the course of a year on Google, this could spare 750 megawatt-hours and $75,000. It's said that good design isn't just about how it looks, but how it works. Unfortunately, Blackle, Google's darkie cousin, may still have a mountain to climb by those standards, as white text on a black background is horrible for reading and at the time of this post, the website is giving a 503 white-backgrounded service error.

A new form of panties pitches more than just tents. Underglam’s “Fanny Lifter” claims to boost up the shape of your booty with a combination of Rayon and Lycra. The pink-laced panties also come with a matching low-cut camisole that provide similar lift to areas in need. To no surprise, the flattering lingerie comes out of France, but the lingerie weblog Knickers has been kind enough to type out instructions for how to order from the French.

There's no end to incorporating interweb humor into your daily intake, and breakfast is no exception. Bringing a new meaning to "finger food", the typewriter iron features minimal modification for morning waffles. The appliance was created by Chris Dimino for a School of Visual Arts exhibit. While many of us computer addicts claim we could eat off of our collected keyboard crumbs, this one may be more filling. So butter up that (key)board and satisfy yourself with some syrup spillage, as this is the only one that won't have a sticky shift key the next day.

As if embarking on a journey in adolescence, pixels may be sprouting hair in unusual places. Philips recently filed a patent for a screen panel of "furry pixels". Not referring to the unusual animal avatars you come across in virtual communities, these "furries" involve an intricate design of fabric that responds to electrostatic charges. The interaction allows for perceived changes in color across the fabricated pixels.

With visions of sugarplums and sex fantasies dancing in their heads, there was something quite abnormal positioned around their beds. Bloody and bizarre, the Blood Puddle Pillow is the perfect companion for a sleepover or late April Fools. While lacking in slumber party pillow-fight fantasy feathers, the crimson counterpart definitely makes up for it in photo-fun. Currently the pillows seem unavailable for purchase, but somehow the DIY task shouldn't be too daunting.

A photo exploration in hand rubbing.

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Kids love their mashups [ Nike: The Second Coming - via]

Experimenting with analog [ Roy Block - via ]

Tell kids to stick their heads in it [ Plastic Bag Chandelier - via ]

Sure you can take it, but can you dish it out? [ Dishmaker - via ]

[Sidenote: A guest blogger may be on the way for the remainder of this week, so stay tuned]

Launched earlier this year, New York's subway-branded condoms were handed out to over 150,000 people in five boroughs to help promote safe sex. Despite the safety claims, New York is yet again under attack for not providing enough protection, or in this case, sensitivity. Gawker points to a blogger with a bone to itch about the New York subway condoms.

"Sure, they may have subway maps on them, but I think a real marketing opportunity was missed. My boy Travis first pointed this out when he told me that they were all the same. I thought the deal was that there would be different sorts of condoms branded by subway line. That way, all situations would be covered and you could squeeze the marketing opportunities dry."

Somehow I doubt there's a subway line that's "sensitive for her pleasure", but there are certainly lines for getting shafted and fucked. While a cute idea, the letter/number, ribbed/un-ribbed memorization process seems a bit too hard for anyone with a hard on.

Pleasured with pillows, conceptual sofas are reshaping comfort. Designed to conform to the emotional state of your body, the Anima Causa Feel Seating System consists of 120 fuzzy balls that can wrap around you. While you can now be surrounded by as many blue balls as Amanda Congdon, the cost of entry remains unknown. The molecular-inspired design allows you to position as you please without the risk of being swollen the next day, so feel free to embed yourself in the sea of sofa cleavage.

Television today is no longer the elephant in the room. Similar to global warming, it has increasingly been gaining momentum and awareness as well as technological contribution. However, while content is king, the overall experience is moving in to claim checkmate. How we interact and interpret television currently is on a static plane of directional geography: surfing channels up, down, left, and right. Helping break the tangible and virtual norms, David Merkoski (Frog Design) narrated the audience through an up and coming product yet to hit the markets.

Appropriately titled Mondrian, the product set to go public next year, is a TV navigation and recommendation Zoomable User Interface (ZUI) that attempts to rethink TV user interaction. A few major differences with Mondrian is that a user no longer needs to be stuck within nested menus while navigating and it has an active anticipation engine that takes in the content, time, and environment you watch in to build a profile and recommendations. It goes without saying that Mondrian becomes an easy target for Big Brother contextual advertisers. While there have already been proposals for all-advertising channels within the ZUI grids, Merkoski remained unclear on any efforts to save the product from advertising overload.

Going more in depth with intuitive interaction, Merkoski gave an insightful overview of remote controls and interfaces. The up, down, left, right navigation is in touch with a geographical grid, while a ZUI typically tries to orient the user in a way similar to how a camera would. The up, down, left, right is not only for the living room screens, but also small screens like mobile phones as well. The original idea for this came from what some might think of as a hyper-interaction culture: gaming. Moving away from the standard, Merkoski used this to account for why people are so amazed with the Nintendo Wii and iPhone. Merkoski ended with a call to inter-action, "There won't be a choice if we don't design it."

Kathy Sierra talks about how most companies are never in the mood, leaving you to finish yourself off in the shower. She references the secret to any good marriage is to not change, stating that passionate, sex-craving and caring person shouldn't become the bored, bothered, and overly-serious.

"I don't understand this in personal relationships, and I don't understand it in business-to-customer relationships. Shouldn't you treat the people you're in a relationship with better than you treat anyone else? Shouldn't you treat your existing customers better than the ones who've given you nothing?"

Kathy points to examples, including the amount of effort that is put into making great designs for brochures and the lack of care put into product manuals. While information design is certainly not the same as designing a poster, the gap does not need to be as big of a leap as it currently is. Companies need to come join us in the shower. It'll be a delightful surprise that both parties will be sure to appreciate, as we can offer to scrub off those old skin cells and shame.

Candy bar concepts.

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