OLED lamps for sale

Picture it as a tilted signpost with each sign a softly glowing panel or as a metal tree with phosphorescent leaves lighting up your desk.

This offbeat table lamp uses organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, a new technology that is being hailed as the future both of TVs and of lighting. German designer Ingo Maurer and his lighting company this week showed the first OLED lamp you can buy, at his studio in Manhattan.

The "can buy" part is qualified, of course. Maurer hasn't disclosed price of the 25 limited-edition copies of the lamp, but it will probably be in the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" category. (link)

Coffee hinders blood sugar response

As you gulp your cup of java and then chow down on some breakfast cereal, you may wish to consider new research looking at the possible effects when these two morning favourites are combined.

Drinking caffeinated coffee an hour before eating a bowl of cereal can significantly affect the body's blood-sugar response, according to the small study conducted at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

Terry Graham, chair of the department of human health and nutritional sciences, says this is of no consequence to healthy individuals. In fact, he notes that epidemiological studies have shown quite conclusively that prolonged decades of heavy coffee drinking decrease the risk for Type 2 diabetes. (link)

Pee to play

Two Belgian beer fans have launched a video game named 'Place to Pee', which allows players to slalom down ski slopes or kill aliens while relieving themselves at urinals.

Werner Dupont, a software developer, and Bart Geraets, an electrical engineer, got the idea while drinking Belgian trappist beers, they told Reuters Television at a local festival on Sunday.

"This thing had to be invented by Belgian people and that's what we are," they said.

The 'Place to Pee' booth is designed for two users at a time and offers two games -- blowing up aliens in outer space or skiing down a virtual slope. Gamers hit their target by aiming at sensors positioned on either side of the urinal. (link)

Save the twins!

A growing number of women with early stage breast cancer seem to be choosing to have the whole breast removed instead of just the cancerous lump, doctors are reporting.

Mastectomies were standard treatment until 1990, when studies showed that women whose cancers were small and confined to the breast did just as well if they had less radical surgery followed by radiation. That set a trend of more women choosing breast-conserving treatment.

Now, a study of about 5,500 women at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., shows that mastectomies are on the rise. Doctors say there are signs this is happening elsewhere around the country, too. (link)

Free the twins

Caffeine snacky snacks, Engobi

Crunch lovers, brace yourselves! Engobi™, the love child of caffeine and snack chips, explodes onto convenience-store shelves this month with two sweet, high-impact flavors – and snacktime will never be the same again! The market’s first caffeine infused munchie, Engobi, is poised to launch an exciting new era of snacking!

Engobi – code for Energy Go Bites® – is taking stores by storm with two deliciously perky flavors, Cinnamon Surge and Lemon Lift. According to the chip’s maker, Rudolph Foods, a 1.5-ounce, single-serving bag contains approximately 140 milligrams of caffeine. That’s roughly the same as a cup of brewed coffee and significantly more than the market’s leading energy drinks. (link)

Stolen toonie case still dragging on

The case of a Tim Hortons worker in Toronto fired almost nine years ago for allegedly stealing a toonie was put over again Wednesday as lawyers for the defendant lamented that the former employee's "frivolous" lawsuit continues to waste time and money.

Charlene Walsh, who was seven months pregnant at the time, and Amanda MacNeil were fired in June 1999 after store managers viewed surveillance video and alleged the workers were seen taking money from a cash register.

Even though the allegation centred around pocketing a $2 coin, Walsh was quickly charged by police with theft under $5,000. (link)

Free the twins!

Ladies, take your battle for the environment a little closer to your heart with a solar-powered bra that can generate enough electric energy to charge a mobile phone or an iPod.

Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan Ltd unveiled its environmentally friendly, and green colored, "Solar Power Bra" on Wednesday in Tokyo which features a solar panel worn around the stomach.

The panel requires light to generate electricity and the concept bra will not be in stores anytime soon, said Triumph spokeswoman Yoshiko Masuda, as "people usually can not go outside without wearing clothes over it."

But it does send the message of how lingerie could possibly save the planet, Masuda said, adding that the bra should not be washed or sunned on a rainy day to avoid damaging it. (link)