Senile senior citizens cannot be trusted. As much as I love to laugh at the frequently falling and hip-breaking demographic, I also know a life with seniors is no picnic. As senility wins over their feeble tissue masses which used to be called active and functioning brains, they start reverting back to simple childhood curiosities.

The difference is, that seniors actually have the means to drink the chemicals under the sink, provided they don’t break a bone while scurrying over to the kitchen. The Health Guard concept designed for Nokia uses RFID technology to monitor what the golden oldie consumes. Whether it be expired food, medicine, or possible allergens, they are bound to get into something they shouldn’t be getting into. The two-way Health Guard keeps tabs on their absent-minded consumption. If they’re really such a burden you could always take a blind eye, though that could be grounds for murder charges, and you aren’t a murderer, are you? (more…)

Talking about consumption and conservation is great and all, but how many people actually know how much energy they use? We have those meters connected to our homes, but no one but people who work for the power company knows how to read them. Power Consciousness is a device made to explain how much energy we use, without having to be a state worker to understand.

The device gives you up to the minute stats on your energy use and even calculates your current energy bill. The designer also added in a visual cue to help you read your consumption with one quick look. The more energy you use, the more LED leaves that are lit. We don’t mean to be picky, but shouldn’t that be the other way around? — Andrew Dobrow

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If you’re anything like us, you hate wasting stuff knowing that there has to be another purpose for them. For example, take an empty CD spindle. Once you’ve used all of the CD’s and distributed them (or lost them) what are you to do with the empty spindle? It seems useful enough. How about as a cool little Tupperware-like container to carry around a bagel?

Not only is it perfect sized, but it should keep your bagel air-tight from bacteria until consumption. And best of all, no wasted stuff! — Andrew Dobrow

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People are so busy these days, even a simple task such as stirring a cup of java can delay them precious seconds. The Self Stirring Mug stirs while you multi-task any other project your working on. Your dose of caffeine is then ready for consumption, without even the smallest effort put into stirring.

With a liquid capacity of 16 oz, the outer layer of the mug is made of stainless steel, while the inside is made of plastic, as to not scald your skin off when you pick it up. It also comes with a splash proof travel lid. And for the very reasonable price of £12.49 ($16.39), you can buy one yourself. — Andrew Dobrow

Self Stirring Mug Product Page [SelfStirring, via The Gadget Blog]