I thought, perhaps, about putting some horror movie survival gear on here to help all those who find themselves in supernatural situations this Halloween, or in the rarely known fallout period after Halloween when the real monsters come out because they know everyone’s got their guard down. However, when you break down the sheer numbers of horror movie films, you’ll find that we humans have actually come out ahead fairly often. That being the case, I think it’s time the bad guys got a little help.

Particularly, I’d like to assist one of the original, and still best, horror film icons by suggesting a tool to “Halloween” star Michael Myers. Fitting his low-tech, yet still timeless, choice of weapons, the Kyocera knive is quite possible Japan’s finest attempt yet at perfecting the ceramic knife. Expanding upon the inherit advantages of the typical ceramic knife, the Kyocera not only holds its edge 10x longer than a steel blade and is more lightweight, but is just as powerful when cutting all possible manners of items, all while it’s rivet handle and sleek design make it more versatile and easier to handle. It doesn’t easily corrode, requires little upkeep, and even comes in black.

An elegant weapon for a more civilized horror slasher age, this is a certain horror icon’s dream, and quite possibly the perfect kitchen knife for the home. Should you want it in yours, they go for $119 on Amazon, but you must of course first ask yourself if you’d like to have it laying around, should a certain Shatner masked horror legend come pay a visit just because you didn’t make sure the house wasn’t owned by anyone named Myers previously.

Oh, and Happy Halloween everybody.

With the possible exceptions of the laser gun and the flying car, I feel the longest running sci-fi tech desire is the jetpack. Though we may have advanced in unthinkable technological ways since the first time someone came up with the idea of strapping rockets to your back and soaring through the world with absolute, and badass, freedom, there still remains a great interest in popular culture concerning the classic idea of the jetpack, despite the number of practical barriers impairing it from existence.

The always entertaining folks at Hammacher and Schlemmer offer up the newest interpretation of the jet pack design, by taking the concept out for a swim with the Hyrdo Powered Jetovator.

This seat with dual throttle controls is powered by a 40 foot hose which supplies the main component the user rides on with enough water to support its three jet propulsion system, which both gets it airborne and keep it afloat. Capable of speeds up to 25 MPH (upwards?), the ferocity of the Jetovator is not in question, nor is its maneuverability, as through the throttles the user can allegedly perform a variety of aerial stunts which include barrel rolls, flips, and even underwater dives.

Though conversations of safety and practicality can often hamper any gadget discussion, here the questions are impossible to ignore as every capture of the Jetovator in action instantly conjures the image of something going terribly, terribly wrong. However, part of the appeal of the jetpack design has always been its carefree disregard of practicality, which is one aspect of the traditional model the Jetovator nails on the head. You can only imagine the sheer joy that comes from using this thing successfully before those brief moments where everything goes terribly, terribly wrong.

I say “only imagine” because with a $7,000 price tag, this isn’t likely to become a household item any time soon. It is a reasonable facsimile of a water fueled jet pack though, and is well worth cozying up to as many rich folk as possible just on the off chance they’ll purchase one for the summer and let you have a go on what just may be the most dangerously exciting aquatic gadget produced yet.

Have you ever had to pursue an armed and dangerous international criminal while underwater?

Really? Earlier today you say? Well that’s unexpected…and a little impressive.

Well it turns out that situation is a fairly common occurrence for Russian spec ops as well, and in encountering it they’ve determined that most guns absolutely suck at shooting underwater, and that it’s a real pain in the ass to have to carry a separate weapon designed specifically for aquatic battles (I should really watch “Thunderball” again…)

Instead of lamenting the situation though, a Russian arms designer went ahead and solved it with the creation of the ADS, which is billed as the world’s first amphibious assault rifle. By allowing for the gun to fire a smaller, more aquatic friendly round, along with the more traditional magazines, the ADS is able to effectively work both on land, and underwater where it has a range of about 85 feet, and is capable of shooting an impressive 800 rounds per minute. It also has a grenade launcher attachment, and while nothing specific was mentioned regarding its aquatic functionality, as with most grenade launchers it’s safe to assume the specifics are largely irrelevant.

As mentioned, this weapon is mostly intended for use by Russian forces, and is in fact being tested by them now, so it might be a while (if ever) before you’re convincing a very worried fish and game warden that the aquatic assault rifle you’re carrying is just for streamlined hunting and fishing purposes. As per usual though, you can enjoy a YouTube demonstration of the ADS from a Russian news segment on it, which gets bonus points from using one of the songs off of the “Casino” soundtrack for the highlight video.

The world of personal finance, banking, mortgages, stocks, etc was revolutionized several decades ago as the web became a part of our lives. It was stunning how much you could now accomplish with and Internet connection and the Worldwide Web at your fingertips. The entire area of personal finance was one of the early drivers here, as people could now check their stock quotes in real time and search for mortgage rates without going from bank to bank and getting jerked around by bankers. if you were thinking of moving anywhere your mortgage search was now easier. If you wanted a second home in Canada, you could learn about Canadian mortgage rates online without leaving your home. The power of all this information totally revolutionized many industries overnight.

Now we’re in yet another revolution with the proliferation of finance apps, stock apps, mortgage apps, etc. This time it’s less about what you can find, but how easily you can find it or even have it pushed to you. Any time. Any place. That’s the mobile revolution, and websites now have new and more powerful competition for your business with apps.

This of course is great for the consumer. There are tons of new apps to help you with every aspect of your personal finance needs. Zillow just updated its mortgage marketplace app. Apps like Mint and a slew of competitors help you track all of your spending. Simple budgeting is no longer the ideal. You can track everything now in real time. Apps like SavedPlus help you make sure to save a little every day.

There are so many out there that it’s easy to get intimidated. The key is picking something important to you, like perhaps daily budgeting, and then look for apps that help with that. It’s sometimes better to focus on one thing at a time. As you get a new app, it’s really about developing a new habit in how you go about your daily life. The app is just a tool, though obviously a very powerful one. But often we’ll download an app and then never use it. This is why focusing on one thing at a time and developing a new habit before going on to the next one can help you be much more effective.

Once you realize the power of one app and see how much it can help you organize your life, then you’ll be that much more motivated to move on to the next one.

This of course applies less to young people who are accustomed to having all sorts of apps in their life. But for the rest of us, a deliberate approach can be very helpful.

While you’ve probably thought before that it’s a tremendous annoyance when you get stuck behind a slow, large vehicle unable to pass because you can see anything around it, it’s likely you’ve never really thought there would be a technical solution to this common problem outside of the “Smokey and the Bandit” technique of ducking in and out of the opposing lane to see if it’s clear.

Now that I’ve successfully fulfilled my personal “Smokey and the Bandit” reference quota for the day (*fist pump*) let me introduce you to a device from our friends in Portugal that offers perhaps the most exciting solution to this problem ever presented.

Basically its a two part camera system that sees the actual camera attached to the front of large vehicles such as buses and trucks, while a small LCD screen on the drivers’ inner windshield shows a feed of the camera. When combined, and in the proper position, this produces an effect that allows you to essentially look through the vehicle in front of you, taking all of the guess work (and extreme risk) out of passing a larger vehicle.

Obviously considering the cooperation required from both large vehicles (especially in the private sector) and the cooperation of car manufacturer’s in terms of allowing for the LCD tech when designing new models, a system like this may not be the most practical of solutions to the issue, and if it ever does see the light of day, will likely be implemented in very select doses.

Much like Kate Upton though, the fact you’ll likely never actually interact with something so beautiful, should in no way discourage you from getting excited about the remote possibility, or just appreciating how amazing it is that something so incredible exists in the world.

Most medical facilities have a “system” in place. For example, when a patient comes in for an appointment, she sees a medical assistant, followed by a nurse, then a doctor and finally, a specialist. The “system” — whatever it is — is probably decades old, and it probably worked relatively well until recently. The way of doing things in the past looks decidedly different from the way things are in the present, and that old “system” is no longer the most efficient way to communicate information about a patient to everyone on her health care team.

As anyone currently enrolled in medical school, nursing school or trying to discover more about a master’s degree in nutrition and wellness can tell you, technology is taking over. If your “system” still requires the use of paper charts, laptops or stationary computers to record patient data, the time has come to jump to the front of the line in health care technology and upgrade to tablets. This technology is so smart that it lets doctors go retro and “write” notes again, communication errors are lessened, and time and money are saved. Tablets truly can help make good health care even better.

Penmanship Applies, Again

Tablet technology allows for doctors and care providers to literally write (with their fingers) once again. For many care providers, writing notes was a way to ensure that the narrative of patient care didn’t get lost in the collection of patient data. For many doctors and nurses, a patient’s story of illness is as important as the data that surrounds that story. Tablets can allow for aspects of a patient’s information to be gathered — the who, what, when, where and how that data supplies — and the story of that data in the patient’s words and their care provider’s words. Information like age, race, prescriptions and dosage and the specifics of a diagnosis can all be recorded in a way that makes data usable and interpretable — not just for the patient to whom it directly applies, but also for researchers. The information is valuable to public health and for determining the treatment of different pathologies. With tablets, this technology-driven aspect of patient care can still accommodate the old-school style of recording so that the arc of a story of pathology and health doesn’t get sidelined or overlooked.

Porta-Mobility Is Total

It’s undeniable that the mobility and portability of tablets make their use an asset in health care settings. Unlike paper charts that stay in the patient’s room, charts and data put into tablets can be accessed anywhere and at any time by the entire team that is attending. And being able to chart and record data from anywhere is an added benefit that saves a lot of time. Whereas a desktop- or laptop-centered charting environment often requires double duty — after writing in a patient’s paper chart, a nurse or doctor still has to record the information again (or get someone else to do it) on the computer — tablet recordkeeping is a one-time deal that stays with the record maker and the patient, while updating the rest of team at the same time.

Apps Abound

From simple data recordkeeping to the collaboration and communication they help facilitate, the applications used by doctors and nurses on tablets are transforming how information is gathered, interpreted and applied in patient care. From apps on interactive anatomy for the budding med student to peruse to Drchrono, the application that allows doctors to dictate notes, write prescriptions and manage patient files with an app that stores high-resolution X-rays in the cloud, so that a doctor and team can always have access to them, the application world of tablets is rich, useful and available at almost all times.

Time Is Money. Money Is Time.

As health care costs continue to grow, anything that can save a provider and patient money is going to be valuable. Tablet portability and mobility already save time in data collection and interpretation, and as with most industries: The more time that gets saved in providing health care, the less money gets spent. This, in addition to the capability of a team of professionals how have better communications and less errors as a result of being a tablet-friendly culture, means that upgrading to a “system” of tablet-driven recordkeeping will not just make good financial sense, it makes good patient care sense as well.

About the Author: Candace Jones is a contributing writer and iPad owner who recently completed a master’s in nutrition and wellness.

Gentlemen, meet The Rescue from Ghe-O.

The Rescue is basically the honey badger of vehicles, as it does not give a ****. Combining the design innovations of every offroad emergency vehicle that came before it, The Rescue (yes the The is part of its name), is 3.2 tons of offroad fury that has been tested and proven to be capable of traversing just about any known terrain that the Earth can throw at it.

Even though its “out of the box” model is plenty capable of overcoming a variety of environmental hazards (and seat 11 people while doing it), like any good gadget, the true capabilities of The Rescue are revealed when you start using the available accessories for it. Everything from firefighting water tanks, to a snowplow, to back wheel snow treads, and even flotation devices for large water bodies are available to add on to The Rescue, meaning with the right combination of add-ons, it essentially becomes a feasible real life version of the Batmobile.

Much like the Batmobile though, The Rescue is largely intended for professionals as its main markets are in the military and emergency rescue fields. However, the manufacturer is offering the wallet dreading “price available upon request” message on their website, suggesting that there is a Lloyd Christmas statistical chance of actually driving one yourself. Should that day never come though, feel free to gorge on the vehicle’s YouTube videos for all your outdoor car porn needs.

Did you know some cars actually have heads up displays integrated into the dashboard or windshield that tell you everything you could need to know about your driving stats like it’s a video game?

It’s true. I saw them on “Top Gear,” where cars I’ve always dreamed about but will never come within spitting distance of due to price tags that resemble Powerball winnings and the slight possibility I may actually spit on them are featured. They sure do look great though, and have that rare gadget trait of being as practical and useful as they are exciting.

Garmin might just have the answer for those that are unable to afford a car with a HUD built in though, as they are getting set to introduce a $150 standalone model that fits easily on your dashboard. All you have to do is plug the device in to your smartphone, and in turn it projects your current speed, the speed limit, the time, GPS coordinates, estimated time of arrival, and various other situational indicators onto a small screen that is easily viewable at any time.

Devices such as these have a shaky history of functionality when it comes to actually using them, but Garmin is about as reliable a name as there is in this market, and everything shown so far suggests this is a well designed device that is especially useful to anyone who hasn’t committed to a GPS yet, and could just be the all in one bad-ass driving display you’ve been wanting.

How old are you really?

No, don’t worry I didn’t find your secret stash of headshots and have questions regarding your listed birthday, I’m just wondering how old you are in your heart, where age really matters. If the answer is somewhere between the ages of 8-10, then I’ve got just the gadget for you.

It’s a Hot Wheels car maker that not only lets you relive the glory days of owning several garages worth of the sweetest micro machines known to man, but allows you to craft unique models as well. All you have to do is create a mold for the car (there are several different mold types available sold seperately through kits) and use the press to form it into an actual Hot Wheel. Add some decals to it, and you’ve got a bad-ass toy car nearly all your own.

Sure its limited and incredibly childish, but sometimes you’ve got to screw it and treat yourself to the toy you’ve always wanted as a child. So whether you’re buying this for your kid, buying this for yourself, or buying it for your kid in the hopes they eventually get tired of it and you have it all to yourself, for $40 it’s a pretty great way to act your inner child age for a while.

Plus it guarantees fun on the Amazon listing, which I’m pretty sure counts as a binding contract.

Sometimes your favorite piece of technology can make you feel like a kid playing with their favorite toy when you’re using it. It’s just an added benefit that your new favorite toy often provides some sort of additional life benefit outside of being fun to play with, making it the technological equivalent of Kix cereal. Kid tested, mother approved.

This new piece of technology in the works at MIT seems to fit that design philosophy. It’s a series of self-assembling cubes that are able to function independently and can quickly form a variety of shapes with almost no human interaction required.

Functioning off of a complex mixture of computer chips, flywheels, and magnets, the basic tech behind these cubes may bring back those childhood toy memories and make you start dreaming of their use in the ultimate “Transformers” toy, but the team behind them are already dreaming up some pretty amazing potential real life uses for them, including uses in quickly repairing structures, or forming must have items in emergencies quickly, such as hospital beds.

The final uses for this invention may be up in the air, but it’s clear that the technology is as good as the developer’s intentions, which usually serves as the basis to great products.

Though hopefully, after these are done saving the world, we can actually get that sweet new “Transformer’s” toy.