Like the comeback of three-piece suits, what’s old is now new and watches are no exception. Started by two young professionals, Hodinkee is not your average watch site. The name comes from a modified Czech word for watch. Structured in a blog format, the site highlights timepieces that Benjamin Clymer and his partner Dan Wieder find through meticulous combing of the internet. Frustrated by the lack of information on vintage pieces, the pair started the site as both an information center as well as to promote watch styles and fashion that may have been forgotten. While sites like Timezone and Watchuseek can keep you occupied talking about the latest and greatest models and features, a casual one-time visit to Hodinkee might yield something you’ve never seen before; a real gem. Most entries are links to actual watches for sale so the site is perfect for impulse buyers. Personally, I appreciate having a resource such as this. It saves me time and energy from having to look all over the Internet for that special wristwatch. Though only approaching their three month anniversary, the pair have big plans in store for the site including collaborations with companies to highlight items that may be tucked away in their vaults.

You’re watching the Olympics in China. The Chinese ride a lot of bicycles. You think to yourself, “I need a new bike.” Then some other things happen and you find yourself on this website, just in time for a stupendous Big Ticket Tuesday prize. You may have read our previous post about the Puma-branded Biomega bicycle — well, it can now be yours for the low, low price of free.

THE PRIZE: The Puma Glow Rider urban mobility device. (It’s a bike. Est. retail - $1200, courtesy of Puma.)

THIS WEEK’S RULES: We have another Interweb scavenger hunt for you. This velocipede is the cat’s pajamas, but there are probably hundreds of bikes out there that have been tricked (we’re trying real hard not to use pimped) out for people’s riding pleasure. Find us the most inspired two-wheeler (and it has to be a bicycle — no mopeds, scooters, motorcycles … anything with an engine). Just paste the link in the comment field. The best entry will get our biggest prize yet. And remember: One entry per reader.

If you’ve ever wondered what you would look like as a Teletubby, complete with working TV stomach, we recommend getting a hold of one of DND Casa’s line of TV-equipped mirrors. The Korean electronics manufacturer has incorporated a specific mirror imaging technology from Germany’s Ad Notam to allow mirrored surfaces, whether they’re an actual mirror or a lamp or bookshelf, to display visual images. These unsuspecting idiot boxes don’t just double as HDTVs, they also can be connected as PC screens or LED displays. So when someone barges in to your room as you’re browsing Internet porn, you can make it look as if you’re just fixing your hair.

There are certain things we just expect to work, and never ask if they can better or improved. They are what they are. That was indeed the case for flashlights until about five years ago when a company in Silicon Valley started making solid-state lighting LEDs. Recently, other firms have propped up in Korea and the East Coast. These LED’s are surface mounted, and though they share a name with a product you are familiar with, the similarities end there. They are brighter and more efficient and inspired a whole community or tinkerers, machinists, and electrical engineers to improve the modern flashlight for the first time in a century.

Recently, 4sevens (a member on CPF) and NiteCore Tactical teamed up to create an incredible flashlight — the EX10. A single CR123 (AA version also available) lithium cell powers a Cree LED which provides a whopping 130 lumens of light. To put that in perspective: this 55 gram flashlight puts out more light than a Mag 4D 20 times the weight. Unlike traditional flashlights which work on an all or nothing system, the EX10 allows you to switch between the dimmest and brightest, and 100 levels in between. It comes with an orange peel reflector for a smooth beam without the visible rings associated with optics. Priced under $60, the NiteCore SmartPD EX10 has been a worthy addition to my gearbox.

Your iPhone wants to be cradled in luxury, and the folks at Hard Graft will be damned if sheep’s wool and buttery soft leather aren’t somewhere in the mix. Enter the Dapper collection, a set of gear carrying cases with the typically sleek functionality of Hand Graft products and a rugged jeans-style front pocket. Rock your phone, laptop and assorted pocket-fitting items three different sizes. Note that cool little signature red and white tag. Big pics after the jump.

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Up until now the only way techies in the U.S. could get their keyboards to emit a wondrous rainbow of color was getting creative with Christmas lights. Korean electronics manufacturer Luxeed is finally releasing their LED Rainbow keyboard in America with the help of ThinkGeek. The USB device comes in either a white backlit version where the keys change color or a black backlit version where only the letters change color. Users can easily program the key sequence utilizing the accompanying Windows software. Whether you want your keyboard to mimic the flag of Portugal or just emit an eerie radioactive green glow as you write your science fiction novel, the choice is at the tip of your fingers.

Via Technabob

Remember how we were all supposed to be talking on video phones in the mid-90s? Most wouldn’t call a tiny 3-inch x 3-inch screen that produced a stuttering two-frame-a-minute picture “video.” Then a decade later anyone with a laptop and built-in camera put that argument to bed. But, the X-Cast scientists from UseeIsee believe there’s a market for people who a) don’t have laptop technology, b) do have a high-speed Internet connection and c) want a VoIP service similar to Vonage or you cable company, but with the benefit of sight. We call these people our parents. UseeIsee knows our folks too well, as it mixes equal parts of Catskill humor and pictures of Nana talking to her grandchildren. It’s so plain spoken, it just might work.

Sure you’re a social superstar. You’ve mastered the art of small talk and can really lay on the charm. But no matter how skilled you are in pleasant conversation there’s one party skill that eludes you: chowing on hors d’oeuvres while holding a glass. That’s all about to change thanks to designer Ken Goldman’s Fingerfood, the somewhat hokey but nonetheless innovative little plates with rings. Now you can grasp your goblet and get a forkful of fried calamari at the same time.

Break out your 3D glasses. Now put them away. Hulger has found a way to give its visitors that sought after extra dimension using only a piece of black cardboard and a really dumb looking way of sitting at your computer. It does work though. The retro-phone purveyor has a couple of three dimensionalized flicks up on their site. So, scurry to your craft nook and grab the necessary tools for a mildly surprising treat.

Karmaloop TV continually points its cameras in the direction some of the most influential design minds in the world. This week is no different as they sit down with Tokidoki’s founder and creative director Simone Legno. In the exclusive one on one interview, Legno offers a glimpse at the brand’s history and explains the influences behind his creations. Viewers will also get a sneak peek at some of the upcoming characters and products slated to make an appearance rather soon. Check out the interview and see what all of the fuss is about.

via KarmaloopTV

Just a quick reminder to get your submissions in for the Big Ticket Tuesday Nooka watch contest. If you’ve never won anything in your life, now is your chance to make those odds slightly better. The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon, so hurry! Click here for the rules and details.

Freebording: not quite skateboarding and not exactly snowboarding. With a totally unique rider-driven design, Freebord gives you the look of a street deck and the feeling of carving a mountain. Using four outer wheels to simulate a snowboard edge and 360° rotating wheels in the middle of the board to initiate slides in any direction, the feeling (so we hear) is just like bombing down a mountain.

Recently they amped up their site with three fresh designs — Elite, Haze, and Riot — all fitted with new lighter trucks for better agility. Gripped and made from 7-ply Canadian Maple, the decks are light enough for tricks but strong enough to support any height or weight. Now go shred.

These great portable device adhesives are from the debut collection of iSkin Brasil, but they look so good you could stick one of these honeys on a sketchbook cover or skateboard. Sixteen Brazilian artists, organized by art promoters/non-profit group Aprendiz, each came up with a design that was translated by iSkin into covers, figuring iPods and laptops are an easy way for consumers to inject art into their daily lives. Themes run from Japan (definitely the most popular in the country this year) to São Paulo’s hopelessly polluted Tiete river, portrayed with lots of imagination, color and fertile talent. Unfortunately, you can only buy them through the country’s FNAC bookstore and electronics chain — but with a little ingenuity (and possibly a friend who speaks Portuguese) you can manage to order one online.

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Congratulations to Phil and Mike. These gentlemen commenters came closest to the actual number of comments we have up on the site: 4241 (and hundreds more after this contest). We’d also like to give Chris Ing an honorable mention. Chris, you were over by one. Bob Barker would have plotzed. We want to thank everyone for playing, but more importantly, wanted to let you know that tomorrow JoshSpear.com starts “BIG TICKET TUESDAY“, our weekly giveaway for those lustworthy items you don’t have the bank roll for.

Remember how we told you a few days ago that we turned 4,000 (posts that is), and we were going to give you a free iPhone 3G if you could guess the number of jelly … er … comments we had up until that point. Well it’s still going strong. If you haven’t placed your bet, now is the time to do it, because we’ll be announcing the winner Monday morning. No hints!