"non-pneumatic tire" (or tyre if you're English) – very exciting for non-latex based rubber

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Why am I so excited by these tyres? I was going to ask you/me/the ether that very question but I’ve answered it even before I managed to tap it out into Movable Type. I’m excited by these tyres because they’re completely brilliant. They’re cool. I hate to use that word but they are. They’re cool.

These tyres are cool because they’re a game changer – another phrase I can’t stand. Unfortunately, the game in this case happens to be military warfare but it seems some good can come out of the practise of killing people.

The NPT has been developed by Resilient Technologies as part of their $18m grant from the Pentagon (I wonder if they’d give me one of them?) and it’s made of a honeycomb structure that’s enough to hold up the weight of a Humvee

Nissan develop Spidey-sense for cars. Cars will now sense danger so you don't have to.

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Yesterday Nissan previewed a clever new sensor technology that does more than just beep when you’re in imminent danger – it actually intervenes a little bit.

Sensors are put into the driver’s blind spots – typically to the immediate sides and just behind the driver’s seat – to detect if you’re getting dangerously close to any other vehicles. Presumably if the technology is adapted for white vans, this mean will mean that everywhere but straight-ahead will be covered in danger sensors…

eBay Nutcase of the Week: Lord puts title, Bentleys, houses and wives up for sale

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This week’s eBay Nutcase is 58-year-old David Piper, who’s put his Bentleys, Lord of the Manor title, hotel, cafe and 111-acre estate up for sale on the auction site.

You are allowed to buy and sell titles in the UK, so yes, you would be able to call yourself Lord of the Manor of Warleigh should you win his auction. And you’d be able to drive his two Bentleys…

Have a problem? No-one to help? Maybe you can hire… the A-Team van.

Earlier today my colleague James brought to our attention the incredible story of a man who made a life-size replica of the batmobile from bits of junk and zero help from blueprints. Amazing. But imagine my surprise when i subsequently stumbled upon the website of a man who has made real another infamous vehicle from my childhood.. the mighty black and red-striped beast that is – the A-Team van. And not only that – but it’s available to hire. Really. You can hire it. The A-Team van! Excited? Me? Very.

Holy fanboy, Batman!

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Check this out – someone has actually built themselves a Batmobile based on the version in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The Tumbler, to give it’s proper name, is a near-perfect replica features everything from the after-burner to the stealth-plane-esque body and, remarkably, was built merely by looking at pictures from the two films and publicity photos with no original blueprints used…

Leading Expert: Shimano Di2 electronic gears are "super nice"

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One sure-fire way to come up with a new idea for an invention is to simply add “electric” to the name of a product that already exists as after all, if something is electronic it is automatically better than its predecessor. Take the electric toothbrush, for example, or even the electric chair – chairs couldn’t kill anyone until someone had the bright idea of putting electricity inside them.

It’s with this mantra that Shimano have improved upon the humble bicycle, by coming with with an electronic gears system that they reckon will “improve performance” and “reduce maintenance”…