(Gadget) T-Reign Retractable Gear Tethers

I use the T-Reign gear tether to keep my stuff within reach and ready for use. I received a gear tether as a gift and quickly had to order a couple more for other uses. I keep one for my EMT shears clipped to a D ring in a cargo pocket. The shears are ready for immediate use and if they’re dropped they retract right back to where I can find them again without looking. I have another for my GPS and a third with a case for my digital camera.

Made in the USA they have a strong kevlar cord which after a year of continuous use is not fraying or showing signs of wear.

My sons are in the army and both use these to keep critical tools and gear secure and available when on duty.

-- Charles Kinnear  

T-Reign Retractable Gear Tethers
$10 – $15

Available from Amazon

(Apps) Apps of the week.

There's no better time than a Saturday afternoon to sit down and check out some new apps for your Android, and we hope to kick off that weekend content discovery with our Apps of the Week column. Once a week we round up an app from each of the writers here at Android Central, and get a quick explanation of why they chose that particular app.

This week we're looking at a couple of great game choices, an Android Wear watchface, a Passbook alternative for Android and a few other picks to round out the list. Read along with us this week and see the apps that Android Central is using.

Phil Nickinson — Leo's Fortune

If you're looking for a mindless, ad-ridden, 8-bit game to take your mind off whatever's ailing it for a few minutes at a time — well, Leo's Fortune ain't that. What you get here is stunning imagery, thought-provoking puzzles, and a fun little story line. Leo's lost his gold, and he's on the hunt. Was it a family member? Something else? I'm still playing my way through it, so I honestly don't yet know. But Leo's cute in that ugly sort of way, the game is challenging but still fun — and basically it's the best fiver I've spent all week. If you don't download this game, there's something wrong with you.

Download: Leo's Fortune ($4.99)

Jerry Hildenbrand — Ain't Got Time! WatchFace

'Cause ain't nobody got time for that.

Download: Ain't Got Time! WatchFace (Free)

Richard Devine — PassAndroid

Apple has Passbook on the iPhone for loyalty cards, boarding passes and whatnot. But what some folks might not be aware of it that Passbook passes aren't some mystical, wonderful format only the iPhone can interpret. If you can download Passbook passes, then you can use them on your Android device with PassAndroid.

It's nothing more than a wallet for Passbook passes and it'll scan, find, store and display them on your Android device. Not all of them will work, though even Apple's own, brand new iTunes Pass seems to open up OK. How much would that mess with an Apple Store employee if you went in and asked him to top it up for you on your Galaxy S5?!

Download: PassAndroid (Free)

Simon Sage — Topia

Topia is a fun little sandbox sim that allows players to play god. Alter terrain to form your own little dream planet, drop creatures to thrive with (or feed on) one another, and otherwise enjoy the view. There's not much of an actual game here, but rather just a chance to bask in your own power and see what you can come up with given the strong toolset available. With a mere touch, you can carve canyons, raise mountains, expand seas, and grow lush forests. The graphics are altogether gorgeous and the editing is highly responsive. Once you're happy with your creation, you can save it to mess around with later and start up a new one based on your tastes.

Overall, Topia is a nice, casual power trip.

Download: Topia ($1.99)

Andrew Martonik — Walk Me Up! Alarm Clock

I've never been one to rely heavily on an alarm clock, as I usually can get up when I need to, but sometimes when the occasion calls for it and you need to get up super early, the right alarm clock app can make all the difference. There are many out there that have different schemes to make sure you wake up completely, but Walk Me Up is probably one of the best ideas I've seen.

Just as the name implies, you must pick up your phone and walk a certain number of steps — which you determine — before the alarm will turn off. And no, shaking your phone doesn't work — just like pedometer apps know the difference between a shake and a step, so does Walk Me Up. If you really need to wake up, you can even disable the "snooze" button — walk, or keep hearing that alarm tone.

It's a free app as well, which makes it even easier to give it a try. There are a few in-app purchases for $0.99 each, or you can unlock everything for just $1.99.

Download: Walk Me Up! Alarm Clock (Free, In-app purchases)

(Fact) This Song's Rhythm Is Inspired by Neil Armstrong's Heartbeat on the Moon

Forty-five years ago today, a man landed on the moon for the first time. Understandably, he was a little nervous. Neil Armstrong's heart raced to 160 beats per minute as the lunar vehicle touched down on the moon's surface. But as he made that great leap for mankind and walked around the moon, his heart steadied and slowed. The rhythm of his heartbeat, which Berlin-based singer Louise Gold captured off of a radio program, become the basis for her cover of John Lennon's "Oh My Love."

Gold had long been fascinated by space, so she went looking for other cosmic sounds to incorporate into her work. At the library, she found the "Symphony of the Planets," a now out-of-print collection of recordings from NASA's Voyager unmanned probes. There is no sound in the vacuum of space, of course, but Voyager 1 and 2 picked up the electromagnetic emissions of passing planets. Those electromagnetic waves were translated into sound waves, the whirring and whizzing you can hear looped into Gold's version of "Oh My Love."

Lennon's original song sits in the space between two lovers, small and intimate. In Gold's reimagined cover, that small intimacy exists in the vast grandeur of space. Listen to it below.

Top image: EKG signal of Apollo 11 astronauts. NASA

(Ideas) 8-Bit Pixel Sunglasses Implore Everyone Around You to Deal With It

Sometimes you need a quick way to tell the world, all of it, everyone, "there is no mode of escape from the current situation other than to persevere." For those times, CNC Design offer you the universal totem: The Deal With It Sunglasses.

Laser cut and engraved from a solid piece of smoked acrylic, the Deal With It Sunglasses are perfect for the total boss whose ethos is best summed up by an 8-bit GIF that's been lingering on the internet since 2010. The shades don't have hinges, because like the will of the major bro who wears them, these sunglasses never bend.

For $31, these shades will complete any Redditor's ensemble and attitude alike—though it's up to the buyer to figure out a way for them to drop from the sky and land perfectly placed at the precise moment when the fucks-given-o-meter drops to zero. For those of us who don't speak entirely in meme? It is left for us to deal with it. [CNC Design via GeekAlerts]

(Gadget)+(apps) Control high-speed photography from your phone with this camera trigger

High-speed photography can be daunting if you're not a seasoned pro. You may have a fast camera and flash, but you probably don't have the gear (or people) you'd need to get that frozen-in-time look in most situations. MIOPS' new camera trigger might make it easier to take high-speed shots all by your lonesome, though. By itself, it can tell a DSLR to take a shot and fire your flash when it detects light, motion or sound; you can capture lightning the moment it strikes, or your cat the moment it bolts across the room. The device supports external sensors like pressure pads, too.

It really comes alive if you pay for the Ultimate variant, which adds remote control from a Bluetooth-equipped Android or iOS device. Unlike most trigger apps, MIOPS' mobile software lets you set up capture scenarios that only take pictures under very specific conditions. You can tell your taking time-lapse photos as soon as it gets dark, and snap additional lightning pictures if a big storm brews; in short, you shouldn't have to keep a close watch over your camera.

MIOPS is looking to crowdfunding to get its peripheral off the ground. If you're intrigued by the idea, you can pledge $189 for the Basic unit, or $229 for Ultimate. Everything should ship in December, so long as everything goes according to plan. That's a lot of money to spend for a specialized tool, but it might pay off if you're keen to shoot more than just the usual portraits and still life scenes.

(Fact) (Tips) Don’t Want Your Laptop Tampered With? Just Add Glitter Nail Polish

Eric Michaud demonstrates a universal pin-tumbler lock decoder, used by intelligence services to read locks and create keys.

HAMBURG — If you’re traveling overseas, across borders or anywhere you’re afraid your laptop or other equipment might be tampered with or examined, you’ve got a new secret weapon to improve security. Glitter nail polish.

(Innovation) This Tiny, Inexpensive Microchip Can Diagnose Diabetes Instantaneously

Stanford researchers recently published work on a small microchip they've developed that scans for diabetes in a fraction of the time of current tests. Additionally, their test is reusable for upwards of 15 patients, can be performed on site, and is more accurate in differentiating the biomarkers that distinguish type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In other words, it's a major milestone in diabetes research.

The chip itself only costs about $20 and is roughly the size of a glass slide. Its foundation lies on "an array of nanoparticle-sized islands of gold, which intensify the fluorescent signal, enabling reliable antibody detection." Auto-antibodies, which are responsible for attacking the healthy tissues that produce insulin, are found in type 1 diabetes but not in type 2. With a highly sensitive fluorescent detector, these antibodies are much more apparent and easier to recognize.

Patients are often misdiagnosed when it comes to diabetes, especially when currently there is no standardized testing method but rather a flurry of tests that can produce varying and sometimes contradictory results. Patients can also use the new microchip to track their auto-antibody levels before symptoms even begin, thus eradicating late-onset diabetes.

A test with immediate results is not only desirable to those at risk of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but also for developing nations whose labs and screening centers are underfunded and ill-equipped for diagnosis. Stanford's development team has applied for a patent and is currently seeking approval from the FDA. They hope to debut the technology soon. [via MIT Technology Review]