When Tammany Atkinson of Mississauga, Canada saw how chafed her year-old son's knees got from crawling over her hardwood floors, she designed a new style of pants with neoprene knee pad inserts. The knees of the pants have pleats to allow for flexing, and vents that let you take the neoprene pads out for washing. Check out the Cowboy model in stretch denim, and Ivy League in brushed prewashed cotton. $35 a pair.
http:www.beeskneesbaby.com

If you still don’t know what the acronym PDA stands for, you’ll love the Pico Pad. Designed for 21st century Luddites, Pico Pad is, simply, a tiny pen and sticky pad enclosed in a case made of Italian paper (available in six metallic colors) that conveniently fits into the average wallet like a credit card. Designer/mechanical engineer Alan Regala compares his innovation (patents pending) to a car sun visor: “You only use it about 10 percent of the time while driving, but aren’t you glad it’s there when you need it?”
http:www.picopad.com

Members of the Amorphic Society design computer-controlled machines that resemble humans, animals, and elements of nature in motion. Three kinetic sculptures are currently on public display. In San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens, “Urge” is activated when someone sits on a nearby bench. In Lille, France, the figurative clock sculpture “Foetus to Man” eventually stands erect. And “Growing Raining Tree” rises from a pool of water at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center. Stills and videos online:
http:www.amorphicrobotworks.org