Okay, I am warning you. This is going to be another one of those posts where I quickly pass along a bunch of random links. Some are bike related, some are design related and hopefully one or two will fit both categories. Just don’t try very hard to look for a unifying theme.

Earlier today, a coworker sent me the text from a Gizmodo post titled “New Material Provides Constant Light For 12 Years Without a Power Source”. As I read about the self luminous micro particles that can added to paint (or injection molded), I immediately thought how great a true luminous paint would be for bike frames or components. As soon as I clicked through to the Gizmodo post, I was happy to see the picture (shown here) of a bike with luminous wheels. I always thought that the glow in the dark Biomega MN02 was a good idea in theory, but these Litrospheres might be just the thing to make that idea more practical as a real safety feature.

The people over at Keen footwear have an interesting contest that is open to industrial designers and other creative folks. In a nutshell, you just create an original work devoted to sustainability, positive environmental change, and/or raising environmental awareness. Products related to bicycling can certainly fit that criteria, so take a look at the Keen Stand Up contest if you have a great idea. You could win up to $25,000 or one of five $5,000 prizes, so the contest is worth checking into. Stand Up is the contest for creative people, but Keen is running two other environmentally themed contests as well. Read about all three “Stand” contests here.

Gene over at Biking Bis alerted me to an important post on his site. The Cascade Bicycle Club is currently raising money to help the victims of the devastating floods that hit the Pacific Northwest last week. Get more details and find out how you can help here at the Biking Bis post. Note that Gene is putting his money where his mouth is by personally donating $5 to the CBC relief fund for each of the first 20 bloggers who link to his post (that’s up to 100 bucks for any of you who couldn’t handle the extremely complex math)

I don’t think I have ever mentioned toilets on the blog before, but Cool Hunting posted about these decals to dress up the old plain white porcelain tank. The bike one looks like a perfect gift for the cyclist on your Christmas list. Of course, if you want to spend a little more than the 20 bucks for a bicycle toilet graphic, you could always shop here. It seems that Tailwind Sports is having a big Disco themed garage sale on eBay. The starting bids on these bikes are way out of my price range, but at least the shipping is included.