Time is an unforgiving mistress. It feels like summer only just started, and now here we are with a mere fortnight or so separating us from September.

Yessiree, summer 2014 has well and truly flown by. It's not over yet, of course, but we're already halfway through August, and before you know it, the leaves will be off the trees and we'll all be swapping our flip-flops for big winter boots.

So when does summer officially end?

September 23 is the closest thing we've got to an 'official' date - that's the day of the autumnal equinox, so that's arguably when summer truly ends and autumn begins in earnest. However, different people will tell you different things - some will say that summer is over on the 1st of September, while particularly desperate people may argue that summer goes on until the clocks go back on October 26!

Still, if we take the aforementioned equinox as our 'End of Summer' date, that leaves us with 39 days to go. Yes, it sounds like a lot, but those five-and-a-half weeks are guaranteed to zip by just as quickly as the rest of summer has.

With that in mind, here are 3 awesome ways to make the most of Summer '14 (or what's left of it, anyway):

1. Have a BBQ!

Summer ain't summer until you've had yourself a barbecue. If you haven't fired up the grill yet, now's the time - don't forget your guitar-shaped BBQ tongs!

2. Go to the beach!

The British beaches won't be much fun once autumn arrives, so go and get some sand in your shoes while there's still some sunshine to be had. We've got a couple of great beach towels that you can take along with you.

3. Hang out at the park with your friends!

If you're lucky enough to have a couple of nice green spaces in your town, failing to make use of them before September 23 would represent a tragic waste on your part. Grab your friends, grab your Chill Out Wedge, and go enjoy Mr Sun before he heads off on his winter holidays!

Wednesday gets kind of a bad rap, y'know? Everybody calls it 'Hump Day' because it's slap-bang in the middle of the week; once you're past 'Hump Day', you're freewheeling downhill into the tender embrace of the weekend.

But frankly, we've always found Thursday to be far more hump-like than Wednesday. When you wake up on Wednesday, you think, "Oh, wow, it's Wednesday already!" When you wake up on Thursday, you just want to know why it isn't Friday yet. Wednesday feels like progress; Thursday feels like a delay.

Still, no matter which day you call Hump Day, there's never any harm in a bit of forward planning. If the weekend starts at 5pm on Friday, then the weekend is barely two days away, and so now is the perfect time to start thinking about how you're going to spend it.

Here are some suggestions...

3 Things You'll Need This Weekend

1. American-Style Beer Pong Set

2. Bongzilla (6 Man Beer Bong)

3. Test Tube Shots

There are plenty of other amazing weekend essentials in our Party & Drinking section!

Did you love Pixar's Cars? Then you'll love Disney's Planes! Join Dusty Crophopper as he takes to the skies-

What's that? You've already seen Planes? Oh, well, perhaps you'll be interested in its sequel, which is released in the UK this Friday!

Here's the trailer for Planes: Fire & Rescue:

Yeah, we're super-psyched as well. Now, while you sit back and wait for the the film reel to arrive at your local cinema, why not check out this fella:

That is the Inflatable RC Dusty Crophopper toy, and it's available right here at Gadget Inspector! Dusty can perform 360^o spins, steer in all directions, and inflate in seconds - he's the ultimate RC toy!

Oh, and due to our ongoing Remote Control Megasale, the Dusty Crophopper toy is £10 cheaper than usual! The RRP is £39.99, but if you buy your Dusty today, you'll only pay £29.99!*

So what are you waiting for? Order your Dusty Crophopper now and get ready for the family movie of the summer!

*Not including delivery.

These days, people put almost as much thought into their choice of iPhone case as they put into their choice of network. Heck, some people put even more thought into the case: "Vodafone? Whatever mate, just as long as I can get a case that makes it look like a VW campervan."

There are all kinds of awesome iPhone cases on the market nowadays, but beware - there are some truly horrendous ones out there too. Here are some of the worst we've seen:

Chunky Retro iPhone Case

You know how mobile phones get smaller and smaller every year? Extremely clever people have spent their lives trying to make all that technology fit in your pocket - imagine how those people must feel when you put your slim 'n' sexy iPhone in one of these monstrosities. You're basically telling them that all the work they've done since 1985 was a big waste of time.

Hand iPhone Case

What on Earth was the thinking behind this? 'It'll feel like you're holding your lover's hand while you're on the phone'? Nope, sorry - it'll feel like you're holding a severed hand, and that's just creepy. It's like something out of The Addams Family.

Nose-Picking iPhone Case

Cripes. It's bad enough that someone thought a case with a nose on it would be a good idea, but the promotional imagery makes it clear that you're supposed to hold it in a very particular way. Gross.

Breast iPhone Case

Oh, and if you thought that the nostrils and the severed hand were a bit too tasteful, here's an iPhone case that's shaped like a single boob! Can we just agree that iPhone cases should never be modelled on human body parts?

Giant Isopod iPhone Case

You'd never pick up the phone again, would you?

Bathing Woman iPhone Case

Do people actually find this sort of thing arousing? Why can't they just type naughty words into Google Images like the rest of us?

Bulletproof iPhone Case

"What case have you got for your phone?"

"Oh, I've got this awesome bulletproof case."

"Why? Have people been trying to shoot your iPhone?"

"No, but it means that I can drop it and it won't break."

"Where is it?"

"I had to leave it at home because the case was too heavy."

"You're an idiot and we are no longer friends."

That Thing from Your Nightmares

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Lobster Phone iPhone Case

Oh look, a reference to surreal artist Salvador Dali! Allegedly with an iPhone buried somewhere inside it! If there's one thing worse than idiocy, it's pretentious idiocy.

Switchblade iPhone Case

A great accessory for the stylish, 21st-century gang member, this is probably the only case on this list that could actually get you arrested. Unless the police think that the severed hand case is actually, well, a severed hand.

Want a half-decent case for your iPhone? Click here!

It's been well over a year since we first found out that a seventh Star Wars film was in the pipeline. And yet we still know relatively little about Episode VII - plot details, character info, and even the proper title are still cloaked in mystery.

Still, we're not completely in the dark. Here's what we do know about the new Star Wars:

• The movie will be released on December 18, 2015 (that's only 506 days from now!) This means that Episode VII will be the first proper Star Wars film not to be released in May ("December The Force Be With You" just doesn't have the same ring, does it?)


• JJ Abrams (of Lost and Star Trek fame) will direct the new film. The screenplay was a collaboration between Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, whose previous writing credits include The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Neither writer had anything to do with the prequel trilogy, which can only be a good sign.
  
  
• The film will be set roughly 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi (which, as it happens, was released just over 30 years ago). This chronological leap makes allowances for the wrinkles of...
  
  
• ...the original cast, most of whom will be reprising their roles from Episodes 4, 5 and 6. Mark Hamill (Luke), Carrie Fisher (Leia), Harrison Ford (Han), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Kenny Baker (R2-D2) have all been confirmed as Episode VII cast members.
  
  
• It's not all about the veterans - the film will feature a decent number of newcomers, too. Among the confirmed cast members are Gwendoline Christie (Brienne from Game of Thrones), John Boyega (Moses from Attack the Block) and Andy Serkis (Gollum from The Lord of the Rings).

And you thought Gollum was CGI.

• Much of the film will be shot at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. Other filming locations: Iceland (that's another leaf this film is taking from the Game of Thrones playbook)and Abu Dhabi.
  
  
• Even though Episode VII is still a solid 16 months away, we can already be relatively certain that Episode VIII and Episode IX will follow soon afterwards. Rian Johnson - director of Looper, Brick, and several episodes of Breaking Bad - is reportedly pencilled in to direct the eighth instalment.
  
  
• Finally, are you wondering what role (if any) George Lucas will play in the seventh episode of his beloved sci-fi brainchild? He's a creative consultant, which basically makes him a walking, talking series bible. He tells everyone else the rules of the SW universe (e.g. "the cars don't have wheels, they fly with antigravity") and makes sure that they stick to them.

Even with all these exciting details (more or less) set in stone, the actual movie is still a long way off (consider bookmarking howmanydaysuntilstarwars.com if you're keen to keep track of exactly how long). If you're struggling to get your Star Wars fix in the meantime, check out this cool Star Wars stuff:

• RC Inflatable R2-D2
• Darth Vader Mug