There are a bunch of "lovable" alarm clocks, and concepts out there. I don''t have much trouble waking up if I HAVE to, and usually my dog wanting to go to the toilet works well enough. But I think they are a great example of applied technology and design. I have seen a lot by reading blogs that have odd inventions, my favorite being the helicopter alarm clock. time's up, it sends a small wheel flying up into the ceiling, and it needs to retrieved to turn the thing off. There is one with puzzle piezes that are thrown far away and need to be retrieved and placed, and one that has wheels and moves randomly until it gets stuck, probably far from your bed. One the rolls your covers away from you, mommy style, and one that hangs on top of your head, and everytime you hit snooze it goes up, till you get up.