Archive for November, 2008
November 20, 2008 at 4:27 pm · Filed under Misc & Random
Want a working motorized boat but can’t afford those expensive jet skis and speed boats? For $99, you can have one. It’s inflatable and it’s low-speed but it can hold you and run by itself on water!
The Motorized Bumper Boat is an inflatable floating device shaped like an oversized car seat. Designed for swimming pool use, it can play just like regular bumper cars, able to run aimlessly for hours. The air-filled body will cause your boat to bounce off any time it hits a blocking surface such as walls, other bumper boats and fat people. As a built-in added option, you can close your eyes and pretend it’s a jet ski that’s clocking insane speeds.
It packs a functional motor that propels you forward and allows you to cruise down your swimming pool at 2 mph. It can safely hold children and adults up to 200 pounds but is strictly a one-seater. Fitting two kids in there, no matter how small, simply isn’t likely to work. Seating position is comfortable and leaned-back. It is outfitted with a durable and puncture-proof PVC body.
Extremely Fun
Turn your pool into a virtual carnival with a smattering of bumper boats. It’s perfect for children’s parties and is likely fun for adults too. Use in open water is possible but make sure you keep an eye on the kids. With wave currents and strong air, the engine is likely insufficient to steer them to safety quite easily.
The boat is 41 inches tall and 31.5 inches wide with a 44 inch diameter. The motor runs on six size “D” batteries that you will have to buy separately. Electric air pump comes with the unit, making it easy to assemble and use.
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November 19, 2008 at 4:22 pm · Filed under Gadgets
You will end up touching dozens, if not hundreds, of germ-filled surfaces per day. “There’s very few surfaces that are truly clean,” said Dr. Aaron Glatt, speaking for the Infectious Disease Society of America. According to him and other experts, everyday items are filled with germs and quite a few of them can prove infectious.
Astonishingly enough, a whole lot of everyday objects including purses, ATM machines, door knobs, cell phones and plenty more are veritable breeding grounds for germs. You are likely touching them without even realizing that doing so puts you in contact with a world of unseen living organisms. Remote control units for hotel room TVs, for one, are probably one of the nastiest surfaces you can find. Virtually everyone who stays in the room uses it while none of the people who clean up after probably bother to disinfect them.
A handy tool to have during such a time is the Sterilize UV Scanner Germ Disinfector. Portable and handy, this ultra-violet powered gizmo is capable of destroying 99% of all surface bacteria and viruses in a matter of seconds. Common infectants such as the flu virus, hepatitis and E-coli should be easily dispensed of with a single pass of the UV scanner, which uses the same disinfecting technology employed in many hospitals and medical facilities.
Great for home, work and travel use, the lightweight unit dispenses UVC light as soon as the lid is flipped open and does it work immediately on any surface it touches. Costing only $19.98, it runs on 4 AAA batteries.
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November 18, 2008 at 4:20 pm · Filed under Fashion
I hate wallets. I find them too bulky and too cumbersome to wear. Even kids already have enough gadgets to fatten up their pockets so a full-sized wallet is really no longer a good idea. I haven’t used a wallet in over five years and, from what I’ve seen online, a lot of people feel the same way. In place of a regular wallet, I use a single-file plastic cardholder to keep all my ID, ATM and credit cards in plus a money clip to hold my bills securely. I always thought I had a really smart setup there until I saw the Dopp Regatta 88 Series Front Getaway Pocket.
The Dopp Getaway Pocket is, for lack of a better description, a half-wallet. It has three credit card pockets, one ID window (other side from what is shown in the picture) and an area for keeping bills. If you need to carry additional cards, you can fit in two on each card pocket or slip it into the ID slot. It’s simple, slim and tight.
You can keep it in either the back or front pants pockets. Since it isn’t bulky, it causes no issues either way. You can even fit it comfortably in a shirt’s front pocket. With such painless options available for the Dopp Regatta, it boggles me that regular wallets even exist.
Specs
The Dopp Regatta 88 Series Front Getaway Pocket is made from full grain oil tanned cowhide leather (both exterior and interior) and measures 4.25 inches long, 3 inches wide and half an inch thick. It weighs a mere two ounces and comes with a lifetime warranty.
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November 17, 2008 at 4:15 pm · Filed under Misc & Random
While it’s never cool to regularly get into bar fights and street squabbles, it’s very comforting to know that you know enough to be able to survive one. The best way to ensure your survival in any fight is, of course, to end it as soon as you can. The longer it draws on, the greater the chances that someone can sneak up and ruin whatever new designer gadget you have in tow.
If you want to to survive flash attacks, group fights and unexpected scuffles, Mike Serr’s Barroom Fight Tactics DVD should prove a sufficiently complete guide. In the 2-DVD, 2.5 hour set, Mike makes a good point of showing techniques that will allow you to end fights abruptly, with as little damage to yourself as possible. The techniques are the same ones he learned after years of working as a “cooler”, hired by bar and club owners to clean up businesses that have been overrun by gangs and criminal elements, and an international bounty hunter, one of the most vicious jobs available in the planet.
Learn speed strikes that will quickly end fights and scare anyone else considering getting a piece of you. Watch how to deliver ten powerful attacks that mess up your opponents badly. Find the most vulnerable pressure points for instant knockouts, learn how to throw heavier opponents to the ground and plenty of other useful fighting skills 100% applicable where it really matters – on the street.
The DVD instructions are clear and properly demonstrated with adequate amounts of precautions. Most likely fight scenarios are covered, including those where you will be seriously outnumbered or grossly under-matched.
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November 16, 2008 at 4:16 pm · Filed under Gadgets
The audiophiles can skip this post, but those who like to see their work areas donned in more imaginative gear might want to stick around. These two novelty speakers might not pack the same flavor as your top-end Bose units but can certainly get the job done while actually bringing a smile to your face.
500XL Desktop Ear Bud Speakers
The traditional ear bud headphones get the upsize treatment in this speaker which is approximately 500 times the size of the popular portable headset. The giant ear bud speakers measure in at 7 inches in length and 4 inches in diameter – more appropriately fitting your face than your ears.
You wouldn’t want them resting on your earlobes anyway because they can be loud, equipped with a built-in amplifier. They can be powered either by batteries, USB or a standard wall outlet. Cost is $39.99 from Perpetual Kid.
I reckon this should work nice with a beer belt and six beers in tow.
On-The-Air Desktop Speakers
If you’re outfitting your desk with some retro designs, this 6-inch tall 50’s-style microphone can prove a good accessory. It’s a two-function unit, serving as both a speaker and VoIP telephone. While the audio leaves much to ask for, it’s cute and includes a built-in volume control. Think of it as a functionally-deficient toy – not much to offer but good enough to keep, especially when costing less than $1. Get it from CNK Promos.
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November 15, 2008 at 4:10 pm · Filed under Music
For the musician who wants to practice his instrument but without a full orchestra of friends at his beck and call, here’s the next best thing: Play Along CD’s!
Created by Winifried Hackl, a teacher and a musician, the CD’s try to fill the lack of adequate accompaniment available to solo instrumentalists looking to put in some rehearsal time. Recorded with a full orchestra in the background, you can take your skills on the violin, piano or keytar (actually MIDI might sound terrible on this) to new heights by playing along with Courtly Music Unlimited’s wide selection of recordings.
The CD’s are grouped according to the instrument you will play and you current skill level. If you’re playing the tenor and are at least on an intermediate level, for instance, you can get the Old English Dances from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book CD, which includes eleven classic dance selections you can play along to. Each CD will have each selection in two recordings, one with your part in it and the other with just your accompaniment. That way, you can learn the number by ear before diving in to play.
They offer an ample selection of CD’s for everyone from absolute beginners (Play Along Teaching Materials) to accomplished soloists (Music Partners CDs). A wide range of music choices for accompaniment is also offered well beyond the traditional classics, including modern rock, country and big band swing.
This is a great way to advance your music skills, playing along accomplished musicians who can actually play their notes on cue. While a little anti-social, it sure beats playing along with an imagined orchestra and should prove immensely helpful to helping ease your learning curve.
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November 14, 2008 at 4:08 pm · Filed under Gadgets
Sure, you’re not a spy but don’t you sometimes wish you were? All that glamour, secrecy, backstabbing and action – your life will be like a veritable soap opera. You can feel a little like one now with the extremely inconspicuous Mini Pen Digital Camera Recorder.
Take covert video action for your own amusement, private surveillance or practical research with relative ease. Use it to tape practical jokes, boring lectures or any event where using an actual camera might not be so welcome. Just hold your pen on one hand, hook it up to your shirt pocket or sit it in an inconspicuous area, click the record button and let it do the job.
The Camera
According to the retailers, it uses the smallest mid-resolution digital camera recorder. I’m not sure about the claims of being the smallest but it definitely is small. If I saw it on the street, I would think of it as nothing but a regular pen.
The pen records video through an extremely inconspicuous pinhole near the top of the unit. It captures AVI video in 352 x 288 resolution and stores it on a built-in 4 GB flash drive. Unscrewing the pen will reveal a USB plug that you can stick into any computer’s available port to copy or play the recorded video files.
Pressing on the pen’s head (the way you make an ordinary pen retract) will turn the recording on or off. Unless manually stopped, it will record continuously until either the rechargeable battery dies out (3 hours) or the disk runs full (around 12 hours worth of video). Batteries can be recharged by plugging into a USB port or using the bundled power adapter.
All in all, this is a very powerful gadget with plenty of practical uses. Of course, it probably has a hundred impractical ones, but doesn’t every cool toy suffer the same curse? Only works with Windows.
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November 13, 2008 at 4:05 pm · Filed under Fashion, Misc & Random
“Woah, man, those are some bad sunglasses!”
Joke’s on them though. These sunglasses, while they actually do look bad, aren’t just regular spectacles. They’re spy sunglasses capable of high-level covert sneaking and peeping.
If you want to keep an eye on things without giving up your position or are just plain voyeuristic, these Spy Sunglasses will let you watch scenes unfold despite having your back turned. Witness how the world works when you’re not supposed to see what’s happening. Discover secret handshakes, notice unfavorable facial expressions or just spy on topless girls sunbathing without letting them know about it. Featuring special dark smoke-grey lenses that reflect images like a rear view mirror, they effectively outfit you with eyes on the back of your hand.
The Spy Sunglasses cost $19.98 from Things You Never Knew Existed and is currently in stock.
<b>Making It Cool</b>
While this might be useful in a few situations, it’s just plain unpalatable to wear because of how it looks. It’s like an 80’s throwback to biker chic – seriously not my style.
If you want to be able to use this for most situations and actually look normal, you’ll need it to appear at least reasonably cool. A possible solution is to buy the spy glasses, get a new fashionable frame and have the optical shop outfit it with the Spy Sunglasses’ mirrored lens. Unless the angle of the frame prevents the lens from receiving images from behind you, this should turn out to be a plausible solution.
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November 12, 2008 at 4:05 pm · Filed under Artwork & Design
I liked books when I was little. Now, everything I read is electronic. It just doesn’t make sense to pay extra for printing that thick volume when I can have it occupying a mere 10 megabytes on my PC or even smaller on one of my mobile gadgets. I’m no tree-hugger but, seriously, I find printing books wasteful and unnecessary.
An encyclopedia set is something I remember us having back when I was little. You ask a kid about it now and they’ll probably ask you to repeat the question, thinking you said “Wikipedia”. Given the relative ease of electronic books, I can’t believe regular bookstores are still in business. Maybe one more generation growing up and paper-based reading will finally go out of style.
This is all really just a pretext to introducing this horrific book art by Cara Barer which gave me fits of nightmares. It’s eerily creepy while seeming incredibly simple. She took thick volumes of hardcovers, flipped them open all the way, folded up some pages, crumpled a few others and the result is sheer horror photography. It’s damn good and amazingly creative!
While I’m not sure if horror was the intent, I found the photographs laden with dark and fearful feelings. I found it scary.
You see, I threw away all the books I’ve ever owned. The few ones that I really liked, I OCR’d and saved on my computer. I’m probably just not used to all that mess of paper anymore. After all, who really needs much paper these days?
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November 11, 2008 at 3:58 pm · Filed under Fashion
Awesome pendant alert with all signals blaring! Subdued, tasteful and fun, this Golden Saltine necklace from Emily Elizabeth Jewelry balances class and playfulness enough to be a delicious hit among the cool crowd.
I used to like getting necklaces but the dearth of severely unimaginative offerings every time I looked has somehow dented my enthusiasm. Maybe this can get me excited again although my mind (not to mention my wallet) has been preoccupied with other fascinations so it probably won’t.
The mouth-watering flaky cracker necklace sports a brass saltine pendant about 1.25-inches in size and is also available in 14K gold plate. Priced at $24 with a gold-plated spring clasp and fine cable chain, it looks elegant enough to work with a dress and kooky enough to accessorize your urban threads.
The craftsmanship is impressive and the charm really looks good enough to eat. Careful to have it lying around after a drunken spell though – a combination of the munchies plus an alcohol-induced propensity to make bad decisions can result in broken teeth attempting to bite into solid brass!
Additionally, they have a number of other designs including these “Big Little Statement” necklaces which should prove quite fun worn together at the same time. Want to answer but don’t care to utter a word? Just hoist the brass charms up and make your point in silence! I wish they had more options than just “YES”, “NO” and “OK” though. A “MAYBE” should prove an excellent addition, along with a “STFU” and “KTHXBYE”.
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