Pedal Power Saves the World

Especially for the bike to work guys in our office who are also addicted to gadgets (I'm looking at you Tonks)

Charge up your gadgets with pedal power while you bike

Nikon Projector in a Camera

Nikon have just announced their new range of cameras coming out in the fall, and probably the most interesting one is this - it's integrated a projector into the camera itself, so you can display the photos on a wall or something for people to look at. Not sure how long the battery lasts if you use this, but would save the crowding round the lcd screen post picture taking (providing you were somewhere dark enough to see the projection)

Best Bluetooth Headset?

I have no idea, but definitely one of the most innovative I've seen in a while. I just hope it works properly.

Maybe we should pair it with the thinnest watch phone for the perfect mobile solution? (free the pockets, free the world..... or something).

Deadly Shakers

Life getting a little too boring? Your salt and pepper shakers no longer doing it for you? Here's the solution - just make sure you fill with non-deadly salt and pepper.....

You are the controller

Welcome to the future, courtesy of the XBox 360. (and thanks to Tonks for showing me this)

Foot Pump Power

Orange have released a camping friendly phone charger as part of their sponsorship of Glastonbury. Given the rain that normally accompanies the event, and the general lack of sunshine to power solar charges over there, this could be a life saver for the weekend long festival. In fact, it might just be a good idea in general - lots of exercise if you want to gossip away on your phone for hours on end....

Get Your Jetpack Today

Once again folks, the future is here and I didn't even realize it. I've always fancied a jetpack (haven't we all?), and now, for the small sum of $100k, you can have your own. It'll do 60mph for half an hour, so should get you to Safeway and back, although holding onto the loaf of bread on the way home might be a little difficult. Maybe they have a slot where you can put the loaf in, so you have ready made toast when you get home? Now that would be really cool.

Check out the video below, and if you want one, the site is here. (and slightly off=topic, but couldn't they have found a better name for this thing? The Martin Jetpack? I mean, it could be called Dave, or Bob, or Steve or Rich or something. And it's a Jetpack, not your neighbor! How about Super Future Flyer? Or Jetpack Jockey? Or something.......)

Hoverboard's are real (well, nearly)

I don't think they're quite released yet, but you can register your interest on the site to make sure you're first in line when they do. Doubt they'll be cheap, but 'surfing' through the mall car park has to be worth a decent chunk of change....

Smooth Skating

Both my brothers used to be pretty good skaters when they were growing up (Daniel even went for trials for the England roller hockey team - think he got in but then never played for them, but I'm old so my memory's going these days), so I'll wait for them to comment on these. Anything that gets me down the street with less exertion, and a nice smooth ride seem good to me though, so I'm voting yes for these. Not sure how hockey stops might work in these though - could be fun watching someone else try.....

Hmm, one day I'll actually learn to type properly and get the spelling on my titles correct....

Ninja Umbrella

Definitely in the category of stuff you'll have trouble getting through airport security is the Ninja Umbrella. I'm not sure if it provides special powers or not, but I'm thinking Rihanna probably needs one....

Mini R/C Planes

If you've had enough of those flying helicopters bouncing off your walls, it might just be time for a little upgrade.

It's Party Time

If you want to kick that party off in style with some Al Brown style disco antics (and you don't want Phil ruining your house permanently with a dry ice smoke machine), this is the perfect thing for you. Your own portable disco wherever you lay your hat (now that's your home).

Photo Geotagging

If this is real, I want it now (and it's just saved me a few pennies as I was thinking of buying a standalone gadgetthingamyjiggy to do this)

My Next Camera?

This new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 (I'm liking how they make these names so memorable and roll off the tongue) might just be my next camera - waterproof and shockproof, it'll work in the pool, on the beach and on the slopes. It also happens to shoot HD video. If the picture quality is up to scratch, it might just be a winner.

Bluetooth Bracelet

If you really can't be bothered to reach into your pocket to see who's calling, this bluetooth bracelet with caller-id might be just the ticket for you. And it's only $25 - seems a bit of a bargain to me.....

Bra Dryer

If this ever comes out for real, it's likely to go on the wife's birthday list.

Need some help with that walk?

To me, this looks like some form of punishment (although they have added some strategic padding in there), but to others, it might be a life changer.

I guess Honda took the "develop a fuel efficient mode of transport" to the extreme, as this one looks like it's powered by donuts and Chipolte (in my case it would be anyway). They even have a nice instructional video for you, so you can see how it all works.

Oprah Chooses Kindle

In a sign of great taste, Oprah today chose the Kindle to be her new favorite thing. I held out on attaining this gadget for the longest time (well, a long time by my standards), but then my wife got me one for my birthday this year. It's seen loads and loads of use since then, my reading has increased and I've never wanted to throw it out of the window. It's right up there with my iPhone as "essential" in my life, so if you're on the fence about one of these, I'd recommend just going for it. I can't imagine why you'd regret it (unless you don't actually read, in which case how did you make it this far down the paragraph, or maybe you're spending a lot of time abroad so can't take advantage of the online purchasing as often as you need).

Oh yeah, if you're actually buying one of these, you can use OPRAHWINFREY as a discount code, you'll get $50 off before Nov 1.

Favorite Ice Cubes?

These AK 47 Bullets just went up near the top of mine.

YoYo iPod Charger

iYO YOYO from Peter Muungano on Vimeo.

Want one, want one, want one.

Little known fact/confession time. When I was younger, I was pretty addicted to the old yoyo. I could even do tricks (and yes Heidi, this was after I learned to complete the Rubik's Cube ;-) Come to think of it, I wasn't even that young when I finished - definitely late teens when I purchased my last one - maybe a trip to Toys R Us is in order (if those sort of places even still sell real toys these days).

iPhone Coasters

Some people have some great ideas, and these iPhone coasters fit into that category. And, you can even buy them here (not sure what the going rate for coasters is, but $60 sounds a little pricey to me)

Shoes and Phones - the perfect wife gift

And it's only 22 bucks...

Mercedes iPhone Dock

Confession time - I put in my order for a new 3G iPhone yesterday, so only a month or so to go before I get my hands on (please, please let the exchange synching work like a dream). Obviously, Mercedes were thinking about me when they announced this little toy yesterday - the iPhone dock. It charges your phone, hooks it into the phone system in the car, and allows you to get at your music from the hifi. Now all I have to do is work out two things - can they retrofit it to existing cars, and can the wife survive without the CD space....

Posting every day lasted one day!

What a surprise, although given the week I'm having this week, the fact that I'm still alive to post this today is something of a bonus. And the fact that it's Friday, which means I can grab a little sleep tomorrow morning.

So, to make up for my abject failure, I'll attempt to save the planet with one post. This thing here is a portable power pack, that you can charge in the sun. Sounds perfect for the camping world if you don't want to get way out without some method of charging your iPod. Obviously, this thing isn't recommended for camping in The Lake District, but up here in The Rockies it should work just fine. It's even got a USB slot, in addition to a couple of regular plugs and a car charger type thing, plus it's real and buyable today - available from Amazon here

Spy Sunglasses

If using sunglasses to check out the girls on the beach isn't quite enough, and you need to replay your view afterwards, this is the solution for you (but maybe you really need some psych counselling, or just your own girlfriend?).

$400 and a 15 metre range back to the receiver, which has 2GB of storage, along with playback, and it looks like you can hook up multiple cameras to it. Hours of fun for someone, I'm sure.

Jawbone II - The Return

My favorite Bluetooth headset (actually, I've only ever owned 2) just got updated this week. The Jawbone II is smaller and lighter than the original, and still packs all that top secret electronic wizardry to prevent noise that shouldn't be in your speech (like the 40 mile an hour wind as you walk from the airport to the rental car office) from being there.

It's been initially released in black (like the pic here) and apparently silver and gold (!?) are coming soon. The only downside to the smaller size is that the talk time has gone down from a supposed 6 hours, to just 4, although standby time has been increased. I have a feeling that the first gen never actually got to 6 hours, so maybe they're just re-rating to a more realistic number, but what would I know.

Kindle Back in Stock

The Kindle is back in stock on Amazon. I finally (about 6 months after I first thought about it) got to see one in real life (courtesy of Mr Batty, who brought his into the office) and I have to say, I was pretty impressed. Reading on it looked like it was at least as good as a book, and the fact that you can download books directly from the device was great. It might be on the things on my list for if I get some spending together (along with a proper dslr camera), but we'll see.

Chips in a Cup (holder)

If you really can't wait until you get home to eat you McD's fries, this could be perfect for you. For the majority of people however, it's the most useless gadget in the world.

iPhone Analysts Missing the Point?

I have a vested interested in Apple stocks shooting up to unbelievable levels, as I own some, and it would help soothe the pain of the last few months performance on the stock market. OK, disclaimer over, even though I didn't need to do one in the first place.

There seems to be a lot of stock analysts who started off the week (or the last 18 months I guess) continually pinging the iPhone as something that will never work for business users. With today's announcement that it's going to support ActiveSynch and Exchange out of the box, it's got one business user here who's likely to move over once he can justify spending money on two different phones in one year (and yes, 3G would help make my decision a lot easier), and I suspect a lot more out there in the so-called business world (but do people really differentiate between their work and other life anymore, especially if they need a business phone that connects them to the office full time?).

Some of the analysts are still now saying that business users won't switch due to the lack of a tactile qwerty keyboard. I'm sure some won't, but I bet it's not everyone. I've tried typing on an iPhone, and it was a lot better than I thought it would be (and I never manage to get a full sentence right on my BlackJack II anyway, so not much difference there).

But, and it's a big but, I think the biggest part of todays news wasn't the business support - the iPhone will get new users in the business world who had been holding out, but there was a whole new market segment that appeared magically today - Gaming (and I mean real games, not Tetris).

If anyone saw a couple of the possibilities in the presentations today, you know it's going to be a pretty perfect platform for mobile gaming. Apart from pretty impressive frame rates (and the gorgeous graphics) to make games look pretty, the API for the motion sensor makes this the new mobile Wii. There are so many possibilities out there for this thing, and if it's as easy to develop on as they say, we just witnessed the next generation of gaming without even realizing.

So, I think Research in Motion has a(nother) viable competitor, but the real company who should be worried is Nintendo - the DS is great, but there's no movies or music. And if you could have a Wii for the road, that fits neatly in your pocket and makes phonecalls, wouldn't that be cooler? The PSP held me captive for a good few years with it's fantastic screen and decent games, but it ain't got no motion sensor.

Isn't gaming one of the big new markets the analysts watch these days? Didn't Microsoft sink a couple of billion into getting the XBOX to be accepted as a kick-ass system (even if the red flashing lights of death always appear at some point)? Didn't Sony help win the HD format war with the PS3? Don't Nokia come out with a crappy N-Gage every couple of years, trying to get us to pretend gaming on a phone would be the next big thing? Well, I think today, gaming on a phone just became the next big thing.

Blood Powered Tattoo/Phone Thing?

Cool but very scary concept. I'm guessing JB is already in the queue to get one, so he can realize his dream of the perfect gadget.

Portable Microwave Cube?

From the inventors of things you never knew you really needed comes the Cube Microwave. If you need your Hot Pockets where ever you travel, this thing is for you (but you still need to plug it in...

New Sony Ericsson Phone

It even almost got named after our company (close enough if you've been drinking all day anyway). Lots of text details here, but just the briefest preview in video. It'll make you want one (maybe)

Modular Phone - The Answer to all of our Prayers?

Sometimes phone carriers in the US just don't get what people really need (or they do, but they want some extra cash so ignore people) - a phone that works is obviously the number one thing, and then for me personally, I want to be able to have a couple of different phones for different things. Completely lost without email access on the road, I couldn't give up the full keyboard BlackJack II I now carry around, but when it comes to the weekend, and going out on the lash, I really would just like a little phone that slips inconspicuously in my pocket. I used to have a setup like that, with a Sony Ericsson Walkman phone for the weekends, but that gave up the ghost when I was back in England for Christmas.

So, the fact that a company is bringing out a modular phone (called modu), with a core piece nice and tiny that makes the calls, and then being able to bolt on different bits as needed, sounds pretty cool. Normally you'd just blow something off like this, but the guy who runs this company invented the usb memory stick, and sold his last company for almost $2 billion - which means he's probably quite smart, and has lots of money. So, here's hoping - DVICE sum up all the reviews so far if you want to check it out.

Catch Up

So I've got half an hour before the official first game in the return of Kevin Keegan to Newcastle, and I have to say I'm pretty excited. Of course, it could all end up horribly wrong, but at least now we know we'll go down fighting, the crowd will be behind the team, and we might actually play some football on the ground for a change. I was a little hesitant (and shocked) when the announcement was first made, but having received more txts and calls in the last 4 days from Newcastle than I have at pretty much anytime since I got out here, I can tell the town is buzzing once again. It should be a good night for a couple of beers on the Quayside (or taking in the UFC fight that's happening over there).

On whether or not Shearer should join KK as a no 2 or coach or whatever, to be honest, I don't think I care. I heard on the grapevine the two of them don't really get on, but no idea if that's true or not. I think it would probably be better if Shearer waited for a bit, enjoyed his time on Match of the Day, finished all his coaching badges and then had another look in 2 years or so. But, they're both their own men, and pretty determined, so I'm sure they'll sort it out amongst themselves, and ultimately do what is best for the club.

So, lots of stuff going on the last couple of weeks, and I've struggled to keep up with a pretty hectic work schedule, so I thought I'd try and get a whole list of stuff off the backlog in one easy post.

Mac fever reaches the living room

My next chair

HD fights back with $129 player and 7 free disks

Some car websites lost a lot of visitors last year

The GT-R race car looks a little special, even in orange

The new M3 is going to cost less than $60k

And there's pics of the M3 Convertible floating around

The worst gadgets from CES

If you need some cooking guidance from the web

Hugh Laurie makes the top 10 of favorite US personalities !?

Geotag your photos on the cheap(ish)

Movies with the most F-words (I want to know who sat through and counted...)

And finally for now, eggs any way you like them....

Movie Studio Does Something Sensible?

Finally, it looks like one movie studio (Fox) has actually been listening to it's customers and is about to start including an iTunes (and iPod, AppleTV etc etc) copy of the movie on the DVD itself. This will save me hours of time instead of going through the usual Mac The Ripper to Handbrake to importing process that currently occupies my computers processors for large periods of their life.

Here's hoping the other movie studios do the same thing, and quickly. The amount of electricity this will save is going to be so big, we can all feel we're doing our bit for the environment and saving the world, without actually doing much at all (just like those light bulb replacements we put around the house).

MacWorld unleashes Air to the world.....

So the Keynote finally happened, and the result was the thinnest notebook in the world. It's actually so thin I think I might be scared to snap it if I owned one, but given the case is all aluminium, it's probably a lot sturdier than it looks. So, highlights are all wireless, touchscreen, backlit keyboard, LED screen, the usual fast Intel processor and the option of a solid state hard drive (which is way too expensive for most people to tick, but no doubt it's already ticked on Mr Batty's order sheet). Videos and many more pics and details can be found here.

Also on the list today was the update to the iPhone software that had been leaked a few weeks ago, as well as a similar update for the iPod Touch (but will cost you an extra 20 bucks on the none phone version). Mail on the Touch now seems like a pretty cool idea if you ask me.

Two things that are probably most likely on my list (well one I get for free anyway) was an update to AppleTV, and the new Time Capsule

The Apple TV gets a few much needed updates to take away the need for a computer to run it, along with buying from the box itself (the new rentals and actual purchases) along with HD Movies (something I was waiting for before I did any more movie purchases from iTunes. They also brought the price down by 70 bucks, which is always nice.

Time Capsule looks the most likely to be on my purchase list - I was contemplating buying a 1TB drive to plug into the new desktop at home (and stop me from filling up the hard drive with all my movie backups), and upgrading your wireless networking performance is always a good thing. Time Capsule combines both - a wireless N base station, with a 500GB or 1TB hard drive stuffed in the bottom. This also allows wireless backup using Time Machine, which solves the laptop problem of keep having to plug in a hard drive every time you wanted to do a backup. I guess technically you could get a 1TB network storage drive, and then a wireless N router and plug them together and save a couple of bucks, but looking at the prices recently, I don't think you'll save that much, plus it'll never look that pretty.

So, that was pretty much it - I'm still hoping for one day version 3 of AppleTV which is actually a Mac Mini with a Blue Ray (or HD if that ended up winning the "war") disk, combined with Tivo on there - that would really make me happy. And why doesn't Steve do his "One More Thing" anymore - is that just occasionally? My heart always sinks when they roll in the singer....

Update - here's a video - turns out the gestures are on the trackpad, not the screen like I orginally thought, but they still look cool...

When is a TV too big?

Never, obviously ;-) But in trying to work out how this will fit into my living room, I realized it would probably involve a sledge hammer, followed my a little building, and the room next to the living room magically becoming smaller (or building a new extension out onto the deck).

Still, I can dream (which is a good job, coz reality is never going to get this big boy into my house, no matter how cheap plasma's ever become).

CES and Cars

Gadgets and cars at the same event? Sounds like heaven to me, but having seen a couple of the pics from the show, it looks a little like overkill in certain demo cars.

Take the car to the left for example - are you even going to get past level 1 or 2 on the volume meter before your ears start to bleed? And do you have to be a midget to watch the screen?

Anyway, more pics of various cars and their LCD screens here (and this one wasn't even a finalist for the worst placed screen placement).

Macworld is going to be BIG (maybe..)

So this week is CES, where all the technology companies around the world, apart from Apple, release their latest and greatest on the world. Next week, at MacWorld, there's going to be one of Steve's famous Keynote speeches, which everyone is in full speculation about as no-one really has any idea about what will be announced.

However, with the release of updated Pro and Server machines this week, Gizmodo is speculating that next week must be pretty big - if they can release upgrades the week before their "official" release date, they must have something pretty big lined up for next week.

Here's hoping for the mini laptop with touchscreen, cheap enough price for me to go and buy, and a 32 GB (or more) iTouch. Or something like that anyway.

6 Billion Reasons Why I Married Her

And one of them is coz she forwards me stuff like this 8-)

Cool Kitchen Stuff

The VW Van Toaster

And the cool kettle

Boobs are good

Especially when they can save your life. The best lifejacket concept I've ever seen....

Really Light Balloons

It took me 3 hours to think of that title, so I hope you like it.

What I don't understand (coz I kinda like the lights, or the idea anyway) is why these things cost a grand? I know the dollar is going to crap these days, but a grand - come on - this looks like something you could replicate with a bit of initiative for about 20 bucks.

Best Umbrella?

I would argue (and quite hard) that the best umbrella you can get is the one attached to your 07 Rolls Royce, that magically comes out of the door when you press the little button. It's definitely got the best hiding place anyway. However, the most fun umbrella has to be this one - it'll probably not get you safely through security at DIA (or maybe even down any street over here), but it looks fun for a joke on the other side of the Atlantic.

And it even collects the rain and makes the water pistol work - how cool is that? Too cool for Rhianna, that's for sure.

Apple Rumors - The Tablet

It's been a while since I wrote about any Apple rumors, so I thought I'd show this complete mockup of supposedly Apple's latest and greatest, the touch tablet.

As always, I'm hoping there's at least some truth to the rumor, coz it would be a kinda cool thing to throw in the laptop bag, or have lying next to the couch.

Watch Out

Back when I was a kid, my Grandad used to bring home some random stuff when he came in from work (a one armed bandit, an accordian, crabs which happened to be still alive and screamed like a banshee when we cooked them etc). I always thought it was coz he had the coolest job, but later realized when I got to college that we were technically part of some underclass where no-one really had that much money, so people bartered "stuff" in exchange for services or other "stuff" - kinda like a more serious version of a kids playground. Anyway, my Grandads job was still cool (wrecking yard, breaking cars up for parts, and very occasionally having a 5 year old at the wheel of the huge grabber thing with a grin as wide as the mouth of the Tyne), but the point of me rambling on for 5 minutes is that his was how I got addicted to watches. I've never really gone a day without wearing one since I was 3 or 4, and I got a little black Timex to tell the time - it's kinda at the point where it's similar to leaving the house without any trousers on - you just don't do it (or at least I don't). I still remember the big chunky metal digital one with red lights he brought home, which weirdly seem like they're back in fashion again these days.

Anyway, sorry - this whole buildup was coz I like this watch, but it's $59k and I'm never going to buy it - that money could get you a loaded S4, or almost a new Exige S, and they both have clocks inside them.

Smallest Cellphone?

Way back in the day, when I still went out at nights to drink, rather than have a meal with friends, I got talking to one of Nicks mates who was an analyst at some high powered banking establishment I think. Anyway, I was obviously a little on the tipsy side, so can't remember his name, or much about the conversation in general, but we did end up talking cell phones for a decent amount of time. He had the priveledge of covering Nokia, and he had been to some analyst show and tell thing, and he told me the coolest phone there was basically just a pen that doubled up as a phone. I've been waiting patiently for that phone for the last however many years (I'm guessing maybe 7 or 8), and finally we get a look at something like it. No idea if this is really real or just another concept, but if they can sort out a decent battery life, I'll be sorely tempted (and then can make the decision that I really do need an iPod Touch, rather than holding out for a 3g, 32GB iPhone).

It's a Card Eater....

If you happen to be in the habit of carrying around your extra memory cards, no doubt you've lost at least one by now. This little thing is designed to prevent that from happening, while providing a little joy in your life as well. Or something like that.

No idea how much it costs coz the site is in some foreign language that I'm making an educated guess is Korean, but no doubt someone at this very second is working away in a factory somewhere to create US copies to make them rich, so just hold on.

Time Travel

If you're stuck in the 80's still, this might be the perfect dock for your iPod.....

Mouse Magic

Not really magic as such, but the first new mouse innovation I've seen in a very long time that looks like it might actually be useful.

iPhone's Extra Functionality?

Still resisting, despite an ongoing full pressure assault (mainly by myself on myself, in my head - although Nick did post a comment on Pete's site that he still can't believe I didn't get one - trust me mate, it's day to day).



Oh, and might I take this completely inopportune moment to announce that FROSTIES IS BACK!!!! And Mr Hartley at some point in the past decided that he'd start updating his site again. The world is a better place, although I'm not really into the whole discussion on how to write musical notes. If you've ever been anywhere near me when I felt compelled to sing, or try to play an instrument, you'd understand. Not pretty, and definitely not clever.

The Phone From Jesus?

Not really, but as Brad said, probably the best product lauch ever (in terms of user generated hype anyway). I'm still holding out (I guess you can't activate the iPhone yet with a biz account, and the thought of having to pay for my own phone plan after so many years having one company or another pick up the tag gives me cold sweats these days), but not sure how long that will last.

Anyway, Pete (after chastising me for my lack of patience) posted a decent number of reviews on what he thinks so far, and they're all on his blog.



Oh, and given I made it back into town at the weekend (first time for way too long), I did manage to download the Apple TV update for viewing YouTube on your TV. And it's bloody great!

Other things I managed to catch up on were finally speaking to a real live person on the XBox support line, who kindly removed $140 from my bank account for the priveledge of fixing their self destructing 360 one month after the warranty ran out (very bitter, can you tell...), getting the car washed, mowing the lawn (cutting the grass in English), and spending some quality time hanging out with Heidi and Fynn.

I now get (if the plans stay in place) at least a whole 2 weeks in Denver to enjoy the decent weather (almost a 100 for the next 3 days), and try and catch up on a little sleep.

iPhone Reviews are coming out

Well, technically actually out now - Walt Mossberg's is here, and The New York Times one is here. If Pete gets one like he says on Friday, I might be driving down to his on Saturday to bang on the door until he lets me in to play.

MacBook Pro Updated

They're oh so pretty. And now even faster (who thought Apple moving to the Intel platform was a bad idea?).

So, performance boosts, more memory, bigger hard-drives, faster graphics card and slimmer and lighter to boot. Now if only I could work out how to afford one of these things (and justify it in my head that it's worth it, despite having a work laptop and an iMac in the house).

Techie details are here if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Official iPhone Date

It's real this time - not relying on any dodgy Cingular sales rep, but real live ads on TV and everything - June 29th. Oh yeah, and you need a minimum 2 year contract to sign up. It's not going to be cheap, but it might be worth it ;-)

All the Apple ads are here.

A Few Little Things

If you don't have enough friends, or need even more texts, this might be the t-shirt for you.

Although I think I'm in love with the iPhone, my first love was the Sony Ericcsson version, and they have a new one coming soon.



Lamborghini has a new concept SUV, the LM400 (penned by students, but isn't there room for one more super fast and crazy SUV?)

There's a teapot for the laziest person in the world...

And finally, if you need emergency bradband connectivity, just get out your huge balls....

Drink and Surf - Here's your Toy

Fridge too far from your computer? Or just too lazy to get up and grab a cold one? Well, it looks like this might be the perfect solution for you - the USB fridge.

Camcorder for Rainy Days

If you need a camcorder in the rain, or occasionally fall into a big puddle, or maybe want to take some dodgy pool shots in the holiday pool, this is the one for you. But don't get any deeper than 5 foot, otherwise it might explode (or something anyway).

TVR Mouse

Before it's implosion due to the Russian invasion of Blackpool, TVR was one of my favorite car companies. They made outrageously fast cars with wild and wacky interiors, at prices that were low enough that when you were a kid, you thought if you saved up enough, you might just be able to get one.

These days, we're relying on some blokes in the US to get production back up and running, pass all the necessary regulations and then somehow get some sort of dealer network off the ground. So, don't hold your breath.

In the meantime, you can make do with this - a wireless mouse in the shape of the TVR Tuscan. If you squint your eyes enough, you can just make it out ;-)

Headphone Cord Solution?

Ever almost been choked to death by your headphone cords? Or had the buds ripped out when the cord got caught on something it wasn't supposed to? Apparently, it's a common problem, so someone came up with this solution. Just wrap them on the man, and you're good (and safe) to go.

Office Batting Practice

Following on from the post below, here's something for the more sporty office crew (or for someone requiring an automated multiple response if you've consistently been beaten up by a flying boss....).

Product page here if you need one.

Toss Your Boss!

I mean, throw him. And not even literally, just pretend. I'm sure the boss fights in the office would get out of hand pretty quickly with this little thing in the wrong hands, but at least it would be fun. And then of course, someone would go out and buy this, and a full on arms race would erupt....

New Mac Ads

I'm obviously more suited to being a PC these days, but I dream of Mac...

Pen, but with Paper

Finally something that seems like a great idea (although when they invent the really thin pen that is included with the paper, I think I'll be more impressed).
If u want to buy one click here.

Apple TV Shipping

I'm probably getting way over-excited about this, but my AppleTV has left the building, and is heading it's way over to me as we speak. It looks like it should make it here by 10.30am on Friday morning (the exact time when I was going to be breaking my snowboarding duck for the season), so barring any major weather catastrophes (think Christmas present ordeal and start to shiver...) we should be good to go for the weekend.

Update - it's in the country (if you really do count Alaska as in the country - never really sure about that one!

Mar 21, 2007 1:06 PM, Arrived at FedEx location, ANCHORAGE, AK

Best In Car Dashboard Ever

Renault finally have the answer to all those sliding mishaps. I'm not 100% sure I'd want to be the one to clean it after a couple of months though (unless you can pull it out and shove it in the sink I guess).

Apple TV Delivery Moved Up?

I'm pretty certain the last time I checked, my expected delivery date was the last week in March. But, being the optimistic sole that I am, I just went and checked again, and look what I found....

APPLE TV-USA

Ships by: Mar 20
Delivers by: Mar 23

I'm so excited, you just wouldn't believe.

Chocolate and Pizza?

Or even a phone and pizza? Why would anyone put these things together?

Apple TV Delayed

Despite my order status still saying it's shipping on Wednesday, Apple announced tonight that they're delaying shipment for a couple of weeks. Trying to look on the bright side, I guess this increases the chances that I'll be at home when it finally comes.

Apple TV hits snag, delayed til mid-March - Feb. 26, 2007

Specially for Gareth

Combining lego and his new Treo, what more could he want?

House Stuff

Nope, not another update on the never ending bathroom remodelling (although we now have plumbing, electrics and a couple of pieces of wall hanging). Just some cool coat hangers.

These joystick coat hangers definitely bring back the memories of old Atari games at a friends house (we had the Binatone Pong game, but then nothing until I scrimped and saved for a ZX81). I somehow doubt they'll go with our current decor choices, but maybe I can sneak them into the office....

M5 Tuned, Shuffle with Colors

Any excuse for a decent car pick - this is the 560bhp M5 from Lumma Design, with 21 inch wheels, and low profile tires so low you can barely see them. Still not 100% on the two tone paintwork (or maybe is carbon, in which case I'm a believer).

Oh, and speaking of colors, Apple released multi colored Shuffles today. They're pretty....

Christmas was good to me

As always, I managed to score big this Christmas, with lots and lots of amazing presents from everyone. One thing I need to get sorted out is setting up my SlingBox Pro - this amazing thing lets you watch what's on your TV at home when you're not there, using an internet connection to stream it onto your computer (or even cellphone, although I'm not too sure how long it will take Cingular to shut down my account if I try this - worth a go though, right ;-)). I just need to call into one of the 6 million electronics stores on the way home to get a wireless adaptor thingy to put up in the bedroom (the HD box is up there, so that's what I'm going to hook into).

I'll let you know how it works once I get it all sorted. And if anyone knows whether you can have a few people watching it simultaneously, let me know - I'm sure there'll be a few people wanting to watch the Newcastle games from the office!

USB Pole Dancer

Is there no end to what can be done with a simple USB plug?

This one is extra special, allowing lonely boys (or girls I guess, if they're into that sort of thing) to fritter away many hours on a computer watching a little mechanical girl spin round and round. It might be worth it if you could actually get fellow workers to throw tips for her dancing - might even pay for lunch one day if they decide she's "the one".

But despite how amazing this is, what's even more amazing is that this little gift was actually on sale at Marks and Spencers! Only for a week though, before someone decided it was a little too risky to be sold from the store that stands for British decency (or something like that anyway). Check out all the details here if you don't believe me. (oh, and their site seems ridiculously slow at the minute, so apologies if you've already clicked).