Visit the Shaks

People always ask me, "Ron, why are you so afraid of robots?  What did a robot ever do to you?"  Well, I know what they can do.  Sure they look friendly and fun, but those mechanical men have nothing but ill intent in their hearts.  That's why I present to you, my loyal readers, this offer from Old Glory Insurance.

Robots are a menace that must be stopped.  Perhaps you're like me, young and healthy.  Think of your parents!  Think of your grandparents!  They can't fight off the robot menace forever, and insurance can only replace so much.  That's why Sam Waterston and I are fighting the mechanical menace, together!  While the insurance policy against robot attacks is useful, I'd rather have it and never use. 

I don't even know why the scientists make them!

In just under a month, my favorite holiday of the entire year will be upon us. That holiday is every self-respecting geek’s favorite holiday, Halloween. Why do geeks love Halloween? Basically, it’s an excuse to decorate your house with spooky objects, flashing lights, and things that go bump in the night.

There’s this other place most of us go for 8 hours every day, and it’s pretty boring. Unless you work on the hit show “The Office,” your real-life office is pretty bland, so that’s why I went to ThinkGeek to find a few little seasonal-appropriate toys for the old cubicle. 

Glow in the dark zombies

Your very own skull/paper weight

Giant plush germs: cuddly AND creepy!

Know any other cool cube toys I'm missing out on that are also Halloween appropriate?  Comment and share!

This summer, we went through an awful heat wave in the United States. I don’t know if my yard will ever recover, but temperatures are finally down to the high 80’s or lower 90’s (at least in my homeland of Kentucky), rather than triple digits. Of course, it is nearly October, but hey, better late than never, right?

I work in a place where we have little or no control over when the air conditioning comes on and when the heat is turned on. Despite the outside temperature, the HVAC is controlled via remote from elsewhere, so when they decide it is fall, the heat’s going to come on, and I need to be ready for it.

My cubicle is incredibly boring, though, and a plain fan won’t help matters. However, a plane fan will. Check out this USB airplane fan from Kikkerland. I don’t see a sale price yet, but I hope to see one soon. This is definitely a cool little item (pardon the pun!)

You know, I spend a lot of time at my computer. I write articles here, I blog, I maintain the official Flektor development blog, I do movie reviews and funny articles, I play games, I sit here at my desk and watch movies on my DVD drive and my 19-inch monitor. Heck, I even work in front of a computer all day BEFORE I come home!

It goes without saying that I tend to eat here, too. I know I’m not alone in this, since most people’s computers are hubs of activity. That means I get stuff in my keyboard keys. I can’t help where potato chip crumbles go, after all. 

That’s why the CaseBuy USB vacuum cleaner might just be the thing. It’s a miniature, lightweight vacuum that runs off your computer’s USB power supply. It has a brush attachment for cleaning around your monitor and your vents and whatnot, and it has a squeezable flexible tube designed to get between and under those pesky keyboard keys. 

I couldn’t find the CaseBuy one specifically for sale, but judging by the pictures the same item is offered here by Amazon.  Or if you want to explore other options, just search for USB vacuum.  Happy cleaning!

Photo: Everything USB

I know that you have all seen Oprah show. How about the show of her "favorite things" giveaway where she gives gifts to everyone in her audience. Well, I wish I was giving everyone that entered a new webcam, but unfortunately there can only be one winner.

Are you ready??? The winner of the pink Hue HD webcam issssssss....... Fidget from Finding Yourself Despite Yourself.

Congratulations from The Shakadoo Team on your big win. You will now be able to have a blast talking with people via webcam.

Thanks to everyone that entered the contest. Be sure to check back often for lots more fun giveaways.

In my ongoing quest to find an MP3 player that isn’t just some boring square thing available in a variety of colors or a repurposed thumb drive, I’ve find what might be one of the neatest retro-style gadgets available out there. Check out this cassette-tape styled MP3 player from China Vision. Pretty cool, huh?

Well, it gets better.

While not a stand-alone player (you upload your songs onto a 2GB SD/MMC memory card which fits into the player), this cassette MP3 player can not only be used like a normal iPod, it can also be directly inserted into the standard cassette deck of any car and played like a cassette tape! No more worrying about docking stations or adapters, just cram it into a cassette player (which have been standard in cars for pretty much my entire life) and boom! Instant music!

Hat tip: Urban Retro Lifestyle

You know the expression “going to the dogs,” right? It’s an oldie but a goodie.

I have a new expression, “going to the kids.” As in, technology is being aimed at younger and younger children, and the parents who have to fork over all the money to buy said technology. And how do I know this?

It started out with kitschy Hello Kitty laptops covered in crystals. That’s obviously not aimed at kids, but adults. After all, no kid could afford a jewel-encrusted Sanrio laptop.

But then came a more manageable Hello Kitty laptop from Epson. Then two more Hello Kitty laptop styles, also from Epson (because one is never enough when it comes to overpriced Hello Kitty gear). Gotta have a Hello Kitty mouse to go with it.

Now Nickelodeon and Imation have banded together and launched a whole slew of kid-themed electronics, pimping out everyone’s favorite characters Dora the Explorer, Diego, and SpongeBob Squarepants. Parents, start your birthday shopping… now.

• Flash Jr. digital camera      (available in both Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!      models), $59.99
• SpongeBob Squarepants      Flash Micro Digital Camera, with USB connectivity, $21.99
• SpongeBob Squarepants      VGA digital camera, auto-flash, 1.1-inch color LCD, 8MB, $31.99
• SpongeBob Squarepants      1.3-megapixel digital camera, auto-flash, 1.1-inch color LCD, 32MB, $49.99
• SpongeBob Squarepants      Flash Mega 3.0-megapixel digital camera, auto-flash, 1.5-inch color LCD,      32MB, $79.99
• Invision 7-inch Digital Photo      Frame (Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! models      available), $99.99
• SpongeBob SquarePants      Digital Music Player, stores up to 500 MP3s and WMAs, 10 hours of playback      on a charge, $39.99
• Fission Digital Music Player,      $49.99
• Fission Digital Media Player,      does video, audio, and photos, plus has on-board games, $99.99
• SpongeBob Squarepants      15-inch, LCD TV, remote, $299.99
• SpongeBob Squarepants      progressive scan DVD player, MP3 decoder, remote, $59.99

Photo Credit:  Anime.com

Free one year subscription to Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine

What are you still doing here? Go! Go! Free magazine!

They’re giving away 30,000 1-year subscriptions, no credit card requires, no billing, no automatic renewal. There’s no catch, and you even have to opt-in should you wish to continue receiving the magazine after your year is up.

Don’t thank me; thank Joystiq and Ziff-Davis.

Google is not content with merely dominating the Internet and buying up all the old analog television signal space. Oh no. They’ve got their eye on conquering the Moon, using the X Prize as bait.  The Google Lunar X Prize, a cool $20 million, goes to the first company to land successfully land a rover on the moon. 

Google partnered with the X Prize Foundation for the moon challenge, which is open to companies around the world. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit prize institute is best known for hosting the Ansari X Prize contest that led to the first manned private spaceflight in 2004.

The race to the moon won't be easy or cheap. Teams have to raise money to build a roaming spacecraft that will be tough enough to survive a landing and have the smarts to complete a set of tasks. Each rover must also be equipped with high-definition video and still cameras to document the journey.

The rules call for a spacecraft to trek at least 1,312 feet across the lunar surface and return a package of data including self-portraits, panoramic views and near-real time videos. Participants are also responsible for securing a launch vehicle for the probe, either by building it themselves or contracting with an existing rocket company.

Whoever accomplishes the feat by the end of 2012 will receive $20 million. If there is no winner, the purse will drop to $15 million until the end of 2014 when the contest expires. There is also a $5 million second-place prize and $5 million in bonus money to teams that go beyond the minimum requirements.

Check out the full press release here.

While it’s a nice idea to offer an incentive, something tells me the sort of person who can undertake the research needed to build a lunar module capable of streaming a gigabyte of information back to earth, complete the tasks required, and not break upon landing doesn’t exactly NEED $20 million. They probably have money to burn. Still, it’s pretty cool, and will no doubt really improve the quality of the already-cool Google Earth.

Next stop, Google Mars!

(Hat tip:  Jade)

I’m a big fan of NAO Designs, a prominent seller on Amazon.com. Not only do they offer some very cool lamps on their Amazon page and some great tee-shirt designs through their website, they’re also one of the most prominent sellers on Amazon for one reason.

That reason is the JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser (otherwise known as a tank).

Here’s what they have to say about their product (which I’m insanely excited about for some reason, probably because I’m a boy and have always wanted my own tank):

Designed with versatility in mind, the Donk can transport cargo or a crew of five internally or on the roof, and can be piloted from within the armored shell or from an exposed standing position through the hatch, thanks to special one-way steel mesh armor windows and a control stick that pivots up and down to allow piloting from the standing or seated positions. The interior is fully carpeted and cozy, with accent lighting and room for up to five people. A 400 watt premium sound system with PA is mounted to project sound both into the cabin and outward from behind the windows. The exterior is a steel shell with a rust patina, and features head and tail lights, turn signal lights, trim lighting, underbody lighting, fixed slats protecting the windows, and a unique industrial-strength rubberized flexible skirt that shields and protects the wheels to within an inch of the ground, while still allowing for enough flex to give clearance over bumpy and uneven terrain. Master power, ignition, all lighting, and stereo features are controlled from a single switchboard to the left of the driver, again accessible from either the seated or standing position. Standard drive is an air-cooled, 6hp Tecumseh gasoline (unleaded only) engine, with centrifugal clutch, giving the Donk a top speed of 40 mph.

Let’s see… top speed of 40 miles an hour, killer sound system, plush interior, seating for 5, nigh on indestructible… sounds like a good heir to the SUV throne to me. Not only is it a tank, it also looks like Jabba the Hutt’s sailbarge from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

We all know about the traditional welcome mat. We also all know about the various funny mats that people sometimes put out, like the unwelcome mat. But what if you want to show the world you’re of the geek persuasion?

Try this ultra-cool Space Invaders-themed Back Off LED Door Mat. It runs off 4 AAA batteries and is animated, as you can see. Motion activated to scare off any solicitors with the ominous threat of pixilated warfare, the glowing green dancing invaders represent the greatest in Atari-cool throwback house wares.

They might be alien monsters, but they’re on your side. You don’t have to fire upwards through your own shield rock to stop them, and your laundry money will remain safe from spending. Not to mention it’ll probably drive your cat nuts (and who wouldn’t get hours of enjoyment from that?).

First we had the invisible toaster. That was all well and good, but it was only a potential design. It wasn’t real. But now we have the message-leaving toaster, and it’s entirely too real.

I don’t know who would buy such a thing, and I don’t know why they would buy it, but I do know that one of these days a particularly nasty (in content, not in flavor) piece of message toast will end up on Passive-Aggressive Notes. I, for one, can’t wait.

To my darling wife,

You must be insane. You bought a toaster that burns messages into bread. An expensive toaster that burns messages into bread.

This is not World War II. We are not going to feed secret messages to the French Resistance. This toast will not self-destruct in 5 seconds. This is not a note. This is breakfast; this will not be read to you.

While it may be a commendable exercise to wish me a good morning in scorched wheat, at 6:30 in the morning and before my first cup of coffee, all your sweet words look like scribbles to be covered with syrup or jelly.

Yours in toast,

Your Husband

Photo Credit: Yanko Design

Did you hear that scream?  That was me, recoiling in horror at the thought of Zeno, the expressive robot boy.  Just look into his horrifying soulless eyes and feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Go on, look!

David Hanson, you're a monster.  Your cuddly little metallic demons are destined turn on us and enslave humanity via the power of SkyNet.  Nobody will take the threat seriously until it's too late, and all because they look like Astro Boy.  Michael Biehn will have to come back in time and bail us all out by protecting Sarah Connor, and when they make the sequel, I'm going to point the T-800 in your direction.  I don't need a Blade Runner to give Zeno the Voight-Kampff test to tell there's frightening intent behind those big blue doe eyes of his.

I've seen "Mad Max" and all the other movies; I know how all this is going to end.  Humanity is doomed (yet again) and it's all your fault.  All because you wanted to show off and build some robots.

I don't know about you, but I could never have enough storage space in my kitchen. I like to cook so I have lots of big and bulky pots and pans. I found what I believe to be a smart and very useful product at Luxury Housing Trends: the West Bend Slow Cooker & Griddle In One.

I wish appliance companies would come out with more products like this one for our storage solutions.

Two uses but only space needed for one product.

Great idea!

The kitchen appliance is $70 from West Bend.

I spent 5 years in college, and as such, I spent a lot of years dragging stuff up and down from my home base to my college, 3 hours to the south.  I loaded up my TV, video game system, computer, refrigerator, stereo system, and the other necessities of life into a van, and drove down to college. It was a full load of junk, too, but all if it was necessary for having a good standard of living.

If I could’ve combined this stuff, I would have, believe me. Trudging up several flights of stairs with tons of gear is a major pain. That’s why seemingly weird combinations, like the Cooltone mini-fridge/stereo system looks like it should be a fit anywhere where space is at a premium.

As Engadget says, “On the fridge side of things, it'll hold twenty 400ml cans and it boasts a so-called Quick Cool feature that'll get things ‘cooling within seconds.’  On the less practical part of the equation, the fridge boasts a top-loading CD player, an AM/FM radio, some built-in speakers and, of course, a line-in port to accommodate your iPod or other MP3 player (no iPod dock though).”

Convergence is a big deal these days. Even in the 7 years since I graduated from high school, devices are getting smaller and more powerful, and consumer goods are merging. The PS3 is also a Blu-Ray player. Plasma TVs double as computer monitors. Laptops are as powerful as desktops. The iPod serves as a music player and a movie storage device. It seems only natural to me that my fridge becomes a stereo system as well.

Why not?

Ok, maybe I am dating myself to be quoting Sally Field's acceptance speech from the Oscars (or Jim Carrey's from the movie Mask for the younger generation) but being that I am a movie buff and all, that was the first thing that came to mind.

We may not have won an Oscar but is looks like Shakadoo is sure turning some heads these days. Many thanks to the International Listings Blog for naming Shakadoo as one of The Top 100 Real Estate Blogs.
If you want to go take a look, we are listed under the Home Improvement section at number 42. The numeric order is not a reflection of ranking but rather alphabetical order per category. Obviously, if it were by ranking then we would be listed as NUMBER ONE! Well, maybe TEN or TWELVE, but we are on our way.

Shak readers, go take a look at International Listings. They have a very informative site with great articles and gorgeous Luxury Listings to view too. And, they know a good thing when they see one!

I’ve already posted about how much I love a nice piece of toast, and how Juan Valdez is one of my personal heroes. Since apparently I’ve been on a bit of a breakfast kick lately, I want to talk about coffee (again). It’s probably the best thing about mornings, in my opinion.

You see, I hate mornings. Hate them with the burning passion of 1000 flaming suns. Don’t talk to me before 10 AM(or until a few hours after I get home from work either, for that matter… yeah, I’m a grumpy kind of guy). Unfortunately for me, at my place of employment, the only thing consistent about the coffee is that it is terrible.  Too weak, too strong, bad-tasting grinds, unclean coffee pot… it’s a mess.

That’s why I’m seriously considering purchasing the Aerobie AeroPress Coffee & Espresso Maker. I’m tired of depending on the coffee tastes of others and am more than willing to take on the task of making my own coffee.

Allen Hong at Gear Diary had a very complimentary review of the Aerobie AeroPress, stating:

After a few weeks of making my own fresh coffee nearly every day, I have concluded that the Aeropress Coffee Maker system to my surprise does exactly everything that Aerobie says it does. It makes an extremely good tasting cup of coffee or espresso. The espresso tastes better than the one I tried at a local restaurant. And the regular American coffee is the best. I find it amazing that a device with simple plastic parts can make such a good cup of coffee. I would recommend the Aeropress Coffee & Espresso Maker system to anyone who loves coffee.

If someone from Aerobie happens to read this, or anyone knows how I can get hold of an AeroPress to give it a review, I’d LOVE to do it. I’m addicted to coffee, and I know if I had one of these bad contraptions it’d get an incredibly thorough review from yours truly, who’d definitely put it through its paces.

Sony’s Rolly is here!  What’s Rolly, you might ask?  Why, it’s only the least useful electronic gadget ever!

What Rolly does is roll around, dancing to tunes that it plays either through a Bluetooth connection to your computer or via a 1GB internal memory stick.  It will either dance randomly or you can choreograph your Rolly to do a certain dance.  It spins in circles, has lights that change colors, and waggly ears that move and flap as it shakes, rattles, and rolls to whatever tune you want it to play. 

Check out the Rolly’s insane commercial here.

It’s not quite a lip-synching USB box, but it’s pretty interesting nonetheless.  Maybe you don’t have enough dancing and blinking geegaws on your desk yet and Rolly will fill a gap in your collection of singing fish and dancing plants.

HT:  Engadget

Webcam Giveaway With Shaktronics September 7th - September 23rd.

Whether you're connecting with family & friends or updating your weekly vlog, the CLIQUE HUE HD WEBCAM is a simple and vibrant way to express yourself. Social media is going like gangbusters and people from all over are looking for ways to promote themselves and their businesses....

"HUE's™ innovative & versatile design allows positioning like never before. Whether you're on the go or at your desk, HUE™ has a solution. Leave HUE™ in its base or remove it and plug right into your notebook for optimal mobility. HUE™ comes in an array of colors to match any personality and taste, while maintaining exceptional video quality and superior sound with its 1.3 MPX sensor, built-in microphone and noise reduction technology. With HUE's™ one-touch snapshot button, digital photography becomes effortless. Integrating state-of-the-art technology with intelligent design put HUE™ in a class of its own."

We are giving away 1 of these awesome Webcams in the hottest color, pink! All you have to do is leave a comment letting us know what your favorite electronic device is, and you will be entered to win. This contest runs from Friday, September 7th until midnight, September 23rd. The winner will be announced in a "winner's post" as well as notified by e-mail on Monday, September 24th. Good Luck!

It takes something special for a gadget to arouse my interest based solely on looks and promised performance.  I’ve never been a devotee of Apple’s brand of looks over performance.  I mean, yeah, their consumer electronics look good, but their computers are, to put it mildly, not the most powerful machines on the planet.  Or they weren’t until Apple moved to Intel.  They still have to get the video processor thing down pat before they’ll have a real player in the gaming market.

But I digress.  This isn’t a post about Apple’s new red iPods, this is a post about one of the few computers to ever make me drool all over my keyboard (and that’s really messy, let me tell you).  I think I’m in love with HP’s Blackbird 002 gaming rig.

Here’s one teaser picture; head over to Engadget and check out the rest of them. 

So you’ve seen the Hello Kitty laptop that just so happens to be studded with Swarovski crystals.  Big deal, right?  So what exactly are you going to use to control that Hello Kitty laptop?  You’re certainly not going to use the touchpad, are you?  Of course not, those things are kind of annoying, especially once you’re used to using a mouse.

So what do you do?  Pick yourself up a Hello Kitty computer mouse, like the one shown at CHIPChick.  Her bow is where all the clicking buttons and scroll-wheel are, and while you rest your hand on her face, cats generally like to have their faces rubbed.  Sure, it’s not studded with thousands of crystals, but it is adorable and you can always pick up a Bedazzler at the local dollar store.

Now we just have to wait for the Badtz-Maru USB keyboard, and your Hello Kitty laptop experience is complete.

You love free games; I love free games.  So, let’s get together and download some free computer games from the good people at UbiSoft.  Alex Nash at 1PStart has all the details.

Far Cry, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and Ghost Recon are all available free of charge as of right now.

The games, which are now supported entirely by ads, do require the user to have a valid Ubi.com account (which is free), so if you want them, head over to Ubi.com and sign up now. While users do have to sit through some ads before the initial set up, it seems to me that there are no ads inside the games, which is always a good thing.

This is a great thing and just goes to show you the power that your eyeballs have on the internet.  The free Ubisoft games are paid for by the clicks the company receives from the advertising.  Just like your free email, all those free Google services, and the hosting for websites such as this one.  So if you see an interesting ad, you really ought to consider clicking it.

Photo Credit:  HEXUS.gaming

I don’t think this product is real, yet, but when it finally comes to market?  Yeah, I’m definitely going to get one, because there is nothing I like better than a good piece of toast with jam on top.  Strawberry jam, no less.  Or, since it is tomato season, toasted bread to go with my BLT.  Mmmm…

Anyway, where was I?

The problem with making toast is that usually I burn it.  I know there’s that little selecting thing on the side for light to dark, but that’s never an accurate representation of how the toast will come out, if only because it operates from a cool default, not a hot start like if you’ve been making toast for awhile.  The more you toast, the hotter the toaster gets.  The hotter the toaster, the more burned the toast.  I’m tired of scraping black ash off my toast!

Product people, whoever?  Make this invisible toaster with a one-punch emergency release button.  So I can watch my toast without getting a face full of burning bread smell and pop it out when it’s the way I like it, not whenever the toaster decides it is ready.  This is America; I can have my toast as brown and hot as I want it and no machine is going to tell me what to do!

Shame it’s only a concept right now, but man, do I want an invisible toaster.

Tip:  Engadget

Are you ready for Advertising Week 20