Visit the Shaks

I've already written here, several times, about how much of a morning person I'm not.  That's why my blogs generally come in here well after the work day, because it's a constant struggle to get up and get moving in the morning.  To make matters worse, whenever my alarm goes off, I get an ear full of complaints about how often I let it go off, how much I rely on the snooze bar, and any number of other grouses related to my inability to wake up in one fell swoop and my need to slowly rouse from my slumber.  I already hate mornings, and complaining constantly about how I go about my morning business is a quick way to ruin the rest of my day, kthnx.

That's why I need to get my hands on something like the Glo Pillow.  It's supposed to awaken the user naturally, using the power of incredibly bright lights that slowly get brighter, thus slowly rousing the unconscious sleeper.  Would just the lights work for me?  I'm not sure; probably not.  I sleep with the light on now all the time, so I'm not sure if this would help unless the pillow also vibrated or gave me an electric shock. 

I'll try anything to shut up all the complaining, though.  Since I've given up coffee, I'm a bear before noon (and even after noon, I'm still kind of grumpy).  One of these days, mark my word, I'm going to scream at the first person who bothers me about my morning routine.  Just leave me along! 

I need a new alarm clock.  I've broken at least one, and the one I have now is a hand-me-down from my old resident adviser in college that was old even when HE had it.  The buttons don't want to work and the white plastic is now yellow, but it's loud, it's relatively easy to read in a half-awake state, and it still works, for now.  It does not look promising to last until next year.

That's why I'm looking hungrily at the awesome Oregon Scientific Projection Alarm Clock.  It looks good, the numbers are huge and bright red, and most importantly, it projects the time right onto the ceiling above your bed so you don't have to squint through sleep-watery eyes at the clock before slapping the snooze button, cursing, and rolling back over.  The basic edition is $39.99, and the deluxe edition, with the atomic timing, temperature display, and wireless thermometer with 300-foot range is a bargain at $59.99.

Really, if you're going to spend $40, you may as well spend $60 and get the top of the line model.  That's what I plan on doing when my alarm clock gives up the ghost.   

This is almost too fun for words.  It's a dish-scrubbing brush with a little circular hole in the middle.  As we all know, a circular opening with soap and water always means bubbles, so if you get a little bored while working over that chili pot, feel free to entertain yourself with all the soapy fun that bubbles have to offer.  It's cute, right?

The official link over at WishingFish suggests this might be a fun way to get the kids to help do dishes, but I probably wouldn't let little kids help with the dishes too much, considering there are usually glass breakables and sharp knifes in my pile of stuff to clean.  However, I'd imagine that if you used this scrubbing brush on your hubcaps while washing the car or had it around the bathtub, then this is more than fine for kids to play with. 

It’s movie night, so you get your friends or family together, break out your Spilsbury 4-in-1hot dog maker and prepare a feast for everyone close to you.  You can boil up a ton of hot dogs, pop some popcorn, warm buns on the bun warming spikes, and of course, boil some eggs.  Wait… boil some eggs?

I know that you’ve probably got a very versatile product that can steam or boil whatever you might want to be steamed or boiled, but is there really that much demand out there for boiled eggs and popcorn?  Do other people just eat a lot more eggs than I do?  Is that designed for a particular egg-loving audience in mind? 

Can someone explain this to me?  Do you love eggs so much you want something that can boil several eggs at once quicker than a normal pot and water set-up?  Are eggs the biggest selling point here and I just missed it?

H/T:  PopGadget

Are you willing to give the power company basically unlimited access to your electronics in an effort to conserve energy?  If California has its way, you won't have a choice.  From World Net Daily via Engadget: 

The government is seeking to limit rolling blackouts and free up electric and natural gas resources by mandating that every new heating and cooling system include a "non-removable" FM receiver. The thermostat is also capable of controlling other appliances in the house, such as electric water heaters, refrigerators, pool pumps, computers and lights in response to signals from utility companies. If contractors and residents refuse to comply with the mandate, their building permits will be denied.

The proposal, set to be considered by the commission Jan. 30, requires each thermostat to be equipped with a radio communication device to send "price signals" and automatically adjust temperature up or down 4 degrees for cooling and heating, as California's public and private utility organizations deem necessary.

Now, saving the environment is all well and good, but the last person I want making the decisions for the temperature of my house is someone who doesn't have to live in said house.  Especially when they talk about controlling the supply of power to important thing like refridgerators, water heaters, and my computer.  At my house, we do have a shut-off box that the utility company can control on hot summer days, but it's only for the central air, not anything else, and it gets us a break on the utility bill. 

That's fine; intruding into my home is not cool.  Or hot.  Whatever the weather's like. 

I have an electric blanket, and I swear that it's changed the way I sleep.  No more bundled up beneath several blankets and sheets.  No more sleeping in sweaters, long pants, and two pairs of socks.  I can sleep how I want, for as long as I want, so long as I set the dial to the right number to keep me toasty warm.  When my blanket is on, it stays on for a few hours, and once I'm asleep, presumably it turns itself off.

In the days previous to the invention of the non-scalding electric blanket, people used water bottles.  Basically, you fill up a rubber bladder with scalding hot water, put it in your bed at your feet, and hoped it didn't leak and burn you.  Thank goodness for the microwavable heated teddy bear from GadgetShop.  You can heat him up when you need warmth in the summer, freeze him down when you need coolness in the summer, and cuddle him when you need someone to love on those lonely nights.

He's as much fun as a real bear, and you don't have to worry about him ever eating your face!

HT:  PopGadget

What I really wanted for Christmas: a new digital camera, since mine is horrible. What I'm going to get for Christmas: a new dishwasher. Fun for all, I know.

The knob on my dishwasher has stopped turning. And, while I'm a fan of repairing things instead of buying new, the dishwasher my house came with has always been terrible, so rather than spend the money to repair a crappy dishwasher, I'm just going to buy the cheapest one I can find that still has good reviews.

This is the one I think I will buy. What do you guys think? Out of 6 reviews, it has one bad review and 5 positive ones.My biggest problem with it is that it isn't energy star compliant, but at this price range, I've kinda got to take what I can get.

Merry Dishwashermas to you all!

Since you read Shaktronics, I know you are a discerning consumer with great taste and money to burn.  That's why I know you'll be absolutely batty for this art masterpiece depicting "The Fall of the Damned."  This visibility-enhancing fixture, better known as a lampshade to the plebians, is made of high quality, uh, nylon, and will only cost $45,000, so I can't see any situation in which one can't have several in every room.

A dramatic, pendant lampshade, shaped into a classic image of guilt and morality. From a distance, The Fall of the Damned appears to be an organic and intricately textured ornament. Upon closer inspection it is revealed as a mass of naked bodies, reminiscent of Dante and Rubens, fused together in agonizing beauty.

The amazingly complex shape of this limited edition lampshade was made possible via the help of Materialise's MGX technology. Using innovative 3D printing, digitally created designs are 'printed' with a laser, adding layer upon layer until an intricately detailed piece is formed.

Limited Edition of 40.

A doff of the chapeau to Better Living Through Design.  Now if you'll excuse me, Muffy, Biff, and I are late for our squash game at the country club. Ta-ta!

Convergence is all the rage.  Refridgerator/CD player?  Not a problem!  TV/VCR/DVD player all together?  Been there done that?  Beer keg cooler and arcade video game cabinet?  Of course!

Yet another thing to add to my list of things I'll buy when I hit the lottery that I don't really need, the Gamerator is chock full of some of the best arcade games of all time, including but not limited to:  Galaga, Bubble Bobble, Street Fighter II,  Spy Hunter, Pong, SmashTV, and the clincher, Tecmo Bowl!  Finally, my love of beer and my love of 80-yard runs from Tecmo Bo Jackson are combined!

Tis the season for all sorts of creepy crawly products for decorating the home and office, so when I saw this awesome zombie-themed outdoor light from Nerd Approved over at Curbly, I knew I’d have to write about it. This 16” tall resin creep juts his lantern-clutching fist high over head as he makes his triumphant escape from his grave, which just so happens to be your front yard.

Not only is it an awesome Halloween decoration, it is also solar powered, so it’s both green in color and green in terms of being environmentally friendly! He may be a brain-hungry corpse straight out of “Night of the Living Dead,” but he still cares about the environment!

Buy this awesome Halloween decoration (though I’d probably have it up at my house all year long, since you can put a Santa hat on him and make him a Christmas spirit) here!

Weather is strange this year. I want to write about stuff that should be useful for fall (because I’m finding a lot of stuff that would be useful for fall), but I look outside and it is 85 degrees and sunny, the trees are green, grass is growing, birds are really confused, and it feels more like summer than fall. A glance at the television weather report shows that it is going to remain sunny and warm until this weekend, maybe longer.

Rest assured, fall will come. Everything will recede, the leaves will fall from the trees, and I guarantee you it is going to fell like all those leaves have fallen into your gutter. Then you’ll have to climb up a ladder, sit on the roof, and scoop out nasty brown gunk for a whole Saturday when you should be watching college football and grilling out burgers.

That’s why you need to make the investment and buy yourself a Looj, from IRobot Corporation. What is a Looj? Why, it’s a gutter-cleaning appliance, kind of like a more disgusting version of a Roomba.

From PC World:

The $99, 2.25-inch high Looj drives under gutter straps propelled by a three-stage auger that sweeps out dirt, leaves and debris.

Users control the Looj from the ground, though they need to climb up and down a ladder at least four times -- to place and remove it.

Hey, even if the Looj only works for one year, it’s worth it not to have to climb up onto the house, risk falling off, and spend a whole day cleaning my gutters by hand. Not to mention cleaning out the gutters in the garage, too.

Image:  UK Home Ideas

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

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

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?

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.

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

One of Sony's goals, and I don't feel like I'm wrong in saying this, is a little thing called convergence.  Simply put, it is the principle of one gadget to do all your tricks at once.  That's one of the reasons the PS2 had a DVD player built in, and why the PS3 has a Blu-Ray player built in.  They want their video game system to be the center of your home entertainment system (even though a stand alone DVD player and a Wii would run you about half the price of a PS3 and spare you the indignity of backing a possible loser in the Format Wars).

While Apple has yet to roll out their Blu-Ray enabled iMac, Sony has rolled out a drool-worthy all-in-one VAIO LT TV/PC that not only has all the guts you'd want in a computer running Windows Vista Ultimate, but is flat enough and large enough to mount on the wall!  It features a 1680x1050 widescreen display, a 1.3 megapixel camera, 802.11n wireless support, 2GB of RAM,  a Blu-Ray player/recorder, HD-cable readiness, DVR functionality, wireless peripherals, and a variety of upgrade options, you've got geeks in lust all over the world.

The only weaknesses are the high cost ($1900 or $2900 for the model with the recordable Blu-Ray drive) and small size as televisions go (22 inches).  Still, you could do a lot worse for your office and it's a great replacement for the cable box collecting dust on top of your old analog TV.

Photo Credit:  Ars Technica

I don’t know where you live, but it’s probably hot. It seems like most of the country is in the grip of a terrible heat wave, and air conditioners are working overtime to try and keep the nation’s BO level at a tolerable mild funk. Of course, as temperatures crack triple digits, our technology to keep cool falls under greater strain.

This is where Murphy’s Law comes into play. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and the more you use a piece of equipment, the more likely you are to break it. Unsurprisingly, the hotter the weather gets, the more you depends on that AC to keep you from frying eggs on your forehead.

Why did I remind everyone just how hot it is outside?

Well, my car is ancient, and as such, stuff is starting to go wrong on it, including the air conditioning. On your average internal combustion engine, the air conditioning runs off the same drive belt that runs the power steering and all the other important technical stuff that I don’t really understand. When you turn on the air conditioning and the compressor cycles on, it adds additional strain to the power steering. The main bearing of the power steering is threatening to go out every time I put that extra strain on the drive belt by turning on the air conditioning.

I’m trying my best to avoid using the air conditioning, but if I have to choose between sweating buckets sitting on a burning hot leather seat and wrestling with the wheel and being cool, I’ll take my chances with manual steering. Or I could refrain from using my car’s air conditioner, preserve my power steering, and graft an air conditioner onto the roof of my car like University of Houston graduate Scott Dawson.

You gotta see this to believe it. It’s incredible that A) he thought to do this, B) it actually works, and C) nobody’s stolen the air conditioner yet. There are probably easier ways to save $1200, but none are quite this impressive.

(photo credit:  MyFox Houston)

There can be nothing better than having people around for drinks etc, this gives you the opportunity to show off all of your little gadgets, like the Nacho and Dip warmer. This will defiantly impress all of your friends and show what a host or hostess your are.

The tray is made from melamine which will hold the heat and will crack or shatter, it has five separate compartments one in the center for the dip or salsa and four around the outside for either different flavors or just simply and easier way to offer each person a pair chance of getting a portion of the nachos.

Obviously the tray needs to be plugged in to generate the heat, but once going it will keep the snacks and dips warm for as long as it is needed, which is much better than picking up a whole clump of nachos held together by a cooled down piece of cheese.

As the tray itself is made from melamine this means that it is heat and crack proof, and of course the heater element situated in the base is completely and easily detached in order to keep the tray clean, and as we all know washing up after a whole lot of nachos have been cooking away in it, will take some doing.

The cost for this essential item is around $19 not bad for a party piece; pity it does not plug into the USB port though!

Source [Shiny Media]

You know how it is, there you are sitting around at home when a few friends turn up with drinks and nibbles, but to your horror you have not got any glasses, well none that would pass the friend test. Luckily a while ago you were talked into buying a pack of “Cool Shooters” and just by chance you made them up and put them in the freezer, well lets face it there’s nothing else in the freezer!

So great you got glasses, these novelty glasses have been made from water and the specially designed moulds so that when the ice is taken out of the special food grade silicon rubber moulds they look like shot glasses, you know the ones that are filled to the top and downed in one, not that I know of course I must have seen it on the TV or something, anyway these shot glasses can be made from water, juice or your favorite other drink, apart from the ones that do not freeze, like vodka etc.

This is quite a good novelty party piece, though I do see a couple a potential problems ahead, as everyone knows, ice can be sticky, so what do you do if the glass happens to stick to your lips, that sounds rather painful to me and naturally the fact that ice melts, so these glasses not be the best choice for the barbecue!

The price for one tray that will produce four ice shot glasses, will cost around $7 plus shipping and handling.

Source [Perpetualkid]

Now initially the obelisk looks as if it belongs in a museum or maybe even in the reception of a large corporation’s office, as it resembles a piece of bespoke modern art. Yet on closer inspection you will notice that the materials are that of aluminum and plastic, or as the store states “Woven Polyethylene” so what appeared to be some sort of artists metalwork project, has now become something completely different.

Once dismantled to art turns into some very practical furniture and the whole concept becomes very clear indeed. The base is still a base, but when combined with the pointed top of the obelisk it becomes a coffee table and the other four pieces once placed on the floor need no explanation as to what they are, this table and four chairs, which even though the color is a grayish metal color would actually fit into almost any room setting regardless of whether or not it is modern or traditional in design.

The idea behind this is great, the set can be either in the obelisk form to save space or just left out as an informal seating area. There is only one thing that may be a problem in some rooms, that of height, there are no dimensions available so the actual height of the furniture set when in the obelisk position is not known, but if you consider that the average chair is maybe at least three feet high at the back and the way the obelisk is put together I estimate that the height is going to be over nine feet tall! This may be ok in the high ceiling word of corporate HQ’s but in the average home it may be a bit of a squeeze.

Apart from the slight height problem the set is a great piece of design and could be very practical in the right surroundings, one not so good point is the price of this set $8,922!

Product Page  [HGTV]

Source  [Shiny Media]