Articles by Chris Chamberlain

If You’re Gonna Get Bombed Anyway, Try the ‘Bombs Away’ Shot Glasses from ConvenientGadgets.com

So does anybody actually still do shots anymore? In my younger day, I might have tipped a few back, and I do see the young folks dropping a Jägerbomb every now and then at my local watering hole. But for the most part, I like to sip my drinks rather than snapping my head back and pouring one down my gullet. However, if you are in the holiday spirit for some holiday spirits and want to maximize the efficiency of your consumption, then perhaps a set of Bombs Away Shot Glasses from ConvenientGadgets.com is just the ticket. Made from sturdy…


Griffin and Third Man Records Put a Spin on Your iPhone 4S with a Case Custom Cut from a 7” Vinyl Record

My hometown of Nashville, TN is full of stars, and not just the country music kind. It’s a little-known secret that lots of actors and musicians from other genres choose to live in the area because, in general, we Nashvillagers pretty much leave them alone when we see them out in public. Nicole Kidman shops all the time at my local Whole Foods and can dine in peace at the food bar with no fear of autograph hounds. Peter Frampton has become a gentleman farmer in a Nashville suburb, and ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit moved here from Columbus, OH to escape…


Look Cool While You Cool Your Cocktail with Whiskey Disks

. Whiskey Disks. It’s probably wise not to try to say that three times fast, especially if you’ve been drinking whiskey. Actually Whiskey Disks are a new product designed to give spirits fans the best possible enjoyment of their sipping. When I first heard about Whiskey Disks, I immediately reached out the manufacturers to see if I could try some out for myself. They quickly obliged, which is fortunate since I usually enjoy at least one glass of bourbon every night after dinner to take the edge off a hard day of writing about food and booze. I normally enjoy…


Smoke Like a Pro with the Peg Leg Porker BBQ Kit

I’ve loved pork for a long time – waaay before the hipsters made bacon worship popular. One of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday afternoon is to put a pork butt on the smoker first thing in the morning and watch college football all day while the meat soaks up the hickory goodness. Since you have to add new wood every hour or so, it pretty much guarantees that you have to stay on your couch all day and restoke the fire at halftime of each game. Sorry about those chores, sweetie. Can’t you see I’m working here? While…


The Belkin iPad Kitchen Cabinet Mount Review

Long-time Gear Diary fans may remember me from my stint a few years back as our resident “Stunt Reviewer.” Well, like a bad penny, I’ve turned up again and Judie and the gang have been nice enough to welcome me back to contribute the occasional review or announcement, specifically for the “Yum Log” section where we take a look at kitchen, food and cooking products and gadgets. In the couple years since I stopped writing here, I’ve been a full-time food blogger for the Nashville Scene in my home town and an occasional contributor to regional and national food magazines…


The Echo Mirrored Screen Protector from Proporta-Paris Hilton’s Must-Have iPhone Accessory

My girlfriend and I eat a lot of spinach. [ed. note-this is my official entry into the 2008 “Most Unexpected Opening Sentence in a Tech Review” competition.] We joined a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, last year and receive a bushel of whatever is fresh off the farm every week from spring until fall. A side effect of this is the fact that until the succulent peppers and tomatoes start to ripen in July we often find ourselves buried under mountains of greens-chard, kale, collards, spinach and the like. We’ve learned to blanch them, sautée them, bake them and eat…


The Whoomp! Earbud Enhancers Review: Apple’s Dirty Little Secret

I’m no Apple-basher. Sure, I use a Dell at work and an HP laptop at home, but my girlfriend is on Apple laptop number three in the past four years, and I went to college near Cupertino in the second half of the 1980’s. If you went to Stanford, you just accepted that you were supposed to pay three grand for a Mac SE and an Imagewriter. So I did. iPod devotee? Yup, that’s me too. At last count there were four different models in my household, and iTunes should send me a Christmas card. But there’s one thing that…


The Solio Solar Charger Review: Kermit Was Wrong!

Sometimes, an item shows up in my mailbox for review that I REALLY want to work well. Maybe the description of the item just sounded so cool that I hope it lives up to the hype. Other times I’m rooting for the product because I believe in their mission and am rooting for the company to succeed. But in the end, the product has to actually work for us here at GearDiary to recommend it to you, oh gentle reader. The Solio Solar Charger from CREDO Mobile is exactly this kind of gadget.


DLO TransDock Deluxe Rox!

Lately, it seems like I can’t walk into a Costco or a Sam’s Club without seeing a new wireless adapter to play an iPod though the stereo system of my truck. Unfortunately, it also seems like I can’t see one of these without buying it. This is because most of them haven’t really worked worth a squat between their awkward controls and their inability to hold a station to deliver a static-free transmission of the treasure trove of southern rock, funk and Richard Pryor albums I have stored on my video iPod. Of all the gadgets I’ve tried to retrofit…


If It Has Leaves Three, Leave It Be or If Nobody Else Will Do It, Chris’ll Review It

Regular readers of GearDiary.com know that we have a very talented team of reviewers here. What you may not realize is that there is sort of an unspoken pecking order among the team members about who gets to do which review. For instance, if the product has four wheels or a screen bigger than 19″, you can bet Judie is gonna write the review. If it is the latest, most technologically advanced PDA or phone, Clinton and Mitchell are the “go-to” guys. Allen is a real gearhead when it comes to games and gadgets. If it is whimsical or might…


Mood Wrapz: Groovy, Dudez.

Sometimes the best definition of a gadget is something cool that you never knew existed. But once you find out about it, you have to have it. Even though you don’t need it at all. Mood Wrapz are that kind if product. Known as “a mood ring for your iPod, MP3 player, or cell phone,” Mood Wrapz are a great flashback to the 70’s for those of us caught between the LP and iPod generations. Besides a some minimal scratch protection, they are just the sort of fun accessory that serve absolutely no purpose other than to draw attention to…