2013

Wacky Wine Bottle Wine Glass from Gadgets and Gear

Gadgets and Gear’s Wine Bottle Wine Glass in action If you are a sophisticated oenophile, or at least pretend you are, avert your eyes! If you don’t give a rat’s posterior about the niceties of wine drinking decorum and want a super-sized libation serving, have I got the glass for you. Gadgets and Gear now offers for the non-discriminating wine drinker the Wine Bottle Wine Glass, a wine glass fused to a standard-sized 750ml bottle. Such a utilitarian design is doubtless causing the 18th century founders of Riedel glassware to spin in their graves. Top-tier wine glasses, and let’s face…

Music Diary, Reviews

Chris Potter The Sirens Review

I have known about Chris Potter for years, but mostly as a sideman, playing with Paul Motian, Dave Holland and most recently as part of Pat Metheny’s Unity Band. At the same time I have also become more of a fan of his efforts as a leader – his ‘Follow the Red Line’ live album from 2007 remains a favorite, with Viva Las Vilnius being essential listening from the last decade. He has recorded with a variety of labels through the years, and has recently joined the historic ECM label, and has just released his debut for ECM. Let’s take…

Game Diary, News & Features

Popcornflix Digital Movie Application Releases on Xbox 360

Popcornflix, an online digital movie platform, has released their Xbox 360® application which allows users to navigate with their voice or a hand wave. That’s right. The Kinect controller, the “hands-free” motion sensing input device offers yet another fun, interactive interface experience. Access is free for Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. Xbox 360 users can use this app to view and pick new arrivals, the most popular selection or browse all movies. Users can also use the app to search movies by genre, title, actor or director. Popcornflix offers several eclectic movies from a wide range of genres that include action/thriller,…

Gear Bits

NBC Promotes Smarter Passwords in “The More You Know” Spot

A few weeks ago, there was a lot of buzz about vulnerabilities in Apple’s security — and as a result, they rolled out two-step password verification — I tried to encourage my dad to enroll his Apple ID in it as well as my mom’s. I might as well have been speaking a foreign language, because he stared vacantly at me, shrugged, and said: “I’m sure it will be fine.” If he won’t listen to me about using smarter passwords for better password safety, then hopefully he was watching NBC, because tonight I saw a “The More You Know” PSA…

Vehicles & Gear

2013 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD in the Grinding Gears Garage

Toyota claims its Highlander midsize crossover utility vehicle pioneered the segment that saw traditional frame-based carry-alls attain more carlike attributes by converting to unibody architectures. Despite that, Highlander never really became a “household name.” That’s kind of a shame, as Toyota’s midsizer offers quite a few variants of its three-row CUV including choice of powertrains – four- or six-cylinder gas or hybrid engines – and front- or full-time four-wheel drive, along with choice of base, SE, Limited or new Highlander Plus trim grades. The current Highlander is the second-generation of the nameplate that received a mid-cycle refresh a few years…

Health and Fitness

Your Health is No April Fool’s Joke – The Monday Mile

Today being April 1st, you can expect to spend the day regaled by all sorts of ‘witty’ fake ads, fake ‘news’ items and so on – we have already seen Google out with a ‘YouTube closure’ and others, and it is easy to predict that many others will follow for Apple, Microsoft and more. Over at the Greatist they have a parody article about getting ‘six-pack abs in a day’ – and it is worth reading for a laugh. But as many wind down from a day of excessive ham, bacon and chocolate, it is worth remembering that your health…

Reviews

Clash of Clans for iOS Review

My latest and greatest addiction came from a source I never thought would put me on an iOS game; the bow hunting forum that I actively participate in had a post about joining the Texas Bow Hunters clan on Clash of Clans. Several of the members expressed their enjoyment of the game, so I thought maybe it was time to try it out. In a few short days, the game has become a huge addiction, and it turns out to be a lot of fun. Let’s take a quick look. Clash of Clans is a combat strategy game that requires…

Crowdfunding, Game Diary

Divinity Original Sin Launches Kickstarter Campaign

Increasingly developers are not just looking to Kickstarter for full funding of a project, but also to help get specific features into a game, deliver multiplayer or extended art or something else. Developer Larian Studios looked at what they could do themselves, and decided that with a successful Kickstarter project they could realize all of their goals for the game. Personally this was an ‘insta-back’ for me, as Divinity Original Sin Launches Kickstarter Campaign! Project Title: Divinity Original Sin game for PC (potentially also Mac/Linux) Status: Active Closing Date for Funding: April 26, 2013 URL of the Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin From…

Reviews

Noreve Tradition D for iPhone 5 Case Review

Noreve offers some of the most beautiful leather device cases available. Their Tradition D case for the Apple iPhone 5 is no exception. Made from “top quality handcrafted leather”, the Noreve Tradition D has a thermoplastic polymer inner structure to hold your iPhone in place while the leather provides a soft, classy look and feel. That means you get all the protection you want without fear of any signal interference. The Noreve Tradition D for iPhone 5 has an “easy-to-close” cover that stays shut without the need for a magnetic or snap closure. If you have used a case with…

Reviews

SmartStick TV Accessory Review

When we were shopping for an HDTV, I briefly considered whether we needed a “smart TV”. Eventually, I decided we probably didn’t, but I was very excited to take a look at the SmartStick TV accessory, as it turns my decidedly not-smart HDTV into a smart version running Android. Unfortunately, it isn’t without its drawbacks, and it has left me wondering if the benefits are worth the quirks. Read on to find out my take! Physically, the SmartStick is extremely compact. It’s just a little bit bigger than a stick of gum, and it uses HDMI to connect to the…

Reviews

Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses Review

A number of months ago I reviewed the PivotHead Video Sunglasses. (Read the review.) I used them in Aruba (watch the video) and then again in Cuba (watch the video). I really enjoyed using the glasses and was bummed when the time came to return the sample I was using. I sent them back and planned to shoot future video “the old-fashioned way”… with my iPhone. That’s when I was offered a pair of Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses to review. “Another pair of video sunglasses to review?” I thought, “Why not.” The Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses came a few…

Health and Fitness, Yum Log

Healthy Delicious Lemonade in Seconds

It’s summer, and that means it is time for lemonade. (Actually, I love lemonade, so all year long is lemonade time.) The problem is that lemonade is made with sugar, and more and more studies are suggesting that sugar is not only addictive but is a toxic poison. (Yeah, I know the words “addictive”, “toxic” and “poison” are strong, but I’m just referencing the words used in places such as here and here.) I even spoke about it last fall during the Jewish Holy Days and encouraged my community to begin taking their health more seriously. (Read it.) (According to…

News & Features

Just Mobile AluCup and AluFrame for iPhone 5

We’re fans of Just Mobiles iPhone, iPad and Mac accessories and enjoyed spending time with them during CES 2013. During that meeting the company was kind enough to give us a look at some of their upcoming products- the Just Mobile AluCup and AluFrame. The Just Mobile AluCup and the AluFrame have now been formally released and are currently shipping. Let’s take a quick look at them. The Just Mobile AluCup is described as a multi-purpose desktop stand for iPhone and iPad Mini. As is the case with almost all of Just Mobile’s products, the AluCup is made from a single…

News & Features

ChargeDr USB Charge Booster Makes the Most of Charging Opportunities

How many times have you tried to charge your iPad off of a laptop’s USB port, only to not see the charging symbol, because the USB port was underpowered? Or even worse — have you ever plugged your iPad in to a spare wall charger only to find out (hours) later that your iPad had barely charged because you were using an iPhone’s lower-powered wall charger? Urgh. Digital innovations has just come out with a powerful tool that can help with situations like these; the ChargeDr. USB Charge Booster. It may not look much different from the average thumb drive, but the…

Game Diary, Reviews

Runaway A Twist of Fate for iPad Review

Several years ago the point and click adventure genre had a resurgence on the PC, and it felt like I played and reviewed just about every one for a few different sites. One of the games I played was called Runaway: A Road Adventure, which centers around Brian Basco and Gina Timmons. The pair is back in the third entry originally released for PC in 2010, so lets take a look at Runaway A Twist of Fate for iPad. Type of app: Adventure game Platform/where to buy: Universal iPad/iPhone; available in the iTunes App Store Developer: Pendulo Studios / BulkyPix…

News & Features

Martian Watch Gets Smarter with iOS App

For us, one of the CES 2013 hits was the rapidly emerging smart watch category. During the Electronics Show Judie attended a media event from the makers of the Pebble smart watch, we saw many wearing the I’m Watch as the company tried to stealth promote their (mostly disappointing) offering, and we spent over an hour in a private meeting with the key players at Martian Watch. (Read the post.) Judie and I both walked away with watches, and I’m glad we did. You see, for my money, the Martian Watch is currently at the top of the smart watch…

Reviews

RHA SA950i Wired Headphones Review

Hey everyone, listen up! See what I did there? Anyway, corny jokes aside, these headphones pump some serious tunes. The $60 RHA SA950i is a set of wired on-ear headphones that also include an in-line remote and microphone on the fabric braided cable. The Glasgow-based company has found a great balance between price point and sound quality with this set. The RHA SA950i wired headphones boast professional grade 40mm titanium coated mylar drivers, adjustable headband with padding, along with a detachable cable with in-line remote and microphone. These headphones deliver excellent sound quality through the 40mm titanium coated mylar speakers. …

eBooks, News & Features

Amazon Buys Goodreads, but Is It a Good Deal?

Amazon announced today that they’re buying Goodreads, a social book site that lets you review books you’ve read, and look for recommendations based on your reading list and the books your friends are reading. Needless to say, this is a slam dunk match for Amazon and Goodreads, as they really can complement each other nicely. There are a lot of reasons why this is good for everyone (Amazon, the Goodreads team, Goodreads users and Amazon Kindle users), but it does strike me that Goodreads being off the market is a potential loss for a few other big ebook players…let’s look a little…

Music Diary, News & Features

Experience Rock and Roll Filtered Through Luna Lee’s Korean Sensibilities on Her Gayageum

I never really understood all the fuss over the Gangnam Style videos. Seemed a bit too much like the Lambada craze of the late 90s for my taste, honestly. I’m more of a rock kind of guy. (We will diplomatically ignore my love of Tom Lehrer songs, show tunes, and classical and jazz piano music for the purposes of this post.) And so when a friend of mine on Facebook posted a link to Luna Lee’s, a Korean gayageum player’s, YouTube video I was skeptical. Until I watched it, anyway: C’mon, you’ve got to admit it: Luna Lee totally rocks!…

News & Features

Gomadic SunVolt Portable Solar Power Station Review

Last year my congregation became the first Reform synagogue in the country to attain certification in environmental leadership from GreenFaith, a nationally recognized interfaith environmental coalition. This winter our Pre-School completed a nationally certified outdoor classroom. The goal is to help kids, and parents, better balance “screen time” and “green time”. It should be no surprise then, that I love the idea of using the sun to charge and run my many mobile devices. After all, if the sun can fuel plants, then why not have it fuel my iPhone, iPod touch and various accessories? That’s where the Gomadic SunVolt…

Music Diary, Reviews

Pat Metheny Orchestrion Project Review

Pat Metheny is one of my favorite artists, and I am pretty much guaranteed to buy whatever he releases, and have been thrilled with the quality of work in recent years (he lost me for a while in the late 80s / early 90s). I truly enjoyed his Orchestrion release, and the live performance I took my family to see. Last year he released a DVD of the project which I enjoyed, and now we get the full set of music from the DVD. One could ask ‘where is the line crossing into over-milking a project’, and it is a…

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