Gear Bits

Antipodes Map Show Where that ‘Drill Through the Earth’ Dream Will Get You!

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you drilled straight through the earth? Chances are if you ever watched Bugs Bunny or were a child, the answer is yes! Now you can easily find out – head to Antipodesmap.com and locate yourself on the top map and see where you would end up! But one caveat – you will likely learn just how much of the planet is covered with water! Source: Buzzfeed


SNL Parodies Amazon and the Kindle (NSFW!)

Sarah and I started watching “Saturday Night Live” again recently because one of our favorite sketch comedians, Kate McKinnon, joined the cast. Thank goodness for DVR, as it lets us skip the less entertaining sketches easily. It also allows us to re-watch the truly hysterical ones, like their flat-out brilliant parody of Amazon and “50 Shades of Gray“.


The Avengers Gear Summary

Marvel’s Avengers fans can find plenty of related gear including comics, figures, various apparel, phone cases, wall decals, LEGO sets, mech toys, music, masks, NERF bows, and games.


May the 4th Be With You as Donny & Marie Do Star Wars!

If you go back 35 years to the late 70’s, it seemed that everyone had a variety show – and one of the best things was that they were all live. I loved watching the Carol Burnett show, and one of the best parts was that Harvey Korman could never keep a straight face once Burnett and Tim Conway got going. Donny & Marie had an enormously popular variety show in the late 70’s based around their singing, dancing, charming personalities and wholesome images. They brought in a younger crowd than other shows and also provided an alternative to the…


McSweeney’s Guide to Airline Passenger Profiling

You’ve heard about racial profiling, but how about pants profiling? Oh, you hadn’t heard of it? That’s okay, neither had I … until I found myself nodding and chuckling as I read the list of what to expect from other passengers on a flight — based on the type of pants they were wearing! Wool Suit Pants: Will board before you. Wool Hunting Pants: Will board after you. Pleated Dockers: Will loudly talk on cell phone about ROIs and vertical markets. Pajama Bottoms: Will be flying either to or from a city with a Señor Frog’s. Sweatpants with Dallas Mavericks Logo: Will clog one or…


Want Fast Internet? Move to South Korea!

For nearly three decades I have worried about the connection speed to a remote network. Sure in the early days it was a 300baud modem hooked into a mainframe, but even then connectivity mattered. As the dial-up era matured we tried to squeeze every little bit of speed from those connections, and that effort continues into the DSL, Cable and LTE era. But ultimately all of these techniques are limited by infrastructure and bandwidth availability. For example, my local cable provider offers a speed boost solution at a monthly fee, but I already find that my overall speed can vary…


With $99 XBOX Subscription Bundle, Microsoft REALLY Enters the Smartphone Gaming Era!

Image courtesy GamesLive OK, so maybe the title is more than a bit of a stretch, but look at it this way: what product costs more to make than what you pay to buy it, but that lowered cost is subsidized by a two-year monthly contract? A cell phone … and now an XBOX360 bundle including the Kinect according to a report from TheVerge. Check out the details (emphasis mine): Microsoft is planning to launch a $99 Xbox console package with a monthly subscription as early as next week, according to our sources. The software giant will offer the 4GB…


They May Be Slackers, but They Sure Are a Class Act

Online services go down. That’s a fact of life. Heck, even we have had our share of downtime but thankfully, as of last night, much of it is a thing of the past. Well it turns out that Slacker Radio ran into a bump in the road last month. From Friday, April 13 until Saturday, April 14 some customers encountered a service disruption. Some! Not all or even most customers had an issue, and it only lasted for a day; it happens. I didn’t even notice the issue, so it wasn’t even an issue for me, but clearly it was an…


Dark Knight Rises Final Trailer

It has become a common tactic for a film studio to attach a trailer for a hotly anticipated release to help bolster interest in another release. It was already widely known that the final trailer for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ was planned to show with ‘The Avengers’. But now that ‘The Avengers’ is breaking records in its international release and seem assured a tremendous box office, Warner Brothers has released the final trailer to YouTube! And based on the trailer … this might be the best entry into the Dark Knight series yet! Why wait for the Avengers … check…


How Can Brick & Mortar Stores Get Better and Stay in Business?

Going through my feeds yesterday, I cam across a piece by Josh Smith on Gottabemobile.com on “3 Ways Retail Can Embrace Mobile to Profit and Thrive” and it got me thinking: Is that all there is?  There has to be more and I thought up of a few more things that can not only make the shopping experience better by embracing mobile and technology but help the business too. Free WiFi Josh said in his article that Free WiFi would be cost prohibitive; yet I’ve seen many stores do this, and I think it’s a brilliant idea.  Regional grocery change…


That Classic High Schooler Summer Camp Job is Now Filled With a PhD Graduate

Anyone who thinks that economic woes are behind us needs to check out this recent article from the Atlantic. It talks about how many recent graduates are unable to find a suitable job based on their education. About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share was at a low of 41 percent, before the dot-com bust erased job gains for college graduates in the telecommunications and IT fields. Out of the 1.5 million who languished in…


Amateur Radio Apps for Android

A mobile phone is a valuable tool that can be used for many things, even Amateur Radio.  I thought I would provide a short over view of some of the apps that are available on Google Play.  As there are always new apps, I will probably do another post as I come across them.  If you have apps that I miss, let me know so I can check them out. EchoLink for Android In my post regarding on what kind of ham radio to buy, I briefly mentioned Echolink.  Echolink is a internet based method for communicating on ham radio repeaters all…


“Book People Unite” Promotes Literacy with a Catchy Tune

Everyone has a favorite childhood book. From fairy tales to Narnia and everywhere in between. Want to help kids experience books in all their glory? Head over to BookPeopleUnite.org, a movement designed to promote literacy through the Reading Is Fundamental organization. They’ve put together an amazing video with a who’s who of artists including Chris Martin, Regina Spektor, Jack Black, and many others behind it.


Gnome Canterwick Beautifully Repurposes Leather-Bound Classics as iPhone Charger Docks

Books have been hollowed out since the beginning of time to hide things, whether it be to disguise and hold adult beverages, money, guns or other “treasures” inside. But here’s a novel idea, rather than hollow out the book to hide something, why not display the book while it is being used to charge your mobile device? Many of your favorite books are here, repurposed to be a clever charging dock that holds your device and hides its cable. Gnome Canterwick says that customization requests for upgrades including “plug location, longer cords, wall adapters, etc.” are welcome.   This new…


Quick Change Artist OneSole Shoes Allow You to Pack One Sole, Yet Bring Many Pairs of Shoes

If you are used to traveling with a pair of sneakers (or boots) and a backup pair of flip-flops, then I know you won’t be able to relate to what I’m about to confess … and that’s fine. But when I am packing for a trip that will last a week or more, and I know that I’ll be in both casual and dressy situations, it is typical for me to bring no less than six pairs of shoes. I would bring even more along if there weren’t weight limits on checked luggage. Part of the reason that I’ll pack so many,…


Siri Says, “Keep it in Your Pouch”

Back in February we reviewed Sena’s Creativo pouch for the iPhone 4 and 4S. I loved the look and the feel and found it to be one of the classiest ways to protect my iPhone. At the time I was rarely carrying my iPhone sans case but, in the months since, it has become increasingly common for me to do just that. As a result, both the Creativo and the Sena UltraSlim pouch have seen more use that ever. In my review of the $39.99 I wrote the following: … if Sena were to make it possible to activate the…



Dear 16-Year-Old Me

“One bad Sunburn before the age of 18 doubles your chances of developing melanoma.” “You are at a higher risk if you have more than 50 moles, a weakened immune system, or a family history of skin cancer.” “The outlook is very good if we can catch it early, but you have a less than 10% chance of surviving more than 5 years if we don’t.” “Melanoma can show up on your tongue, your palms, and on the soles of your feet.” “Your skin is like an elephant; it never forgets.” “If something seems out of place, get your doctor to have a look…


The Amazing Story of the First Woman to Officially Run the Boston Marathon

It is hard to think that within my life there was a time when women were essentially forbidden to run a marathon – yet the image above is one of those magical moments caught on film. It shows 20-year old Kathrine Switzer as the first officially entered woman in the Boston Marathon (Roberta Gibb ran as a renegade the year before). And the image shows marathon organizer Jock Semple chasing Switzer and attacking her, reportedly shouting “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers.” The image also shows a number of men helping Switzer hold off…



Stay Cool as Temps Rise!

Monday is a big day for many runners. It’s the 116th annual Boston Marathon (the oldest marathon in the world!), which is always an exciting event. I love following Boston, even though I don’t have a shot at qualifying to run it unless they let me race with a rocket strapped to my legs. This year is going to be very unusual though, and it serves as a good reminder to always adjust as temperatures rise quickly in this warm spring. See, Boston starts at 11am, and this Monday it looks like it is going to be a bit warm….