News

Do It Yourself Coffin is the last “hot deal” you’ll ever need

https://www.fatwallet.com/, one of the best sites on the web to learn about bargains, has launched a top deals section on their site. The current deal is also labeled “This is the last hot deal you’ll ever need” — it’s a Do-it-Yourself Casket Kit from Amazon.com. Although they don’t recommend it, you could save some more and assemble this entirely without glue or nails provided the object inside was less than 200 lbs.


Roman (birthday) Candles show your age in a classy manner

This pack of 8 Roman (birthday) Candles (3 “I”, “V”, 3 “X” and l – good for ages 1 to 89) make for a fun cake decorating experience. Simply line them up (you do know your Roman numerals, right?) and let the partygoers decipher the birthday boy or girl’s age. As noted, this candle set works for anyone up to 89 years of age. Amazon


Dan Brown’s new book: The Lost Symbol

Doubleday is now promoting Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol. If you didn’t already realize it, Dan Brown is the author of the insanely popular bestseller The Da Vinci Code. Mention this book in polite company, and 10 people will give you 25 opinions. Or just ask the Gear Diary contributors and watch your inbox get flooded with responses. So why is this big news for Gear Diary?


Phony blood bag cell phone charm is sure to bring the decontamination team running

Something tells me the teachers at your school won’t see the humor in this phony blood bag cell phone charm. The charm resembles a very tiny hospital blood donor bag complete with a tube to simulate connecting to your body. For added realism the bags are available in type o, type a, type ab and type b labeling. Cost is only $6.21, one emergency response from your local police department and three days in detention. Blood Drip Phone Strap



70% of Kindle Owners are Over 40 … how about YOU!?!

Anyone who hangs around discussion forums for just about anything has run into the ‘How Old Are You?’ poll / question. Evidently there was a similar thread called “Average Kindle Owner’s Age” in the Amazon Kindle Forums. None of this is surprising. The amazing thing is that someone took the time to compile all of the data presented in these posts and do some analysis! Stephen Peters of Kindle Culture is writing a book called, unsurprisingly, Kindle Culture, and they went though all 1700 posts and compiled all of the data. So what does it all say?


Gin & Titonic add a splash to any party

Sink one of these 4 ocean liners and 4 icebergs into your drink and watch the party start. That’s assuming your guests can identify the ships as Titanic replicas and the tiny ice balls as icebergs. Simply fill these 8 molds with water, place in your refrigerator and in a few hours you’ll have a nifty set of ice ships for your guest’s glasses. Gin & Titonic – $7.49


Ugobe Declares Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

It looks like we can chalk up Ugobe, makers of the lovable Pleo Robot, as one more victim of the poor economy and the ongoing credit crunch. Evidently, it was never a matter of whether there were enough people buying the personable robots, because Ugobe defintiely had the orders. The problem came when the companies who ordered shipments could not pay Ugobe, because their credit was frozen or denied. As a result, Ugobe has had to lay off 20 employees and declare Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Owners of existing Pleosaurs are understandably a bit freaked out. This just in from Robert…


Earth Day Thought: What Plastics Do To Your Body

As we all (yes, ALL) try to do better by Mother Earth in general, and particularly today on Earth Day, and try to ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ wherever possible, it seems that the ‘Reduce’ part often gets lost in a sea of packaging that we do manage to Reuse and eventually Recycle. An article at Care2 discusses some of the chemistry behind all of those plastics and how they might impact us.


TripIt for iPhone – a must have itinerary organizer for travelers

I have two business trips that are coming up this month. Until I discovered TripIt, my standard way to track itineraries was to search through my email reservations 12 hours before departure. TripIt keeps your schedule organized by reading email travel confirmations that you forward to a special TripIt email address. These show flight and hotel information which TripIt extracts. Then it creates an itinerary organized by trip. You can (optionally) share trips with others so you’ll know which friends are traveling to the same location at the same time as you. The iPhone application is free and automatically synchronizes…


Let your friends crash on these CTRL-ALT-DEL Pillows

These three pillows are not only quirky conversation starters – they’re also made from Eco-Felt – aka 100% recycled plastic bottles – and feature hand cut lettering. The covers can be removed so if a guest has a crash of another kind on them you can easily launder. Cost is $55 with $10 shipping. According to web site Strange Deals if you wack your kids with one of these pillows they’ll restart their homework. Etsy


Battery Snaps turn ordinary 9V into handy flashlights

Are you always searching the house for a flashlight? Try these Battery Snaps. The LED light is illuminated by your 9V battery. When the battery loses power – simply unsnap the light and attach to another 9V. There’s not indication of how long you can expect the light to glow – and this tiny Snap seems pretty easy to lose but for $4.99 they’re intriguing. Available in black, pink, white and yellow. Battery Snaps – $3.79


Put Your eBook Library on Your Kindle

If you’re like me, you’ve got GOBS of eBooks, likely in more than one format, all over the place.  I’ve got tons of books in MS Reader format (now THERE’S a blast from the past that most of us would like to forget), eReader format, MobiPocket format, etc.  Some of the books that I have are ones that I’d really like the read again and again; but now that I’ve got a Kindle, I’m kindle screwed when it comes to my library of well over 300 titles.



Brown Bottle DIY with Mr Beer

The weather is beginning to break, baseball season has started, and NASCAR is getting into full swing. What better time to start thinking about cookouts and libations. With DIY mania in full swing as the weather warms up, at least that’s what my wife tells me as I work on project #49.3 on her “to-do list”, what better way to test your skills than making your own beer.  For those of you brave enough to attempt making your own brew, I have just the site for you. The folks over at Mr. Beer offer 5 different kits that range from…


Squeeze Bacon — finally my prayers are answered

Here’s a cool idea that I can see a use for in my house. Every morning when I get the kids up for school they’re asking for breakfast food and often that includes some begging for bacon (their favorite). Now I know it’s not that healthy – so I try to limit it to only a couple times a month. Lately I’ve been avoiding making it at all because the mess and cleanup is such a hassle. Will finally! Looks like someone took the concept that was only recently applied to ketchup and applied it to bacon! Instead of messy…


Why eReader for BlackBerry is a fail

I had really high hopes for the eReader (beta) for BlackBerry which I have been testing on my BlackBerry Bold. At first glance the layout is decent and I had no trouble scrolling around and reading the text. The smaller display screen isn’t going to give paper books or the larger screen Kindle a run for their money any time soon – but I was hopeful that I’d at least have a decent backup book reader for when I didn’t have a paper book or the Kindle. Unfortunately ignoring the eReader’s many annoyances – starting with the price of books…


A cautionary note about Google’s “number for life”

To be fair, I guess Grandcentral ,when they advertised “one number for life”, didn’t specify whose life. After waiting impatiently nearly two weeks for my Grandcentral account to upgrade to Google Voice – I was a bit surprised to wake up to an email advising me that if I wanted to keep my old Grandcentral number that I’d have to forgo any SMS forwarding features (the MAJOR new feature of Google Voice). Say what? I thought I had my Grandcentral number “for life”?


Hopside Down Beer Mug Is As Unexpectedly Classy As an Upside Down Beer Bottle Gets

This quirky shaped mug looks normal when empty but when filled gives the appearance of an upside down beer bottle. This might just be the perfect quirky party gift. Yes, it’s surely a bit pricy for a single glass but considering that it’s hand-blown and precisely crafted and, according to their web site – unexpectedly classy. What’s next – brown paper bag mug shaped mug? Hopside Down Beer Glass – $19.99


Laser guided scissors help keep your cutting straight

I’m one of those people who can’t make a straight cut for anything. These laser guided scissors are affordable (only $15) and guarantee that you’ll at least have a straight line to follow. Useful for cutting all types of things where you may not want to use a ruler and make a mark to draw your own line. The blade is about 3.5″ long and the laser runs on 2 included LR44 batteries. Perfect gift for the professional gift wrapper who has everything! Laser Guided Scissors


Going green? How about reusable toilet paper?

Interested in doing your part to improve the environment. Who’s with me on switching to reusable toilet paper? Cloth toilet paper is not much different from the concept of re-usable diapers. It’s more economical, uses less paper and — no more late night trips to the store when you run out of paper! Biggest downside? Who wants to wash this in their washing machine? Soft Cloth Toilet Wipes Details: * Two-layer construction for soft strength. * Basic wipes are one layer of soft flannel and one layer of knit terry. * Premium wipes are one layer of soft flannel and…