Misc Gear

Some of the Most Amazing Ukeleles Come from Celentano Woodworks

yes, that’s a ukelele! I don’t play the ukelele, but I do remember a couple of days spent learning how to tune one back in third grade music class; “My dog has feas“, anyone? When I think of the ukelele, this is one of the first images that pops into my head … umbrella drinks, anyone? via NY Daily News Followed by this one … Oh Myyyyyy! =P I have no intention of picking up a new hobby, even if Eddie Vedder has deemed the ukelele cool enough to release an entire album full of and entitled Ukelele Songs. And…

Reviews, Yum Log

Blacktop 360 Portable Griddle/Grill/Fryer Review

When you first see the Blacktop 360 Portable Griddle/Grill/Fryer, it’s hard not to think it’s a gimmicky product. I mean it just screams “As Seen on TV” thanks to its claim to be the Swiss Army Knife of your tailgating needs with a propane grill top, a griddle for frying or warming and even a 20 oz. fryer basket. But upon further inspection, darned if it doesn’t live up to its motto, “Tailgating Turned up to 11.” Let’s take a closer look. First of all, if you order one of these via mail order, be prepared to tip the Fed…

Reviews

Disassemble Your Tech Gear with the iFixit Pro Tech Base Toolkit

I have a confession to make. I love to take things apart. Back when I was a kid I had a super-sweet Milton Bradley Star Bird toy, an early electronic noisemaker with revving engines and laser blasts. In the course of kid play, something inside broke loose and rattled around, driving me nuts. Spaceships off to do ground assault ought not to have a broken piece giving away their stealth attack so I, being young and adventuresome, decided to put my Star Bird in space dock (Dad’s table vice grip) and haul out a trusty Sears Philips screwdriver and effect…

News

mGifts Organizes Your Last-Minute Shopping Frenzy

Let’s say that you’re the type of individual who likes to wait until the last minute to do your holiday shopping (in other words, there’s a strong chance you’re a guy). Or maybe for you, it’s just not the holiday season unless you find yourself in a crowded shopping mall, just a few days before Christmas, surrounded by grouchy, inconsiderate fellow shoppers. In these situations, you need to be ready, organized, and have a plan. Otherwise, you’re sure to leave out a favorite aunt or niece, in which case you had better just slink into the background and hide behind…

Gear Bits

Why You NEED a Front-Facing Smartphone Camera

I discovered this week the ultimate reason for a front-facing camera. No, it wasn’t for a Skype call, or Facetime, or to take a profile picture for a website. See, I was sitting at my desk, eating an everything bagel for lunch, when I had a business associate drop in unexpectedly. Great, except I’d just been eating a bagel full of seeds, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself with a big old poppy seed in my teeth. And the bathrooms in my office are in the hallway past the lobby, so I couldn’t escape to check. My solution? I…

Reviews

The Orb Audio Mini-T Amplifier (and Much More!) Review

In terms of audio systems for small spaces, home users are not too demanding: they simply want something that sounds fantastic, looks great, is incredibly small, and is affordable. That might sound like a simple enough goal, but the subset of companies able to meet all of those requirements is incredibly small. Orb Audio recently launched the Mini-T Amplifier as well as compact systems that provide complete solutions for desktop or home speaker systems. Do they make the grade? Read on and find out! The Hype: The Mini-T is based on legendary T-Class amplifier technology, known for its audiophile sound…

Reviews

SCOTTEVEST Camp Shirt Review

When I was getting ready for last week’s vacation, I knew I needed a few more shirts to lounge around in. T-shirts are great, but when you are going out to dinner or stopping by a local hotspot for fried fish, french fries, fried plantains and beer (seriously the place was AWESOME), you want something a little nicer. I have had my eye on the new SCOTTEVEST Camp Shirt for some time, so before our recent trip to Aruba I went ahead and ordered myself two of them. I have a new favorite warm-weather shirt! The SeV Hype: You’ll be cool,…

Gear Bits

Meet the Mutewatch

Are you someone who is not ready to give up your wristwatch in favor of simply checking the time on your mobile phone? I don’t blame you if you aren’t; I’m not either. As a result I’m always looking at watches, considering ones I might wear and balancing function and geek factor against the watch’s looks. The Mutewatch is a design I recently found that looks cool, is simple enough to operate, and adds the function of timers and alarms. The use of “swiping” is cool to see on a watch, and for $259, it’s not too outrageous. via Meet…

News

Parker Ingenuity Collection Introduces 5th Technology for the Best of Both Worlds

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Parker Pens. All opinions are 100% mine. An innovative new writing system is set to revolutionize the look and feel of putting pen to paper. Parker aims to gain a new generations interest in fine writing by creating a one of a kind pen that is as beautiful as it is to look at. The innovation consists of a cutting edge refill tip and an engraved metallic hood that, together, constitute the newest technology in pens. In 1939 the Parker Pen company developed a pen whose technology was entirely…

Yum Log

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…

News

Jawbone Offers Refunds to All UP Owners

Did you buy a Jawbone UP? I did, and I have been largely disappointed, but I haven’t completely given up on it. Evidently a lot of people are very unhappy with them, and amazingly enough Jawbone has stepped up and offered a full refund to all UP owners who want one, even those who don’t have their original packaging or receipt, as well as those who don’t necessarily want to return them. This arrived in registered UP users’ email today: UPDATE FROM THE CEO The UP™ No Questions Asked Guarantee To the UP Community:Earlier this year, we unveiled Jawbone’s vision…

Reviews

Kammock Roo, a Kickstarter Project Quick Look

Gear Diary is a big fan of Kickstarter, and we have supported a number of different projects in the last year or so. One of them was the Kammock Roo, a new take on the hammock. The project was fully funded and our “rewards” came a few weeks ago. Judie is waiting to give the two she bought as gifts, but I brought mine with me on vacation. Here’s a quick video overview and some pictures. Here’s Judie and her ever-present Diet Coke… a video look follows after the break. The Kammock Roo is great for both sitting and laying…

Reviews

The Amplicom Induction Neckloop (NL100) Review

photos by Kevin My mother has sensorineural hearing loss, and she has worn hearing aids in each ear ever since she was 36. My husband has hearing loss from working with loud machinery, and although he doesn’t wear hearing aids, he misses some tones and quiet speech is sometimes garbled. My friend Angie’s daughter caught a virus several years ago that wasn’t treated quickly enough; the result was that she went profoundly deaf in both ears and has since been fitted with two Cochlear Implants. My point is that hearing loss and forms of deafness are much more common than…

Reviews

The SCOTTEVEST Women’s Lola Puffer Jacket Review

I have a new favorite jacket, and it’s not only warm, but it’s also a stunner; say hello to the SCOTTEVEST Lola Puffer jacket. Composed of a quilted 100% nylon shell and stuffed with 100% fluffy polyester, the Lola is soft, extremely warm (without being too heavy), and it cuts the wind on those mind-numbingly chilly days without making you feel sweaty if you are still wearing it after the afternoon warms things up. The Lola comes in three colors — Sparkle (which is a light grey), Rhapsody (a deep blue), and Fluff (a lovely white).All three jackets have a contrasting bright yellow fabric…

Reviews

Digital Innovations AllTerrain Wired 3-Button Mouse Review

Mice seem to be ubiquitous. Everyone has one. Not many people even consider buying one that didn’t come with their computer while some are fanatical about the mice they use. I tend to be one of the former. As long as it has a scroll wheel I am usually happy, but now I have a new favorite wired mouse in the Digital Innovations AllTerrain Wired 3-Button Mouse. What makes this mouse All Terrain? Well anyone who has used an optical mouse and tried to use it on a glass surfaces knows that they usually will not work on glass table top…

News

Bedol Water-Powered Clock Review

Alarm clocks are a pretty straightforward gadget. They tell the time, they wake you up when you’d rather be sleeping, and they’re slowly being replaced with cell phones. But while regular alarm clocks have become a bit boring, there’s a whole subset of funky/interesting variations (remember potato clocks when you were a kid?) Bedol has a really neat, eco-friendly twist on the regular alarm clock with their Water-Powered Clock. Is it a cool new twist on the basic wake-up call, or a gimmick of form over function? Read on to find out! The main gimmick of the Bedol Water Clock…

News, Reviews

Ultra-Comfy Chair Review: Sumo Lounge Omni Beanbag Chair

If you were a teen or pre-teen in the 1970’s, chances are you or one of your friends (or ALL of your friends) had a beanbag chair. The bags of the time were vinyl (or denim) bags filled with polystyrene pellets. Things have come quite a long way – the 1990’s saw a resurgence in the beanbag chair, and now it has been reinvented as the Sumo Omni. We first looked at the Sumo Lounge Omni in 2007, and the folks at Sumo were kind enough to send one my way for an updated review; let’s see how it holds…

News

AUTUM Dualist Lets Your Cards Travel in Style

We are huge fans of AUTUM and their sometimes quirky, always awesome, leather goods. So when they come out with something new, we love to bring word to all of you. Yes, their products tend to be on the pricey side, but they are as much works of art as they are usable accessories. Which brings us to their latest item, the Dualist case. The Dualist is a leather cardholder that will hold 2 to 6 different cards in style. It has the style we have come to know and appreciate and the rivets that are found on many of…

Reviews

Binverse USENET Account Review

Perhaps showing my age, I was so engrained in USENET since nearly the very beginning of the service in the early 80’s that I stayed using it long after most folks had moved to web forums. That was until around 2003 or 2004, when I found that splitting my time between dwindling USENET activity and climbing web activity was just too much. Yet even then I still lamented the loss – it was (and still is) incredibly inefficient to seek information about a given subject sprawled across dozens of websites and blogs when a single – or few – USENET…

Gear Bits

Jawbone UP First Impressions

Although it is only just being released this morning, I was able to pick up one of Jawbone’s new UP wrist bands yesterday (Jawbone UP). It truly is the height of “geek chic”, and whether or not it will be a passing fad waits to be seen. I wanted to share a few initial impressions of it but first let’s look at what it does and does not do. The UP is like a super-duper pedometer. It tracks your steps and can “challenge” you to do more. Or, if you set it at “X steps planned today”, it will tell you…

Gear Bits

Twelve South PlugBug QuickLook

We brought word of Twelve South‘s new PlugBug Mac/iPad accessory the other day. Within seconds of learning about the new product Judie and I had both ordered one. It is a great traveling companion if you have a Mac and an iPad or iPhone, so it seemed like a no-brainer. It is! Mine just came and, once again, I’m impressed with what Twelve South has done. Here’s a quick video look at the PlugBug. You can order yours for here on the company site for $34.99.

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