Funky Gadgets Update

Here are some interesting items I found that may help some of you with those last-minute birthday or other holiday gifts or for those who are simply hard to buy for.

Frolicat Bolt - Now you can play with your cat without even lifting a finger. Simply setup the Frolicat and walk away and watch your cat go wild.

Pre-chewed pencils - maybe people wouldn't chew on pencils if it already looked like someone else had gotten to them first! On the other hand, does anyone use pencils now days?

Turn air into water - this is a self-cleaning alternative source for fresh water. The ultimate green choice, or maybe not.

Drum Kit T-Shirt - (This one is for you, Daniel)- Are you always drumming on the desk, your knees, or any other surface at the ready? Try this shirt and share your percussive talents more loudly with all of your friends!!

Nothing - For the person who has everything.
Instructions:
step 1 - open the pack
step 2 - experience nothing

Warranty: This product is guaranteed to do absolutely nothing. If something happens, return for a full refund.


Stay in touch with previous gadget posts:
April 2008
May 2008

I Can Walk and Chew Gum - at the Same Time!

I can walk, chew gum, and participate in a teleconference at the same time. But wait, I have opposable thumbs and walk upright!

Take a peek at this video of a species that isn't supposed to be able to do what he does.

Unbelievable!

Coming of Old Age

Toast Dust – you know the stuff that you scrape off burnt toast to save that slice of bread? It’s important one not be wasteful, you know. I learned that from my mom, a toast-burner extraordinaire. The toaster gets the blame, and that little adjustment knob on the bottom of the toaster? Well it was years before I knew what that was there for. No one ever touched that little do-hickey at our house. Mom used to “hide” the evidence by scraping it directly into the sink (why the sink, I’m not sure as it was in the days before anyone had any garbage disposals other than a dog); which we’d always find when we went to clean up. ‘Course the slight charcoal taste was still a dead give away.

Well, I woke up one day with what surely must be toast dust in my eyes. I have never suffered much in the way of allergies, but after a second nosebleed it had me wondering. Maybe it’s because I have neglected to drink water the preceding days. Doesn’t coffee count? All of my siblings have allergies and two even have asthma.

My older sister Shirley was very sickly due to asthma and its devastating attacks. I’ll never forget when the doctor told mom to give her wine to cut the mucus down. Mom would force feed a tablespoon or so when it would get bad. I had always wondered about the blue lips. Shirley used to tell me in genuine earnest “it’s cuz I’m dying and you have to be nice to me.”

Ah, but I digress. I have said all that to say this: I think I’ve succumbed to allergies in my old age. My day will be going along fine and all of a sudden I’ll find myself sniffling, sneezing, and scrubbing at my eyes; then as suddenly as it appeared - it’s gone!

Another coming of old age is the memory thing. My mind used to be a steel trap; nearly a photographic memory. If I had read it, I could close my eyes and read it off the page. This was really helpful in college, providing I actually read the material. Not so much anymore though. I have come to the conclusion that my “hard drive” is nearing capacity, regularly deleting files to make room for more. Unfortunately, I have noticed that I don’t always have much control over what “files” are maintained and which are sent to the “recycle bin.” I’m hoping the ridiculous trivia of the past is what goes first; things like my old BFF girlfriend’s phone number from 6th grade (yes, I still remember it), or a gift I got at the 3rd birthday party from my Aunt Gloria. However, I suspect that there must be a greater purpose to those memories, trivial or not. I just have to find it. I’ll have to dig deep and put some of my good analytical skills into play and determine the ….

What am I looking for again????

Favorite all Time Dave Barry

This is my all-time favorite Dave Barry column published Friday, November 7, 1997, in the Miami Herald. Coming from Seattle, the home of the coffee craze, it had me in stitches – still does.

Favorite excerpts are:

"...consumers are always ordering mutant beverages with names like ``mocha-almond-honey-vinaigrette lattespressacino,'' beverages that must be made one at a time via a lengthy and complex process involving approximately one coffee bean, three quarts of dairy products and what appears to be a small nuclear reactor."


"... a group of workers, who were supposed to be making a birdbath, began drinking Egyptian coffee, which is very strong, and wound up constructing the pyramids."


Enjoy!

Old Kat - New Tricks

For years it never failed; every outing where photography or videography was executed by yours truly, shots included numerous frames of feet and excellent renderings of whatever ground was being traversed. I've often thought of creating a video of all these odd shots that I've managed to capture over the years, but while it's funny to me, it probably wouldn't win the Ebert "thumbs up" vote. I have no idea how this happens. Surely it is not because I leave the camera on. I am much too aware of myself and surroundings to have acquired that particular habit!

I would like to believe that most of these errors have been perpetrated by James; primarily due to a known fact that he has a penchant for hiney and close-up chest shots. But one could argue that the long stretches of cement and feet in videos don't tend to follow his aforementioned predilection for my other body parts. Either way, it has been somewhat embarassing to sit down with friends and family for a viewing of our vacations and finding them subjected to our photographic lapses and failures.

Well feet and pathways aside, I've actually thoroughly enjoyed this last decade of digital photography. I've traded up cameras every few years and have gotten better with my "real" shots, even garnering some more objective positive comments from non-friends and family (people I don't feed first before a viewing). Well, I recently traded up again and purchased a digital SLR: Canon Rebel XSi 12.2 megapixel camera. I now have two lenses too! I immediately made a date day with James for a hike and took the opportunity to test out my camera. Wow! The difference between my point-and-shoot 4 megapixel Olympus and this new one is pretty amazing. The shots are so clear and crisp. Take a peek.

Now, where is my new Grandson?????

Ditz in the Dessert

Well, I'm not in the dessert really, just closer to one here in Southern California than my typical day in Kent, Washington. After several days in a very rainy Richmond, VA for a NASCAR race over the weekend, I had to buzz off to Long Beach, CA for a couple of meetings with my boss. Everything seemed like a typical So-Cal trip, the 90 minutes in the airport, the 45 minutes on the tarmac before take-off, the 120 minutes in the air, another 20 minutes landing and getting "de-planed"; you know the drill. Well I finally make it and head off to the glorious Emerald Aisle where I can select the car of my choosing.

I decided to wander into the tiny booth to ask specifically which cars boast satellite radio (I love satellite radio) and get the info about looking for strange antennae mounted to rooftops. I shlepp my gear along the heralded aisle and decide to tap into this idea of being a little green this trip and head for a Toyota Prius with the tell-tale antennae shooting up from the pale blue rooftop. Now, I've driven one of these before and found the experience interesting so I figured I'd examine the vehicle a little more closely this time and pay attention to things like: pick-up speed, braking, radio speaker quality, seat comfort, and the like. (Who knows, maybe I'll actually buy a "green" car someday?) I hop in and do the mirror adjustments, seat belt adjustments, find where the lights are, and plug in my GPS so-I-don't-get-lost-for-the-thousandth-time electronic lifesaver, and we're off!

I get to the checkout stand w/ the railroad crossing contraption and wait to be checked out. While there I try to find my favorite oldie comedian station on the satellite radio. Being a very busy morning, the cars immediately start lining up behind me, so when the guy finally takes my credentials, I breathe a sigh of relief. I hate holding people up. Guess what? I can't figure out the satellite radio! I ask the guy when he returns and he shrugs and hollers at another worker who says "that one don't got it!" The man asks if I want to switch cars. After a quick glance in my rear view mirror, I decide I'll have to live with out Bill Cosby for my 72 hour trip. Ah well; I head off into the LA freeway system.

I arranged to meet a co-worker after work for dinner at my favorite Long Beach restaurant, Open Sesame (a Mediterranean eatery of note), and head out of the office at 5 o'clock to meet her there. It's only about a 20 minute drive, and the restaurant is well worth the effort. Well, my cute little Toyota Prius had a totall different idea!

I insert the rectangular "key" into the slot, put my seat belt on, and then hit the power button. Now, you can't hear this car start. Your only indication that the car is running is this dashboard computer that shows the power. I hit the tiny park button to get it out of park and maneuver the tiny little lever into the reverse notch (it doesn't stay there, like a normal gear shift knob would) and try to back up. It goes about 3 feet and neatly stops at an awkward angle successfully blocking the car next to me. Great. I try again and again to get the car to backup to no avail. I anxiously hope that whoever owns the car I'm blocking is working late tonight! I hate holding people up. So, I shut the car down, take off my seat belt, open and close all the doors thinking maybe it won't go if a door is ajar; nothing. I fasten the seat belt on the passenger side. I go through the whole routine again and again: nothing. What is with this car? It worked fine earlier in the day!

Sure enough the owner of the blocked car comes out and wants to leave. I jump out of the car to explain my dilemma. She nicely explains she knows some friends who have the car and they haven't had any problems. Do I want her to call one of them for me? Nice.

After another 10 minutes of repeating the starting process, I decide to peek in the glove compartment to see if there's some sort of "Prius for Dummies" manual or something. Sure 'nuff! Intersting that the manual fell open easily to the correct location (anyone else have this problem???) and I found out you have to have YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL in order to start the car! How stupid is that? I dutifully go through the steps to start the car, only putting my foot on the brake pedal BEFORE I pushed the power button. Guess what? It started. I moved the car. The lady got her car out. I headed off to Open Sesame.

Boy did I feel dumb.

Needless to say, I was late to dinner. My friend had a table already and was enjoying my story about the time I accidently flung my fork off the table and onto the sidewalk (we were eating outside). After dinner I made the mistake of almost trying to get into 2 other Prius's parked on the same street. Apparently they are a popular model here in So-Cal; so is the color blue.

My GPS so-I-don't-get-lost-for-the-thousandth-time contraption kept shutting off, even while plugged into the cigarette lighter. Apparently my fuse is blown. I got lost for the 1001st time here in So-Cal. I just can't seem to get it right down here.

Ahhhh travel. Don't you just love it?

Beginning O' Summer

Today is beautiful and slated to be too hot for me to be expected to do stinkin' yard work the day I get the rest of my front flower beds done! It's only 10:45 a.m. and I've already been up and at it since 6:00 a.m. because it sounded like I was sleeping next to a chainsaw I awoke full of energy. I went grocery shopping, put them away, purchased the rest of my plants, cleared the front flower bed, added more topsoil, and am now thinking of bailing out here taking a short break before I finish planting. All-in-all, I've done more than a human should do in one morning a good bit of work so far.

We're supposed to get up into the low 80's today, which has me screaming for an air conditioner is not typical for this time of year. Tonight I'm hosting my kids and their spouses for our monthly Family Night where we all argue about what games to play have fun playing games and eating my food. We'll BBQ tonight I hope I don't burn it. Yumm-Oh!

OMG! I just scared myself spitless looked in the mirror and saw what I looked like. I have dirt sticking to my face, upper arms, and chest area. I look stupid very dirty indeed! However, I'll wait until I finish my planting and then go abandon James & let him clean up my yard mess clean up and then probably take a much-needed rest. I deserve it since he woke me up so early with his nasal chorus!

Happy June 2!