Way back in the second season of The Office (otherwise known as the Best Season Ever, way before marriages and babies and the heinous invasion that was Will Ferrell), there was a scene between Jim and Pam that I’ll never forget. Capping off an impromptu dinner date of sandwiches on the company’s roof, watching Dwight and Kevin set off fireworks, Jim lent Pam one of his earbuds and they self-consciously swayed together to the strains of the Travis tune “Sing”. It was perfection in its awkwardness, and ever after, the idea of sharing earbuds with someone seemed like an utterly romantic notion.
But let’s be real here: earbuds can be all kinds of funky (and I don’t mean in the “get down wit yo bad self” way), so it’s often one instance where sharing is decidedly not caring. But all hope is not lost! Instead, get your randomly romantic groove on with the Robot Headphone Splitter Jack key chain.
Plug the little guy’s noggin into your iPod’s headphone jack (the device works with any music player/phone that has a standard 3.5mm jack), then plug two individual sets of headphones into its eye sockets. And before you can say “easy peasy, fresh n’ freezy”, you’ll be sharing your playlist with your favorite partner in crime – or swaying, as the case may be. Grilled cheese sandwiches and multiple seasons worth of sexual tension not included.
Sure, some great creations take intricate planning before moving toward a finished product that one can appreciate. Other times, simply the creative process of watching something appear from veritable nothing by one’s hand is more than enough.
The water painting Buddha Board will take you away from the normally sensible practice of beginning with an end in mind, and teach the lesson of living in the moment and appreciating it for what it is, exactly because it’s gone quickly like drying water.
Every stroke of the bamboo brush against the 12″x9.5″ white board will reveal a vision seemingly in black ink. Paint whatever your spirit shows you, paying no mind to an ultimate, masterpiece vision – for as the water dries, your vision gently fades away. Ideally, it is only putting brush to board that should matter. For results that last a prolonged moment longer, use more water with more intense brush strokes, so that evaporation takes more time. But whether painting with fine, thin strokes that disappear within 5-10 seconds, or thick, intense strokes that endure for 5-15 minutes at a time, the Buddha Board will never wear out, but will instead always stand ready for you to enjoy an inspiring, creative moment.
However, if you’d like to capture your final image for posterity … take a picture. It’ll last longer.
At one point or another, I’m sure all of us have wondered what exactly it was that Alice drank at the suggestion of a paper tag while in Wonderland. Was it a magic potion? Perhaps some brandy? Or maybe some kind of liquid drug found only in Wonderland? Whatever it was, it taught all of us that only good things can come from drinking out of strange containers that are labeled “Drink Me” … Err, right? ;)
That goes double for when those mysterious liquids are in flask form like this special Alice in Wonderland flask. The mushroom design has definite Lewis Carroll-inspired charm; I almost expect the Mad Hatter and March Hare to come running out of the distance screaming about having a tea party. There’s even a little bit of string around the top that completes the illusion of having an actual tag on it. Trippy, I know! Can you think of a more convenient and appropriate way to travel with your delicious drinks through the looking glass? I know I can’t.
Now we’re talking! This is an application for alternative energy I can truly get behind. I’m a renter who can’t afford solar paneling and lives nowhere remotely near the closest hydro-electric or wind-powered source of juice. But show me a convenient way I can harness solar energy and keep my personal-electronics party going, and my attention is yours for the taking!
The FreeLoader Portable Cell Phone Solar Charger weighs only 6.5 ounces and measures 4.7 inches long by 2.4 inches wide by .67 inches thick. But with a full charge, it will power an iPod for 18 hours, a PSP for 2.5 hours and a PDA for 22 hours. The Li-ion rechargeable battery can be powered up via USB adapter in as little as three hours or up to eight hours via the solar panels, but takes three to four full charges before it reaches its optimum capacity. Once reached, though, it can store that juice up to three months – endurance that few cell phone solar chargers can boast.
The device includes a master cable with 11 adapter tips compatible with devices ranging from iPhones to standard cell phones and PDAs; digital cameras to GPS units; and it also supports several portable gaming systems including the Nintendo DS Lite and PSP. So let the sun shine, already! I’m cheap, and solar power is free.
Well, that’s it, fellow gamers: the portable, interactive 3D gaming race ended before some even knew it had begun in earnest. Sorry, Microsoft and Sony, but your next console gimmick is in another product R&D think-tank.
As with the Wii before it, Nintendo’s latest licensed system has leaped beyond the pack and redefined “interaction” with the Super Mario Bros Crystal Maze Game. Portability? Play it anywhere you can hold the “console” fairly steady! Play it on a desk-top – literally, atop any desk with a little unused space. Try it on your “lap-top” anywhere; whether you’re sitting in a car, on a bus or just getting comfy in an easy chair, if you have a lap, you can set this atop it and go nuts for hours!
Did we mention it’s also very, very energy-conscious? It runs on an awesome, clean-burning energy that recharges easily without a single A/C adapter or outlet. When energy starts running low, charging up for more gaming takes one simple step. We recommend a nap!
What about the visual resolution, though? Well, getting over the Nintendo DSi’s “Augmented Reality” 3D technology didn’t take long. Reach out a hand and try touching the maze’s clear, colored walls. Oh my stars, you say – you can actually feel them? That’s because they’re really there! Really!
But what of gameplay? With responsive controls that tilt the maze with your hand’s every move atop the joystick, you’ll navigate a small ball through three castles en route to the one where Bowser holds your Fair Lady captive. Incredible sound engineering augments the reality – you’ll hear the ball “clack” against the plastic walls with every turn as if it were happening in your very lap. And as you clear each castle, a flag actually rises from each one in tribute to the winner that is you.
Augmented reality? Fad. This sort of technology Nintendo has just now harnessed and licensed needn’t be next-gen, because it’s proven in previous “generations.” Hands-on, challenging gaming that any gamer young or old could handle and find entertaining? The Super Mario Maze Game is it, friends. Your future is now.
