Don’t you just hate when you’re on your way back to work after your break, carrying some hot java for yourself and a coworker, and you spill it all over yourself? I mean, here you are trying to share the goodness that is caffeine, and now you have to go back to your job with a coffee-stained shirt. Does that seem fair? Nope. Sure, maybe you could have avoided that spill, but you had your hands full with two coffee cups, plus the sugar and stirrers. How were you supposed to know that that guy was gonna bump into you? There’s no surefire way to prevent coffee spillage (if only!), but I think I can help.
Safely armed with the Tota Coffee Carrier (Krudmart, $12.00), and I can proudly say that you will travel to and from work, coffee intact. Not only does this carrier hold two to-go cups of coffee, but there are also special compartments for stir sticks and sugar packets. It’s about time! I mean, what if you’re all out of sugary type substances at the workplace and your coworkers send you on a mission to pick up some coffee? Seems fairly easy, right? Except you can’t remember who takes their coffee with cream no sugar and who takes it with sugar no cream. And trust me, you don’t want to mess with someone’s coffee homeostasis. You’re a lot safer just grabbing a few sugar packets and letting them sort it out. So not only does this carrier allow you to hold two coffees with just one hand, but now you don’t have to shove the coffee amenities in your pants pockets.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been sent out on a coffee run, only to realize once I get to the coffee shop that there is no way I’m going to be able to carry it all back. Then you have to decide if “forgetting” one person’s coffee so you can juggle the rest is going to cause an office turf war. I’ll save you the contemplation: it will. I told you, don’t mess with a person’s coffee.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Holds two cups of coffee
-Includes compartments for stir sticks and sugar packets
-Comfortable handle
-Made from durable styrene
I have to say, I do enjoy a good dry erase message board. I mean, you get to write messages on the same surface over and over, yet you’re not killing trees by constantly having to go out and buy more paper. It’s great. You also have all sorts of fun colorful markers that you could use to liven up the boring grocery list. Dry erase boards are great for just about any situation – dorms, kitchens, kids rooms, etc. And they’re usually pretty cheap, so it’s a sound financial investment. Ok, so now that we’ve covered how awesome a regular dry erase board, what would you think about a jazzed up version for about the same price as a regular one?
If you were on pins and needles about the prospect, then you’ll be overjoyed to learn about the LED Illuminated Message Board (Chinavasion, $15.31). With the same function as a normal dry erase board, this baby adds a little extra oomph with LED illumination. So not only can you write down the grocery list by day, but you can turn that grocery list into an illuminated bar menu by night. Just think of how amazing this thing would be at parties! You could write a list of beer pong rules on it or maybe even keep score for darts, all while enjoying the crazy pattern changing LED illumination behind your words. This message board runs on batteries, so you can bring it basically anywhere (although it’s not waterproof, so I’d be careful around large bodies of water). It comes with one fluorescent dry erase marker, but if green’s just not your color or you want to branch out, all you need to do is make you get a fluorescent water based type of dry erase marker.
I can only imagine how much cooler dorm life would have been with this dry erase message board. I mean, everyone used to hang dry erase boards on their doors so that people knew where they were or so that they could get messages while they were out. I would have been the coolest kid on my floor if I had this message board. Of course, if I hung it outside my room, it would be stolen in .2 seconds. Oh, but those .2 seconds would be glorious.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 315mm x 245mm x 20mm
-Includes green fluorescent dry erase marker
-Pattern change buttons and on/off switch
-LED colors: Blue, Red, and Green
-Uses 3 AAA batteries (not included)
-Two integral hooks included for mounting
-Made of industrial cast acrylic with translucent middle panel
-Not waterproof
Who really gets pictures developed anymore? Just about everyone has a digital camera so there’s really no need to use a plain old camera. I mean, then you would have to shell out cash for the camera, film and developing when you could just go the easy route and use a digital camera. That way, you have the option to print your photos or just upload them onto your computer. And let’s not forget about the awesomeness that is photo preview – it’s not like you can get a redo on a picture with a regular camera. Even photography buffs are going digital for the ease of use and the high quality. Ok, so you’ve gone digital, but you still want to display your pictures. I mean, what else would be the point of taking them all, right? It’s time to go digital photo frame.
It’s not like the digital photo frame is a new concept, but if you want to go even more high tech then you should invest in the eStarling WiFi Digital Photo Frame (Firebox, $159.95). Not only can you display your choice photos on this 8 inch black piano finish frame, but you and your friends can remotely upload photos. Seriously, how cool is that?! Through the magic of WiFi, all you need is a wireless broadband router and a dedicated email address, and you’re set. And get this – there’s no subscription fee to register your dedicated email address at eStarling! With a registered dedicated email address, your digital photo frame uses WiFi to check for new photos every few minutes, which it automatically puts into slideshow rotation once received. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, eStarling will also pick up RSS feeds from photo-sharing sites like Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, AOL Pictures, SmugMug, iPhoto6, and more. And if you want to load up on your own photos to start, the photo frame has a memory card slot so you don’t have to mess with silly cables.
You can’t tell me that this whole WiFi connection thing isn’t the shit. I mean, just think about how easy it would be to get pics from last weekend’s outing at the bar with this thing. All your friend has to do is email them to your photo frame’s dedicated email address. That’s it. Done. If you had a lame old WiFi deprived frame, you would have to have your friend email you the photos, download the photos onto your computer, put them on your memory card, and then transfer them to your photo frame. That sounds like a lot of work. I’ll take the easy way, thank you very much.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 10.25″ x 7.25″ x 1″
-Weight: 2.4 lbs
-Screen resolution: 800 x 600
-Communications: Internal 802.1 1b?g (WEP64, WEP128, WPA1, WPA2)
-Interface: MMC/SD/CF/MS card slot; USB 2.0 host and client port
-Memory size: Onboard FLASH memory 128M
-High resolution 4:3
-Power source: External AC adapter
-Compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X
-Views JPEG files
-Internal antenna
-Requires wireless broadband router for WiFi connectivity
-Picks up RSS feeds from most photo sharing sites
-No subscription fee
-Black piano finish
There are just some things that unquestionably make me think of my youth. I distinctly remember my blue Skip-It, and how beat up it was after I had used it only a few days. Let me tell you, I was a Skip-It champ. Sure, anyone could master stationary Skip-It, but how many could work the mobile Skip-It? Walking while simultaneously rocking the Skip-It is a rare skill, one of which I wish was a noted job skill. Guess Who makes me think of middle school, when I was at a friend’s house and they didn’t own the game. Rather than be deterred by such an insignificant obstacle, another friend and I created our own Guess Who cards. Believe me, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Somewhere in between Skip-It and Guess Who, there was the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine (Perpetual Kid, $17.99). Oh man, Snoopy brings back some memories. I mean, what kid doesn’t love Sno-Cones? The answer is none. There is no way a child could resist a Sno-Cone, and as far as sugary treats goes, this one isn’t even that bad. Yes, there’s some high fructose corn syrup going on, but it’s also poured over a bunch of shaved ice, so it can’t be all bad. The main problem with Sno-Cones was the access. Besides, fairs and boardwalks in the summer, you don’t see a whole lot of Sno-Cones. And that’s where Snoopy came in. Snoopy made it possible for kids to make Sno-Cones at home by themselves (under adult supervision, of course, but basically by themselves). This machine really couldn’t have made it any easier to enjoy a delicious ice beverage at home. Ok, so they could have made it a little easier to turn the hand crank, but you’re shaving ice cubes here so that’s the easiest thing in the world. The point is, Snoopy has your back.
Ok, so a lot of people will quibble with the quality of the machine’s construction, but I think they’re just a bunch of babies. I mean, have you ever tried making ice cream from scratch with a hand crank ice cream maker? It’s tough as shit, right? Same thing here. You want to make Sno-Cones at home? Man up and get cranking!
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 12.7″ x 10″ x 3.4″
-First introduced in 1979
-Transforms ice cubes into Sno Cones
Do you have any pets? I have a couple of cats, and I have to say, they’re pretty low maintenance. I mean, I have nothing against dogs, but it’s not like you can leave town at a moment’s notice when you have a dog. Nope, you have to find someone to watch your dog or take them to a kennel. And do you know how much it costs to board a dog? Probably more than your vacation. Cats are easy. All you have to do is set them up with some food and water, and they’re pretty much good for a week. But you know what pet trumps cats? Fish. Fish are ridiculously to maintain. Just give them a little bit of fish food every now and again, and they’re set. Do you have to walk a fish? Nope. Play fetch? Not likely. Clean up their crap? Absolutely not.
And since your new fish friends are don’t ask for much, maybe you want to hook them up with a killer sweet pad like the Fish Bowl Bookends (Wrapables, $34.95). I mean, it’s gotta suck that your fish don’t have any privacy, what with living in a see-through house, so you might as well get them some living quarters they can brag about. Alright, so I know most fish don’t get out much (and when they do, it’s usually not good), but this way they can make fishy faces at their friends at the other end of the shelf. And hey, maybe you’re not a fish person – that’s ok. You don’t have to use these fish bowls as…fish bowls. You can just get all interior decorator and figure something else out. Maybe you want to make a diorama of sorts or just fill the bowls with candy. Whatevs.
Ok, so my only thing about these fish bowls? They’re glass. I mean, maybe there are people out there who aren’t as klutzy as me (I am pretty butterfingers), but isn’t anyone else just a little nervous about this? What if you fill the bowls with aquatic inhabitants and the shelf doesn’t hold? What if you take a book off the shelf and the bowl gets knocked over? What if? What if? What if? That’s just a whole lot of stress on my lazy laid-back existence.
3 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 8″ x 3.15″
-Capacity: 0.5 gallon (on each side of the bookend)
-Comes as a set of two bookends
-Can be used as fish tanks or decor pieces
-Made of glass
