It seems like I’m always missing an important phone call. I can wait by the phone all day, but then the moment I step two feet away from it, I miss the call. Part of the reason is because I just never seem to hear my phone. If I leave the ringer at a respectable volume, all my calls go unanswered. If I turn the ringer way up, I still manage to miss my calls while at the same time annoying everyone around me with my ridiculous ringtones. It seems like I just can’t win. So what’s the point of even having a cell phone if no one can ever get in touch with me, is a phrase I hear almost every day.
Instead of giving up on answering my phone calls, I decided to give it a go with the Bluetooth Watch (Chinavasion, $56.34). Not only is it a stylin’ and fully functional timepiece, this watch will actually alert you to incoming phone calls. Using Bluetooth technology to sync to your phone, this watch will vibrate when your phone rings and it’ll even tell you who’s calling! Sure, there are other Bluetooth bracelets out there, but that’s all they are, bracelets. Who needs that when you could have your own personal caller ID on your wrist? With an active range of up to 10 meters, you don’t even have to be super close to your phone in order for it to work.
This watch is perfect for when you’re at work. Just picture it: you’re waiting for an important call from your doctor, but you’re not allowed to use your cell while you’re working the sales floor. Just then, your watch vibrates and you see that Dr. Whosit is calling to let you know your test results, so you make up some excuse about running to the bathroom and jet out to take the call. Amazing, right? Now if only it could do something about this rash…
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dress watch with vibration function and caller ID display
-Includes Bluetooth bracelet, power charger, AC adapter, and user manual
-Charging time: 2 hours
-Active use times: 14 days
-Bluetooth range: up to 10 meters
-Bluetooth version 1.2
-Unbranded watch
-Comfortable leather strap
I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of things that are “for your own good” are going to make you look like an idiot. For instance, bike helmets. Everyone riding a motorcycle or bicycle should wear a helmet because you’re basically worm food if you crash without one. Now, are bike helmets attractive? No. There’s no way that you look cool wear a helmet, even after you take it off you look like a dork because you’ve got helmet head/hair going on. But you wear them so you don’t get hurt (also, it’s the law!). Another thing that is so not cool looking? Safety goggles. Again, you wear them for your own protection, so you don’t get potentially harmful particles in your eyes. But are you earning any badass points? Definitely not. You’ll probably get some nice geek cred though, even more so when you take them off and are rocking that nice safety goggles indentation on your face.
The Wind Rider (Generate Design, $24.00) is something that’s for your own safety, but manages to keep your rep intact at the same time. This product is a two-timing safety enforcer if I ever saw one. Not only does it serve to tightly gather the bottom of your pants so they don’t get caught in your bike spokes, it also doubles as a reflective device. So let’s see, you’re not causing your own accident because your baggy jeans aren’t getting caught up in your bike. Awesome. And you’re not getting hit by a car because they see your creatively designed safety reflectors around your ankles. Double awesome. And while you’re probably not winning any fashion contests, you don’t look like a complete tool while wearing these. It’s a trifecta.
Why is it that everything is automatically so much cooler when it’s glow-in-the-dark? Even things that have no real business being glow-in-the-dark, it’s still super awesome when they do. I bet you’d buy just about anything if it was glow-in-the-dark. I’m just judging – I probably would too.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 4″ x 15″ (laid flat)
-Set of two
-Perfect for night riding
-Made of glow in the dark PVC
I never really used to have a problem with getting up in the morning. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a morning person as I wasn’t overly chipper upon rising, but I wasn’t a grouch either. I never hit the snooze, never went back to sleep, I just turned my alarm off and got out of bed. Then I met someone. Someone who likes to sleep in and whose best friend is the snooze button. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I sleep late now, but I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning and I have been known to slap the snooze button a couple times a day. Basically, my morning wake-up ethic has been destroyed by the notion that there’s this great thing out there, and it’s called sleep. I mean, who wants to be jolted awake by some annoying beeping sound, over and over?
The Wake-up Light (Amazon, $199.99) knows that while sleep is precious, so is the ability to afford food and shelter, so you better get your ass out of bed and to work on time. So this baby isn’t going to mess around when it comes to waking you up, but it will go about it in a gentler way. See, instead of harsh beeping noises that rip you from your latest REM cycle, this alarm clock uses light to wake you. Starting 30 minutes prior to your selected wake-up time, the light slowly gets brighter and brighter, simulating natural light coming into the room. In case that’s a little too subtle for you (even though the light does get quite bright), you can also set an auditory alarm that also gradually increases in volume. The auditory alarm can be in the form of a beeping noise, one of the four preloaded nature sounds, FM radio, or even songs from your iPod. When you’re not using the light to wake up or slowly drift off to sleep with its dusk simulation, it has 20 different brightness settings that allows it to double as a bedside lamp. And if that’s not already enough to blow your mind, it has a detachable iPod/iPhone dock so you can charge and play music.
Christmas is coming up, you know, and I just wanted to tell you that I might really enjoy one of these. In case you were wondering.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 5.5″ x 12.6″ x 9.4″
-Gradually wakes you up by light for a more pleasant feeling
-20 different brightness settings for use as bedside lamp
-Detachable iPod/iPhone dock allows for charging and playing music
-Dusk simulation helps your drift to sleep by gradually dimming light and sound
-Optional FM radio
-4 nature sounds
{September 28, 2009}
Emily
There’s nothing I hate more than disrupted sleep. I have a terrible time getting to sleep and actually staying asleep, so when someone wakes me up, it can get pretty heated. Then I basically lay there and try in vain to get back to sleep. But I always end up rolling over and looking at the clock, only to find that mere minutes have passed. As if it’s not bad enough that I’ve been ripped from my sleep and am doomed to constantly scope out the time, I have to prop myself up just so I can read the alarm clock. I mean, how am I supposed to get back to sleep after that? Surely we can do better than this!
It seems as though someone has heard my prayers because they’ve presented me with a solution: the Emily (Generate Design, $129.00). Now, I know it can’t help with people waking me up at odd hours with phone calls or loud parties, but it will help with my alarm clock placement. See, this alarm clock is different because it’s designed to be mounted on the wall. I mean, how was it not obvious that an alarm clock is best viewed sideways, as in the angle you would see it when laying in bed? Obviously the buttons can’t be on the top like a generic alarm clock, so they’re in the back. The clock’s design is fairly simple, just the bare bones of style and a whole lot of functionality. You can easily lay in bed and set your alarm for the next morning. Also, you won’t really have to worry about knocking your alarm off the nightstand or throwing it across the room in a fit of sleeplessness because it’s attached to the wall. Come to think of it, it’s also a mini space saver because that’s just one less thing you have to fit on a table next to your bed. It just hangs there, effortlessly, waiting to alert you to the start of your day.
This is just one of those things that you can’t believe someone didn’t think of sooner. I mean, duh, how obvious is it that you shouldn’t have to sit up in bed just to read a clock? Pretty much anything that’s interestingly made and uber functional instantly transforms into my new favorite thing. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to take an uninterrupted nap, with the help of my new alarm clock.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 4″ x 2.5″ x 2.5″
-Built to be wall mounted
-Red LED clock with alarm functions
-LED display easily viewable while on your side in bed
-Ships complete with wall transformer
-Made of walnut wood and aluminum casing
I hate it when people go through my things. I mean, why would you go into someone’s personal space and violate their trust like that? It’s just despicable. It’s not like I have anything to hide, I just don’t want people touching my shit. Now, if you live alone, it’s not that hard to tell if someone’s been messing with your stuff, but if you’ve got roommates, it can get ugly. You could change your locks or install a high tech surveillance system, but that sounds like a lot of work and not very exciting at that. No, the defense system I propose is much more creative.
If you had the Indiana Jones Room Booby Trap Set (Perpetual Kid, $59.99), you would no longer be plagued with incessant break-ins and burglaries. This set comes with two different booby traps, inspired by the Indiana Jones movies, designed to ward off potential intruders. At the heart of each booby trap is an idol replica, one of which shoots darts and the other drops spiders (don’t worry, they’re fake). All you need to do is attach your idol of choice to the outside of the door you want to protect, and then wait for a lurking intruder. The set also comes with an educational field notebook so you can document your findings.
Alright, so maybe this isn’t the most sophisticated protection system and a lot of you might be a little too old for something like this, but you have to admit that it’s pretty neat. And just think of how cool you would be if you got this for your son/daughter or niece/nephew. Well, you might want to include a copy of the movies for them too, because they probably have no idea who Indiana Jones is. Just leave out the latest one. No one wants to see that.
3 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Includes dart launching idol, spider dropping idol, and an educational field notebook
-No batteries required
-Not suitable for children under 3 years of age
