John P.

One Mans Blog

Specialization is for Insects.

Extract Revenge with the Annoy-a-tron

The AnnoyatronThink Geek brings us the Annoy-a-tron - a gadget that’s very effective at disturbing that guy in the sales department or your “friend” down the hall.

With its thin design and embedded magnet for easy hiding, the Annoy-a-tron can be placed in a variety of locations. Select one of the three sound choices (2 kHz, 12 kHz, or alternating) and push the switch to the on position. Place it in a proper hiding spot and let the “fun” begin.
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iPod in a BlenderI never imagined I could desire a blender so bad, but man do I want the $400 BlentTec Total Blender!

In what has to be the most brilliant marketing campaign of all time, the BlendTec folks decided to throw away (or at least blend) the manual when it comes to getting the message out about their product.
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Creative Zen WAhh, toys… the latest one to enter the fold is the Creative Zen Vision W personal media player. This device does just about everything.

But is it any good? Well, read on to find out.
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There is a very interestBid Nearbying new site called Bid Nearby which is a mashup, or combination, of eBay and Craig’s List auctions overlaid onto a Google map in a given area.

Simply go enter the item you’re looking for and the site will display a map showing clickable pins which pop up descriptions of the items for sale at each location.

You could use this service to help cut down on shipping costs by purchasing items that are local enough to drive over and take delivery.

Cool JewelsDo you need to get a little something for that person who already has it all? Well, how about giving them an ice cube shaped diamond? Or better yet, an ice tray that lets them make em’ themselves! (Might even save you a few $$million).

There is a great little gift site called SpoonSisters.com which seems to have a lot of unique items. They bill themselves as a gift giving site, and I can see how that works for them.

Among their items are a few of the frozen variety.
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Sharp 42″ Aquos LCD HDTV Review

Sharp 42My living room wasn’t bringing the kind of audio visual pleasure it once did, so we had to take the step up to a new HD TV. The problem was, which one to get?

The absolute dimensions for our built in cabinetry dictated that we could go no larger than a 40-42″ flat panel TV, depending on the brand. After doing quite a bit of comparative analysis we finally decided on the Sharp 42″ Aquos LCD (LC-42D62U), which we got at Best Buy.
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Rare Trees for Sale

Wollemi PineThe Wollemi pine tree is a rare species that dominated the southern hemisphere for over 100 million years. And when I say “rare” what I really mean is that it was thought to be extinct until 1994 when a hiker found a grove of about 100 of the plants in the middle of a one million acre wilderness area outside Sydney, Australia.

In order to help keep these trees alive, they have discovered a way to sell clippings from the trees which are now available for purchase from National Geographic for $100.
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The Adjustable Aluminum TV/Computer Tray

Desk SpecificationsI’ve got to give it up to the designers of this Aluminum tray. Although their English is atrocious, their ingenuity is to be admired. In fact, I think this is one of those “why didn’t anyone think of that before” inventions.
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Smoke Screen Security

Smoke ScreenThe latest in home and office security protection is one of the most unique and effective methods I’ve seen yet.

Instead of setting off an alarm which people seem to just ignore, the idea is to completely blanket the protected area in a thick cloud of smoke!
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Deck the Halls (with Art!)

Steel Rose ArtSometimes it’s just plain easier to search for art online from the comfort of your own home than to go driving all over town. So, here is a quick guide to buying art online.

Before we get started, another great option is to find your nearest fine art show and go check it out. There are usually around 200 artists in attendance and you might just find a real quality piece of work that you can be proud of.
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Get Your Own Parking Meter

Parking MeterThere is cool… and then there is awesome! This falls into the latter category.

Northern Tool just announced that they are selling parking meters for $200.

Man, I can think of all sorts of devious things to do with one of these, but even if I weren’t going to wreak havoc on public streets, it would be way cool to have one of these in your garage.

I received the following request from a reader:

Since you’re The Man… Kindly grace us with your Top 5 Consumer Electronic “Must Haves” in the $600 to $1,000 range?

I’ll do you one better! Here are a bunch of my top “must haves” in a variety of price ranges. Not all of these are totally “electronic”, but all of them would definitely fit the description of gadgets. Anyway, here we go:
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