Category Archives: Technology

November 26, 2012

At the top of our list… The Canon EOS REBEL T3i Digital SLR Camera

Canon EOS REBEL T3i Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm IS II LensSanta is on his way, and we’ve been really good this year.  Maybe not perfect, but hopefully good enough to net us some extra points when it comes to extra EXTREMELY great gifts.  At the very top of our list is the Canon EOS REBEL T3i Digital SLR Camera with the basic 18-55mm IS II Lens.  We’ve been addicted to cameras from the Cannon REBEL series since the late 90′s (back in our 35mm days) and have seen a lot of great models go by.

So, Santa, if your listening: Newegg.com has them on sale for $899.00 right at this very second, and we really need a good excuse to be well behaved, holding out way too long.


Canon EOS REBEL T3i Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm IS II Lens

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August 3, 2012

Un-What Your Habitat?

Purely on accident, I was looking for natural ways to clean grout and came across UnfilthYourHabitat.  (Replace *filth* with that famous multi-use adult word that I just can’t use here.)  It is a tumblr blog that showcases solutions, ideas and success stories all about lazy people getting things done.  I am one of these lazy people.  I felt right at home.

Further investigation into the site lead me to the iPhone app that they’ve developed for these lazy people.  As iTunes doesn’t use that adult word, you can find it under the name UnfilthYourHabitat.  This is an adult application.  Be not under 17 ye who download, for strings of cuss be found within.

The UfYH app is a multifunctional cleaning tool.  It gives you random cleaning challenges, which you can take as a random challenge, or choose which room you want to work in.  You can make a To Unfilth list, outlining the things you need to get done and whittle your way down that list.  You can get Random Unfilthing motivation, which essentially lets the app yell and swear at you to get you moving.

Then, my favorite feature, the 20/10 timer.  I love the 20/10 timer.  A 20/10 is simply this: work for 20 minutes, then take a 10 minute break.  Not a huge commitment of time, no need to feel overloaded.  Just get up, work for 20, take 10 off.  Set the timer, keep yourself accountable for the entire 20 minutes.  This works for things other then just Unfilthing.  Writing, putting together holiday cards, pretty much any monotonous task can be broken up nicely.

Still a very new app and a little buggy, but nothing that interferes with the way the app runs.  I would love to see the ability to add extra rooms, add monthly or weekly recurring to-do’s, or perhaps have it send push notifications that give me some of that hard-truth (often hilarious) UfYH motivation.

You can check out the tumblr blog that started it all, or download the app at iTunes for just $1.99.

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December 17, 2011

Kids’ DVD Projector

Today we get the chance to take a look at the Maxell Kids’ DVD Projector.  From a company we trust for media products, having a functional and fun product for the little folks is a great idea.

Televisions can be large, bulky, expensive and…  breakable.  And when you want to say “Yeah, your grounded from the TV” you have to go through the work of disconnecting and moving that big ‘ol television.  This is a combination DVD player and projector that can take your kids’ favorite flicks and put them on any surface.  (Looks best against a white wall or sheet)

So what can be expected from something that we would be willing to place into the “toy” category?  We expected it to project the image, but weren’t expecting too much in the way of features, resolution or sound.  Come to find out, it projects up to 45″, it can go further with lower resolution and lighter picture.  (It doesn’t look as good.)

One power adapter (no other cables) and it is run by an LED light, which means not having to change expensive projector bulbs.  The controls are simple and “big buttoned” making it easy to use and understand for your wee-ones.

Then, features.  It can play  DVDs, CDs and karaoke CDs, and it has a microphone jack to use for karaoke.  You can sing your heart out.

So you get a mid-grade, high durability projector for the price of a high-end DVD player and a portable and easy to use tech-toy in one unit.

Check it out at the Maxell Store.

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October 3, 2011

Neurosky Mindwave

NeuroSky MindwaveIt is expected that when you give me something, borrow me something, or let me test something out, I will probably break it.  So, when someone gives me something like the Neurosky Mindwave to play with, I have to be a very good girl and try to behave myself.  The problem with this is very simple:  I’m not very good at behaving myself.

But, I did get to try out the Neurosky Mindwave myself, and after playing with it, downloading every application I could find for it, and having a great time (about twice as long as expected) I did reluctantly have to hand it back to its owner.  Thankfully, in one piece.

So what IS this odd looking contraption?  It is a brain wave detection unit, and the first of its kind to be available to consumers.  It monitors your level of concentration, relaxation, or stress level and sends it to your computer where it can do several things with that data.  The most amusing of which, games.  You can play games using your concentration.

It also gives you simple challenge applications and brain teasers which allows you to monitor your focus while you are doing simple math problems, puzzles and other challenges, and lets you know where you are having particular difficulty, what tasks take you longer then others, and where you need to focus more attention.

For me, the cool part?  I actually get to see what my brain is doing!  (Not literally, of course.)  Also, it sells for $99.99 and comes with tons of free apps, and other downloadable apps that you can use with it. So it is a reasonably priced mind-reader.   And, I look cool with random pieces of tech strapped to my head.

Check it out on
ThinkGeek.

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September 27, 2011

Grid It. Modular organization to toss in your bag.

Grid-It Ultimate Organizer
The GRID-IT system is essentially a small mat with rubberized elastics woven around it in different directions. Some go this way, some go that way, and all are tucked behind, in front, and beside one another in a configuration that makes it easy to find just the right sized space to tuck your stuff.

It comes in two sizes, the smaller 7.67″ x 4.5″ and the larger 10.25″ x 5.125″. Both are conveniently sized to fit in various pockets of a lap-top bag, a sewing kit, the corner of a crafting bench where everything gets lost, or just about anywhere you might need to stick it.
Currently hanging out in my laptop bag, the larger sized GRID-IT is managing a large number of odds and ends that would usually get lost in the vast oblivion of the bottom of the bag. A small stapler, a ruler, a large eraser, pair of scissors, four fully charged AA batteries, a pair of headphones and a pen have all taken up residence in the seemingly random configuration of bands along the front of it, while the small zippered pouch in back hangs on to stamps for those much needed snail mail correspondences, spare change, an extra couple earring backs (I tend to lose them) and a couple coupons for the sandwich shop I frequent are all hanging around.

I would like to say this little storage solution has saved my sanity, and in a way, it may have. Then again, there may not have been enough of it left to save in the beginning. It has certainly made my laptop bag a lot easier to search, and soon I imagine that I will have GRID-IT organizers in my travel bag for my toiletries, in my crafting basket, and it may well have a place in my tool box to hang on to those small things I tend to lose. (EVERYTHING!)

Check out the GRID-IT ThinkGeek.

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