Lego Star Wars Foosball Table

For all those Lego fans...

Lego Star Wars Foosball Table: "

Now how cool is that – a Lego Star Wars Foosball Table which sees all of the foosmen being replaced by Lego Star Wars mini-figs? Imagine that, and more – this epic table is a definite win since the whole table itself is made out of Lego bricks – yes, you read that right. The entire table is one fantasy piece of Lego land, and we’re just stoked to see and read about the dedication of some people on this planet who are able to come up with some amazing things from time to time when one puts their heart, mind and soul to it, with this being one of them. When will a Star Trek version come out to appease those Trekkies?

My mother went on her annual trip with the HELPS organization based in Michigan.  Last year they went to Guatemala to help the needy, this year's destination was to Guatemala as well but a more remote village.  I'm looking to see if there's a video but these are some of the pics a professional photographer took.  Everyone's time and equipment on the trip was donated by members of the team.

I have to say it's quite touching to see people being helped are genuinely grateful for what they receive.

Snow

Made it to the Saturday job today. The snow in the city isn't so bad, I managed to find parking in front of work.

k@t ^_^

Guppie is one tool to rule them all

There's nothing I love more than design-y useful things.

Guppie is one tool to rule them all: "

We have reported on the Lil Guppie before, and I suppose that this is the next step up, the Guppie. Actually, I think that this Guppie is the same as the Lil Guppie, just like Lil Bow Wow is the same as Bow Wow. (Oh, why do those young rappers put Lil in front of their names? Don’t they know that they will grow out of the Lil?)

This Guppie is one tool that I would have in my pocket, possibly the only one. The Guppie has an adjustable wrench with the crescent wrench adjuster worm gear. It also has a flip-out knife, and an LED flashlight, but I don’t see it in my picture. Did I mention the beer bottle opener? It’s got one, and I’m guessing its by its weird flip-up handle.

It also has a screwdriver with some magnetic heads, and the user can add his or her own.

All in all, the Guppie is the one tool to rule them all, like it says in my headline. By the way, there have been many a geek who has used that one (insert pronoun here) to rule them all headline. It probably isn’t worth it to use it again.

I’m not certain why it is called the Guppie. Is that because it is fish shaped, like a guppy? By the way, if you run a search on Guppie, one definition is “a gay yuppie”. Not something I would name a tool after, and I definitely wouldn’t have put “Lil” in front of it.

Still snowing...

Look how much it acumulated...

k@t ^_^

R2-D2 USB Humidifier

Haha! Awesome. I wonder how long that lasts. I would be filling it up every 2 minutes.

R2-D2 USB Humidifier: "

In the middle of winter, offices and homes always seem to be horribly dried out. If you’d like a small refresher, then R2-D2 is here to rescue you. He’ll make sure that you won’t get dried out while you’re working your poor fingers to the bone at your desk. Sure he won’t work for your entire home, but he’ll at least come in handy when you’re sitting directly in front of him at your desk.

Not so shockingly, this gadget is originally from Japan. However, Think Geek has actually managed to pick this one up, so you’ll be able to find it in other parts of the world. The tiny humidifier is powered by your USB port. Beyond that it’s pretty basic, just add water and plug it in. You can purchase it through Think Geek for all of $19.99.

Water Bobble has built-in filter

I think Brita tried to come out with one of these but this one looks much cooler to carry around. I would certainly get one. After all living in NYC you never know what is lurking in the water....

Water Bobble has built-in filter: "

If you’re very careful about the water you drink, perhaps it’d be easier to carry one of these around. Instead of just having a filter on your faucet or on a pitcher in your fridge, you can have a portable one. It might make you feel better about drinking tap water while you’re out and about. Plus, for those of you that like to travel to foreign countries, if you’re worried about the water, you could always take this with you.

It appears the kit comes with a bottle and all. They’ve also gone as far as to use recycled materials. The steps are pretty obvious. You fill up the bottle itself, then after filled and filter is placed on the bottle, you squeeze the water through the filter. The filter will need replaced after 2 months or 40 gallons of water. These come in all sorts of colors and will only cost you $9.95 a piece.

Mini Countryman to be first production car with internet streaming radio?

I have a Mini, not sure if I like the way the console looks but streaming radio is a nifty idea.

Mini Countryman to be first production car with internet streaming radio?: "

BMW's Mini brand is getting a little bigger soon, with the Countryman bringing a taller stance and some AWD to the party, but that won't be the only exciting addition to the mix. The Countryman will be the first Mini to offer Mini Connected, an infotainment system of the likes of Sync or MyFord. This one naturally features iPhone/iPod integration and all that jazz, but most interesting is the so-called 'web radio function' that will allow internet radio streams to be beamed right into the car. Stations must be selected from an 'extensive' database, so it remains to be seen whether your favorite speed metal stream will be included, but more importantly Mini isn't saying just how those bits and bytes will get to the car. Will a USB modem be required? Will Mini charge a monthly service fee? Maybe you'll just need a really long Ethernet cable? We'll find out when it gets a full unveiling at the Geneva Auto Show next month.

Flower Update

Despite the crappy weather we're having the flowers are blooming nicely.

k@t ^_^

More Snow!

Second snow storm of the season. We got about 10" last night and it's still snowing.

k@t ^_^

Etch-A-Sketch

A friend of mind sent me this link. I don't think I even came up with anything that looked remotely recognizable on one of those things, ever. Lol. Gotta respect people's talent.

http://gvartwork.myshopify.com/collections/etch-prints

k@t ^_^

Fried Chicken

It's what's for dinner. Today it was made with a cinnamon and honey batter. Yummy.

k@t ^_^

Flowers

Looks like there are 3 coming up so far...

k@t ^_^

Tab The Power Strip

Tab The Power Strip: "

There have been a few different ways to label cords to make it easier for you to unplug gadgets when they’re not in use. This gadget will make it easier for you to know which plug goes with which gadget. Plus it will make it a whole lot easier to unplug your different gadgets. Plus you can pick and choose just how many outlets you want on the power strip.

If this weren’t a concept design, you would get to choose which stickers you want and how many of the cubes you’d like to buy. Then at a later time you could buy a couple more of the cubes to plug into the rest of the strip. Just place the stickers with each respective plug. Then when it’s time to unplug it, instead of tugging on the cord, you just push down on the back of the plug. Unfortunately this is still a concept, so you won’t be able to purchase these just yet.

Duck Billed Platypus USB Drive

Haha! Hilarious!

Duck Billed Platypus USB Drive: "

They duck billed platypus is such an under loved creature. Thankfully one seller is finally having mercy on the animal. Now you can show your platypus loving side with this handy USB drive. Sure, some people might think it’s silly to carry around a platypus USB drive, but they clearly just don’t know what they’re missing. This happy creature is perfectly content holding onto even the most dull documents that you need.

Of course it’s only half of a platypus instead of the whole thing. Instead of having back legs he just has a USB port. Which is tragic for him, but handy for you. The drive holds 4GB of the necessary items you need to store within it. The figurine was hand cut from hard vinyl and is covered in a clear coat of resin to give it some extra durability. You can purchase it for $35 through Etsy.

Starbucks Dog of The Week

Okay, no dog of the week this week. I guess I thought it would be a fun thing but, oh well. I did see a lot of dogs but not in front of Starbucks.

I do have to admit I was late this morning though so I didn't even get to sit in Starbucks at all. I had to drive around a million times before I found parking this morning. *sigh* So needless to say I now am parked at a meter. Crossing my fingers and hoping I don't forget to put money in the meter.

Doh!

k@t ^_^

Mom's Plant

Look, look! The buds are getting bigger.

k@t ^_^

The Rotobotmouse

The Rotobotmouse: "

Everyone has their own personal spin on what a steampunk mouse should look like. Which is just fine by me. It’s definitely better than staring at the same old ideas all of the time. Where most steampunk gadgets look extremely old, more of the 1920’s range, this one almost looks like it belongs in the 50’s. Although it might not appeal to some steampunk enthusiasts, if you’re looking for something different this is it.

The most surprising part of this mouse is that it’s actually available to be purchased. Usually all you just get the joy of drooling over several pictures. This time you have a shot to pick one up. Sadly though it definitely comes with a steampunk price tag. The odd coil on the side of the mouse is where you slip your pinky through. Then you can pretty much guess how the rest of the buttons work. Don’t worry, it is an optical mouse. You can purchase it for $300 through Makers Market.

Spring Bloom

Looks like it's blooming just a bit more today...

k@t ^_^

Nanking

There aren't really too many words to say about this film.  Lets just say I needed a box of tissues.

Barbie slides into the cubicle, becomes a computer software engineer

I think all those computer software engineers would cream their pants if the female software engineers all looked like Barbie... and why in the world did they put such ugly glasses on her???  Also Iike the fact it says that she uses Linux... Hehehe.

Barbie slides into the cubicle, becomes a computer software engineer: "

It only took 126 career hops -- the first one being a soulless teen model -- for Barbie to land a job as a computer software engineer. All we know now is that she has a dual monitor setup and a picture of Ken at her cubicle. Oh, and she uses Linux on the world's smallest netbook.

Gallery: Computer Software Engineer Barbie

Snow

The snow is slowly melting, just in time for the second storm this coming Wednesday. Great.

k@t ^_^

Springtime yet?

Looks like mom's plant is blooming again. In the middle of winter, go figure. I'll take more pics when it actually starts to open up.

k@t ^_^

Starbucks Dog of The Week

Okay so he's not tied up to the meter post but I figured I saw him while sitting here so he qualifies. Hehe.

k@t ^_^

Icicles

There were hanging on the carport thing that's in front of our garage. I guess it really was windy. Though it was cool looking.
k@t ^_^

Ow! Ow! Ow!

Well, had one of my wisdom toofs pulled. Hurts like a mofo but it had to get done. The actually pulling wasn't so bad. A little awkward because all I had thoughts of were my dentist with his foot on my forehead and him yanking my toof out with two hands and the pliers. Lmao! But he just wiggled it around some then pulled for about 15 seconds and that was it.

So now I'm lying awake and the anesthetic has worn off. NOW it hurts. Plus he got me so paranoid about getting a piece of rice stuck in the hole where my toof used to be that it took me forever to finish dinner!

Hopefully the pain will go away soon and I'll be fully healed for Chinese New Year.

k@t ^_^

Dentist

Waiting to see the dentist for my toof. I believe I have a cavity but I think that I might need to have it extracted. I know what you're thinking, "Eewww! She's not brushing well enough!". Its actually my wisdom tooth that grew in crooked. I think its because I couldn't get into the tiny corner. Who knows. All I know is I like my dentist but I can't stand having work done on my teeth!

k@t ^_^

More Snow

Still coming down, here's the railing in the backyard. Looks about 5" left on there after the wind was done blowing it around.

k@t ^_^

Snow!

This is what my neighborhood looks like today. It's only about 3pm so I'm assuming the snow will only get worse as time passes. Thank goodness my boss let me come home early. The commuting would have been a mess!

k@t ^_^

Hi-Fido Limited Edition Speaker

Err, I don't know how to feel about this...

Hi-Fido Limited Edition Speaker: "

I never thought that I could own a speaker that I felt like I could pet, but now there is something out there that’s looking a bit like a dog. Not in the dog ugly sort of manner, but it actually has four legs and a tail. It’s even called Hi-Fido in honor of the dog-like appearance. All around making for a very cute speaker to have in your home.

It will be a little difficult to get your hands on though. A total of 10 of these will be available in the US and that’s it. Which means it’s pretty safe to say that a majority of us will never actually see one of these in person. The speaker itself uses the acoustic properties of ceramic to diffuse hi quality sound with a bass reflex system. It of course swears to have top of the line sound quality and considering how few of these are being created it’s probably true. Currently they aren’t saying how much one of these will cost, but I doubt it’s cheap.

Another Heart Shaped Gadget For Valentine’s Day

Aww, how sweet...

Another Heart Shaped Gadget For Valentine’s Day: "

Valentine’s Day is coming up quick and in light of that here’s one more cheesy heart-shaped gadget to go along with the lovey little holiday. This tiny heart will hold onto your iPod and play your favorite music for everyone to hear. Whether they like it or not. They even come in other colors besides pinks and reds. Alright, so it’s only one other color, but it’s something other than pink.

As far as colors go this comes in black, red, dark pink and pale pink. The sweet heart-shaped dock will work with your iPod Classic, iPod Nano and even the iPod Touch. Beyond that it’s pretty much your average run of the mill iPod dock. Except this one is in the shape of a heart. Unfortunately it might be a little difficult to get one of these since it’s straight from Japan.

Dog-e-Minder keeps tabs on your dog's vitals so you don't have to (video)

For those anal retentive dog owners....

Dog-e-Minder keeps tabs on your dog's vitals so you don't have to (video): "

You're already weighing down the massive head of your Frenchton with some sort of bark collar and GPS-enabled location tracker, so what's another pendant around the neck, anyway? Dog-e-Minder, which is cleverly being marketed to the 'As Seen On TV!' crowd, is a battery-powered device that records the last time your pup (or cat, or iguana, or anything else that rocks a leash) ate, walked or took his / her medications. Essentially, owners simply mash the corresponding button after an event has occurred, and an internal timer keeps track of how long it has been since said event has happened. It also doubles as a dog identification tag (displaying the owner's contact information and the pet's name) whenever it's idle, and it's even available in a foursome of hues to match your canine's personality. The pain? $19.95, and the second one is thrown in absolutely free. Obligatory TV spot is after the break, and remember, 'If you own a dog, this product will change your life.' Change your life.

Starbucks Dog of The Week

No dog today. Curious. It was every weekend without fail for at least 5 weeks. There goes my theory.

Netbook

I managed to get my Blackberry to tether so I can use my netbook at work. Yay!

Mushroom Lamp for grown up Mario addicts

This is so cool.

Mushroom Lamp for grown up Mario addicts: "

Mushrooms have managed to becomes slightly famous. In part due to..well..the drug version of course. Then the type that you run into to make Mario grow. Actually, they are both pretty similar. This mushroom doesn’t look like a cheap plastic mushroom though, with this you can pretend to be chic and modern. When in reality you just love it because of the hours you’ve spent chasing mushrooms just to make you a little taller. Hopefully in virtual form only. People look at you strange when you start chasing after mushrooms in the woods, because you think they’ll make you grow.

This pretty designer lamp comes in white as well as black. Sorry no brightly colored ones with white polka dots. This color makes it blend in with grown up décor, which eventually it’s probably best to make the switch towards. You can purchase the lamp for $1,750 AUD or about $1,543 USD. So you’re going to have to be a very well off Mario addict.

New Hat

Bought myself a $5 hat today.
KY ^_^

Heat Changing Arcade Mugs

For those of you who are ol' skool...

Heat Changing Arcade Mugs: "

Love all those old, retro games from of yore? Heck, you would most probably be sitting at your now office desk, thinking about your heydays at the local arcade, holding on to the High Score in Pac Man till today. The joys (and pains) of growing up, eh? Why not relive those moments with the Heat Changing Arcade Mugs? After all, any decent office ought to have a well-stocked pantry that has a hot pot of coffee waiting for its employees always.

Normally the Pac Boy mug displays an empty maze and the Space Intruders mug displays a blank starry sky. But add some kind of hot beverage and instantly the Pac Boy maze is filled with 8-bit style ghosts and energizers while the Space Intruders shows a retro invaders style battle in action.

At $7.99 a pop, this would make for the perfect gift for any geek in the office (including yourself).

Happy Birthday Balloons

Today is Mom's birthday. The girls took her out for her birthday and got her some birthday balloons. Yay for birthday balloons!

KY ^_^

Starbucks Dog of the Week

This is the Starbucks dog of the day. See it never fails that a dog is tied up to a post! Lease he has a jacket on. It is 17 degrees outside as I am writing this.

KY ^_^

Wireblooms manage cables while sitting pretty

For those of you who are techy AND designy.

Wireblooms manage cables while sitting pretty: "

Cords are a common nuisance within everyday lives. Sure, they’re unattractive, and often get tangled up in ways we never imagined possible. However, they give us all of those modern conveniences we know and love, so it’s an evil that we deal with. We usually attempt to hide them away to make it easier to ignore their existence. Instead of doing that you could feature them with these Wireblooms.

The Wireblooms don’t just dangle from the cord or wrap around them. Instead they have a spot to hold the cord and then can be screwed into the wall. Therefore these are not only pretty, but they’re useful as far as cable management goes. When you purchase one of these kits you’ll receive a pretty little bird and three green leaves. Unfortunately, there is no pricing information. You’ll have to contact Monkey Business if you’d like further details on purchasing the item.

And we say we're on top of the food chain.... pff.

Motz Wooden FM Radio

This is so cute...

I can't believe it actually works... lol.

Motz Wooden FM Radio: "

For some unknown reason we all tend to get overly excited when normal everyday devices are made tiny. I have no idea why, but they’re just cooler when they’re miniature. This wooden FM radio even has an itty bitty antenna attached to it to pick up your favorite stations. Not only does it happen to be small, it also fulfills that need to own gadgets that are made out of wood.

It can be used alone as an FM radio or you can hook it up to an iPod and use it as a portable speaker. This 1.45” wide by 1” high by 0.75” radio can be charged fully by hooking it up to your USB port. If just one of these isn’t enough you can pick up a stereo-to-mono splitter cable and use two. Currently these are retailing through the Korean Early Shop. They’ll cost you 39,800 won or about $34.

Source: Technabob

Dog Central

Sitting in the Starbucks across the street to my second job. Seems that every single weekend I never fail to see a dog tied up to a meter post.

Lego Brick Earphones

Here's something to match that Lego mp3 player in my previous post...

Lego Brick Earphones: "

If you’re worried more about the personality of your earphones as opposed to the quality, then these would be perfect. At the price they’re set at, it’s highly unlikely that they’re top of the line. However, you’ll still manage to get one more item that reminds you of your favorite toy as a kid. You could match this up with the various other Lego themed items out there.

There were a set of earphones out there before that mimicked the Lego look, but they were styled a little different, plus they were only available in Japan. These new headphones are available in the US and are far cheaper than the other set. All around it’s a win win situation. The earphones come in black, blue, green, pink and red. You can purchase a set for $10 through Gadget4all.

Source: GeekAlerts

Crackberry

Okay, I know it's been a long time since I posted anything on the site but I really haven't had all that much to say.  Life has been boring... work then home, then work again the home... rinse, lather, repeat.  I have to say the only exiting things that did go on was that my sister and my cousin were in NY visiting for the holiday season.  I was good and didn't spend too much money and I purchased some really nice things.  Nothing crazy,  just good basics that I  needed.  Although I'm still on the search for a nice pair of black jeans that aren't to flare-y and that aren't cut "skinny."  Those of you who know me, "skinny" and "Kat" are two words that are never seen together.  So, onward goes my search.  I think I might have to break down and go to the Levi's store and search their plethora of denim.  I might even have to pay, *gasp*, full price!  Ouch says my wallet.  Further posts on that....

My sister and I bought our cousin Audrey her first Blackberry.  Congratulations!  I knew it would come in handy for work and school.  Plus with the busy life she has she can be much more organized.  Of course now you can just guess who has a hankering for a new device... ugh.  I hate that I love technology so much.  (Image of Napleon Dynamite's brother pops into my head.... and that stupid song.)  Anyway, with my contract being up or nearly up I can get a deal on the device.  The question is, to Blackberry or not to Blackberry.... hmm.

Polaroid Is Recreating Their Classic Cameras

My birthday is coming up in March y'all... ahem.

Polaroid Is Recreating Their Classic Cameras: "

Polaroid is one of those household names that will likely be remembered for a long time. Their instant pictures brought joy to a great deal of people who were used to having to wait at least a week to see their handy work. After digital cameras became popular Polaroid was never the same again. They made attempts to keep up with the times by creating digital cameras that also printed pictures. However, they didn’t exactly catch on. Well now Polaroid is going for a different angle, they’re bringing back their original models.

Yes, that’s right Polaroid is going to create brand new cameras that take pictures just like they did in the good old days. Truthfully I was recently considering trying to find a working Polaroid camera, purely because I enjoy older cameras. However, I think I’ll wait until these shiny new versions come out to give them a whirl. The new camera, PIC 1000, will offer instant color photos. Each one requires Polaroid Color 600 Instant Film, they come with 10 pictures on each pack. You can expect these to start being released sometime this year and sometime closer to time they’ll probably release the pricing information.

Source: PhotographyBay

Gravity Ruler is a simple way to weigh luggage

Hey Grace! This one's for you!

Gravity Ruler is a simple way to weigh luggage: "

For those of you that travel a great deal by way of airplane, you’re constantly dealing with worrying about keeping your luggage lightweight enough. It’s not going to be too bad on your way from home to somewhere else. However, when you’re coming back home it always seems like your luggage has gained a bit of weight. Instead of having to worry whether or not you’re going to be charged outrageous fees, you could keep this very portable scale in your bag and know exactly where you stand.

Then after you’ve weighed things out, you could always make the choice to readjust some things or even have items mailed to your home. The device is incredibly simplistic, it’s merely a bungee cord that measures the pull of the weight and then lets you know how much the bag weighs. These were created by some design students. However, it’s not exactly what you’d call a concept. They already created a batch of 35 of these and took them to the Travel Trading Fair in Milan. They managed to actually sell out within an hour. As successful as their first run went, I imagine we’ll be seeing these in stores at some point.

Digital Blue Lego MP3 Player

You know if this wasn't so big and bulky I would actually consider buying it...

Digital Blue Lego MP3 Player: "

Thanks to the Lego generation growing into full grown adults, Lego has found its way into creating fully functional electronics that kids and grown ups can enjoy. This MP3 player is one of the many Lego themed electronics spotted. This one will allow for your music to be played. Plus unlike many of the normal MP3 players out there, this one has an LCD screen to view upcoming songs on.

The 2GB MP3 player will hold up to 500 songs, which should be enough to keep you happy for a little while at least. It’ll also play continuously for 8 hours before it dies. In order to power it up again, you’ll just need to hook it up to the USB port of your computer. It also has the typical 3.5mm headphone jack. The biggest feature on this MP3 player is that you can add real Legos to both the top and the bottom. You can purchase it through Amazon for $29.99.

Nahla-the-Rottweiler

She's so cute. I love the way puppies look when they're teeny tiny.

Nahla-the-Rottweiler: "
I'm Nahla and I'm just a fun loving little pup. I lick everyone's face when they come home and wag my funny little tail like there is no tomorrow. You better give me a chew toy or your hands my become my new toy! My big sister and I play really nicely together and she is always caring for me. All my family loves me and I love them even more!

Click for more pictures and comments...

"

The USB Apple Speaker

The USB Apple Speaker: "

When someone mentions an Apple USB speaker, most people picture sleek lines and a massive price tag. Something with a whole lot of class and sophistication, not to mention a very recognizable brand name. Well if that’s what you had in mind then you’ll be sorely disappointed by these Apple USB Speakers. However, if you have a thing for quirky speakers then these little apples will work out just fine.

These USB speakers even have a small keychain attached to the side to make carting the speaker around a little bit easier. It also has a rechargeable Lithium ion battery that makes the speaker just a little more environmentally friendly. As well as having the usual 3.5mm stereo audio connector, which allows for it to hook up to MP3 players, your laptop and anything else with that type of connector. The apple comes in a few different colors, such as yellow, red, pink, green and black. You can purchase it for $13 from USB Brando.