B5 Network - Tech, Gadgets and Weird Things

For today’s post, I was searching for something birthday related (I’ll give you three guesses why and a clue that I was born in July). Well, that was not particularly successful, as you might have understood from the picture. Still, I wouldn’t really mind getting such a present.

Now, these cards will probably not help you with your game, like certain others, but they will really increase the amount of fun you will be receiving. The cards are fairly normal – usual symbols, standard sizes. Only difference – they are etched out of stainless steel. Meaning they look cool, they don’t get rusty, and what’s more, stainless steel doesn’t bend much – and when it does, it doesn’t stay bent (Don’t try to test this – while stainless steel doesn’t bend, it does break – into sharp pieces that you really don’t want lodged in your skin).

Of course, while being more than suitable for a game of poker (or a simpler game if you prefer), they have different uses. In the past, throwing cards was considered to be an awe-inspiring part of a magician’s performance. Usually it is done with paper cards, but just think of what steel cards would be capable of doing.

The only downside is their price (£94.99). Found at IWantOneOfThose.

In the past few weeks, I wrote quite a number of posts on clocks/alarm clocks. Some of them quite practical, some just classy. Actually, I was growing quite tired from clocks, so when I saw this gadget for the first time (and incorrectly assumed that it is yet another clock) I wanted to just close my browser window.

Well, I stopped at the last moment – I thought it looked nice and promising enough to overlook the clock that I imagined was inside (no, there was no clock inside).

The Zen Dolphin apparently does not have a function as complex as showing time. Nope, actually all it does is imitate swimming while being illuminated from the bottom, and make dolphin/underwater noises. So, what is the use of having one, you might ask. Simple. It looks great. It’s simply a cool little thing to have (and it can pass off as relaxing if you choose your words wisely).

I understand that the picture doesn’t really show why exactly I like this little trinket. Therefor, I suggest you watch the video on the product page. Lastly, let me just say that I believe this would be a great present – nice enough, doesn’t have allusions to any major celebrations, and is unlikely to conflict with anyones’ religion (everyone who believes in the satanic dolphin cult, raise your hand, please).

The Zen Dolphin is $39.95 at MyVirtualZone.

Anyone here has a habit of visiting clubs from time to time? I am speaking about the ones where darkness, strobe lights and overrated pop music (and maybe light alcohol, and (legality depending on the country) sometimes light narcotics) rule tens (hundreds?) of entranced humans as they attempt to move in tune with music while trying to use their brain as less as possible (believe it or not, these words are by a guy who frequents such clubs 1 – 2 times a week).

And with such numbers of somewhat zombie-like people, one naturally attempts to get noticed by being different from the mass. The popular means to achieve that include glowing bracelets and glowing sticks. Nice little toys, eh? Look great after dark, match any style of casual clothing (can’t really expect such things to look good when wearing a business suit, now can you?). Problem is, these things are so cheap (well, they are cheap when buying in high quantities, from a supplier. Clubs often sell them for 5 – 20 times the original price) and there are so relatively few laws applying to them, that they are a pretty common sight. And who cares about stuff that everyone knows about?

Well, how about flashing (no pun intended) a truly glowing smile? With these flashing mouthpieces (made from rubber. Should be more comfortable than the plastic vampire teeth mouthpieces you might have tried), with 4 ultra bright LEDs each shining simultaneously, your smile will be hard to miss (by the way, believe it or not, ultra bright is an actual LED classification).

The Flashing Mouthpieces are £1.99 (discounts are available if you buy more than one) at Glowsticks.

Is there anyone among us who didn’t want a talking pet parrot in their childhood? Well, I certainly do remember wishing for one.

Well, that desire quickly disappeared once I got shown what a parrot truly is – a loud, hyperactive bird, incapable of staying silent or still for more than a fraction of a second. Having a talking pet still remained an attractive idea though.

Well, now you can have a pet parrot that is capable of repeating your words, and yet at the same time doesn’t cause any of the problems live pets tend to (fails at the whole “Friendship and Companionship” business though – well, nothing is perfect after all.). Powered via USB or by 2 AA batteries, the USB Talking Parrot will memorize words it hears from you, and then choose the worst moment possible to shout the words out in it’s ‘parrot voice’ while flapping it’s wings.
(Luckily for you, unlike normal parrots, these come with an “OFF” switch)

The USB Talking Parrot is £19.95 at BoyStuff.

If you have been keeping up with the world’s trends, you should be familiar with a game called Guitar Hero. For those completely oblivious, that’s basically a game that imitates a guitar, where people have to play songs of various difficulties. This game allows them to perform rock solos without taking the actual time to learn to play the guitar (As someone who is taking the time to learn to play the guitar, I tend to look down on people who brag about their ‘guitar hero skills’, but that’s just me).

Well, playing the guitar on the screen didn’t really give you the feeling of an actual guitar (the keyboard feels distinctively different from a guitar, wouldn’t you agree?). Sure, there lately have been a few physical versions of the game, some actually resembling guitars, even coming close (well, not really) in size. But they usually were still operated with buttons, and, as such, still didn’t give you the real feel.

Now the Guitar Hero Air Guitar is an improvement. While you will look like a total idiot while playing it, you will also get the pleasure of hearing a sound produced when you strum with the pick (you won’t be strumming any strings though). The kit is made up of a miniature amp (slightly bigger than your palm), an ‘air cartridge’, a belt buckle and a pick. After inserting the ‘air cartridge’ into the amp, you wave the pick over the buckle, and the first sound from your chosen song (there are 5 songs in the air cartridge that comes with the kit, and new ones will soon be released) will be played. Essentially, you will only need to strum in relatively similar rhythm to play the songs.

There is also an output socket which can be used to connect headphones (if you haven’t quite gotten the hang of playing yet and want to spare the embarrassment, or if your neighbors are making death threats to you), or, if you really want to annoy someone, connect to external speakers.

As nice as this toy is, I can still see a few problems with it:
1.Only 5 songs. There will be additional cartridges later, but they will cost you.
2.The guitar sound, while nice for a toy, is below the one a middle level electric guitar can produce.
3.Simply put, you’ll look like an idiot playing this. On the other hand, playing any toy instead of an actual instrument will make you look stupid – at least this is rather cool

Official site: AirGuitarRocker
You can buy this for the lowest price on: Target.

Back in the days when the concept of a modern times gadget was laughable (not necessarily referring to the middle ages) people had to face a task of finding something to amuse themselves with each and every day. That is, of course, excluding those that had to work from daybreak till dawn to be able to live (depending on the time period, that could be the majority of the world).

Well, those that could afford some fun used to take part in a wide variety of activities. Those considered artistic would draw or attempt to write works of literature. Others, less talented would attempt to sing or dance (in this aspect, the world didn’t change much – that still happens far too frequently). And those who regarded themselves as intellectuals would pit their minds against opponents in an old Indian game called ‘chess’.

However, time goes by, and times change. And today’s product is a great proof of it. I’m rather certain that if you attempted to use this chess set in , oh, the middle ages or so, you would be roasted in a huge bonfire (not a particularly pleasant way to leave this world). Nowadays, though, you’ll get only some strange looks at worst (depends on who you are – no one would think it’s weird for me to own such a set).

On a 12 inch (~30cm) square board (which reminds me of a dungeon) that has 4 skulls in place of legs), you and your opponent pit your skeletal head armies against each other (there are black and white skulls).

This set could actually solve one problem that quite a few chess fanatics have – lack of willing opponents. Most people don’t particularly like chess, or they lack patience for it. But really, who could resist playing with something like this?

The Skulls Chess Set costs £29.95 (could be cheaper, but souvenir glass chess sets tend to be even more costly). Found at Gobaz.

Since childhood all of us have been taught a variety of rules that were meant to ensure that we don’t kick the bucket before we are meant to. They included looking before crossing the street, not playing with fire (well, I ignored this one), not putting metal objects into the power socket and most certainly not touching any exposed wires with electricity flowing trough them.

Knowing the last rule, the people visiting you will certainly feel uneasy seeing a working light bulb with exposed sockets. And there are too many reactions to predict (albeit all of them amusing) the way they will express their shock when you touch the exposed parts and start shaking, with your body acting as a conductor for the electric current, measuring a grand total of…..12 Volts.

Yes, as realistic as this gadget looks, the electric current coursing through it is only 12 Volts. Meaning you can touch it with no fear for your life (the downside is that you’ll have to fake the trembling – pretty hard, as the trembling is pretty fast, though most of your friends probably don’t really know how a human body reacts to electrocution). And when your acquaintances are all familiar with the trick, it can serve as a rather original lamp.

The 12Volt bulb costs £49.95 at GenieGadgets. True, it’s rather expensive, but can you really put the price on the years of your friends’ lives you’ll be taking from them with your little (and completely fake) electric accidents?

We humans like to fight. It’s ingrained into our blood. Thankfully, our blood doesn’t determine our preference of the type of combat nor our preference of weapons. Therefor, we can sate our thirst for blood in a simple (if a bit childish) water balloon fight.

Actually, a water balloon fight is, at least in my opinion, the most noble form of warfare. It’s advantages, compared to common wars, include: relatively low death toll (somewhere around zero or so), low collateral damage and no need to rebuild entire countries and their economies after the war. Also, a lack of skill, aim or ammo will not get you killed, but, if you’re not good at dodging, will give you a bath (in the hot summer months, this could we quite welcomed). Moreover, such conflicts are incredibly cost-effective – the only supplies required are water and balloons.

Apparently, someone disagrees. It’s the only reason I can think of for developing these water bombs – a multi-use alternative to the water balloon. Made from incredibly absorbent sponges, these bombs only require you to immerse them in water to soak up a lot of it, and that’s it – it’s armed and ready for combat. Just throw them at some innocent and dry victim your opponent, and watch as the bomb releases the water contained inside it, thoroughly soaking the poor and formerly dry victim your opponent.

Each bomb (they come in packs of six) is 11 x 9 x 9cm, black, with a fake fuse and has a totally inconspicuous red BANG written across it. Six bombs should be just about enough for two or three people to have a match, unless their less childish family members decide to teach the overgrown kids a lesson in maturity by, say, aiming a garden hose at them (not very mature, I know, but for some reason these self-proclaimed “mature” people never take that into account.0.

A pack consisting of six bombs costs only £4.99 (pretty cheap) at IwantOneOfThose.

There are very few ways to pass (or waste, depends on the situation) the time as enjoyable as playing cards. A simple deck of cards can be used for anything – from childhood games such as, for example, Go Fish, to internationally popular games like Poker and Blackjack. And an average deck of cards is compact enough to carry in your pocket. True, it’s low-tech, but it’s an unbeatable classic.

While simply playing cards is a great pastime, it’s more fun to be the winner rather than the unfortunate guy who looses each game. Well, luck cannot be changed (you can try carrying around horseshoes and four leaf clovers, but in the end, you’ll just look stupid). And since most games heavily rely on luck, skill might not be enough. Sometimes your luck and skill may require some ‘assistance’.

Well, maybe the ability to recognize the cards by their covers is just what you need? If so, this deck of cards is a must have. While the cards look like any regular deck would, each of them has a subtle mark, that shows the card’s suit and number – IF you know what to look for.

Aside from that, the cards have absolutely no difference from other decks. Regular size, plastic coating, same old pictures on the back and some very abstract art on the backs – giving no reason at all to suspect that they were prepared for the game in any special way.

A deck of these cards will cost you £4.99 on GadgetShop.

NOTE: using marked cards is considered cheating. And if you’re caught cheating, you have to deal with the consequences, that usually are NOT pleasant. Therefor, DON’T GET CAUGHT.

Hello, gadget lovers. Let me ask you all a question: what is it that wakes you up in the morning?(coffee does NOT count). Do you wake up on your own? Well, then SHOO!SHOO! For everyone else, who, like me have terrible habits where sleep is concerned, read on.

So, what abominable sound coming from the Ultimate Tool of Evil (also known by the name of “Alarm Clock”) do YOU have to put up every morning? Ringing? Beeping? An annoying ringtone from your cellphone (like me)?

I’m willing to bet with odds 20 to 1 (I know very well that statistically I’d still end up profiting from such a bet) that whatever it is, it’s damn annoying. Nothing like a screeching sound to get you out of bed grumpy, sleepy, with an absolute lack of desire to work (that could be natural laziness though), and, if you’re really unlucky – a headache. Now ain’t that a nice way to start your day?

Now wouldn’t it be nice to wake up to some more ear-friendly tones? Of course it would! And you’ve probably gathered from my sales-pitch-like way of speaking (sorry, that’s a bad habit of mine) that I know of a great solution.

Do you know the song by the legendary Queen, called “We are the Champions”? Say no, and I’ll call you a liar. Wouldn’t it be nice to start every day with the words “We are the champions, my friend…” sung by Freddy, accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of Brian May’s Red Special (guitar)? Well, for me, a fan of Queen for as long as I can remember, there could hardly be anything better. I’m fairly certain that most of you, dear readers, agree with me (even if only partially).

The clock stands 7″/18cm high. The design is fairly nice too – an old, chromed retro clock. What I simply hate about the design is the soccer ball picture in the front – maybe it would pass for a nice detail if you are a die-hard fan, but for me, it sort of just ruins the mood. Well, you can’t have everything I suppose…

As far as sound quality goes, it could be rated as ‘good’. Doesn’t quite measure up to ‘great’, but no one should find reasons to complain – I mean, come on – it’s a clock that sings “We are the Champions”. And it is by no means quiet – should be quite a challenge to sleep through the noise.

If you like the clock (I sure do – if I can manage to get over the soccer ball picture, I am buying this for my birthday (it’s in a month)), it will lighten your wallet by £13.95. Found at Boystuff.

P.S. As nice as the sound waking you up will be, if you really want a pleasant morning, you should get a good amount of sleep each day, always go to sleep and get up at the same time and avoid caffeine. Then again, my friends already call me “The Zombie” for my sleeping habits, so I’m not really the one to give advice on healthy sleeping habits.:)