Possibly Useless but Probably Fun
There are Ge Front Load Washer mighty strange computer-related gadgets out there. You take a look at some of this stuff, and you think, OK, it’d be useless, really, but wouldn’t it be fun to play with?
I Want One of Those!
The USB Running Hamster, as the name suggests, is a hamster (not a real Dining Room Window Treatments the sales page hastens to assure us) in one of those little toy wheels Free Ring Tones For Sprint Cell Phone hamster owners buy for their pets. You install the software, tuck in a battery or two, plug the gizmo into the USB port, and the hamster runs around the circle as you type. The faster you type, the faster it runs.
The sales page calls it an utter delight, and says it will send the office into shrieks of laughter. “It’s the ultimate parody of modern society,” they comment. This product is for sale at I Want One of Those . Don’t you California Interest Low Mortgage Rate Calculator love that name? Oh, and the hamster costs Park Station Condominiums pound sterling, which works out to approximately $50.
Also according to the sales page, people who purchased the Running Hamster also purchased a few other fascinating little gizmos. The USB Missile Launcher “is the ultimate deterrent against those annoying people who lurk around your desk because they’ve nothing better to do.”
The Launcher holds three foam missiles and has a desktop missile launcher. So, if I understand the instructions correctly, as your annoying co-worker approaches your desk with yet another collection for somebody’s birthday cake, you use your mouse to zero in on your target. Next, you hit the Fire Button to launch the three missiles one after the other, all accompanied by rocket-launching sound effects. The sales page says, “Despite being deeply childish, [it] is immensely satisfying.” Come to think of it, maybe this one is useful after all.
Other “I Want One of Those” shoppers also purchased a couple of Red Alert Buttons. These battery-operated buttons sit on your desktop, where you can press them manually as Debt Consolidation Loans Minnesota The Panic Button sounds a siren and delivers a few succinct sentences about “Panic sequence activated.” The second button is labeled with a word that some publishers won’t print. The corresponding sound track expounds on the theme. If you’re curious, there’s a sound file on site so you can hear both of these Red Alert Buttons in action.
Don’t leave the site (http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/) until you check out the USB Chameleons. You attach your chameleon to your monitor or elsewhere, plug it into the USB port, and then apparently the little darling rolls his eyeballs in opposite directions and sticks his tongue out to catch passing flies. Yep. That’s all he does. The sales page says he is endlessly diverting, although one proud owner commented that her Chameleon was quite noisy and distracted the people nearby.
If an eye-rolling chameleon isn’t your thing, perhaps the USB Humping Dog will interest you. It Greenwoods Plumbing exactly what the name suggests. The sales page reads, and I love this, “The world would be a very dull place if it wasn’t for there being inventors out there with enough time on their hands to come up with something so stratospherically stupid as this, the USB Humping Dog.”
ThinkGeek (http://www.thinkgeek.com/)
Next, let’s surf over to ThinkGeek . Here we learn that we need not limit ourselves to such mundane gadgets as eye-rolling chameleons and firing missiles. How about a USB-powered fondue that melts cheese and chocolate? The Fundue claims to be the world’s first desktop USB fondue set, and I have no difficulty believing that claim.
The sales page reads, “Sure, you’ll be sucking precious energy from your computer’s power supply that your motherboard might need, but who cares when you are also sucking on a piece of crusty French bread drenched in a nutty Gruyere?” Currently, you can use your Fundue only for cheese and chocolate, but when the new USB 3.0 specs hit the market, you’ll be able to move up to oil dipping and desktop frying. It’s a steal at only $29.95, and comes with a recipe for dipping pizza crusts left over from last week’s luncheon meeting. If the office moocher shows up wanting freebies, just zap him with your Missile Launcher, and this feast is yours alone to enjoy.
In case you get a headache from all that chocolate dipping and missile launching, you’ll need the Shaking Octopus from AudioCubes . (http://www.audiocubes.com/) It looks like an octopus. It plugs into a USB port. You push the button, and then place the octopus’ legs onto your head, neck or waist. It shakes and quivers, and this cures what ails you. A bargain at $39.95!
Perpetual Kid (http://www.perpetualkid.com/)
Speaking of using a USB port to generate heat, I bet you’ve never considered a pair of USB-powered Sitemap slippers to keep your feet cozy on those days when there’s a decided chill in the office air.
Perpetual Kid has just such slippers for $29.99. The site also sells USB-heated gloves for $22.99. The gloves connect individually to USB ports, and a flap folds back to free your fingers for keyboarding or mousing.
This next little item isn’t electronic, but it strikes me as funny enough to rate a mention. Also at Perpetual Kid, we find The Cubes IT Set (goatee included). The site reads, “Each IT Set includes all the necessary plastic parts to build a cubicle fit for a Toll Free Saab Support geek (god): three walls, desk, captain’s chair, CPU, flat-panel monitor, keyboard, server, laptop, and a 2-inch tall posable sys admin. Also includes a sticker sheet of cube decor. If you don’t buy one for your IT guy, he will let your boss know you are shopping on Perpetual Kid instead of working on your TPS report!” As I see it, $12.99 is a small price to pay for keeping on the good side of one of these people!
Now then, surfing along to the HimeyaShop , (http://www.himeyashop.com/) who can pass up a USB-powered duck that vacuums the crumbs out of your Personal Life Coach If it works, this one would actually be useful. For quite some time, my keyboard has periodically refused to register the “n” unless I turn it upside down and smack it. Where is that duck when you really need him? The duck costs 2,079 Yen, which works out to about $18.
More Fun
Moving along to another site, Gracie’s Gear and Training, we find the Cami Bra. This garment, available in various colors, is a sports bra with built-in Power Pouch for holding your iPod or MP3 player. The page adds that it comes with, “loophole fabric for MP3 player cord feed.” The Cami sells regularly for about $30. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t plan on sharing my underwear with any electronic device.
If you spend some time checking out other gadgets on the sites mentioned, you’ll find various other weird and wonderful tech toys to capture your imagination, or at least your sense of the absurd. Come on, admit it: You want some of them!
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