a new meaning to rabbit ears: nabaztag

So, yeah, it's adorable, but what does it do? The short answer is: a lot. The long answer is: connects to your wireless router and then tells you the weather, answers magic-8-ball-type questions, reads aloud website articles or podcasts, plays the radio, practices tai chi, sends recorded messages or songs to your friends, and alerts you to incoming E-mails, stockmarket changes, or even when your friend gets home (provided their keys are synched/tagged with their rabbit). Sound crazy? Too complicated? Check out the Nabaztag website and watch the examples. We promise, it'll make a lot more sense.

Technorati tags: nabaztag, wireless rabbit, gadgets

Photo credit: Nabaztag

tough to beat: ceramic blades and brakes

It slices! It dices! It makes the best brake pads on the market! As it turns out, ceramic materials are not just for dolls and dishes. They can be used to make buildings, knives (or virtually anything else with a blade) and, yes, brake pads. The reason is because ceramic is actually an incredibly hard material (second only to diamonds) and, thus, doesn't wear down easily. To read about all the other reasons why ceramic brake pads are desirable over other types, check out the article here from The Tire Rack. If you're looking for home uses of ceramic, check out Kyocera products for ceramic knives, scissors, scrapers, and even pens.

Technorati tags: ceramic, knives, brake pads, best blade

Photo credit: Kyocera

wine etiquette: (don't) fill'er up

From the editors of wish magazine and AskMen.com, a few tips on wining:

1. After the initial taste, serve the wine first to the females, then the older guests, then the males.
2. Fill wine glasses only one-third full. This allows the aromas to be released. (Most wine glasses are designed to be fullest at one-third of the way up to provide the most surface area for the served liquid.)
3. Double check those glasses before you place them on the table! Be sure they're spotless for full enjoyment of the wine. A new trend of thought is that the glassware is almost as important as the wine itself! Check out Eisch's "breathable" glassware, which have tiny, invisible ribs on the glass to help aerate the wine.
4. Serve wine at its appropriate temperature! Most sparkling, roses and whites should be enjoyed between 42 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit, while most reds should be enjoyed between 57 to 68 degrees. The very general sliding scale is thus: the more bubbly and pale a wine is, the colder it should be served.
5. If you can, decant! Decanters take care of sediment, open up the wine, and add an elegant touch to the occasion.

Technorati tags: wine, etiquette, how to serve wine, glassware

Photo credit: Elk Creek Vineyards

tips to safely shop online

With Black Friday officially here, tis the season of heavy shopping. Nowadays, taking care of holiday wish lists online can be a lot more convenient than hauling the family to the mall. Recall the late 90's tagline: "shop in your pjs." With this convenience comes precautions, however. Check out our tips below for shopping safely online. For more online safety tips, check out the Get Safe Online website. It's super informative and gives tips not only on shopping safely, but social networking, dating, even eBaying.

1. Deal with reputable sellers. Look for evidence of a physical address and telephone contact. Mapquest and/or call to ensure they're valid.
2. Be sure to read all privacy and returns policies.
3. Use a secure website. Look for a padlock symbol in the bottom right of the browser window (NOT on the webpage itself). Click on the padlock to check whether the seller is who they say they are and that their certificate is current and registered to the correct address. Also, be sure the website address begins with "https://". Remember: a secure website doesn't say anything about the seller's ethics!
4. Beware scams by buying from reputable companies. If you're buying from a company that isn't hugely popular, be sure to cross-check information on the Internet to see if anyone else has had any problems.

Technorati tags: online safety, shopping online, safe online shopping

Photo credit: Kathryn McCallum

happy thanksgiving! fun facts and quizzes

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a North American holiday geared toward being thankful for all that we have. We love InfoPlease's page dedicated to fun Thanksgiving links. A few of them are below.

• FactMonster: how to say "thank you" in 26 languages
• crossword puzzle: Thanksgiving theme
• facts/figures: Thanksgiving numbers from the Census Bureau
• carving: 6-step process to carving the turkey
• quiz: how much do you know about Thanksgiving?

Technorati tags: thanksgiving, trivia, thank you

Photo credit: Lake Junaluska

black friday frenzy: tips for savvy shopping

The etymology of Black Friday originally comes from the heavy traffic (human and auto) on this very famous shopping day directly following Thanksgiving. However, more recent uses of the term refer instead to retailers boosting their profits back into the black. Use the tips and tricks below to help you get the best bang for your buck on this coming Black Friday.

1. Check out the sites below for BF-specific ads and info on major retailers' discounts and offers as a starting point:
   • bfads.net
   • blackfriday.gottadeal.com
   • blackfridayads.com
   • blackfriday.info
2. If you're out for a specific product, be sure to do your research on all known retailers' prices. Many retailers will offer a price-match guarantee, meaning that they'll offer the lowest competitor's price for the item in question.
3. Use your cell phone browser to check competing deals and product quality while you're in the store. We don't have all this technology at our fingertips for nothing!
4. Go as early as possible! If you go too late, everything will be picked over. Do research beforehand to see when stores open and close, as most will greatly extend their hours for Black Friday.
5. Be prepared to work for your purchases! Wear comfy shoes and clothes. Have your price and product research printed out and ready. This day is the closest you'll come to shopping as a bloodsport. Keep your cool and don't get too caught up in all the frenzy!

Technorati tags: black friday, thanksgiving shopping, shopping

Photo credit: Julien Tromeur

FreeRice: build your vocab while aiding world hunger

Did you know you can exercise your vocabulary skills while simultaneously aiding world hunger? Yes, in this day and age, you truly can do it all! Check out FreeRice.com if you have a few minutes to kill to help your fellow human. How to play is simple:

• Click on the answer that best defines the word.
• If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word.
• For each word you get right, FreeRice donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. (Note: While it may initially seem hokey to bother when you only build 10 grains of rice per correct word, just trust us that those grains add up fast after even a mere few minutes of playing!)

Technorati tags: FreeRice, UNWFP, helping hunger

Photo credit: FreeRice.com

bachelorette party help: PinkVeil Party planners

She's got the gown. She's got the cake. She's got a masseuse for all the stress relief leading up to the big day. She's also got you, the good friend, who has to help her leave her singledom with a bang! However, you've got your life and job and other duties, finding it hard to clear the time for bachelorette party (A.K.A. "Hen Party") research. What's a busy gal to do? Answer: call up PinkVeil Party, an event planning company specializing in the ever-so-important bachelorette party. Events take place in Las Vegas, Los Angeles or San Francisco. Check out the website here for more info. Not able to make it to one of those cities? Check out BacheloretteParty.com for DIY supplies and ideas!

Technorati tags: bachelorette, event planning, party planner

Photo credit: Tom Schmucker

that's a smart water bottle: HydraCoach

During the winter months it's easy to forget about a very basic necessity: water! Dehydration is easy to remember to stave off in the summer when you're hot. However, winter weather tends to dry out our skin and mucous membranes even more than summertime since the humidity in the air is actually lower in the colder months. To help ensure you're drinking enough of that vital H2O, check out HydraCoach's Intelligent Water Bottle, which "thinks while you drink," monitoring the total amount of fluid consumed through the day, your average consumption per hour, and calculates your individual recommended amount of fluid intake based on weight and level of activity.

Technorati tags: water bottle, hydracoach, hydration

Photo credit: HydraCoach

hello, I have a basting emergency.

Who could believe that it's already time to start preparing for the Thanksgiving Day menu? Gearing up for the holiday season can be a bit daunting at best. The folks at Butterball, the top-selling turkey providers in the United States for more than forty years, understand that between place settings and evites, few people have time to research all of their turkey conundrums and curiosities. That's why they've implemented the Turkey Talk Line (1-800-BUTTERBALL), a toll-free phone number you can call to get any and all turkey advice! The Butterball website is also an excellent source of recipes, not just for turkey, but all the trimmings, too! Even nifty calculators to help you attain the ideal ratio of turkey to stuffing!

Technorati tags: thanksgiving, holiday menu, turkey

Photo credit: Steve Cukrov