Things You Never Knew Existed

Friday, February 5, 2010

Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer!

Remember saying that when you were a kid? I would have guessed it had gone out of style by now. Yesterday I was grinning and watching my niece trying (without much luck) to solve the Rubik's Cube and that's exactly what she said to me. So, what did I do? I took a picture, of course!

I haven't seen the photo yet because I took it with one of my new, yet retro favorite Things - the 35mm Kodak camera. It's a blast from the not-so-distant past when you had to take your film to have it developed--but first you had to finish shooting the roll. In this age of instant view and save or delete, I like the idea that even the photos you might not want to keep get printed anyway. I know my niece is not going to like the look of angst on her face, but I'll still have the photo forever. I think that's pretty cool.

As long as we're talking about cool cameras, here's another I really like. I'm thinking of getting it for my niece for her birthday, because she loves all Things mysterious and scientific. She comes by it honestly--my whole family is curious-minded. Our Space Camera lets you take advantage of SLOOH™, a network of live, online observatories in Europe, South America and Australia. You control the telescopes from an internet-connected Mac or PC and capture images of space that you can store, share and print.

Now this camera was a stroke of pure genius. It's a digital camera that attaches to your pet's collar and gives you a dog's- or cat's-eye view of what your little buddy does all day while you're at work. You can set if for different time intervals to automatically snap and store the evidence. Connect it to your computer with a USB cable and see what your pets see during the course of their day. I knew my dog liked to chase squirrels, but when I attached the camera to his collar, I found out that he also loves to hunt geckos. I had no idea!

I'm going to wander around the office and see if I can find some candid moments to finish off my roll of actual film. I wonder where I can get it developed...

See you next week,

Bobby

Friday, January 29, 2010

Game Night!

It's still unseasonably cold here in The Sunshine State. While we're not suffering through blizzards and raging windstorms, it's still too cold for most of our favorite outdoor activities. Like going to the beach. Brrrrrrrrrrr. Since the rest of the country probably has cabin fever by now, I thought I'd try to help by counting down some of my favorite Things to do indoors. Here are my top five picks for Game Night:

#5 - Star Trek™ Scrabble: This one is fun for both Scrabble lovers and Trekkies. If you're both, like me, you're going to love it. You can use Klingon words, non-existent planetary body names or any other word you can find in the Trektionary. My favorite Thing about this game? "Tribble word scores." These game designers really crack me up!

#4 - The Reactor Game System: This wireless system is affordable and a lot of fun to play. Plus, it's easy to hook up. You just plug it into your TV and you're off. Test your ping-pong, bowling or soccer skills against your friends. You can even play puzzle games like Sudoku. It comes with two controllers and all the games are built right into the system, so no added expense. Gotta love that.

#3 - Risk Halo Wars: A very cool twist on one of my favorite board games for serious Halo Wars fans. This game is the first of its kind that lets players choose UNSC, covenant and flood armies to direct in the ultimate warfare game. The fate and future of Arcadia is in your hands!

#2 - Star Trek Trivia: Two Star Trek games made my top five. Imagine that! Being the Trekkie that I am, I couldn't resist this game because I know I can win most of the time. And I really, really like to win. Even though I'm a die-hard fan, even I learned a few Things I didn't know about my favorite science fiction franchise with this game. (But I still won!)

#1 - South Park DVD Game: This one will keep you and your friends busy for hours on end. It takes the number one slot because it's packed with hilarious clips from the show and because there's no game board - the DVD drives the action. So you can play it from the sofa without worrying about upsetting the board or losing game pieces in the netherworld that exists under the couch cushions. Totally sweet!

Hope this keeps you busy until the bad weather breaks. If not, I'll have a fresh batch of Things for you next week.

Bobby

Friday, January 22, 2010

Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk!

With this crazy weather, I've been staying in a lot. Last Saturday, I sat down with our newest DVD set and watched a six hour marathon of eye-poking, skull bonking and nyuk-nyuk-nyuking with the Three Stooges. Wikipedia says "their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick." I think that's the best description I've ever read. I laughed so hard I spit out my cola, not once, but twice!

Of course, to watch the side-splitting trio, you need the proper attire. A Stooges sweatshirt is perfect for the weather and for sitting in front of the TV. It's also black, so when I spit up my soda, I didn't have to worry about a permanent stain.

Our Soitenly tee and desk calendar are must-haves for every Stooge lover. The tee features Curly on the front with his signature phrase. The calendar gives you 365 days of comic relief at home or at work.

For true die-hard fans of Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp, our 75th anniversary collection of trading cards is just the ticket. Every card has a still photo from one of their films on the front and detailed info on the back.

I hope you enjoyed our look at all Things Stooges as much as I did. I'll see you next week,

Bobby

Friday, January 15, 2010

Things for A College Dorm Room

The kids who didn't go back to school this week will go back next week. I'm not too old to remember my college days well. I think what I liked best about moving away from home was finally being able to "decorate" my dorm room and later my apartment any way I wanted. College was hard, though. All that studying. Writing papers. Exams. You need someThing to distract you when the stress gets to be too much.

Best Thing To Purify The Air: Everyone knows that college housing is, well, kind of smelly. If it's not, you're probably doing something wrong. The salt lamp not only looks cool, it's a natural air purifier. It emits negative ions, which freshen the air and make you feel invigorated. It's also good for people who have allergies or get migraines.

Best Thing For Freaking People Out: A shark encounter. The 3-D great white shark anatomy model gives you a chance to get up close and personal with the powerful predator--without the risk. It's made of body parts that you take apart and put back together like a puzzle.

Best Thing For Days That Run Into Each Other: Nowhere to be? Paper due? Forgot what day it is? Just don't care what time it is? The dayclock isn't concerned with mundane matters of hours and minutes. It only cares what day it is. That's all you really need to know if you have day off, you're cramming for exams or crunching on deadlines.

Best Thing For The Bathroom: The hot chick shower curtain lets you take a shower with the girl of your dreams every day. With a sexy silhouette of a hot chick printed on white vinyl, it makes showering a lot more fun. Impress your friends and brag to your buddies, but better take it down before you invite that special girl over. Unless she's got a great sense of humor...

Well, it's back to school for you and back to work for me. See you next week,
Bobby

Friday, January 8, 2010

Things To Do When It's COLD!

Wow, what an arctic blast! Even in Florida, weather forecasters are predicting snow. Snow? In Florida? It's true. Our local paper says we could even get a few flakes down here in Southwest Florida. Unbelievable.

There's no doubt that temperatures are far below average this year. Even the kids won't go outside to play in this weather. My sister is pulling her hair out trying to keep them entertained. So, I thought I'd give her a little help by finding something for all of us to do while the cold air sweeps across the country.

Remember when we thought Pong was the end-all of technology? Well, it was just a mere prediction of what was to come. I think I've owned every gaming system that ever came out and I still have a lot of those old cartridges. I wondered why I held onto them. Until now. Our retro gaming system lets me introduce my nieces and nephews to games that came out before they were even born. It works with 16-bit controllers and plays most NES and SNES games including Dragon Warrior, Bart vs The World and most Japanese import titles. Even kids who have xBox and Wii will enjoy a trip "back to the future."

Tired of sitting in front of the TV? How about a game of Turd Darts? Just fling the poo darts at the Velcro toilet seat and see who gets high score. Okay, it's a goofy Thing, but it provides hours of fun and a little "relief" from the TV screen. Or pick up a remote control fart machine for hours of laughs around the house. This new take on an old favorite has a pull out speaker for maximum bass boost!

My niece loves this Thing. She's a puzzler and she loves a challenge, but she's never been able to master the confounding Rubik's Cube. Finally, she gets a chance to puzzle it out--with a little help. The game comes with a DVD that shows the methodical approach to solving the one-solution puzzle. Now that she's mastered it, she's trying to learn to solve it blindfolded!

Games aren't their Thing? This easy guitar teaching system will keep them--or you--busy for hours while teaching the principles of the guitar. (You don't have to let on that they're learning.) Anyone can play the guitar on the first day with this handy little Thing that attaches to the neck. Since the device makes it easy to change chords, there's no learning curve and no cringing when your favorite song gets butchered.

I sure hope it warms up by the time I see you next week!
Bobby

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Five Silly Things for 2010

As 2010 races toward us, I look forward to finding more oddball, strange, weird and just plain silly Things--and blogging about them. Today I found five new Things that are silly, sillier and silliest to help you start the new year out with a goofy grin on your face.

#5 - Zombies for Zombies: Author David P. Murphy teaches the newly zombified how to dress, dance and ward off "rotting flesh syndrome." It even includes recipes to help you adjust to your new diet of brains. It's the must-have self-help book for the recently bitten. You'll get a detailed hour-by-hour description of the morbid transformation taking place in your un-dead body. And it even gives an overview of zombie heritage, including a long history of being used as "lackeys, flunkeys or, worst of all, flackeys." Even for the unbitten, this book is screamingly funny!

#4 - The Giggalator: This toy changes your voice just by moving it around. You can record your own voice or choose a pre-recorded voice. Then you shake it, wiggle it, thrust it--whatever motion you can think of--to hear the goofy sounds it makes. It is a truly silly Thing. I know because I got one for Christmas. Everyone had a great time using it to change their voice. My niece even recorded her dog barking and then used the Thing to drive the poor pup crazy! Check out the sound clip.

#3 - Marshmallow Shooter: Ever have the overwhelming urge to fire mini-marshmallows at others? This Thing is just what you need. It's such a silly idea, I wish I'd thought of it myself! It's an air gun that will rapid-fire marshmallows as fast as you can pump the handle. Now if I can just think of an excuse to buy one for myself...

#2 - Tin Can Robot & Propeller Racers: These kits are actually pretty cool. The silly Thing about the robot is that you use an aluminum can (how long has it been since you've seen a tin can?) to make its body. Depending on the drink can you choose, this Thing can be pretty silly looking. For example, you can turn an empty beer can into a wobbly bug-eyed robot. Or you can build a propeller racer almost from scratch. You just construct the chassis, add a propeller and vroooooom! These Things are just plain fun.

#1 - Frankie The Singing Fish: I think this is one of the silliest Things we have for the new year. Of course, we'll find more, but this Thing is it to end 2009 and start 2010 with a guffaw. In case you haven't seen Frankie on TV yet, he has become famous for his Filet-O-Fish tune. This rubberized, motion activated version of Frankie sings two versions of his signature song. You can listen to him here. He's motion activated to startle your friends into helpless laughter as they pass by.

See you next year!
Bobby

Thursday, December 24, 2009

All Things Holiday

I love the holiday season. Not only do I get some time off work, I get to play with my new toys--even if I had to buy them for myself! As my nieces and nephews get older, they get more complicated and sophisticated Things for Christmas and I like helping them put their gifts together and, of course, testing them out to make sure everyThing is working right.

But what I like most is spending time with my family and reflecting on the Things that make my life rich and rewarding.

I've been working at this company since I was a little boy when my dad first brought me in to peel the dimes off of order forms. Many years later, I'm fortunate to be able to say that I really love my job.

As customers and fans of the company, we share an interest in all Things odd, funny, strange, unknown and just plain weird. All of you are a large part of the reason it's so easy to like my work. With that in mind, I just wanted to take a moment today to thank you all for being our customers and fans. I hope you all have a warm and safe holiday season.

Happy Holidays to you and yours,
Bobby

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