Cool & Uncool Tools

Submitted by lukeprog on Sun, 05/07/2006 - 09:49
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  • Wanted

  • Sticklebook
  • Retractable Sharpie
  • Invisible Glass
  • Lihit Stapler (never runs out of staples)
  • Magic Bullett Blender
  • 2 Second Tent

  • Cool

  • iPod Nano + Rockbox: The Nano is awesome, and with Rockbox I don't need iTunes; I can just copy & paste MP3s to my Nano and play them, plus play dozens of games, including stuff like DOOM.
  • Rain-X: rain slides off your winshield faster than wipers can get to it.

  • Uncool

  • Derringer Wallet Pen: Tiny, so it fits in your wallet! Tiny, so it slips right out!
  • VR3 FM Tuner: broadcasts any audio input to your car FM sound system, but quality was horrible (worse than actual FM radio), and limited number of stations available: if those channels are strong in your area, you definitely aren't getting through.
  • Microtouch Trimmer: very rarely actually cuts the hair.
  • 6 Second Abs: no better than exercises you can do without a shitty plastic set that's incomplete so you have to buy "extra" kits to actually get a decent workout.
  • Zicam: after hearing it touted by customers as the cure for the common cold, I tried it, and experienced no noticeable difference in the quality or duration of my next couple colds.
  • Young Micro IDE to USB 2.0 adapter: Once I got it working (quite a challenge), it was still very unreliable.
Author Comments: 

I wish I'd started this list earlier. There are so many little products I've seen that are really cool and I'd like to get some day, but I've forgotten about them. This list will help me keep track. Generally, I won't mention uber-popular things like "flash drive" or "digital camera."

Suggestions extremely welcome. Also, if you have any of these items and have comments, please let me know. Many things that look great I buy and find to be totally uncool.

lukeprog05/12/2006

Whaddya know? Flickr is pretty cool.

lukeprog05/21/2006

Who else on Listology has a Flickr account they want us to know about?

RosieCotton05/31/2006

This is me

lukeprog05/31/2006

Too many sticky notes.

:)

grandpa_chum05/25/2006

the purpose of that sticklebook completely eludes me... maybe someone could explain it... it looks completely useless to me.

lukeprog05/25/2006

No need for bookends; each book is individually supported. So often, I take a book off a regular shelf and the momentum of the others falling to fill in the gap pushes the book end off the edge. Etc. Plus, it takes less effort and space to mount on the wall, and looks slick to me.

diaskeaus05/25/2006

It's a really good idea. I might even get one now.

grandpa_chum05/31/2006

I see, so it's simply an alternative to shelves... see i didn't even get that much from the website... looks pretty cool, it sounds like you have them, my concern is if it really does securely hold the books as well as a shelf.

lukeprog05/31/2006

No, I don't have them. That's my concern, too.

grandpa_chum05/25/2006

goodbye old fashioned staplers... but i still don't like using retractable markers of any type... retractable pens are enough of a hassle.

lukeprog05/25/2006

You'd rather remove a cap, stick it on the end, then put it back over the ink end than simply click a button with your thumb?

grandpa_chum05/31/2006

i know it sounds crazy, but yeah i would... it's mostly a carry-around issue, i like to carry writing utensils around in my pockets and things, and not having to worry about accidentally clicking something is worth the extra hassle

lukeprog06/02/2006

I grew up with a giant wall map of the world next to my dinner table. Alas, my parents bought it 8 months before the USSR broke up and half the map was suddenly incorrect.

I'd love to find a massive jpg (or png, or whatever) of the world, complete with nation borders, major cities, topography indicators, bodies of water, etc. Like, something much bigger and more detailed than this.

Or maybe I need a simple, free, world map program that will allow me to zoom or jump between locations very quickly without loading something like Google Earth.

Any suggestions?

0dysseus06/02/2006

We all live in a Yellow Magazine...

lukeprog06/02/2006

Very slick, thanks! I like to use the Physical map and turn on "Borders, Roads, and Places." It's missing half-zoom and closer on lots of places, including my home county, but the engine is very nice.

bertie06/03/2006

Tried TerraServer ?

lukeprog06/20/2006

Just got my dad the Derringer Wallet Pen for Father's Day. We'll see how well it works for him.

lukeprog07/07/2006

I'll have to tell my parents that this suit is what I want for my golden birthday.

dgeiser1308/09/2006

What the heck is a golden birthday?

lukeprog08/09/2006

The day when the age one turns and the date of birth coincide. Mine will be on my next (22nd) birthday, because I was born on the 22nd of June.

lukeprog07/24/2006

This is the most fascinating article I've read for quite some time:

But what [the Western men on a Ukranian wife-hunt tour] really wanted... was a fusion of 1950s gender sensibilities with a twenty-first-century hypersexuality... As always, Dan the Man had done his part to stoke this fantasy, peppering his talk of traditional values and wifely devotion with just the right amount of lasciviousness. “I’ve heard stories from all the guys who have been married to them, and they all say the same thing: they definitely are much, much, much more passionate, much more open-minded,” he told us at one point. “This guy, he’s been married for six, seven years and his wife is just as crazy, they have threesomes all the time.” The vision was Madonna and puttana rolled together, an American male desire shaped in equal parts by the Promise Keepers and Internet porn.

Love that last line.

lukeprog11/01/2006

Brand new site: Deal of the Day Tracker.