Archive for January 10th, 2008I tend to get a little tense sometimes. I tend to get easily frustrated, at people and things. It’s a cold, depressing time of year, you know? So I thought I’d post something cute and uplifting today, and I’ve scowered the internet but am completely unable to find anything that has made me smile so consistently as this: Have a good one.
[CES 2008] Thanks to miniaturization, we get smaller and smaller devices these days, and the Lime (Life Is More Entertaining - what an acronym!) D735 portable video recorder is almost as small as a large cellphone. One thing that strikes me the most is the form factor and design that somewhat looks like the Nokia N93, no thanks to the multi-swiveling LCD display that gives the game away. This device will probably hit the US market within a couple of months or so with a targeted MSRP of $200, depending on whether a distributor can be found. Some of the specifications include :-
Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones
[CES 2008] Adding an ‘i’ prefix in front of your product name is old hat these days, but that hasn’t stopped Ilya Kaganovich and Boris Kaganovich from Plymouth, Minnesota to come up with the iShoes. This pair of motorized shoes helps to get you from one place to another (within a short distance, of course) in a fast and efficient manner. It has a rather limited range of just three miles, so this would be good to get you from your office to a subway station where you can easily slip it off and pack it into your bag. A pair weighs 5.3kg and has a top speed of 13.5mph. It takes roughly 2 hours for a full charge, but I think the $599.99 price tag is a wee bit high for a little extra convenience. Best to literally go the extra mile on bus no. 11 (your own two legs) as you will not only burn more calories but save some serious dough in the process. Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones
[CES 2008] This porcine speaker works with your iPod and iPhone, and I must say it impressed me with the sound quality. While the design isn’t exactly cute per se, the fact that Amethyst included a glowing mouth adds to the appeal of this speaker dock. Its ears feature an airflow optimized design that helps avoid distortion and resonance, although you can’t really tell that on a noisy showroom floor. While it is already available in Europe (for $99 I might add), Amethyst is currently looking for distributors in North America. What’s most interesting about this iPod speaker dock are its ears - rubbing the right ear lowers the volume while doing so for the left ear will increase it. Pretty neat use of touch sensitive technology! I suppose since this is Vegas, there would probably be ‘adult’ versions of iPod speakers using similar technology although that would be another can of worms altogether Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones
Neonode pioneered the full touch screen phone long before Apple. Although it runs on Windows Mobile, it has a user interface that is unique to the brand. The touch screen uses a proprietary infrared technology called zForce designed to work better with fingers, compared to traditional pressure-sensitive touch displays. The NeoNode N2 is incredibly small: 47mmx77mm, 60 grams. It feels good in the hand. The user interface is easy to use. There are only a few basic gestures to learn and I was able to do it in a few minutes on the show floor. NeoNode N2 is a phone for everyone, not a business phone. The company hopes to reach a “reasonable” (if I hear this word one more time, I will snap) price, once subsidized by a carrier. The company would not tell, but it is a GSM phone, so they have to be talking to Cingular and T-Mobile, with a preference for Cingular. Finally, NeoNode has plans for a larger smart phone with a full QWERTY keyboard – I cannot wait to see it. Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day
And good fortune it has been, as this is a wonderful book. Written in 1971, Grigson’s voice is down to earth and helpful and her recipes are easy to follow. I also adore the way the book is organized. It is broken down into large sections that include Fish, Meat & Game, Vegetables, Fruit and a section simply entitled And… Within each of those sections, the contents are further broken down into specific ingredients. There are a full ten pages of recipes devoted to carrots. That section begins with these words, “Carrots are sweet. And carrots are a beautiful colour. And they are cheap.” How can you not fall in love with a cookbook that speaks that honestly and charmingly about this basic root vegetable? It might help slightly that I am somewhat partial to carrots. As I looked around to see what other people have said about Good Things and Jane Grigson, I came across this blog entry. Written by a woman from the UK who has been cooking from this volume for years, the affection she feels for Grigson shines through readily. I hope you feel the same way if you happen to get your hands on a copy for yourself. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Filed under: Dessert, Baking, On the Blogs, Food Gadgets
The Pie Gate is a new creation that protects the sides of a pie once it has been cut and put into storage. It’s hinged design allows it to fold out and adjust to the pie no matter how many pieces have been cut. It also helps with keeping the shape of the pie. The sides of thePie Gate will keep soft pies from oozing. And it helps keep the fruit in fruit pies where it belongs. For pie lovers, this tool may be a great new addition to your collection. If you do have a leftover pie (Heaven forbid), the Pie Gate will make sure the outer sides are just as fresh as the inside. [via Baking Bites] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Filed under: Chocolate, How To
Quite often these demonstrations are dressed up sales pitches for a brand of chocolate or other product. This one was no different, but that didn’t make it any less interesting or relevant (at least to pastry professionals). While Chef Volkommer was using only Cargill brand chocolates, the demonstration was really about how to air brush colored cocoa butter into truffle molds to get colorful truffles. Chef Volkommer made a tasty passionfruit ganache filling first. He then went into detail about a couple of different air brushing machines and how to use them for cocoa butter. The trick is to keep the parts of the air brush gun warm while using cocoa butter, if you’re interested in trying this. The Chef went about finishing the truffles and set them aside to cool for later. Continue reading Pastry demo with a Certified Master Pastry Chef Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Filed under: Candy, Food Oddities, New Products
That’s still pretty cool. I like how it looks like Oscar Mayer bologna. “My baloney has a first name, it’s b-u-b-b-l (e).” I don’t think you can see it in the upper right hand corner, but it says “For best quality, open package and chew them all.” Now we need bubble gum cheese slices and bubble gum bread so we can make a sandwich. Permalink | Email this | Comments The Atonement star Keira Knightley doesn’t believe her acting career will last forever and is planning to go to university to study a subject that will help her make a living. Keira said: “I think acting is a profession that gets blown up and blown down in an instant, and that’s cool and for me, that’s what I find beautiful about it. “It’s not going to last forever, so at some point I will have to move on and I’ll do something else, and that’s fine. “I haven’t got a clue what it is, but when I do know, I’ll go back to university. I’ll study something and I’ll become it.” The 22-year-old actress also revealed she plans to work a lot less in 2008. She explained: “I’ve been working too much. The other weekend I worked 32 hours straight. “You should work to live, not live to work. Frankly, I think balancing life and work, when you are on a film set, is impossible.” |
|
I first heard of Jane Grigson in the pages of Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking. Colwin often references Grigson as the source of some of her most beloved and delicious recipes. Her affectionate description of the food in 
On Monday, I was lucky enough to go to a 
At first I thought this was bubble gum that tasted like bologna, and that would have been gross/awesome, but, alas, it’s 
