Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

We’ve all seen the solar gadgets which promise to provide juice to other electronics. However, these generally require you to be in good sunlight for hours on end just to work. While there are some people that might benifit from such a device, most of us aren’t outside that much every day. Another alternative approach to recharging gadgets is this M2E Power, which charges batteries using kinetic energy.

The basic idea is to strap this little gizmo to your belt and it will charge up a battery simply by collecting energy from your movements. Unfortunately there is no word on pricing or availability.

[ M2E Power ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By Luke Anderson

I love animals, and enjoy having them around my house. When I was growing up, we had two dogs and always a few stray cats. It is rare that I actually find myself scared of a dog, as I know that generally they have no desire to hurt you. However, there are some dogs that are mean, and very well may attack you. If you’re a person that is forced to come in contact with such animals, you may want to look into this Animal Nuisance Repeller.

This device will emit a high-frequency sound which will make dogs whimper, and generally turn tail and run. This isn’t something I would keep around the house to use as an obedience tool, but rather would see it in the hands of an animal control officer for emergencies. One of these will only set you back around $30.

[ TaylorGifts ] VIA [ Dvice ]

Sometimes I come a across a product that promises to do so much for you that it seems like an incredible device. Then upon reading up on it you find that there is nothing substantial to back up such claims. Take this awesome HotInazma Pocket, which promises to “improve fuel consumption, reduce emissions” and will even improve the air in your car by acting as a negative ion generator. Awesome.

So how does this magic device work? It simply stabilizes the electricity flowing through your car’s electric system via the cigarette lighter adapter. Uh huh, so this little thing is going to make my car run smoother for just $99.95. I think I’ll wait until we see some actual tests that aren’t conducted by the manufacturer before I get excited.

[ 5StarShine ] VIA [ RedFerret ]

By Luke Anderson

Have you ever put the wrong type of fuel in your car? I’m not talking about skimping out and getting regular when your car calls for premium. No, I’m wondering if you’ve ever put diesel into your gas tank by mistake? Well, now there’s a handy gadget that can check whether or not you’re putting the right stuff in your vehicle.

Install this little gadget on the inside of your fuel flap, then just hold the fuel nozzle up to it ever time you fill up. It will light up to tell you whether or not you’ve got the right type. Seriously, do we really need something like this? Why not just look at the pump and make sure you grabbed the right one? Heck, if I’m not mistaken, the nozzle on a diesel pump is actually larger than that of regular gas so it won’t fit into your car. If you’re really paranoid, then by all means pick one of these up for around $40

[ Fuel Checkers ] VIA [ Red Ferret ]

By Luke Anderson

I am a lover of pizza. Any time I’m visiting a new place, I always have to check out one of the local pizza joints. Of course when I’m at home, I like to make my own pizza (none of that frozen stuff for me) from my secret recipe. While I have the process down to an art, I’ve yet to find a way of cutting the pizza that I really like. I don’t like the way that the round cutters damage my pans, and straight-edge ones aren’t much better. I’m actually tempted by these pizza scissors.

Here you have a wedge-shaped spatula combined with a pair of kitchen shears. Just slide it under the area you want, and cut. It’s a pretty simple concept, and should work fairly well I would think. You can pick one up for around $20.

[ Skymall ] VIA [ RGS ]

By Luke Anderson

I don’t know about where you live, but the county fairs are in full swing in my part of the States. I live in the sort of area that is surrounded by corn, and people love to train farm animals to do tricks. It’s also rather hot out, and the people that attend such fairs have no issue with using strange contraptions to keep themselves cool. I really wouldn’t be surprised to walk past a farmer wearing one of these.

This little fan clips on your hat and gets power from soaking up the sun’s rays. Sure, it’ll probably weigh down your hat, and you’ll look pretty funny, but I guess it beats having a sweaty face. You can pick one up for just $10.

[ Brando ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Luke Anderson

I’ll admit that I’ll listen to Journey every now and then. I only own a few of their songs and probably wouldn’t go as far as to call myself a fan. I definitely wouldn’t go out and buy an MP3 player that’s dedicated to the classic rock band.

This strange MP3 player features the band’s unmistakable scarab logo, and comes pre-loaded with the entire Revelation album. For those not in the know, half of the tracks are brand new, while the other half have been re-recorded with a new lead singer. You aren’t going to store much on here, as it only holds a whopping 1GB of music. At least it isn’t terribly expensive at $40.

[ Walmart ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Luke Anderson

I don’t know how to speak or write Japanese. I took a class in high school, but honestly I can’t do much more than say hello and count to 5. I’ve always been a bit baffled by kanji, and how it’s even possible to write it on a computer, with all of the detailed markings in it. Well if you just happen to be looking for an easy way to input such characters on your PC, or many other devices, this TagType may be what you’re looking for.

Apparently this device was originally created as an input method for handicapped, but has spawned into something more. The company behind it seems to think that it could become a universal input for all kinds of devices, such as PCs, TVs, video games and more.

[ Takram ] VIA [ Dvice ]

By Luke Anderson

I have a small black cat which I love very much, however, over the last month or so she has been driving me nuts. No, she’s not in heat, she’s just turning into a spaz. Seriously, she attacks everything that moves (and quite a few things that don’t). This of course includes my feet while I’m running up the stairs, which has nearly caused me to fall and break my leg a few times. Perhaps I need to invest in one of these Fling-Ama-String contraptions.

Essentially what you have here is a device that dangles a ribbon in front of your cat, which they will no doubt go crazy for. Just pop in 3 AA batteries and hang it from any door knob. You can select high or low, then watch your cat bat at it for a while. The only issue is that most cats aren’t entertained by a single object for more than a few minutes, so it’s a toss-up whether or not they’ll actually play with this $30 gadget any more than your shoelaces.

[ SkyMall ] VIA [ RGS ]