Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

When I’m at my computer and need to take a note, I just generally pull up notepad and jot it down. There are a number of reasons why I generally take this route. For instance, I never have a pen or paper handy, plus there’s that little thing where I can’t read my own handwriting most of the time. However, if you want to always have a place to jot down notes, you might check out this paper mouse pad.

With the rise of the optical mouse, I always kind of thought that the mouse pad would slowly die off, but alas, reflective and not-so-smooth surfaces still require their use. These pads give you 60 tear-off sheets that will allow you to keep track of important reminders, or just goof off (depending on which pad you get). These will only run you $9.99, which isn’t a bad price for as useful as they seem to be. Just remember to use one of those last pages to remind yourself to buy more.

[ Perpetual Kid ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

From the world of crappy USB promotional giveaways comes this combination USB flash drive and highlighter dock. It comes with 3 stubby highlighters in yellow, green and blue colors which will probably last a good 4 weeks, as well as a matching orange USB flash drive in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB or 2GB capacities. To be honest I’m a bit confused as to the purpose behind the dock having a USB connection, since the flash drive can just be connected directly to your computer, but since it’s supposed to be a promotional giveaway, I guess you shouldn’t look the gift horse in the mouth.

[ High Dexx USB Flash Drive ] VIA [ iliketotallyloveit.com ]

By Luke Anderson

There are plenty of reasons why I don’t drink coffee (the taste being one of the larger reasons). Since I don’t drink the stuff, I don’t worry about anyone running off with my coffee mugs. However, in some offices this is a real issue. People will knowingly take your cup, fill it up, and take it back to their desk. Sure, you can confront them about their blatant disregard for your ownership, or you can get a better mug.

The Lock Cup features a peculiar hole in the side. Naturally no one will want to use a leaky cup (and if they unknowingly do so, they’ll be in for a hot surprise), which takes care of the issue. When you’re ready for a cup of Joe, just insert your handy key to plug the hole, and you’re good to go. Just make sure no one throws your seemingly broken cup in the trash. Alas, this is merely a concept design for now.

[ Coroflot ] VIA [ Gearfuse ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If your office is big on meetings, but short on space, it might be time to upgrade to an ultra short throw projector like the PLC-XL51 from Sanyo. The projector uses a large diameter aspheric lens and a high-precision aspheric mirror that allows for large projections from an extremely short distance, without distortion. From a distance of just 3 inches the PLC-XL51 can actually project an image up to 80 inches in size. So not only is it useful for small rooms where you want to project on a wall, but it can even be handy for architects who want to project a set of blueprints onto a table.

The PLC-XL51 is actually an upgrade to the company’s PCL-XL50 model, and adds Sanyo’s exclusive PJ Network interface which allows you to monitor and operate the projector’s functions from anywhere you have access to a web browser. Other features include a ‘Color Board Mode’ which allows you to adjust the hue when projecting on a colored surface so that it actually appears to be projected on white, as well as a built-in vibration security sensor which sounds an alert when the unit is picked up.

The Sanyo PLC-XL51 will be available come September of this year with a price tag of $3,995.

[ Sanyo PLC-XL50 (previous model) ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though this pencil has nothing to do with the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant, nor is it actually 3 miles long, it will still probably interest those of you who haven’t completely forgotten how to use a manual writing instrument. The pencil features markings along its side that let you know how many miles you’ve actually written. The more you write and the more you have to sharpen it, the shorter it gets. It also features a scale letting you know approximately how many words you’ve written, and according to GenieGadgets.com, you’ll need about 22 of these pencils to copy out the complete works of Shakespeare by hand. (Or just hire a roomful of monkeys to do it.)

GenieGadgets.com also sells the 3 Mile Pencil for about $3.40.

[ 3 Mile Pencil ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re an obsessive-compulsive type when it comes to organizing cables (guilty) then this retractable extension cord should bring some peace of mind. (I’m not the only one who loses sleep over messy cables right?) With only 5 feet of cord it’s pretty limited as to where you can use it, but the cable winds back into the base so you can keep things looking neat and tidy. It also features 2 ungrounded outlets on the base, which is unfortunately another limit when it comes to how and where you can use it. But with a price tag of $12.98 from FullOfLife.com, I guess you get what you pay for.

[ Retractable Extension Cord ]

By Luke Anderson

I don’t know much about coffee, or exactly how much it should be stirred, but I have it on good authority that if you don’t get it properly mixed up, it can taste pretty bad. You have a few options for stirring up your cup of Joe such as spoons, stir sticks and a self-stirring mug. That’s right, now you don’t even need to bother stirring it yourself.

This coffee mug comes with a special base that will keep things mixed up for you while you’re busy typing or playing solitaire at your desk. They’ve kindly included a clear snap-on lid that will prevent any spills, which is probably best for a drink that’s best served hot.  This cool little gadget can be had for just $19.

[ Gevalia ] VIA [ Coolest-Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Well this one doesn’t need much explaining, it’s a simple paper notepad designed to look like a notepad icon. Perfect for those 5 or 6 item to-do lists. It was designed by Atypyk Paris and is available from the Design Museum Shop for about $10.

[ Icon Notepad ]

By Luke Anderson

How often do you look at your power strips? Honestly, I do my best to keep them out of site, as they aren’t really anything special to look at. If you had a cool looking strip, would you want it to be seen by everyone? Well here’s one that does its best to look cool.

Unfortunately I don’t think that they succeeded in their mission to make a power strip that looks cool. It’s supposed to look like some kind of ship, however, I doubt that anyone will notice that detail once you’ve loaded it down with power cords. I think they might want to head back to the drawing board.

[ Giffintermeer ] VIA [ SlipperyBrick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Here’s another one of those “wow! I could have really used something like this at x point in my life, why didn’t someone think of that before” ideas. In University, the occasional textbook I actually bought was usually stuffed full of Post-It notes referencing quotes or other important facts I’d probably be tested on. But instead of drawing little arrows pointing to what I should remember (highlighting would have diminished the text’s resale value) I could’ve used these sheer Post-It notes to actually circle the blurb of text and remove any doubt of what I had to memorize when it was time to cram for exams. At the moment it seems that 3M only sells their Sheer Post-It notes in 1 inch wide colored strips (sheer yellow, sheer green, sheer blue and sheer melon) but I think a larger version would come in a lot more handy. Even an 8 1/2 x 11 letter-sized Post-It that would let you mark up a whole page.

[ Sheer Post-It Notes ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]