Steve Jobs Changed the World

I know Steve Jobs was not a god. I don’t worship him. I just have such a great appreciation for his ideas, and the things that grew out of them.

And although it might sound exaggerated, he really did change the world. Even for millions of people who never met him, it’s kind of like he was our friend.

He created things that we use and love. He made devices that we hold against our faces, and keep in pockets over our hearts. Many of us regard our pet gadgets as trusty sidekicks. We sleep with them, eat with them, and emote over them.

He changed the world because he affected every Apple user individually, and gave us something in common where there might not have been anything there before.

Thank you for making the world a better place, Steve.

Red GloBrush

I can’t stand having scummy teeth and bad breath. I can hardly breathe my own air until after I’ve brushed my teeth in the morning! I don’t understand how my kids can skip brushing, whenever they can get away with it!

When I had the chance to try out a new toothbrush geared toward tweens, I was excited. Anything that will get my twelve year old son to brush regularly is a good thing. This is the GloBrush, made by the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush people.

Product description:

Available in three different fun handle designs, this brush is ideal for tweens and allows them to express their unique personalities. The light up color-change timer also makes the brushing experience more fun… and cool again, too.

I gave the GloBrush to my son, along with a pep-talk about how colorful and fun it was going to be to brush his teeth with it! And, he didn’t have to worry about timing himself while brushing, because the GloBrush has a built-in timer. I pressed the “try me” button to demonstrate the light-up handle, and he was off to give it a whirl.

Jake’s report:

Ahhhhhh! It feels like my teeth just had a massage!

He has been using the GloBrush for a couple of weeks now, and he still enjoys it. Usually, he gets over the novelty of these things pretty quickly. So the fact that he’s still using it is wonderful! If you have a child (or a tween, teen, or adult!!) who avoids brushing, give the GloBrush a try. And for extra fun, try brushing in the dark. It’s a light show in your mouth!

Disclosure: I received one free GloBrush.

Wake n’ Bacon alarm clock

I was watching Regis & Kelly this morning, which was actually Kelly & Josh Groban. Josh mentioned his alarm clock, which starts cooking bacon a few minutes before wake-up time, so you awaken to the delicious aroma of sizzling bacon! Of course, I had to look it up.

I wasn’t able to find a place to purchase the clock online, but I did track down the origin of this brilliant bacon invention! It’s called the Wake n’ Bacon, and it is part of Matty Sallin‘s portfolio of innovative products.

Here is Matty’s description of the Wake n’ Bacon:

An alarm clock that wakes you up with the smell of cooking bacon instead of a buzzer. The aroma wakes you up, then you can open the oven component and eat the bacon itself.

How could you stay asleep with bacon sizzling on your nightstand?? Even if you manage to sleep through the bacon, you won’t be able to ignore the clamoring of your family members and the slobbering of your dog, as they climb over you to steal breakfast out of your clock!

Best wishes to Matty Sallin. I raise a crispy strip in salute to you! I hope you find a way to get the bacon clock into production!

smarTouch gloves

The people from Isotoner sent me a pair of new smarTouch gloves to test! In case you haven’t heard of these gloves, they are designed for use with touch screens. So if you’ve ever tried using a touch screen phone, GPS system, or anything else in the cold weather, you will appreciate the smarTouch concept.

The smarTouch gloves are constructed with “conductive thread” on the index fingers and thumbs, so you can use your touch screen without taking them off. I put the gloves to the test with my iPhone, and was pleasantly surprised that they actually worked. My hands are a bit small, and I needed to adjust the fit to make sure my fingers went all the way to the tips of the gloves for good conductivity. Once I had them on properly, they worked well. I was able to swipe my phone awake, tap for apps, phone dialing, etc.

I would stop short of saying that the phone responded equally as well to the smarTouch gloves as my naked hands, but that’s to be expected. And as far as gloves go, these are comfortable, soft, stretchy and flexible. I would definitely use them for cold weather hand protection, for all-purpose wear and driving. The ability to use my phone without taking them off is just an extra perk!

The technical details on the gloves are available here, and you can buy them at lots of stores already. They are made in a variety of colors, for both men and women. Overall, I’ll give them a 4 out of 5.

Disclosure: I received a free pair of gloves.

Netflix and PlayStation 3

Netflix and PlayStation are teaming up to allow Netflix subscribers to play streaming video on the game system! I’m so happy!

I made a recent post on my love of Netflix, and how I enjoy watching the instant movies on my laptop. Now, we’ll be able to watch instant movies on our big screen television, through our PlayStation 3 console!

Here is an excerpt of the announcement posted on the PlayStation blog today:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) and Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] today announced that they are joining forces to make thousands of movies and TV episodes from Netflix available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. Netflix expects to begin streaming via the PS3 system next month at no additional cost to Netflix members in the United States who have a PS3 system.

That means our PS3 will be even more fun and functional, as a gaming console, a Blu-ray movie player, Internet browser, and now a Netflix movie player! If you’re considering a new game system, take a look at the PlayStation 3. I was skeptical when Hubby brought ours home, but its high-definition video quality and variety of functions have won me over!

New Moon Soundtrack USB Drive

Here’s a short intro for a new product coming out any day now! I will be carrying these in my Twilight shop, and I’m pretty excited!

This is an officially licensed Twilight product, and it is a sweet combination of style and function. It’s a 2GB USB flash drive, with the Cullen family crest on the outside, and the New Moon movie soundtrack pre-loaded on the inside.

You can read the details and pre-order the New Moon USB drive now. I expect to have them ready to ship in late October 2009. Cheers!

LEGO Star Wars watch kit

I love shopping at Target, and I go there at least once a week for groceries. The grocery shopping is not really enjoyable, but what makes the outing enjoyable is browsing the other departments. My favorites are the dollar bins, seasonal decorations, and TOYS!

When the kids are with me, we always cruise through the LEGO aisle. I love those cute little bricks, because they are versatile, timeless, durable, and don’t require batteries. They run on brainpower and imagination! Brilliant! Okay, there is a down side to LEGO, and you know what I mean if you’ve ever stepped on one with bare feet in the dark.

But check out this awesome find! It’s a LEGO watch kit, with a working timepiece, and it’s STAR WARS!! There were several designs to choose from, including this Darth Vader one. The box includes the watch itself, links to make a custom-sized wrist band, an action figure (Darth and Luke even have light sabers), and a few extra pieces for good measure.

I loved them so much, I got one of each design! One for me, and one for each of the kids. I think I’ll be going back for more, to keep on hand for gift occasions and such. The parts are interchangeable (duh, it’s LEGO!) so the kids have enjoyed swapping links to make their watches unique and colorful. I forgot to get the price in the photo, but I think each kit was about $5.99. What a deal!

We have three kids, among whom allergies to all common household pets are represented. Aside from the allergy problems, we like the idea of having a pet, but not the idea of cleaning up after another little critter.

So last week, I made a brilliant decision and brought home the perfect pet for our family. Drum roll, please…

Meet our new iRobot Dirt Dog sweeper! It’s furless, doesn’t eat or poop, and cleans up after the humans in our home! Show me a real pup that does all that!

It works pretty well so far. We picked up the toys, socks, and LEGO pieces, got the loose cords off the floor, charged it up and pushed the button. Vroom vroom! Off it went, circling around, criss-crossing the room, navigating around table legs and fearlessly plowing under the couch. Amazing!

It ran for about an hour and then gave a little whistle to let us know it was finished. I didn’t expect it to do as good a job as it did. If we hadn’t been so excited to see the Dirt Dog in action, I would have thought to take before and after photos.

Anyway, I’m thoroughly pleased with our little pet. Now all we need is a good name. Let me know what you come up with.

A couple of days ago, my hubby came home, handed me a box, and said “Happy birthday and Merry Christmas.” Then he handed me a matching box and said, “Now give me that one and say the same thing.” I did, and then we opened the boxes and found…

New, sleek and shiny iPhones!! One for each of us!

I’ve been wishing and hoping and waiting for an iPhone since they came out several years ago. And now that I finally have one, I must say that it was worth the wait. It’s just as super as I’d heard it would be. The interface is sleek and easy, the apps are useful and entertaining, and I look more beautiful, smell prettier, and have gained a few IQ points… Well, you get the idea.

Naturally, I’m excited about loading up my iPhone with lots of music, videos, family photos, and fun apps. I mean, 16 GB will hold everything I want, right? Yeah, sure. I know it’ll be full to capacity before I know it. So I’m trying to choose judiciously among all of the media available.

Here’s what I loaded on first, in case you’re curious. I wonder what these things reveal about me? Maybe I’d better not think about that…

• Facebook (essential for keeping in touch with my family and friends)
• Tweetie (a Twitter app)
• Google mobile (tasks, calendar, reader, etc.)
• iheart radio (so I can listen to local KBCO on the go)
• E! Online (to keep up with my Twilight and other entertainment obsessions)
• Scramble (word game) and StoneLoops! (bubble popping game)
• Mafia Wars (got hooked via Facebook)
• Ambiance (rain, waves, and other soothing sounds)
• Super Mario Bros ringtone (old-school geek awesome!!)
• Night at the Museum (full length movie in my pocket!)
• One episode of Phineas and Ferb (for the kids)
• Scriptures, personal photos, and some of my favorite tunes to keep me sane

I also went out and got a hard case and a screen film, to keep my pretty phone safe. Do you have an iPhone? What are your favorite apps or most essential iPhone utilities? Tell me what else I should add to my phone!

space invaders ice cube tray

This is the Summer of Hot for me. Last November, we moved into a beautiful home with hardwood floors and granite countertops. However, the house did not come with air conditioning. Well, it wasn’t so important back in November…

Fast forward to today, in the middle of June, with a forecast high temp of 92F. Yes, I know it’s hotter in Phoenix, and there are millions of people all over the world who live in hotter, more humid, less comfortable locations. I know I’m spoiled. Sorry. The fact is, I like cool air in the house. I’m not a fan of sweating for no good reason. Call me pampered or whatever.

pi ice cube tray

Oh, and our ice-maker in the freezer recently quit working. It still makes noise and goes through the motions of making ice cubes, but when it tips up the tray to dump them into the bin, nothing comes out. Bah!

And did you know you can hardly find ice cube trays at the store anymore?! I had to ask a clerk at Target (my second home) where I could find them, and when I got to the shelf, there was only one kind there. Not a choice to be made of tray color or cube shape.

tetris ice cube tray

So, since I’ve been thinking about ice and cold air lately, I was tickled to find these cute geeky trays at thinkgeek! I’m definitely going to get some! If I have to make my ice the old-fashioned way, at least it can make me smile, too.

Now… Which cubes should I choose?