Musing #273

Microwave ovens, eh? They're great things. Not really a gadget in the strictest sense, but great nontheless. Except when the 'ready' meal says 'For best results, oven heat'. So 5 minutes turns into 10 mins to heat the oven, and a further 25 mins to cook the bleeder. Hello? Starving Bloke here!

One might ask why I'm eating alone on a Saturday night - in fact why would anyone blog on a Saturday night. The answer, my friends, is simple. I was out on the lash last night, and my better half, she is out on the lash tonight. Me is providing taxi service. I get to drive her spanking new Honda Jazz. Which is nice.

Rant of the Day

Welcome to an occasional post theme I'll be putting up from time to time. It's for those annoying little things you get when something isn't quite right.
Today, the PSP charger brick.

Why oh why did they choose to add a tethered mains lead to the brick? Every other charger I have either has a figure-8 style, or cloverleaf style connector.

The thing is, I made a stubby kettle lead for travel use, and with the aid of a small adapter, I cann use the it with lots of different chargers from my iBook to the DV Cam. Not only is the lead tethered, but the blighter is 2.1m long (83 inches, fact fans) and probably doubles the weight of the whole thing!

Yes, yes, I know I could just chop off the end and make it shorter, but is there not now some interfering EU directive that says we can't wire our own plugs anymore? OK, I'm kidding on the last part, but a self-fittet white MK just doesn't cut it in the 'hood. D'y'get me?

Coherent Light

Here are a couple of pics of my latest gadget, the virtual keyboard. It's a bluetooth device that interfaces with my Palm T3 and provides a quicker way of inputting stuff.
It works by projecting, using laser light, a QWERTY keyboard on a flat surface. Infrared sensors then plot your fingers as they hit the projected keys and the unit sends the keystroke to the receiving device - in this case my Palm. It's a lovley complicated solution to a mobile computing problem. In the long run, it'd be far easier to hook up a wired folding keyboard, or even a regular bluetooth wireless keyboard. But where's the fun in that? It's a laser, for goodness sake. And anything with a laser (preferably visible) is cool in my book. Incidentally, it is available in the UK from Expansys .

First Blog!

Huh? It's 11pm and, on a complete whim, decided to start a blog. For the very first time.

What's it going to be about? Read the title! My gadget obsessed life! Har. You see, the thing is, over time I've amassed a fair few gadgets. Like most folk, some of these are genuinely useful, some of them are pointless, and some aren't worth the hassle.

Sure, I hang out on iLounge, read Tech Digest, and generally try to keep up with the latest developments, even if my budget means I only get to window shop most of the time.

This blog will cover stuff I own, would like to own, stuff I find useful; rants and raves about particular items and some views on popular things that people might not like.

So that's a start at least. Now to write the first article. Bye for now.

(Tips on how to finish blog entries greatly appreciated!)