More Money than Artistic Sense

Once again, technology finds an answer to a question nobody asked. This may seem like a normal picture in a normal frame, but in fact it is a small LCD screen that will display your digital pictures. I suppose, on the surface, this may seem like a good idea, until you see the price. This and other models with slightly different frames and of different sizes cost around $250. Now, for that kind of money, you could purchase about 250 5X7" or an astounding 1250 4X6" prints from an online photo store like Shutterfly. Hell, you could buy any number of moderately priced cameras for the price if this ingenious device.

Of course, you would have to go through the pains-taking and laborious process of actually changing the pictures yourself when you got tired of the one in the frame, but I'm sure your boss won't mind if you're a few minutes late to work (as long as you explain you were changing out your pictures). Also, with an old-fashioned picture-in-frame setup, you wouldn't be able to set it automatically cycle through a selection of pictures, but if your attention span is so short that you can't stand to have the same picture on your wall for more than a few minutes, maybe you should spend your $250 on a prescription for Ritalin instead.

Noodles Vista

Sorry about the small picture this week, but when you've got an item as truly revolutionary as this one, you don't need to shout very loud. This may look like a normal noodle strainer to you, but it is actually something quite special. You see, it's actually a USB-powered noodle cooker! That's right, now you can tap into your computers universal serial bus to cook your Cup Noodle 2.0 right there at your desk.

I just wish someone could explain to me why it is better/easier/more efficient to plug your noodle cooker into your computer than it is to use that old-fashioned wall outlet (into which your computer is probably plugged anyway). As near as I can tell, this handy little device isn't even controlled by the computer. That would be worthwhile. A programmable noodle cooker that interfaces with your computer through the USB port. But all this unit seems to do is use a computer as its power source. To that end, the only real use I can think of for this machine is for the commuter who just can't wait to wolf-down a steaming pile of shrimp-flavored ramen, so he just has to cook them up right there on his train car. Oh well, I suppose it's better than sitting next to an unwashed person in a tinfoil hat.

Remote Control Peversion

Let's take a break from all that bathroom humor and move straight into voyeurism. That's right, it's a remote-controlled car with a video camera on it! But wait, this is not just any camera, it's a night-vision camera that sees in the dark. Just what every nine year old needs for sneaking up on his older brother making-out with his girlfriend on the couch while Mom and Dad are asleep upstairs. I'm sure that this is how the next generation's Seymour Butts will get his start.

This may seem like a strange idea to you, but I want to make it perfectly clear that it was not my idea. Additional pictures from the catalog which sells this fantastic machine actually depict a carpet-level view of couple sitting awfully close on the couch. What can I say, they know their target audience.

There was an Old Cat Who Lived in a... Plant?

Am I missing something here? I know it's sometimes difficult to understand the whims of a cat, but are there really cats out there who sit around thinking, "God how I wish I could live inside of a plant!" Really, I thought that nothing except for woodpeckers and Kiebler Elves wanted to live inside of a tree.