DaBombDGD - dedicated to cool and weird stuff: 2007

12.18.2007

The Nutcracker March, Automated Robot Style

Well this is truly a Merry "Geekie" Christmas surprise! KIVA Systems has created a version of the Nutcracker as performed by their automated warehouse robots.

[via Gizmodo]

12.08.2007

Negative Calorie Foods

The holidays with mounds of great food is upon us, so to help with our caloric intake Bootstrapper has posted a list of negative calorie foods. This list is better than cupcakes and such when looking for a snack between big holiday meals.

"Implementing negative calorie foods into your daily diet doesn’t just help you lose weight by cutting calories; it also speeds up your metabolism and introduces healthier items like fruits and vegetables into your regular food choices and favorite recipes. So no matter how you look at it, you’ll come out ahead. "
- Bootstrapper

[via Lifehacker]

11.30.2007

Christmas Lights Repair Guide

Christmas lights can be such a pain in the arse when they go bad. Ciphers by Ritter has 3 cool articles on how to repair the broken buggers.

LightKeeper Pro is one of the tools used to make life easier.

[via MAKEMagazine]

11.27.2007

I Don't Wanna Switch from a PC, but I Like the OSX GUI Better

c|net has an article about making your PC look and feel like an Apple computer.

CrunchGear compiled a list of software that makes the PC emulate Apple.

Dock: Stardock
Exposé: MyExposé
Dashboard: Konfabulator
Spaces: DeskSpace
“Look and Feel”: Flyakite OSX

[via CrunchGear]

11.26.2007

PocketPCMag's Annual Best Software of 2007 Winners

Checkout the winners of the 7th Annual Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine Best Software Awards 2007. Here are the categories:

Communication
Emulators
Games
GPS
Information Managers
Internet
Multimedia
Smartphone: Travel
Text and Reference
Travel
Utilities

[via GearDiary]

11.14.2007

Marvel has 2500 Comics Online

Marvel Online Comics! How cool is that?! Well I know what I'll be doing when I finally get some free time from work, school, a wonderful marriage and raising a baby. ;-)

[via DownloadSquad]

11.13.2007

Where are the deals this Black Friday?

Want to know who is selling what for how much of a low price the day after Thanksgiving? BlackFriday.info is the place to go to get 411 on this year's sale prices.

[via Gizmodo]

Now that's a lawnmower!

Not sure when this lawnmower will be in production, but it would be GREAT to mow the lawn with. I wonder if they would make a bagger for it that resembled a drag chute. Check out the full size photos at CGSociety.org.

[via Gizmodo]

11.12.2007

One Laptop per Child

November 12-26, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program in North America. For $399, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home.

Give One Get One
Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in North America. This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving).
- laptopgiving

11.06.2007

2007 Weblog Awards - Vote Now!

The 2007 Weblog Awards Voting is underway. Checkout the categories and vote for your favorite blog.

[via Engadget]

11.05.2007

Eye-Fi for the Wi-Fi

Eye-Fi is a cool new add-on for the digital camera that allows you to post your pics to your photo site as soon as you click them. The Eye-Fi is an SD flash memory card that has 2GB of storage and is also a wi-fi adapter.

Technical Specifications [via Eye-Fi]

Wi-Fi Security: Static WEP 40/104/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK
Range: 90+ feet outdoors and 45+ feet indoors
Storage Capacity: 2.0GB (1GB is defined as 10^9 Bytes)
Power: advanced power management optimizes use of camera power
Card Dimensions: SD standard 32mm x 24mm x 2.1mm
Card Weight: 0.1oz.

[via CrunchGear]

10.25.2007

iPhone-ish Apps for WindowsMobile

Reading the Geek.com newsletter this morning and I came across a couple of Windows Mobile app sites mentioned in the Geek Thoughts section which are dashwire.com and iwindowsmobile.com.

I installed FunContact from iwindowsmobile.com and it works like a charm. I especially like the iPhone-like slide finger scrolling.

[via Geek.com]

TINMAN, Da New Style Wizard of Oz

A SCI FI channel's remake of the wonder Wizard of Oz is very compelling. The SCI FI channel is premiering this new mini series, TinMan, December 2 @ 9/8C.

[via Digg]

10.23.2007

Windows Mobile Ringtone Maker

GX5 has a ringtone maker for $19.95. I have tried free and paid versions of ringtone makers and this by far is the easiest and best I have used.

[via GearDiary]

10.22.2007

PC and Mac Co-existing

Lifehacker has a guide to Mac and PC co-existing. It is a good starting point if this hybrid environment is new to you like it is to me.

10.18.2007

Standby or Hibernation

Do you happen to know the difference between Standby and Hibernation in Microsoft Windows? TimeAtlas has a cool article on how and when to run either.

[via Lifehacker]

10.16.2007

Improving Wireless Home Networks

PCWorld has a cool article on WindowsXP wireless quirks and improving wireless home network performance. Microsoft has some tips as well.

JOOST

JOOST is doing big thangs with videos and TV shows. Just another IPTV option.

[via Digg]

10.09.2007

Halo 3 Skulls

Looking to get more Halo 3 achievements? Halo3Planet has a skull finding guide.

[via Digg]

10.05.2007

Zune and Its Marketplace Changes

Zunes and its marketplace are both getting a facelift to compete with Apple's iPod and iPhone product lines. Checkout the Zune site. The main reason I want a Zune is because of the interaction with the XBOX 360.

I have drank the Microsoft Kool-aid and it is gooood. ;-) :-| :-P

[via Geek.com]

Lobie + Replug = Good Living!

Earbuds Suck!, so Lobies are to the rescue. Lobies in combination with a Replug can also lessen the amount of broken laptop audio ports.

Lobie [via Engadget] Replug [via Engadget]

The Tools and Websites I Use the Most @ Work

I came across this article this morning called Top 10 Tools I Can’t Live Without. This got me thinking about my work tools and I came up with the following list (more than 10 though.) I also included resource sites that I use with my tools at work.

My Work Tools:

Resource Sites:

[via Digg]

10.02.2007

CD Burner XP

Looking for free software to burn CDs? CDBurnerXP is the software for you then.

CDBurnerXP Key Fature List is:

burn all kinds of discs
audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks
burn and create ISO files
data verification after burning process
create bootable discs
multi-language interface
bin/nrg → ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more!
Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

[via DownloadSquad]

9.28.2007

Halo3 and Life Lessons

PicktheBrain has the 7 Life Lessons I Learned Playing Halo. Life has been good with the release of Halo 3.

[via Digg]

9.25.2007

2Old2Play Halo3 Review

2Old2Play.com is a website for the older gamer like myself (even though I can talk smack with any 12 yr. old). Their review is straight forward and makes me wish I had taken vacation Tues and Wed. instead of just Wed.

[via Digg]

Halo3, is it that big of a deal?

Some are saying that Halo3 is the biggest game launch ever. Wired has a great article and pics on the Manhattan midnight release as well as some of the stats surrounding the game launch and pre-orders.

Also read what IGN has to say about Halo3.

9.24.2007

The Eve of Halo3

If any of these links to Halo3 reviews or ads don't get ya hyped for tonight's midnight release, then don't bother gaming.

9.21.2007

You CAN have da Mango!

I always thought that the SNL Mango skit was a little wackie, but yet slightly funny as SNL hosts fell in love with da Mango. TryMango.com is a foreign language tutorial site for 11 different languages with 103 tutorials per language...FOR FREE.

[via LifeHacker]

Early Birds are on the Rise

I dislike being stuck in rush hour traffic and have spent most of my adult life as an early commuter. USA Today is quoted by TreeHugger as saying "What we're seeing now is this tremendous amount of traffic even before 5 a.m. It seems there's a big lifestyle change here," says Alan Pisarski, author of a wide-ranging study on commuting in the USA".

[via Digg]

9.20.2007

Halo3 - Getting Ready

Well I got my profile setup on Bungie.net again. For some reason it says that I have only been active since 9-20-2007, but yet it has all of my Halo2 stats. So to make it right, I just watched the Halo3 Hoedown.

9.19.2007

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

The official ITLAPD site. Also check out this animated ITLAPD site.

[via CrunchGear]

MS Media Center and WebGuide

So I have been running ORB which is a free alternative to Tivo. The WebGuide seems like another great alternative to Tivo.

[via Engadget]

9.13.2007

Help Fiona the Bulldog

"Meet Fiona! She is a 3 month old English Bulldog. Fiona was recently abandoned at a high kill shelter by her breeder who let this poor baby suffer in her own skin for her first 3 months of life without any kind of medical care. Her feet are swollen 3 times the normal size. They are so large and painful she can barely stand. She is very lethargic and her body is covered in pus and sores. Even though her system has been compromise due to the lack of care and treatment we will utilize every resource available to help this little girl make it. Our vet is taking aggressive action on her treatment. As of her intake date today he states her chance are 50/50. If she does respond to treatment it will be a long road of care and a few sleepless nights for her current foster parent. As usual we come to you the caring animal lovers. I know Fiona is not a basset but there is no way we could say no. Look at that face, Could you? So now we ask you to help lend a hand in Fionas care. Her treatment is aggressive and will be on going . We are in need of donations to help cover the vet bills.. Any amount will help."
- MySpace/FriendsOfFiona

[via Dethroner]

SplitReason Gamer Shirts

SplitReason has some pretty cool gamer t-shirts.

Some other cool online t-shirt sites are...

[via SlashGear]

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog...and got a job.

JobFox is a job site like no other. Check out why JobFox says it works. This seems like the new style job site.

[via Geek.com]

9.12.2007

The Ultimate Steal

Microsoft is offering Office Ultimate 2007 for $60 to college students until April 8, 2008. Sign-up for it now.

Office Ultimate 2007 includes:

Office Excel 2007
Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager
Office PowerPoint 2007
Office Word 2007
Office Access 2007
Office InfoPath 2007
Office Publisher 2007
Office OneNote 2007
Office Groove 2007

[via DownloadSquad]

All Recipes

I am not sure if they have ALL recipes, but they have had every recipe I have ever tried to find.

Backup, Backup Cause It's ON!

LifeHacker has a great survey on "Best online backup service?" and the user comments as always are pricele$$.

A few services and/or links I got from the user comments were:

Backup Review - for backup FAQs and ratings
Mozy - online backup service that allows you to specifiy YOUR encryption key
Carbonite - online backup service
MediaMax - Upto 25GB free online storage
FolderShare - backup and sharing utility for your LAN devices

[via LifeHacker]

A Wiki for Gamers: Wikia Gaming

You like to game and keep up on the gaming news, but would like it specialized per your gaming preferences? Wikia Gaming is the place to be for gaming articles.

I have selected the wiki sections pertaining to:

"Wikia is launching Wikia Gaming tonight, a collection of video game focused wikis. The sites contain over 250,000 articles on games already, on all major platforms. The World of Warcraft site is the largest single wiki, with 43,000 articles."
-TechCrunch

[via TechCrunch]

9.11.2007

Interactive SMS T-Shirts

Needing a way to communicate with the world? Reactee is the new style of t-shirts.

[via DownloadSquad]

XBOX 360 ChatPad

So the XBOX 360 Messenger Kit has been available since 9-4-2007. Amazon has it on sale for $29.99. This is a pertinent piece of gear for Halo 3.

9.08.2007

/* Weekly++ Twisted Recap */

WOW! My summer break between semesters is over and I don't know where the time went. The last time I submitted a Weekly Twisted Recap was almost 5 weeks ago. I hope you are enjoying the blog.

9.07.2007

How does the list of iPhone apps stack up?

modmyiphone.com is compiling a list of iPhone apps. The list is a good resource of developer sites as well.

modmyiphone.com category lists of submitted applications:

[via EngadgetMobile]

9.06.2007

HowTo Meet New People

If you have an issue with meeting new people, then Stranger Rodeo is a technique that might work for you. Not many things I have seen lately have made me blow coffee through my nose, but this accomplished just that.

9.05.2007

Keep Your Financial Woes from Spiraling

AARP has a common sense article on avoiding money traps. These tips seems like common sense, but is it common sense if you don't put it into practice?

[via LifeHacker]

Teach em' to Fish and Feed em' for Life

EmailStripper can help us make a better world. If you have ever wanted to send someone a forwarded email, but wanted it to be formatted and properly spaced, then EmailStripper is here to the rescue! This would also be helpful if EVERYONE would format that email that has been forwarded for the 100th time.

[via DownloadSquad]

Almost as Good as PB&J

Halo 3 and Mountain Dew Game Fuel collide in some pretty funny commercials.

Halo3...goood, GameFuel...goood !! Caffeine enriched gaming...GREAT!

[via CrunchGear]

Breathing while exercising is important!

The POWERbreathe is a breathing apparatus that will help you improve your breathing muscles and air intake. I wonder if it could help me breathe through my nose better as I inhale donuts and coffee faster. ;-)

POWERbreathe.com has a series of articles about it's success and effectiveness among Ironman competitors.

[via SlashGear]

9.04.2007

Can You Hear Me Now?

I have been sorta-kinda looking for a set of headphones with a microphone built in to game with. I came across the Audio Xtreme 360 Headphones at Fry's last night and blew a gift certificcate on them. They are incredible in 5.1 surround sound quality and ease of use with XBOX Live. Gaming and a newborn can coincide. ;-)

A more affordable solution is the Turtle Beach Ear Force AXT Ultimate Gaming Headphones, but you won't get quite the quality of surround sound.

8.28.2007

HowToons

People learn howto do thangs in different ways. HowToons has comics that teach ya howto do thangs. I always learned best by reading comics. ;-)

[via MAKE Magazine]