Gadgets Blog

Well, I’m back in the office after my little break. A week in sunny Spain, a stag weekend in not so sunny and in fact rather damp Nottingham, and bank holiday weekend camping in a field in Reading for the festival. The main talking point of which, apart from the weather, was  Guns and Roses arriving an hour late on stage.  Having read a few reviews I think that a large portion of the press has been unduely biased against Axl Rose and his band, although after his clash with Kerrang magazine and the consequent recording of Get In The Ring you can sort of understand the media not being onside. Personally, whatever the reviewers say, I thought they were great!

With the August Bank Holiday weekend done and dusted for another year we now enter what most consider to be the end of summer. The schools go back, and thoughts start drifting ever more towards Christmas, and the New Year period. That’s the last I’ll mention about Christmas, for a while at least, as it does seem to sneak up on us earlier and earlier every year, but the end of Summer brings me nicely to my next point. When I was listening to the radio this morning I learnt that on ITV tonight is the last ever episode of The Bill.

For those of you who don’t know, and if not you must surely not have watched television at all for the last 27 years, The Bill is a police drama that debuted on our screens back in 1983 under the title Woodentop as part of a series of one-off dramas. It impressed so much that a series was commissioned and screening began in 1984 under the name The Bill. 26 years, and many revamps and iterations later what has become the UK’s longest running procedural police drama bows out tonight. The Bill is not alone as I discovered later on today, as over the weekend we also saw the last ever episode of Last Of The Summer Wine, after 37 years.

Another story in the news over the weekend however shows that it may be the end of the road for Last Of The Summer Wine, The Bill, and the summer of 2010, but Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is still going strong. The Mousetrap is one of those theatre productions that I think I must go and see, whenever I hear it mentioned, and then promptly forget about a week or so later having not got round to booking tickets. Mousetrap was hitting the headlines this weekend as Wikipedia published the ending and revealed the killer. This may not seem like a big deal, until you realise that at every performance of the play each member of the audience is requested not to reveal the killer so to preserve the mystery of the play. I myself shall be avoiding the Wikipedia page and look to visit the theatre to see it sooner rather than later.

Hope you’ve all had a good week.

I was hoping to show off my knitting skills today along with at least half a ninja however it would appear I’m not a very good knitter. Having spent about 2 ½ hours on it I only have the below to show for it.

The instructions are very simple with clear images of how to cast on and knit the different types of stitches. However they appear to have missed out the part on how you make a an extra stitch (M1.)

Thank god for the internet as I quickly got on there yesterday and found various videos on how to do this. However there appears to be lots of way to M1. I must say I had a few disasters trying them out which resulted in me undoing all my work a couple of times. Very frustrating!!

I’m still not 100% sure whether I’ve got it right as I appear to have a few holes but I refuse to start again. If any one can explain simply how you correctly do M1 then please let me know.

I’ll be heading off to Bude shortly to do some surfing, I’ll will of course be taking my unknitted ninja with me, hopefully I’ll have more to show you next time.

As its a Bank Holiday weekend we will be closing at 2pm today and also closed on Monday. We reopen as normal on Tuesday 31st.

Have a great weekend.

M x

So today we received our weekly delivery of new products from the warehouse. This week there were three items I was keen to have a look at, they were Knit your own Ninja, Zoku Quick Pop Ice Lolly Maker and the Boiley Microwaveable Egg boiler. Over the next week or so I’ll be testing them out and of course I’ll be letting you know how I get on.

The first product I’m trying out is the knit your own mini ninja. It’s a kit that contains everything you need to create your very own woolly warrior.

I haven’t knitted anything since I was at school but how hard can it be, the pack says for age 8 +. Well I’ll give it a go and let you know!

As for the other two items I’ll tell you a little bit more about them as and when I test them out. If you can’t wait that long then you can find full details of them in our what’s new section on the site.

M x

With Dirk on holiday this week I thought I’d give you a very quick update on what we’ve been up to this week at Gadget Towers.

I know Dirk has already mentioned our end of summer sale however this week we’ve added more items so make sure you take a look.

I’ve spent most of the week photographing lots of new products that’s arrived, as always you can check them out in our what’s new section.  One new item that has proved to be a big hit here at the tower is the Heli Racer.

It’s a remote control car and helicopter combo, the car has been liken to the Batmobile in Batman begins by some of the guys in the office.  Judging by the reaction its received I’m sure it’ll be a big hit this Christmas, you can find further details on the site.

Finally we’ve a new cart promo today. You can get a set of Mug Shots for only £6.95 when purchasing any other item, normal price £9.95.

Well that’s me pretty much done for another week. This weekend I’m going climbing and camping somewhere near Tunbridge Wells.  I’ve got my Musuc sleeping bag and Dynamo LED Light packed, fingers crossed there’s no rain!

Have a great weekend and I’ll catch up with you next week.

M x

It’s been a busy week here at Gadgets Towers, I seem to say that a lot, what with, amongst other things, the launch of our Summer Sale, and cool new products arriving.

Outside of Gadgets Towers if you get a chance to make a journey outside of town and away from light pollution tonight, make sure you cast a glance skywards as tonight, and tomorrow are set to be the height of the Perseid Meteor Shower.

You may also have been entertained, as I was earlier in the week, by the story of Jenny who quit her job via Email with the aid of some photos and a dry wipe board. A couple of days later the whole story was revealed to be a hoax dreamt up by The Chive. There were however several large News agencies that went ahead and reported this as fact, which only goes to show you shouldn’t believe everything you read or see online.

Hope you all have a great weekend folks and I’ll leave you with some dating tips from one of the starts of Toy Story 3, if you haven’t seen this already, do so.

The best gadgets are simple ideas, that fulfil a particular purpose. Some gadgets can stay the same since the moment of inception, or gradually evolve along with developing technologies. The wheel, for example, is one of those inventions that has stayed the same pretty much since its invention. Sure, you could argue that tyres have been added, and the materials it is made from have been changed, but the basic idea, “a circular device that is capable of rotating on an axle through its centre, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load (mass), or performing labour in machines” to quote the definition on Wikipedia, has remained the same since the time of, or close to the time of its invention. The futility of trying to revolutionise such a basic yet useful item is evidenced in the phrase “trying to re-invent the wheel”.

Another gadget that has remained largely the same is the humble pencil. In fact other than the original lead being replaced by graphite, pencils have pretty much remained the same. Or at least they have, until now.

That’s right, Sharpie, those well known manufacturers of permanent markers have devised a liquid graphite that writes like a pen, but can be erased like pencil, at least until it dries, after about 24 hours according to the review at Engadget or 3 days according to the packaging, when it becomes permanent like a Sharpie marker.

Just think, a pencil that never needs sharpening, a pen that can be erased, and a permanent marker that, at first, isn’t so permanent.

The other night I went to see the new A-Team movie. I remember the original series being shown on TV, and playing in the playground at school, I seem to recollect us using a bench as the iconic van, and on occasion even a helicopter.

While it isn’t a particularly challenging piece of cinema, it is what it sets out to be, which is just plain old good fun, like the original TV series. Both Dirk Benedict (Templeton ‘Face’ Peck), and Dwight Schultz (Captain H. M. ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock) have cameos in the new film, as well as Mr T. reportedly also being offered a cameo, but turning it down.

What did I think? I liked the new film, I would view it as something different to the TV series, and wouldn’t be surprised to see some sort of sequel. The characters were all different enough to the portrayals in the original TV series that I don’t think there is too much of a question about who is better Peppard/Neeson, Mr T./Quinton Jackson etc. Although I would liked Murdock to have been a bit more mad than he is in the film.

One thing I did think was missing from the film was the seemingly obligatory scene in almost every episode of the TV series where they get locked into a warehouse, garage or similar, and end up making some sort of heavily armed armoured vehicle with, seemingly, little more than and old car and a blow torch, though there is an element of this.

It’s certainly worth a watch in my opinion, but if you haven’t seen the original TV series I’d go back and watch that first!

A new week and plenty of new Gadgets here at Gadgets Towers! We hope you’ve been keeping an eye on our What’s New section, as we’ve had some great new products in over the last few weeks. Here are a few of my favourites:

The Veho Pebble
Keeping your various Gadgets powered up when you’re out and about is a necessity! I found how difficult it is getting by without my mobile phone this month, and if it runs out of juice whilst you’re out and about it can leave you stranded, and cut off from the mobile world at large. The Pebble is perfect for keeping handy on long journeys when you aren’t sure when you’ll be able to charge up next. Small enough to fit in your pocket, but with enough zap to charge an iPhone 3GS 4 times over!

The Autoloader Pump Action Screwdriver
I have a tool similar to this at home, and I find it invaluable when performing those little DIY jobs around the house. It contains the various flathead, Phillips, and other screwdriver tips you’ll often need all in one handy location, and as they are all self contained you won’t need to worry about losing any of them.

The Premier Popcorn Maker
With lots of us having bigger TVs, and better sound system set-ups at home more of us are able to enjoy that (close to) cinema experience at home. The one thing generally missing though is ‘proper’ popcorn. Not the cold toffee stuff you get in a foil bag, or the microwave stuff where it’s all too easy to end up with half burnt, and half un-popped. The Premier Popcorn Maker is a great way to get freshly made popcorn at home. Using hot air instead of oil means it is healthier, and less likely to burn. With the price of cinema tickets spiralling ever higher this is a great way to enjoy those films that you want to see, but can wait for the DVD to be released.

These are a few of my favourites at the moment, but we are adding more and more new gadgets all the time, so make sure you check regularly!

Nearly another week gone here at Gadgets Towers, and I’m pleased to be able to announce that my poor drowned mobile phone has been repaired and should be back with me over the weekend/early next week! So I’ve made it through nearly two weeks without my phone, and other than a real feeling of disconnection, haven’t actually missed it too much, but then thankfully all my well laid plans have gone as they were meant to, and I’ve menaged to meet people where and when it was pre-arranged, which has probably helped a lot. Time will tell if I receive a bombardment of text invites and voicemails to various social events that I have now missed, but somehow I doubt this is the case.

I have decided that since it’s been out in cinemas for about two weeks it’s probably about time that I went to see Toy Story 3. All the reviews I’ve seen for it have praised it highly, and all my friends who have seen it say it is the best film of the three and a great way to finish off the trilogy. As long as it isn’t as poor as Shrek 3 I think I’ll be happy.

Today is not just a Tuesday, it’s not just the 27th of July, today is a day that has been a long time coming. 12 years ago, in 1998, a game was released. It was a Real Time Strategy game. This Real Time Strategy game proved to be very popular, its balanced races and tactical options ensuring that its massive following still play it today. Or, yesterday, because today, after 12 long years the sequel has arrived.

For anyone not yet quite aware what I am talking about yet, I am referring to Starcraft II: Wings Of Liberty. Once again PCs shall ring out with the hiss of the alien Zerg, the Drawl of the human Terrans, and the overriding calm and danger of the advanced Protoss. Starcraft was created by Blizzard, the makers of the similarly named Warcraft, and of course, the MMO spin off World Of Warcraft.

Starcraft is widely regarded by gamers as one of the defining games of the RTS genre, with only Command and Conquer coming close to its brilliance. Starcraft was the first of the games to introduce vastly different races to play as, giving gamers an array of units with different skills, and tactical options. As a game it has had such an impact that there are world pro league finals, and the University of California even offered a course that explored “various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted”.

Starcraft II as such has been highly anticipated by the fans of the original, and will no doubt attract a new generation. Only time will tell if it as well balanced, and thus popular and successful as the original. But with about 7 years of development, and many hours of Beta testing by seasoned Starcraft veterans you would bet on it being a runaway hit.