ArsGeek

I’ve always loved getting those little Fingerhut catalogues in the mail to flip through and think “OH COOL!” I learned my lesson of keeping my urges at bay when I purchased the Juicer- but the George Foreman Grill is pretty awesome! (I’m still livid that my ex got that in the divorce- Never use thumb wrestling as a way to divide things up. I did, however, get the computer by saying he could have it if he could answer one simple question- the easiest… “Tell me how you defrag or what defragmenting is.” I won.)

Anyway, let me take you on a journey to “I Want One of Those”… because I do. I want several of “those”. I’ll probably never get any of “those” but it feels good to want.

From WiFi Signal Detector T-shirt to Space Putty- I’ve got you covered… or myself covered for the far away holidays.

I present you with my top 10 “Must Have” My intro’s are in bold italics and everything else is from the site:

This first one I chose to give as a gift to someone you hang around with often. Not because you care about them, but because it makes them essential to your geek habits.

This is geek chic at its pinnacle, its apex, you know, the top basically. These slim fitting (but not tight) black t-shirts have a WiFi signal detector built into them, which is pretty darn cool. When you wander into a WiFi area the little arrows do their light-up sequence spinny thing, and the five bar detector on your chest will illuminate to show you the strength of the signal. The shirts are black and come with a choice of a blue or green Wi-Fi signal, and in a variety of sizes depending on your diet. Whether you’re a laptop roving geek-head or not is of course irrelevant, light up T-Shirts are so ‘now’ and so ‘tomorrow today’ that going out without wearing one will soon seem so very yesterday. That may not have made much sense, but since when did that matter? Possibly tomorrow, but definitely not today. Powered by a couple of AAA batteries and fired up by WiFi signals, these T-Shirts will turn you into your very own hot-spot beacon without you having to buy a coffee or skulk round an airport (did that make any sense?).

Features
A black t-shirt with illuminating WiFi detector.
The detector has 5 bars to determine the strength of 802.11b or 802.11g signals.
Choose a t-shirt with a detector that glows in either blue or in green.
The t-shirts are slim (but not skinny) fitting.
The t-shirts are 100% cotton.
T-shirts are available in small, medium, large or extra-large.
Hand wash only.
Suitable for ages 12 years+.
Requires 2 x AAA Batteries (not included).
£19.95 $35.91  €29.53

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/essential-gadgets/wifi-t-shirts/index.html

I picked this because who hasn’t felt the heart drop once you saw your shiny new gadget inflicted with it’s first scratch. It SUCKS when that happens!

Invisible Shield is the ultimate in gadget protection and is the toughest, most durable gadget scratch-protection film available on planet Earth. A gadget is so irresistible when it’s shiny and new, a gleaming totem of gorgeous technology. Sadly, within no time at all, it gets scratched and damaged – and you end up losing that ‘loving feeling’ you got when you first opened it. So next time you splash out on some flash piece of kit wrap it in this simply amazing Invisible Shield stuff and it will stay looking brand spanking new for years, every time you use it will be as if you’ve never touched it before.

Developed for the US military to protect the leading edge of helicopter rotor blades in the desert sand, this wonder stuff is absurdly tough. It’s basically an ultra thin clear urethane plastic, that’s virtually invisible and more or less invincible, after all if it can protect rotor blades moving at hundreds of miles an hour, imagine what it can do to your iPod, iPhone, Wii, PSP etc. The Shield creates a complete wrap-around protection (slightly fiddly to apply, but so, so worth it), so no more scratches, knocks, oily finger marks, nicks, all the little things that stop your gadget looking as good as it should.

This stuff is so tough you can scratch a key across your iPhone screen without it leaving a mark! Invisible Shield is probably the best gadget accessory we’ve ever seen, no forget that, it’s definitely, unquestionably, the best gadget accessory we’ve ever seen. When you love gadgets as much as we do, you want to keep them looking perfect, and this wonder stuff does it.

The moment you buy your shiny new toy, wrap it in Invisible Shield and it will look brand spanking new for years.
Features
The most durable protective film for gadgets ever invented.
Originally designed to protect military helicopter blades, the invisible SHIELD gives military protection to your tech pieces.
The shield is made from invisible and invincible clear, urethane plastic.
The shield wraps around your entire gadget offering 100% protection.
The invisible SHIELD allows gadgets to be scratch-free and look as good as new years after purchase.
The invisible SHIELD is idiot proof to apply.
Suitable for use on the most popular gadgets (see list at the top of page).
Sizes vary according to the gadget they fit.

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/essential-gadgets/invisible-shield/index.html

Okay, this may not be a dire essential but OMG- how cool would *this* be?? Imagine you to be on a romantic walk by the stream and you hear a splash- “There’s fish in them there waters!”

You’ve never got a fishing rod on you when you want one. Oh how we remember all those times strolling along the banks of the Limpopo, when up pops the fin of a marlin, or perhaps we hear the splash of a leaping sword-fish, and darn it if we’ve forgotten a fishing rod. If only we’d had a Pen Fishing Rod to hand? Of course marlin and swordfish are not fresh-water fish and we’ve never been to the Limpopo, but it sounded more appealing than watching a dead perch floating in the Grand Union Canal. We’re getting off the point somewhat (again!). Ok, this clever little gadget is about the size of a large marker pen at only eight inches long, and yet opens up to become an aluminium alloy 4ft fishing rod, complete with a left and right handed reel (packed separately), a 5lb breaking strain line, and even includes a triple hook spinner. Never again will you be caught short when you spot a fish rise, and it’s small enough to carry with you everywhere!
Features
A 4ft fishing rod that compacts into a slimline case, designed to look like a large pen.
The rod has a minituarised reel with a switchable rachet ideal for left and right handers.
The rod has a line brake and line fastener for exceptional stability.
The rod itself is made from aluminium alloy.
The line has a breaking-strain of 2.5kg.
A triple hook and spinner are included.
Suitable for ages 14 years+.
Size: 22 x 1.5 x 1.5cm (in ‘pen’ form).

£24.99 $44.98  €36.99

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/gadgets-gizmos-newarrivals/pen-fishing-rod/index.html

This one is just plain old cool. If you don’t think so then you must leave now because you are not worthy of being called a geek:

If you’ve ever had a problem telling the time, then worry no more. The Binary Watch is so completely impossible to use (unless you’re a code-head) that not being able to tell the time is no longer a cause for worry, but just perfectly normal behaviour. Of course for those of you who ‘get it’, the Binary Watch – whilst palpably a watch – is not about telling the time, it’s about being carefree and eminently cool. It either says ‘I’m sufficiently techno-cool that I can actually tell the time on this thing’ or ‘I’m so laid back I don’t need to know what the time is, but cool lights, huh?’.

As the classic joke goes, ‘there are only 10 types of people in the world – those who understand binary, and those who don’t’ and it doesn’t matter if you’re a 1 or a 0, it’s a unique if slightly daft gizmo whichever way you look at it. Though of course if you look at it upside down, the time will be different. Nevertheless, despite the whole very-hard-to-tell-the-time drawbacks, this is one cool watch. And here’s how it works…

The Binary Watch displays time in binary format. (Now there was a useful sentence.) Using blue LED lights to indicate hours and minutes, the LED “ON” means 1, and the LED “OFF” means 0. The first row denotes the hours and the second row indicates the minutes, and apparently the translation of time from binary to decimal is easy: simply (huh) add the numbers of lit LEDs on the upper row to tell hours, and add up the numbers of lit LEDs on the lower row to tell minutes. The upper LED-row (8-4-2-1) shows hours. The lower LED-row (32-16-8-4-2-1) shows minutes. The time is displayed for five seconds when the side button is pushed – but if you think that’s long enough to work it out then you’re considerably cleverer than we are.

It comes with a leather strap, is made from solid stainless steel, and is water resistant to 90 feet – just in case you wanted to show off your binary proficiency to a halibut.
Features
Blue LED display
Leather strap
Solid stainless steel case and back
Water resistant 3 ATM – 90 feet
Battery included (type CR2032)
Size : 25 x 1cm x watch face of 5cm

$89.91 £49.95 €73.93

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/hot-watches/binary-watch/index.html

Another awesome must have. I’m an astronomy geek and gazing at the stars/planets is a passion of mine. Unfortunately I live in the NW where clouds conceal my view regularly. I still love to gaze though and picture the stars beyond the atmosphere.

Staring out at the infinite reaches of space on a dark and starry night is an awesome experience. Only trouble is, not many of us know what we’re looking at, and space becomes about a thousand times more fascinating and beautiful when you can unlock some of its secrets. mySky (forgive the lowercase m, it’s a brand thing apparently) is your very own handheld interactive guide to the universe. Point it at the night sky, and it will locate and identify celestial objects. No knowledge of the night sky is needed, it will align what it sees, and is capable of identifying over 30,000 celestial wonders. Just pull the trigger to find out about the planets, stars, nebula and galaxies in your night sky.

Once it identifies the object that you’re pointing it at (as long as it’s not an alien – this looks a bit like a ray gun, so best not to start some inter-galactic war by putting the wind up any passing ET’s), it will show you a multi-media presentation on its full-colour LCD screen. mySky will also take you on a guided tour of the sky above you highlighting the best things to look at depending on your time date and location.

If you’ve got a telescope, you can also hook this gizmo up to it and it will control the telescope, moving it and pointing it at any object the mySky can find.

Let the universe unfold before you.

Please note, this product is exempt from all special promotions and discount offers.
Features
Identify planets and stars in the night’s sky.
Visual and audio guided tours of the stars in your location.
Find and display mode for constellations.
LCD screen with full colour display.
Real time sky maps found.
Satellite finder.
Ergonomically designed to be comfortable to use and hold.
Can be connected to computerised telescopes in order to direct the telescope to the chosen constellation.
Adds a GPS function to a non computerised telescope.
Includes an SD card.
Six hours of battery life.
Suitable for ages 14 years+.
Requires 4 x AA Batteries (not included).
Size: 27 x 24 x 9cm.

£299.00 USD $538.2 €442.52
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/my-sky/index.html

Come on now- AWESOME??? Right? Right? Tell me I’m wrong… this is just TOO COOL! I can be the faux guitarist in my friends band! Or at least be the coolest person in the office (gawd I wish I was an associate… )

Were you born to rock, were you born to roll, were you born to sell your immortal soul – surely that?s a lyric from some Quo, Cooper, Sabbath, Leopard, long haired scream? If not it should be, and this testament to guitar thrashing rock is (obviously a bit daft) in actuality, an iconic 1GB MP3 Player, complete with its own mini guitar amp speaker. It’ll hold about 250 of your favourite tracks, and scrolls through them sequentially. There’s no LCD display, or glowing little buttons, this MP3 Player is all guitar. It comes with a mini stand, so you can sit it on your desk, a plectrum as well as headphones and a lanyard for hanging it round your neck. So next time you feel the urge for a damn good thrash, grab the U Rock MP3 player and play air-guitar until you pass out. It looks super cool, and after all, that’s mostly what rock is all about.

Please note, this product is exempt from all special promotions and discount offers.
Features
An electric guitar shaped MP3 player.
Guitar detail includes strings and machine heads.
Mini stereo speakers disguised as a guitar amp.
A plectrum.
Lanyard.
Headphones.
1GB of memory holding up to 250 songs.
No software required.
Scroll along your playlist tracks.
Colours may vary.
USB and 3.5mm cables included.
Suitable for ages 12 years+.
Size:-

Guitar: 16.5 x 5.5 x 1cm
Amp: 9 x 8 x 5cm.

£49.99 $89.98  €73.99
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/mp3-audio/u-rock-mini-guitar-mp3-player-and-amp/index.html

Considering I had just written an article on this I *had* to pick it- The Geek Gods heard my cry!

Isn’t it strange how when you’re driving along it’s always everyone else who’s the idiot? Of course from time to time we’re all idiots, and for the most part not intentionally, but nevertheless inevitable and puerile hand gestures always seem to follow. Well the LED car sign let’s you express yourself in more efficient and most of the time a very much more considerate manner. You just fix the wireless remote in the front of your car, and place the unit on the back shelf. You have five different messages you can illuminate to whoever is behind you, a Smiley Face, and Winking Face, ‘Thanks’, ‘Back Off’ or ‘Sorry’. It’s pretty silly, but we reckon it would help calm a lot of the over-heated nonsense that goes on out on the open road.
Features
LED Emoticon to communicate to fellow road users.
Five buttons on a mini control unit to be kept near your fingertips.
Each button corresponds to one of five messages to other drivers.
Messages include ‘Back Off’ for those riding a bit too close for comfort, ‘Thanks’ for putting a smile on the nice man who let you out’s face, ‘Sorry’ for the dodgy moves, a smiley face or a winking face so your mood at good manoeuvres and attractive passers by can be illustrated.
Sucker for attaching it to your rear windscreen.
Always drive with due care and attention to other road users as well as pedestrians.
Suitable for ages 17 years+.
Requires 4 x AA Batteries and 2 x AAA Batteries (not included).
Size: 17 x 17 x 4cm.

£24.99  $44.98  €36.99
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/travel-gadgets/led-car-sign/index.html 

I *love* camping. I get scared as hell when everyone’s asleep, it’s late at night and you have to use the bathroom but you don’t want to run down the batteries on the camping light or you’re too groggy to light the lantern. Feel great knowing you can wind up and then wind down.

Camping is a joy, camping lights however are so often not. Finding batteries in the midst of the wilds is no easy task, which is why this wind-up camp light is such a dream. Unlike so many of its predecessors, this light has an incredibly efficient winding mechanism, and as it uses LEDs, you’ll never have to change the bulbs. As well as a bright main light that casts a beautifully even glow, there are also two safety/night lights which from a full wind-up charge will glow for up to 48 hours, so you’ll always be able to find it in the dark.

The eco-friendly wind mechanism will give you thirty minutes of ambient light from just one minute’s winding, and a full ‘wind-up’ will give you four hours of light. Its table-top design is augmented by a recessed hanging loop in the base, so you can pop it on a table, or string it up on a tree, the top of your tent, whatever. As well as muscle power, it comes with a 12v in-car charger, so you give it a quick boost in the car if you’re feeling too knackered after all that trekking to crank it up. It’s a smooth wind-up light that’s built to last, and is in our opinion the perfect camping light.
Features
An eco-friendly, super reliable camp light.
5 super bright LEDs with over 50,000 hours life.
Two modes: ‘Normal’ (5 LED Lantern), ‘Nightlight’ (2 LED nightlight with amber glow).
A 1 minute wind= 30 minutes of light.
A full wind gives four hours of constant light or 48 hours on ‘Nightlight’.
Splash resistant.
Comes with an in-car charger.
Requires an internal NiMH battery (included) with a 600mA capacity giving up to 8 hours continuous light output.
Suitable for ages 12 years+.
Size: 16 x 12.5 x 12.5cm.

£19.95 $35.91 €29.53

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/travel-gadgets/wind-up-led-camp-light/index.html

My photo gallery is proof that self pics are a pain. I lack the equipment to use my digi cam and have to resort to the limited web cam. If I had one of these things I can walk up to strangers and take decent pics with them ALL THE TIME! “Hey check out person, you saved me 35 cents! Let’s take a picture!”

It’s so simple isn’t it, you see it and think, now why didn’t I think of that? Often the simplest ideas are the best, and the Quik Pod (despite the rather annoying missing “c” in Quik) is no exception.

How often have you been out and about or on holiday and wanted to get a snap of yourself? The outstretched hand approach always results in half a head and a rather startling strained expression, or god forbid there’s the excruciating advance on some stranger tactic to ask them to take your picture for you. This is of course fraught with problems, odds are they don’t speak English, they’re undoubtedly going to take a really lousy picture, and they may of course just run off with your camera.

Enter the Quik Pod. This handy telescopic monopod takes any camera or camcorder, allowing you to hold your camera at a distance so you can take a proper snap of yourself and your partner. It’s brilliant. Not only does it take a picture that doesn’t look as though you took it yourself, but you can also use it to photograph way above the heads of the crowds at gigs, film yourself as you ski, or cycle, skate or blade, or sneak your camera round corners for candid pics, the opportunities are endless. Making your You Tube masterpeice has never been easier, and the Quik Pod will make your opus considerably better than all those dark bedroomed half headed monologues out there. Packing down to the size of a saveloy (huh?), the Quik Pod is the must have camera and video accessory of the year.
Features
Extendable hand held telescopic monopod.
Gives your camera that extra distance to get better pictures of yourself and your companions.
Attaches to all cameras and camcorders weighing up to 450g with the standard tripod fitting (universal 1/4-20 screw).
A mini tripod.
A built-in self-image positioning mirror allows you to crop the image.
As it weighs just 100g it’s perfectly portable.
Easily fits in your backpack, rucksack or pocket as it’s retractable.
The Quik Pod is made of high quality polycarbonate and aluminium components for strength and durability.
The opportunities to use Quik Pod are endless:

Brilliant for holidays and travel – you can get a snap even when you ski, cycle or skate.
Use it underwater with a water – proof camera.
Reaches above the heads of the crowds and helps you sneak your camera anywhere you like for candid pictures.
Great for photo or video blogs.
Quik Pod pack includes:

Quik Pod,
Pocket Clip,
Hiking Clip,
Wrist Strap,
Sporty Style Carry Bag.
Suitable for ages 12 years+.
Size:
- Retracted length: 19 cm.
- Extended length: 47 cm.
£19.95 $35.91 €29.53

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/gadgets-gizmos/travel-gadgets/quik-pod/index.html

Space putty… because it’s space putty!!! Nuff said?

It’s squidgy, bouncy, runny and yet hard, this Space putty is an un-put-downable liquid lava goo. What once used to be silly, and occasional potty, has now become spacey. These iridescent pots of putty could not be more addictive to play with. It’s a ‘love at first squeeze’ thaing, no meeting or moment of idle thought is complete without a lump of this malleable magic stuff in your hands. You can mould it, bounce it, shatter it, stretch it, or in the case of the Iridescent Green one, even watch it change colour as you play with it. What you can’t do with it however, is put it down. You have been warned, Space Putty is highly addictive.
Features
Malleable, iridescent putty.
Totally addictive.
Available in Metallic Silver, Oil Slick, Royal Blue or Colour Changing Iridescent Green.
Suitable for ages 8 years+.
Size: 6 x 6 x 3.5cm.

£4.95    $8.91  €7.33
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/office-toys/space-putty/index.html

(the site states all US amts are approximate- don’t get mad at me if it’s wrong)

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