The year 2009 isn’t even one quarter of the way over and I’ve already found my most useless gadget of the year award recipient. It’s an enormously huge MP3 dock whose primary selling point is to allow you to insert your own tiny iPod into a docking station and create an MP3 player with speakers/radio/CD that takes up half your house. Don’t most people use MP3 players so they can get RID of CD and Radio? Seriously, whose paying $799.90 (reduced) for a big honking MP3 dock like this? Kudos to BJ’s Wholesale for using the words “full size” in their product description.

Crosley CR12-2 (also sold at Amazon)

If you’re a Twitter user (view this 2:25 video for the best explanation of what Twitter is) and also have a BlackBerry then you may be wondering what the best Twitter client on the ‘Berry is? This is a question I see over an over and I found a good article on CrackBerry that gives links to all the top BlackBerry Twitter clients. I’m partial to Socialscope which I find has the most readable screen and also integrates Facebook status messages. If you’re into Twitter and have a BlackBerry – check out the article in the link below. And while you’re at it – post up your Twitter user name in the comments so we can all get to know each other.

Best Twitter Client for BlackBerry

I just spotted this Apple 1TB Time Capsule wireless router and 1 TB storage disk marked down from the normal $499 to $387.92 on Amazon (free shipping for Amazon Prime members). Several people have suggested Apple calls this 1TB product a “Time Capsule” because the pricing takes you back to the days when a 1TB hard disk actually cost this much. Still, it’s a convenient (if somewhat pricey) way to connect your MacBook Pro to both Wi-Fi and 1TB of storage.

Apple Time Capsule 1TB – $387.92

According to astronomer Lyman Spitzer’s 1946 paper “Astronomical advantages of an extraterrestrial observatory”, there were two main advantages that a space-based observatory would have over ground-based telescopes. The first advantage was that “the angular resolution (smallest separation at which objects can be clearly distinguished) would be limited only by diffraction, rather than by the turbulence in the atmosphere, which causes stars to twinkle and is known to astronomers as seeing.” The second advantage was that “a space-based telescope could observe infrared and ultraviolet light, which are strongly absorbed by the atmosphere.”

The United Kingdom launched the first orbiting solar telescope in 1962, and in 1968 NASA was firming up plans to launch their own by 1979. Due to funding cuts and red tape, it wasn’t until 1978 when congress finally approved $36,000,000 to fund a space telescope, which was ultimately named after Edwin Hubble, an astronomer “who made one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century when he discovered that the universe was expanding.”

The Hubble Space Telescope was finally set to launch in October 1986, but due to the Challenger disaster earlier that year, all launches were ceased. Space shuttle flights resumed again in 1988, and on April 24, 1990, “shuttle mission STS-31 saw Discovery launch the telescope successfully into its planned orbit.”

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle Discovery in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble. Although not the first space telescope, the Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well-known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for astronomy. The HST is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency, and is one of NASA’s Great Observatories, along with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. [source]

According to Wikipedia, since its launch the Hubble Space Telescope has managed to return images of galaxies billions of light years away. So then consider this: that would mean that the light from some of these distant objects may have been traveling for longer than the earth has been in existence – which is a concept that I find completely mind boggling.

If you ever needed a reminder that our earth was just a tiny part of something much bigger, these Hubble images should do the trick…

This “ribbon” is actually a thin “section of a supernova remnant caused by a stellar explosion that occurred more than 1,000 years ago.”

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Like Judie, I unboxed my Kindle VERY carefully. The Kindle wasn’t inexpensive, and having read Rob Bushway’s tale of woe, I didn’t want a repeat. So… while I had not initially bought a case for my Kindle (hello Amazon, talk about cheap! Include SOMETHING case-wise for crying out loud), I did order the standard case as quickly as possible.

The Kindle came Wednesday and the case arrived yesterday. It is sweet!

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Modern offices can be a jungle. If the lunchroom thief doesn’t get your Turkey Sandwich you’re probably on guard against those coffee mug thieves! If your office is like ours (where you have one clean coffee mug and 5 un-sanitary ones) – then clean mugs are at a premium. Unfortunately those nice mugs also seem to be the quickest to disappear. Now here’s a way you can combat the mug thieves. Meet the Plug Mug. It’s a coffee mug with a plug that (when inserted) stops coffee from coming out the side. To keep co-workers from stealing your Plug Mug – simply hide the plug in your desk. Of course you can claim innocence when your boss stumbles in all bleary eyed and the mug of coffee empties all over his shirt.

Plug Mug

I was starting to feel like I was one of the last people to get theirs, especially after enviously reading Dan’s emails and Doug’s post about their Kindle 2s, but today my Amazon Kindle 2 finally showed up.

I also got the Cole Haan Brown pebbly leather cover to go with it, since Amazon neglected to include even a cheap plastic one.

The big box is the leather cover, and the smaller box is the Kindle 2; go figure.

I opened everything with an expectant, yet slightly wary eye; I had dropped serious coin on this gear, and if it wasn’t going to meet my expectations, then it needed to go right back.

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The Proporta Panther pack has just about one of everything that today’s modern road warrior might need to keep them charged up while stuck on a long car trip. There’s a dual USB car charger, 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm male on male stereo cable as well as a magnetic dashboard mount. All of this is packaged in a handy zip case that prevents the contents from becoming wedged under your seat. PS – Why car manufacturer’s don’t give up the cigarette lighter and go purely USB , I’ll never know. But hey, the automakers seem to know what they’re doing so why argue with their success!

Proporta

The 2009 XF from Jaguar – the new midsize luxury sedan-in-coupe-clothing that replaced both S- and X-type models last year – quickly became one of my favorite new cars, and my recent test of the supercharged version of the new cat only solidifies my stance.

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According to a story on Yahoo News, the T-Mobile Sidekick might just be the most stolen phone in all of the country for 2008. The phone is very popular among younger kids who enjoy the full keyboard for text messaging and the flip up screen for web browsing. Police in Boston report more than 300 Sidekicks were stolen in 2008, which accounted for 14 percent of all robberies in their city. New York City saw a similar surge with Sidekick related robberies jumping 59% last year as well. Even though the Sidekick is available for as little as -$50 after rebate – people are stealing them because they operate on a removable SIM card and can easily be resold or swapped onto another GSM account with little threat of detection.

Yahoo Tech

If you have daily squabbles at your house over whose turn it is on the computer, then you will want to pay close attention to this post from Paul at Technabob. What a fantastic deal; but hurry – it is only good today!

Dell is offering a one-day only deal for the base model of their highly-rated Inspiron Mini 9 netbook computer for just $199 bucks! The Mini 9 runs on Ubuntu Linux and features a crisp 1024 x 600 resolution 8.9″ color LCD screen, wireless connectivity, an ample Intel Atom N270 processor, and a 4GB solid state drive (plenty for surfing the web, checking e-mail, office apps).

The special deal is good from 12:00am to 11:59pm Central Time, today, 2/27/2009. To get the $199 deal, follow this link to the Dell Home site .

If you need more information about the Mini 9, then take a look at Mitchell’s review.

Interested in doing your part to improve the environment. Who’s with me on switching to reusable toilet paper? Cloth toilet paper is not much different from the concept of re-usable diapers. It’s more economical, uses less paper and — no more late night trips to the store when you run out of paper! Biggest downside? Who wants to wash this in their washing machine?

Soft Cloth Toilet Wipes Details:

* Two-layer construction for soft strength.
* Basic wipes are one layer of soft flannel and one layer of knit terry.
* Premium wipes are one layer of soft flannel and one layer of super soft velour.
* Hemp wipes are two layers of hemp French terry with one smooth side and one loopy side.
* Sherpa wipes are two layers of soft cotton sherpa (cotton fleece).
* Edges finished with a nylon thread.
* Photos show a sample of the the types of designs that may be included with each package – fabrics will vary.

WallyPop

For the last week I’ve been reading about a new address book exchange service called Dub. It seems that web sites are ripping the press release almost verbatim and pronouncing this service “cool”. I guess most of the folks writing about the service don’t work for a living where they have to exchange contact information with business people (and not early adopting blogger friends).

I just don’t get yet another address book synchronization tool that seems to do less than what Plaxo does, asks me to upload my entire contact list and sends me a link to download a 1.3 MEGABYTE BlackBerry application to keep things in sync. What am I missing here? Continue Reading

There’s word that NTT DoCoMo, one of Japan’s biggest mobile phone operators, has pulled all sales of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Bold due to potential overheating problems. It looks like the issue concerns rapid temperature gains while the phone is plugged in and re-charging. So far according to news reports the carrier reports selling about 4,000 Bolds. Customers are complaining the keyboard area has heated up though there are no reports of open flames being spotted.

According to reports, RIM has ruled out a battery problem but seems otherwise puzzled. I’ve only had one or two instances of my Bold heating up and both times I chalked it up to a rogue application that continued running in the background. My symptoms included heat as well as rapid battery drain.

Reuters

Several BlackBerry Storm owners on Howardforums are reporting that they’ve recently received a text message from Verizon offering a free BlackBerry of their choosing provided that they open another line of service on their account. This promotion is apparently some type of subset of the “buy one get one free” offer that Verizon has been running. Under this new promotion even users who bought their BlackBerry Storm on launch day are receiving the offers:

VZW Free Msg. As a loyal VZW customer & BlackBerry Storm owner, you’re eligible for another BlackBerry of ur choice FREE when you add a line to your account w/2 year agreement on an email plan! To take advantage of this limited offer, call 800.483.3266 today! Offer ends 3/31/09. Valid for this MTN only. 2 opt out reply X.

The added BlackBerry isn’t exactly free because you’re forced into a $30/month data plan and additional fees for voice on either a standalone or family plan. Still, this may be worth looking into if you’re enjoying the Storm and want to spread the BlackBerry love within your family.

HOFO