After a solid week of rain in Middle Tennessee, the graves must have opened, as the undead arose to walk the streets of downtown Nashville. Tourists and natives called it the Nashville Zombie Walk of 2009.

The flesh-eating mutants zombies staggered in from all directions, via train, plane and automobile.

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Oh the joy of acquiring a new iPhone – it’s shiny, sexy, has tons of apps and full of user interface goodness until the unthinkable happens:

It is that precise moment with joy turns into sorrow, followed by denial, anger, rage, resentment, depression and reality that $99, $199, or $299 just left your bank account.

There is a case for those moments when the law of gravitational pull yanks the shiniest gadget (the iPhone) out of one’s hands. I am talking about the OtterBox Defender case for the iPhone.

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Ten years ago, I acquired two 55-gallon plastic drums to store an emergency supply of water for the impending Y2K disaster occurring at the stroke of midnight 2000. Of course, I became suspicious when the plane I was flying on did not fall out of the sky on 9/9/99 and my trusty Honda still ran like a charm well past January 1, 2000.

Being the positive person that I am, I was grateful to acquire several storage containers of personal hygiene items, first aid supplies and all kinds of camping paraphenia that I still use. So what if Y2K was the biggest con ever-perpetuated on mankind? I have all kinds of emergency supplies on hand, plus two 55-gallon plastic barrels!

As an avid vegetable and flower gardener, I’ve been hearing about the importance of using a system of collecting rainwater runoff from roofs. The benefits are having a mindset of being eco-friendly, lowering water bills by recycling rainwater, and having a ready source of water for garden use. There are a number of rainwater collectors available for sale using a large size capacity barrel and facets. After ten years of having these barrels, I decided to build one!

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It’s that time of the year again when work demands or vacation dreams come to fruition. (Yes, “vacation” is a real word – look it up in the dictionary!)

For the GearDiary team members, corporate types, gadget enthusiasts and travel buffs, the challenge becomes what to take on the road versus a daily commute to the office? First of all, I’m happy if I can remember to leave the house every morning to go to a job that I absolutely love without scrambling to find the following items: wallet, ID badge, Blackberry, iPhone, keys, Dell laptop for work, glasses and business card case. Optional items include a small point and shoot Kodak camera and iPod.

(a) For weekend or after work geek gatherings, I may carry these items:

The photo above is an old one, as the MacBook has been replaced by a MacBook Air and the Samsung Blackjack has been replaced by a iPhone.

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Definition of a egotist:  a person more interested in himself than in me. – Ambrose Pierce

Ok, if you are one of the cool kids than obviously you know about Twitter.

“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”

Just because Twitter is a great way to keep up with friends that we really want to friend, doesn’t mean that others are that into you. In our attempts to be socially conscious with our social networks… some (and it could be YOU) are just Tweeting too Hard.

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Oh mom, you’re such an unbelievably special woman! We love you for your patience, your unconditional love, and the way that you always made us feel like we are your favorite. You were the only one who didn’t roll your eyes when we told you what we wanted to be when we grew up – in fact you encouraged us to dream! We declared that we wanted to be doctors, lawyers, scientists, Alaskan Crab fishermen  – and all of the other professions showcased on the Discovery Channel – and you said we could, because you believed we could be anything!

It’s only fair that on Mother’s Day we showcase some really awesome gear that we don’t think you’d want to live without, because we understand that you can’t always think of gift suggestions when we’re pressuring you about what you really want.

We know that you have certain expectations, and we understand that they don’t include flowers, chocolates, or small home appliances. Ans it’s okay mom, we’ve got you covered…!

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One of the neat things about Gear Diary is that Judie has gathered a collection of writers who use a wide range of devices. While we all share a passion for gadgetry, the way we express that passion is quite different from one GD’er to the next.

As I was working on a review of my new LiveScribe pen earlier today I wrote the sentence

“With the exception of my various Apple devices this is by far my favorite gadget purchase in a long, long while…”

It got me wondering what device (that is CURRENTLY IN OUR POSSESSION) we are each most excited about. I’ve always loved Mad-Libs and so I sent the following to everyone and asked them to fill it in.

My favorite current gadget is ______. I’ve had it for _____ and love it because it ____ and ______. It is definitely something I would purchase again in _________.

The result… the first “Gear Diary Gear-Libs”.
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One of the items taken for granted on a office desk is the manual stapler. Besides the pencil cup, ruler, paper clips and a tape dispenser, the manual stapler is a necessity for clerical workers to keep important papers organized.

With the advances in in-office printing equipment, from fax machines and mimeograph machines to multicopy printing of 100 copies plus demand more stapling. 

Medical research indicate repetive motion of fastening multiple copies, particularly in large businesses producing TPS reports can actually be hazardous with low morale, stress disorders and anger management. Fortunately, there is a solution at hand.

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Are you tired of using the heavy brick type phones? While useful to those who can afford them – such as executives on the go, Motorola has taken the promise of cell phone technology to consumers in rural localities. Ideal for ranchers, truckers and others outside of major cities, the promise of affordability and portability in the eighties has finally arrived in 1992. The Motorola Bag Phone 2900 Gold Series is targeting to a large consumer base – mainly sales persons – accustomed to office phones and pay phones.

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When I’m barreling down the highway meeting and greeting folks, it can be a challenge (but NOT always safe) to call whoever is deserving of a return call at that moment. I have an iPhone that allows my fingers to flip through the spinning wheel of contacts, but dialing and driving are frowned upon. Some places even have laws against such behavior.

The other time tested alternative is to wear a Bluetooth earpiece. I have a favorite reviewed here, but in some places there are fashion laws displaying such behavior. 

So what’s a road warrior to do? Kensington has introduced a Hands-Free Visor Car Kit for iPhone and Bluetooth phones that surprisingly fits the bill for those wanting to drive safely and enjoy quality chatter time.

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[Note: This is a joint review by Doug Goldring, Judie Lipsett, Dan Cohen, and Kerry Woo.  It is being simultaneously posted on Just Another Mobile Monday and Gear Diary. If you haven't already, then take a look at Doug's The Kindle 2: First Look and Unboxing and Judie's Unboxing the Amazon Kindle 2.]

Doug: One thing about sites like Gear Diary and Just Another Mobile Monday, we love our gadgets (I know, shocking!) We love playing with them almost as much as we love writing and telling you about them.  Rarely does a week go by when one of us doesn’t have something new and exciting.  Sometimes we purchase these devices just like anyone else, other times we are lucky enough to get the device loaned or sent to us for review.  Rarely has a device created as much buzz, however, as the Kindle 2.  Whether you love it or hate it, it has everyone around here talking. Not just one, but four of us waited impatiently for delivery of our Kindle 2’s.  So, now here we sit – Dan, Judie, Kerry and myself – each of us has used a variety of eBook readers in the past, whether it be a program on Windows Mobile or the iPhone; the Kindle Classic (like Wayne Schultz uses); Tapwave Zodiac and/or Palm OS based devices such as the Treo 650 or the Sony Reader.  With all of this eBook reading experience behind us (not to mention years of reading actual books), we all agreed that the Kindle 2 is the best eBook reader any of us have used.  So, it should come as no surprise that we will all be keeping this awesome gadget.

Here’s why…

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With a plethora of media and Internet services demanding our attention, whether via mobile devices, computers or televisions, Samsung and Yahoo! may have created the solution for blending a rich media and interactive experience on one convenient viewing platform.

 At CES 2009, Samsung and Yahoo! have announced a new Internet-based service - Internet@TV – Content Service - that 
will be available this spring of 2009. The Yahoo! Widget Engine on certain models of new Samsung flat-panel HDTVs promises to “Open a Whole New World of TV Interactivity for Consumers.“

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Any sports fan worth his or her salt is not immune to some good old fashioned smack talk, especially if that person is a sore winner or worse, a Dallas Cowboys or Pittsburgh Steelers fan ;-D. To add over the top flavor to your booya! drama to your sporting event of choice (just in time for the SuperBowl) is the Versus Scoreboard.

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The Gear Diary Team is as opinionated and diverse as any I have worked with over the years, both in real life and on the Internet.  So we had to have a discussion on what we each thought were the best gadgets of 2008…

Joel McLaughlin

1. Neuros Link – Soon to be the mother of all set top boxes. With all the support it’s adding, it’s a matter of time where you can get rid of
your cable box.

2. T-Mobile G1 – The birth of a new phone platform. So far, it holds a lot of promise and is starting to deliver on those too.

3. Netflix Player by Roku – Now you can do the one DVD at a time plan and watch all the back catalog with this cheap little box. Continue Reading

Just in time for Santa’s big night, the Gear Diary team has gotten together and shared our favorite Holiday Music Favorites.  Just so we don’t leave anyone out, this is for all winter holidays the team celebrates, which includes Hanukkah.

The list is after the jump!

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