What will they think of next?

I wonder why they picked today to announce these new products?

This one is Amazing!

These are cool too!

I'm in love.

Baby "Tooth"

I'm a bit of a technology geek. If I could afford it I would always be the "early adopter" the electronics companies rely on to pay WAY too much for the new gadget simply so I could have it first. Luckily my tight budget does not allow me to indulge those urges and I end up being the guy who has last years technology at half the price. My two favorite magazines are WIRED and Popular Science. I devour those magazines. They are literally wet with drool when I put them down... well not literally, figuratively... but who says figuratively? Anyway, years ago I read about a new technology that would someday in the future, allow all our electronics to communicate wirelessly via a new short range communications technology that will revolutionize..." yadda, yadda, yadda. Now, of course, we know it as Bluetooth. The technology is most visible and popular thanks to those cellphone earpieces that people seem to think are jewelry. YOU ARE NOT BORG, I WILL NOT BE ASSIMILATED! My Treo has always been bluetooth capable, so I HAVE owned the technology for some time, but the thing about bluetooth is that you need more than one bluetooth enabled device in order for it to be useful. A bluetooth headset and a bluetooth phone, or a bluetooth phone and a bluetooth laptop, or just a friend with a bluetooth phone... until this weekend though my Treo was partnerless... it had no bluetooth friends. Well meet our new buddy:



It's a little D-Link USB antenna that pops into the back of my mac-mini and allows my Treo to hotsync wirelessly! It takes forever but for a cord nazi like me to be able to rid This New Condo of one more unsightly wire the wait is worth it! Now I am on the hunt for a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, two more cords GONE! Presently, this is the mess behind my computer:



Ultimately I'll have some kind of desk/mini office in my bedroom so all that will be out of my kitchen and those freakin cords will be hidden. For now though... one less cord! I'm thrilled. The downside, the USB antenna came with one of those bluetooth cellphone earpieces, maybe I have been assimilated!

In other news, This New Condo has been blogrolled! How cool is that? The very funny (and cute) owner of a crack-addict min-pin at Sorted Lives has added me to his list. I'm honored to be amongst a pretty impressive crowd! Thanks! Now I need to figure out how to make my own blogroll!

Tomorrow: Community Pride or My Condo is Better than Your Condo

...and Schnitzel with noodles...

With great deference to the Von Trapps (and Oprah), here are a few of THIS NEW CONDO's favorite things!


#1
This stuff is so cool! It’s a hard ball of detergent that smells faintly of mothballs that you wrap in a cloth sleeve and then again in a soft rubber shell. Put it in the washing machine and you leave it there... don't take it out for rinsing or spinning or anything... lasts like 40 washes. I have a front loading machine however and while the clothes and the oxy ball are tumbling around it can get a little noisy, like when you put tennis shoes in the dryer. But it's great, no powdered detergent crumbs all over and no liquid detergent goo leaking down the side of the bottle.



#2
I installed this myself (pat, pat, pat). The kit is like 30 bucks at Lowes. If you have not discovered the ease and functionality of a "pull out" drawer or trash can under or in your cabinets, you are missing out. Only problem with this one is that the only cabinet this works for me in, is not in the ideal location in the kitchen. But what it lacks in location it makes up for in awesomeness! May I also recommend getting a trash can that isn't huge. Yes, it means more trips to the garbage chute or dumpster or trash cans or wherever, but it also makes for easier transport and less stinkiness since things won't linger there for long before the can is full and has to be taken out.



#3
I've mentioned that I'm not into ticky-tacky-notchkey-stuff. I don't have a lot of things that serve as display only items. This is one exception to the rule. Nipper is (was?) the mascot/logo for RCA Records and electronics. My father worked there for a time and one of his souvenirs from that gig was this guy. Molded plastic, and clearly worse for wear, I've had him for years. Reminds me of the time I spent working in Radio.



#4
Cool coffee maker. I'm certain that the Senseo is in some way a scam. Like a fancy way to sell instant coffee or something, but it keeps in line with my no-muss lifestyle. Makes just a cup at a time (a very SMALL cup unless you use two "pods" at once). The pods can be hard to find as well... but for ease and simplicity, I love it.



#5
Speaking of "pods..." The senseo can also make darn good tea! These tea pods are awesome! I found these online. They come in all kinds of blends (I like the green). I'm not a big tea guy, but they are great and EASY to have on hand for guests, and according to my brother who lives in Japan (which makes him an authority) Green Tea will cure you of anything. I try for one cup a day.



#6 TiVo!
The greatest invention ever.


THIS NEW CONDO Also rans: Skyy vodka (just cheap enough), Mac Mini, instant flavored oatmeal, the Treo 650, Wired & Dwell & Entertainment Weekly

the toolbox

I try and keep the amount of THINGS I have to a minimum. I don't like having things for the sake of having them... not a big nick-nack-n-brick-a-brack collector. I have a couple things that would qualify as nicks or nacks, but I am well below the brick or brack level of stuff. Ironically this desire to keep it simple prevents me from buying things that would help collect some of the necessary clutter that I have accumulated. Specifically tools. I don't have a large selection of tools, two hammers, a mismatched set of screwdrivers, allen wrench set, measuring tape... you know, the basics, but it's enough that not all of it fits in my toolbox. It's a little red jobby that probably initially contained a basic starter set of tools which have since been scattered. Most of the tools I use frequently, screwdrivers, small hammer, measuring tape, ended up in the "junk drawer" in my kitchen and the rest lived in the little red toolbox that resided under my sink. All that changes today:



Little red has been replaced with big blue and for once in my life, all my tools are in one place leaving my junk drawer open for playing cards, sewing kits, thumbtacks, spare keys, a couple of lighters, a penlight, etc.

Problem I am having now is that I anthropomorphize things and it's going to be very hard to throw away little red. He really served me well. Never complained when I tried to stuff too much crap into him... even survived a fire! I think he was a gift from my Mom while I was in college. A buddy of mine has a big yard sale a couple times a year... maybe I'll hold on to little red till his next sale and pass him on.

In other news, the weather around Atlanta today is my favorite kind. Rain, at times hard rain. We even have a "severe weather" warning for later on this afternoon! Not sure why I like rainy days, just always have.

Tomorrow, the before and after pictures of my first real home improvement project which will prove the adage that it's the little things that make all the difference!