improbable gifts

Friday Five: Good Reads

On November 29, 2013

No theme this week, just a collection of really interesting, though-provoking, and sometimes funny esays.

Neville Longbottom is the Most Important Person in Harry Potter-And Here’s Why | Tor.comNeville Longbottom is what Peter Pettigrew might have been – why that’s important to the Harry Potter arc.

via Tor

What Really Makes Katniss Stand Out? Peeta, Her Movie GirlfriendGeneral Hunger Games/Catching Fire information below; no huge surprises revealed. ] This weekend, Catching Fire, the second chapter of the Hunger Games film adaptations, raked in enormous piles of dough – with over $160 million in one weekend, it’s the biggest November opening ever. Ever. (Take that, Twilight sequels.)

via Npr

In Defense Of Sarah SilvermanVariety TV critic Brian Lowry, in a piece entitled “Sarah Silverman’s Bad Career Move: Being as Dirty as the Guys,” warns that she is “veering into bad taste territory.”

via Talkingpointsmemo

The 35 Greatest Easter Eggs From The “Doctor Who” 50th Anniversary445,582 Total Views Tagged: doctor who, day of the doctor, doctor who 50th anniversary, easter eggs, viral, win, doctor-who 4.6X Social Lift Stats 3. And here’s Coal Hill School itself, where companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright taught. Look closely… Chairman of the Governors: Ian Chesterton! And right under that it reads “W.

via Buzzfeed

25 Gifts For Writers1. Books This is about as obvious an answer as it gets (“What should I buy that starving child for Christmas?” “Um, food?” “Eh.”), but just the same I’m surprised at how rarely I receive books as g…

via Terribleminds

Four-inch computer has more ports than you’ll ever need | DVICE

By autographedcat

On November 12, 2010

In Blog

I agree with the commenter who said “I don’t know what I’d do with it, but I want one.”

It’s so *cute*!

Four-inch computer has more ports than you’ll ever need | DVICE

Small computers aren’t anything new to write about. Xi3 Corporation’s new little computer, however, is unique. It has more ports crammed into as little space as possible that we’ve seen in recent years.

For such a tiny box, it doesn’t skimp out on accessible ports. The Xi3 has six USB 2.0 ports, DVI, two eSATA ports, audio in/out, DisplayPort, ethernet and special ‘Xi3 Port.” Who else besides professionals need two eSATAs and six USB ports? There are three CPU options are available for the Xi3 — 1Ghz, 1.8Ghz and 2.2Ghz. Sorry Intel, but these dwarfs run on AMD Athlon processors.

All of this is crammed inside a small 4-inch aluminum cube. Take that Mac Mini! The interesting thing about this tiny PC is that it’s case also serves as a heatsink. Yeah, pretty cool stuff.

ThermaJock | Cold Weather Protection For Men | Polartec Protection For Runners And Endurance Athlete

By autographedcat

On November 4, 2010

In Blog

I’ve always said to myself, “Self,” I’d say. “Do you know what I really need?”

“What do you really need?”

“A mitten for my penis.”

Self think’s I’m weird. Self is probably righ

ThermaJock | Cold Weather Protection For Men | Polartec Protection For Runners And Endurance Athletes

Welcome to ThermaJock™, a patented revolutionary product specifically designed to protect the penis from cold and chafing during cold weather activities.

Our technologically advanced Polartec® Thermal Pro material helps to prevent pain and frostbite while providing comfort and warmth to every man’s most sensitive area.

ThermaJock will protect during any cold weather activity! Perform at your peak knowing ThermaJock’s got you covered!

Improbable Gifts Catalog: The Pong Watch

By autographedcat

On January 11, 2007

In Blog

Courtesy of riff_77, we have the Pong watch.

Sadly, it doesn’t appear to actually be a product so much as a proof of concept, but still, one can’t help but admire it.

By autographedcat

On October 5, 2006

In Blog

It’s been far too long since I posted a new entry in the Improbable Gifts catalog, and Christmas is coming up, and I just got this from kitanzi who got it from telynor who got it from folkmew who got it from Agnes….

The Incredible Edible…..underwear knitting project.

Just like grandma used to knit!

Improbable Gifts for the adult

By autographedcat

On November 12, 2005

In Blog

Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out

By autographedcat

On October 17, 2005

In Blog

This is positively, without a doubt, the dumbest thing I have heard since….well, it’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard today, at least.

Ananova reports that a company is developing an mp3 player which can be included in breast implants:

Computer chips that store music could soon be built into a woman’s breast implants.

One boob could hold an MP3 player and the other the person’s whole music collection.

BT futurology, who have developed the idea, say it could be available within 15 years.

BT Laboratories’ analyst Ian Pearson said flexible plastic electronics would sit inside the breast. A signal would be relayed to headphones, while the device would be controlled by Bluetooth using a panel on the wrist.

According to The Sun he said: “It is now very hard for me to thing of breast implants as just decorative. If a woman has something implant

Admittedly, there might be some useful application of this technology, as the article mentions offhandedly in its final paragraph:

The sensors around the body linked through the electrical impulses in the chips may also be able to warn wearers about heart murmurs, blood pressure increases, diabetes and breast cancer.

But seriously, consider the ramifications of this. What if it starts playing randomly during a moment-of-passion short-circuit. If you think your (ABBA|Rick Dees|Winger|Carpenters|Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony) collection is embarrassing now, just wait until it’s blaring out of your left nipple at a volume of 11.

What an amazing world we live in.

EDIT: Does this mean that in the future when you say a woman has a “nice rack”, you’ll just be talking about her stereo?

The SMS Kettle

By autographedcat

On October 11, 2005

In Blog

It must be getting time for Christmas, because the odd gift ideas are starting to pop up everywhere. PG Tips has announced the “ReadyWhenUR Kettle”, an SMS-enabled kettle you can switch on from your mobile phone.

A spokeswoman for PG told Ananova: “It could revolutionise tea-time. Now there is no excuse for not putting the kettle on.”

But why exactly you would want this function is something of a mystery to us. After all, it isn’t going to fetch your favourite mug from the cupboard, rummage around for the last teabag and combine all the relevant ingredients once the water is boiled, is it?

It’s good to know that top scientists are on top of important research and development like this. We truly live in a modern world.