7 posts tagged “hong kong”

Link: SnapperBoatLatch

Launching a boat from a trailer can be a bit of a hassle, as someone has to wade into the water to release the latch.  The Snapper Boat Latch solves this problem by having a remote-controlled snapper.  When you're set on the boat, just press the button on the key fob and the snapper will open up releasing the boat.

Dick has had the same telephone number with Verizon since he moved to Manhattan, but recently he got "slammed".  Without his authorisation, his number got sold to XO Communications, which doesn't do residential telephone service anyway, and has apparently sold the number on to Vonage.  Dick has had to make numerous telephone calls to totally inaccessible hotlines on which you need to wait forever.  It's against FCC rules to slam a customer.  Finally after 8 days of telephone hell, Dick's Verizon service returned.

Leo is looking forward to seeing the terracotta warriors in Xian on his China Tour.  Jenny Vincin tells Dick that he need not feel left out.  He can head off to Katy, Texas, to visit the Forbidden Gardens which has 6,000 one-third size replicas of the terracotta soldiers.

In 1984, Goodway made a travel combo, an iron and hair dryer 2-in-1, which worked on both 110V and 220V.  An interesting combination, but it's no longer made, even though Goodway (from Hong Kong) continues to make steam irons and hair dryers, separately.  There is however a steam iron/steam wand combo.

Knife Sharpening Truck
In the old days, knife-sharpening trucks used to go around ringing their bells to attract the attention of households.  Recently Dick heard that familiar sound again, but within the city itself.  In 2006, the New York Times ran a story on a cutlery grinder, Mr Mike Pallotta, and in 2008, Mr Pallotta was still going strong: see Sense and the City.


Dock and Talk
Leo mentioned that 20% of households in the States do not have land lines any more, and Clifton Fowler from Florence, Arizona is one of them.  He's a truck driver, is often away, and when at home, simply uses Dock N Talk by Phone Labs, which enables him to speak on conventional home phones (corded or cordless) using the cellphone connection.

Soupy Sales
Dick and Leo talk about Soupy Sales and how he informed Leo's own sense of humour.  There's a Soupy Sales on Twitter, although no one is quite sure if Dick and Leo are not sure that's the real one.  Always irreverent, Sales once asked children to get those "funny green pieces of paper with pictures of US Presidents" and mail them to him, which got him into quite a controversy.


Gadget Repatriation
Leo is off to China soon, and Dick reckons Leo can get a whole case of Bottle Cap Tripods for $10.  Leo finds it funny that he will be repatriating a whole lot of gadgets like the iPod back to China, where they were made.  Dick doesn't travel outside the US any more.  He's done it all with Bill Gaines, including travelling to Hong Kong.

A Guest Appearance
After Amber MacArthur (Episode 77) and Henry Laporte (Episode 252), Dane Golden is the third guest to appear on the Daily Giz Wiz, playing the voice of White Fang.

Old Clothes
Dick reminds Leo to take his old clothes with him when he travels to China.  This is a reference, often made in older episodes, to Dick's old habit of travelling with his old clothes and leaving them behind at the end of the trip.  Go back to Episode 61 for Dick's first mention of this habit, which generated a lot of empathy from the audience.

It's A Brand New Generation
David Sanders from Fort Wayne complains about the decades of therapy bills he'll have to pay for his young children who, having been subjected to the Daily Giz Wiz in the car, may have been irreparably harmed.  Now, as the children get ready for school in the morning, his 5-year-old starts singing "It's a brand new day, it's a brand new week, it's a brand new Daily Giz Wiz ...", while the 8- and 10-year-old complete the jingle.  David needs a jingle eraser gadget, or else Leo should employ a younger generation of Jingle Singers.

 A suggestion from a listener Caleb Mixson.  The Intra-Oral Mini-USB Tooth Camera is shaped like a toothbrush, and when connected to a PC via USB, will power on (with 4 white LED lights to illuminate your teeth) and can take 800 x 600 pictures of your teeth.  Windows only, and no Vista support.  You can use it on your skin too!

Although the gadget is described as a wireless tooth camera on TWiT and in the MP3 Tag information, the gadget today is a wired USB tooth camera.  There are wireless tooth cameras out there, such as the Chinavasion Wireless Dental Camera, which are more expensive.

Favourite Episodes Vote Results
Results of the Favourite Episodes Vote held by Ludwik Trammer at GizWizSearch are out.  It's a tight race at the top.  Leo's hot favourites the Spork and the Toothpick Bird were narrowly edged out by Dick's UroClub.

There were exactly 666 votes.  Rumour has it that there have been unusually intense voting activities from IP addresses traceable to around Amsterdam Avenue and 83rd Street in New York City, and Petaluma in California, although at this stage the rumour cannot be verified.

Here is Ludwik's announcement:

"So ladies and gentleman - 10 favorite Daily Giz Wiz episodes of all time (from 10 to 1):

10. Cruzin' Cooler (Episode 101)
An ice chest you can ride on, with gas or electric models.

9. GFX-100 Indoor Dish Antenna (Episode 670)
From about 1990, the GFX-100 Indoor Antenna distinguished itself by its advertisement.  "No cable fees because you're not getting cable."  "No sateliite fees because you're not using satellite technolgy."  "Works indoors like ordinary rabbit ears."  "Captures signals right out of the air!"

8.  A Visit To The Gadget Warehouse (Episode 246)
A special episode on Dick's Gadget Warehouse recorded in the warehouse itself when Leo was in New York City filming Regis & Kelly.

7.  Key Buoy (Episode 149)
Dick and Leo call the Key Buoy a marvel of engineering.  If you go boating and accidentally drop your keys into the sea, the key buoy will expand and eject an upright 14" bright orange air tube above the water. The episode also includes an important health advisory.

6.  Vat19's Talking Photo Album (Episode 463)
From VAT19, this photo album holds a total of 24 4" x 6" photos and you can record a 10-second message, description or commentary for each page which can be played by pressing the "Play" button. Despite Leo's ADD condition, always trying to do ten things at a time, he seldom slips up really badly. But this time Leo just doesn't get it. One of Dick's favourite episodes.

5.  A Tribute to William M. Gaines (Episode 76)
The first DGW not to feature a gadget, this is a tribute to William M. Gaines, the founder of Mad Magazine.  Dick has created a website in his memory at www.williammgaines.com.

4.  Zelco PurseGuard Ultra (Episode 406)
The PurseGuard Ultra is an anti-theft hanger which you put near the edge of a table, from which you can hang a handbag, shoulder bag, backpack or your shopping.  It sounds an alarm if anyone tries to lift the bag off the hanger. It's not often that Leo gets a real chance to trash Dick's gadgets, and Leo isn't about to let it slip away.

3.  Titanium Spork (Episode 182)
A hot favourite, on Halloween. Dick calls it El Crappo Plus, but the audience love it, and it still gets talked about in fan emails.

2.  Toothpick Bird (Episode 282)
Exactly 100 episodes after the Spork comes another piece of crap from under Leo's desk. Leo was to have his revenge in Episode 413 when Dick gives us another bird, Squawkers McCaw.

... and the title of the favorite Daily Giz Wiz episode of all time goes to...

1.  UroClub (Episode 598)
The UroClub gives true meaning to the word "portapotty".  Made to resemble a golf club in appearance, it is a hollow tube with a cap which unscrews, to help a male golfer who can't find a restroom nearby to answer the call of nature.

Congratulations!

Ludwik"

The UroClub
As Dane Golden puts it on TWiT, "You're in the right place when you go golfing with the UroClub."  Check out Episode 598 again, and also Episode 601 for a listener's reaction while answering a different call of duty.

In celebration of the UroClub's victory, here's a new DGW Avatar:



Favourite Episodes of 2009?
Ludwik wasn't planning on having another vote for 2009, but heck, if Dick says there is one, then there will be one.  Maybe.  On every page of each episode on Ludwik's GizWizSearch, in the Episode Information section, there is a Vote, with 5 stars for rating.  Just click the number of stars you think the episode should get, and that's your vote.  You can rate as many episodes as you please.  So type in the episode number and click the stars, just for the fun of it.

GizWizSearch and InsideDGW
Dick gets the two sites a little mixed up today, about what's happening where, and who's doing what.  Who can blame him?  Leo tries desperately to put him back on track.  If you want to vote, go to GizWizSearch.  For everything else, go to GizWizSearch, too.

Third Anniversary Coming Up
DGW started on Monday 20 February 2006 with the Docupen, and the 3rd Anniversary is just around the corner.

WTHII 0901
The January '09 WTHII gadget picture was turned upside down by Dick.  Answers include a Marie Antoinette Lego head, a Halloween Frankenstein mask, and a pasta extruder,



It's the Airyusha Robotan Toilet Paper Holder.  You can read about it on The Green Head, and buy it on audiocubes.com.  As you might imagine, it's Japanese-made.




Listen to Episode 759
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page

Connect the StealthSwitch to a USB port on the computer, place it on the floor, tap it with your foot, and all your open windows disappear showing only the default Windows desktop.  Tap the foot pedal again and your applications reappear.  You can customise it by configuring which application windows(s) should remain on the screen, such as the Excel worksheet you're supposed to be working on in the office.  Use the StealthSwitch to protect your privacy, or hide your naughty goings-on.  Windows only.  Watch an animated demo of how it works.  Available at Think Geek.

The Lemonade Girl in Manhattan
While talking about Halloween in Manhattan, Leo remembers seeing a little girl selling lemonade at a street corner in Manhattan.  He was so touched that he bought some from the girl.  Before you conclude that it was very sweet of Leo to do that, listen to how Leo paid the poor girl, in Episode 121.

Mad Computers
At the Mad Office, the computers in the Art Department are all Macs, and the Editorial Department are all PCs.

Leo as Dev Null
"The Vegas Cabbie" wants to hear the full story from Leo of how Dev Null came about in the programme "The Site" on MSNBC.  Leo has done it before (Episodes 149, 187), but this is the fullest account he has given yet on DGW.  You can see a clip of Dev Null singing Happy Together, accompanied by Andy Cahan of the Turtles on the piano, in either of those old episode blog entries, at the very end of which, you can even hear Leo doing the famous NBC G-E-C chimes.

Of Mouse And Man
Dane Golden has found an old short film done by Aaron Lubarsky in 1996 about computers and technology.  It has Leo talking about the future of portable devices and entertainment networks.  His predictions were pretty good.  Leo has posted it on his blog, or watch it here.

Listen to Episode 434
Go to TWiT
Read Dick's Write-Up

Make your cup of caffeine with ground coffee, and sip it with this straw which filters out the grounds.  There's one for tea, too.

Happy Birthday!
A listener Jeremy Logan wrote in advance to ask Dick and Leo to say Happy Birthday to his girlfriend Erica for her 34th birthday on Jan 9th, 2013.  What would Dick say to that?.


Listen to Episode 341