7 posts tagged “thermometer”

The TemporalScanner from Exergen is a thermometer that measures the arterial temperature, giving you a more accurate reading of your body temperature.  Just stroke the device across the forehead and it will give you a reading of the temperature of the temporal artery.

Scary Christmas Movies
Lil Banchik, aka DrMom on TWiT Army, has fond memories of Polaroid Instant Slides (Episode 730), and reminds us all of the scary Christmas movie Black Christmas.


DGW Favourite Episodes
In Episode 679, a listener asked Dick and Leo if they have their favourite 20 episodes.  They have since talked about it a couple of times.  Now Ludwik Trammer has set up a vote on his website, for listeners to vote their own favourite episodes of the Daily Giz Wiz.  Go to http://www.gizwizsearch.com/vote/ to vote for your favourite episodes.

Ludwik has asked me to make some suggestions, to get listeners started.  It wasn't an easy exercise, but I've picked 30 episodes.  Some of them are important milestones of DGW, some of them are funny, but all of them I hope remind you of what's been happening since the start of the Daily Giz Wiz (which relatively new listeners may also find useful).  Here is a quick summary of the "nominations" - but you absolutely are not limited to them:

Episode 61 Pack-Flat Back-Up Bag: Dick talks about how he disposes of his old clothes, which generates a lot of empathetic emails from fellow listeners.

Episode 76 A Tribute to William M Gaines: Dick has often talked about Mad and in particular entertaining stories about Bill Gaines.  Here on the anniversary of Bill Gaines's death, Dick gives us some heart-warming stories about Bill Gaines.

 

Episode 95 Franklin Rex: After winning the Podcast Alley vote, Leo says "We were Number 1 on Podcast [Alley].  That's all we care about.  So now, the rest is gravy.  It makes its own gravy, this podcast."  A non-sequitur which is to become the slogan of DGW.

Episode 97 The Flag Waver:  Dick is a true eccentric, and his way of watching the 4^th of July fireworks is further evidence of this.

 

Episode 99 Oakley O Rokr:  Before this episode, Dick has been saying "I'll be here" on and off, at the end of the shows.  But it is not until this episode, after listeners write in about it, that Dick realises it, and ever since then, it's become Dick's official tag line.

 

Episode 101 Cruzin' Cooler: Dick has always prided himself on showing us wacky gadgets.  This is one of the earlier classic ones.

 

Episode 115 SunSquirt:  We are now all very familiar with Dan Lueders and his prolific output of themes and jingles for DGW.  When Leo invited submissions of a gravy jingle for DGW, Dan was one of the participants.  At the end of this episode, Dick mentioned Dan's submission which he thought had been played the day before (or was going to be played), but it never appeared on air.  The submission was "lost" until it reapearaed in Episode 313.  It was also to become the basis of Dan's Disclaimer Theme.

 

Episode 118 Energizer Quick Switch Flashlight:  Paul's Closing Theme started appearing in downloads from Episode 116 onwards, but it was in Episode 118 that it was first officially aired.  A milestone in DGW history, the first of many jingles to come.

 

Episode 137 Altec Lansing FX6021:  After Dick and Leo started reading a letter each day, Leo got the idea that they should have a Letters Jingle.  This is where Leo invited submissions.  It also had a letter from Seth, a sweet story of how he was "saved" on the road by simply listening to DGW.

 

Episode 138 Radar Golf: Another wacky gadget, with a touch of the risque.

 

Episode 145 Dejaview:  Leo will probably hate me for this, but Leo was on good form, getting a little wild maybe, but please don't tell the sponsors.

 

Episode 149 Key Buoy:  Another classic, with an important health advisory.

 

Episode 151 Gorillapod:  An off-beat choice perhaps, but despite its ear-jarring tendency, this early Finnish letters jingle submission was actually missed after it was discontinued - which generated a search , during which Dan Lueders's earlier gravy jingle submission was retrieved.

 

Episode 169 Garmin Forerunner 305:  A listener makes a suggestion for the Halloween show, but Dick says, "We don't have time."  Leo makes good fun of it.  As it turned out, the Halloween show for that year was to become another classic.

 

Episode 173 Plantronics Discovery 655:  Leo loves doing his phoney accents, and the Scottish one is one of his favourites.  Here he gives a Scottish rendition of the Letters Jingle.

 

Episode 182 The Titanium Spork:  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.

 

Episode 188 Kingston K-PEX 100:  A listener bust a gut listening to DGW.  Proof positive that DGW is not good for your health.

 

Episode 208 Viewsonic ViewDock Monitor:  George Wood's original Letters Jingle was a favourite for many listeners, but this Festive Letters Jingle was an instant hit, and every year it gets played earlier and earlier.  Somehow it seems to embody all the cheers, joy and anticipation that is the Daily Giz Wiz itself.

 

Episode 246 A Visit To The Gadget Warehouse:  Right from the very first Warehouse Friday (Episode 5), Dick described what the real Gadget Warehouse was like, but many listeners still thought that it was just a piece of imaginatiion.  In this episode, Leo took some time off while filming Regis and Kelly in New York, to visit Dick in his warehouse.  A real treasure trove.

 

Episode 253 Databreaker:  In the early days, Dick and Leo used to joke about the lack of sponsors, and beg for sponsorship.  Here is the start of one of their most spectacular attempts, and failures, with To[s]tino.  Dick and Leo should count themselves lucky - see Episode 443.

 

Episode 282 Toothpick Bird:  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.

 

Episode 291 The Smart Cab:  Listener Shane has a risky plot for his marriage proposal to his then pish-posh girlfriend.  Will it work?  Follow the story in Episodes 299 and 312.

 

Episode 364 HP Photosmart R937 Pet Eye Camera:  The beginning of a lovely relationship between the Daily Giz Wiz and a computer wiz from Poland, Ludwik Trammer, of GizWizSearch, who Dick thought for a very long time was 15 years old.  As far as I know, Ludwik is now 22, going on 23?  Still eligible.

 

Episode 391 Bedfan:  Another of the nonsense pieces from Dick and Leo gives us another slogan, "The worse your life is, the better we sound."

 

Episode 406 Purseguard Ultra:  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.

 

Episode 463 Talking Photo Album:  Despite Leo's ADD condition and 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.

 

Episode 528 Fred's 500XL Desktop Earbuds Speakers:  The gadget itself is wacky enough, but perhaps this show is more noteworthy for the first appearance of an official DGW theme from Dan Lueders - Theme Free Wednesday.

 

Episode 552 Canon VIXIA HV30:  A good example of how enthusiastic listeners' response can be.  Someone challenged the claim by the makers of the 500XL Desktop Earbuds Speakers (500 times the size of the iPod earbuds).  Another reminisced about the metal plate that thawed frozen foods but couldn't remember the name.- the Miracle Thaw.  Floods of emails in response.

 

Episode 598 Uroclub:  The wacky companion to Radar Golf.

 

Episode 670 GFX-100 Indoor Antenna:  Dick has mentioned a few scams, but the cleverly crafted and almost completely truthful promotional material of this Indoor Antenna was a wonder.  Other listeners may "prefer" other dodgy gadgets, and the Electron Echo Mini Piano (Episode 465) seems to have generated more searches on Ludwik's website, and more comments and enquiries on mine, than any other.

 

Enjoy your vote.  If you have a favourite episode but can't remember the episode number, try searching on GizWizSearch, or send me an email to insidedgw@gmail.com, and'll try to help.  Have fun.


Listen to Episode 733
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Made by Eagle Creek and available at Magellan's, the Multi-Function Travel Clock tells the times of 16 cities around the world, is an alarm clock (with snooze function), calculator, currency converter, and even tells the temperature.

Brand New Monday Jingle
It's a brand new week and a brand new day and a brand new Monday Jingle, from Dan Lueders again, which has incorporated Leo's Monday ditty, their occasional slogan "The worse your life is, the better we sound" and even the Gravy Slogan.

Rock My Teeth
Patrick Warn from Georgia, Vermont writes about Rock My Teeth - a musical tooth-whitening system.  Attach the whitening kit to your iPod and the music, Professor Bocelli claims, helps line up the peroxide molecules to make it easier for them to penetrate through the enamel into the dentin to whiten the teeth.  Watch the video here.  Dick thinks the HydraBrush (Episodes 226, 480) - though Dick thinks it's called Turbo Brush - makes a lot more sense.

Cotati Accordion Festival
Dick is joing Leo at TWiTLive on Friday 20 June 2008, and Dick has had difficulty getting a room at the local hotels, because that weekend is the Cotati Accordion Festival.  Dick manages to book himself a 2-night package at the Metro Cafe and Hotel, one of Leo's favourites.  Kim from Wild Planet is going to demonstrate their Christmas toys and she'll come dressed as an elf.


Listen to Episode 566
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Dick hasn't done a Magellan's gadget for a while, and this time, the travel accessories specialist is offering the Seiko Global Atomic Travel Alarm Clock.  It distinguishes itself from previous atomic clocks (which are usually tied to a local transmitter) by synchronising itself with radio signals from time transmitters in various continents where they are available, and automatically adjusts the time to the correct time zone, which makes setting your alarm much less cumbersome while travelling.  Where atomic time transmitters are not available, it works just like any other quartz clock.

You can also choose to de-activate the reception of radio signals, or set the time zone manually.

At the base are a set of blue LED lights, which light up automatically when you pick up the clock, acting as an LED flashlight.  A control switch allows you to keep the flashlight at always on, always off, or auto.  The clock also displays the date, day of the week, and even temperature.  5-minute snooze function.  Operates on 4 AAA batteries.

Back from Australia
This is the first episode of DGW recorded after Leo's return from Tasmania, where he took 3,600 photos (but still well behind photographer Peter Krogh who took 12,000), picked up some fair dinkum Ozzie slang, and spent a few roos (better known as the Australian Dollar).  He along with some photographers on the trip found the Lowepro Slingshots (Episode 547) very handy.

Surprise Visit
Optometrist Dr. Mark Sukoenig, one of a handful of DGW listeners, was in town for an ophthalmologists' conference and paid a surprise visit to Dick's office.  He tried again to correct Dick and Leo's pronunication of his name, after his previous attempt in Episode 354.  Dick thinks it sounds something like Mark Forrester.  For Dr. Mark's previous contributions, see Episodes 280, 342, 354.

The Internet Weather Toaster
Kevin Selle from Dallas, Texas tells Leo that his idea in Episode 546 for the ultimate toaster was great, only 7 years late.  Back in 2001, Robin Southgate, a student from Brunel University, invented the Internet Toaster which dialed up every morning for the weather forecast and printed out the weather icon on the toast.  It made its appearance at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco.  Read the article on The Register.



Listen to Episode 551
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The 2nd generation of WowWee's Robosapien.  V2 has articulated arms, shoulders, hands and feet, with infrared vision sensor, colour camera sensor, grip sensor and sonic sensor.  He can speak, dance, bowl, track objects and scare Dick's dog.


Japanese Robotics
Leo has just done an interview with a professor at CALIT2 (California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology), Dr Larry Smarr, who says Japan is way ahead of the US in robotics, and the Japanese are far more comfortable with the idea of robots.  That interview appears in Episode 15 of Futures In Biotech: The SuperNet.

$100 Ads
Leo is backtracking on the $100 ads on DGW (Episode 259).  He wants more.

A Cue for the Letters Jingle
Ken from Denver is sometimes taken aback by the Letters Jingle's sudden entry and thinks that it needs a cue, and suggests a jingle to introduce the Letters Jingle.  "Here comes the jingle, the lovely jingle, here comes the letters jingle now."

Mad Minutes
Leo is still sorting out the Mad Minutes and is not yet happy with the sound quality.  Leo thinks the problem may lie with the plusdeck2c (Episode 127).  Dick suggests that Leo should have the plusdeck2c plugged in.


Listen to Episode 266
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Dick's Gadget Warehouse

Gadgets one can't do without
Fred Gruhn from Kansas City wrote in about the Roomba Discovery Vacuuming Robot which he cannot do without.

Listen to Episode 165
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