I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m kind of a sucker for cool stuff. I like nifty gadgets, quirky decoration pieces, nice clothes (and shoes!), good books, and fun games.
In this series of weekly posts, I share whatever currently has my fancy. Maybe some of it will catch yours as well!
ECHO1 M134 AIRSOFT MINIGUN
Now this would make for the ultimate Airsoft battle (can anyone say real-life Juggernaut matches?):
The Echo1 M134 Airsoft Minigun is a metal, 35-pound “toy” that shoots 300 rounds per minute out of its 6 barrels at a speed of 390 feet per second. If you’re into Airsoft and have stupid amounts of money to blow, imagine the looks you’ll get bringing this monster to your next Airsoft meetup.
PADERNO VEGETABLE SLICER
The Paderno World Cuisine vegetable slicer is an easy-to-use, hand-powered tool that makes vegetable and fruit strands, spirals, and slices. Here’s how it works:
Here’s a quick rundown of its key features:
- It comes with three blades:
- A shredder blade for creating long, spaghetti-like strands
- A chipper blade for creating long, thick spiral strands
- A straight blade for creating long, ribbon-like strands
- The frame and blade plates are constructed of BPA-free plastic.
- Can be used with a variety of fruits and vegetables including apples, potatoes, carrots, cucumber, zucchini and more
- Hand operated–no batteries or AC outlet necessary
My favorite use is for creating vegetable spaghetti (zucchini works quite well)!
DOMINION
I’m not a big card game player, but I really enjoy Dominion. It’s designed for 2-4 players (but I recommend 3), and games take 30-40 minutes. The object of the game is to gather the most valuable deck of cards, winning you Victory Points. The winner is the person with the most Victory Points by the end of the game.
There are five main classes of cards, which are Victory Cards, Curse Cards, Treasure Cards, Action Cards, and Reaction Cards. Each of these cards play different and vital roles in the game.
To start, each player draws 10 cards. In the center of the table is a selection of other cards the players can “buy” as they can afford them. Through their selection of cards to buy, and how they play their hands as they draw them, the players construct their deck on the fly, striving for the most efficient path to the precious victory points by game end.
Thanks to a wide diversity of cards and effects (there are over 500 cards with 25 different Action Cards), there is plenty of room for strategy and out-thinking your opponent(s). The gameplay styles are very balanced. You can play an aggressive, attacking style wherein you strive to rob other players of Victory Points and resources, or you can play a passive, wealth-building style wherein you focus on building resources.
All in all, this is a fun, stimulating game that I enjoy playing with friends. I also recommend the expansion, Dominion Intrigue, which supports up to 8 players in a two-table game and 6 players in a one-table game, and which adds 25 new Kingdom cards, plus a new set of Treasure and Victory cards.
DOXIE GO MOBILE SCANNER
With the Doxie Go Mobile Scanner, you can easily digitize all your favorite stuff: family photos, mementos from vacations, scrapbook remnants, newspaper clippings, sketches, and anything else flat and paper-based.
This portable scanner is made to work anywhere, small enough to fit in a bag or large pocket, it features battery power and flash SD memory, so you can use it without the need for a computer.
BOOK OF THE WEEK:
WORDS THAT SELL
This is one of the best quick-reference books for copywriting that you can have on your (digital) shelf.
Unless you’re an experienced writer, you might be surprised at how big of a difference seemingly small changes in wording can make. One word changed for the better in a headline can take an ad from dud to stud. One phrase, better worded, can mean the difference between little to no response and a healthy, profitable return on investment.
Whenever I’m writing copy, I have this book at my side, and it helps me to some degree EVERY time.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK:
THE ISLAND
Despite the powerful duo of McGregor and Johansson, I started this movie with low–okay, really low–expectations (the key to movie watching?). I mean, it’s a Michael Bay film… But I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, this might just be Bay’s best work yet.
Instead of a mindless repetition of explosions and chase sequences, The Island is a thought-provoking story of the costs of Utopia and conflict of morality vs. self-interest. In it we can see various facets of our own society and ponder serious issues that face us today, like how far we should trust institutions and at which point secrecy becomes harmful to the public good.
Oh and it is a Bay film, so it does have plenty of action as well. 🙂
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