This morning, I stopped by the 7-Eleven for coffee with Michele and saw something new.

Yes, it’s a Snickers bar with caffiene and taurine. Of course I picked a couple up for Cruft Labs.
Previously, I’ve discussed Buzz Bites, but Snickers is a mainstream brand. Mars Company is seriously testing the waters here with caffeinated food.
I love the icon of a charging rhino on the package!

Included with the Snickers bar are the following stimulants:
60 mg caffiene – equivalent to to a can of Mountain Dew
250 mg taurine – 1/4 of the taurine in a can of Red Bull
0.2 mg vitamin B6 – 10% of the RDA
0.6 μg vitamin B12 – 10% of the RDA

I was hoping for something cool on the outside of the Snickers, like a rhino or something, but it just looked like a Snickers bar.

The inside of the Snickers Charged looks pretty much exactly like a regular Snickers bar. Some kind of color or sparkle would have been neat. The Shrek version was at least green…
It tasted exactly like a Snickers. I couldn’t detect any of the metallic caffeine taste that I’ve sometime found in other caffeinated foods. If I didn’t know, I would have thought it was just a plain Snickers bar.
The idea is interesting at least. With the candy costing less than a buck, it’s a cheaper caffeine fix than coffee, soda, or an energy drink. In the afternoon, the caffeine might actually ward of the sugar crash of the 25 grams of sugar you just ate.

Portal is a new game that is part of Valve’s Orange Box release. Orange Box includes some great games, including Half-life 2, Episodes 1 & 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. I think Half-Life 2 is OK, but not my cup of tea.
Team Fortress 2 is fantastic, adn I have spent many hours playing since it’s release. Absolutely great stuff that breaks the FPS out of the traditional military look. But the real gem is Portal.
Portal a whole new kind of game. Based on the idea that you can create portals between two locations that not allow you to pass yourself and object through, but that momentum passes through as well. Doesn’t make sense? Watch the trailer here.
Fun gameplay with no killing. Old FPS skillz don’t apply in this game that is more about planning and less about twitch. The gameplay requires lateral and innovative thinking to succeed. It’s a complex puzzle game, but truly addicting. I finished the campaign game in two sittings, but some finish it in a single 4-5 hour sitting.
There are more challenging levels after completing the campaign and I’m sure the mod community will be coming up with many great levels to try.
Portal (and Steam, the Valve game delivery system) are PC only. But Mac People, that is the reason Steve has bestowed you with Boot Camp. Between Portal and Team Fortress 2, you won’t be disappointed.
Possibly the best part of the game is the humor of the voice that guides you along the way. By the end of the game, I was pausing just to hear all the talk. And the final song by Jonathan Coulton is hilarious.
Of course, item #1 on my Christmas wish list will be a plush Weight Companion Cube…
Finally, a good use for facebook:

If you are exposed to children’s television, then you are undoubtedly aware of Aqua Dots. Aqua Dots are a heavily promoted product on TV that promises creativity with little mess.
For parents that already have Perler Beads, the allure of not having to use a iron to finish artwork is great. We have many melted bead art pieces in the house, but the complication of involving a parent with a hot iron makes it not the best solution for encouraging creativity.
I ordered the Aqua Dots Super Studio at the end of June and it arrived last week. Yes, it took more than TWO MONTHS for the order to arrive. It missed my daughter’s birthday by seven weeks, but it finally did arrive to much hoots of excitement from the girls.

The unit itself is fairly nice. The girls put it together with no adult help. It needs a couple AA batteries to run.

At the top of the ‘studio’ you load the actual Aqua Dots into the rotating dot holder. The button on the right turns on the motor that powers the fan. The fan is use for pushing dots down the tube and also drying completed work. The button on the left lets the dots drop into the tube for use.

The beauty of the system is the way the dots are placed. When the dots are dropped into the tube, the air blows them down the tube. The button release on the wand let’s you place the dot exactly where you want it with good control. I was impressed how well it worked for a simple system. Again, this all was simple for the kids to grasp and operate without parents.
The placement grid is essential for holding the dots in place at the right spacing. The grid slides back and forth to work on the dots, then slide them under the fan for drying later.

The key ingredient to success here is the small spray bottle of water with the Aqua Dots sticker on it. The balls themselves come in small packages and have are coated in a small layer of glue. When you have made your artwork, you simply spray it with the water and in a few minutes the glue dries and the artwork is held together.

Success is straightforward for children. The methods and instructions are clear and easy. My daughter printed out her own design, slid the graphic under the placement grid and made her own design easily.
Overall I think the Aqua Dots is a good toy for children. It’s easy to use and can be expanded upon to made three dimensional shapes as well. The main drawback in the long shipping time. Also, we can see the end of the dot supply and will have to buy more. From what I can tell, I can get the refills at Amazon or Toys’r’us.
If you want Aqua Dots for your kids for Christmas, I suggest your order now.

Update:

Aqua Dots have been recalled due to concerns about children eating them.

I’ve been a fan of the people at Everyday Innovation since I got my hands on a PicoPad several years ago.
Recently, I saw that they now make something called a Booksling. As someone that uses a Moleskine notebook at the office daily, I was intrigued. I like to write with a pencil and always have a hard time carrying it with the Moleskine. The Booksling looked to solve that problem.
Some people may find other uses, like students or others that take notes or highlight while they read, for the Booksling.

The Booksling comes in an attractive package in the mail.

Here is the Booksling next to a standard (5.25″ x 8.25″) Moleskine notebook. The come in three colors, cranberry, grape and mango. They look like red, purple, and yellow to me, but I’m an engineer, not an artist…

I wanted the Booksling on the back of my Moleskine, but soon found that the cool pocket on the back cover interfered with the Booksling.

Undaunted, I stole my wife’s Exacto knife from her quilting table. I cut just enough of the pocket to allow the Booksling to slide underneath. My wife hates when I use her tools for ‘non-fabric’ stuff, but she seems perfectly OK taking my pliers and wire cutters and migrating them to here quilting table.

The pocket has been modified now and you can see the Booksling in place, under the Moleskine pocket.

There is the Booksling holding my favored pencil, the Mirado Black Warrior. Obviously the pencil is longer than the notebook, presenting a slight problem. I’m considering cutting down a few pencils specifically for use of a matching length of around five inches.

Most people use mechanical pencils, and I’m sure they’d work fine. Here is my Muji mechanical pencil as a demonstration.
I really like the Booksling. At $6 each, they are a steal and you should buy one now.
I hope the people at Everyday Innovations keep on developing new, cool products. So far they are 2 for 2 with me.

A few weeks ago I reviewed the Good Fairies of New York. Michele and I loved the book and I was excited to hear that the author Martin Millar was coming out with a new book called Lonely Werewolf Girl.
I pre-ordered a copy from the UK and it arrived just before I left on vacation.
Lonely Werewolf Girl – Martin Millar
This novel is about the royal family of werewolves that live in Scotland and England. From what I can tell, it exists in the same universe as the Good Fairies, but the fairies don’t play much of a role in this story.
The author, Martin Millar, finds a way to weave rock ‘n’ roll and Scotch whisky into a story about werewolves and their intrigues.

The magic behind the werewolves is sensible and works to set some limitations, unlike other fantasy novels where nothing is plausible or consistent. The influence of the Moon and silver are all discussed to make a werewolf fan happy. You can imagine these werewolves living among us in the modern day.
While centering the main theme of the control of the werewolf clans, Millar touches on all sorts of other themes from couture fashion to teenage angst to multi-dimension merchants. He does a great job of moving back and forth from humor to serious events, never allowing the reader to get quite comfortable with guessing what’s coming next.
I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I will say that I respect the author’s decision not to tie up every loose end in a nice little bow. While several major plot points are resolved, man of the other threads are left open for interpretation by the reader, and if we are lucky, a future novel. I blew through the book in two days and sincerely hope this is not the last we’ve heard of young Kalix MacRinnalch.
If you like your fantasy fiction with a bit of humor, you should by a copy of Lonely Werewolf Girl now.

Michele and I have been reading several of the Dresden Files, but Michele told me to slow down and let her get ahead in the series.
At the office, my co-worker Cyril, brought in a few extra books for anyone to read. One of them was Temeraire (known in the US as His Majesty’s Dragon, Cyril had the UK version, obv) which I had actually seen in stores before. I picked it up and took it home.
His Majesty’s Dragon – Naomi Novik
This book introduces the central concept of the Temeraire Series, intelligent dragons coexisting with humans in the Napoleonic Era. I am a huge fan of novels of the Napoleonic Era also know as the Age of Sail. I’ve read all eleven Horatio Hornblower novels, a few of the Patrick O’Brien/Jack Aubrey novels and even a few of the Dewey Lambdin/Alan Lewrie books.
Starting off as a naval story, the plot quickly takes us into the fantasy of the Aerial Corps, the men, women, and dragons that form the military force in the air. Ms. Novik does a good job of slowly rolling out ideas and concepts in this area keeping the reader happy but without revealing answers to every question.
The writing is easy to read with and you can speed through without some of the usual jargonistic sentences that often mar the typical naval novel. There are some mental leaps like believing that a crew will man a dragon like a ship and crawl all over in flight with the use of carabiners to stay attached in flight. There are even boarding attempts from one dragon to another.
The first novel doesn’t dwell much on the issues surrounding dragons and mainly focuses on the relationship between the rider and dragon and the viability of the world in which they exist.
After finishing the book, I wanted more. On Saturday morning I went to the library and picked up the next book. By about 11PM that night I had finished it. Yes, I read fast, but the book was fast and kept the plot rolling along.
Throne of Jade – Naomi Novik
This book continues the adventures of Temeraire the dragon and Laurence the rider. While also packed with action, the book dives into the issues of the rights of dragons and their place in society. The European take on dragons is one of focus on them as military weapons with little regard for their desires. Contrasted with the Asian view of dragons as not only citizens, but as valued members of society with many roles from commerce to politics to the military. The author also reminds the reader that at the time, the enslavement of humans was still a matter of real debate and legal in some of Europe at the time.
Ms. Novik doesn’t take the easy way out and incorporate some quick fix to the problem. She sets the issue up as a continuing plotline in the series. There is a third book in the series with a fourth on the way. It will be interesting to see how these issues are dealt with in addition to the action scenes.
I recommend the series to anyone that likes historical fiction or fantasy.

The Good Fairies of New York – Martin Millar
My wife, Michele, read this book and told me, “It’s great, just read it.” And so I did.
She’s right, the book is fantastic.
A touch of fantasy, a big dose of New York City, a dash of Scotland, a healthy portion of Vonnegut, and just enough rock ‘n roll for taste and you’ve got a fun book. Nothing heavy here, just a light read that will leave you laughing as you turn the page.
I’m usually more of a hard SF reader, but this book was a good diversion on my last trip to London. The story of the fairies and their (mis)adventures left me wanting more. Unfortunately, there is no sequel or follow-up novel, but I (and many other fans) would love it.
The author, Martin Millar, blogs and has a nice site for fans. So instead of the next self-help or pop culture bestseller, check out the fairies.

A few weeks ago, I was at Target with the girls when we saw these sodas.

Obviously, I bought a four pack of each. It was until this weekend that I had some time to test them out. Jones Soda does of lot of interesting things like letting customers submit photos for printing on bottles to creating limitied edition sodas of various flavors.
This year’s Halloween set includes Gruesome Grape, Berried Alive, Candy Corn, and Spider Cider.

Gruesome Grape
Color: Greyish-black
Flavor: Just like grape soda
Comments: Besides the black color, nothing special here

Berried Alive
Color: light whitish-blue
Flavor: blueberry flavor, very sweet with a hint of citrus tang
Comments: Zoe & Mira’s favorite of the set

Candy Corn
Color: bright, almost flourescent yellow
Flavor: amazingly like candy corn
Comments: The flavor was dead on and I expected the waxy aftertaste from the real thing. Subtle, not overpowering flavor.

Spider Cider
Color: pale yellowish-orange, almost like iced tea
Flavor: Noticeable apple flavor, but a little overpowered by the sweetness
Comments: While still very sweet, less than the others. Michele and Michael’s favorite.

While I was testing and taking pictures, Mira insisted that we ‘experiment’ with the soda. The experiment was to mix the Candy Corn with Berried Alive.
Experiment Flavor
Color: khahki greenish
Flavor: horrid
Comments: Made Mira happy to see the new color, made me queasy drinking it
Overall, I feel that Jones Soda is making an effort here to do something different than Coke and Pepsi, taking chances with new ideas and flavors in soda pop. We’ll continue to buy and try the limited editions as they come out.
So if you want to have some fun this Halloween with the kids and need to give them a little more sugar, head down to Target and pick up four pack or two.

Last week, my friend Sean IMed me a link to the The Mocha Dunk Mug at the Charles & Marie website. I think Sean saw at a Brotherhood of the Bean. Within seconds, I had ordered this amazing mug. Charles & Marie is a neat site with loads of wonderful items, but the lack of a search function (at least one that I could find easily) made my brain hurt as I spent 10 minutes looking for a search box.
The mug arrived this week and I finally had time to use it for the first time this morning.

I made a small pot of tea (coconut tea if you must know…) and began to prepare for a proper morning setup.

Thanks to my co-worker, Cyril, I had a tin of actual English biscuits to go along with my tea. For testing purposes, only the proper test materials will suffice.

Sure enough, the Mug holds two cookies/biscuits easily and they fit with some space to spare.

I walked from the kitchen to the breakfast table and the cookies remained in place. I had successfully avoided the need to use a plate. Of course, Michele simply rolled her eyes at me.

I must make a warning to anyone that might consider buying one of these mugs, you must be right handed.
You see due to gravity and a messy attitude, the cookies want to leap to the table. As you can see above, if you pick up the mug with your left hand, the naughty cookies will take advantage of the situation and make their escape attempt.
Lefties have no fear, my ninja intraweb search skillz have found a place to buy a version for left handers at Mocha Home.
So let’s summarize with a pros and cons list:
Pros:

• Stylish mug that holds cookies
• Saves usage of a plate at breakfast
• Heat of the tea/coffee warms the cookie, which an unexpected benefit

Cons:

• For right handers only
• Outrageously expensive at $23
• Water collects in the cookie chamber in the dishwasher
• Wife rolls eyes at you

My oh my the things we do for our children.
Yesterday I took the girls to see the movie Zoom, about a group of young superheroes. I should have done a little research before heading out to the theater and avoided the movie.
The movie is basically a set of product placements strung together with a few music videos stretched out to 83 minutes. The product placement is so blatant, that characters actually visit a Wendy’s restaurant and discuss how much they like Wendy’s food how eager they are to get some. Heck, there’s even a robot character named Mr. Pibb.
Worse probably is the fact that we only get to see the young heroes use their power once or twice. Truly disappointing, even for children. Actors Tim Allen, Courteney Cox, Chevy Chase, and Rip Torn are pretty much wasted talent with this script.
The waste of acting effort and my tickes can be entirely blamed on a lackluster script tha must have been computer generated by a studio exec. Let’s see Star Talent + Cute Kids + Super Powers = Profit. Too bad they forgot to add in a Good Story.