bookofjoe

SmudgeGuard Nation — Do birds of a feather flock together?

You may recall a recent post featuring the SmudgeGuard (above and below), a solution to artists' and left-handed writers' woes.

I happened on the journal page of the device's inventor, one Jeannie Lit (below),

and noted with interest that as of her journal post of this morning, some 39 websites (including bookofjoe) had featured her product.

What interested me was that a number of those 39 were previously completely unknown to me.

Sure, Gizmodo and Cool Tools and Shiny Shiny were among them but it's those unknowns that piqued my interest, so much so that I spent several most delightful hours poking around them to see what else we had in common — and what I could find that would never otherwise have come to my attention.

Here's the list.

1. Sentinel Newspaper of NJ -http://ems.gmnews.com/news/2006/1206/Front_Page/035.html

2. The Star Ledger Newspaper of NJ

3. Random Terrain - Good Example of Web sites -http://www.randomterrain.com/web-design-good-examples.html

4. iParenting.com - Featured Mom of the Month of February 2007 -http://iparenting.com/mom/4530.php

5. 5 Minutes for Mom - http://www.5minutesformom.com/mom-owned-stores/gifts-family/smudgeguardeliminatessmudgesforartistslefthandedchildrenandadults/

6. Kevin Kelly of KK.org - Featured SmudgeGuard™ as a "Cool Tool" at http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001638.php

7. Core77 - Industrial Design Supersite - Featured SmudgeGuard™ at http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/smudgeguard_prevents_smudges_makes_you_look_like_an_ice_skater_6026.asp

8. GottaBeMobile.com - Featured SmudgeGuard™ at http://www.gottabemobile.com/WithTheSmudgeGuardYouCanBecomeTheGlovedOne.aspx

9. TechieDiva.com - Featured SmudgeGuard™ at http://www.techiediva.com/weblog/2007/04/be_the_gloved_o.html#comments

10. IDasia.org - Featured SmudgeGuard™ at http://idasia.org/?p=125#more-125

11. LD Resources - http://www.ldresources.org/?p=1346

12. Design Sojourn - http://www.designsojourn.com/index.php/2007/04/21/the-smudge-guard/

13. Stumble Upon - http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.smudgeguard.com/

14. del.icio.us/ gregp01 - http://del.icio.us/gregp01/smudgeguard

15. Rosemary West's The Left-Handed Page - http://www.rkwest.com/left-handed/?p=54

16. Startup Nation - http://www.startupnation.com/marketplace/273/smudgeguard---say-good-bye-to-smudges-for-tablet-pc-users-lefties-and-artists/

17. iliketotallyloveit.com - http://www.iliketotallyloveit.com/tag/draw

18. The Center for Graphic Facilitation - http://graphicfacilitation.blogs.com/pages/great_gear/index.html

19. Folderol - http://www.spookylibrarians.com/2007/04/right-on-heels-of-my-talking-about.html

20. digi@rt - http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.digiart.cn/read.php%3F878&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=6&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsmudgeguard%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGLG,GGLG:2005-51,GGLG:en%26sa%3DN

21. Spandex Covers - http://www.enjoinshopping.info/spandex-covers.htm

22. Seeds of Growth - http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/smudgeguard

23. jkOnTheRun - http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2005/05/screen_smudges.html

24. VERSLASonline - http://www.blogas.lt/verslasonline/236965/idomus-dalykelis-kairiarankiams-isradimai-smudgeguardcom.html

25. The Gadgeteer - http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/diary/julie/noteworthy_links_and_news_from_this_week

26. Shiny Shiny - A girl's guide to gadgets - http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/04/smugeguard.html

27. bookofjoe - http://www.bookofjoe.com/2007/03/lefthanders_smu.html

28. TrendHunter.com - http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/do-you-always-get-ink-smudges-while-writing-try-smudgeguard/

29. TeacherTabletPC - http://teachertabletpc.com/?s=smudgeguard

30. ODesign - http://www4.autistici.org/o.design/modules/news/article.php?storyid=305

31. Moleskinerie/Notebookism - http://www.moleskinerie.com/product_updates/index.html

32. doom.blog-city.com - http://doom.blog-city.com/i_want_one.htm

33. Mike's Little Journalized - http://zed1.com/journalized/archives/2004/08/12/left-handers-day/

34. AllWomen'sTalk.com

35. ziki.com - Brian Ling's last published content - http://www.ziki.com/people/designtranslator.rss?category=10

36. gadgetfriends.net - http://gadgetfriends.com/allfeeds/en/frame/1/?q=palm

37. BlogoWogo - http://www.blogowogo.com/blog_article.php?aid=664037&t=

38. The Fountain Pen Network - http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t28525.html

39. Gizmodo - http://gizmodo.com/all/gear/

Worth noting is that today, April 30, 2007, is the last day of the special introductory price of $4.99.

As of tomorrow it'll be $9.99.

Fair warning.

thrivingoffice.com — Am I feeling 'very busy' or just 'busy'?

It's your call.

thrivingoffice.com will sell you a CD "filled with background sounds reminiscent of a bustling office, such as buzzing phones, human voices and keyboard typing," according to an item by Kelly Spors in today's Wall Street Journal.

Try it out here.

The Thriving Office CD, containing 37 minutes of "Busy" and 37 minutes of "Very Busy," costs $12.95.

But perhaps you need it yesterday.

No problema.

You can download either the "Busy" or "Very Busy" tracks from the CD for $5.95 apiece.

Full disclosure: Both tracks were recorded here at bookofjoe World Headquarters™.

The "Busy" track was made between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning; the "Very Busy" track during regular weekday working hours.

Hey, it's crazy around here, what with my crack research team, my crack video team, my crack graphics team, ad infinitum — but somehow we all manage to get along pretty well most of time.

Must be something in the air....

Shapes of Stone & Prayer — by Matt Donovan

Once, you pressed a palm-sized stone into my hand,
asked me to pray on it for you, & left me with a silence

I could feel seizing the room. You wanted only
faith to compress & a single thing to grip, but I couldn't even

count the things I wished I could believe. Afterwards,
unsure of what shapes my hands should make, I could only

raise feebly, facing the moon-washed lawns, a glass to the night,
to the handful of stars that remained. At your memorial,

again & again, they raised the Bible into air,
& the minister's words, untroubled, exact, described all

of what you could see: pearl, sapphire, a sea of glass,
white linen, pages of names. I am tired of being told

what the dead wear, what verbs encompass their acts:
they awaken, they choose & clasp. My friend, you are gone

from here & missed & the silence now has changed.
What I hold tonight, instead of those words, is yet another stone

to touch with no end in mind. What I'm guessing at
you must already know: that its one black & mottled edge

might be a form blessing could take & that to trace
its one trembing, fissured line entirely around could be

an act of intercession, or some kind of prayer in itself.
To finger all of this stone's syllables its unvarying weight may have.

Tater Mitts Potato Gloves — Finally, peel potatoes without tools

From websites:

Tater Mitts™ Potato Gloves

Tough skin mitts remove a very thin layer of potato peel in 8 seconds — without tools or mess!

These aren’t ordinary rubber kitchen gloves — the palms have an abrasive scrubbing surface that effortlessly removes a potato’s skin by quickly rubbing under running water.

No nicks, cuts, slippery hands or waste, since the gloves remove only the thinnest layer of peel.

Great for carrots, too!

Waterproof rubber.

You get one pair.

....................

$14.98 (Potatoes not included except for Flautist who will receive, at no extra charge, a truckload of premium Idahos. Where should we dump them?).

Museum of Fakes and Imitations

FunFact: "Did you know that 10% of the world's products are fakes and cheap imitations?"

That's the opening line of Jennifer Conlin's brief report which appeared in yesterday's New York Times Travel section, about the new Plagiarius Museum (above) in Solingen, Germany, near Cologne.

Here's the story.

Museum Sheds Light on Fakes and Imitations

Did you know that 10 percent of the world’s products are fakes and cheap imitations — going way beyond the purses, jeans and watches you see on the street? Earlier this month, a museum devoted entirely to the subject of plagiarism opened in Solingen, Germany, near Cologne.

Founded by a design professor, Rido Busse, who in 1977 began awarding companies who stole ideas from smaller companies the Plagiarius “award” (a black gnome with a gold nose to signify “illicit earnings from product imitation”), the Plagiarius Museum (www.plagiarius.com) seeks to highlight what it says is an annual loss of $275 billion to $415 billion caused by those who profit from others’ work. Mr. Busse should know. A set of scales he developed for a German company was copied by a Chinese company.

Unlike the Musée de Contrefaçon in Paris, which showcases copies of products from big companies, this museum focuses on fakes stolen from small designers. The most recent Plagiarius awards went to companies that copied such products as a Moleskine notebook, a love seat, salt and pepper shakers and even a urology set.

Aquapod

From the website:

Aquapod™

Protect your iPod from the damaging effects of water or sand at the beach, pool, lake or on a boat.

Place iPod or MP3 player inside this cushioned, splash-proof case and enjoy your favorite tunes worry-free!

Features:

• Snap-shut lid with water-blocking rubber seal

• Built-in speaker with power amp

• Extra room for ID or key

• 3.5 mm headphone jack

• Exterior volume control

• Shoulder strap

Uses 4 AAA batteries (not included).

6-1/4" x 3-1/4" x 2".

High-impact plastic.

$17.98.

World's 50 Top Restaurants

Here they are.

El Bulli's won three of the past six years.

Pretty impressive.

Pedicure Slippers

From websites:
....................

Pedicure Slippers

Memory-foam sole slippers make home pedicures so much easier and more comfortable!

Terry-cloth dividers separate toes for easy trimming and applying of polish, allowing it to dry without smudging.

Zip-on microfiber uppers provide warmth.

Women's Sizes: M (6-1/2-9), L (91/2-11).

Color: Fuschia.
....................

They're missing a huge market by not listing men's sizes.

Oh, well.

Note that you need not have a pedicure to wear these slippers.

$14.99.