bookofjoe

The King's Dessert — Or, how to create 16,000 honey strings in two minutes

But what's a honey string, you ask?

Watch and learn.

[via Joe Peach]

BicChucks — Nunchucks for pens

Too kewl 4 skool.

"Get yours today while quantities last!"

Fair warning.

Apply within.

Something tells me my Los Angeles correspondent is already burning up his keyboard ordering his.

[via Fancy]

bookofjoeTV: REAL soon now — thanks to Google+ hangout

I'm as excited as a popcorn kernel in a hot pan about what I read this morning in Ed Baig's USA Today story regarding Google+ and its hangout feature.

Why is that, joe?

Because of this: "I find it intriguing that you can hold a group video chat with up to 10 people who show up when you announce a hangout."

And this from TechCrunch: "Google's new hangout product is all about group chat, and it's free. Up to ten people can use it at once. Google is smart about this, figuring out which person is talking and focusing the video stream on them until someone else takes over. If you want to have fun with a group of friends, or hold a dead simple video team call, Google Hangouts is perfect for that."

And this, from Jenna Wortham writing in the New York Times' Gadgetwise blog: "Last night a chatroom changed my life. But it wasn’t just any chatroom. It was a virtual 'hangout,' the group video chat service that is a prominent feature of Google+, Google’s new social-networking service that aims to challenge Facebook."

More: "Shortly before bed, I lingered online, checking my various social networking sites when I noticed several friends were in a video chat session on Google+. I put on some pants and clicked my way into the room with six other people… and didn't leave until nearly 3 in the morning. We spent several hours cracking jokes, making fun of each other's snacks and welcoming other friends who noticed our group online and dropped in to say hello. At one point, we found YouTube videos with lyrics and turned the chat into an impromptu karaoke room. A few of our other friends dropped in to say hello before making their way offline and heading to bed. One friend, Lindsey, said she'd been hanging out with different groups of friends since 10 p.m. and later told me she didn't sign off until close to 5 in the morning."

And: "It might be easy to chalk up our giddy excitement to the novelty of the service. But it was a fun, synchronous hangout time on the Internet not quite like anything I've ever experienced online."

"Part of the appeal of Google's service, I think, is that most of us are already loitering online and are likely already logged into Gmail, making it easy to jump into a room and 'hangout.' There's no awkward preamble of texting to figure out whether or not someone is free to Skype or use FaceTime. You can just start a hangout and see who joins the room or see who in your network is already in a group video chat session and join in."

That's bookofjoeTV, just the way I've always dreamed it would be.

And free, the way we like it.

All it will take is Google+ on my upcoming iPhone 5 to let me open up a hangout just before going running, so up to 10 people — Google+ friends, boj readers/followers, anyone anywhere in the world who's got Google+ up — can drop in and keep me company and chat with me about whatever while I put in my miles.

w00t!

 

How to get me to unmark your email as junk

Start it with a photo like the one above, received this morning.

Yeah, that'll do it.

Nice going, Backcountry.com.

Baby Yoda Beanie

I don't care if I'm not a 6-to-9-month-old baby — I want one in the worst way.

Perfect winter running hat, a cross between Star Wars and Mercury.

$24.

Note to E-Trade: Here's the next great trading baby — don't say I didn't give you a heads-up.

[via Fancy]

iPhone Clock Dock

A Kickstarter project by James of Portland, Oregon, who wrote:

The Problem:

So many nights I have laid down to rest... as I have prepared to set my iPhone gently on my bed stand... and the worst happens: I notice that its battery is low at best! I'm embarrassed to say I've already been warned twice: once at 20% battery power and again at 10%.  But I forgot... and my charger is in the kitchen, in my car, at work... you fill in the blank.

Now what?  I'm already snug... but I've got an early morning engagement and I can't chance missing my wakeup call. But I don't want to get up — not just after I got down.

The Solution:

A handsome thick piece of solid walnut with either a brushed aluminum or glossy resin face plate. The ultimate mix of modern design and convenience. The perfect mate to my already perfect iPhone. You simply start your clock app of choice and slide your phone into the fully enclosed sleeve and it will seamlessly dock and begin to charge, giving you the restful sleep you deserve.

It'll be interesting to follow the progress of James's campaign and see just how large the boj Effect is.

For reference, when I finished this post yesterday afternoon there were 2 (two) backers and $130 in the kitty.

[via Fancy]

3-D printing at the next level: Creating working tools

Videre est credere.

[via Richard Kashdan]

FlatPack Chair

"Danish architect Bjarke Ingels helped design this chair for his Danish Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010."

"The chair requires assembly of four flatpack plywood strips."

$285.

[via the Wall Street Journal]