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App Control Desk Pets
“My dog ate my homework” used to be one of the more cliched excuses kids give their teachers whenever they mismanaged their time at home, but I suppose this excuse has not worn itself out just yet. If that is the case and you are a teacher, why not purchase the App Control Desk Pets for the cheeky yet delinquent child and exchange his/her dog for it, momentarily? This is one pet that will not eat anyone’s homework, leaving no room to wriggle out of a tight spot in the future. Who says playing does not help someone learn?
The App Control Desk Pets will come in different flavors, which include the Tankbot (that is obviously more sturdy than the rest), the Trekbot (the Speedy Gonzales of the group) and the Skitterbot (that looks rather scary). All of them have three different operating modes, where the first sends your Desk Pet beeping and flashing away in a world of its own, oblivious to its surroundings; the second mode lets you turn your own smartphone into a remote control; and the third lets your Desk Pet discover the world all on its own!
The inclusion of advanced optical navigation technology enables these Desk Pets to find their way around obstacles – a primitive version of a robotic vacuum cleaner, if you will, and you won’t lose them simply because they have light-up eyes and emit sound – unless they run out of juice, of course. Even more interesting is the fact that your smartphone will function as a remote control. The law of diminishing returns apply here – 40 minutes of juicing up delivers 15 minutes of play time. The Tankbot is the cheapest of the lot at £24.99, while both the Skitterbot and Trekbot will retail for £3 more.
U.S. Presidents Talking Game
Presidents talk, and they talk a lot. What we’re more interested in is whether they walk their talk or not (and this does not apply to just presidents but everyone else whom we are in contact with regardless of social order), but today, we won’t be reviewing just what our presidents have done. No sir, this particular game will help us remember interesting details about each president’s life, and coming in the form of the $39.95 U.S. Presidents Talking Game, this is one interactive learning experience that the kids would definitely love (and the adults can learn a thing or two from it).
Being highly portable, the tablet comes with 44 buttons – one for each president, alongside a quartet of game settings. Under the “Fun Facts” mode, you will be able to explore notable details about each leader, ranging from Roosevelt’s leadership through World War II and the Great Depression all the way to a more peaceful time, which includes Reagan’s status as “The Great Communicator.”
The game also includes settings to help you remember birth dates, vice presidents, and first ladies for each president, and if any of the information is wrong, you can point fingers at the Encyclopedia Britannica’s student edition. What’s the point of remembering all that if there is no test? This is where the “Quiz” button comes in handy, testing childrens’ memories about what they have just learned. Make sure you have a couple of AA batteries handy just in case it runs out of juice.
Carrera Slot Car Race Set
Toys for boys – you will definitely need something that can capture their attention in a jiffy, not to mention being made out of hardy enough a material so that they can withstand all the abuse and temper tantrums from your little one. If you want to have your kid remain mesmerized for some time without moving or fidgeting about (which you think would be a miracle), here is the $99.95 Carrera Slot Car Race Set to get you started.
This slot-car set is manufactured by Carrera, and just in case the name does not ring a bell, this is touted to be the world’s most prestigious slot-car maker…since 1963. The set boasts of 29.5′ worth of track to challenge racers’ skills with a couple of loops, an equal number of lane changes, a flyover, and a 180º high-banked curve.
Accompanying the set would be two richly detailed 1:43 Formula One Ferrari cars (granted, Ferrari isn’t on a hot streak for some years already ever since Michael Schumacher retired), and these were specially designed double-contact brush that will deliver a secure connection to the track for consistent control during a race. Handheld control delivers a boost button if you need another 25% of power when attacking loops, as well as pumping up the speed on straightaways.
To make sure no one cheats, there is an automatic lap counter thrown into the mix, while durable ABS plastic withstands years of intense racing.
R/C Air Swimmers Flying Sea Life
Sharks belong in the water, don’t they? And they need to continue swimming in order to stay alive, even when they’re asleep. Well, most of us know that, but to have a shark “swim” in the air? That certainly sounds out of whack, but this is what ThinkGeek offers with the $39.99 R/C Air Swimmers Flying Sea Life. Yes sir, made out of durable, high-quality nylon material, this unique piece of fun equipment can remain inflated for weeks while it patrols the airspace in your home for hours on end with enough juice remaining within.
The AirSwimmers RC flying sea creatures will also come in a clownfish format for a less threatening experience, but either way, it is still a wonder to look at. All you need to do is fill up the AirSwimmer with enough helium, and it will get to work straight away – you might take some time to master the controls in order to have it go up, down, and even 360 degrees around. With a working range of 40 feet, I suspect you will have hours of fun on just four AAA batteries with the R/C Air Swimmers Flying Sea Life.
Tidy Ruler for the super neat
There are many different kinds of people in this world with various personalities, and all of us do things in our very own quirky way (which we deem as ‘normal’, of course). Well, some of us are extremely tidy, and would love to have everything in its proper place, being incapable of standing just a bit of a mess, while others feel that being more ‘random’ (that’s a nice way of calling it ‘a mess’) is the way to go. Well, for those who are extremely tidy, you might want to check out the $11.99 Tidy Ruler.
This rather interesting piece of stationary will feature a built-in hand-cranked pencil sharpener as well as a place for you to stash away your pencil in the ruler itself when you do not need it. Made out of beautiful, sturdy rosewood, this is one modern piece of school stationary that is old school in nature. Perfect for any math class that you have enrolled your little one in, that’s for sure.
Maze Racer tickles the mind
There is nothing quite like a brain teaser to get the good ol’ grey matter going, especially when you are in the middle of the work week and need to look towards other sources of inspiration if you happen to hit a road block mentally at the office. Why not take five with the $19.99 Maze Racer? Of course, this is actually meant for small kids, but at least you can get rid some of that pre-road rage out of your system before you actually get behind the wheel.
Your little one, whether a boy or a girl, would most probably want to get behind the wheel when dad or mom is not around, never mind that their legs can’t even touch the pedals when they’re seated right out in front. With the Maze Racer, they will be able to wreck their brains trying to find a way to guide the trapped marble out of the fiendishly difficult maze. You will need to go through a bunch of twists, turns, loops, and drops with techno music blaring in the background while the timer makes its way to the finish line.
Best of all is, the Maze Racer will log your best time so that others will always attempt to challenge your high score.
A Car Seat Rocker, courtesy of Ben Heck with Android ADK!
I’m sure that most of our readers are familiar with Ben Heck. If not, he is an online celebrity who is most famous for his mods, usually for video games.
Ben Heck recently took a request from a viewer to make a seat that will help rock his child to sleep. It will simulate the ride of a carseat in a car. Sometimes this helps a little one fall asleep, and I know this from experience.
Ben used the Google ADK (Accessory Development Kit) in order to take advantage of the built-in accelerometer to record the motions that the car goes through while it is driving. As user drives, the phone collects the code, and this data collected gets fed into the Android ADK. Ben tried this out on a scale model of a seat, but not a live one. You can click on the Source to see a video of it in action.
Continue reading » A Car Seat Rocker, courtesy of Ben Heck with Android ADK!
Rocket Launcher accessory for Bigtrak and Bigtrak Junior
Remember the Bigtrak that we covered a while ago? Well, it is nice to know that boys too, can accessorize their toys – and without getting the help of stuff like make-up and miniature dresses. What we want are more testosterone-laden stuff – and if that does not include weapons of mass destruction that has a wanton disregard for imaginary human life, so much the better. Enter the Rocket Launcher accessory which will target the Bigtrak and Bigtrak Junior. It costs £19.99, which is £20.00 cheaper than the Bigtrak itself – where it holds a quartet of foam rockets that you can aim and launch at unsuspecting enemies.
Not only that, you are able to program your route and fire all four rockets simultaneously – now how about that for some strafing action? Of course, those who prefer to conserve their ammo will be able to opt to fire rockets individually. The Rocket Launcher itself requires yet another two AAA batteries to get it going, and if you want to outfit your Bigtrak Retro with this, you will need to fork out more for an adaptor.
