Bodum Canteen Mouth-blown double-walled drinking glasses review (Gibberish is my native language (DrFaulken)) by drfaulken

I made myself some tea the other day in authentic Japanese-style tea mugs. They are ceramic and don’t have any handles. It seemed awfully lame to drink white tea in a big ol’ American coffee mug, right? Except my simple mind couldn’t decide between drinking and setting down the totally hot mug that kept burning my fingers. That hairy barbarian handle is on mugs for a reason! Yeeouch! My tea would be borderline tepid by the time the sides of the mug cooled enough to touch them. I had to race myself to finish up before the tea at the bottom turned cold.

I was given a very nice gift this holiday that solves this problem, but may create one of its own.
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Ticket to Ride: America game review (Gibberish is my native language (DrFaulken)) by drfaulken

There’s a class of games I like to call “starters,” games that are light-hearted, take an hour or less to finish, and are warm-ups for longer, more “serious” games. They are also easy to explain, so if there’s a newbie or two in the crowd they can jump right in without too much explanation.

Such a game is the infamous Ticket to Ride, which is one of Board Game Geek’s Top 50 games. Like any good starter game, the premise and rules are simple: win by earning points for completing railroad routes across the United States. Earn bonus points for completing “ticket” routes to and from certain cities. You claim routes by playing collections of same-colored railcar cards. Most routes only allow for one train, but some routes allow for two in the event of a game with more than three players.
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Wearever Hard Anodized Non-stick Cookware Review (Gibberish is my native language (DrFaulken)) by drfaulken

I have owned some apparently very nice clad stainless steel cookware made by Cuisinart. I bought them on the advice of my (at the time) boss, who swore up and down that stainless steel was the best way to go. I shouldn’t have listened him, about the pots and pans or about buying a home, as the cookware proved a pain in the ass for day to day cooking, and he laid every last one of us off four months later.

I spent a pretty penny back then. The Cuisinart set was great at conducting uniform heat, but sucked as far as stuff sticking to the pan. I had to use a fair amount of oil or butter to keep even simple things from adhering to the surface like a mother of nine to her welfare check. Sure, the pots looked pro but the burnt remains of food did not.

I wanted something different, something non-stick, and most importantly, something cheap. I asked Starbuck for help in picking something out. She’s my go-to-gal for anything cooking related. She thumbed through some of her cooking magazine back issues and scoured a few culinary Web sites. She sent me links to a few sets, and I finally decided on the Wearever hard anodized non-stick cookware set.
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Aerobie Aeropress: The greatest coffee device ever devised? (Gibberish is my native language (DrFaulken)) by drfaulken

I have participated in the Ars Technica Sekrit Santa event ever since it was started four years ago. Every year I got something awesome: niche coffee from Honduras, very nice tea, and a Gnomad, Gunpowder tea and tulip glass teaware, and an Italian stovetop coffee maker complete with homemade instructional DVD.

Those were all great, but I got something so totally unexpectedly awesome that I thought I’d post about it here on Gibberish, and recommend it to all of you.
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Gibberish Is My Native Language Holiday Gift Guide 2007 (Gibberish is my native language (DrFaulken)) by drfaulken

I buy a lot of stuff. Sometime I buy it because I need it, sometimes because I want it, and sometimes because I think an item is just plain whacky that it deserves a review on Gibberish.

With “Black Friday” kicking off the retail season I thought it might be interesting to go back through some of my old reviews (and future reviews, too) and tag a few products that might make great goodies for the little nerdy geek on your gift list.

I am tempted to turn this category into a year-round kind of thing, in case you need a birthday present, graduation gift, or whatever. I have also considered breaking the items down into subcategories based on price: $25 and less, up to $50, up to $100, and over $100. But for now, let’s keep things simple.

Look for this little icon at the bottom of reviews:

How to get an annual subscription to Xbox Live! 360 on the cheap(er) (Gibberish is my native language (DrFaulken)) by drfaulken

One of the best things about the Xbox 360 is the Live! service. The free “Silver” level allows you to do a lot, like send and receive voice/text messages, buy and play games via the Xbox Live Arcade, and try out demo versions of games before you buy. One thing the Silver level does not allow you to do is play games online with other people. For that, you need the “Gold” level of service, and that runs you $50USD a year. I spent almost $500 when I got my Elite and one game, and the last thing I wanted to do was shell out another $50 for online play.

There had to be a cheaper way to get access to Live!, wasn’t there? I started snooping around on the Internet, and here are two easy ways to get a year’s worth of Live! Gold for less than retail. You can upgrade online immediately via your 360 for $50.00 a year with a credit card. You can also buy subscription cards (think pre-paid mobile phones) from various vendors, including Best Buy, Target, and so on.

However, not all vendors are charging the same amount, and there are a few deals to be had.
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ThinkGeek stainless steel insulated caffeine molecule travel mug review (Gibberish is my native language (DrFaulken)) by drfaulken

I liked the ThinkGeek caffeine molecule shirt so much I’ve bought it twice — my first one literally wore thin. As such, I was excited to get the same design on a travel mug. The mug was $12.99 before shipping, so I gave it a shot.

Unfortunately I don’t love the mug as much as I do the shirts.
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