Adlens Interface: Buy-Focals for Screen Geeks & Movie Freaks

Posted on January 27, 2016 by geelw

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If you’re a heavy computer user or TV watcher who suffers for eyestrain or someone looking for an inexpensive adjustable focus eyewear option, you may want to consider Adlens Interface ($49.99) as an option. While they’re not made to replace your current prescription, they’re an excellent choice for light to moderate use if you’re the sort stuck in front of a screen for work or play. I tend to only wear glasses when watching movies from a distance at home or in a theater, so I was curious to see if Adlens would work for my own needs. Let’s just say I was quite pleased when the opportunity arose to check out a pair and see for myself. Okay, two slight puns in a single sentence normally means some sort of sentence from a pun-hating judge, but I think I’ll be forgiven this time.

Anyway, Adlens uses Alvarez Dual Lens Technology with two polycarbonate plates per eye that slide at the twist of a dial located on each side of the plastic frame. Right out of the case all you do is slip the specs on, shut one eye and adjust the lens for the open eye and repeat the process for that previously closed eye. The Interface adjusts between -6 to +3 diopter range on each lens, which should do well for a wide range of users. A week of testing showed that Adlens does quite well at making extended work and play sessions in front of the computer as well as a bit of binge watching a lot more comfortable. Yes, you’ll need to readjust the lenses when you go from about 18 inches or so away from a monitor to a TV a few feet away. But that’s not a bad trade off at all. Besides, you can consider that dial turning some actual exercise if you’re a total couch potato type.

While the glasses are lightweight and comfortable, I could see some users griping that they feel “cheap” because of that all-plastic construction. My only issue is with the dials feeling a bit too loose by default. I suppose if Adlens manufactured them to slowly click each adjustment into place would add a bit to the cost of producing them (and add to the cost of buying a pair). But I’m neither an engineer nor a bean-counter, just a regular guy with a brain full of suggestions (and a site to sometimes post those things on). The nice thing about Adlens is if you just need some go-to temporary specs, they have a few models priced between $30 and $70 all ready to ship.

January’s Retro Pop Box Packs in the 70’s Memories

Posted on January 25, 2016 by geelw

RPB_Jan_2016

Right before that dopey snowstorm landed, I’d gotten a few (okay, a lot of) packages delivered but just now got to opening them up (hey, I was busy moving furniture around for last week’s plastering and painting and was in quite a haze of weariness). So seeing January’s Retro Pop Box peeking out at me from a small stack of packages made me grin somewhat like Mr. Sardonicus after an encounter with a tickle fetish dominatrix. Um, never mind that reference! Anyway, someone at the post office felt it okay to doodle on the box (boo), as my regular carrier was on vacation (Joe always brings my mail right up to the door and doesn’t cram it into the mailbox) and the new guy is a bit goofy because he sometimes puts the wrong mail in a few boxes.

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Inside the box were a nice sticker tribute to David Bowie (who passed away the previous week, so the creator elves were fast on the draw here) and a nice set of 70’s themed items:

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Heh. A nice and exclusive RPB T-shirt that references a key scene from 1978’s Animal House will be worn here in a pants optional mode. Hey, when you get older, you tend to like LESS clothing (and not just on the ladies or whatever). DOn’t ask me to explain this – you’ll hopefully live long enough to experience it yourself. I call it *Freedom!* Whee.

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The other stuff was a nice hodgepodge of items. That Space Invaders bag will get shouldered for shopping trips (and has already gotten the thumbs up seal of approval at a local game shop), I do need a tiny shark toy and maybe a tinier toy Jet Ski to go into the tiny Happy Days lunchbox (sorry, Fonzie – that’s the first tribute I thought of, aaaaayyyyyyy!), that Doctor Who journal will require a tiny pencil or pen if it’s to last the 500 years noted on that cover, and I’m wearing that Thing button as I type this just because it’s always Clobberin’ Time somewhere in the world and I need to represent.

Anyway, if your own nostalgia meter is spinning, you know what to do, right?

Tall Tales: No Plug, Just Infinite Play

Posted on January 7, 2016 by geelw

While New York Toy Fair 2016 isn’t rolling around until mid-February, for months leading up to the event my inbox has been packed to the gills with new product info I’m still sifting through. One of the press releases that caught my eye (ow.) was for an upcoming family game from SCS Direct called Tall Tales: The Game of Infinite Storytelling, which as you can see from that photo above, is packed with possibilities for yep, infinite fun (and not just for the kiddies). Hey, I do love my many videogames to death. But a good board game, party game or something social (not “social”) where anyone can join in and PLAY (gaming’s decline into a paid spectator “sport” baffles me considerably) makes for a more robust experience.

Anyway, playing the game is dirt simple, according to the press release:

Playing Tall Tales is simple- players choose a story card for their setting, draw random story elements from the bag and twist their best tale… just like the world used to do before the technology revolution. Some of the 24 story card settings include: a quirky game show, a colorful ocean, a fun theme park and a crazy circus. The story bag contains a wide range of 3-D pieces, including: a treasure chest, a baby, a unicorn and a rocketship.

Now, I don’t know about YOU, but I thought up a few ideas based on those settings and pieces in the time it took to read that paragraph. Then again, I’m a bit nuts, so I can make an epic novella from the ingredients on a cereal box (it sure beats eating what’s inside, that’s for sure). The game’s release date will be revealed at the show in February and I just may need to check it out on the show floor because it sure looks like a winner. Keep an eye (and an egg) peeled for some sort of update. Your family game nights may never be the same again.

-GW

Playmates Has Your All-Season TMNT Solution Wrapped Up Nicely

Posted on October 21, 2015 by geelw

Clever, Playmates, clever – making those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Power Sound FX Combat Gear sets (MSRP $19.99, ages 4 and up) arrive just in time for not only Halloween, but in more than enough time for Christmas gift-giving. Leo, Mikey, Raph, and Donnie’s Battle Gear are all available now and combined with a few of Playmates other cool TMNT items, make for excellent costume enhancers (or can double for actual costumes if the weather is warm and the kids don’t want to sweat it out in full regalia).

(Thanks, TMNTToys!)

Add in the Deluxe Role Play Shell (MSRP $14.99), one of the Deluxe Masks (MSRP $15.99), and maybe a set or two of those short range Walkie Talkies (MSRP $19.99) so everyone can keep in touch (although you’ll only be a few feet maximum from your pack, right? Good.) and you’re good to go for some quality trick or treating. If you’ve got one kid who’s a big TMNT fan, picking out his or her favorite Turtle should be pretty easy going. On the other hand, if you’re the proud parent of a small brood that just so happens to number between two and four, things could get slightly tricky if the kids tend to like the same turtles and get a little cranky if they can’t all be the one they like. Below the jump is a quick and fun solution to that issue. Continue reading →

Having A Steam Link Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry

Posted on October 17, 2015 by geelw

Trapped for a weekend in a creepy mansion that just so happens to NOT be haunted by anything but stale air but has a rockin’ broadband connection, a TV in every room and you just so happened to bring along your gaming laptop? Or perhaps you’re at home and would like to stretch your gameplay options to other rooms without getting a hernia moving your PC around. Well, the fine folks at Valve have gone and cooked up what’s basically a plug and play router for their Steam digital delivery service called Steam Link.

Headed your way in November, a mere $49.99 gets you instant access to your Steam library and 1080p streaming at 60 frames per second in Big Picture mode on any HDTV (but I’d gather it won’t make old or newer games that run under frame rate that move any faster). Naturally, the more powerful a computer and stronger the connection you have, the better time you’ll have. Valve has certainly been a bunch of busy little bees over the past few years and it’s clear that they want to get Steam even more popular with the masses than it’s become among the mainly gamer crowd that makes the most of it’s assorted services.

BUY IT! MVD Entertainment Has Reptiles and Ants For Sale

Posted on October 15, 2015 by geelw

Oh yep. I’ve since forgotten who introduced me to Amphetamine Reptile Records way back in the day, but it was a fine and more than a little insane musical journey that was great while it lasted. MVD Entertainment Group is getting me (and some of you) to relive those glory days of noise rock with what’s going to be one of the best documentaries on the subject, Eric Robel’s The Color of Noise in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. This trailer gives you a little taste of what to expect when the doc appears on home video November 24 and even better, MVD and AmRep will also re-issue some of the best releases from the label’s catalog on vinyl and CD starting in December 2015 and continuing into 2016 and beyond. Continue reading →

Dimension: You’ll Never Be “Board” With Kosmos’ Challenging Brain Game

Posted on May 16, 2015 by geelw

Two things you’ll absolutely require when playing Kosmos Games’ Dimension would be an absolutely flat level table and friends not prone to elbowing you in the body anywhere while you’re racing to stack colored balls while reading cards that tell you how to stack them. Once you have those all sorted out it’s all fun and games and no one is getting hurt. Dimension is a really interesting hybrid of spatial puzzle and fast-paced ball placement for 1-4 players that will test even the most skilled minds with following a handful of simple rules. All you need to do is stack 15 colored balls as you can while paying close attention to the precise instructions set forth by the rule cards laid out for each session.

Blue can’t touch orange, you can only have two black balls on your tray, none of those colors can touch a white ball and so forth and so on. All of this while a timer is ticking away and someone is probably trying to pull off a cheat that won’t work under any sort of scrutiny because they’re LAME! Yeah, I’m talking about you, you know who. Anyway, Dimension is simple to set up and you can get playing in about five or so minutes. However if you buy this game specifically to play with younger kids, make sure you or some other adult does the assembling. If you just whip out the box on your jaded brood the kids will probably end up just rolling the balls under the couch with the cat chasing after them and call it a day. I say dazzle those kids with some freshly baked cookies or other treats while you put the game together in another room before surprising them with their soon to be new obsession.

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Review: Amzer Stando Universal Tablet Stand

Posted on May 2, 2015 by geelw

You had ONE job to do, Stando… and you do it REALLY well. If you’ve poked around looking for one you probably know that tablet stands are a dime a dozen these days. Or more precisely, feel like they cost a dime a dozen to make. Some look great but tend to be flimsy, fall forward pieces of junk not worth sending back because the shipping probably costs more than the price paid. Amzer’s Stando laughs in the face of those cheap stands by being more than worth its $39.99 price tag. It’s stylish, stable and dirt simple to use for anyone interested in getting their 7 to 11-inch tablet to act as a handier (and hand-less) video player or other useful option.

There’s nothing fancy about the Stando other than the name, but this is a great thing. Out of the box it takes a few seconds to set up thanks to an intuitive design. A bend to get it open, a simple expanding of the arms to hold your tablet of choice by two corners, a bit of adjusting to your preferred viewing height (and maybe a spin to see it rotates that device a full 360 degrees) that’s that. The weighted base is perfect and even some heavy table banging for test purposes didn’t dislodge the tight grip the rubberized arms held on my tablet. I’d bet a dollar that nice clicking sound Stando makes when you adjust it was engineered in on purpose. It lends a “mechanical” sounding element to the holder as well as gets the attention of anyone in the immediate vicinity. That’s also not a bad thing as during my outdoor test at a nearby diner a few people came up to check out the Stando and ask where I got it.

As the unit is made for a single task, don’t expect anything like a USB power charger built into the base or a fancy carry bag. That said, the unit is designed so your device’s charger slot and other useful ports and buttons are always within reach. Stando will fit tablets that have one of Amzer’s silicone Jelly Cases protecting it with the same grippy relish it holds an uncased unit. This is one of those products that works so well there are no real complaints to make so it’s easy to recommend. It’s even sturdy enough to be somewhat kid-friendly provided your kid has been very well schooled in tablet handling and knows the difference between a gentle tap/swipe motion and cat-pawing a tablet to the floor. Some kids get this, some don’t – you’re mileage may vary.

Bottom line, for that $39.99, you’re getting a fantastic product that will last through many years of usage, is travel friendly and just may become your tablet’s best friend. Amzer’s got a winner here for tablet owners looking for quite possibly the best tablet stand to date. Grab one and make you flimsy stand owning friends quite jealous.

Score: A

Final Symphony: TBT Classics to Some, Totally New Favorites for Others

Posted on March 5, 2015 by geelw

(thanks, IGN!)

It’s been out for a few weeks now, but Final Symphony, featuring music from Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X performed by the London Symphony Orchestra is sitting in the #4 spot on the Billboard Classical Chart. Nobuo Uematsu‘s timeless music from the Final Fantasy series gets new arrangements from the master himself and is powerfully played by one of the most famous orchestras on the planet.

If you’re new to the game soundtrack thing, this digital LP may not make you want to pick up a controller and go seek out those older games (that requires a bit of work non-gamers may not want to tackle). But your ears will thank you for exposing them to something different whether it’s inside or outside of your comfort zone. Get it on iTunes (link above), Google Play or Amazon for somewhere between eight and ten dollars.

Best of Toy Fair 2015, Newbies Edition: Life Is Wabi-Sabi

Posted on March 5, 2015 by geelw

Note to new trade show exhibitioners: Outside of appointments where I walk away with something to review on the site or someone promises to shoot over samples later, the best way to get me to stop at your booth is to jump out in front of me and say “Hi!”. If that fails (and it usually doesn’t), feel free to use a tripwire or other handy item that gets me to stop, look and smile. Whenever that’s happened at Toy Fair, I’ve always seen stuff that makes me want to write cool things about. Here are a few of this year’s products and people that reached out at the right moment:

Meeting the Life is Wabi-Sabi crew was a highlight of the show because Aaron Castillo Jr. and Marilyn bought that Big Island spirit from Hawaii all the way to NYC, braving the record-breaking cold weather to introduce their SUPER cute line of buttons, magnets and plush kitties. Seeing that big-eyed imperfect cat stopped me in my tracks and made me smile for a few reasons. There’s just something wonderfully zen about that cat that makes you want to pick it up and stare back for a spell.
Continue reading →