Broil bacon in the microwave

Health concerns aside, one of the biggest drawbacks of cooking bacon is the mess: Greasy splatters on your cooktop and/or stacks of soiled paper towels. The WowBacon bacon broiler (US$20) promises to keep grease contained while cooking bacon to perfection--in your microwave.

Of course, cooking bacon in the device is slightly more complicated than just throwing it in a pan. First, you drape the bacon over a six-pronged rack and attach the lid to the top of the rack. Then lower the rack into the grease-catching cup and secure it with the attached clamps. The pitcher-like device is then ready to go into the microwave, where the bacon reportedly broils at more than 425 degrees. When it's done, lift the lid and rack out of the cup, pull the bacon off the rack (blotting any remaining grease if needed) and enjoy.

I'm not normally one for single-purpose gadgets, especially the "as seen on TV" kind. But, as someone whose BLT craving once drove her to attempt to fry bacon in a dorm room hot pot, I can see the appeal of this gadget for college students or other bacon lovers who'd rather not stand at the stove for their daily dose of salty pork.

Via CNET blogs

A thumbdrive for sober imbibers

USB thumbdrives are going the Swiss Army way in their all-in-one multiple offerings, and this latest gives Victorinox a run for its tools. Who'd have thought that a TrekStor can today not only store digital files (up to 16GB), it'll even pop that beer bottle cap off anytime you fancy a tipple. Bottoms up to two very nice combinations for press launches or office retreats: Data and drinking. What's more, this makes for a pretty nifty keychain addon, too, with its solid brushed-aluminum finish and snazzy bottle opener at the end. TrekStore has slated this for October at US$12-US$88, depending on the capacity.

Via Uncrate

Diamonds are a Lotus' best friend

Lotus is taking the idea of its diamond (or 60th) anniversary a little too seriously, releasing a diamond-encrusted version of its Europa sports car. Now, if you're imagining the Europa with a body comprised of the hardest substance known to man, the car doesn't go that far. It merely has diamonds set in the shifter (ouch!), the switchgear, the instruments, and the hood badge.

The car also gets a special paint job which, according to Lotus, gives "the appearance the car has been showered with diamonds." But Lotus actually mixed glass flakes into the paint to achieve this look.

Lotus is taking the idea of its diamond (or 60th) anniversary a little too seriously, releasing a diamond-encrusted version of its Europa sports car. Now, if you're imagining the Europa with a body comprised of the hardest substance known to man, the car doesn't go that far. It merely has diamonds set in the shifter (ouch!), the switchgear, the instruments, and the hood badge.

The car also gets a special paint job which, according to Lotus, gives "the appearance the car has been showered with diamonds". But Lotus actually mixed glass flakes into the paint to achieve this look.

Via CNET Car Blogs

Virtual personal assistants make life easier

Too busy to book airline tickets, order takeout food, or call your parents? For US$19 per month, virtual personal assistants from AskSunday.com will run 10 such errands for you.

Welcome to the world of online errand outsourcing, where on sites like AskSunday.com and GetFriday.com, ordinary people can get assistance with everyday tasks, for a small amount. SFGate recently ran an Associated Press article on the phenomenon, citing the growing number of Web sites that are making it easier to outsource virtual errands overseas to countries like India, China, and Bangladesh.

Some of the more unusual tasks handled by GetFriday.com include:


Read more »

For now, Honda will skip electric vehicles

TOKYO--One name is conspicuously absent from the electric vehicle hoopla: Honda.

And R&D chief Masaaki Kato says that is for good reason. Honda Motor Co. has no plans to produce electric vehicles.

The battery technology is not ready, he says.

"Nowadays, the most advanced batteries are lithium ion batteries. But even though the size is getting smaller, the density of the energy is still too poor for cars," Kato said.

For the foreseeable future, electric cars will be limited to short-distance city runabouts. By 2015, they will account for less than 1 percent of the market in developed countries, Kato said.

"For personal use, an EV is fine for about 80 percent of your driving, but not for the remaining 20 percent," Kato said here last month.
Read more »

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