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About Me

 

Known as MAD's Maddest Writer, co-host of The Giz Wiz with OMGchad at www.GizWiz.TV, The Giz Wiz on ABC's World News Now, and on Tech Guy Labs with Leo Laporte on www.TWiT.TV

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    The Giz Wiz is a weekly guest on The Tech Guy Show with -- who else? - The Tech Guy himself, Leo Laporte.

    Leo Laporte & I chat about some sort of fun or weird gadget weekly his The Tech Guy Radio Show. The show is syndicated by Premiere to over 180 radio stations around the country. Leo's closing in on 1.5 million listeners! I'm on the Saturday Show with The Giz Wiz Gadget of the Week. My spot is on about 1:45 PM PST / 4:45 PM EST. 

    And if you watch The Tech Guy stay tuned. Because after the Tech Guy Show  Leo does The New Screen Savers Show, and then I return to do Giz Fiz PM, a show with viewer questions, Match Game questions, videos, guest of the week and more! That starts when New Screen Saver ends..about 5:00 PM PST/ 8:00 PM EST. Watch it all at

    http://www.twitlive.tv/

    All The Tech Guy Labs show notes, shows & info can be found here:

    http://techguylabs.com/radio/ 

    Below are the gadgets we've talked about on the show.

    Saturday
    Sep242022

    It's Bananas - A Fun Game Where You Use Your 'Monkey Tail' To Catch Targets!

    Yes, the game is called It’s Bananas! And it's a lot of laughs!

    The Monkey Game for Kids, Teens, and Tipsy Adults (According to the company!) Here’s more from them:

    Bananas is the smash-hit party game that will have your friends and family howling from the moment you strap on a monkey tail to your last squat. Split into two teams, warm up those thighs, and whoever collects the most bananas wins! Easy … or is it? Bananas have gone viral on TikTok multiple times, with over 50 MILLION views! Gameplay is super easy to follow (perfect for monkeys with short attention spans) but hard to master, making it the perfect addition to your card and board game collection. As you’ll see in my video, even though I'm alone trying to catch a target, it looks pretty funny! About $22 to $23 as of 9/24/22 

    In the photo — that’s one of the included ‘monkey tails’ hanging down.

    Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/BPXHtQyuaNY 

    Amazon Bananas Game: https://amzn.to/3weP1J4

    As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases. You pay no more.

    Saturday
    Sep172022

    Remember Amusement Park Bumper Cars? Now You Can Own One!

    Last year at the Day of Play Toy Event people loved the Flybar Kid Bumper Car. Yes, a kid-sized version of a bumper car just like you'd find at an old time amusement park! They were so popular they made the list of “Hottest Toys of 2021” list. Even though it was designed for kids the folks at the Flybar booth said adults tried to get in one! There were many requests for a bigger 'adult-sized' bumper car. We worked long and hard and yes, we were able to built on! Meet the Flybar Bumper Car XL! This bumper car seats two kids or one adult and reaches a maximum speed of 3 mph. It is made with a soft rubber bumper that protects walls and furniture. It's joy-stick driven with a joystick for the right and the left hand. I drove one at the toy event and they are great fun! It even has flashing LED lights that reflect down on the floor. With a capacity of 200 pounds, it can hold one adult or two kids. They're powered by a 6 volt battery and on a full charge will run for about 25 minutes. John, one of the company execs said: “Believe me 25 minutes will be a lot playing in one of these cars”. Of course for max fun, you'll need to have at least two of these Flybar Bumper Car XL.

    Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/OvLEfcO4zYg

     

    Company: https://www.flybar.com/collections/ride-ons-1

    Saturday
    Sep102022

    Bose Invents Earbuds With Sound Customised For Your Own Ears!

    Bose introduced their QuietComfort Earbuds II at a press event on Wednesday, September 7th. The new earbuds are 1/3 smaller than their earlier version & weigh just 1/3 oz each. I spoke with John Rule, one of the lead engineers who worked on the Custom Tune technology which took 5 years to develop. I thought what they came up with was quite amazing. When you put these new earbuds on, they emit a “light chime” sound into the user’s ear canal which measures how the sound waves move inside that confined space. Then it customize the EQ of music to that user’s ears. It uses that data too to customize the way the phones cancel out ambient noise. Bose says its new earbuds cancel out the noise of the outside world better than any other consumer headphone, including over-the-ear models. Here's how they proved how they effective they are in noise reduction. While we were listening to music via the QC earbuds II in a demo room, we suddenly saw subway trains projected on the walls. A few seconds supered over the subway trains was 'Remove your CG II earbuds'. When I did that the noise of the subway was LOUD - and the earbuds had completely blocked it out. For outdoors, or conversation, you can switch to “Aware Mode”. There are 4 microphones, two in each earbud. There's 6 hrs of use with a full charge in the earbuds themselves. Plus 3 full charges from the case for a total of 24 hours. USB-C charging cable included. The Earbuds II come with three sizes of silicone ear tips, to better fit all ear sizes. They also include three sizes of “stabilizer bands,” a ring of soft silicon around the middle of the earbud that molds to the shape of your outer ear, holding the earbud firmly in place.  They'll be $299.00 & go on sale September 15th.  Triple Black ships 1st, Sand Stone ships in November.

    Unboxing the QuietComfort Earbuds II – Bose video.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5lpYnwq06c

     

    QuietComfort Earbuds II Set-Up.... Bose video.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQFg7UEDY48

     

    Bose QC II Website: https://www.bose.com/en_us/pxp/quietcomfort-earbuds-ii.html

     

    Many more details & preorder on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3B61VuD

     

    As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases. You pay no more.

    Saturday
    Sep032022

    Helpful Gadgets For Back To School, And Back To Work Too!

    If you want to write in ink, you can erase it if you want.
    I never knew there was an ‘erasable ballpoint pen’! But there were a lot of Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens at the New Products Show. I tried and was impressed with the way they work. Some more info from the company: FriXion is the first erasable fine point marker pen. Its unique thermo-sensitive ink formula lets you erase and rewrite repeatedly with ease without ruining the page. The FriXion gel ink pen writes smooth & erases clean. (I was amazed at how it erases and there are no shavings to dust away.) Frixion is the 1st and only pen authenticated by the nation’s leading STEM accreditation and education organization. Over at Amazon you’ll find a huge assortment of styles in the FriXion line. They can cost as little as $1.06 when bought in packages. ($ as of 8/4/22)

    Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/vxHRN35XkpY

    Check the latest price on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Q01eJt

    As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases. You pay no more.

     

    Another Back To School Gadget or Great For Anyone Who Uses a Padlock! 

    While browsing Amazon for gadgets I found the Master Lock Magnification Combination Lock. Some info from the company: The Master Lock Magnification Combination Lock eliminates the hassle of wearing glasses at the gym or pool and the frustration of entering your combination multiple times due to miss dialing. The unique lens design offers high contrast numbers, 360° of magnification, and obscured visibility to onlookers. With the traditional rotary dial functionality, an easy to grip soft-touch dial ring and tactile dial feedback at each number, precise dialing is assured.

    From the Giz Wiz: I do like the big black numbers on a white background and the magnification lens. And as you turn the dial every number has a click. But you should be aware you can’t set your combination, you have to use the one assigned to the lock. (They are said to be about 6500 combinations available. It comes in colors, but you have to accept the one they ship. But it was only $8.18 on 9/1/22.

    Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/hTrRuoi4LPg

    Check the latest price on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ApDgk6

    As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases. You pay no more.

     

    Here’s a reasonably priced back-to-school backpack with lots of features!

    This is great for students or anyone who carry a lot of stuff. It’s a backpack that can expand by about 20-25% if you need more room! The Matein Backpack is expandable from 29.5L to 36.8L by opening a zipper. There’s a padded compartment for a laptop, Chromebook, MacBook up to 15.6”. 17 difference pockets for everything you need to carry. Even a key fob hook. Two side elastic net pockets for umbrella and water bottle. The luggage strap allows the backpack to be placed on a rolling suitcase handle to free your hands and back. But wait, there’s more! With the built in USB charging cable port you have a more convenient way to charge things. The Anti Theft hidden pocket on the back, can protect your valuable items from being stolen while you’re wearing it. It was $33.00 on 9/3/22, which I think is a fair price considering all the features.

    Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/mbHxbP1GEFc

    Check the latest price on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QhWQoW

    As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases. You pay no more.

    Saturday
    Aug272022

    Soundcore Introduces Their Smallest Earbuds yet!

    The Soundcore Space A40 Earbuds are pretty amazing. Not only are they the smallest earbuds Soundcore has ever made, but I bet they're also the lightest. On my postal scale the case and earbuds weighed 2.0 oz. The earbuds alone weighted .04 oz. There's up to 10 hrs of power in the A40 earbuds when fulled charged, plus 40 hours of charge time in the case. With fast charge, a 10 minute charge provides enough power to last up to 4 hrs. As tiny as they are, there are 6 microphones & AI for phone call clarity and Automatic Noise Reduction. The case itself can be wirelessly charged or charged via USB-C. Noise canceling and noise-blocking fit can reduce outside noise up to 98%. If you're outside, you can use 'Transparency Mode' available in the app. HearID Sound creates a personalized sound profile that’s tailored precisely to your ears. Take the test in the app while wearing your A40 earbuds. The earbuds come with silicone earbuds on them, probably the medium size. They happen to fit me ears perfectly. The package has 4 more pairs in various sizes from x-small to x-large. Supports Bluetooth 5.2, AAC, LDAC, and SBC codecs. Available now (Released 8/25/22) in black, navy blue & white. $99.99. Amazon & the Soundcore website.

    Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/ZKMmT4H2H7k 

     

    Check the latest price on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Antzml

     

    As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases. You pay no more.