It's Memorial Day weekend so I wanted something red, white & blue.

I came up with The Wave! This gadget is long out of production, but it’s still available on Amazon.com It’s called The Wave because it’s billed as the first windless, self-waving flag. You push a button to start the realistic flag waving action. And as the flag waves, it plays one of three songs: The Star Spangled Banner, My Country Tis of Thee or Stars and Strips forever. The Wave is a touch over 17” tall.  There's a built in volume control which can be turned all the way down to zero if you just wish to watch the flag’s self-waving action.  It's battery operated and it runs on three AA batteries. The manufacturer, SRM Entertainment, partnered with the co-inventor of the Atari 2600 and a co-inventor of Furby to develop The Wave technology. This was back in 2005. Although the company website is gone, if you do a web search, you can find a couple of places that stil sell it for about $40.

Enhance the audio coming from your iPad, iPhone iPod, and iPod Touch.

The new iWOW 3D is from SRS Labs. They’re the folks who really know how to get the best out of almost any audio source. The SRS iWOW 3D is a small, shiny black audio device. On one end is a standard 30-pin connector for most iPads, iPhones or iPods, including the Touch. A 3-inch flexible line-out headphone jack is at other end.  Even though this gizmo is small, it utilizes many of the patented SRS technologies designed to bring sound to life. Recorded music that sounds “canned”, comes to life with the iWOW3D. A push of the single button on the device turns it on and off. When the button is illuminated, it’s on. But you’ll know for sure it’s on, by the amazing sound. The name is said to come from people saying “wow” when turning on an SRS audio enhancement device. I just listened to music, which sounded richer and deeper with the iWOW 3D. Checking reviews on the web I find people are equally impressed when using it for movies and games. The first time I plugged the iWOW 3D into my iPod TOUCH, the screen said this device requires an app that is not on my device – and would I like to download it. It’s a quick, free download. The SRS iWOW App lets you select headphones, speakers or car and optimizes the sound accordingly. There’s an “advanced mode” that lets you increase bass, increase treble and add a widened surround sound effect. Each of those three choices are either turned on or off, there’s no fine adjustment. There are two models. The basic kit contains just the SRS iWOW 3D audio enhancement adaptor and costs about $50. The higher priced kit adds five interchangeable color faceplates and a pair of very decent earbuds. That retails for about $20 more. But it’s likely you already have a favorite pair of headphones. And I happen to prefer the “tech” black of the device itself.

www.srslabs.com/store   (Check out the prices on Amazon too.)

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1313

A neat travel 'natural spectrum' light.

Verilux, famous for their natural spectrum light, has a great folding light for travel. Their Rechargeable Travel Lamp not only provides Natural Spectrum light for that dark hotel desk when you travel, but it’s great for home or work projects too. This folding flip lamp features 11 LED bulbs to provide color balance and high contrast. Verilux is famous for their daylight illumination devices. The Travel Lamp ships with rechargeable batteries or it can powered by the included AC Adapter. The AC Adapter is also used to charge the Travel Lamp. Strangely I couldn’t find it mentioned anywhere, not even on the Travel Lamp box, but there’s also USB adapter included. It’s perfect when you’re using the light at your computer. Just power it, and charge it too from your laptop. When fully charged, the Travel Lamp can run for four hours on the internal rechargeable (and user replaceable) batteries. It can also function as a reading light in bed or additional illumination in the car, boat or RV. List price is $29.95, but as of May 7^th, 2011 it’s on the company website for half price! Just $14.98. (I don’t know how long that price will be effect.)

http://www.verilux.com/full-spectrum-portables/travel-lamp

See or Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1313

A kitchen mash-up that's really unique!

Some weeks ago a reader let us know about sort of strange new merging of devices for the kitchen. It was the Breville Toaster with built in Internet Radio. It's not yet available in the US. But there's another new gadget that IS available here in the US. ADE Germany, respected for its hospital, industrial and kitchen scales, has entered the market with it’s own unique mash-up. Called the Joy scale, it’s the first electronic kitchen scale with a built in licensed iPod docking/charging station. So now you can cook while listening to your favorite tunes. On a crowded kitchen counter it eliminates having to have a a stand alone iPod docking station. The Joy Scale offers results in pounds, fluid ounces, or grams and it weighs dry and liquid ingredients in increments of .04 ounces / 1 gram. The add-and-weigh (tare) function allows for weighing all ingredients in the same container. Battery and overload indicators keep users alerted to how the system is functioning, and an automatic shut off helps preserve battery life. The large weighing surface is made of safety glass, for worry-free weighing. The docking port is compatible with all current iPods. And need we say it, no iPod product is included! The single speaker is located in the base and provides decent sound for its size. Obviously you’ll be using this a background music player as you cook. The scale is powered by one CR 2043 lithium battery, included. You must use the AC adapter, which is also included to power the speaker and charge your iPod while it’s docked in the Joy Scale. Price under $100.

http://tinyurl.com/3dylz46

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1308

You've heard of an undershirt, but have you heard of a Thundershirt?

Fairway models her Thundershirt outside the Gizneyland Studio. The wet sidewalk shows we just had a rainstorm.At a Pet Show a gentlemen asked if I knew about ThunderShirt.  I didn't, and was willing to listen, especially when he said he was great for dogs who got upset during thunder storms. ThunderShirt is designed to apply gentle pressure on a dog’s torso which offers a calming effect. It sure worked great on my dog a few days before I showed this product on the air. NYC had several loud thunder storms with pounding rain. Instead of hiding in the bathroom, my 10 year old dog (Fairway) stayed in the living room! And during one storm she actually ate her dinner while wearing her ThunderShirt. The company says that the Thundershirt’s gentle, constant pressure has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited. Based on surveys completed by over two thousand customers, over 80% of dogs show significant improvement in symptoms when using Thundershirt. It should fit snugly, so check out the correct size for your dog on their website. $36.

www.thundershirt.com

See or hear this episode: www.twit.tv/dgw1311