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Most Expensive . . .

coffee maker, ever.

I recently wrote an article about the Xelsis, a cool little coffee maker that retails for around $3000.  I balked at the figure, though I realized that my bill at Starbucks was probably going to hit that amount eventually.

What I didn’t know was that there are even more expensive coffee makers out there.  Much more expensive.

Take the Siphon Bar, for example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/banky177/

Apparently it takes months of training to operate this sucker.  It heats carafes of water (that look like scientific beakers) via halogen-powered burners.  When these hit the proper temperature, a second carafe is placed on top of each one.  After a bit, the heat forces water vapor into the grounds, which creates a coffee mud of sorts that is rapidly stirred with a bamboo paddle.  Finally, the brown liquid gold is siphoned back into the initial water carafe to make a fine cup of joe. 

You can buy one of these for your home—but be ready to spend $20,000. 

But, even with that price tag, the Siphon is not the most expensive coffee maker in the world.

That honor belongs to the Javabot.  As far as I can tell, these machines are not available for home use, existing only in shops owned by the Roasting Plant Coffee Company.

This machine apparently flows throughout the entire store—like veins in a human body. Mike Caswell, an industrial engineer, created the prototype of this ubër giant coffee machine in his basement—out of vacuum cleaner parts.  The idea was to have one machine that would provide every aspect of the coffee making process—from roasting the bean to pouring the cup of deliciousness.

I was unable to get the price tag of this incredibly cool machine—but I’m willing to bet it tops the Siphon.

I can safely say that my girlfriend and her Mom, being huge coffee aficionados, would love to have either of these machines.

But, with the economy being the way it is, looks like the ol’ Black & Decker SmartBrew  may have to do.

by John Barker

Written by editor on September 8, 2010 at 10:26 am
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Things Not to Do With a Fish Tank

Fish tanks are a beautiful and cost-effective way to brighten up a home.  But—if you’re stupid enough—they can get pretty darned expensive thanks to water damage.

Take this kid, for example:

 

Okay—that was an honest accident.  I suspect the kid will be more careful next time he’s flexing his massive guns around glass objects.

But this next video . . .well, some people are just stupid on purpose.  Best guide the kiddies out of the room for this one—it ends with a naughty word.  And if you’re in PETA, avoid this video altogether.

The results were predictable, though I thought for sure those fish were goners.  I like being wrong about things like that.

Then you have the random factor that is a cat.  As I write this, my 25-pound furry buddy (Buster) is trying to squeeze behind the entertainment center – and, like an octopus, he is somehow compressing his body to the thickness of a sheet of paper.  In other words, he’s succeeding.  And in a minute or two I’m gonna have to get up and pull his fat ass out because he’ll get stuck.  He’s done this before.

But I digress.  This next video shows you why I currently don’t have a fish tank:

That could have ended a lot worse.  If a cat the size of mine did that, there would be glass, water, and fish all over the floor.

I guess there’s a little lesson in here somewhere.  Buy a fish tank.  Enjoy its beauty.  But, unless you have flood insurance, don’t go swingin’ heavy stuff around it, blowing it up, or allowing your cat a preview of the night’s menu.

by John Barker

Written by editor on September 3, 2010 at 10:26 am
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Broom Groomer

Okay, I’m just gonna say up front that I’m not sure what the benefit of this product is.  It’s supposed to be a “sweeping improvement” in dustpans.  But why is it called the Broom Groomer?

Let’s check it out together, shall we?

What you have here is a dustpan augmented with a row of rubber teeth in the back.  When you sweep dust into the pan, these teeth supposedly clean the broom’s bristles, which eliminates annoying dust bunnies the sweeper has to dislodge from the broom by hand.  I wish I had a hunting license to bag as many dust bunnies as possible.  I’m sure I currently exceed the limit and could get fined by the cleaning police . . .

Sorry… got distracted for a sec there…

The Broom Groomer is made of durable plastic with rubber on the grip.  A footrest is built into the handle—which angles downward.  This is something that makes a helluva lot of sense to me.  I hate it when I’m sweeping and the dustpan crawls across the flow with each stroke of the broom.

The Broom Groomer is available for pre-sale at Quirky for $9.99.  Here’s the design pitch—and the guy makes quite a good argument about why this is a great idea:

I’m sold.  And believe me, I need it.  The dust bunnies are currently building a warren in my house . . .

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 29, 2010 at 10:05 am
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Cooking in the Dishwasher

As a chef  (yep—I used to be a chef. . .now I’m just a burnt out husk of a cook), I’ve encountered a wide variety of bizarre cooking methods.  Like this one:  poaching salmon in the dishwasher.

This concept has been around for a long time.  Horror master and brilliant gourmand Vincent Price apparently cooked fish in a dishwasher on the Tonite Show back in the late 1970s.  I have one of his cookbooks – but couldn’t find any info on that little event.

This guy, Tom Scott, tackles the project with quite a bit of zeal:

WITH the dirty dishes????!?!?!?!?  That can’t be good for you.  And it kind of grosses me out.  I mean, I’m all for multi-tasking and such, but that’s sort of akin to eating a Twinkie that’s buried in the garbage and covered in coffee grounds. Isn’t it?

I admire the enthusiasm of Mr. Scott in the video above – particularly the gusto with which he scarfs down his meal. 

Here’s another version; this recipe has bit more skepticism and scrunched up foil. 

Yum!  Delicious soapy water and gritty detergent flavoring anyone?

I’m not saying that the method doesn’t work.

But I am saying that I’m not gonna try it.  My oven works fine, thank you very much.

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 26, 2010 at 2:04 pm
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Your Next Mower

I suppose in some parts of the country, there are people who are counting down to the last mow of the season.  But, where I live in Florida, mowing the lawn is never out of season.  NEVER. 

Lucky for me, lawnmowers are going high-tech.  I’m one of those guys who will maintain my van without a second thought; I’m never behind on fluids, brakes, oil, or anything.  But when it comes to my lawnmower. . . well, I feel sorry for the poor thing.  And Snapper knows that I’m not the only person out there who isn’t diligent when it comes to mower maintenance.

In collaboration with BMW Group DesignworksUSA, Snapper conducted research on what FIYers like us would consider to be the ultimate lawnmower.

The result is the Snapper NXT series:

While the push start button and the multi-notched cutting system are cool, there are some other features that are also worth noticing.

The walk-behind mower apparently responds to the “pace” of the user with something called the REACT™ Drive System.  This intuitive system senses your inertia and compensates the mower’s speed accordingly.

The riding mower offers a tight turning radius, an ergonomic seat, and really bright LED headlights.

What interests me the most, however, is an option that comes on both mowers: a dashboard with a digital display.  On this you will find information crucial to the mower’s maintenance, including oil, filter, and spark plug status.

The mowers range in price from $499 (for the walk-behind) to $2600 for the rider – unless, of course, you can snag an end-of-the-season bargain!

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 23, 2010 at 11:03 am
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Bug Bomb Fun

Fumigating your house is not fun.  You can make it fun by holding some sort of beer bash in your garage while the bug bombs go off, I suppose.  At least that’s what I do.  Having a Cornhole tournament usually gets things going nicely.

Nonetheless, I think we can all agree that bug bombing is an annoyance.  What I didn’t know, however, is that it can also be explosive:

Something smells a little fishy to me.  I’ve never had a random pilot light problem.  In fact, I spent much of yesterday trying to figure out how to turn ona pilot light in a professional gas oven/stove.  Hint to me in case I forget: it’s waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back and can only be reached if you shrink to the size of an atom.

Sorry . . . got distracted.

The bug bombs I’ve used in the past wouldn’t ignite anything.  They just sprayed a huge cloud of gas all over the place.  Call me naive, but I’ve never seen any bug bombs that had to be lit like something from a fireworks factory until I sat down and started working on this article.

I’m not leaving any ignited substance unattended in my house.  That’s just. . . well, it’s just crazy.

While the guy above obviously didn’t have much fun with his bug bomb, this guy used his experience as inspiration:

If only it were that easy…

And then you have The Mythbusters.  Bug bombs inspired them in a slightly different manner.  And, if you watch that show, you know there always something that’s gonna blow up.

God, I’d love that job. . .

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 22, 2010 at 10:29 am
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Bucket Buddy 2

Recently, I wrote a brief article about the Bucket Buddy, a device that assists in carrying and pouring heavy buckets of water.  It seems there are actually quite a few products out there named Bucket Buddy. There are Bucket Buddy chairs, Bucket Buddy grooming caddies, Bucket Buddy ATV carrier devices, and more.    

Take this Bucket Buddy for instance:

Larry

Larry Humphrey of Emory, Texas invented this sucker.  It was created out of necessity when he needed to clear some foliage around his assisted-living facility.  The prototype was so successful that he decided to start Bucket Buddy Products and applied for a patent on the device.  Unfortunately, it does not appear that this product has come to market.

Then there’s this Bucket Buddy — and this one seems made for me:

Made of recycled materials, the Bucket Buddy uses 30% less ice than a regular beer . . . um . . . I mean water bucket.  The design makes sense.

Divots around the outside allow for greater surface area coverage for the ice that goes in the center.  It comes in a variety of colors as well.

There are more items called Bucket Buddy.  Many more.  But I think I’ve made my point: If you have an invention involving a bucket of any kind, it would be best to avoid naming it Bucket Buddy . . .

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 15, 2010 at 10:43 am
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Just Say No to Crack!

We’ve all seen it.  And like a car wreck or a penguin on a unicycle, it’s difficult to turn away from.

Picture the scene: your kitchen sink refuses to drain.  You try clearing it with a plunger.  No go.  You then use a little snake to hopefully rid the pipes of whatever hell-spawned blob is causing the obstruction.  Still no luck.

So you call a plumber.  And this is what you see:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jganderson/3037650580/in/pool-624266@N22/

Plumber’s butt.  And worse.  You know what I mean. 

I’m not sure why but plumber’s butt, also known as plumber’s crack, inspires more than a few people to take up a video camera and get creative—like this guy, who inter-cuts audio from the classic film, Jaws:

 

But not all plumbers have to be men, right?  Where are plumbers like this when I have issues with my kitchen sink?

I saved the best for last—but don’t let the kiddies in the room when you watch this:

Gah!  See, that’s more like the kind of plumber I’d get in my house…  Except he’d be in his 60s and talk incessantly about how he itches everywhere…

Am I slamming plumbers?  Hell no.  I respect them immensely.  That’s some pretty hard work, my friends.

And if we’ve gotta see a little crack to get the job done… well, I can think of worse things.

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 13, 2010 at 1:31 pm
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Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite – Part 1

 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bed_bug,_Cimex_lectularius.jpg

I have a friend who was living in New York City and had her apartment infested by bed bugs.  From what I can gather, they migrated from a neighboring apartment thanks to an infested couch the neighbor dragged in off of the street.

The resulting cost in furniture loss alone (she had to throw out her bed, couch, and more) was staggering.  I remember her telling me she slept on the floor for quite some time while saving money for a new bed.

So . . . What are bed bugs and how do you deal with an infestation?

Bed bugs eat blood.  Unlike vampires, you’re not required to invite them in before they start feeding on you.

They are found in beds, blankets, sheets, and pillows  – as would be expected given their name.  But they can also be found behind switch plates, and wallpaper, in picture frames, and in cracks in a baseboard. They are little and flat and can hide easily.   

Bed bugs are often found in hotels and can be carried home with you in your luggage. 

Female bed bugs can pop out 1 to 5 eggs each day.  Under “bed bug optimal living conditions,” they live around 300 days.  That’s 300 to 1500 new little bed bugs bouncing on your pillowcase—and that’s from just one bed bug giving birth!  Let’s not get into all the sorts of freaky hybrids that can occur . . . Gah!

How can you tell a bed bug from… well, something that isn’t a bed bug?  It’s not easy, but there are a few telltale signs.

Bed bugs are about  3/16-inch long and oval.  When hungry, they are brown with a reddish tint and flat.  When full of blood, they tend to be redder in color—and quite fat for a bug.

This video from the National Geographic Channel should give you chills:

So, how do you know if you have bed bugs?  And if you do, should you worry about them spreading disease throughout your home?

And most importantly: how do you get rid of them?

Stay tuned for  Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite – Part 2.

And in the meantime, sweet dreams! 

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 12, 2010 at 3:42 pm
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DIY HDTV Antenna

While I’ve not yet moved into the world of HDTV (I simply don’t have the money to blow on a new television when I have three perfectly fine older ones), I can’t help but admire this relatively new technology.  Not only is the video from cable, DVD, and Blu-Ray incredibly clear, but off-air signals are extremely impressive as well.

But some people don’t realize that the off-air signal may not reach their home.  So, there they are, stuck with a giant, rectangular sculpture  in the living room that picks up a few channels—but with artifacts and glitches through the picture.

But fret not, my fellow FIY-ers!  If you are in this situation, you are not alone.  And babblin5 at Metacafe has a solution: make your own.  With just a few simple materials (clothes hangers, washers, wood, screws, and a small length of cable line), babblin5 claims you can easily make a HD antenna that will outperform store-bought models.

The following (very well made) instructional video will walk you through the process:


See what I mean?  Easy and inexpensive!  And it appears to work really well!  What more could you ask for?

If anyone tries it, let us know how it works out. 

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 11, 2010 at 3:29 pm
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