21APR2024

Happy Sunday to all! Let's jump right in to the good stuff this week--

• 🎲 Wyrmwood Table - The maniacs over at Wyrmwood are back with another Kickstarter to launch their new modular gaming table. Watch the video to see the concept, but in short, it's a made to order, beautiful dining table where the top can be removed in sections to reveal a felt-lined gaming table for tabletop games, puzzles, half-finished Lego projects, etc. I want one.
• 🔌 Veger Charger / Batter - Chase Reeves' shared this thing in a recent EDC backpack dump video (Shoutout to BC for the share!) It's a really clever little travel battery with a built-in folding plug for recharging directly in wall outlets. It also has built-in USB-C, Lightning, and USB-Micro cables for powering whatever devices needs juice at any given moment. While I normally am Team Anker when it comes to charging accessories, I wound up grabbing one off Amazon and really digging it. Instantly added to my default travel packing list.
• 🍍 The Beast Mini - I'd seen this mini blender in the background of some cooking videos lately, and when my lovely wife recently commented in passing that she'd someday like a smaller blender that took up less counter space than our Vitamix, I leapt at the opportunity to grab one to try out. Don't get me wrong, we still have and love our Vitamix, but there are just a lot of tasks for which it is overkill, and it's too big to leave out on our counter all the time. Enter the Beast (Mini). It's the perfect size for making a single serving smoothie, or for whipping up 2-3 servings of frozen margaritas. The clever design lets you blend a beverage and then twist on a cap and straw to take your beverage on the go. Cleaning is a snap as well, thanks to the bladed section being easily removed and rinsed. We've had it for a week but are already using it a ton.
• 🕹️ Delta Emulator - With the recent Apple App Store policy change to allow emulator apps in to the store, it was just a matter of time until a really great retro game emulator launched for the iPhone / iPad... It arrived this week in the form of Delta, a cleverly designed app that lets you play your old Nintendo NES, SNES, Gameboy, and Gameboy Advance games on your phone. You can even connect a Bluetooth controller to your phone and then AirPlay your phone's screen to your Apple TV to play on the big screen.
• 🔍 Perplexity.AI - I mentioned Perplexity back in August last year in this space, and I've found myself using it more and more lately. It differentiates itself from ChatGPT in that it searches the web in realtime, and cites its sources in-line. It's also getting to be pretty darn fast. It integrates with Raycast so you can search right from the Command Bar on your Mac, and also has a nice iOS app that integrates directly with Siri via Shortcuts. While I still use Kagi when looking for something particular on the web, Perplexity has become my first stop for when I quickly need to gather information but don't know where to look (or what exactly I'm looking for).

That's it for this week! Be well, everyone.