File under "when the going gets tough, the tough (read schoolteachers) get creative."

What with school budgets being slashed so much that teachers routinely pay for supplies out of their own pockets, Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, California) High School calculus teacher Tom Farber decided there's got to be a better way.

His solution: sell ad space at the bottom of his test papers.

His rates seem quite reasonable, actually: $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test and $30 for a semester final exam.

Here's today's USA Today front page story by Greg Toppo and Janet Kornblum on the new new thing in higher education.

Ads on tests add up for teacher

Tom Farber gives a lot of tests. He's a calculus teacher, after all.

So when administrators at Rancho Bernardo, his suburban San Diego high school, announced the district was cutting spending on supplies by nearly a third, Farber had a problem. At 3 cents a page, his tests would cost more than $500 a year. His copying budget: $316. But he wanted to give students enough practice for the big tests they'll face in the spring, such as the Advanced Placement exam.

"Tough times call for tough actions," he says. So he started selling ads on his test papers: $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, $30 for a semester final.

San Diego magazine and The San Diego Union-Tribune featured his plan just before Thanksgiving, and Farber came home from a few days out of town to 75 e-mail requests for ads. So far, he has collected $350. His semester final is sold out.

That worries Robert Weissman, managing director of Commercial Alert, a Washington-based non-profit that fights commercialization in school and elsewhere. If test-papers-as-billboards catches on, he says, schools in the grip of tough economic times could start relying on them to help the bottom line.

"The advertisers are paying for something, and it's access to kids," he says.

About two-thirds of Farber's ads are inspirational messages underwritten by parents. Others are ads for local businesses, such as two from a structural engineering firm and one from a dentist who urges students, "Brace Yourself for a Great Semester!"

Principal Paul Robinson says reaction has been "mixed," but he notes, "It's not like, 'This test is brought to you by McDonald's or Nike.' "

To Farber, 47, it's a logical solution: "We're expected to do more with less."

The National Education Association says teachers spend about $430 out of their pockets each year for school supplies. This semester, Christine Van Ruiten, a teacher at E.C. Reems, a charter school in East Oakland, has spent $2,000. She scours Craigslist for free supplies and posts requests to DonorsChoose.org, which matches teachers with donors.

Founded in 2000 by Charles Best, then a Bronx teacher, DonorsChoose has funded about 65,000 projects totaling $26 million. Best calls it "a more dignified, substantive alternative for teachers than selling candy door-to-door — and certainly than selling ad space on final exams. That's crazy."

The picture below appeared with the USA Today story.

Its caption: "A small ad for Arcon Structural Engineer Inc. on the bottom of the first page of a test paper in math teacher Tom Farber's Advanced Placement calculus class at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego."

Baking

• New Metro Design Beater Blade
• Wilton Cookie Press Pro Ultra 2
• Slice Solutions 11-by-7-Inch Precut Brownie Pan Set

General News

• Black Friday Kitchen Gadget Deals at Amazon
• Happy Thanksgiving from Kitchen Contraptions 2008

Holiday Gift Guide

• 2008 Kitchen Contraptions Holiday Gift Guide

Kitchen Gadgets

• New Metro Design Beater Blade
• Floating Tea Egg for Perfect Loose Leaf Tea Drinks
• S'Mores Maker
• Cuisipro Dual Baster: Kitchen & Dining
• Meat Lifters/Roaster Spoons
• Calamente Fork - Twirl Spaghetti and Hook Your Food

Large Appliances

• Fisher & Paykel Izona CookSurface - LED Cooking Done Right

Pots & Pans

• Char-Broil - The Big Easy Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer
• Turkey Cannon Infusion Roaster - Stuff A Beer In Your Turkey
• Digital Thermometer Pan - Temperature On the Handle

Serving Wares

• Skybar Wine System
• Lazy Spoon - Rests On Side of Frying Pan
• Salt and Pepper Keyboard Shakers - Click Up the Salt

Small Appliances

• The Tabletop Cotton Candy Maker
• Skybar Wine System

Toasters

• Darth Vader Toaster - The Dark Side of Toasting

The speakers whisper boom for 4 to 5 hours, after which you can charge them via USB. If you still have them, that is, and have not mistaken them for candy. They’ll be out by next week in Japan. Where weird shit comes from. If they come up with a widescreen HDTV that can fit on a nostril I wouldn’t be surprised. But I would be interested.

[via Slash Gear]

Imagine the phone rings when your friends are over for dinner. You saunter on over to your desk, where you proceed to pull this candy apple Batphone out of the drawer and answer the call. Just be sure to end every call with “we’re on our way,” to keep them wondering if you’re living a secret double life as a superhero. Need to make an outbound call to Commissioner Gordon? Just press the button on the face of the phone, and the cover flips open to reveal a push-button dial.

When you’re ready to run out to your garage Bat-Cave for some crime-fighting action, dash on over to this replica of Bruce Wayne’s famous Shakespeare bust, flip open his lid, and activate the switch inside to activate the door to your secret Bat-cave. What, you don’t have a secret door? Then maybe you can plug it into a set of Christmas lights, or maybe your stereo so they turn on when you activate the remote power outlet that’s connected to the Bard’s bust.

The guys over at RED5 sell the Batphone for £50 (appx. $77 USD) and you can find the the remote-control Shakespeare bust over at Red Hot Phones for (holy credit card, Batman!) $312 bucks.

By Luke Anderson

When I set out to buy something, I tend to do my research beforehand. I like knowing that it has the features I like, and that other customers were satisfied with its performance. There’s nothing worse than getting something, only to find out that it doesn’t work as advertised. So what happens when you come across a product that advertises it’s lack of functionality as a feature?

I give you the Nihilist flavorless mints. By definition, a mint is a candy flavored with mint. Thus one can only conclude that a mint with no flavor cannot be named as such. All naming issues aside, I think we can all agree that these are the most pointless mints that one can buy. Then again, I suppose that’s the point. If you want to wax philosophical over the pointlessness of existence, then pick up a pack of 60 Nihilist mints for $5 and enjoy, or don’t.

[ McPhee ] VIA [ Uberreview ]

If you wonder how something so gigantic and destructive could look so tiny and harmless, the answer is a combination of techniques. One is the use of time-lapse, which makes you lose frames and gives motion a jerking quality that helps fooling the brain into thinking that you are watching miniatures. Another one is the angle, which makes you think that you are seeing something from above, like you would see a model on a table. Increasing the contrast, to obtain harder shadows, also helps in the deception.

The most important element, however, is tilt-shift photography. While tilt-shift photography can be faked blurring the image to simulate a very shallow depth of field, you need true tilt-shift to get so realistic.

Tilt-shift requires a special camera setup, a lens that can tilt—or rotate—and shift—move parallel to the image plane. With tilt you control the focus of the image, which works better in vertically oriented framing, blurring the closest and farthest part of the image. With shift you correct the perspective of the image itself, making things look flatter than they actually are. [Vimeo via Jalopnik]

This Tomy Xaio Digicam is a cute, compact 5 megapixel digital camera, but it has a built-in printer, like an updated polaroid.

There are also film cameras, like these tiny keychain animal cams, which use 110 film.

Browsing Gizmine is like discovering the Sanrio store for the first time when you're 12 years old. So much fun, whimsical stuff, and even when I don't know what the item is, I want it even before I click on the description.

There's a definite femine edge, but it's not just for women. The site has tons of toys and gizmos for guys of any age as well.

The store is brand brand new, so I don't even know everything that's there, and there are going to be new items added everyday, but here's the beginning of my personal wishlist:

The Candy Colors Petit Drop Casio Baby-G watch.

The Mirror Web Cam for looking your best during video skype sessions.

Also the photos up top are of the keychain sound ball, the Swarovski Naughty Raymond USB drive, and the Toy Boy Mouse

Gizmine is open now for business, and will be adding new items just about every day.

Posted by Mia    Category: current affairs | on the web
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]]> Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:26:22 +0000 gizmine film cameras film bigger ticket items items cameras web store sanrio store Introducing Gizmine: I want it now! http://mobileratty.com/article/68f41197bd088f8edfa4ee5dac640083 http://mobileratty.com/article/68f41197bd088f8edfa4ee5dac640083

"Nihilists don't believe in flavor. Each sleek black 3" x 3/4" x 5/8" tin contains 60 completely flavorless mints."

Wait a minute... isn't that an oxymoron: "flavorless mints?"

Says right here that a mint is "A candy flavored with mint."

"Objection: argumentative."

"Sustained."

Two tins for $4.95.

Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said the box—which measures 8x8x1 and includes two USB ports, an HDMI port, Ethernet and WiFi, and an SD slot—is just a trial to check out consumer responses and “keep up with emerging technology.” Okay... except you know, Keyes, you're kind of going into an already crowded market now. When everybody and their mother already owns another set-top box offering, what are the chances they're going to switch to Blockbuster's option?

Blockbuster and 2Wire Introduce New Digital Media Player

MediaPoint™ digital media player provides instant entertainment from BLOCKBUSTER ® ONDEMAND straight to television

Thousands of titles offered including new releases like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Smart, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The Strangers, The Love Guru

DALLAS, TX and SAN JOSE, CA — November 25, 2008— Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B), a leading global provider of media entertainment, and 2Wire, a provider of integrated broadband solutions, today introduced the 2Wire MediaPoint™ digital media player, an easy-to-use, on-demand video solution that offers movie fans instant access through their television sets to BLOCKBUSTER® ONDEMAND content, including thousands of titles from the latest movie releases to classic favorites.

Beginning today, for a limited time, the MediaPoint digital media player is available free with the advance rental of 25 BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND movies for $99 at www.blockbuster.com. Unlike subscription-based services, which typically offer movies years after their release, BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND includes hot new releases, many available within weeks of leaving theaters. After the initial 25 rentals, movies are available for as little as $1.99 each. The players will begin shipping in time for the holiday season.

“The MediaPoint digital player, featuring BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND, is entertainment made easy. We are bringing Blockbuster, and the thousands of movies in our digital library, straight to customers’ televisions,” said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. “The player is simple to use, delivers DVD quality video, and there’s no monthly subscription commitment. We are delighted to team with 2Wire to give consumers this great entertainment product.”

Easy to install, the MediaPoint digital media player works seamlessly with any broadband connection, either wirelessly via built-in Wi-Fi or wired via Ethernet cable, to deliver the hottest new movies, classics, foreign films and television shows from the BLOCKBUSTER digital library. With full fast-forward, rewind, and pause capabilities, the viewing experience is DVD quality, no matter the speed of the broadband connection. Movies can be played right away or saved to watch later. Additionally, the player supports HD video content and can be connected to HDTVs.

“To be successful, a broadband video offering needs to deliver movies that people want to see, in the quality they expect, with minimal setup requirements,” said Pat Romano, chief executive officer of 2Wire. “BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND and the MediaPoint digital media player give movie fans what they want. We are thrilled to help bring this service to the living room, providing immediate access to high quality movies directly on the television set.”

The MediaPoint digital media player is extremely compact – about the size of two boxes of movie candy – and can be integrated seamlessly into home entertainment systems through composite cable, HDMI, component cable, or Toslink.

Technical Details
In the Box

* 2Wire MediaPoint Digital Media Player (8” x 8” x 1”)
* Quick Installation Guide
* Power Adapter
* Composite A/V cable (supports SD viewing)
* Remote Control
* AAA Batteries

- more -
Blockbuster/2Wire
Page Two

Video and Audio Connections

* Composite
* Component *
* HDMI*
* Stereo Audio
* Toslink (digital optical audio)*

Network Connections

* Ethernet*
* Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)

*cable must be purchased separately

Sometimes Xmas comes earlier and when you less expect it: A Greenwich High School student wrote a letter directly to Mr. Jobs himself asking politely for an student discount on Final Cut Studio 2. Two weeks later, he got way more than he wanted, shipped directly from Cupertino.

The student, a long-time Gizmodo reader and tipster—who is not John Mayer—told me today the story, which is one of those cool little IT tales that makes you smile and want to hug Steve Jobs and two hundred kittens at the same time. Cotton candy and chocolate kittens. Or maybe just hug Steve and eat the kittens. Here's his original mail:

And here's Apple's reply, straight from Richard Townhill, Director, Pro Video Product Marketing.

For sure, a high school student with an 8-core Mac Pro doesn't look in need for a free copy of FCS2, but hey, up high for His Steveness and his generosity fostering future generations of Woody Allens and Martin Scorseses. [Thank you, tipster]