Why is the URL 2014 for the 2013 gift guide?
Iâve got my eye on the Star Trek Phasers.
And Iâve got a recommendation for a unique gift. A friend of my has invented an automated self-sharpening razor. One blade, five years of shaving. Nothing to throw away. Very green. And the tech driving the sharpening is really cool.
The maker in me likes that they used three different types of 3-D printers for prototyping this razor and it has a Arduino-compatible control board for the sharpening system.
The environmentalist in me likes not filling up landfills with disposable blades.
But the consumer in me really loves the idea of a product that can unhook me from the razor manufacturersâ economic model. Of course they wouldnât make something like this because it doesnât fit their, âgive away the razor, sell the bladesâ revenue model.
I hope this gets funded, it would be nice to make a dent in the billions of disposable razors filling up the landfills every year.
Of course the gift wontâ be ready till April, but you can let people share in the crowdfunding process. Some people see the price think it is too pricey upfront. ($370) but I point out that lets you shave daily for 5 years. No cartridges to buy monthly, nothing to throw away.
I found out that 200 million razors and cartridges are thrown away every single month in the US alone, which kind of blew me away⌠Like I said, I personally know the guy, heâs trying to battle both an entrenched mind set and big players. Real maker spirit. Check it out.
Here the IndieGoGo link
The Omega juicer mentioned is great, Iâm sure, but I submit for approval of BB the Omega VRT350 vertical juicer. Takes up far less counter space yet is still a low-speed masticating juicer. Great for those of us that cook all the time and have countertops strewn with various appliances, fermenting crocks, dirty dishesâŚ
Native Sneakers link = Boing Boing
404: Nope
(Fixed, thank you â Rob)
Put player on shuffle. Drive. Arrive. Turn off player. Done. No interaction with touchscreens OR buttons required.
I usually head over to thinkgeek.com. Lots of neat tools and toys for the curious/geeky child (regardless of actual age) there. Usually, very decent prices, and stuff deartment stores often donât carry at all.
Gotta admit, though. That Makey Makey looks awfully tempting! Got a 2 year old, power tool-stealing, Playskool-hacking (projectiles particularly) wannabe who already owns his own tablet (!?!), knows what an Angry Bird is, and just what to hit it with. Canât think of a reason in this world why turning his YouTube Playlist into noodle-guided entertainment fest wouldnât just rock his little Curious Monkey socks, lol. (Umagahhh! All that sci-fi stuff we dreamed of. They HAVE it!)
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Or just download and play Gweek podcasts. They run about an hour, plenty long enough for most trips or exercise sessions. My 6th generation Nano works great for this, and at 8 GB, it has more than enough room to handle a library of podcasts.
1200 bucks worth of lube is a lot for a gag gift. Or at least thatâs how Iâm explaining the charge on my bank statement.
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Yeah you donât need new disposable blades but I doubt the âsharpening port/docking stationâ lasts 5 years.
Crap, I want the Blue Retro Alarm Clock from Kikkerland and the Nite Ize KMT-11-R3 DoohicKey but itâs not available at amazon.uk and amazon.de.
Thank you.
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Iâve been reading this recently:
I went to a presentation by the author the other weekend and bought the book on the strength of it.
Actually it IS designed to last 5 years. And then it will be factory refurbished (like when you rebuild a part) and the materials that do the honing are replaced. You also can then get a new blade for another 5 years (about 2,000) shaves.
I know the guy who is doing this and durability is important to him.
Hi, My name is Leela, I hand paint custom coffee mugs. I can do pet portraits, your favorite geeky theme or anything you can think of. My etsy is https://www.etsy.com/shop/RileyMicaDesigns . My fb page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Riley-Mica-Designs/132672433437289 is where I put up photos of recent work!
Feel free to contact me through any of these! I love custom work and would love to hear ideas.
[X] - 55 Gallon Drum of Lube
[X] - Extra large pack of glow in the dark condoms
[X] - Artificial Cadaver
âŚand the Christmas shopping is done. Thanks Boing Boing!!! 
(on a more serious note, the kid in me thinks the 55 gallons of lube could make for a highspeed ultra long slip-n-slide down the side of the mountainâŚhurray new land speed record! lol.)
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- Not to be bitter, but the bitters by Bittercube are from Milwaukee, not Minneapolis. They are great for brandy old-fashionedâs by the way.
ShengShou 7x7x7 Speed Cube goes here and 404s.
I find it more difficult to use this list when order is randomized each time I load it, though Iâm sure that does make it fair.
Thanks for the hard work putting this together, team.
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A friend of mine started an Etsy shop recently, hope itâs ok to post a link here. She makes mainly Brony stuff. http://whitehorsegirl.etsy.com Thanks! 
After Boing Boing got me into fountain pens, I took the jump into nib pens (though I still mostly use fountain pens). Itâs really cheap to get into. More so than fountain pens. So, if youâre looking to get a weirdo who likes to write by hand ( like me) something for tho holidays, I think self-assembled a nib pen kit would make for a good gift.
Hereâs a list of the things youâll need to buy and links to get you started. Despite the fact that Iâm linking to Jet Pens, Iâm not endorsing Jet Pens. To be honest, as the person getting into nib pens, I felt some of their choices were obnoxiously limiting but didnât know where else to go.
Youâre going to need to:
- Pick a nib. I like this one (Brause 361) but if youâre buying for an artist, youâll want to steer toward manga nibs (didnât try one, canât recommend a specific one despite having linked to a specific one). Price: $1.60-4.00
- Pick a nib holder. There are different sizes. This one seems to have the flexibility to cover a wide variety of sizes. There are others that do as well but itâs not a guarantee. Price: $4.25
- Ink. Donât buy fountain pen ink for a nib pen. I bought this but this is slightly cheaper and may actually better for artists. I canât speak to that part. Price: $8:25-11.50
Total cost, about $20.
You might also want to buy paper but jeez that shit is expensive. Between you and me, I think buying a stack of card stock will get them started. Enthusiasts will probably tell me Iâm horribly wrong but spending that much on practice paper is a bit out of my budget.
