Sarchix Finds

With the holidays getting closer and closer, I’m sure everyone is trying to finish up their shopping. I have trouble shopping for various people on my list and every year I end up at this one site to help me find the perfect gifts for some of them.  It’s a great place to shop for the geek who has everything.

The guys and gals at Think Geek have great T-shirts, toys, odd gadgets, books and a vast selection of caffeinated products to name some of their offerings.  They offer both an on-line catalog and a paper catalog (that the family fights over when it arrives in the mail).  I’ve gotten Star Wars Themed Mr. Potato Heads, the caffeine candy sampler pack and the Utili-Key 6-in-1 Tool (Hubby loves it) to name a few items.

The folks at Think Geek are offering free Fed Ex Ground shipping (for the lower 48 states0 for orders over $40 until 10 December 2008.  I for one am not planning on paying for any shipping this year and will be placing my order for geeky goodies soon.

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This is another free app that is really useful.

All you do is identify the languages you are translating from and to, type in the words you want to translate, and voila, translation!

I have not tested it beyond basic words and phrases, but so far it is very useful.

The only down side is that the data base is not contained on the iPhone…the phone has to access it through the 3G, Edge or WiFi. This was a problem on a recent trip to Europe. I was not going to pay a  lot of money to access the info unless it was an emergency. But it was good to know it was there in case I got into a situation more complex than my own language skills. Around home, it is great. I have not been tempted to use the $4.99 upgrade, but my use is casual. I don’t know how useful it is for someone who is actually trying to function in another language.

If you like to play with other languages, this could be fun for you. If you are a student or a scholar, check it out (it is free after all), but it may not be robust enough.

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It is absolutely amusing that I, the least tech person I know, am writing in a “tech” category. but, my iPhone is just too much fun not to share.

Beyond the practical ones like a dictionary or the weather channel, an app I go to often is Koi Pond. It is well worth the $.99! Perhaps I’m easily amused, but It’s kinda fun to make ripples in the water and feed the fish. It is curiously calming…or at least distracting.

The people at Blimp Pilot (love the name) who make Koi Pond have added a fun update for Christmas. Holly, lights, reindeer noses and antlers…and just wait until you feed them!

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