I’m only asking males here, because I want to test my theory that all men have a collect, maintain and use some variety of gadget. Mr. Rilch has electronic gadgets. Friend has art gadgets (airbrushes and so on). Other friend has automotive gadgets, as well as art gadgets. Another friend has cooking gadgets. (He’s a serious cook: I don’t mean Ronco salad spitters, I mean stuff like a garlic press and a doughnut machine that he actually uses.) Another has woodworking gadgets, yet another has weight-training gadgets, and so on. My dad had both carpenter and electronic gadgets, and my BIL had fishing gadgets.
My theory is that both men and women have hobbies, or they do for a living what others might do for a hobby, but that men, much more than women, have a jones for machines to aid in these tasks. Any equipment that incorporates simple machines, like levers and pulleys, is good, but equipment that can be plugged in and turned on is better.
Additional questions: Do you like a gadget with an attitude, like something that makes noise, gives off sparks, or has ominous warning labels? Or do you take pride in a sleek new item that has none of the noise and mess of earlier models?
Do you have one of those things that you bought for one project and never used again?
Do you still have The One that Started It All? If so, do you keep it in memoriam, despite the fact that it no longer works?
Are you trading up, as Mr. Rilch does, selling items as they become outdated, to invest in newer, more powerful ones? Or is your goal to have one of everything, no matter how obscure?
Anyway, aside from Lil’ SPOOFE and his two Magical Orbules of Much Joyousness and Spermicity…
My gadgets include my minidisc player/recorder that I love so very very very much. It’s provided me with hundreds of hours of entertainment over the past two years… all on the same battery! (No, not the same battery CHARGE…)
Then there’s my digital camera (yes, technically, it’s the family’s digital camera, but if it weren’t for me, the family wouldn’t have gotten it). This thing kicks major ass, even if it’s a tad slow in picture-taking. The quality kicks ass, so that makes up for it.
That’s really about it. All my other things really aren’t “gadgets” so much as they’re “trinkets” (no genitalia jokes about that sentence!!!). I mean, I have a tiny little light that makes an incredibly bright blue illumination, but that’s not really a “gadget”.
It is truly a wonderful device. The blade gripper flips over every couple of revolutions of the crank, and reduces the pressure it applies between the blade and the 4 inch rotating leather disc. Suitable for single and double edged blades.
No between the studs, wall full of discarded blades from inserting them in the slot at the back of the medicine chest for me. (Or am I the only one who has stripped an old bathroom down to the studs, only to find this somewhat ancient phenomena?)
Smart money says few if any are familiar with this “gadget”
[sub](I be not as olde as this may indicate…smirk)[/sub]
Guitars (not being used at the moment) and related stomp-boxes. Tascam Portastudio. All manner of noise-making devices (percussion and wind). Palm Pilot. Disc-man. Zip Disks. Leatherman tool. Flashlights w/NiCad batteries.
My gadgets are all computer-related. Right now I have three computers that work all of which could connect to the internet and view pages. (I say could because one of them only has a 2400 bps modem, but it works.) And at the current time I’ve got at least enough random computer parts in storage to make one working machine and still have spare parts for the others. Hard drives and parallel ports just laying around. I’ve got a CD-ROM I want to test and put into the computer I use now (sometimes I will be working and need to switch out CDs, but the burner is going so I can’t. And it would just be cool to have 3 optical media drives on the same computer).
God, where to start. We’ve been renovating (fairly heavy stuff, not just decorating). So I bought an air compressor. It’s very, very noisy, and you can get just about any industrial gadget you can think of for it (and I have). I love it.
More recently, I’ve got into X10; the ultimate in remote control gadgetry (turn off the upstairs lights from an RF transmitter in your pocket).
A hydraulic log-splitter. Not too big (4 ton pressure) but indispensible. Gets used most nights in the winter (we have a lot of open fires).
The usual assortment of power tools, nothing fancy (except the nail-gun - that’s fun).
Oh, (how did I forget!!!)… not sure I should admit this but what the hell, we’re all friends here, right? (right?)
I have a garden shed with a built-in beer fridge (friend got it from a bar he worked in). The thing has a flap on the front which opens automatically when you approach it (same friend now works for a company which does industrial-strength door-openers). It’s very, very cool. Actually, it is if you’re a guy. My (wonderful) long-suffering wife is a bit bemused.
See? Now y’all think I’m some kind of gadget freak. It’s not like I actually use many of them (beer-fridge excepted)
My gadgets are mostly computer stuff too. I’ve got my main system, the system in my car (including 4 inch lcd color monitor and gps system), my Visor, LOTS of spare parts and the carcass of an obsolete system (which I could technically resurrect but isn’t worth it). I’ve got an mp3 player, a digital camera, and a handheld gps receiver. Then there’s all the networking equipment.
My other thing is blades. I have a (rather cheap) katana, and always carry around on of the Tool Logic credit card size toolkits with a very cool knife. I’ve been coveting a set of throwing knives for a while now.
Gadgets? Power Tools aren’t gadgets! Tools are tools, unless it is some multipurpose specialty tool (I know), like a salad-shooter/hedge trimmer/paint mixer. Knives aren’t gadgets! Knives are weapons, unless it’s some multipurpose weapon such as an anti-aircraft/anti-missile/anti-missile debris missile (ahh the Patriot). 'Cause if tools are gadgets, I’ve got way to many air tool gadgets, and if weapons are gadgets I’ve got a nice selection of Browning and Remington gadgets from .410 GA. to 30-06 Springfield.
My current favorite gadget is my GPS. It is some conversation piece. “Did you know the continent just drifted 3 feet? Either that or they turned the damn SA on again.” Seriously, it’s great for fishing/boating especially on unfamiliar lakes, or navigating after dark. It’s also gotten me out of the woods a time or two more directly than had I not had it, but don’t forget your compass.
Most of my many, many gadgets are used to torture wood - saws of every type, drills, sanders, etc.
But I also have 7 (yes 7) PCs, 3 of which work, 2 of which almost work; 1 would work if I hadn’t formatted its hard drive (on purpose), and 1 for parts storage.
And, I have electric trains. I am presently in the process of selling off my HO gauge trains and going to N gauge.
I also have half a dozen gadgets that make very loud noises and propel tiny bits of metal long distances at high speeds.
We have all kinds of kitchen gadgets; garlic presses, a pasta machine, a bread maker, every kind of wisk, spatula, whatever you could want.
We have enough kitchen knives for Ummm, 4 kitchens.
I have enough knives of other sorts (but no swords) for 10 people.
Bawdysurfer, we have a safety razor made by Rolls Royce that automatically sharpens and strops the razor inside its case and then you screw the handle on to use it.
Very cool.
lemme see here
[ul]
[li]Palm V (crappy 2mb version )[/li][li]Soudblaster Live! 5.1 (it comes with a remote, it is a gadget)[/li][li]JVC sVHS deck[/li][li]Sony 27" Trinitron (working on ggetting a Wega)[/li][li]Sega Dreamcast[/li][li]Both Playstations[/li][li]a really sweet car mp3 player[/li][/ul]
that’s about it for now, but like I said, I am working on getting more cool stuff
Got the portable minidisc player/recorder.
Got the digital camera.
Palm PDA? No way. Got a Newton MessagePad 120, vintage mid '90’s.
I’m not big into tools, but I get a good gadget fix from my new Dremel tool. Multi-speed, lots of accessories … <insert Tim Allen laugh here> I can drill holes into ANYTHING!
Thanks, guys! All right, I see some of you aren’t flattered by the term ‘gadget’, but that’s the term my mom’s bridge partner used to describe my dad’s electronic stuff. Not an insult: she wished her husband would just enter the zany world of electric can openers, let alone audio tech.
Bumbazine, you seem to be the most prolific, but Xerxes’ hydraulic log-splitter sounds like a showstopper!
If having more than you need of something is an indication of gadgetness, then I’d have to say my bikes are my gadgets. I’ve got a titanium mountain bike (which is gathering dust because all the trails are closed because of the foot & mouth epidemic ), an aluminum mountain bike set up for commuting and touring, and an aluminum racing bike that spends most of its time indoors on the turbo-trainer. I’ve also got a workstand and all the specialized tools for bike tinkering. Plus computers, lights, helmets, tires, and all the spare parts that accumlate over the years.
How big, or small must these things be to be termed ‘Gadgets’?
Well I am quite proud of my Playstation2, and yes I think it could be a gadget. I also own a Canon Ixus which I love.
Oh and I have a torch the size and shape of a credit card.
)[/li][li]Soudblaster Live! 5.1 (it comes with a remote, it is a gadget)[/li][li]JVC sVHS deck[/li][li]Sony 27" Trinitron (working on ggetting a Wega)[/li][li]Sega Dreamcast[/li][li]Both Playstations[/li][li]a really sweet car mp3 player[/li][/ul]