Cold-Weather Exercising Accessories

Playing Duck Hunt when we were kids was pretty fun. The gun wasn't very powerful offscreen, though, and the fine people at North Street Labs decided to change that, turning it into a 2-watt laser gun. As in, an actual laser gun, not just a silly laser pointer that you use to mess with your cat.

We Look at All-Wheel-Drive vs. Front-Wheel-Drive

With the exception of sports cars, pickup trucks, and some truck-based SUVs, most cars these days are either front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive (the rest are rear-wheel drive). In many cases, all-wheel-drive is optional and presented as being a safer alternative in wet weather. But is it worth the extra money and added weight?

CNG Cabs Hit Chicago's Streets

Compressed-natural gas possesses a few advantages over gasoline, the main one being that it pollutes less. One company is trying to put more compressed-natural gas (CNG) taxi cabs on American streets in a step towards cleaner air. The company, VPG, builds the MV-1, which is a wheelchair-accessible van that uses CNG as its fuel.

Don't Be An Idiom: Explaining "Three Sheets to the Wind"

The English language is a mess. A beautiful, complex, wondrous mess. For every rule of grammar and spelling there are ten exceptions. There are words that share the same spelling, but have different pronunciations and meanings. Then there are words that have dual meanings, usually opposite meanings.

App Roundup: September 24-28, 2012

TGIF, amirite? This week's most popular apps reflect everyone's need to let go after they leave the office,and now that there's more room on the iPhone 5 screen for apps, it's not surprising that people are downloading as many as they can. Let's take a look at what was the most popular this week.

Premium Fuel vs. Regular

With gas prices showing no signs of going down anytime soon, many drivers are looking for ways to cut costs at the pump. One way to do so is by not overspending on premium fuel.There's no reason to spend money on premium fuel if you don't need to. If your car requires only regular or mid-grade gas, paying for premium won't give your car any extra performance benefits.

Why Isn't There Ever Cell Service at Festivals?

Think about the last time you were in a highly-populated area. We don't mean in the city—we mean the times when you've been around so many people that you can't call your friends to find them or send out a text message. You've got full bars on your phone, but for some reason, no service. It happens every time there's a big festival or concert, and you'd think by now that the companies would have this figured out, but no. We think it's time they set something up.

Crock Pot Meals and Why You Should Make Them

Now that it's getting colder and we're not worried about using our ovens and stoves, we're also looking forward to heartier meals—gone are fresh green salads, replaced by stews and soups. And thankfully, since those sorts of meals take a lot longer to cook, the Crock Pot exists to make our lives a bit easier on busy workdays. The Crock Pot's been around since 1971, and we hope it doesn't go anywhere anytime soon.

Is Album Cover Art Gone For Good?

Physical media is rapidly becoming a relic of the 20th Century. As music downloads, online gaming, and streaming video make listening, playing, and watching whatever we want whenever we want to simple and convenient, the need to own round pieces of plastic containing albums or games or movies seems ever more quaint. This sea-change in the way we consume media has upended the entertainment industry, and among the many casualties has been the art of the album cover.

Ford Finds Its Groove

Not too long ago, I offered my unsolicited advice to the fine folks at Mitsubishi, penning a piece on how the company should go about digging itself out from the dire straits it finds itself in. Now I am about to step back from the fix-it role (I'm sure Mitsu loved the advice from an auto journo who has never stepped into a corporate exec's chair) and give credit where credit is due to another automaker, one that has been on a roll for quite some time.

Kickstarter of the Week: LIFX

Its goal was to raise $100,000, and with 49 days left, Kickstarter pledges have sold out for LIFX. It's raised $1,312,176 so far, and would likely earn even more if it was allowed to. It's a wi-fi enabled, multi-colored, energy efficient light bulb. Now, we know you're probably scratching your head, wondering how something as simple as a light bulb raised so much money so fast.

Foods to Eat and Drinks to Drink for Oktoberfest

The past few weekends, local breweries and bars have been hosting various Okctoberfest events. And while all the theme parties have been fun, it's made us want to throw one of our own. Thankfully, German food isn't that hard to make, and it pairs perfectly with, yes, beer.Here are a few great menu ideas for you to prepare this weekend (or anytime during October, though the "real" Oktoberfest is in September).

Road Tunes: New Music Releases

“Summer’s almost gone,” sang Jim Morrison all those years ago. “Where will we be when the summer’s gone?” Our guess is in much the same place as now, but a little bit colder. And as summer turns to autumn and our memories of carefree days at the beach turn to thoughts of death and decay, let’s all enjoy some of these week’s new releases, none of which feature that late Mr. Morrison.

Apps We'd Like to See

With the hundreds of thousands of apps available, it's surprising that there are a few gaps left unfilled. But oh, there are. There are ones that we wish existed for the sheer utility of them, but there are others that would just make life a little more interesting and fun. That said, here are a few app ideas we have. Developers, we're ready.

Play It Again, Band

It’s a given at this point that every band that ever existed will reunite and hit the nostalgia circuit. If you were ever too young to see your favorite band the first time around, there’s a good chance that they’re coming to your town soon, and if you’re lucky, more than half the original members will still be in the band. But in addition to the mandatory reunion, more and more back-together bands are doing something bands hardly ever did before: playing full albums in order.

Smart Alarms Wake People More Gently

It's a moment we all dread—being jolted awake in the morning by a loud, blaring alarm. It's usually in the form of a droning beep or a static-y radio station, but no matter what, being startled out of a sound sleep is not the most fun way of being woken up. But now, smartphone users have the option to download apps that learn their sleep patterns and wake them more gently.

I Want My McRib!

Every autumn I fight off every intelligent thought I have about how fast food is bad for me and I pull into my local McDonald’s for one of the greatest creations those geniuses have ever come up with: the McRib. Fake meat covered in a sauce that’s part Open Pit, part Listerine, topped with warm, old pickles, wrapped in a bun as fresh as the day is short

Classic Car Ads Still Resonate

Automakers have cooked up some classic car ads over the years, making us laugh and smile, while occasionally prompting us to write a monthly check. With 2013 models beginning to hit showrooms this fall, ads for new cars are already hitting the airwaves. With that in mind, we're taking a look at some of the best broadcast ads we've seen.

K-Cups and the Popularity of Single-Cup Drink Makers

For some of us, brewing an entire pot of coffee isn't all that convenient; we only want one cup, or someone in our family is off of caffeine, or we don't want our kids having coffee at all (or, more realistically, our kids don't want coffee). Seeing that niche, companies like Keurig have put forth a product that started slow but have now become nearly omnipresent in offices and households alike—the K-Cup revolution, so to speak. These single-cup "brewers" have become intensely popular, but they can be cost prohibitive for some, as a small coffee maker can be had for under $30, while most single-use machines run in the hundreds. Here is our list of one-cup coffee (or other drink) makers for varying budgets.

5 Ways to Spot a Bad Mechanic

You might have an old, rusty car that only starts a few days a week or you might be driving a shiny, new sedan, but everyone’s car breaks down eventually. And there are a lot of mechanics out there who want your business when your car does finally need repairing.