malls

Not your average magic wand

One of my longtime goals is to make my own herb garden, but I seem to have the black thumb of death. No matter what kind of plant I try to grow, they always seem to end up crunchy, wilted, and pathetically small.

I do have one plant that is still living, a large potted plant in my living room that I'm watching for a friend on vacation. Watering it is a big pain, however, because I don't own a watering can, so I have to repeatedly fill up a glass and dribble it over the roots when … Read more

Take old-fashioned wood smoking to your cook top

I'm of the opinion that all chefs, no matter how experienced, have a fear of at least one kitchen undertaking. Whether it's worrying about messing up our mom's recipe, conquering a long-standing fear of souffl?, or firing up a grill, all of us have a cooking method that sends us shrinking back behind our standby saut?s and pasta sauces.

My kitchen fear of barbecueing and smoking meat is one that is avoidable for most dishes that I love to cook, and therefore has been easily forgotten as something that I should tackle. But, if I ever … Read more

Flying high with SkyMall

What kind of Crave editor would I be if I didn't spend my entire flight (OK, it was only an hour long) scouring SkyMall for Crave-tastic gadgets? The catalog doesn't always feature the newest of the new, but it still provides great sky-high skimming for gadget hounds--or those who just want to keep their mind off the turbulence.

Just a handful that caught my eye this go-round:

· The $49.95 Peaceful Progression Wake Up Clock is the anti-Clocky: 30 minutes before wake-up time, an ambient light glows softly, brightening over the next half hour while faint … Read more

Mini-mic mimics useful microwave

Have microwaves really become so large and unwieldy that we need to make specialized miniature models? SkyMall, which never seems to disappoint (at least on long flights), is offering up this teeny tiny mini mic, ostensibly for cubicle related emergencies.

Measuring up at a measly 10.5 inches tall by 12 inches wide by 10 inches deep, it's safe to say that the Iwavecube Personal Microwave is probably one of, if not the, smallest little block of microwave on the block. I don't have a bag of microwaveable popcorn at the ready, but I'm not convinced a … Read more

In line for an iPhone 3G -- Updated

Well, I'm here at the Apple store in the Westfield Oakridge mall in San Jose, waiting.

I got here at about 6:45am and the line was already up around 60 people, somewhat more than I expected. I'm here with a couple of friends who got iPhones last year and are looking to upgrade.

I opened up iChat's Bonjour networking window, but nobody else seems to be using it. Bonjour iChat is usually a great way for strangers to chat at public events, but there are very few people here with laptops.

Apple employees are circulating, but… Read more

More lasers for the receding hairline

It's been more than a year since we wrote of the "HairMax LaserComb" and, shockingly, we haven't heard of a single person walking away with a full pompadour in that time. So for those still in search of that elusive growth, it may be time to consider other options. Enter the "X5 HairLaser."

This latest miracle gadget delivers "15 distinct points of coherent laser light directly to your scalp at the optimum power and wavelength," according to Dvice, though it requires a commitment of three times a week at 10 to 15 … Read more

Forget the chairs--get a massage bed

Anyone who's been to a mall in the last decade or so knows that massage chairs are a dime a dozen (well, maybe a few grand a dozen). But what about a massage bed? Now we're talking.

The "Heated Shiatsu MassageBed" from Relax The Back isn't just one of those vibrating quarter-operated motel beds, as its $1,995 price tag indicates. Not only does it have all the features of a fully loaded massage chair, but it also has 14 rollers made of jade. That's right, as in the jewelry.

"Since jade is … Read more