Lifestyle

With Super Bowl Sunday just days away, plenty of tech blogs are highlighting the party gadgetry that they're recommending for the big event. Here at Crave, we're going to ask you: what are your recommendations for the ultimate Super Bowl party gadget? You can go with the obvious (um, an HDTV), the supplementary (a margarita mixer), or the downright ridiculous (does anybody out there make a Peyton Manning USB bobblehead?) Yes, it has to be a real gadget. Leave your picks in the comments.

We'll post your suggestions on Friday, so that you can spend Saturday waiting … Read more

If you've ever wasted away the weekend playing Guitar Hero II, there's nothing to feel guilty about. Feel proud. Feel like a rock star. Feel these things because you're probably better at Guitar Hero II than actual guitarist Scott Ian of Anthrax.

And he even gets to play his own song.

As this fascinating video on Kotaku.com shows (WARNING: Swear words are all over the place), Ian had a bit of trouble performing his own song on Guitar Hero II. During his first attempt, he fails 31 percent of the way through the song.

And if … Read more

Being the responsible lot that we are, Crave occasionally posts public service announcements for the benefit of our readers. So here's one for those of you who use cannabis for medicinal purposes only, of course.

The appropriately named "Volcano Vaporizer" is a device that can make your prescription up to four times more potent than the average dosage. The German-made "BMW of bongs," as Uncrate calls it, also helps purify the substance and minimize the accompanying odor. But the Volcano's $540 price tag could be prohibitive--unless you have the most liberal of health insurance.… Read more

It still smacks of urban legend to us, but some people swear that teenager-repelling sounds do exist--and work. So we wouldn't be surprised to see some desperate parents and shop owners rushing to order the "Mosquito," an ultrasonic youth deterrent from the United Kingdom, which Gizmodo says is being imported to North America. The device, distributed by a company with the irresistible name of Kids Be Gone, supposedly creates an adolescent-free zone with a range of 40 to 60 feet. We'll be right back (need to find a tape measure).

Enough already. Why is it that some people insist on "sharing" their music with the rest of world--whether we like it or not--when today's headphones offer a far superior listening experience? We've seen everything from messenger bags to bowling bags with built-in speakers, and now we have a new backpack that will surely contribute its share of noise pollution.

Scullcandy's "Link" backpack has speakers embedded in its straps for music or--worse, as OhGizmo notes correctly--a cell phone conversation. We've got to get started building that bunker.

What does it say about society when combo consumer gadgets are made out of weapons? That's what aptly named Street Wise has done with its "Lightning Rod," a 6-inch cylinder that SlashGear says can send an 800,000-volt Valentine to an assailant. The combo part is a built-in LED flashlight, so you can make sure you're not zapping a friend or family member by mistake in the dark. Just remember, if you decide to use it for ordinary flashlight duties such as changing your oil, be sure to keep the safety lock on.

It's usually a sign that we need to visit the gym when we start noticing items about odd and over-the-top fitness equipment. And, in this case, both categories apply.

The "Kinesis Personal," according to Cool Hunting, is a "soft gymnastics" apparatus that touts a "tri-dimensional movement system" and claims to make 200 exercise positions possible. (That's about 196 more than we need.) But we're most amused by its description as "blending seamlessly into homes," as well as offices or hotel rooms. We'd love to meet their interior designers.… Read more

It's touted as a disco enhancement, but it looks a lot more like raver chic to us. Whatever it is, Hammacher Schlemmer's "Dancing Light MP3 Synchronizer" will funkify your party with 33 multicolored LEDs bouncing off a concave mirror to the beat of whatever tunes you choose. It can even be set to four programs, "Andante, Moderato, Allegro and Presto." But if we were going to take this route, we'd just as soon go for the full retro effect with a home laser show. And remember, don't bogart that Nano.

Zen, Zune, Zeno. The last one may resemble an MP3 player but isn't one. It does, however, involve another "Z" word: zits. The "Zeno" supposedly zaps acne by stimulating "heat-shock proteins" that in turn cause pimples to self-destruct, according to a description on Coolest-Gadgets. We definitely would have given this a try in our teenage years but, at our advanced age, the idea of using a device designed to burn things off one's face doesn't seem quite worth it for some reason.