obnoxious

Pining for an open-source political campaign

One of Mitt Romney's sons used to be my neighbor. As such, it was hard to not contribute to the campaign.

I'm finding, however, that it's even harder to disengage from the campaign. I get four emails per day (sometimes more) from the campaign (usually two of the same message sent to the two email addresses of mine they somehow have on file). I get calls. I can't get away. Dana calls it basic database marketing. I call it annoying.

It's a bit like the traditional proprietary software model, where obnoxious sales people sit in your office haranguing would-be buyers until you purchase the proprietary ball-and-chain to get rid of the salesperson. (Which is exactly what happens when you write the check - the salesperson disappears. Completely.)

Today I found myself pining for an open-source political campaign. It would operate something like this:… Read more

Hello Kitty Hummer stretch limo--only kind of kidding

There's only one thing that this luxurious pink Hummer H3 stretch limousine needs, and that's a nice fat Hello Kitty decal on the driver's side. Otherwise, this bubble-gum-hued vehicle is a fitting embodiment of all things obnoxious and opulent (obnoxulent?) and nauseatingly cute. Inside, it's equipped with pink-and-white leather seating and space-age lighting worthy of the flashiest nightclubs and an enviable bar--and mirrors on the ceiling (if you're into that degree of sketchiness).

There's also touch-screen heating and air conditioning control, four flat-screen TVs, a DVD player and multi-speaker sound system. There's no … Read more

Talking trash to talking flash

Given that we just saw a USB drive that you can smell, it makes perfect sense that we'd find another to assault our senses in a different way. The "Exclusive USB Sound Flash Drive" from eNecessities is, contrary to its manufacturer's name, hardly something we must have. Quite the opposite, actually.

The last thing we need is a USB key or any other device to start chattering away on its own from the moment it's plugged in. Everything USB notes that the sound files, which can play for 10 or 20 seconds, are designed to … Read more

Show other drivers how much you care

To celebrate this Feb. 14, what better way to show your affection than to fire off an audio Valentine to a fellow motorist who cuts you off? Horntones has taken the concept of custom ringtones and applied it to the car horn for use on those special occasions.

The FX-550 won't actually be ready to order until the day after this Valentine's Day, but that will give you more time to look for just the right tunes to match your various bi-polar moods on the road. Uber-Review says you can store eight audio files that can be loaded … Read more