If your kid has dreams of becoming a Major League Baseball pitcher some day, then this radar pitch baseball could be a fun gift (and, hey, you can play with it too). The ball has a small LCD screen that displays the speed of the latest pitch. Throw it any distance (little league or pro), and the ball has no trouble using internal sensing technology to measure and report the velocity of the pitch when it’s caught. To save on battery life, it shuts off automatically if you don’t use it for 2 minutes.
The ball is available from Brookstone for $25:
Radar Pitch Baseball
If you’re looking for some fitness motivation that goes beyond merely looking at exercise gadgets, you might want the advice of a personal trainer. I’ve done the personal trainer thing at the gym a few times, mostly when I’m looking to change up my workout and get some ideas to keep things interesting, and it can be pretty expensive. As an alternative, you could check out some of the blogs out there that are written by certified trainers. True, it’s not the same thing as getting one-on-one advice, but there’s a lot to be said for something you can read for free whenever you want.
One such resource is this weight training blog. The lady who runs it has been a personal trainer in Las Vegas for the last 3 years and clearly has some experience. Some of the sections include advice on nutrition (such as ways to keep from packing on the pounds over the holidays…), basic training tips (such as how to squeeze exercise time into a hectic schedule), and training plans (in case you need some workout ideas).
Some of the more specific articles cover such as important information as the fact that walking may help control blood pressure and that strength training could help prevent knee arthritis.
There are a lot of good articles tucked into the blog, so take a look when you have time.
**This is a sponsored post**
When you’re in the midst of a hard and fast basketball game, you might not have time to stop and look up at the scoreboard. What if you could just get the score by looking at your opponent’s shirt?
In Australia, new jerseys with electro-luminescent displays on them are being tested. The shirts show information for the players, such as the time left in the game and the current score. The name of the technology is TeamAware and it’s supposed to be “beneficial for the player’s confidence in their team tactics.”
The jersey works in conjunction with an iPod-sized computer that must be strapped to the player’s body and which communicates with a central control system. No word on when or whether this will make it’s way to the U.S.
via GizmoWatch
If you live in a condo or an apartment, or even a house without a garage, finding space to store a bicycle can be tough. Not everybody wants it sitting in the living room where it’s going to be tripped over by people coming and going, and if you live in a damp climate, you may not want to leave your bike sitting outside on the porch. Also, there’s the problem of transporting your bicycle to and from the bike trail (for when you live in the city and cruising the streets amidst pedestrians and traffic isn’t that exciting). For that, you pretty much have to buy a dedicated car rack, unless… you have a bicycle that folds in half so you can fit it in a closet or the trunk of your vehicle.
The Jeep Compass folding bike is designed to do just that. Its aluminum frame bends in half at the middle, to make it easy to transport or store when you come home. Expect to pay $300 for this convenience.
Whether you’re skiing or just running around town this winter, your hands can get cold when the temperature drops. These heated gloves look like the perfect gift for someone who spends time outdoors in a cold climate. I know I’d love them for skiing.
Each glove is powered by 4 x AA batteries, which will give you 8 hours of warmth on the high setting or 6 hours on the low setting. The gloves are also warmed with “Thinsulate,” which is supposed to give you breathable warmth even when the heating element isn’t turned on.
Available from Hammacher Schlemmer for $25, the gloves come in medium, large, or extra large.
Heated Gloves
If you’re a walker or a runner and you like to head outside even in the winter (after all, those treadmills at the gym aren’t very exciting, are they?), then you have to worry about snowy and frozen sidewalks and streets. I’m not sure how well these “STABILicers” work, but it looks like a pretty smart concept.
They attach to the bottom of your shoes and the “18 replaceable steel cleats in a rugged Vibram™ sole greatly reduce the risk of dangerous slips and falls.” The product description promises they’re lightweight and rugged (I guess that’s code for they won’t break the first time you go running) and great for hiking, running, shoveling the driveway, or walking the dog in winter conditions. The “snow tires for your shoes” cost $40 from Brookstone.
I know quite a few people who’ve gotten and started using pedometers in the last year. It makes keeping track of how far you’ve walked in a day easy, and it’s fun to think of all those steps you take at work (or at least in the parking lot walking into work) as a means toward a goal. A pedometer itself isn’t very motivating though. If you want something a little more interactive (i.e. something that speaks your results to you), you could check out a talking pedometer.
The one shown here literally tells you the distance you’ve walked and the number of steps you’ve taken. It also has 7 built in melodies with different tempos it can play to help motivate you to pick up your feet. Remember, the more steps you talk the more calories you can burn, so this is a good gift for a dieting friend.
From Life with Ease for $10.