Ava Pierce: The Blog - Lounge. Rant. Find your inner bitch.: Gadgets and Gizmos

Showing posts with label Gadgets and Gizmos. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Travel must-haves from Lug

Today's Annoyance: Unattractive travel gear
Mantra of the Day: Being anything but fabulous is not an option.

In my ongoing search for cool travel gear, I happily found Lug. Yay! Here are pics of some of their goodies:

Nap Sac Travel Blanket - $28
Featured in Oprah's November O list

Shuttle Bus Weekender Bag - $99
Perfect for a weekend getaway

Puddle Jumper Overnight / Gym Bag - $75
Another Oprah O Lister; lots of compartments; made for a jet-setter

All of these products come in a variety of fabulous colors like crimson red, ocean teal and sunset orange. And, of course, if Lady O gives them a thumbs up, they have major cred. ;o)

[IMAGES: Courtesy of Lug]

Monday, July 13, 2009

New giveaway: Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale

Today's Annoyance: Luggage fees
Mantra of the Day: I have no plans to bail out the airlines any further.

Airlines are getting way out of control with crazy fees. On one of my international jaunts late last year, I paid more than $100 each way for my luggage and the airline had the nerve to lose one of my bags!

Somehow, airlines managed to survive for so many years without charging per bag. Now, nearly all of them are charging increasingly ridiculous fees for travelers' checked luggage, and the fees often rise depending on weight. If you're like me and tend to shop a bit while you're traveling, this is very uncool because even if you manage to escape the fees on the way to your destination city, they'll get you on the way back, if you're not careful.

The travel experience is worsened when you're standing in line behind people who try to repack their belongings at the check-in desk.

Enter my new must-have gadget and current giveaway item: the digital luggage scale. Balanzza makes a variety of portable scales, some of them even come equipped with an alarm clock and a flashlight!

Balanzza's Digital Luggage Scale weighs only 10 ounces and it's strong enough to weigh up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms). In short, we jet-setters-in-training need one of these, now!

If you don't want to wait, you can buy one now at the Balanzza online store.

So, here are the rules:

1. You can receive 1 entry for sharing a luggage nightmare story below (e.g., lost luggage, crazy fees, etc.). If you don't have any luggage nightmare stories, not to worry, Lucky! Simply add a relevant comment to any of my other blog posts. Spam and single-word comments don't count.

2. You can receive a 2nd bonus entry for sending a tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to reference my Twitter account - @avapierce - in your announcement so that you receive your bonus entry. (There's a maximum of 2 entries per person for this giveaway.)

3. Comments left prior to today will not count as entries into the giveaway.

4. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.

5. The winner will be selected using Random.org and will be announced on my blog and via Twitter on Monday, July 20. The winner must contact me by e-mail (ava at avapierce dot com) within three days of the announcement to claim their prize. If the winner does not claim their prize within that time period, another name will immediately be drawn for the prize.

Have questions about the giveaway? Post a comment below or send me a message: ava at avapierce dot com. Good luck and I can't wait to read and respond to your comments!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Road Rage

Today's Annoyance: Inappropriate multitasking
Mantra of the Day: I knew I was better off on the sidewalk.

I am a city girl. I did not grow up in the city, but over the years, I have spent enough time in them to have forgotten about suburban life and embrace the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle. That is why driving a car seems so unnatural to me. I just came back from a business trip where I needed to drive three hours to the meeting site to see a client. Granted when we got there, it was so beautiful in the end that it was well worth the trouble, but I think that I discovered road rage in the span of that three hours.

I have talked about sidewalk rage before, and I still have to say that it gives rise to stronger feelings than frustration on the road, but the crazy things that people do while driving blows my mind. We started out during rush hour, where I saw a guy sending out emails on his BlackBerry. Then, there was the woman putting on mascara (which in my mind is not the ultimate offense because I think I could put mascara on while sleeping) and the coup de grâce…the guy reading the newspaper while driving. Really? I always thought that you had to worry about things like drunk driving and ice on the road, but I guess that I didn’t have a clue.

What is the craziest thing you have seen someone do while on the road? Let me know, I am dying to hear what you have to say…

Thursday, March 19, 2009

What's your absolute travel necessity?

Today's Annoyance: Luggage fees
Mantra of the Day: My office goes where I go.

I have a friend who refuses to travel without a purse-sized spray can of Lysol. Originally, I thought this might be a bit rude. However, considering the malodorous condition of some airplanes, the airplane toilets and sadly, some of the passengers, I completely understand her motivation.

For some travelers, an iPod or some other MP3 player is a must-have. For others, it’s a cute black outfit. (Who knows when you’ll be invited to a party?) As a classic over-packer, I probably have far too many travel necessities. I know, I’m terrible. And yes, I’ve paid a lot in luggage fees. If I had to choose one thing that I absolutely refuse to travel without, it would be my Samsonite mobile office. Actually, that’s cheating, sort of, because it allows me to pack a bunch of stuff like my laptop, MP3 player, work-related files, an outfit (or two) and some toiletries. If I have to pick a fashion-related item that I couldn’t and wouldn’t travel without, I’d choose…………honestly, how can you choose just one thing? A woman’s got to have her accessories!

So, what’s your must-have?

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Jetsetter Toys

Today’s Annoyance: Heavy luggage
Mantra of the Day: Compact, cute and portable

I just got this new little toy called Aspire One by Acer that I am super excited about. I am always on the road but I have to continue working in between having fun, so I found this 2.2 pound computer that has a 160GB hard drive and a web conferencing center that includes a webcam, microphones and software. There are even Aspire One models that you can have added to your AT&T wireless data plan just like a Blackberry and you get automatic wireless connections wherever you get cell phone service. Then there is my favorite feature: It comes in sapphire blue, coral pink, seashell white, golden brown or black. It is the cutest accessory that you can write off that I have ever seen.

I got so sick of carrying around my big heavy laptop. After a while I thought I was about to have a hernia from lugging that thing all over the world. This thing is actually designed for jet-setters who need to stay connected (or just like to seem busy) while on the road. It has an 8.9 inch screen which means that it can fit into most handbags. After getting this new gadget, I might even think of getting rid of my “Crackberry”.

Ta ta for now sweeties!

[IMAGE: Courtesy of laptoppimp.com]