Toys & Cube Items: perpetualkid.com

Perpetualkid.com sells toys for grown-ups, but it's best and most useful items are the "Cube Goodies". The rest of the stuff is pretty standard online kitsch, the voodoo knife set is a pretty classic example of this sort of super-kitsch product.



But the cube stuff is great! One of my two favorite items are the usb drink cooler (shown right) . For $30, you get a drink cooler that is powered off your port (for more USB gadgets, look at this post) and chills drinks to 45 degrees F (7 degrees C). Supposedly it even will work off your Xbox or even PS2, however it's never left my cube at work. The counter to the cooler is the drink warmer ($18.50). I work in California so the latter item isn't of much use to me.


My other favorite item are the "Cubes". The cubes are like legos, catered to the office. Each character comes with a cube, and there's a copy center and a breakroom expansion pack.

Classic Messenger Bag: shop.strato.de

Need a colourful, retro messenger bag and a free German lesson attached? Check out this 1975 Scout bag (€150,00). Unfortunately the site is in German, and the shipping is €10, but there is a variety of colours. These bags are pretty damn awesome and I recommend you learn some German to get through this site.

Clothes: stevenalan.com

As I've said before, buying clothes online is an incredibly tricky ordeal. You should try on most clothes or shoes before you buy them. Could you imagine buying a jacket online without trying it on? I'd basically have no idea whether it fit or not.

But some clothes are okay to buy online: socks, underwear, etc. T-shirts are basically perfect because they don't have to fit well. In fact, wearing a t-shirt that fits too well is incredibly dorky. Anyway I'd like to add shorts to the list of clothes you can buy online with one caveat: you have to not be super picky about the length (especially if it's too short).

I bought a pair of "Trovata Romani Twill Shorts in Blue" some time ago for about $90. Now they're down to $58, I guess because we're about a quarter-way through summer. Anyway, the length wasn't quite perfect (I wanted something a bit longer) but still, you need only really know your waist size and you've pretty much got the shorts going since the length isn't that important. And the length is the bit that always messes me up on trousers anyway. With trousers, if they're too short you're completely screwed; you can't make them longer. With shorts, if they're too short, well, then you just have shorter shorts, not the end of the world. If they're too long, just hem them.

Anyway I wouldn't go online and buy shorts I had never seen in person before because shopping online is just too big a gamble for clothes. And always remember: don't buy shirts, shoes or trouser online!

Gifts: fabstuff.net

It's suprisingly difficult to come up with a new online retailer to feature several times a week but I try. Today may be the weakest site I've shown so far: Fabstuff.net is a UK based gift site that features stuff your friends never knew they needed! The mouse with the plastic "koi" (that just means carp in Japanese) in it ($35, pictured) makes a perfect gift, as does the mouse with the half-clothed lady in the England soccer shirt ($35), perfect for that hooligan in the family.

The design your own collar kit ($16) is a cute gift for a little girl who just got a puppy, and these colour your own t-shirts ($18) are good for any girl under ten.

The other cool thing about this site is that they give you something free after you register. For me it was some cheesy cufflinks I'll never wear, but again, they made a good gift for my friend on retirement.

Nerd Gear: usb.brando.com.hk

Once in a while, we all need to indulge our inner nerd. Or at least I do and this site, usb brando hk, is the perfect place. Part of the larger brando.com.hk network of shopping sites, usb brando only sells usb (you know the common plug on your computer) devices. Basically, all of these devices are powered through your computer/laptop over the usb cable and most of them can be pretty usefully, especially if you live in a tiny apartment and thus your computer is near the some other functional area be it your bed or your living room.

Here's an example: the usb lamp. At $10 this is a total steal, and it works great in a home office. I had a lamp on my desk until I got sick of having to change the tiny little 20 watt bulb each month at a cost of $5 each blub. So I bought this lamp and it works well and is so completely comical that it adds to the flavor of my work space (which is messy let me tell you). The cable is bendable to any shape and it holds it position well. Since the lights are LEDs, you needn't replace the blub ever! I put it away when a girl comes over for the first time, but I always pull it back out because it is so bloody useful.

I know the World Cup is almost over (I still can't believe we lost to Portugal on penalty kicks) but this $25 soccer ball ashtray is surprisingly useful. Plug it in via the usb cable and it turns into an air filter for your smokes (second hand smoke kills, fellows) when it senses a cigarette near. This came in pretty handy watching those nail-biting England matches.


This $15 alarm clock is great for business travelling. Plug it into your laptop and set it, it'll emit a warm and soothing glow as well as read the date an time over the usb cable. Highly recommended.

Anyway take a browse around the rest of the brando.com.hk family of sites. Most of that stuff is pretty corny and nerdy but once in a while it's healthy to feed that inner nerd.