Drink Air Water, Retro Soda Brands, and CES Gizmos
I love tech, don't you?
How’s your January going so far?
Here - it’s looking like it might be a snowy week.
It’s snowing outside as I write - looks like we’ll get at least a few inches.
It’s been quite some time since our children have played in the snow - and I’d love to see the joy and hear the laughter from them.
Plus, maybe they’ll actually sleep a night or two instead of wandering around their rooms in the middle of the night. It’ll be two AM and I’ll hear my son get out of bed and wander around his room.
In tech news - Artifact is shutting down in February. I’m sad to see the app go! I enjoyed reading articles + other people’s finds.
Did you check out any of the awesome CES gadgets from last week??
CES is my favorite event of the year - when companies small and large show off cool stuff. The fun part is trying to guess what actually makes it to the real world (out of tech lala land).
The Rabbit R1 stole the show - but did we really expect something that involved ai AND Teenage Engineering to flop?
We’ll touch on it a bit later - don’t worry.
If you’re into video games at all - keep an eye out for two fun ones coming out in the next monthish.
Palworld (Pokemon with guns) and Pacific Drive (Horror driving game)
(For future gaming - keep an eye out for Once Human coming this fall).
Let’s dive in, shall we?
💨Drink Air Water
When I was little, I was always intrigued by the water inside a portable dehumidifier.
“Why can’t I drink it?” - I would always ask . . . if this gadget pulls water out of the air, why can’t I just pour a glass.
Meet - the WaterCube.
Though they may cloak it in all kinds of fancy words . . .
The WaterCube® (WC-100) system is designed to utilize renewable energy such as solar or conventional sources, to make fresh water directly from the air. It’s an eco-friendly solution that sidesteps pollution, avoids problematic by-products, and circumvents water rights complications. (source)
I’ll call it a ultra-powerful dehumidifier you can use for drinking water.
Like - the Ferrari of dehumidifiers.
Jokes aside - this “Watercube” can produce 120 gallons a day! That’s more than enough water for cooking, cleaning, drinking, and more!
Heck - maybe you could even have an off grid tiny home and use this for all your water needs.
This thing is HUGE. It’s the size of an office printer. Here’s a quick little video that shows it.
I’m intrigued to read reviews when it comes out!
It’ll cost around $20,000 - so I doubt there will be a huge direct-to-consumer market for it.
There’s only so many preppers with deep pockets.
They do mention on the site possibilities of new neighborhoods coming with Watercubes - so I imagine much of their focus will be on builders and such.
Check it out at the link!
🥤Retro Soda Brands
Back in November, I stopped by an organic grocery store with my brother - and noticed Moxie in the cold beverage section.
Moxie? The ancient soda? It was still around??
I bought and drank one - and it was delicious!
(If you’re interested - you can buy some on Amazon)
Here in Tennessee, we have an RC Cola + Moonpie festival every year in Bellbuckle.
Obviously, lots of ice-cold RC Colas are sold - it was the first time my kids ever had soda.
What I DIDN’T know, is just how many regional sodas there are still around.
For example - here in Tennessee - we have Dr. Enuf - which I’ve never had!
You can buy a whole case for $24, which is pretty darn good.
I kept researching - and a lot of states in the US have their special drink.
For example - Rhode Island has coffee milk, which is amazing.
Maryland has Shasta - which is also really good!
(apparently a 24 pack is only $6)
If you’d like to indulge in a fun hobby this week - go grab a case of your state, province, or country’s soda.
This Wikipedia page is a good place to start if you’re in the USA.
If you’re outside the USA - here’s a great link to begin research.
I’m going to figure out where to get some Dr. Enuf - and I might get a case of Shasta . . .
You can do soda subscriptions, but honestly, it’s cheaper to buy in bulk one state at a time.
I’ll keep you posted on when my Shasta shows up!
⚙CES Gizmos
CES had lots of cool gizmos this year - my favorite was the Rabbit R1 - but since the whole internet wrote about it last week - I didn’t want to bore you with a long article about it. Lots of TV’s, AI, and a cool new version of Samsung’s Ballie robot, and this really cool Twinkly Matrix LED wall.
🐇Rabbit R1
What if you could summon AI to do useful things for you AND be fun? The Rabbit R1 is a Teenage Engineering designed handheld AI device with a (they call it this) LAM - large action model. You can teach Rabbit to use apps for you! You want a pizza from Doordash? Rabbit can order it for you! I’m quite tempted to save up and buy one - but I think I’m gonna wait to see what people start doing with them OUTSIDE of stuff like Doordash or Spotify.
The Exobrew + iGulu
Keurig style devices fascinate me to no end - and I’ve written about many! This one will brew beer, kombucha, and ciders in anywhere from 3-30 days. “I brewed some fresh cider - who wants some?” sounds like the most incredible “too busy to do cool stuff from scratch” millennial dad flex ever. The Exobrew costs $879 dollars, which is a pretty hefty price tag. Running a little cheaper and more on the aestheticc side is the iGulu - a home brew device that’ll only run you around $599. Though I am not the target market for these devices, they are cool.
The X1 AI Interpreter
This is one of those devices I’d buy if I was going to another country and didn’t speak the native language. It’s an AI translater that comes with two earbuds - you take one, and the other person takes one, and it’ll translate in live time. It translates on the screen too, which helps even more! Though yo hablo un poco espanol, there were times in Mexico when I just couldn’t keep up. A device like this would have been very useful!
🐙The Land of Random
Ready to DIVE into the crazy world of the internet?
Press The Blue Button
DON’T press the red button
The Gathering of the Cats
The cats yearn for vengeance
Heated Tobacco?
Yo I had no idea this was a thing. I don’t smoke or vape, but I find the marketing aspects of the Tobacco industry quite interesting. Heated Tobacco has been a thing in Japan for years - but it’s only just coming to the USA.
8 Bit Dash
Got a spare monitor? This aesthetic lofi/vaporwave site is the perfect site for some chill ambiance.
Motchiri
This brand LITERALLY has a 3D game-style environment to host their e-commerce shop. Amazing. There’s even a mini-game and a hot air balloon you can ride!
Neon Modem Overdrive
Experience hacker News, Discourse, Lemmy, and Lobsters on a 80’s style app that lives in command line. Very cool!
Nino “All In one” app
Think Notion - but more for teams of people. I have no idea if it works well, but it’s intriguing!
🎶TikToks You Can’t Miss!
These videos feel like they’re from another reality
That mail truck goes hard.
🤖AI AHHHHHHHHH
A cool guide to AI words + beginner resources
Generate an ENTIRE 3D scene from one image????? Yooooo
That’s all for this week, unless you want to see a robot make coffee.