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December 17, 2009 -- It's that time again. Chanukah and Christmas are here and if you, like me, haven't shopped yet, you're probably desperate for some gift ideas. So, I have perused a number of sources and come up with some gifts, mostly inexpensive, that you might want to consider.
One of my favorites is the demoralizer calendar for 2010 from Think Geek. Each month has an illustration and a suitable quote. As a former economist, I was particularly drawn to January's: "Economics. The science of explaining tomorrow why the predictions you made yesterday didn't come true today." The calendar also provides suitable "on this date" comments like the one for October 12, 1979: "Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy first published in London. Panic ensues." This will run about $13 and Think Geek has other gifts as well (see below).
 USB drives have become ubiquitous and cheap, but they are a little clunky. Well, Verbatim has come up with the "tuff-n-tiny" line of 2, 4, and 8 GB flash drives that are about the thichness and width of a penny. Designed to go on a key chain, they make a great little gift, if a bit pricey ($17.50-26.50), for that special geek in your life. They come in 3 colors (orange: 2 GB; green, 4 GB; and purple, 8 GB) Go to Google products to shop for the best price.
I'm sure you, like me, have those moments when you want to take a picture of youself and your sig-  nificant other, you desperately need a tripod, but none is available. Well, the Joby Gorillamobile may be just the thing you're looking for. It works with the iPhone, iPod Touch, and digital cameras. If fact, Joby has a whole line of gorilla tripods for your every need. You can get this at Amazon.com for between $20-30.
So, you have a bunch of tech toys that you charge up every night -- a couple of cell phones (you and your other), maybe an iPod Touch, of some other gadget -- so you have chargers and wires all over the place. For $100, Powermat has a solution: It's mat on which you lay three of your devices and they just get charged. If even has a USB port for that extra devi ce. You can get the Powermat from Best Buy.
And, for that geeky, pregnant friend or spouse of yours, here is the perfect t-shirt. The text says "Operating System Loading," has the typical file load thermometer, and says underneath "Wait 9 months." Well, yes, it is cold outside, but she can wear it indoors. You can order this T from the Maternal Youth site for $36.
The Sanyo Eneloop Battery and USB charger system combines a ready-to-use and rechargeable battery in one, combining the benefits of both. When you get the batteries, you can use them as is; when the battery's charge goes, just recharge it with the charger. You can get the Eneloop charger, and 8 AA and 2 AAA batteries for $29 from Amazon.
And for the truly hard-core geek -- you know the kind who think computer algorthms are really cool -- here is the perfect gift: a binary clock. You tell the time by figuring out the decimal values from the binary display. Yes, you have to have had real training in some arcane and mostly useless technology to be able to read it, but that's what makes it cool. It comes with blue or red LEDs and you can buy it from Think Geek for $20-$28.
For the environmentally concerned, you might consider The Green Book, by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen. My favorite chapter title: "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste, but Waste is a Terrific Thing to Mind." It contains tips and suggestions for liviing greener and conserving in small and big steps. Belongs in everyone's library. You can buy it here from Amazon for $10.
Another book worth considering for your environmentally concerned friends is Al Gore's Our Choice a Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, available from Amazon in paper for $15. You can also get a "young readers" edition for $17 and a 6 CD set for $38.
For kids, the Tech Museum Online Store has "Hug the Planet" for $20. This is a soft, huggable globe with 600 identified places.
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