Drinking

If filmmaker David Cronenberg designed a dress, it would look like the DareDroid 2.0. This cocktail-making frock looks like the union of a Madonna outfit and a cyborg jellyfish injected with the DNA of a bartender.

The DareDroid didn't come from Chanel or Versace. It sprung from the minds of a design team called the Modern Nomads, a trio that consists of Marius Kintel, Anouk Wipprecht, and Jane Tingley--a hacker, fashion designer, and sculptor, respectively. Now it all starts to make sense.

The dress isn't all tubes and white fabric. There's a lot of tech tucked in. Medical tubing and bottles hold the liquid. Custom hardware makes the dispenser function.

Built-in sensors are triggered by proximity. Remain at a respectful distance and the dress will dispense a non-alcoholic beverage. Get too close and it will shut off. LEDs alert you to just how close you are.… Read more

One of the great mysteries in life is knowing what you want out of the fridge before you open it. This is not a food-specific dilemma: the same conundrum can and does occur when contemplating a wine selection. While it may be easy (or not) to decide upon red or white, deciding upon which red or white is another story entirely. It is something that we as a society have learned to live with. And as with other resignations, we try to make up for it by doing the little things.

Since it is apparent that the practice of open-door … Read more

Sometimes I play the game where you think of which famous celebrity you'd like to have a drink with. Bob Dylan would be awesome. Bill Gates probably makes a mean sloe gin fizz. For those of you who have Martha Stewart in mind, you can get one step closer to dream fulfillment with the Martha Stewart Cocktails app for the iPad.

The 99-cent app requires clicking through the age-restricted material warning when installing it. You just have to agree that you are over 17 to browse 20 recipes ranging from an Herbal Lillet Cooler to a Caiprinha, the Brazilian libation made with sugarcane liquor. In a nice pop culture collision, the White Russian recipe includes a shout out to the Dude from "The Big Lebowski."… Read more

Kitchen appliances get put through their paces certain times more than others. During the weekday, the stove might not see any action at all, but the microwave may be put into overdrive. Coffeemakers, on the other hand, see use every day of the week. (At least for those of us who cannot manage to make it out of the house without a cup.) However, even with a coffeemaker being an essential appliance, that doesn't mean it needs to perform exactly the same every day of the week. Monday morning comes, and that coffee might need to be ready to … Read more

Keeping track of coffee consumption isn't necessarily at the forefront of the minds of coffee drinkers. After all, anyone who has ever delved into the dark elixir has at one time or another--or every day as the case may be--subjected themselves to drinking an overabundance of coffee. Aside from being easy to do, it's fun; jittering through the day can produce some interesting consequences. However exciting that may be, sometimes we just want to see what we are getting ourselves into before we get into it.

Every coffee drinker knows just how much coffee is in the pot, … Read more

Oh, wine, sweet nectar of the gods. I open my $2.99 bottle of Trader Joe's red, have a glass with dinner, and two days later discover that all the tasty goodness has disappeared, the victim of oxidation. Why must the world be so cruel?

The maker of the Wine Balloon says it can delay the inevitable with an invention that looks like a cross between a Whoopee cushion and a hand pump oxygen mask. I know that sounds suspect, but it's a much more elegant solution than that description might lead you to believe.

The Wine Balloon launched late last year, but its coming-out party happened at the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago last month.

It joins a crowded field of devices designed to prolong the life of our beloved grape-based beverages. There are plenty of vacuum seals, pump stoppers, and argon cartridges already on the market. The Wine Balloon's appeal is in its simplicity.

For $22, you get a small hand pump in the shape of a bunch of grapes with a tube leading down to a rubber balloon. Drop the balloon into the partially imbibed bottle and pump it up to seal the precious liquid away from the meddlesome air. The company says the rubber will not affect the wine's taste.… Read more

Just because something looks dangerous doesn't necessarily means that it is. When it comes to kitchen gear and its associated contrivances, often a machine that looks like it is always at the ready to poke, prod, or cut, is altogether harmless when the instructions are followed. And then there are other devices that look innocuous, but could pose a hazard if used without caution.

Really it is the potential for hazard that sets the Smart Pot To Go Portable Heating Appliance apart. I mean honestly, if I don't get my caffeine in the morning, nobody is safe.

Of … Read more

There are few things as enjoyable as a good bottle of wine shared among friends. (A good bottle of wine shared with a particular friend might be one of them, but that still counts.) When served at the ideal temperature, wine has the potential to heat up or cool down the proceedings; it's one of wine's interesting characteristics that different varieties benefit from different serving temperatures. Whether a bottle of wine is meant to be shared in an intimate setting or at a rambunctious get-together, all wines do well served at a particular temperature.

However, serving a particular … Read more

Mornings can be treacherous things to navigate, and most of us have developed some kind of ritual to help us get through those choppy waters. Coffee and tea have always been popular day-starters, and how we get it varies as much as how we like to enjoy it. Some of us rush about, grabbing our beverage of choice so quickly that the sloshing in the cup threatens to spill onto the floor. And others like to sit back, relax, and let the early morning stares take over. For those who belong to the latter group, here's something you might … Read more