Dream Water - sleeping pills no more

Do you ever have those nights where you just can't seem to fall asleep? I sure do, but I don't suffer from sleeplessness often enough that I would want to take a prescription sleeping pill for it. So, what's the next best thing to do? The folks at Dream Water believe it's as simple as drinking a glass of water - Dream Water that is! They figured, if people were drinking energy drinks all the time to keep themselves awake, why not make one that will help you fall asleep? Dream Water is made will all natural ingredients, including melatonin, GABA, and 5-HTP to help with sleep and relaxation. And as an extra benefit, the bottles are small enough to pass through airport security, so you can take a nice snooze on your next long flight! Sleep well!

prezi - create eye-popping presentations

Tired of being put to sleep by boring powerpoint presentation? Then tell the world about Prezi. Prezi is no ordinary presentation maker, it allows to create amazingly creative and interactive presentations with an easy to use presentation builder tool. And best of all it is free. The only way to truly understand is to check out a presentation created with Prezi, so see below. Now, stop showing boring presentations and amaze your friends and colleagues!

Power of storytelling on Prezi

GrowFrame - the growing photo frame

Okay, this is a pretty neat invention. The GrowFrame is a series of photo frames that all basically snap together with magnets, so you can build endless different size and shape photo frames. To get the full effect, you really need to watch the video. For those with kids, it's a great way to show your child's growth over time, as you just keep adding pictures as they age.

The GrowFrame from GrowShow on Vimeo.

Squirrel Paperclips - yes, really...

Want to put a smile on your coworker's face? Then hand them your next report with one of these paperclips attached to it. Yep, I donno, people come up with and sell some of the craziest products. Who would have thought we needed a paperclip shaped like a squirrel. Apparently we do! If you are so inclined to buy, you can do so here!

Rentometer - rentals made easy

Are you a landlord or a tenant? If you answered "yes," then you should check out Rentometer. From the tenant side, you can compare your rent with other local properties to make sure you're not paying too much. You may even be able to send maintenance requests to your landlord through them; reducing the hassle of tracking down your landlord. For landlords, there's a plethora of services designed to help you manage your rentals, from Craigslist posting and tenant screening to a dashboard to manage all your rentals in one place. So, if you're a landlord or a tenant, check them out and see if they're right for you.

NoNotes - stop taking notes

Are you a college student who finds it hard to listen to your professor and take notes at the same time? Or maybe you're heading to a conference this weekend, but your colleagues aren't, and you want to fill them in on all the talks? Well, then NoNotes may have the answer for you.  In NoNotes own words, they are "a high quality low cost transcription and translation provider. We take your audio files and turn them in to text and we can translate any document to more than 80 languages." Transcription services are nothing new, but they've simply made it easy to do. You simply send them the audio, and they'll send you back a complete word-for-word copy. So, next time you "don't want to miss a thing" (as Aerosmith would say), check them out.

Little Librarian - encourage your little reader

Does your child love going to the library and reading books? Well, now she can take it to the next level. With the Little Librarian kit, she can become her own librarian in her own library! What a great way to encourage reading, and the skills of organizing, sharing, borrowing, and returning. So, if you've got a budding librarian or reading enthusiast in your midst, you need to check this out (and you don't even have to return it or deal with late fees!).

Manpacks - socks/underwear/t-shirt subscription

Huh? A new company, Manpacks, is now offering manpacks (a mail-order subscription to replace your old socks, underwear, and t-shirts) to "give men (and the people who love them) more time to build empires, climb mountains, slay dragons... to achieve the goals they aspire to." Yep, that's right. If you (guy) or you (girl who has to clean up after the guy) are tired of  hole-y t-shirts; permanently brown socks, and worn out underwear, BUT you don't want to be hassled by going shopping to replace them, then you can sign up for this subscription service that will mail you a manpack with new socks/underwear/t-shirts every few months. I'm not sure if this is a genius idea to help out lazy men, or a completely crazy idea. Either way, there you have it!

Violight - cell phone sanitizer

Did you know that your cell phone may be dirtier than the sole of your shoe or even a toilet seat? Yep, that's pretty nasty all right. With our daily, and sometime hourly, use of cell phones, it makes sense that they can get pretty dirty. In fact, take yours out now and look at it. See all those finger print smudges? Now think about the last five places you set it down. Unhuh, it's pretty nasty all right. Well, a company called Violight has developed a UV Cell Phone Sanitizer that eliminates 99.9% of germs in just minutes (they actually came out with a toothbrush sanitizer a couple years ago as well, so if your toothbrush looks a little gross, you can take a look at that product too!). Okay, on that note, I'm going to go wash my hands!

Paper Soap - "soap on a ropes" little brother!

Do you prefer to bring your own soap when you travel, but hate packing a wet, filmy bar of soap? Or maybe you're heading out into the wilderness this weekend, and you've already remedied your coffee problems after last week's post, but now you need to figure out how to clean yourself while you're camping? Well, "soap on a rope" move over! Paper soap is here to play! Basically, you take a sheet of soap into the shower with you, add water, and work it into a lather. Hey, and it's airplane carry-on safe!

Double Shot Press Mug - brew coffee on the go

As it is getting cooler out these days, I thought this would be a good product to show you all. The Double Shot Press Mug from REI is a coffee brewer and mug all in one. So, whether you're enjoying a weekend camping and need your morning pick me up, or you're just on the go and in a rush, now you can enjoy fresh coffee anywhere! I'm feeling warmer already!

LEGO Ice Tray - fun for snack time

Everybody knows LEGOs. And if you have a young child, he/she probably has bunches of them strewn all over the house. Well, to make it more fun, you can add this LEGO Ice Tray to your repertoire. It's a creative way to add more fun to snack time drinks, or you could even use it as a candy mold if you want to spice it up a bit. LEGOs aren't just for playtime anymore! 

Tether - access the internet anywhere

For those of you who are a bit more tech savy and have a blackberry, here is a pretty cool app. As they put it on their website..."Have you ever been stuck in an airport, hotel room, coffee shop, or on the road with no Internet? Frustrated paying $9.95 for 30 minutes of internet service? Resorting to your Blackberry but wished you could use your laptop? Tether is here to provide a solution to all those worries! Tether is an application that allows your PC to take advantage of your Blackberry's data plan, allowing you to access the Internet on your laptop anywhere there is cellular coverage from your BlackBerry." Hey, and today only, they are running a special price; it is 50% off!

GetHuman - the ultimate consumer tool

Are you stuck on hold waiting for a customer service rep as you read this post? Can't seem to get through to a human being or waiting on hold for what seems like hours? Then get ready for the answer to your prayers. GetHuman is your "ultimate consumer tool with phone numbers, shortcuts, reviews, tips, and more for companies worldwide." So next time you need to call a company, check this site first, and learn the tips on how to get through quickly and effectively. No more waiting, no more talking to computers, and no more dialing around for the right numbers. Don't you feel your stress melting away already?

Pogoplug - your personal online storage

Okay, so you may remember me writing about Dropbox a little while back. Dropbox offers online storage and sharing of your files. Well, if Dropbox wasn't robust enough for your needs, Pogoplug is! Pogoplug takes a different angle on the whole online storage / cloud computing thing. Rather than saving or linking your files online, it simply hooks your external hard drive up to the internet; thus, you can access anything on your external hard drive from anywhere with any device. It is of course password protected, there are no ongoing fees, and it is incredibly easy to use. You basically just plug one end into your computer and the other into your external hard drive. Then, voila, you are your own online storage! The device is only $129. So, if you have lots of files you need to access away from home or you have pictures you want to share with others, this may be a great option.

Beer Garden - grow your own beer

I saw this and have to write about it, as my brother-in-law brews his own beer. This product, brought to you by the folks at ThinkGeek, allows you to grow your own hops/wheat/barley to use in your own beer brewing. So now, not only can people do all the brewing and fermenting, they can even grow the ingredients to put in the brew. This is perfect for my brother-in-law! And hey, I think he has a birthday coming up fairly soon! Do you know any beer brewing enthusiasts? If so, this might be a fun option for them too!

Terrafugia - making flying cars a reality

Do you remember watching The Jetsons fly around in their "car" as they went from home to work and everywhere in between? Well that family vehicle of the future is almost a reality. A bunch of MIT grads and MBAs are toiling away to make the first truly mainstream "Transition Roadable Aircraft" (aka Flying Car) through a company called Terrafugia. It's getting pretty close; the first models will probably cost close to $200,000, which is obviously way out of most our price ranges. But, just think, in 5 or 10 years, these vehicles could begin to come into our price ranges. Now, how much would that change our world? Cool!

CrowdedInk - social media coffee mugs

Do you find yourself constantly hanging out on Facebook or tweeting with your friends on Twitter? If you just can't get enough of your friends online, now you can take them offline too! CrowdedInk has popped up to offer social media mugs. Basically, they'll take the profile pics of up to 184 of your friends and plaster them onto a coffee mug. That's a pretty cheery way to start your morning! They even have keychains, so you can take your friends with you wherever you go.

Cool-jams - tired of night sweats?

Tired of waking up at 2:00am in the morning drenched in sweat from getting too hot in your bed? Maybe your pregnant wife is always hot, no matter what time of day? Or may the love of your life has hit that point where the hot flashes are coming left and right? Interestingly enough, wicking clothes are no longer just for sports! Now you can get moisture wicking sleepwear from Cool-jams. They say their clothes even have a "cotton-like" feel, so you won't have to give up your comfort. They're definitely not cheap, but if you wake up often sweating, it may be a pretty cheap solution for a good night's sleep!

Sharpie Liquid Pencil - cool pen or cool pencil?

In case you didn't know, I work in the world of office products, so I see some of the cool new office products as they're about to come out. The Sharpie Liquid Pencil is one of those products. It's a pencil that uses liquid graphite, so it's "smooth like a pen; erases like a pencil." And you'll never have to worry about breaking a lead again. I haven't been able to get my hands on one to try it, but my sources tell me it's pretty cool! It should be available everywhere you buy office products in September.  Be on the look out for it!