I don’t know about you, but I could use a recharge right about now.  I love St. Patty’s Day and all, but thank God it only comes once a year.  I had a great time last night only to wake up this morning feeling depleted, dry, and drained.  A can of Red Bull was the best I could do to get the juice flowing again.

It’s days like today that I wish they had battery chargers like our deal of the day for people, not just electronics.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just plug yourself in for an hour and let your nickel cadmium power cells warm up and recharge from any wall socket?  No longer would I need eight hours of sleep a night (or six during the day, either).  Think of all the money I could save on food!  Sure, I’d miss chicken fried steak and everything, but for a confirmed spendthrift like myself, taste ain’t everything.

Sadly, we’ll just have to make do with our AC Quick Chargers keeping our portable gadgets humming along efficiently for the foreseeable future.  This morning, though, I’m turning the volume wayyy down.

I like the idea of my iPod having a little home of its own.  Today's deal of the day reminds me of the plush bed I bought for my dog, except it plays MP3s and doesn't smell awful.  Still, it's nice to be able to tuck my iPod in at night, content in the knowledge that's it's recharging while I sleep, relaxing me with its digital lullabies.  It makes my iPod seem almost like a pet.

You’d think I’d be a little uncomfortable with that notion.  After all, iPods are unfeeling machines who can’t show affection the way a dog or kitty could, and when they die, you can’t get a new one free at the pound.  I guess people are already treating their MP3 players like pets, though, what with buying them new clothes and ringtones and playing with them all the time to the detriment of their human relationships.  I’m sure Steve Jobs is working on a furry model as we speak.

Nobody gives out fluorescent work lights as Christmas presents.  You know why?  Because nobody wants to receive fluorescent work lights as Christmas presents.  When we’re giving and receiving gifts, we like it to be something a little sexier or more whimsical than a simple tool like a work light.  Nevertheless, it’s stuff like fluorescent work lights that we end up keeping and using for decades, and stuff like a new cell phone or a new laptop that we end up using for two or three years and then replace.

This Christmas, I traveled four hours by car to visit my parents.  We had a grand old time, and we gave one another many fine gifts.  If my mother had purchased me a fluorescent work light for Christmas, I’m not going to say that I would have been so angry that I’d have kicked over the Christmas tree.  But I’d have been sort of confused, you know?  Who the hell needs a work light?

Well, after I’d loaded the car back up to head home, guess what—it wouldn’t start.  Turns out, you need to drive your car more than once in four days in freezing weather or the battery dies.  I sure would have liked to have a nice fluorescent work light as I was struggling to hold an LED flashlight in my teeth while I tried to connect jumper cables in 20-degree weather that night.  I didn’t get one for Christmas, though.  I got an iPod instead. 

It’s strange that we don’t give more useful gifts at Christmas.  Moral of the story?  Buy more work lights!

The 1980s were the decade when portable music players really took off.  Not only did the 80s see the rise of the classic ghetto blastin’ boombox, but the game-changing Sony Walkman, as well.  In those days, cassette tapes were the only way to carry your tunes with you, and even though that format has been obsolete for nearly 20 years now, the portable stereo systems used to play cassettes have lived on as highly nostalgic collector’s items.

It’s enough to make one wonder:  Is that the fate that awaits our iPods and docking consoles today?  In another 20 years, will some new revolutionary portable music device have taken the world by storm, relegating iPods to the recycling bin?  And if so, will systems like today’s Memorex MI1003 Speaker System become as collectible as the iconic boombox has?  It’s tough to say for certain.  Just to be safe, though, I’m buying 30 of them.

What gadget or device today do you think has the most potential to become tomorrow’s prized collectible?