Get it out of your system

Sing and play guitar. It's that simple. And you can do it on your DS. Jam Sessions, on sale now (yep, I saw the ad and loved it, God bless advertising). The game's got its own website too.

Pesky network

Home networking - the bane of everyone's life, right? So, that must mean there's a gap in the market for a website and a range of software products to help fix those troublesome wireless thingoes.

Not any more. It's here. Network magic.

King knock

I asked this question on my Facebook status last week, but so far, no response.

Is it just me, or if you listen on headphones is there some sort of banging in the background of "Are You Lonesome Tonight", as if someone was getting something down from the loft?

"We'll fly out and fix it for you if you have a problem"

What happens here, with the "Lenovo ThinkPad Reserve Edition", is that you just get stunning service for your top-quality laptop all the time.

The unit itself is in handstitched leather, and there are only 5000 of them to be made. So, the $5,000 might not seem so amazing already.

But you also get an IT specialist on call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help with every IT jam you get yourself into with it.

Admire

So much lovely stuff here. Wotartist is a portal for new artists. Love it.

Sleep well

From the author of "The Insomnia Kit" (which I'm fairly sure is supposed to help you combat the condition rather than develop it), comes the information you need to get a good night's sleep. Crucial factors are temperature, position, light and what you've been eaten. That much you knew - but this formula, you did not.

Hit it

Well would you look at this. Taking up a tiny floorspace, and making noise just for you in your headphones, it's the new Roland electronic drum kit. You can even plug an iPod in so you've got something to bash along to. Priced around £500 from retailers like these.

Your own social network

Here's ning. It's another alternative to Facebook, giving you the chance to design and be in charge of your own social network site. You're the boss. Here's a review. (You'll need to skip the ad.)

Tripe

I've enthused on here before about Clive James, and here he is (from a recent Sky Arts interview with Nick Hornby) with his verdict on this book.

"I've got to tread carefully here, because the man's got powerful lawyers, but it's tripe."

Protecting you against acoustic shocks

I'm actually really happy with my Jawbone bluetooth thingo, but now look. Sennheiser have brought one out.

Surf with fruit

There's just something cute about Innocent.

Always on my back

Tattoo your wife's picture on your back at your peril.

Nokia turn Spiderman's suit black

Come on Nokia, give us another phone. It's what you do, after all. Here's the N95.

John is

For those days when you just can't think what to put in your Facebook status box, comes this.

Only grown-up men are scared of women

Werner von Trapp, the inspiration for 11-year-old Kurt in The Sound of Music (quoted above), died earlier this month at the age of 91.

Things you may not have known about him: He weaved carpets from the woool of the sheep on his farm...

... and his father's first wife (whose death gave rise to the need for nanny Maria) was the granddaughter of the man who invented the torpedo.

Broooooce

Magic. Just a great album. And here's what you can learn from it.

Boom

One to play when you're bored. I do actually love it.

Decoding the language

Ever wondered much how the brain works? Here's a question to which the answer is currently unknown - but they're working on it. Do bilingual people read English differently?

Want one of these?

Discover the road to enlightenment. It might not be what you're expecting. (And isn't that Jen's boss from the IT crowd?)

Changing familiar rhythms

Why the news on Radio 4 starts differently now.

The strangest PI

Dick Spanner is missing.

Just magic

He's apparently very effective, and we're not to be scared of him. But he's only available in America, so ask your friends when they're over there. Mr Clean.

Green and statesmanlike

Everything about the environment - Ecopedia, from the New Statesman.

From the Berghof

Hitler's globe. Its story is here.

Help yourshelf

Parisian letters.

Jolly green blogs

Here are a couple of blogs by people leading the greener life - just a selection from hundreds out there. Little Blog In The Big Woods features a family living as green as can be, in the American countryside. No Impact Man is doing something similar, but in the city.

We may think they're extreme, but they're real (as far as I know) and they sometimes make interesting reading.

Eternity

Sad news, then, that Deborah Kerr has died. She was once my co-star in a movie. No, really.

OK, not really. I was on screen for about a minute in a 1985 made-for-TV film which starred her and Robert Mitchum. This one.

She said hello to me, though. Under a tree. And very lovely she was, too.

Some things get builded

Now, it's not cheap, this, so look impressed. The yellow meccano chair.

Nick's place

He's got a new book coming out, aimed at the teenage market but (so the reviews say) accessible to all, and now he's got an online diary too. Nick Hornby's blog.

Sorry, it's the smallest I've got

Here's the story of the man who tried to pay for his groceries with a fake million-dollar note. The largest real note in America is $100.

Wave and go

Visa payWave. It's easy. You just choose your purchases, wave your card in the air (well, it's actually a bit less feeble than that, you actually have to shove it in the direction of a card reader), and hello Uncle Bob. Super.

A royal flush

Doris Lessing responds with style to being doorstepped with news of her Nobel Prize for literature. Nothing will phase this lady. Journalists are there to be disrespected.

Stormy weather

Twenty years on from the storms of 1987, what do we know? Nearly 12% of the UK is now under the cover of trees, compared to 9.6% before that windy night, and double the figure of a hundred years ago. More here.

Never be lonely at conferences

A new gadget for meetings and conferences. Now that's what we needed. Spotme.

You really are a terrible girl

A writer from the Times tries to make Alan Titchmarsh swear.

The Golden Spurtle is won

News comes flooding in from the 14th annual world porridge-making world championships.

Buckle up

Just a Cotton Traders belt.

Just fill up the balloon

Blimp.

Hello Michael

Knight Rider's coming back. How cool is that?

What's a boutique hotel?

Next time you're in DC, Hotel Helix.

Halloween crisis

The country's top pumpkin man says it's been a dreadful year.

Image bookmarking

Now, I don't really get this yet, but it's supposed to be A Big Thing. (I was going to say "the next big thing", but isn't everything.)

So, I quote: "FFFFOUND! is a web service that not only allows the users to post and share their favorite images found on the web, but also dynamically recommends each user's tastes and interests for an inspirational image-bookmarking experience."

Create your very own aisle

You can't really see it properly there, but take my word for it. That's a recycled plane trolley. Want one?

Add fontal character to your words

Choose a new font. Dafont.

Spilt milk

Beware of "inadequate in-car storing of goods".



£350 million worth of groceries are damaged before you get them home to the kitchen, a new survey reveals today.



65% of drivers rarely use their car boots, putting the shopping on the back seat instead. That'll be why then.

Extremely big

Now, if you really think that there's no such thing as too much hard disc space, get yourself one of these - the Bigger Disc Extreme. That's 2 terra-bytes of disc. SURELY that's big enough?

Action Station

A funky author website? It's not often you find one, but here's Jeanette Winterson's.

Samurai clash

The Sushi Oscars are almost here.

Pop

This will amuse you for about eight seconds. Still, that's eight seconds of amusement. Snap bubbles.

Out here in the fields

America's latest fashion - eating food on the farm where it was reared. And here's their site.

Take one of these before you go

Add a bit of class to your children's birthday party with fabric party bags.

The holographic boot

Now, no mucking about, these are very trendy.

Express yourself

It's due to have you hooked. It's a free download of a painting package. ArtRage.

Crumbling at the bank

Britain's gold is cracking up.

Your voice clearly

We've seen a few bluetooth headset jobbies on John's blog, but that doesn't mean there's no room for another. Jawbone from Carphone Warehouse.

Britain's finest

From the Museum of Bad Album Covers, the British Collection.

The selfish, the intolerant and the anarchic

Your partner's sleep characteristics have been defined. They'll fit into one of these categories.

Rock Star Radios

Bid for DAB radios signed by your rock heroes.

Looking right at you

The maps aren't as good as Google, but I think the satellite imagery is better, at Microsoft Live Maps. Here's Wembley Stadium.

Tongues that won't last

From the National Geographic Enduring Voices project, news that of the 7,000 languages in the world today, half are in danger of extinction by the end of this century, as one falls silent every fortnight. And here they are.