mySimon Shopping Picks

What happens when a popular tattoo artist sells his name to a French fashion designer and entrepreneur? This happens. The line of Ed Hardy clothes and accessories has expanded so far, that - if you wanted to - you could dress yourself head to toe in Ed Hardy tattoo imagery caps, sunglasses, shirts, watches, pants, shoes, bags, and yes, even underwear. (But people would probably laugh at you.) We wouldn't be surprised if they take a cue from San Rio and started making Ed Hardy kitchen appliances one of these days.

How do you carry your lunch to work/school? Leaky Tupperware containers? Multi-knotted Safeway bags? Make leftovers/soggy tuna sandwiches more fun with a lunch tote from Lands' End. There are several plain adult totes that look pretty useful, but our favorite is the kiddie "character" lunch tote, shown here in "dog" but also available in "horse," "ballet slippers," and "polar bear." The totes are insulated to keep food fresh for hours; have enough room for your various lunch containers; wipe clean with a damp sponge; have straps so you can slip them over the handles of wheeled backpacks; and are so cute we don't care if people look at us funny on the bus.

One day - we hope - all our portable gadgets won't need cords; they'll recharge magically without wires. Until then, we're stuck with a drawer full of chargers and a tangled mess of cords coming out of various outlets around the house. Which is why we want this lacquer docking station from West Elm (the hipper, cheaper, little sister of Pottery Barn). Available in white, mushroom, or espresso, this attractive, space-saving box is a centralized place for charging your phone, camera, iPod, etc. while simultaneously hiding their cords. There's a surge protector on the back and a big drawer for storing other desktop clutter.

If you are hyper-organized, slightly OCD, and have tons of Stuff (we plead guilty to all 3) you might be interested in the Groqit. It's a handheld scanner that looks like a pen. Use it to scan the barcodes on all your books, CDs, DVDs, games, etc. (it can store up to a million barcodes). Next time you see something in a store and wonder if you have that item at home already, just scan it and find out. To add another level of geekery to the mix, connect the Groqit to your computer and use the Groqit website to "translate" barcodes into product names and make online inventories and wishlists. We're thinking this could be a useful tool for first-time eBayers who want to get rid of a lot of their stuff.

With an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a big 320GB hard drive, the Dell Studio S1535-125B laptop, at $980, offers students and mainstream home users some serious bang for the buck. The laptop has a 15.4" screen, a 2-megapixel webcam for Internet chatting, Bluetooth, 4 USB ports, and Vista Home Premium. And it's Dell, so you get toll-free phone support. The downside: It weighs 6.1 pounds and has just average battery life. See all Dell laptops.

"Naked shoes for naked people." That's how Terra Plana describes their Dopie thong sandals, even though the models wearing the sandals are fully dressed. The company set out to create the most minimal footwear possible. The result is this sandal, made out of recycled materials, that molds to your foot. There's one piece that folds up between your toes to provide control, and apparently the strap is "optional." Dopies come in men's and women's sizes, in lots of different colors.

Help your dog stay cool outside with a Coolaroo dog bed. Designed for the outdoors, Coolaroo is a knit fabric with millions of tiny spaces that let air flow freely through it. When the fabric is stretched over an aluminum frame, like on these dog beds, the result is a cool and comfortable (and clean!) place for your pooch to lie down. The fabric resists mold and mildew, and can be cleaned with a basic garden hose. Choose from three sizes.

Before you leave Verizon for AT&T to get the iPhone, consider the LG Dare. PC Magazine gave it an Editors' Choice award, saying it's a "compelling combination" of the iPhone capabilities and Verizon's great network, and that "if you want to play music, take pictures, record videos, surf the Web... the Dare is a blast to use." Features include a 3" color touchscreen display, virtual QWERTY keyboard, 3-megapixel camera (with face detection technology), Bluetooth, web browser, and access to Verizon's V Cast Music with Rhapsody service.

Traditional volleyballs apparently have 18 panels. The Mikasa MVA200 volleyball, which they are using in the Olympics, only has 8 panels, which allow for greater hand contact on the ball, a better feel, and therefore greater accuracy and control. According to Wired, the Mikasa also sounds different when you hit it; it doesn't "have the same satisfying pop as a traditional volleyball." Which sounds like a challenge to hit it even harder, but maybe that's just us. See all Mikasa volleyball gear.

This new Samsung 26" LCD HD monitor puts the "fun" back into "functional." It's got full 1920 x 1200 HD resolution; a fast 5ms response time; built-in speakers (less desktop clutter!); and VGA, DVI, and HDMI connectors so you can fully enjoy movies and play games while you're supposed to be working. And not only does it have an adjustable-height stand, the thing also rotates 360 degrees, so you can spin it around to face the wall when you see the boss approaching. More huge LCD monitors.

Even if there wasn't a tangled mess of cords behind our desks that descended into a dark and dusty Corner of Despair, we'd still have trouble identifying which plug belonged to which electronic gizmo if we needed to unplug anything. Maybe we should get these Kableflags. The "Computer" set includes preprinted labels for your computer, printer, scanner, monitor, speakers, network, etc., while the "Home" set has labels for your TV, receiver, DVD player, DVD recorder, set top box, subwoofer, game console, and other gadgets. You can also get blank labels if you want to make your own.

If Ikea made external hard drives, they might look like the SimpleTech (re)drive. Made from bamboo and recycled aluminum (hence the "re" in the product name), this 500GB low-power hard drive has an Energy Star power adapter, minimal packaging, and no noisy fans. As "green" as it claims to be, we're more impressed with its looks and plug-and-play feature set: Turbo USB 2.0 interface, automated backups, free technical support, and compatibility with PCs and Macs. And reasonable price tag.

As seen in the latest Oprah magazine (and as used by some personal trainers we know): Kettlebell weights. These traditional Russian fitness tools are supposedly making a comeback with modern athletes as well as regular people trying to increase their balance, strength, and endurance. Using them challenges your muscles and your cardiovascular system at the same time, even if it looks like you're holding bowling balls with handles. Kettlebells come in various colors, sizes, and weights. Note: Your lower back advises you to start light and work your way up.

Speedo's high-tech LZR Racer Bodyskins will not make you swim like Michael Phelps, but they'll certainly help you swim a little faster. And turn heads at your local pool. But at $550 for the full bodysuit, this is a lot more swimsuit than most people need. (Our strongest event is the dogpaddle.) The swimsuits are made out of the world's lightest woven swim fabric, with full-length bonded seams, laser-cut panels, and internal core stabilizer supports, all of which do things like "create low profile silhouettes" and "reduce skin friction drag." Nowhere in the product description, however, does it say "creates abs of steel." More Speedo swimwear.

Several months ago we were regularly volunteering to babysit for our friends with fancy on-demand cable, just so we could watch episodes from the final season of The Wire. We never did get to see all of them, but as of today, Season 5 of The Wire is out on DVD, so you'll know where to find us when we're not at work - glued to the sofa, in front of the TV. The official teaser reads: "Times are tough for the detail. Mayor Carcetti has slashed the departments budget to the bone. Police are operating without overtime, some without cars and radios. Angered, McNulty is off the rails again and headed down a dangerous path of deception and lies that will ally him with an unscrupulous reporter. The drug trade still rules the corners, all you have to do is read between the lines."

"Real men wear goatees," say the people behind the GoateeSaver, a new shaving device that helps men with daily grooming. The GoateeSaver is not a razor. It is a plastic mouthpiece. You bite down on the orange tabs in the back, adjust the mouthpiece so that it covers all the facial hair you want to keep, and then just shave around it. It sounds like a fast and easy way to get a perfectly symmetrical goatee. And it's only $20.

We don't write much about "green" products here, because buying new things by definition isn't "green" behavior. But if you have to buy a new computer, take a look at the new Dell Studio Hybrid PC, a space-saving desktop computer that, according to Dell, uses 70% less power than a typical PC, and also meets Energy Star 4.0 standards. This is probably due to its diminutive size (it's not much bigger than a Mac Mini). The entry-level $499 version comes with 6 different colored "sleeves," 1.86GHz Dual Core processor, Vista Home Basic, 1GB shared DDR2 at 667MHz, CD/DVD burner, and 160GB hard drive. Of course, you can upgrade for wireless networking and better/faster processor, memory, and hard drive if you're willing to spend more

It's weird to see a pink TV that isn't branded with Hello Kitty, Barbie, or Bratz logos. But it looks like Sony's going after that market with this pink 26" LCD HDTV. Features include 720p native resolution, HDMI and PC connectivity (in case you also want a pink computer monitor), virtual surround sound from the 2 front speakers, and screen brightness that automatically adjusts to match the light in your room. Sony if offering free ground shipping right now, with no payments or interest for 18 months. See all Sony Bravia TVs.

Paris Hilton for President?! In response to "that white-haired dude" using her in a campaign spot, Hilton and Funnyordie.com made this hilarious spoof political ad, in which Hilton lets America know that she is "like totally ready to lead" and even presents a surprisingly coherent "energy policy." Show your support for Hilton (and her VP candidate Rihanna) with this funny t-shirt.

Introducing Canon's lightest and most compact digital SLR so far: The Canon Digital Rebel XS, a 10-megapixel, $700 camera that Canon claims is "a beginner's dream come true." Features include a DIGIC III processing chip, a 2.5" LCD with Live View function, 3 frames-per-second continuous shooting, automatic lighting optimization, and image stabilization. The camera uses SD and SDHC memory cards and works with 60+ Canon EF/EF-S lenses. See all Canon digital SLR cameras.