Madewe'ls Techy Bear Graphic

This graphic was featured on Madewell’s site, and immediately made me star to think of how evan dead animal heads featured with technology is cool/trendy/hipster. But i have to admit that this bear gets a pretty fly set of headphones.

This image triggered a thought — we love our animals. we love our tech. But what about the intersection of the two?

1) Clearly, iPhone Apps.

• Mashable’s 5 Apps for Pet Owners: Off-Leash Pet Locator, “Pet Phone” to track animal care,
• Paw Finder’s 10 iPhone Apps for Pet Lovers: Pet Finder Mobile Adoption App, Rate my Puppy (show offs)
• PetSugar’s Apps to Entertain Your Pet: More than just your average barking ringtone.

2) My Favorite YouTube Search Story… DOG

A use of tech to help you find answers to all your animal questions

3) Dogs singing with Ipads

With my new Canon digal rebel xsi!

My newest techy gadget puchase of a Canon Digital Rebel Xsi has truly turned me into a “canon girl.” (sorry nikon!)

After tracking the progress of this purchase via boxoh (my new favorite package tracking website), learning how to operate this new gadget effectively has become my newest hobby.

But… I had a few things to do to outfit this camera to “alana” specifications (I have high standards for my personal gadgetry- check out what I did to my macbookpro and my ipod):

1. Camera Strap: The standard “canon” had to go. It’s not comfortable, it’s ugly, and well… it’s standard (seeing a trend here?).

So clearly I turned to my one-stop-shop for custom and one-of-a kind merchandise. etsy. I ended up buying this cute polka dotted one! Here’s another cute one I was looking at. I was trying to see if anyone would monogram the strap with my initials, similar to what I have on my car… but no luck. (YET!)

2. Camera Bag. As mentioned on my podcast- Millennious- it’s important that you have a camera bag that doesn’t look like your average, ugly, bulky, black nylon case. That’s how I found these crumpler bags- with a bag for everyone’s camera need – plus they have awesome names, like “Four Million Dollar Home” (that’s the one I bought).

Last saturday I traveled to South Bend, Indiana to experience what my friends have denoted as the ultimate tailgate: Notre Dame.

While visiting the campus and exploring and participating in pre-game festivities, I came to the realization that they may be on to something- the high-tech configurations of vehicles (and even garages!) led me to do additional research on the subject.

For example, I came across a “Port-a-Party” – not POTTY but PARTY! Yes. it’s real. The website says its “how good times roll” since it’s a completely portable sports bar and hospitality unit. Currently available in Florida and Georgia, you can also call for franchise opportunities.

However, since renting a port-a-party unit is not a possibility for everyone, there are many other options.

First off, if you can’t mod your personal vehicle, you can always buy a trailer. The Tailgating Innovations Multimedia Trailer includes a Sony Bravia home theater system with 5.1 surround sound and a 47-inch Visio LCD flat panel television.  It’s also pre-wired for satellite and includes a grill. At about $12,500 for the standard edition, you can always ask for a completely customized option if that’s what your into.

Last fall, at&t “tailgated” (haha) on the college football season to promote the company through their “technology tour.” The tour consisted of visiting selected games with a 53-foot truck that offers, featuring free wireless ringtone downloads, wireless and Homezone demonstrations, plasma flat screen TVs, High-Speed Internet connections, gaming stations, and free e-shot photo areas. Can I get one?

Consider yourself an ultimate tailgater? Compare yourself (or get a few ideas) from the “ultimate tailgater” blog available on myoutdoortv.com. Another blog, TailgatingIdeas.com even wrote a post on the economy has not “touched” tailgating.

But the best is that I stumbled upon results from a tailgating survey (seriously). Full results are available here via Tailgating Times.

• 34.4% of tailgaters chose Steak as their favorite tailgating food
• 27.7% prefer Burgers
• 12.8% prefer Bratwurst
• 11.9% prefer Chicken
• 11.9% prefer Ribs

phew. I was concerned.