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Win An iPhone Week 8

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Can it be that there are only three iPhones left at IWOOT Towers? Well, yes. It can. So if you want to bet the one that makes it two, make sure you get involved in Week 8 - definitely the most cryptic week yet.

We want you to come up with the most ingenious riddle you possibly can and post it on our Facebook wall OR via Twitter. It’s very important that you do not answer it yourself - we want everyone to have a crack at guessing them, and no-one likes a spoil-sport so no giving them away! Entries via Twitter should have @iwootblog in the reply. Hopefully we’ll be able to solve as many as possible (no Googling!), and the most interesting, creative or original one will be sent a lovely new iPhone.

As usual we’ve got an example for you to get started:

What is yours but your friend uses more than you do?

 Well?

Have a think, then head to our Facebook wall and add your own. Who knows, maybe we’ll tell you the answer later in the week. Anyway, same rules apply as ever. One entry per person, an make sure they’re in by Monday 23rd November.

Competition Terms & Conditions:

• Closing Date For this competition is 10AM on Monday 23rd November 2009.
• Sadly, you can only enter this competition once. (You can’t fool us, you know!)
• This competition is completely free to enter, no purchase is necessary.
• No cash alternative is available for the prize(s) offered.
• This competition is open to residents of the UK only.
• Employees of I Want One of Those and their immediate families and anyone professionally connected with the promotion are not eligible to enter this competition
• The winner will be chosen by the IWOOT team.
• The winner will be notified of their win via Facebook or Twitter, and under the name submitted on their entry. If a response to this notification is not received within 14 days, IWOOT reserves the right to randomly select another winner. In light of this, please ensure you submit an email address that you use regularly!
• No responsibility will be accepted for entries that are not received.
• From time to time we may include customer comments and feedback on the site, and in our catalogue and other media. By submitting your comment you are granting us permission to publish it and, if necessary, edit it for clarity and typos.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Competition Stuff, IWOOT Stuff | 9 Comments »

Win An iPhone Week 7

Monday, November 9th, 2009

We really do work you hard for your prizes, don’t we? If we’re not demanding that you carve a pumpkin into whatever shape, we’re pummelling your intellectual side for the meaning of life. Week 7 of our iPhone competition is no different - it’s a real interactive challenge.

Now everyone knows that you shouldn’t work with animals or children, but us progressive types here at IWOOT Towers think that’s pure bunkum. Animals in particular are a constant source of smelly, snuggly joy, and we think it’s about time we saluted our furry compadres. We’re not so keen on kids, though. Yuck, always leaving hair everywhere… Anyway, for this week’s competition we want you to dress your pets. That’s right. Dress Your Pets. In any costume you fancy, as long as it’s all your own work and your pet doesn’t mind too much. Perhaps something along the lines of this:

Aw. Get going, pet-lovers! If you haven’t got your own furry (or scaley or feathery) friend to dress up, then simply borrow a friend’s or approach wild animals - not the big ones, mind. We’re thinking pigeons, maybe a squirrel. No polecats or herons, you’ll lose a finger.

Make sure you take a photo, and then submit it to our Facebook wall by Monday November 16th. The most inventive, innovative, funny or plain interesting entry will win, and we’re hoping that this will throw up some of our most bizarre entries yet… it’s down to you, folks.

Competition Terms & Conditions:

• Closing Date For this competition is 10AM on Monday 16th November 2009.
• Sadly, you can only enter this competition once. (You can’t fool us, you know!)
• This competition is completely free to enter, no purchase is necessary.
• No cash alternative is available for the prize(s) offered.
• This competition is open to residents of the UK only.
• Employees of I Want One of Those and their immediate families and anyone professionally connected with the promotion are not eligible to enter this competition
• The winner will be chosen by the IWOOT team.
• The winner will be notified of their win via Facebook, and under the name submitted on their entry. If a response to this notification is not received within 14 days, IWOOT reserves the right to randomly select another winner. In light of this, please ensure you submit an email address that you use regularly!
• No responsibility will be accepted for entries that are not received.
• From time to time we may include customer comments and feedback on the site, and in our catalogue and other media. By submitting your comment you are granting us permission to publish it and, if necessary, edit it for clarity and typos.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Competition Stuff, Cool Stuff, Cute Stuff, Design Stuff, IWOOT Stuff, YouTube Stuff | 4 Comments »

Link Mugs - Lifesaver

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Tea, as we all know, is conducive to working life. For most of us, it’s impossible to even consider looking at our inbox without having first slurped a nice glug of warming brown gold - it’s something of a modern-day elixir. But, office etiquette being as it is, it’s not always the easiest thing in the world to successfully bring four steaming mugs of the stuff over to the desk at once (for colleagues, obviously, drinking four mugs of tea in one go is clearly insane).

Countless times have we witnessed DinoWoot’s astonishing proficiency in this area. Seriously, if he could apply that kind of poise and balance to the rest of his body he’d be vaulting a horse in 2012. I, myself, am a little more timid when it comes to multiple-beverage-carriage. Since a few ill-advised multi-pint carries in my student days, I know better than to try and get around it by slipping a G&T in my pocket. It doesn’t work, it just makes your pocket smell like a posh tramp. So I’m putting these bad boys on my Christmas list:

link-mugs_2

Mugs! That link up! Amazing! No more spilt tea!

Thanks to Geeky Gadgets for the spot. They’re designed by Jonathan Aspinall, who makes all sorts of clever stuff. Maybe he can make us a tea.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Cool Stuff, Design Stuff, Office Stuff | No Comments »

And The Winner Is… (Week 5)

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

This week has undoubtedly been the toughest to judge, and we actually feel a bit sorry for some of the stronger entries that haven’t won. In all seriousness - ta a bunch for getting involved and making our Halloween that little bit spookier.

We’re sure you’ll agree, though, that the winning entry is very innovative, great fun and totally in the spirit of the whole competition. So congratulations go to Mark Ritchie for his guillotine entry. Well flipping done Mark!

 

 

mark-ritchie1

The photo quality isn’t terrific, but the idea is so good that we couldn’t resist making it the winner. There’s attention to detail, evidence of huge effort and, binding it all together, the slightly scary idea of pumpkin society evolving so much that they employ a judicial system and operate the death penalty. Lovely.

As we said, there were some superb entries (and a few that were pilfered from Google Image - tut tut!), the best of which are below. Once again, well done everyone, what a great week!

Darren Rye

Denis Rush

Debie Deane

Don’t forget to have a look at this week’s competition - simply tell us the meaning of life in one Tweet. Easy-peasy.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Competition Stuff, Cool Stuff, Design Stuff, Funny Stuff, IWOOT Stuff | 1 Comment »

Win An iPhone Week 6

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

A ghoulish slew of beautifully carved pumpkins kept us entertained in last week’s competition, a smorgasbord of scariness all round. For week 6 (is it really week 6 already?), we’ve decided to shake things up a bit. You may have noticed that, so far, all the iPhone comps have been based on Facebook, that most agreeable and useful of social networking services. This week, we’re operating the competition via Twitter.

 

 

Plato - always on Twitter.

“What?!” I hear you scream, “How will I upload this week’s requisite ridiculous photo for all to see?!” Well, you don’t have to worry. All we want you to do is to give us your definition of The Meaning Of Life in the space of one single Tweet. It’s very important that you squeeze in the following text on your tweet so we can count them all: #iwootmeaningoflife . This will give you 121 remaining characters to tell us your version of the world’s most challenging question - don’t say we don’t make you work for that iPhone. As always, make sure your entry is in by 10AM on Monday November 9th.

So if you think the meaning of life is, in the words of Spinal Tap keyboardist Viv Savage, “To have a good time all the time”, then all you have to do is type “#iwootmeaningoflife To have a good time all the time” into your Twitter feed. Simple.

Descartes - thinker, philosopher, Tweeter.

So get thinking, pondering, meditating or whatever it is that one does when contemplating the meaning of life. Good luck! Our Twitter page is here if you fancy following us. We’ve done a Tweet with the hashtag in it to get us going.

Competition Terms & Conditions:

• Closing Date For this competition is 10AM on Monday 9th November 2009.
• Sadly, you can only enter this competition once. (You can’t fool us, you know!)
• This competition is completely free to enter, no purchase is necessary.
• No cash alternative is available for the prize(s) offered.
• This competition is open to residents of the UK only.
• Employees of I Want One of Those and their immediate families and anyone professionally connected with the promotion are not eligible to enter this competition
• The winner will be chosen by the IWOOT team.
• The winner will be notified of their win via Twitter, and under the name submitted on their entry. If a response to this notification is not received within 14 days, IWOOT reserves the right to randomly select another winner. In light of this, please ensure you submit an email address that you use regularly!
• No responsibility will be accepted for entries that are not received.
• From time to time we may include customer comments and feedback on the site, and in our catalogue and other media. By submitting your comment you are granting us permission to publish it and, if necessary, edit it for clarity and typos.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Competition Stuff, IWOOT Stuff | 17 Comments »

Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

We’ve had a couple of interesting comments relating to our tactics for surviving the Zombie Apocalypse and, with more than a little smugness, we’d like to think we’re now well-versed in the best methods of defence. Someone calling themselves Monkey Mischief (we’re intrigued) opts for some seriously hazardous tactics, while the more reasonably-named Craig Melson has gone for some equally more reasonable safety measures. Thanks to both.

 

 

 

Sayeth Monkey Mischief:

“OK, absolute household essentials when under attack from a legion of zombies:

Food sources:

Squash is a big no-no! You cant drink the water cos it’s full of zombie gunk and the fastest way to get infected other than being bitten!
Ice cream - always good, helps when you feel low, helps when you feel high, usually after a kill, and helps for that quick sugar pick-me-up you need after running for your life.
Bottled water: defo an essential. If you have this then you’re ok to have squash.
Pot noodle: as long as your kettle still works you’re OK to boil the tap water and you have pasta for carbs.

Weapons:

Curtain rail
Axe
String
Put all of these together with the string and you’ve got the perfect weapon for killing zombies, without having to get within biting range!

Never stay with friends, in the end they will just get you bitten. All you need is Guitar Hero and an Xbox 360 you can keep friends but talk to them online, that way you can watch their sorry asses getting killed from a safe distance.

BUT MOST OF ALL you must have a Border Collie! Have you noticed how dogs never get bitten by zombies? You can train it to go out to the shops to buy more Pot Noodles and squash…”

Now, there are several inconsistencies with this strategy - is it wise to survive solely on squash and Pot Noodles? Tinned food is surely a better idea. Also, that Blue Peter-style weapon idea - what about close combat? There seems to be a definite focus on just grinning and making the best of a bad situation which, though commendable, might just end up in some serious brain-gnawing. And remember - a dog is for life, not just for the Zombie Apocalypse.

zombieapocalypse_sm

Craig Melson’s stratagem:

“Step 1: Be prepared before the zombies come. Stock canned and bottled water and dried fruits and tinned food as it cannot go off. Remember to allocate 20% extra water for washing needs.

Step 2: Destroy the staircase. If you live in a house, chop through the staircase so the zombies cannot walk up it. Also use this tactic for Daleks. If you live in flats or have concrete stairs, barricade it so nothing can come up or down.

Step 3: We’re in Britain not in a small Yank town. Therefore guns are mostly out. Make sure you have a long reaching bladed weapon or a bow to hack off the head of a zombie. In emergency, a broom handle with a kitchen knife securely fastened can act as a spear.

Step 4: Supply yourself with matches, candles and books. If the electricity goes out, you need light and heat, plus material. Reading engages the brain better anyway. After reading you also have emergency fuel.”

This is a much more reasonable series of steps. Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance and all that. Not too sure about the staircase tactic though - this is slightly debilitating if the Z.A. looks set to last a sustained period of time. In the short term, though, excellent foresight. As opposed to Monkey Mischief’s “just play Guitar Hero and the zombies will take care of themselves” attitude, Craig adopts a distinctly more Cormac McCarthy-esque viewpoint and would probably last longer.

Anyone else got some good tips for survival?

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Cool Stuff, Funny Stuff, Geek Stuff, IWOOT Stuff | 2 Comments »

Ross Kemp… Folded

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Is this the world’s best high-concept blog? I certainly think so. Like all the best internet phenomena, Kempfolds is wilfully and gleefully pointless, interactive and hilarious. It is, as you might imagine, a collection of photos of ex-Eastenders hard-man and erstwhile armed forces reporter Ross Kemp that have been strategically folded to achieve a mildly amusing result. Maybe it’s by virtue of Kemp’s near-circular face, but almost every single Kempfold is a work of quiet genius. Whether he’s oddly contorted so he looks like a baby or apparently shouting without a mouth, these photos have brightened many a mood.

Here are a few favourites:

kemp1

kemp2

kemp3

The best thing about this is that, as long as Ross Kemp continues to be photographed, the concept is potentially very open-ended. There is a surprisingly low amount of Kempfolds in circulation at the moment (currently standing at 326 sent in), but the concept itself is ripe for the big leagues of viral stupidity. One wonders whether or not Mr Kemp himself knows about the whole thing, and what his reaction might be. The makers have stated, sadly, that there is to be a final, ultimate Kempfold at some stage. I for one hope it’s not for a long time yet.

Check out the Kempfolds collection here.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Cool Stuff, Design Stuff, Funny Stuff, Random Stuff | No Comments »

And The Winner Is… (Week 2)

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Another smashing week of inventive competition entries took our Facebook wall by storm but, rules being such as they are, we had to pick one entry as the best. We were overwhelmed by how interesting and bizarre some of your Desktop Sculptures were (seriously - some of you might need some help). The range of items included in some of the sculptures went from raw chickens to live puppies to blu-tack to cans of energy drink and most things in-between, but we picked a winner that we thought totally understood the brief and made a sculpture that was as impressive as it was inventive.

 

So without further ado, we offer our unending congratulations to…

Jeanie Hughes! Here’s her winning entry:

jeanie-hughes

We thought Jeanie’s entry was funny and cute, but there’s some cheeky little details that make it even more endearing - the “IWOOT.COM” men, the use of only office-based equipment, the playground scenario and the whole vibe of escaping work for a few minutes - very impressive!

This was a really difficult one to call, and there a few that we’d like to congratulate too for their inventiveness and skill:

Daffyd Turner:

 daffyd-turner

Isadora King:

isadora-king

and Colin Howson:

colin-howson

Well done all, but special congrats to Jeanie Hughes.

Don’t forget to enter this week’s iPhone comp too - it’s up to you to draw the best possible picture you can using the humble tool of MS Paint. Full details are here, and you can check on everyone else’s progress over at our Facebook wall. Good luck!

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Competition Stuff, Design Stuff, IWOOT Stuff, Office Stuff | 7 Comments »

Win An iPhone Week 3

Monday, October 12th, 2009

We were, again, very impressed with the sheer volume and quality of entries for our iPhone competition, and the Desktop Sculptures you submitted were, on the whole, barmy and brilliant. This week, we’re taking the competition back to the very inception of computer-aided artwork - we want you to make the best possible picture you can using Microsoft Paint. Yes, we’ve all wasted time drawing rabbits and buses and whatnot using the user-friendly interface but, as always, only the most creative, interesting, fun or though-provoking drawings will be in with a shot of winning! So open up the Start menu, go to accessories, click ‘Paint’ and go mad!

This is what I knocked up in about five minutes. Obviously, you should make more effort than that:

Yours has to be better than this sorry excuse for creativity.

If you’re a Mac user, shove a PC-using colleague aside and get creative! Though you may be at a slight disadvantage, what with all the backwards-learning you’ll have to do… Honestly, as long as it’s better than the above, you’ll be in with a shot. Submit it to our Facebook wall before 10 AM on Monday October 19th, as per usual. The only other rule is that you have to squeeze the word “IWOOT” in the bottom corner, just so we know you’re not pilfering from other sources. Not that we think you’d do that…

Competition Terms & Conditions:

• Closing Date For this competition is 10AM on Monday 19th October 2009.
• Sadly, you can only enter this competition once. (You can’t fool us, you know!)
• This competition is completely free to enter, no purchase is necessary.
• No cash alternative is available for the prize(s) offered.
• This competition is open to residents of the UK only.
• Employees of I Want One of Those and their immediate families and anyone professionally connected with the promotion are not eligible to enter this competition
• The winner will be chosen by the IWOOT team.
• The winner will be notified of their win via the Facebook name submitted on the entry. If a response to this notification is not received within 14 days, IWOOT reserves the right to randomly select another winner. In light of this, please ensure you submit an email address that you use regularly!
• No responsibility will be accepted for entries that are not received.
• From time to time we may include customer comments and feedback on the site, and in our catalogue and other media. By submitting your comment you are granting us permission to publish it and, if necessary, edit it for clarity and typos.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Competition Stuff, Design Stuff, IWOOT Stuff, Office Stuff | 12 Comments »

Kevin Shields’ Guitar Set-Up

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

This picture has done the rounds once or twice before, but it’s always a good time to stand back and marvel at the geek-overload that is Kevin Shields’ guitar set-up. To the uninitiated, Kevin Shields is the guitarist in seminal shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine, and a man to whom all modern electric guitarists owe a considerable debt. It’s not often we get bogged down in nerdisms (honest…), but Shields is a technical and aural whiz - thick layers of distortion are treated to endless groaning tremolos, whammy pedals, pre-amps and samples to create his signature sound, and it’s a true guilty pleasure to see exactly how he manages it:

shields-set-up

As you can see, it’s a mite more complex than just sticking a distortion pedal into your Squier practice amp. I was lucky enough to catch My Bloody Valentine on their reunion tour last year - it’s the only gig I’ve attended where earplugs were handed out on the door. Like the purist (or fool) that I am, I didn’t bother using them and couldn’t hear for three days. It’s great to suffer for your art, eh? And, following in the footsteps of EddyWoot (last seen trailing through the skies over Brick Lane), I’ll be heading to the ATP Festival in December to do it all over again. Some people never learn.

Anyone who wants to hear what such clutter would sound like, have a listen to this Spotify link.

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Posted in Brainy Stuff, Cool Stuff, Geek Stuff, Music Stuff | 6 Comments »

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