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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Steve Kruschen, Mr. Gadget
Aired June 08, 2002 - 12:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Father's Day is a little more than about a week away, and if you're looking for great gift ideas, well, you're in luck. Steve Kruschen, or you may call him Mr. Gadget guy for us, you got some good ideas for us, and you have some really cool ideas.
STEVE KRUSCHEN, MR. GADGET: Cool things.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
KRUSCHEN: Well, I like things that make sense and make life easier. Let's start with something that is in the category of "why didn't I think of that."
WHITFIELD: OK.
KRUSCHEN: It's from Weber. I love to grill all year long. Problem is, when it's dark, we either grill in the dark, or we stop grilling. Well, not anymore, because we have this new product from Weber. This is the grill-out handle light. It replaces the handle on their grills, but they also have a model for other grills as well. But check this out. It goes in place here, shines down on the grill. And I use this at home. It's all the light you need, it's the grill- out handle light. Guess how much?
WHITFIELD: Oh, the handle light?
KRUSCHEN: Just for the handle light.
WHITFIELD: How much?
KRUSCHEN: $25 to $30.
WHITFIELD: That's not bad, because I was going to say, a Weber grill itself, my gosh.
KRUSCHEN: Right. But then just add this to the Weber grill, or again, they have a universal model for others as well. Isn't that a great idea?
WHITFIELD: Yeah, I like that idea.
KRUSCHEN: All right. Now, here is something that moms are going to love because it's going to make their life easier and simpler.
WHITFIELD: They're going to use it?
KRUSCHEN: They're not going to use it (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's the world's first mustache and beard trimmer with a built-in vacuum. And it's called the wall trim-n'vac. And I use it. As I trim and cut my beard and mustache, all the clippings go in here.
WHITFIELD: So how well does it clip, though? Because I know a lot of guys like to pick their clipper because of the clipper itself.
KRUSCHEN: Well, this has 11 different settings for different lengths, plus the head -- if we take this off, here is the head. You can rotate it for a trim -- you know, for touch-ups between...
(CROSSTALK)
KRUSCHEN: Yeah, between haircuts and what have you. And this is only $55.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that's reasonable.
KRUSCHEN: Isn't that a great price?
WHITFIELD: Yeah, I like that.
KRUSCHEN: Now, here is something for the real gadget-loving dad. Here is a product that will help him around the house with various duties, whether it's for checking for leaks around the windows, whether it's automotive, checking for problems in the automobile, whether it's clogs in the cooling system or in the engine block, or even in the kitchen, where you want to have exactly the right temperature in the pan to make the exactly the right pancakes, so you know, when it says 375 degrees, you know, watch this. This is the raytech mini temp. And I'm aiming it without contact into -- take a look, and you get this display here.
WHITFIELD: The temperature.
KRUSCHEN: Yeah. It shows exactly the temperature. Let me try it one more time.
WHITFIELD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), though?
KRUSCHEN: Yeah, but it works beautifully. The Raytech mini- temp, and it's available at Napa auto part stores. Now, my wife and I, Mrs. Gadget, we love to shop online. Of course, we get flowers. Like most people, we go to 1-800-Flowers.com, but what we discovered was at 1-800-Flowers.com, they have got millions of different things. Well, maybe thousands of things. But we chose some of the things tat we like.
For the golf-loving dad, here's a portable putting set.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that's good, especially, you know, for travelers.
KRUSCHEN: Look at this. A silver-plated computer mouse.
WHITFIELD: OK.
KRUSCHEN: Portable, compact binoculars. And I chose this -- this is a juniper bonsai. You put this on the corner of dad's desk when he's had a hard day, look at that, you just can't feel but feel a little bit tranquil.
WHITFIELD: And you don't really need any sunlight for this?
KRUSCHEN: Well, it should have some sunlight. It periodically comes with...
WHITFIELD: But not that long.
KRUSCHEN: What's nice is it really promotes a sense of calm, and that's why I chose it. Peace and calm.
WHITFIELD: Feng shui kind of thing.
KRUSCHEN: Feng shui kind of thing, that's right.
Now, I also found this product. Now, this looks like an organizer, and in fact, it is. It's based on a palm operating system. Here we go. It's a Samsung I-300, but it does double duty, and that's why I like it. Check this out. It is a full-featured telephone as well, with a color screen so you can go on the Internet, cruise the Internet and do all that in color. I love this.
WHITFIELD: That's pretty cool. Maybe you can use that to really -- you know, a lot of our dads just don't even want to get into -- at least my dad -- doesn't really want to get into the computer thing. So that can help with the introduction or at least some coaching along the way.
KRUSCHEN: It's great for the dad who's on the go. I found that at BestBuy. It's about $500. Now, check this out.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yeah, I'm going to like this.
KRUSCHEN: This is for the dad who wants to have a wonderful shower experience. This is over 100 channels of water to literally drench dad, make him feel really good. This is called the cascadia from Waterpick. It installs very, very easily. I put one in at my house. All you have to do is replace your existing shower head with, you know...
WHITFIELD: So it's like showering in the rain.
KRUSCHEN: That's right. And it bends to any angle for any height. And -- so in addition to the 100 spray channels here, you push this little button and it changes from all the water coming out here to a concentrated spray, which is great for getting shampoo out, something you might even love.
WHITFIELD: I like that. KRUSCHEN: And it's very simple. And it comes in a variety of finishes to fit any decor. It is about $60 or so.
WHITFIELD: Well, it sounds like you get a really nice variety of prices, too. So the lowest thing -- because everything seems to be in the $50, $60 range.
KRUSCHEN: Well, the lowest is in around the $30, $25 range, up to $500 or so. We have got a complete mix of really wide...
WHITFIELD: Wow. And a lot of these things you can find either on the Internet or you can find at, you know, your regular...
KRUSCHEN: I mentioned the places, right. And information about all of these gift ideas, of course, is on the Web at Mrgadget.com. Just click on "father's day," and it's all there.
WHITFIELD: Cool, Gadget Guy, Steve Kruschen, appreciate it.
KRUSCHEN: Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: I like all the ideas. And of course, if dad doesn't like them, then, you know, say, yeah, dad, I'll exchange it for you, and just keep it.
KRUSCHEN: There you go.
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