I've recently added immeasurable value to my life by buying a couple of cool gadgets, and I thought I'd share with everyone:

• Neverlate Executive alarm clock. This uber-alarm clock has a "his and hers" alarm (aka dual alarms), which can be customized for each day of the week. It also has a third alarm for each day of the week, for a total of 21 individual alarms (plus a separate "nap" alarm) possible in a week. I like to set my first alarm each day to the radio (NPR), and then another alarm some 10 or 15 minutes later using one of the four available buzzers, and I switch those up throughout the week to keep from getting too acclimated to any one of them. It also has a "gradual awake" option to increase the alarm volume over 5 seconds or so, and a "descending snooze" option that cuts the snooze length in half each time you hit the snooze button. You can also customize the snooze length, display brightness, and just about every other aspect of its functionality.
• Logitech Harmony 550 universal remote. This is also extremely customizable, and will work with nearly any IR device, even those not in its database, by "learning" the control codes from the original remote. While the driver software absolutely SUCKS in more ways than I care to detail, the remote itself rocks once you've programmed it sufficiently. The remote's primary mode of operation revolves around programmed "activities", such as my "Watch TV", "Computer", "Xbox360", "Wii", and "DVD". As long as you only use this remote to control devices, it remembers the state of each device (power and input channel). So, going from TV mode to computer mode turns off the cable box, switches the TV to the computer's HDMI input, and switches the audio receiver to the appropriate input. Plus, every button on the remote can be programmed to whatever function you want and associated with any active device in an activity.

Sometime in a previous incarnation of this site, I wrote about the fantastic indie game Darwinia and the less indie but still wonderful Galactic Civilizations 2. It's been a while, and I've found a number of gems since then, many of which were nominees or winners for Independent Games Festival awards (a virtual treasure trove of cool indie games). Here's a quick rundown: