I have a set of golf clubs in my garage, and I use the term "set" loosely to mean a random collection of yard sale and Goodwill specials gathered together in an ancient, dusty golf bag.

See, my short-lived foray into the world of the white dimple ball started when the guys at the office wanted to go to a local driving range to smack a few buckets of balls. I’ve seen driving ranges, of course, and as a kid I got paid to run around on the range and gather balls, but up till recently I had never gotten behind a golf club and taken a swing. Frankly it never interested me until Tiger Woods came on the scene, and even then it seemed more of a game for the rich or dedicated athlete than for an average joe like me. My friends, however, convinced me otherwise and I wound up with a driver in my hand one warm Thursday afternoon.

My first swing was horrible. I missed the ball entirely and the club landed a good 25 feet behind me. I’m just happy no one was injured.

My first bucket of balls was pathetic. Out of maybe three dozen or so balls only about five came anywhere close to where they were suppose to. My friends told me it would be a relaxing experience.

They lied.

It wasn’t long before I bought my first second-hand club, then a bag that came with some clubs. My friend, Brian, gave me a pair of his old golf shoes. Brian is likely the top golfer in our group. He went to college on a golf scholarship, which should give you an indication of his skillz.

For a while there I hit the driving range maybe once a week and after several weeks smacking a bucket of balls had become fun; still not the pleasurable experience my friends had promised, but I could see how pleasure could be derived from an afternoon at a driving range.

I pretty much gave up on golf after a few outings on a real course, however. The ball never went where it should have thus elevating my frustration, my putting was pitiful, and I truly believe one of my errant balls left a pet unconscious after veering towards one of the houses built stupidly close to the golf course.

As if the drive a final nail into the coffin containing my golfing hopes, the driving range near my home was paved over and condos were erected.

So, there, in the corner of my garage where my forgotten home exercise gym collects dust and rust, sits my eclectic collection of clubs. They will likely never grace a golf course again, but who knows, maybe after watching a few Golf Tips Video podcasts you’ll feel confident enough to buy my clubs, find a driving range, and feel the frustration I felt the first time I tried to smack a ball.

Golf Tips Video

In truth, if I had watch Golf Tips Videos before I attempted a course I likely would have stay on the driving range. I would seen how poor my technique was and would have opted to continue to practice instead of embarrassing myself and causing harm to family pets.

There are plenty of golfers out there, however, who will definitely benefit from these more than 30 videos. So if you aspire to tag one like Tiger, then take a look at Golf Tips Video Podcast, then call me about my clubs.

Golfing is not for me, but a cool gadgets can literally set my credit card on fire. I have been known to do a review or two, but I do my reviews very unscientifically. I poke and prod, fiddle and futz with stuff to determine the coolness of a device. In my book, if a device does not accomplish what it was meant to do then it ain’t cool. Software is the same way.

For instance, I recently downloaded and absolutely useless application for my iPhone (Yep! Finally got one.) called Koi Pond. All it does is show koi (colorful carp) swimming around in your iPhone. Touch the screen and the water surface is disturbed and the fish swim away. The app is cool because it does nothing very well, and with flare.

If you want more seat-of-the-pants testing of gadgets you might take a look at Wired Magazine’s Gadget Lab Video Podcasts. Each week Wired staff members present an in-depth look at a popular device offering opinions, observations, facts, and features of whatever they happen to have on hand.

Wired Gadget Lab

The Wired Gadget Lab Video Podcast is a good three to five minutes of gadget poking goodness, so check it out.

OK, put the kiddies to bed, grab a beer and get ready for some Real. American. Action.

Dr. Tran!

This series has been making its way round the Web for some time now and it was inevitable that it would finally become a podcast.

Dr. Tran

You see, Dr. Tran is cool.

Dr. Tran is bad.

Dr. Tran eats Arnold Schwarzenegger for breakfast.

Bones and all!

I’m a huge Dr. Tran fan and you will be too. Especially the ladies, because Dr. Tran is just giving it away. For Free!

Be warned: Dr. Tran vids should not be viewed by the easily offended. It’s humor, it’s suppose to poke fun at stuff. If you get ticked off at the use of foul language and stereotypes then just keep walking.

Otherwise, it’s Dr. Tran all the way, Baby!

Grab the four episodes of Dr. Tran at the iTunes Store.

Well, that’s another one done and already I’m finding new stuff for next week, so stop back by. Same time, same place.

And remember ladies, Dr. Tran is just giving it away!

More free stuff at the iTunes Store, with direct links:

Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.