Now, this is what I call a useful bit of consumer technology!

I've spent the last week detailing some of the latest trends we discerned from the CONNECTIONS conference a couple of weeks ago. Now, I've got a completely new area of focus for consumer electronics - pest control.

That's right - we've got a rat and/or mouse problem at the house. So, the latest household purchase is a product called the Rat Zapper Ultra. I figure it's worth a shot - heck, it's got to be better than setting some traps and then being forced to clean up the ... eh ... remains. I ordered the extra feature with the package - a remote monitor called the Rat Tale. With 12 feet of cord, I can attach it to the Zapper and hang it down from the attic door. A flashing light will tell me if there's a critter that needs disposing, without me manually checking the unit. Talk about your useful remote home monitoring application!

I told my wife it's an early Father's Day present. There was laughter on the other end of the phone, but I'm going to look like a genius if this pans out. Amazon cannot ship this unit fast enough!