Kill A Watt EZ (P3 International, www.p3international.com, $50, www.amazon.com) is a super-simple way to find out where your electrical energy dollars are going. Plug the device into any grounded outlet, program in your total electrical energy cost per kilowatt-hour (from your electric bill) and plug any 120 volt appliance into the device. You’ll get immediate readings of line voltage, current, watts and more. Leave the appliance plugged in for a few hours or a few days (depending on the cycling of the appliance) and you can get a read-out of the cost of running the appliance. Kill A Watt EZ tracks the elapsed time and the total cost for that time and will automatically calculate the cost for hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly use.

We found, for example, that our electric blanket draws two watts of power even when not heating; we also discovered that the operating cost for a 100 watt equivalent energy-saving light bulb is nearly one-quarter that of a standard 100 watt incandescent bulb. We won’t tell you what our dehumidifier costs to run. In these energy-conscious times it makes sense to use the Kill A Watt EZ to help determine where you can save energy (and energy costs too).

Another money saver is the magicJack (magicJack, www.magicjack.com, $39.99 including first year subscription, $19.99/year thereafter), which promises unlimited long distance calling to USA locations by using the Internet and magicJack’s own network. Just connect the small device to the USB port of an Internet connected computer and plug an analog phone into the magicJack’s phone jack. The device is supposed to set itself up automatically, although we had significant configuration problems. It will assign you a phone number in another area code, and then lets you make unlimited calls to land lines or cell phones in the United States. magicJack to magicJack numbers are free globally. Take your magicJack with you worldwide, and calls to U.S. land lines or cell phones are free.

And just for the kid in all of us the Micro Mosquito twin rotor radio controlled helicopter (Interactive Toy Concepts, www.interactivetoy.com, $70, Radio Shack) provides tons of fun. The helicopter uses counter rotating rotors to provide lift and control turning; a tiny tail rotor controls forward and backward flight by tipping the tail of the helicopter slightly up or down. The digital proportional radio control system allows you to fine tune flying the toy, but it does take some time and patience to get any precision. Our experience shows the need for practice; we early on crash landed into a dried plant arrangement and tore one of the rather delicate rotor blades which we repaired with tape (the plant was OK).

The helicopter weighs a shade over an ounce and comes with a battery powered charging base. It takes about 30 minutes to charge for up to seven minutes of flying time. This somewhat fragile toy is black with green markings and two shining green eyes, giving it a rather spooky bug-like appearance. Despite its lightweight construction, it is reasonably sturdy and survived encounters with various objects around the house. Outdoor use is possible in very calm conditions. Not for small children, but older children and everyone else will find this a hoot to use.