Ruby Receptionists

One of the biggest challenges facing small business owners — especially those running a virtual office — is finding someone to man the phones. Ruby Receptionists is a Portland-based company that seeks to help with this problem by providing a team of friendly, trained virtual receptionists who can answer your company's phone calls, forward them to you, send calls to voicemail, and even transcribe important messages and deliver them via email should you be tied up taking care of another project. It's not just cheaper than hiring an on-site receptionist — it also eliminates any chance of your colleagues becoming overly enamored with the new help. [Thanks, Greg]

Square

Whether you're running a small business, gearing up for your summertime lemonade stand, or simply want a way to process the door charges at your next multi-kegger, Square can help. This new service uses a small headphone port-connecting card reader and accompanying iPhone app to allow you to accept credit, debit, and pre-paid gift card payments anywhere you have an Internet connection. The customer signs with their finger, and can even have the receipt sent directly to their e-mail account. Beats the hell out of the ol' metal cash box.

Evernote

The ever-accelerating pace of modern life makes remembering everything we want a real challenge, especially when those things range from the real to the virtual. Evernote is here to solve that problem, letting you capture nearly anything you want — including text and voice memos, web pages, photos (with text recognition!), documents, and more — and then automagically processing and indexing it all, adding it to a personal database that can be searched and accessed from nearly anywhere, including from your iPhone, Android phone, or BlackBerry, as well as any Mac, PC, or other web-enabled device. If you find yourself exhausting the upload limit on your free account, you can step up to a $5/month premium membership for 500MB/month of uploads, ad-free usage, SSL security, the ability to search within PDFs, priority image recognition, and more.

We've teamed up with the guys at Evernote to give away a limited edition Sony VAIO Signature Collection X Series Gold notebook with a lifetime Evernote premium account. They'll choose one winner from those who enter the contest, so sign up and get entered.

Ninite

Simplify the process of installing the apps you want on your Windows machine with Ninite. This awesome free service lets you choose from a range of applications, plug-ins, utilities, and other goodies that might normally take hours to download separately, with a "Get Installer" button at the bottom that will do all the heavy lifting for you, creating a simple, one-step app that will install all of the software you chose in one fell swoop. Good for Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

Behold the awesome old school goodness of these vintage-printed, buttery-soft Homage T-Shirts. They turn back the clock with shout outs to eclectic moments and personalities in sports, music, politics and popular culture. From Bruce Lee to Larry Bird, the tees tell stories of triumph, individualism and hustle. Pay Homage.

Amazon.com Local Express Delivery

As much as we love Amazon and our Amazon Prime accounts, we still miss the instant gratification that comes from purchasing goods in a brick-and-mortar store and having them with you when you get home. Amazon.com Local Express Delivery ($6 and up, per item) aims to lessen this gap by offering same-day delivery for orders placed before a certain time in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Seattle. Great news for procrastinators and the impatient, bad news for the ol' charge card.

CanvasPop

There's nothing more satisfying than decorating your abode with artwork or photos of your own creation, and CanvasPop ($49 and up) makes it easier than ever to do so. As the world's only large format printing company to work with images of any resolution, CanvasPop allows you to make gorgeous canvas prints of pretty much any image, even if they're taken with your iPhone or nabbed from Facebook, Photobucket, or Flickr. Once you've picked your image, you can choose from a number of cool filters to enhance the look, or leave it as-is; a team of designers is also available should you need assistance.

Lamborghini Academy

Let's face it, we all want to drive a Lamborghini. And now we can. The Lamborghini Academy ($4500) helps you build your high-speed driving skills in the world's ultimate sports car. The Track Academy is an entry-level course where beginners get the chance to develop real-world racing skills under a professional's guidance, driving a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4. Other options include the Advanced Academy where drivers master their existing track skills, and the Winter Academy where you can truly put the bull's extreme road-holding abilities to the test, in the snow and ice. Average drivers need not apply. [Thanks, Ethan]

OnPoint Tactical Survival School

Springing from the legendary scouting, tracking, and wilderness survival skills of Apache warriors, OnPoint Tactical Survival School ($TBD) teaches training for modern-day professionals and civilians who want to learn the kinds of advanced outdoor skills they don't teach in college. OnPoint Tactical trains elite units like SEALs and Force Recon, as well as law enforcement units like the US Marshals. Now, just like John Locke, you can earn a professional certification in skills specialized for urban life, like Urban Escape and Evasion, Search & Rescue (SAR) tracking, as well as more traditional survival techniques like primitive wilderness survival, animal trapping, camouflage, off grid medical care, and counter and anti-tracking. Finally you'll be prepared for that walk-about in Australia, the next extended power outage, or those pesky zombie invasions.

SPiN New York

Like a setting straight out of Rockstar's Table Tennis, SPiN New York is a fantastic ping pong destination. The sickeningly hip facility boasts 15 individual tables and a stadium-style center court, Olympic-caliber Teraflex cushioned flooring, a 30-foot bar, pro shop, a host of professional coaches and players to help with your game, and a private room — complete with a mirrored glass ping pong table. Table rates are $15 per half-hour for standard tables, $20 per half-hour for pro courts, and $50 per half-hour for the stadium court. Members ($60/month) get half off those prices, plus table reservations, paddle storage and locker room access, unlimited number of guests, and members-only events.

Mpix

From wall-clinging prints and buttons to business and playing cards, Mpix has you covered. The online printing service offers tons of options and sizes, from 20"x30" prints on premium paper to fully-mounted, standout-boxed prints, as well as fun items like statuettes, puzzles, calendars, and more. Just upload your photo, choose your print selection, and your custom order is delivered right to your door.

Visa Black Card

Don't qualify for a Centurion Card? Maybe the Visa Black Card ($495 annual fee) is a little more your style. Made with carbon graphite, the exclusive card comes with personalized assistance from a 24-hour concierge service, "luxury gifts," access to the Priority Pass airport VIP lounge program, and a high-end rewards program. Membership is said to be limited to only 1% of U.S. residents, so get that credit rating up.

Kiva

Help spread the entrepreneurial sprit across the globe with Kiva. This service allows you to make loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries, empowering them to better their own situation and hopefully helping to drive ingenuity and innovation worldwide. Simply browse the profiles of hopefuls, and choose one to lend to using PayPal or credit card. Kiva will collect the funds and pass them along to the selected entrepreneur. Over time, the business person repays the loan, after which you can withdraw the funds, donate them to Kiva, or re-lend to another business. Terrific. [Thanks, Jeremy]