I keep a short beard. Or, to be more specific, a permanent 5 o’clock shadow. And so I’ve always shaved with a guardless beard trimmer. The problem is that the cut hairs escape all over the sink. Anyone who trims their beard knows exactly what I’m talking about. Well, earlier this week I picked up the Norelco Qt4070 — it’s a beard…
Two things about the knives from New York-based Schmidt Brothers: (1) they offer high quality and longevity for an unusually affordable price; (2) the downtown block is a very cool and unique holding block that uses acrylic magnets embedded inside the wood to hold the knives in place. This 15-piece set was done in collaboration with West Elm and is a great…
These are not the sort of girly-girl tealight candle holders you buy at Pier 1 Imports. No sir. These Tealight Tree Torches are made with cast iron and heat-resistant glass. They incorporate a 6-inch spike so you can pound them into a tree trunk, dead log, door frame, wall, or anywhere else you want them mounted. They work indoors and out. So…
Contrary to popular opinion, we are not anti-every-single-drip-coffee-maker-out-there. The Moccamaster is the exception. I once knew a man who took his Moccamaster with him whenever he went to a friend’s house — he refused to drink coffee any other way. He once brought it to my home, and I will confess that the coffee was delicious. In addition to being regarded as…
And speaking of Dr. Seuss, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is my favorite Seuss book of all time. The story is great, and the illustrations — which are all in black and white except for the red hats — are so great.
My only camera is my iPhone 4S. Also, my only video camera is my iPhone 4S. After fabricating the world’s worst camera mount to shoot a video I decided it was time to get a bit more official. I recently ordered this GorillaPod Hybrid tripod stand from Joby. I got the hybrid model because the head is ultra maneuverable an it has…
The Doxie Go is a battery-powered, lightweight, paper and photo scanner. It scans up to 100 pages on a charge and has enough internal storage for roughly six times that amount. It makes a great companion for those who travel and need to get top-notch scans of photos and documents while away from their desk. But it also makes a great tool…
Band of Brothers is one of the most powerful, eye-opening, well-done TV miniseries I have ever seen. Better than any movie I have seen, Band of Brothers attempts gives an honest look at what it was like to serve during World War II as it follows the story of Easy Company and is based on interviews of the men who actually served.…
The Patagonia Wanaka down jacket is waterproof, windproof, filled with goose down, has fleece-lined pockets, an insulated removable hood, a dual-layer shell, adjustable cuffs, is stylish, and is a whopping 37 ounces light. Who’s ready for winter?
In the market for a key chain that’s different from the rest? Then get one made from aircraft cable. The cable is 4.75 inches long, coated in nylon, and has a patented ball-knob and socket twist lock.
Happy Turkey Day. I’ll be smoking my turkey in a Weber this year, because real men slow cook their entrées in a smoker. And, what’s great about this Weber, is that for the times when you just want to slap a steak on the grill, the Smokey Mountain Cooker converts to a charcoal grill.
In a galaxy far, far away… Burton made some amazing decks. May the force be with you as you ride the back country, catch big air, and make fun of your friends on their skis as they pretend their ski poles are Light Sabers.
No doubt about it, Samsung makes fantastic home electronics. I have a Samsung television and it’s fantastic. I would have bought a Samsung Blu-ray player but I couldn’t justify spending hundreds of dollars on something I don’t use that often. Well, I’m kicking myself now because this top-of-the-line Blu-ray player (which also supports 3D Blu-ray) is on fire sale at Amazon for…
We only ever buy pure maple syrup, but the Noble Tonic number 02 from the Old Faithful Shop makes the pure maple syrup we buy sound significantly more simple. Noble Tonic 02 starts with maple syrup from the Quebec orchards and adds Tahitian Vanilla Bean and Egyptian Chamomile Blossom to give it a floral and fruity aroma with buttery apple-like flavor. Sounds…
The Big Red Fez by Seth Godin is the first book I ever read on website design. Yet it is so much more than just about pushing pixels and hypertext. This book is a very fast and fun read. Each spread offers a screenshot of a web page on one side, and an explanation of what is right or wrong about it…
In this writer’s opinion, LaCie makes the finest and most reliable external hard drives you can buy. I have 2 of the 1TB LaCie Hard Disks that I use for my media storage and external backup redundancy, and I have a LaCie Quadra that I use for my nightly SuperDuper clones. When on the road for extended trips I always take a…
Available today at Apple stores, Best Buy, and Target, the Jawbone UP is the latest addition to the trend of personal fitness tracking gadgets. The UP is meant to be worn 24/7. It keeps track of your movements during the day and your sleep patterns at night. It plugs into your iPhone to help you analyze that information. And it is smart…
Keyboard-centric application launchers are becoming more and more popular. There are three big ones: Quicksilver, Alfred, and LaunchBar. What many people may not know is that LaunchBar is the original application launcher — it dates all the way back to NeXT. Like many, however, my introduction to application launchers began with Quicksilver many years ago. But in 2009 I began using LaunchBar…
A few winters ago Anna and I borrowed Planet Earths from a friend and watched the DVD series on our old, 20-inch CRT television. Even with such an old-fashioned setup like that the films were still striking and awe inspiring. After saving for a few Christmases, we have a Blu-ray setup now and I would love to re-visit these films. This new…
White and red and awesome all over, the PlugBug from Twelve South takes your standard MacBook power charger and adds on a 10W USB port for charging your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Of course it works without the MacBook power brick as well. If you want just one single wall wart to charge your laptop and phone, and you want your…