Designed with photographers in mind, the Booq Python Slimpack can carry pretty much an entire kit: Up to two DSLRs Four mid-size lenses A large zoom lens A tripod A full-size iPad Large headphones (provided they fold flat, for the top compartment) A variety of accessories (memory cards, batteries, etc) You can easily access the camera compartments from the top or back…
If you ask me, no kitchen is complete without at least one cast iron skillet around — they just cook food so perfectly and only get better with age. The one I own used to belong to my grandma and was given to me after she'd passed away. It has so many years of seasoning on it, I can't even see the…
Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is one of those books that I've always heard about from other writers, but I didn't get around to reading it until very recently. I wish I'd gotten around to it sooner because it's truly a fantastic book. In it, King talks about the events that led to him becoming a writer, which…
The Duo Coffee Steeper is a Kickstarter project that combines the longer steeping time of a French press with the cleanliness of a pour-over brewer. The instructions are simple: load up the top chamber with coffee and hot water, stir, let the mixture sit for a few minutes, then twist the chamber to allow sludge-free coffee to pour into the bottom. The…
Every day, it seems like more and more people are looking to turn their iPads into mobile recording studios. Whether they're playing music or podcasting, a good mic is absolutely essential — and the Blue Microphones Spark Digital doesn't disappoint. While the Blue Spark is perhaps not quite as portable as the Samson Meteor mic if you count the included metal stand,…
One of the gifts my dad got me for Christmas this year was a charcoal chimney starter — the $15 Weber 7416 Rapidfire, to be exact. This is is the chimney starter found in our guide to backyard grilling. But why is such a thing useful? Well, as Shawn originally put it: "...an inexpensive chimney starter like this one Weber makes is…
In my opinion, one can never have too many Lightning cables on-hand. The only problem is, Apple's official cables are a tad on the expensive side for what you get ($20 for only ~3ft of cable). Thankfully, Amazon offers their own Lightning cables and they're pretty great. Not only are they well-built, they're also a good deal — $15 for a 6ft-long…
We're big fans of the Put This On video series around here. As they themselves describe it, it's "a web series about dressing like a grownup." More than that though, they do a lot of behind-the-scenes interviews with people who work in various parts of the industry. Definitely watch the whole series if you haven't already. They also design and sell pocket…
Eastgate, the folks behind note-organization app Tinderbox, have put on a winter holiday sale featuring several awesome writing apps for the Mac. The sale includes Tinderbox itself, Scrivener, Scapple, DEVONthink Pro, and Nisus Writer Pro. In each case, you can use the promo code WINTERFEST2013 to get 25% off the normal price. These are some great apps for writers (especially Scrivener) so…
There are innumerable laptop sleeves in the world, but I can't say I've ever seen one quite like the Evernote Diver Sleeve. Rather than having a zipper or other enclosing mechanism, the neoprene Diver Sleeve simply stretches around the laptop like a sock, with pull-tabs at either side of the opening for super quick unmasking. The Diver Sleeve comes in two sizes…
We've mentioned the game Machinarium in the past, but I think it's worth bringing up again, for three reasons: The first time we posted about it, the game was only available for the iPad. Now it's a universal app so you can enjoy it on your iPhone as well (although iPad is probably still the best experience). It made The Sweet Setup's…
I've yet to meet a kid who doesn't love playing with cardboard boxes. A lot of them also appreciate rocket ships, so the Cardboard Rocket would make an awesome gift for them. Obviously you could make your own rocket ship out of boxes if you wanted, but these guys have done all the work for you, cutting out not only the necessary…
Traveling with a laptop is a necessity for a lot of people, but having one just sit in your lap while you type isn't very ergonomic or comfortable. The AViiQ portable laptop stand is a pretty good solution for this. Not only does it allow you to elevate the laptop and keep your lap from overheating, but it folds up crazy-thin –…
I don't know about you guys, but in my household we tend to accumulate a lot of plastic grocery bags. We rarely just throw them away after grocery trips because they often come in handy later, so there's a big pile of them at the bottom of our pantry. I'm thinking we might pick up this Simplehuman grocery bag dispenser to free…
The Karma WiFi Hotspot is a "social" 4G hotspot that allows you to openly share your connection with the people around you in order to earn free data (hence the "Karma" in the title). I can see how this would worry people who are sensitive to security issues, but hey, I think it's an interesting idea. Up to eight devices can connect…
Sometimes a new writing app comes out that has everybody talking about it for a while. Right now, Writer Pro, the successor to the ever-popular iA Writer, is the new hotness. This app is designed around the four basic stages of any writer's workflow – note-taking, writing, editing, and reading – each of which is represented by a different typeface and color.…
Ever since I was a little kid, I've had a love for all things Transformers. I don't play with those kinds of toys much these days but the MK1 Transforming Coffee Table, which easily changes from coffee table to dining table, could be a sort of grown-up substitute. The crossed table legs can become uncrossed, which causes the side "walls" of the…
I gave DSPTCH wrist straps a brief mention in a previous post, but I think they deserve some individual attention of their own. Where the Killspencer strap sports a more solid-feeling design and is meant to be worn around the neck, the DSPTCH strap is a bit more flexible since it's worn on the wrist, something that is likely to move around…
Wipebook is a Kickstarter project that essentially combines a paper notebook with a dry-erase board. Each page is its own mini-whiteboard, meaning that you can leave your sketches and/or notes as long as you want, then easily erase them whenever the time's right. The entire notebook can be reused over and over, so you don't have to keep buying new notebooks whenever…
If you're wanting to shoot a fancy-pants app video review or anything else that requires a few panning shots, there are all kinds of ways to rig up a functional dolly system. If you happen to own a GorillaPod SLR-Zoom tripod, then I'd recommend picking up a set of Cinetics miniSkates. These three wheels attach to the "feet" of the GorillaPod, allowing…