Wood and Faulk’s Official Camp Stool
With the warm weather now upon us (at least in the hemisphere which this website is written), camping, too, is upon us. If you're looking for an alternative to the $20 camping chair you get at Walmart, then this classically-inspired camping stool may be just the ticket. The seat is made from English bridle leather and the legs from hardwood Ash. It's…
Featured Sponsor: Byword
My thanks to Byword for sponsoring the Tools & Toys RSS feed this week. Modern writers don't just sit at a desk and write. Sometimes it's great to be able to write, edit or proofread when and where inspiration strikes and not be restrained by a single device or location. Byword makes this kind of workflow easy by integrating iCloud and Dropbox…
Elgato’s Portable Thunderbolt SSD
This is, so far as I can tell, the first portable Thunderbolt drive — and it's an SSD to boot. The Lacie Little Big Disk likes to pretend its portable by being small, but it still requires a power adapter to work. The Elgato portable Thunderbolt SSD drive is just a small, external enclosure with an SSD inside. It measures 5.2 x…
Featured Sponsor: One More Thing – iOS Conference
My thanks to the One More Thing Conference for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. Interested in the design, development and business of iOS apps? At One More Thing, our goal is to get developers confident, psyched, and ready to move from dreaming of making apps to just doing it. Learn from awesome developers & designers such as: Loren Brichter (Tweetie/ex-Twitter) Neven…
The Knuckle Case for iPhone
The perfect accessory when you're using your iPhone to navigate a shady part of town. (Thanks, Chris.)
Ugmonk’s Mountain Hoodie
Graphic designer and fellow snowboarder, Jeff Sheldon, brings the majesty of the mountains to a hoodie — Ugmonk style. It's a simple, abstract design but isn't without meaning. I'd wear this.
Featured Sponsor: PopClip for Mac
My thanks to PopClip for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. — — — When Apple announced they were bringing iOS features "Back to the Mac" with OS X Lion (and doubled down on it with Mountain Lion), the iOS implementation of copy and paste was not included. PopClip is a clever Mac app that brings iOS-style copy and paste to OS…
Vitamix 5200 Blender
This here is the Cadillac of blenders. The Vitamix 5200 has a 2 horsepower motor (that's one-third the power of my Craftsman lawnmower out back). My wife and I saved up for this thing so we could make our own baby food for Noah, but the perk is that you can make so much more: smoothies, soups, rice milk, powdered sugar... the…
X Pocket iPad Case
It's only been a week since your new LTE-equipped iPad arrived, but no doubt you've already been taking it out more and more just on its own. But the Smart Cover by itself doesn't make for a very good case. The X Pocket iPad Case from Hard Graft, however, does. It's made with heavy duty wool felt and vegetable tanned leather. It…
The Godfather Trilogy: The Coppola Restoration
Two of the greatest movies ever made, and then, well, who knows what happened for Part III. Right now the trilogy bundle is on sale on iTunes for just $18. It's not HD, but it is cheap. And, in a way, watching these movies in their original, standard definition almost seems like the way it should be. Or, if you do prefer…
Case-Mate’s Barely There Slim Case for iPhone 4 and 4S
In my five years as an iPhone owner I have never once used a case (well, except for the Morphie Juice Pack Air) — I prefer my iPhone sans-case. But, many an iPhone owner prefer or need a case. And if you (or your friend) want something that is sleek, snug fitting, and minimal then I highly recommend the Barely There case…
Featured Sponsor: Text Expander
Editor's Note: TextExpander is one of those staple apps on my Mac that when it's not running I feel handicapped. I have over 60 snippets I use -- from email signatures, to Amazon and iTunes link codes, to custom replies for emails, to common miscapitalizations of certain words, and more. Moreover, those snippets sync to my iPhone and iPad via TextExpander's iOS…
Glass Bowl in the Shape of a Ziploc Baggie
This glass bowl in the shape of a wide-open Ziploc baggie sits flat and holds about 10 ounces worth of jelly beans, Skittles, peanuts, or just plain water in case you want to use it as a home for your pet goldfish.
The Adventures of Tintin
Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson, The Adventures of Tintin, is an adventure story about a boy and his dog on their quest to uncover hidden treasure. This is one that Anna and I never got to see in the theatre. It's available now to rent or own, and so the Blu-Ray version in the queue for our next…
Featured Sponsor: TextExpander
Do you type the same things again and again? TextExpander will save you time and keystrokes. Just assign short abbreviations to your frequently-used snippets of text and TextExpander does the work for you. You can also use one of the included snippet libraries for HTML, CSS, autocorrection, accented words and URL shorteners. Try it out — there's a free demo at Smile…
“A Guy’s Guide to Style” by Bernhard Roetzel
A new style book by Bernhard Roetzel (who has written quite a few fashion guides) is due out on May 15. A Guy's Guide to Style is 240 pages of "practical tips for all situations from business meetings and festive occasions to recreational activities". The only thing left for you to do will be to dress like you mean it. For a…
Hugo
Okay, okay. I admit, I'm lousy at writing out reviews for movies. But that won't stop me from recommending a good flick when it comes across my living room, and Hugo is one of those. I saw it in the theater and rented it again with Anna on Blu-Ray and loved it both times. It's fun, it's well written, and the cinematography…
Bamboo Cases for MacBooks and iPads
Sturdy. Beautiful. Hand made from a solid sheet of bamboo with leather straps, CNC machined parts, and two coats of poly. That describes the heavy-duty cases made by Silva Limited for your MacBook or your iPad 2. (Thanks, Dave!)
Featured Sponsor: Denso
Discover better internet video without all the searching. Create personalized video channels by connecting your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Google Reader accounts. You can also bookmark videos with your Instapaper and Readability bookmarklets to watch on your iPhone, iPad or Android phone. We also integrate with Evernote, Youtube and Vimeo. Browse from our carefully curated list of channels which have an eclectic…
Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch
And speaking of favorite children's books, Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch, is another one of my favorites. This one was published in 1992, and 20 years later it's is still hilarious — even for adults (trust me, I've still got my copy, and Anna and I read it just a few weeks ago).