---

What are the advantages of messenger bags?

Messenger bags are versatile. They can be used for many purposes and carried in several different ways. Messenger bags typically feature a long, adjustable shoulder strap that can be worn over one shoulder or over the head diagonally across the body. Large messenger bags also include an additional removable strap that circles the chest or waist making them easy to carry for strenuous activities like biking and hiking. The sleek rectangular shape of messenger bags is ideal for carrying books, magazines, documents and a laptop computer. Internal dividers and small pockets for pens, keys, money, small electronics and business cards make it easy to organize. Messenger bags have easy access front flaps that fold over the bag and are secured by Velcro, zippers, clasps or buckles. Some messenger bags also have an extra strap around the bag for added security.

From eBags.com's Bagopedia.

---

Backpacking in Iraq

This must be some kind of joke.

Experience Backpacking in Restructured Iraq

Backpacking is one of the forms of low-cost international travel available. That is why many travellers are sorting to this kind of adventure. It gives them mobility and flexibility that they need to roam around a particular place.

There are many places around the world where backpacking is an ideal travel. But who would ever thought that Iraq is one of it? After the war between the coalition forces and the Republican Guards of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, what had been left for Iraq, which is considered to be the world's cradle of civilization?

Backpacking Iraq: A Good Idea or Not?

Many people argue about Iraq being a dangerous place to visit after the war. The war produced shortages in food, rebellions, and lack of medicine throughout the country. Foreign backpackers and tourists are known to be kidnapped and even some even killed by rebels loyal to their former leader Saddam Hussein. This is really not one of the best countries to go backpacking, or is it?

---

Bags » Cases

Reinda bag for iMac

An alternative to the iLugger bag I mentioned way back in 2006 (it's been that long!). It doesn't have the protection of the iLugger but it should be fine for short trips. Reinda. Via Swissmiss.

---

Gear » Desktop

Dell Studio Hybrid

The first Dell I wouldn't be embarrassed to have on my desktop. It's small, has plenty of ports, is personalized with 6 interchangeable sleeves (I like the bamboo), and Dell reports it's their greenest most power-efficient desktop yet. If only you could buy it without Vista.

Dell Studio Hybrid Desktop Details. Via Daring Fireball.

---

---

Safeguarding your phone on a trip

Some tips from Gadling, the most obvious being:

Don't show off your phone. The iPhone and most Blackberry models rank up there with that well known Cola brand in the red can; everyone recognizes it. Sadly, not everyone around you will be as good natured as yourself, so don't flash your phone around too much. If possible, put it in a nondescript case so you don't tell the world you have an expensive phone.

If traveling for pleasure you might try divorcing yourself from your expensive gadgets until you return. Hard for a pickpocket to steal your $1,500 Nokia when it's sitting in a safe at home. Also there is nothing more tacky than seeing a traveler flaunting around their waste the monetary equivelent of many small countries gdp.
Phone safety tips - safeguarding your phone on a trip

---

Enjoy a shower on Emitrates air

Maybe the most expensive 5 minute shower you will ever have.

High flyers will be enjoying the ultimate freshen-up this week when Emirates introduces the world’s first in-flight showers.

From Friday, first class passengers on board the new superjumbo A380 Airbus will be able to indulge in ‘shower spas’.

Emirates President Tim Clark warned passengers could not spend too long relaxing under the jets of water.He said: ‘The showers are regulated through a software programme that gives people a five-minute shower, which is ample in most cases.’A traffic light system would let passengers know how long they had left: ‘If you’re on amber and your hair’s full of shampoo, you want to get moving.’ The plane will have to take on board an additional 500kg of water, an increase of some 25 percent - adding to fuel. This new service will be functional between London Heathrow and Dubai from December 1 for a price of £4,737.

Just a shower away

---

Hong Kong - World's Best Airport

Hong Kong International Airport has been voted the world's best airport for the seventh year in an annual survey of passengers, it was announced today (July 16). Airports were judged on factors like shopping, dining, staff courtesy, baggage delivery and wait-times at security.

Shopping is never an important factor in my airport experience. I want to spend as little time in an airport as possible. Hong Kong's strength is it's ability to get you to Hong Kong quickly and relatively cheaply via the airport express. A feature that Taipei desperately needs. Airport Technology - Hong Kong Voted World's Best Airport

---

How to Find a Clean Hotel Room

Are you prepared for a dirty bedspread, a scummy toilet or even a bed bug infestation? It's highly unlikely that a slightly soiled bathroom floor will put your life in danger, yet an unclean hotel room could affect your health; the most common afflictions are colds or stomach viruses. Taking a few small steps to protect yourself from germs and bacteria could save you from dealing with a sore throat while you're practicing your French in Paris or a nasty cold while you're hiking the hills of India. Try the following tips and sleep more soundly on your next adventure.

How to Find a Clean Hotel Room

---

Art & Design

The Desktop Wallpaper Project

Dress up your desktop with these beautiful backgrounds from Kitsune Noir - The Desktop Wallpaper Project.

---

Workspace

OXO Candela Luau

While it may have value in emergencies, I think the greatest use of this LED lantern would be as lighting for your portable workspace. If you are lucky enough to have a yard or a deck this lantern would help create a wonderful evening work or reading space.

OXO Candela Luau is a portable LED lantern that stays lit up to 10 hours, is cool to the touch, and provides soothing light. Luau is suitable for a wide variety of settings. On the bedside, at the BBQ, or on the patio, the Luau lantern is practical for everyday use but unique enough for special occasions. Portable and cordless, Luau can be placed on the dinner table and lends a festive accent to parties or evenings outdoors. Luau’s dimming feature allows you to control brightness by simply rotating the lantern’s integrated base. A discreet colored light on the base indicates the lamp’s charging status—orange if it’s charging and green when it’s fully charged. Luau illuminates automatically when lifted from the charging base or during a power outage. When placed on the charging base, it automatically recharges for the next use. With Luau, there are no bulbs or candles to replace and rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride batteries ensure that it can be used again the next day and the day after that… for years of enjoyment.

Candela Luau. Via IDasia.

---

Bags

Small-guitar bag

A handmade shoulder bag that caught my eye comes via Meream who is based in Cebu City. She takes orders through her store on Etsy but if you are feeling 'crafty' you might try making one yourself.

Link

---

Mercer's 2008 Cost of Living survey

All of the cities we were considering as our next long term 'port of call' have far higher costs of living. Boo Hoo!
Mercer's 2008 Cost of Living survey highlights. Via Swissmiss.

---

What the Internet is doing to our brains

I can feel it, too. Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

---

Chronic procrastination

According to new research, one person in five now suffers from the problem so badly that their careers, relationships and health are threatened. Many researchers blame computers and mobile phones for providing too many distractions for people

. I find it takes far more self-discipline to stay on task than it ever had in the past. I have always had a propensity to day dream and now with 'the world at my finger tips' it's very difficult to not be distracted. This is especially true now that I work alone.

What I have done is remove temptation (games) and to try to limit the time I spend in my office to actually work related tasks. Reading books vs. online helps my focus as well.

All common sense but somehow lost as I got dug into working solely in front of a screen.

Time-wasting is not just an irritating habit. It is an affliction that ruins millions of lives and often requires therapy and other treatment for sufferers, psychologists have warned.

Hi-tech is turning us all into time-wasters.

---

On a Small Screen, Just the Salient Stuff

As it turns out, Mr. Jobs may well have understated the quality of the iPhone Web experience. Visiting Web sites that have been redesigned for the iPhone is often a quicker and more pleasing experience than it is on those increasingly cinema-style desktop displays, which routinely have 20-inch or larger screens.

It seems counterintuitive, but small really is beautiful.

Slipstream - On a Small Screen, Just the Salient Stuff/a>

---

Bags » Laptop Bags

Mitchell 15" Laptop Messenger

The form is something commonly seen in many bags costing much less but the detailing makes for a very visually striking bag.

A designer alternative to the standard laptop messenger, this cross body bag from Diesel will be a perfect companion for years to come. The Mitchell is a revamp of last seasons Betray bag made of nylon, finished with leather, and has plenty of pockets throughout to keep you organised. This classic bag has a lined main compartment and is finished with snap button and zipper closures. It is big enough to hold your laptop, personal technology, a bottle of water and a few of your favorite books.

Find it at Rushfaster

---

---

Workspace

Lazy Geek's Cushion

An adjustable floor cushion. I think I would fall asleep working in this position but it might be fantastic for a combination back massage and blog roll read.

Order and more info. here

---

The Story of Stuff

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

---

Solving the mystery of why some hotels provide free internet access, while others hit you with major fees.

A decade ago we were complaining about the cost of calls from hotel-room phones. Why, we wondered, did cheap hotels give us free calls, but fancy, five-star joints ding us even for toll-free numbers? Who made more sense: The general manager who insisted that telephone calls were an integral part of the nightly rate, or the one who claimed he wouldn't think of charging a guest for a service he or she didn't use, so anyone who used a hotel's telephone system had to pay inflated, à la carte prices?

Mobile phones mooted that debate, and no business traveler even thinks about using a guest-room telephone today. But the deep, philosophical disagreements are back—over the price hotels may or may not charge to access high-speed internet and WiFi service.

Hotel Internet Access

---

Reasons to love the iPhone over the Blackberry

Thinking about joining me in switching fruits from berry to apple? Here’s a quick look at what’s to love (and not-so-love) about being a new iPhone owner from the point of view of someone very used to the BlackBerry experience.

What You Should Know Before you Switch from BlackBerry to iPhone

---

Workspace

Flexibin

Love this minimalist waste basket by Li Jianye. "The idea by making into a flexible frame, it enables you to use any kind and size of bags for waste".
LABEXP: Flexibin. Via Coudal.

---

Bags » Tote Bag

Tin Cloth Tote

Though designed for hunting and fishing the Tin Cloth Tote is a fantastic way to carry around the heavy urban gear you may be forced to carry from place to place. Perfect for people like me who wouldn't be caught dead carrying something with flowers plastered all over the side. Filson - Tin Cloth Tote

---

5 Myths About Sleep and Insomnia

We spend a third of our lives asleep, and it's clear that without it our brains don't function as well, yet little is known about exactly why we do it. Even less understood? Why we don't. As many as 35 million Americans experience chronic insomnia, and yet in 2006 only $20 million was spent on research (Compare that with the $123 million spent on advertising the prescription sleep aid Ambien.)

In the six years that author, professor and lifelong insomniac Gayle Greene spent researching and writing her book "Insomniac" (during which, ironically, she says she got the best sleep of her life), she learned almost all there is to know about sleep and the lack thereof. Here are five common myths about how we get our shut-eye and why ...

Newsweek.com

---

Why you should avoid the iPhone

And they think this is limited to Apple? Or Apple's choice? With my current phone nothing is free - software, ringtones, and themes all cost money directly or via data charges. It doesn't support open standards either.

If you're a free software lover who's concerned about your privacy and the limitations of DRM, you don't want an iPhone. Amidst Apple's iPhone advertising blitz helped along by positively bubbly media coverage, the Free Software Foundation calls out the dark sides of the new iPhone.

Iphone 2.0: Why You're Better Off Avoiding the iPhone

---

The Ars Technica iPhone 3G review

In this review, we take a long, hard look at the iPhone 3G, both as a consumer device and as an enterprise device. After all, part of the appeal of the new device is that a number of software improvements have finally made it enterprise-ready, or so claims Apple's marketing. From a business user's point of view, however, if you think that the iPhone is a drop-in BlackBerry replacement, think again.

Link.

---