Monthly Archives: May 2008

Mooks Urban Overnight Bag

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Though the brand isn’t targetted to old fogies like myself this duffle from Mooks looks like something I would use for a weekend away. It has a large interior compartment with zip closure and vecro flap, perfect to quickly throw some gear into before I head out the door. A couple of handy pockets keep the essentials within reach. Made with cotton canvas with leather trim the Mooks Urban Overnight Bag should last for years. You can find it at Rushfaster.

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Mini Pop Sandal Case

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In August of last year I wrote about the crocs craze and the millions of knock-offs that could be found in Taiwan and elsewhere. Well it seems that the croc form has now caught as a cell phone case. The Mini Pop Sandal Case clips conveniently to a belt loop via a color-coordinated carabiner clip.
It comes in 8 bright colors: black, chocolate, blue, green, yellow, pink, red and white. Good for your iPhone?
From Strapya.

Starving may fend off jetlag

Starving yourself before a long flight may help prevent jet lag, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
Normally, the body’s natural circadian clock in the brain dictates when to wake, eat and sleep, all in response to light. But it seems a second clock takes over when food is scarce, and manipulating this clock might help travelers adjust to new time zones, they said.
“A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock,” said Dr. Clifford Saper of Harvard Medical School, whose study appears in the journal Science.

This article appears to be getting a great deal of coverage. There is a tendency to want to get all the possible benefits from the exorbitant prices we are paying for airfare. This includes, at least on Asian flights, a selection of drinks and somewhat suspect food. Most have realized for some time that eating little to nothing and drinking plenty of fluids helps combat jetlag. This article reports on research that suggests taking this to a whole new level. But I doubt most will skip the meal cart as it bangs it’s way down the aisle.
Link.

The end of mobility?

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One of the questions I have been thinking about for the past couple of weeks is whether or not the lifestyle that I had envisioned for my life and the life of my family will still be possible in the near future.
Four years ago when the seeds of thought for this web site were being planted I was traveling every month. Traveling not so much for work but for a change of scenery for my work. I thought that over time I could see myself working during the winter in various parts of Thailand or other warm locales in Asia. Summer would be spent in Eastern Canada and perhaps parts of Europe. Since starting a family living this ideal has been somewhat more challenging, and now my mobile lifestyle is confined primarily between Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the all to rare trip to Bangkok.
But this challenge pales in comparison to the unavoidable increase in costs of mobility.
Lately with fantastic increases in the price of fuel, and certainly much more increases in the future, living a mobile lifestyle will not mean trotting around the world with laptop in tow but simply moving around the house. The costs of air travel are increasing to the point that even now we are canceling trips abroad. The days of cheap plentiful air-fare are coming to an end making all travel – luxury travel.
There are bigger problems to contend with with the rising cost of fuel, problems like heating a home in winter, but I can’t help but feel saddened by the prospect of not experiencing as much of the world as I had hoped.

Covertec leather case for iPhone/Smartphone

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For those who like to carry your phone on your belt, like some kind of gadget gunslinger, then the universal case series from Covertec will save you from repeatedly buying new cell phone cases whenever you purchase a new phone. The flap enclosure allows for a range of sizes for a good fit. The cases are made of high quality, full grain cowskin nappa leather, inner part in heavy duty ‘synthetic’ material. The size pictured above fits the iPhone or other similar sized smart phone. Available at the Covertec store for 29 EUR.

A rare interview with Jonathan Ive

For many people working in the creative industries, the bedrock of Mac believers, Ive is a hero, a creative genius: the man who transformed computers from grey boxes to objects of desire, design statements.
That’s what D&AD has recognised and rewarded. But you don’t have to be a creative purist to appreciate what Ive does. For everyone who loves Macs and iPods and iPhones for their intuition, for their clean aesthetics, for their leading edge, elegant functionality, Ive is the man who made technology both beautiful and accessible.

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Returning soon

I’ve been spending the past week trying to come to terms with a new schedule which unfortunately has forced me to push all my writing to the periphery. What little time I have had has been managing the torrent of spam hitting this site, a third of which is coming from hacked wordpress sites. I expect to be writing again by the end of the week.

Brand new Google Reader for iPhone

This new version is designed to offer many of the same features as the desktop, while making it quick and easy to act on items. If you’ve used list view, then it should be familiar to you. Scan the titles for an item that interests you, tap and it expands in place. Starring, sharing, and keeping unread are done in place, so you never have to leave the list view or refresh the page. We think it’s a very fast way to power through your reading list.

Link.