PRODUCT: Best Coffee Mug Ever!

Since my post about coffee last Friday morning, I thought I'd mention a related item I'm excited about. I've found the best travel coffee mug and it's less than $20.00. Check out the Contigo Extreme Silver Insulated Mug!

Isn't it beautiful?

Not only does it keep my java hot, it succeeds where so many of my other mugs have failed: it seals shut in every single opening, and refuses to to leak. Okay, I suppose I could probably drop it or smash it and it would spill. But for everyday commuting, I can hang it off my messenger bag with the built-in carabiner handle and the sip-top lid stays shut. The hole you drink out of is closed with a locking rubber gasket that is better than anything I've seen on far more expensive mugs, and it's easy to use with one hand. Even fits in the cup holder in my car.

I got mine at Target, and it's available online. I'm thinking I'll have to go buy another while they're still around, 'cause if I ever lose this one I'm gonna be very, very sad...

I'm a Winner!

Thanks, InBubbleWrap! I just won my first book from them, and it arrived yesterday. Look how cool this is:


It's like a combination of two of my most favorite things: books and breakfast cereal! Except of course, there is no cereal...

I'm not afraid to admit that I'm still new to the books of Seth Godin, but I'm certainly familiar with his website(s). I was really attracted to the idea of this book's packaging, so I was happy to win and get a chance to add it to my collection. If you haven't signed up with InBubbleWrap yet, check them out. It's a great resource for discovering new ideas, and winning free books!

Also, check out the Lockjaw Radio podcast, which is where I first heard about this. Great semi-regular discussions of all things marketing, branding, and good livin'!

PRODUCT: Sticky Notes for Real Life

KnockKnock is a store that I've been browsing through for many years online, and they're always coming up with cool new stuff. I'm a fan of their wrapping paper and greeting cards. Their sense of design and sense of humor always seem to agree with my own.

I got a chuckle out of the new sticky notes they've come up with that feel like they were custom made for my life. I'm tempted to buy a lot of these for those days when I remember something I was supposed to do a long time ago and am ashamed to admit. But the possibilities for mischief here are also very appealing...

Staying Net Neutral

I'm late to this, but if you haven't seen Rocketboom's post from last Friday then definitely check it out. Best, most simple argument for keeping the Internet free of greedy tiered service schemes.

Rocketboom links to these sites for more info, and I'm all about spreading the word:

Network Neutrality at Wikipedia
Save the Internet
It's Our Net
Message from Google C.E.O. Eric Schmidt

Do your part! Every little bit helps - nobody even reads my blog but me, but I'm still gonna post this. I bet you can find someplace to post this too...

IDEA: More 3D in the Future?

Okay, so recently I came across some homemade 3D images that were created out of footage shot from a CNN helicopter circling over the WTC on 9/11:

http://www.ironicsans.com/2006/05/911_in_3d.html#more

While it's kind of unfortunate that the images are of a sad subject, the technique is intriguing. The creator used near-consecutive frames as the camera moved horizontally to recreate L-eye and R-eye views, and the effect is realistic. He even posted versions that can be seen in 3D without the glasses (crossing your eyes blends the separate images into a floating 3D image). You might have seen this linked to in other blogs, and they deserve viewing because they are interesting and compelling in their own way.

But they got me thinking...

I mean, now that there is such an overwhelming amount of video footage on the internet, how many more of these could be made once more people learn about the idea? How about someone developing instructions for all of us to find scenes in our our own old home video footage to turn into 3D?

A simple search will find you several different websites that show how to make 3D images with your digital still camera using basic editing software and often with careful planning of how you shoot your image. But wouldn't it be great to go back to old videos of your children, or maybe even B&W home movies your grandparents took, and find a scene that can be brought into 3D?

And as the tools become more powerful in the coming years, who's to say we couldn't see a day when I find that brief shot that pans across the family posing in front of the Grand Canyon, I render the clip into a 3D still image, and send that to a 3D printer that 5 mintues later spits out a small sculpture for my desk of me and the kids at the Grand Canyon. In full color. Because framed photos are so 2008.

Oh, and let me email you the file so you can print one for your desk, too.

Anybody gonna make that happen soon? Let me know...

Damn Good Coffee

To my mind, nothing can improve a Friday morning more than a great cup of fresh brewed, locally roasted coffee. And I can't think of a better choice than Gimme! Coffee of Ithaca, NY. Go ahead, do a Google search on these guys and you'll find nothing but good things. All I can say is they had me from the very first cup, which tasted of such mighty elixer that I drained it too fast to savor and had to immediately buy a second cup. And a bag of beans to take home. And a Gimme! mug to commemorate the occasion. And a complimentary bumpersticker. Would have bought a t-shirt if they had 'em.

By the way, if you are into coffee and looking to brew better at home, I highly recommend taking a look at Gimme's excellent tutorial on how to make a better cup in your own kitchen. No fancy machines required!

Today, I am enjoying a life-affirming cup of French Roast that I can already tell will be boosting my day for several hours to come. Thank you, Gimme! Coffee. Thank you from the depths of my soul to the tip of my tongue. I love you, and I don't care who knows it!

"Blogging, son. Nothing in the world smells like that."

"I love the smell of blogging in the morning. You know, one time we had a site hacked for 12 hours. When it was all over, I logged on. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' link. The smell, you know that online smell, the whole site. Smelled like... victory. Someday this blog's gonna end..."

Adapted from Apocalypse Now (1979)