Ork Posters

I saw this smashing map of Toronto when I was picking up my "Tex" cardboard game head from a nice little shop on Roncesvalles in Toronto's south-west end, called Soho Art and Custom Framing.

It's from a company called Ork Posters, and they this as well as other major US/CDN cities that have been mapped this way to choose from, along with the Heart, the Brain, and the Great Lakes.

I'm off to NYC soon, and hopefully will stay for a spell, and I thought this nice little reminder of my hometown would be much-appreciated.

Suunto Quest

It's always nice to come across some neat technical products that aren't strictly limited to the Bauhaus design theory of form follows function.  As Apple and LaCie and others have clearly shown, hi-tech can have excellent function and pleasing form.
Now Suunto, the legendary compass company from Finland, is on board with this strong function and design philosophy.  When Suunto started making technical training and outdoors watches, they performed quite admirably, but they were gangly, large, and visually unappealing.  With the Core series and Elementum series, and now the new Quest, Suunto has turned super-functional watches into stunning timepieces.

The Quest has the requisite fitness watch basics of heart rate monitor, stopwatch/laps/timers, but nicely add fitness and training functions, cadence/speed measurement, calories burned, and alerts for when to rest and when to work out again.
Nice.  And looks nice.

Gerber Steady

Fish scalers, nail files, toothpicks, and magnifying glasses are fine enough items to add to a multitool, but they aren't going to be the game-changers that will get me to buy one.  The Gerber Steady (due Spring 2012), on the other hand, has something beside the standard multitool assortment of knives, bottle openers, and wee mini saws - little gray legs that fold out to make a camera tripod!
The Steady has the handy tripod and a standard camera mount screw to hold your camera still, without the unavoidable tiny little movements that holding it by hand invariably brings.
It sure beats trying to take a steady pic by holding your camera really tightly with both hands and leaning hard against a nearby post or ledge or bench or chair back. 

"Tex" - Large Longhorn Trophy

Cardboard Safari has a full line-up of laser-cut cardboard animal head "trophies" that add a good dose of flair to your walls for not a lot of dough.  Choose from the trophy heads of rhinos, moose, deer, longhorns, elephants, or even a bass fish.

"Tex" sits proudly above the flat screen TV in my living room and provides much-needed substance to an otherwise plain and boring wall. 

Easy to assemble, comes flat-packed, made from recycled materials, and comes in natural brown or white.

Einstein, Albert

Citizen Eco-Drive Satellite Watch

I've never been a big fan of Citizen watches.  I've always liked simple watches, or watches designed with a purpose, such as a running/HR watch or an ABC watch (altitude/barometer/compass).  Citizen watches have always seemed either too busy and involved, or too gadgety.  Also, the price points they are sold at seem a little too high compared to similar brands, such as Tissot and Seiko.
But, and obviously if you are reading this you knew there'd be a but, Citizen introduced the Eco-Drive Satellite watch that is due to come out in Fall 2011.

This is a beautiful modern watch that has it's time automatically set by satellites.  Whoddha thunk you'd need such a thing?  I guess since Casio pioneered setting watches automatically using land-based atomic clocks situated around the world, setting the time from outer space was the next logical step.
It is also powered entirely by light.  A solar conversion panel and energy cell provide all the energy this watch will need.   
These are neat things, and interesting for conversation about the watch, but I'm more concerned with the look of the watch.  It's gorgeous.  The ceramic and stainless case, coupled with a green/black rubber band, the printing on the crystal, and the cool little green coil that wraps around the inside of the bezel make the watch definitely stand out.

I do hope Citizen brings it to Canada or the USA and they don't make it a restrictive limited edition watch like it looks like they are going to do.

Anti-Tourist Shoes

You've seen them - brand new pure white leather court or running shoes worn by guys on vacation in a big city.  Shoes bought only a day or two before the trip specifically for long days walking around a new city with the better half or family.
http://www.time-travellers.org/Historian/UglyAmerican.html - see No. 3.

These shoes, as ungainly as they are, are seriously practical.  Feet that aren't blistered and swollen after hours gawking 'n walking around NYC or San Francisco or further afield are much preferred over feet that have been chewed up by more stylish, but less practical footwear.

So what are you supposed to do if you want to merge a thousand kilos of style with a tonne of comfort?  Sneakers and cool-looking runners are the way to go.

Here's what I picked up in NYC to do 'touristy stuff' with the better half...

These Asics Gel Trail Attack 7 shoes made it actually fun to walk hours on end through Midtown Manhattan, dodging real tourists and native New Yorkers alike.  Just like walking on two nice fluffy size 10.5 marshmallows, and as boldly-coloured as they are, they look pretty cool.