Okay, so there are about a gazillion iPod speaker docks out there these days. And to be honest, most of them aren’t worth your time or money. Sure they allow easy playback of your iPod’s music over speakers, but most are ugly (or poor knock offs of other designs) and they rarely sound good. Of course there are exceptions. B&W’s Zeppelin is one good example of a great dock. Its styling isn’t for everyone, but I think it’s a great looker, and definitely a great sounder. Unfortunately that’ll set you back $600! Enter the Vestalife Lady bug.

Continue reading Cute as a bug, and sounds: Vestalife Ladybug

Filed under: Gadgets | Technology,Home Audio,Portable Audio — Santi @ 9:04 am

Like Max, concerned about the accumulation of plastic rubbish and also BPA leaching into my water, I picked up two new sigg bottles. One as a gift, the other for myself. Pretty sweet lookin eh? The one that says “I am not plastic” is a special edition available from mysigg.com. But I just checked, and they have sold out! Boy, that gift just got about 1000 times cooler! These swiss made bottles are simply superb. Great paint and build quality. It really feels like something I’ll have for many years to come.

Anyhow, you can find other sigg bottles all over the net, at local brick-and-mortar stores, as well as at some grocery stores like Whole Foods.

Filed under: Clothing | Accessories,Green | Sustainable,Home | Garden — Santi @ 8:02 pm

Well, it was time for me to get some new tires. With gas prices being the way they are, I figured I’d try something to increase my fuel mileage. What I ended up doing was getting a tire that was slightly thinner, and slightly taller than the stock tires on my car.
Continue reading Save some gas with carefully selected new tires…

Filed under: Cars | Transportation — Santi @ 7:32 am

Get Smart has been getting some pretty mediocre reviews, but I really liked the movie. Maybe it’s because I have the comedic tastes of a 5 year old, or maybe it’s that I grew up watching Get Smart on Nick-at-Night. Possibly I have a huge crush on Anne Hathaway, and the fact that no matter what I see him in I always enjoy Steve Carell certainly helps, but I really found this to be an entertaining movie. It’s a simple movie. Simple comedy. Fairly impressive action scenes. Nothing more. But it accomplishes what I want summer blockbuster’s to accomplish: entertain me at a level comparable to that of my ticket price. If you’re looking for the best of Steve Carell’s comedic abilities, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a faithful recreation of the original Get Smart series, look elsewhere. But if you want to plop your butt into a nice air-conditioned theater this summer and have fun watching a simple action packed comedy, then this is your movie. I laughed my ass off and had a great time watching the movie, so it’s got my seal of approval!

By the way, if you haven’t ever seen the original series, you’re seriously missing out. I highly recommend heading to amazon.com to grab a few old episodes.

Filed under: Media | Entertainment,Movies — Santi @ 7:32 am

If you’re not familiar with Etón, they make cool portable radios that are powered via battery, crank, and solar power. Radios have FM, AM, and NOAA (weather) tuners. They also include cables to attach your phone to the device, so you can use the solar cells or hand crank to charge up. Some of the fancier models have flashlights, sirens, and two-way walkie-talkies built in as well.

They have found maybe the best possible partner: The American Red Cross. Red Cross provides help to those in need after natural disasters. Etón radios provide the ability to keep up to date on news and announcements even if you have no access to batteries or wall-power.

I played with some of the Etón products when I was at CES, and I think these are solid products. They may be a bit pricey, but they are well constructed and provide features that others simply just don’t have. In addition, when you buy an American Red Cross by Etón product, a portion of your purchase goes to help rebuild communities that have been hit by natural disasters.

You can check out the Etón line at Amazon.com.

Filed under: Gadgets | Technology,Portable Audio — Santi @ 8:06 am

I’m a bit of a music nerd. Yeah, band camp and all…

Continue reading The Moog Super-Infinite-Hyper-Sustain-Awesimo Guitar

Filed under: Gadgets | Technology — Santi @ 9:47 pm

While its profile reminds me of something I might see in a hair salon back in the 70s, this zeppelin shaped desk ornament is actually a speaker designed specifically for iPod use. I know football shapes are cool and all, but I’m not sure I’m onboard with this shape and it’s popularity with iPod speakers (B&W Zeppelin). It’s hard to tell from the pictures if this new unit has a nice classy glossy feel, or a cheap plasticy glossy feel. At $349.99, one would hope that it’s the former. One would also hope that this speaker can give out some decent sound. With two 44mm drivers and 5W per channel, I bet this baby can get pretty loud. However, the speaker shape and orientation is something I’ve never encountered before. I’m assuming from the price (dangerous–I know not the most reliable source), that it is capable of at least tolerable sound reproduction, but I’d really love to hear one for myself to confirm this.

If you’ve got the cash, and want something that most guests will likely confuse for a desk lamp, you can swing by Audio Cubes to pick up the Maxell MXSP-4000.TD Time Domain Speaker for $349.99.

Filed under: Art | Design,Gadgets | Technology,Home Audio,Portable Audio — Santi @ 9:12 am

Some of you may know the name Herbie Hancock, some may not. Some might know him for his 80′s fusion funk hit Rockit, while others might know him for his song Maiden Voyage. Regardless as to your prior knowledge of Herbie Hancock, know this: He is a jazz legend.

You may be wondering why I’m reviewing an album that is over a decade old. Well I just rediscovered this album in my collection, and I was reminded of just how good it is. More importantly, listening to this album again made me think just how great this album is for budding jazz fans.

Continue reading Herbie Hancock – New Standard… for those new to jazz

Filed under: Media | Entertainment,Music — Santi @ 8:21 am

I love motorcycles. I love how they look, I love to ride them, I love how passionate people get about them, and I love Suzuki’s new concept: The fuel cell driven Crosscage. This concept trades in the traditional small displacement gasoline motor for a fuel cell and electric motor. As a consequence, it has no gears, no engine noise, no tailpipe, and no pollution. While the sound of a bike holds a large amount of appeal, this high-brow technology in a motorcycle holds a whole different appeal. To add to its already stunning technology, its styling is simply phenomenal. The name obviously comes from its unique structure covering the “engine” area. The single sided swing-arm, and single sided front fork (never seen that one on a motorcycle before) make this bike quite asymmetric looking. But Suzuki manages to pull off a brute, punk, mean, street-fighter look with the bike, that I think is to die for. No word on the release, but as you can see from the picture, they have at least one made for testing :)

More pictures below.

Continue reading Fuel cells gone wild: The Suzuki Crosscage Motorcycle

Filed under: Art | Design,Cars | Transportation,Green | Sustainable — Santi @ 6:07 am

Okay, I know what you’re saying. Cinder blocks as furniture are for starving students and heavy beer-drinking guys that never grew up. Well, I’m not going to argue with that. But with a little extra preparation, I think that you can make some pretty nifty, and very functional items for home: Let me present my cinder block speaker stands.

Continue reading DIY: cinder block speaker stands

Filed under: Gadgets | Technology,Home Audio,Reviews | Guides — Santi @ 1:39 am