http://www.velvetron.com/blog Velvetron is a place for Discerning consumers Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:59:58 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Whatever you think of the MacBook Air, you have to admit that producing one from a manila envelope was and is undeniably cool - trouble is, there's not much reason to do so these days. Enter the Timbuk2 Steve Sleeve: Made from recycled PET (old plastic bottles!) on ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/other/if-only-i-could-afford-to-fill-it-the-timbuk2-steve-sleeve/ This post is brought to you by the letter "H". "H" is for hiatus. It's been awhile since I've posted and for that, I apologize. My last couple weeks have been busy with about 42.4% of that time spent calling every Apple store in the Los Angeles area daily for iPhone ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/gadgets_and_technology/phones/youre-welcome-steve-jobs/ 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 ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/home_and_garden/more-sweet-sigg-bottles/ Frog Design has piqued my interest with their "A Digital Escape" concept, which is a mask that makes you look like a robot, but more importantly makes the world look and smell however you wish it to. They suggest that it will be used to hide the damage we've ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/art_and_design/concept-time-making-the-world-pretty-one-person-at-a-time/ 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 ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/cars_and_transportation/save-some-gas-with-carefully-selected-new-tires/ I like backpacks, but I usually travel light. I had been using a bulky North Face number (the Recon), which was a great bag despite it's habit of getting snagged on things, until I saw this minimalist bag from Built NY. Fashioned from neoprene, it's nicely cushioned and ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/other/no-its-not-kevlar-the-built-laptop-backpack/ Since I learned about the Pacific Trash Vortex I've drastically cut down on my bottled water consumption. Instead, I treated myself to this handsome metal bottle from Sigg that nestles into a stainless steel cup, and I've really been loving it. It's oval shaped, so it's a bit ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/other/stop-with-the-plastic-the-sigg-oval-bottle-with-cup/ Welcome to part two (of two) of my Xbox repair experience. See part one here. 6.19.2008 - My Xbox arrives unannounced. I become excited as I realize what is in the box, and the UPS guy backs away slowly. http://www.velvetron.com/blog/toys_and_games/the-day-my-xbox-360-was-resurrected/ My 360 hasn't exactly been a model of high-tech gadgetry. In fact, it's almost surprising it worked despite a number of scary ailments: 1) It liked to freeze and make clicking noises. This happened both at certain points (loading Treasury in GRAW) and randomly (about 1/2 the time ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/toys_and_games/the-day-my-xbox-360-died/ 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, ... http://www.velvetron.com/blog/media_and_entertainment/get-smart-would-you-believe-absolutely-fun/