Da Goods
Driving with Chris last saturday we had a conversation about products we really like. Consumer products that impressed you with their design, function, taste or value. It could be a big ticket item, but we were concentrating more on the small stuff like diet ginger ale (tastes better than regular ginger ale) or Chris’ love of the swifter. For example, I just had a great experience with Black Flys sunglasses - the didn’t have a part to fix my sunglasses (which are well out of warranty) but they are sending me a new pair anyway. No hassle. So I ask you, what have you purchased recently that you found to be better than the average crap out there?
Swiffer Dusters rule the world. And also Original Wheat Thins.
I hate to sound like a dirty hippie, but my Birkenstock sandals (no buckles) are the best things I’ve ever put my feet into. last summer and fall i had really bad Achilles tendonitis and i could barely walk. the Birks gave me much needed support and comfort and i still wear them all the time. unfortunately a stupid akita at the dog park peed on my foot the other day when i was wearing them, but since they’re so durable, i washed them vigorously with a scrubber and some dial and they’re just fine.
I also love Clorox Disinfecting Wipes are great.
And Petzyme enzymatic cleaner for puppy accidents in the house. It cleans up even the most revolting Italian Greyhound accidents.
iPod (as proven in my last post.
My Gibson Les Paul will outlive me.
Palisades Muppet figures go so far above the norm in sculpt, articulation and detail. A 20 dollar figure in a 9 dollar box.
Gatorade. Ain’t nothin wrong with that.
I’ll have to agree with Joh and say iPod two. I have 2, a 20GB and the new 30GB.
Lego’s: Is there a more versatile toy?
ThumbDrives: The floppy drive killer. (well, almost… You still need floppies to boot from, but hopefully, that will change in time…) The coolest one I have seen is LEXAR’s JumpDrive Trio. It was only $15! From the outside it looks like a normal thumb drive, but crack it open and you find an SD memory card slot. So you can put any SD memory size in it you want and not be stuck with a specific size.
I dont know if this falls in that catagory but right before the blackout i bought a wall phone for my kitchen. It was the best thing i bought for $9.99. Alot of people have phones with answering machines and not your regular basic wall phone. They werent able to make calls. I do have others phones in the house but they did me NO GOOD on that day, but my $9.99 piece of shit phone from 1976 did the job just fine.
I am going to say one of my better purchases this year are my Maui Jim sunglasses. I’ll never wear another pair of sunglasses. What makes them so special is the polarized lenses. I think Chris could agree with that. I had him try them on during our drive down to AC for our friend’s bachelor party. If you’ve never worn polarized lenses, you are seriously missing out. Oh yes, there is one more thing that is top of mind, my solar shade for my car’s windshield. Those of you who have a car and have left your car in the blazing sun know what I am talking about. That stupid tin foil looking thing makes a hell of a difference.
That’s all I have to say about that.
I have a Trek 5200 bicycle with a carbon fiber frame. The whole bike weighs 16.5 lbs.
http://home.earthlink.net/~pmannion/oclv_120.jpg
Lance Armstrong had a crash on one of the mountain stages of this year’s Tour de France. A fan on the side of the road was holding a handbag, and the strap caught his bars and yanked him smack-down to the ground. The guy behind him rode right over his bike frame. Lance remounted his bike and chased to catch the leaders. As he was chasing, he stood up to accelerate and his gear slipped, causing his foot to unclip and fly off the pedal, almost crashing him again. He caught the leaders, passed them and won the stage by a minute.
Upon later inspection, one portion of his bike frame that extends from the crankset to the rear wheel mounts had been severed 3/4 of the way through by the bike of the rider that had run into him (on the word “shimano” in the photo). The carbon fibers of the remaining part of the chainstay (the part of the frame I’m talking about) were so strong, they held it all together. When his pedal slipped, it was because of the extreme torque placed on the 1/4 of the tube that remained.
This bike costs about $4,000+, but hands down, it is the absolute best pieces of cycling equipment I’ve ever had the priviledge of owning. When I broke my hip in a really bad crash, absolutely nothing was damaged on the bike.
first of all - i’m banning mannion from incorporating any “bike” realted material into this site…it’s getting old.
2nd of all - i hate to say it - but the fanny pack, in concept, is a great idea. hands free shopping and browsing, plus the added bonus of not having to store everything in your pockets or a large bulky purse?!.is a great idea. but the name and the look are definitely lacking. gucci presented their solution, but with a $500 cost it’s almost unatainable. however, they recognize it’s a good idea.
also, make your own omlette stations…i love those too.