Archive for April 2011
Felt 15X ($2800): Felt’s finest cross bike is decked out in SRAM Red, and manages to come in under $3000. The big reason for this is that Felt is able to apply a lot of in-house components to the bike, which includes the wheelset. I have to give props to the designer on this bike as well, the painted to match Easton EC70X carbon fork, and they even anodized the TRP EuroX brakes to match. Aesthetics aside, this bike is fast.
Beautiful handmade Italian leather cycle shoes and Italian bicycle frames
The Dromarti Sportivo cycling shoes are ideal for obtaining a classic appearance, or making a quick getaway from the office to the trail.
The shoes are SPD compatible, and have a fairly low-profile tread that hides out of sight pretty well. The only bummer is that the shoes do not appear to be available in half sizes.
What I’m way into about these shoes is the price. It seems as though the retro wave is churning a bit out of control right now, making the image a little too exclusive. and expensive At $210, these are priced super well, considering the comfy Italian leather, and curb appeal.
Multichip LED, 350 Lumens, Low Battery Indicator, 3 Light Levels – High/Med/Low, Flash Mode, Lightweight – 232g, 2 Cell Li-Ion Battery
MiNewt.350,LED Li-Ion
SYSTEM INCLUDES
LED Headlamp, i-Ion Battery, Handlebar Mount – Fits up to 31.8mm, 4 HR Smart Charger, Custom Reflector
via NiteRider MiNewt.350 LED Bicycle Light with Li-Ion Battery.
Ultra-Compact Rechargeable LED Bicycle lighting System for avid road and mountain bikers.
At only 240 grams, the MityCross 320 features dual beam brightness in single beam size. Powered by an slim High-Capacity Li-Ion battery, the MityCross 320 will power through any trail.
MityCross 320
Tiny strong man Tesla, is producing a remarkable 700 Lumens! The light was trimmed on performance, even the reflector is a custom development by Lupines. The tool for our Hexagon reflector, named after the facets shape, was CNC-machined and not as usally coined.
Ultra-Compact Rechargeable LED Bicycle lighting System for avid road and mountain bikers.
At only 240 grams, the MityCross 320 features dual beam brightness in single beam size. Powered by an slim High-Capacity Li-Ion battery, the MityCross 320 will power through any trail.
I generally don’t spend a ton of time checking out shoes, but they are a rotating component, and therefore worthy of investing a little bit of time and money on. One shoe that I’m really excited about for the new year is the Bont Vaypor, which the Australian company is pushing super hard right now with not one, not two, but three offerings in a standard, premium, and world champion model.
Like the Bont A-One shoe, this is a heat moldable shoe that you can perform from your own home. The entire chassis is molded through the heating process, so you not only get a good fitted platform, but an excellent heel fit as well. They can be molded over and over again, so if you don’t get it just right the first time, you can give it a second go.
As for weight, these are crazy light for a stock shoe at 240 grams,
So far, the only knock I have seen on these shoes is that they aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing shoe out there, but like most pro jerseys out there, they will start to look good when they start winning races. At $370, they are priced pretty well for a high end performance shoe.
via That’s What She Said About Your Bike: Bont Vaypor Shoes.
“The Procrastinator” – we all know him. Most of us turn into this guy on a daily basis, but we all know that one procrastinator whose always in the computer lab. You try to avoid him but he’s “gotta show you this new youtube clip.” He’s always has a crumbled-up bag of McDonalds he ate that afternoon. He’s usually got one headphone in, while the other one out, blasting European Techno, so just incase you call his name, he’ll hear you.
“The Rich-kid” – He’s here cause his parents are in some creative field and his previous GPA couldn’t get him anywhere else. He’s usually older because he spent a few years at another university partying away his parent’s money. He takes design somewhat serious but knows his parents are connected, so he just coasts.
“The Creepy Crawler” – No one ever confronts this kid, but we all know he didn’t do that sketch. He’s friendly, but way too friendly. Usually asks the question, “Hey can I take a look at your sketchbook.” You spend an entire week in the computer lab working on an assignment and you don’t see him once. But once class time arrives, he has a magnificent rendering done with 3D glasses for everyone to view it. How did he do it? No one ever knows, but we continue to let him slide.
“The Design Director” – He’s thinks he’s the best, the greatest, and he’s always the first to criticize your work. He’s usually a “hit or miss” type of designer. One week his work is great, but then the next week, it’s eh. While squinting his eyes, he always asks the most irrelevant question, “Well if this phone is suppose to run off solar energy, what happens in areas of the world where the moon only shows.” Most of the class just lies in wait for the next great quote from this young “Design Director.”
“Mr. Connection” – This guy knows everyone. Or at least claims to. He’s usually got that summer internship locked down because his next-door neighbor’s dog belongs to the same canine massage parlor that the head designer of Sharper Image belongs to. He’s a good guy to know, but not the guy you want to work with.
“The Trapeze Artist” – This guy is always hanging on a thin wire. He’s usually got a second job and always uses that excuse for why he doesn’t have his work. If the assignment is to do 20 sketches on 11×17, he puts up 5 pages on 8.5×11. It’s usually of the wrong assignment. He presents his work as if no one notices the 15 missing pages.
This is only but a few of the common characters I observe. The next profiles are the kids you should be surrounding yourself with.
“The Connor” – Dedication, Passion, and good-heartedness is all this guy is about. Most people in the computer lab tend to work near him because of he’s gained a reputation as an “Over Achiever.” His weekly class work usually out-does everyone else, but his modest approach is what makes this type of person someone to work with.
“The Late Night Duo” – These few designers are always in the computer lab working through the night. It is unknown whether or not they’re always there because they’re not utilizing there time correctly but when once 4am rolls around, these guys still have enough energy to keep you going.
“The Twin” – There’s always that one guy who’s always working on a project closely related to yours. By working with this guy, your competitive nature has you working even harder just to out-do him. Having this kind of designer near you keeps your work ethic in tact.
“That Old Dude” – Commonly mistaken as a teacher; this one guy, in his mid 30’s, doesn’t have time to waste. He may have a family or a just a cat to get back home to, but this guy utilizes his time wisely because he cannot afford all-nighters. Following his work ethic will help you work more efficiently.
“The H-Train” – Take a ride with this kind of designer. He has his own approach to design even the instructors don’t understand. His understanding of graphic layout design has many students run their projects through him before asking the teacher. He’s called the “H-Train” because it’s short for the “Helpful Trainer”.
Via: productdesignhub.com
This device can grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections. A CelleBrite brochure explains “Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags.” 
(ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program. ACLU in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program and how the devices were used. The state police said they wouldn’t provide the information unless they paid $544,680. Outrageous.
“Law enforcement officers are known, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide, No less should be expected of law enforcement”. Therefore these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by Law enforcement.
It is feared that the police may use the data to target citizens who participate in protests or are seen as rebellious.
[Courtesy:Thenewspaper.com]
Google Tasks is a light-weight Desktop application that allows users to add, view and edit tasks on thier Google Tasks account. It supports Google Calendar as well.
Google Tasks is a free download for all platforms, and requires Adobe AIR.
