bookofjoe

Stone Drink Dispenser

From the website:

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Handmade in New Hampshire from natural stones found along the coast of New England and fixed with a stainless steel spigot with a stone lever.

Due to the found nature of the stones, each is one-of-a-kind.

Rock: Approximately 7" wide at widest point x 7 inches high.

Spigot: 2.75" long.

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$125 ("alcohol not included").

Where not to go: Danger Zones

Wrote Donna Leinwand Leger in yesterday's USA Today: "Each year, U.S. citizens are abducted abroad. The State Department repeatedly warns Americans about kidnap threats in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, the Philippines and many African countries."

See also yesterday's post on the NSA's tips for travelers.

Front Yard Flip-Flops — "Garden-to-Go"

That's different.

From Dornob:

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The concept has been floating around for a while, but carrying a chunk of sod around on your feet is just a wee bit short of practical.

And really, what a nice way to keep from feeling sand under your sandaled feet on the beach.

Supposedly it feels just like grass, and it sure looks close enough to fool anyone you're trying to impress with an offbeat fashion statement.

DO NOT MOW.

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$29.95 AUD.

[via Kyle Kyllan]

What happens after the lights go out?

Lately I've been trying to remember as soon as I wake up in the morning what happened after I turned out my reading lamp and before I fell asleep — but I cannot recall a single thing.

I can't believe I fall asleep within a second of the light going out — there must be a period of a few minutes where I put my hand on Gray Cat's warm, soft, furry back and pet her a couple times before nodding off, but I'll be darned if I can recall doing so.

I've concluded there must be some sort of retrograde amnesia happening, kind of like after you've received midazolam (Versed) for sedation: you know it was given I.V., but you can't even remember the I.V. being put in.

I'm not satisfied with this explanation, though: I want evidence.

So I'm going to see if I can locate an affordable infrared video camera, then point it at Gray Cat and me lying in bed, and finally find out what happens after the lights go out.

Watch for the world premiere in this space, coming soon.

Plant Hardiness Zone Map — Updated after 22 years

Welcome news for gardeners: the changes you've noted over the past two decades are now official.

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture website:

The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.

For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended, and as static images for those with slower Internet access. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.

No posters of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map have been printed. But state, regional, and national images of the map can be downloaded and printed in a variety of sizes and resolutions.

Anti-Aging Mouthpiece

Is that a shuttlecock in your mouth or are you just looking younger?

From the website:

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Pupeko Cheek Exercise Beauty Skincare Product

This easy-to-use beauty and skincare product was developed by an ordinary housewife. 

Chikako Hirama was simply concerned about her own age and wanted an easy way to combat those telltale lines. 

Just try the yellow or pink Pupeko daily, using such techniques as puffing out your cheeks or sucking them in while breathing through the mouthpiece. 

Then you can try it while keeping your head upright to give your neck and other muscles further exercise training.

Features and Details:

• Recommended routine: 10-20 breathing exercises per session
• Includes "aroma spot" for extra therapy (aromas not included)
• Includes two mouthpieces (same color)
• Polypropylene
• Made in Japan 

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Pink or Yellow: $40.

What is the source of this image?

Answer here this time tomorrow.

Hint: It can be seen in person in the U.S.

Another: It was made in the U.S.

"I visited the Apple campus. But that's all I'm allowed to say."

Above and below, a T-shirt from the Apple Company Store (open to the public) at Apple headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, where it will cost you $17.

The store's website says, "We are the only place in the world that sells Apple logo t-shirts, caps and accessories."

Not quite true: I'm pretty certain you can find such gear — new — for sale all over New York City.

Granted, it's counterfeit, but hey, facts are facts.

I first learned of the existence of this T-shirt in the early pages of Adam Lashinsky's new book, "Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired—And Secretive—Company Really Works," which volume I'm enjoying immensely: it's a good read on the Kindle Cloud Reader on my 27-inch iMac while running 5mph on the treadmill.

Not great, mind you, like Walter Isaacson's magisterial "Steve Jobs," which I stretched out to the tune of about six weeks of running while reading, but good nonetheless.

Maybe it's just the subject — Apple — that makes it interesting; could well be.

My fanboy colors are showing.

Planet Earth in Hi-Def

The image up top features 64 million pixels (8,000 x 8,000), all of which you can see (not at one time, though) by clicking on the picture.

From NASA: "A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken by the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite, Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. The image combines four passes of the satellite over the planet, which are then digitized to look like a single photo taken from about 1,200 miles above the point at 20 degrees north and 100 degrees west. VIIRS captured light in four wavelengths, most of which were in the visible spectrum, and added them together."

[via Microservios and FayerWayer] 

Talking Bird Bag Clip

"No more sneaky snackers. The Talking Bird Bag Clip makes tweeting sounds when opened."

$6.

Wait a sec... what's that music I'm hearing?