Monthly Archives: August 2014

Made by Haand in North Carolina

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I always get excited in a weird homer sort of way when I come across a not-local profile of a local business. And bonus points to this profile over on Sprudge because the business, Haand Ceramics, is based in a town I’ve never heard of, Ely Whitney, NC. Here’s a quick bit from the profile about the products:

Pence and Warren use recycled rainwater and eco-conscious practices throughout their line of ceramics, which include dramatic “Cloudware” clay cups, “little footed vessels” for plants, and a portfolio of new work that includes ripple plates, coffee mugs, and a ceramic candelabra.

I’d say there’s about a 95% chance I’ll be adding one of the “Cloudware” mugs to our collection in the very near future.

A Cup that Knows What You’re Drinking

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All throughout my life I’ve encountered really cool things, foods, ideas, or activities that are totally ridiculous in some way or another. In an effort to minimize the ridiculous in my life, I dub these “Things I Don’t Need to Know I Like” (or TIDNTKIL for short) and try with all my might to avoid introducing myself to them. What follows is just one example of one such thing.

A few weeks ago, I came across one of those “I just backed this you should too” tweets promoting Vessyl, a cup that magically knows what you pour into it and can track various metrics for you (including things like caffeine, calories, sugar, and protein according to The Verge).

This is exactly the type of gadget that can suck me in and, at $100 off the eventual retail price, the $99 pre-order is extremely tempting. Not to mention, it isn’t too bad to look at either. As of this writing, there are only three days left to get in on the pre-order so I think I’ll be able to weather this storm. But if you’re interested, head on over to the product site and check it out for yourself.

Jawbone Jambox

Big Sound, Little Box

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How many activities are exponentially more enjoyable with music playing in the background? Pretty much all of them. And sometimes, headphones just aren’t the right fit for the kind of freedom or atmosphere some activities require. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, this means you have a pretty difficult choice to make: AirPlay or Bluetooth.

I faced this choice a little over a year ago and after going back and forth between Bluetooth and AirPlay, I ultimately landed on Bluetooth. AirPlay, I hear, offers superior sound quality, but at a fairly significant cost and with one primary limitation – most, if not all, options require a shared network. That isn’t exactly the most versatile of options.

With the choice of wireless standard out of the way, there was really only one option on my mind – I went with the original Jambox by Jawbone1. Obviously, I took the easy route, choosing the mainstream, probably overpriced option. That said, I haven’t been disappointed and I use this super portable, great sounding little speaker way more than I ever expected I would.

Headphones are a great option when you need to keep your music to yourself, or when you’re moving from room to room taking care of the household chores and you don’t have whole-house audio throughout. The second best option when library-like silence isn’t required is a wireless portable speaker. I never realized how much I prefer open-air listening until I bought the Jambox, and moving from room to room isn’t terribly inconvenient when the speaker is so small.

But portability doesn’t matter if the little speaker doesn’t have great sound. The Jambox is relatively expensive compared to other available Bluetooth speakers, but while the sound quality isn’t perfect, it packs a big punch.

When I first powered up the Jambox and played some tunes, I remember being impressed the same way I was impressed the first time I heard a Bose Wave radio. I’m not suggesting the sound quality of the Jambox is on par with some of Bose’s hallmark products – I’m no audiophile – but the power and depth of the sound that such a small package could produce astounded me. I have direct experience with one other relatively inexpensive Bluetooth speaker and, side-by-side, the Jambox is well worth the price difference to me.

A few weeks after I first bought the Jambox, I was hanging out with a friend who has a Big Jambox. The Big version is better in almost every way without really sacrificing portability. But I wasn’t quite ready to part with the extra benjamin to get it, especially for my expected uses. My buddy uses it for group gatherings and tailgates – if that’s you, I suggest going Big. If you just need something to throw in the beach bag or move around the house with you as you dance your way through the chores, stick to the little guy2.

If you’re new to the Bluetooth speaker crowd and you were considering a Jambox, I do recommend it. If the price makes you flinch, there are some other options out there that are cheaper and, by some accounts, even better than the Jambox. My only experience is with the Jambox, so I can only speak for it – I haven’t been disappointed one bit – I consume way more music and podcasts, resulting in more fun when taking care of mundane tasks than I ever had before I joined the Bluetooth speaker toting party. That alone is worth the price of admission.

  1. I made this choice before reading – perhaps even before it was written – The Wirecutter’s recommendation.↩
  2. A few months ago, Jawbone released the Mini Jambox; by all accounts bringing all of the power of the original Jambox, in a slightly smaller package and the added ability to combine two Mini Jambox units for stereo sound.↩

Painting Statistical Joy

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I don’t remember being a faithful follower of Sesame Street; perhaps its heyday of influence occurred before I could remember such things. I do, however, remember a strong affinity for This Old House, The New Yankee Workshop, and The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. If you, like me, enjoyed the friendly and happy little stylings of Bob Ross, do yourself a favor and head over to FiveThirtyEight for Walt Hickey’s statistical analysis of the best painting show ever:

In total, Ross painted 381 works on the show, relying on a distinct set of elements, scenes and themes, and thereby providing thousands of data points. I decided to use that data to teach something myself: the important statistical concepts of conditional probability and clustering, as well as a lesson on the limitations of data.

This was a fun, if not mind bending at times, read for me. I loved taking the trip down memory lane and trying to scan the deepest recesses of my brain to recall if I ever witnessed the rare bridge or cliff. I’m almost certain I never saw a palm tree.

A New Place to Weekend

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Slingshot Coffee Company, the Raleigh-based makers of fine cold brew coffee and tea, setting the table for the opening of their new weekend gathering space:

All of our seating will be outside, where you’ll be among the trees and alongside the creek. On occasion, rain might dampen things, but we’ll still be open for you to pop in and snag a beverage to go. WEEKEND is walkable and bike-able from tons of spots in and around the city, and we also have ample parking for those who visit us from farther away.

They’re working with a lot of great local vendors to make what sounds like a nice atmosphere to pop in and buy local.