A Fashionable Thursday – Take Ivy « Christian Ross – Purveyor of Awesome
Reading makes you smart. It’s probably what got this guy into Yale.
Product Review: STM Scout Shoulder Bag
It’s exactly what I wanted.
I get the feeling that those more hip than I have know about STM Bags (stmbags.com) for some time. Rightly so, because their bags are awesome.
Context
A couple years ago Jen surprised me with a great North Face Stryker bag. It’s a cross-chest style back pack. At the time I was riding my bike to work daily, and the Stryker was perfect for riding and stowing my 15” machine.
While the Stryker is great, it’s too big for my new laptop, and it doesn’t exactly portray professional when meeting with clients.
I needed a new laptop bag for which to tote my newer, smaller laptop. It needed to be comfortable. It needed to look good in both casual and professional environments.
Size
The Scout’s size is what originally attracted me. STM claims it fits most 13” laptops, and I have found that to be true. It fits both my 13” MacBook Air, as well as Jen’s 13” MacBook.
What I found in my search, though, is that most smaller bags fit just the laptop, and leave little room for a power supply and other such necessities. The bags that did have room for said necessities quickly bloated in size, and looked awkward.
The Scout excels in this area. Providing ample room for not only my MBA’s wall adapter, but also it’s extension cord, a 4’ USB cable, headphones, small noetbook & pen, and even an iPad! All the while, maintaining a low profile, and great look.
There is also a document pocket (not pictured) on the back of the bag. Perfect for easy access to a magazine or boarding ticket.
Comfort
The North Face bag Jen got me was the first bag I’d owned that was truly comfortable. The last two years with it spoiled me.
I found most shoulder bags lost this race with the shoulder strap. Thin and wimpy, or bulky and unruly seemed to be the norm.
Another bag I considered (and actually purchased, then returned) was the InCase Sling Sleeve. The strap on this bag was too thin, and cut in to my shoulder.
The Scout has a 2” shoulder strap, with a comfortable removable pad. Said pad, is slightly curved to match either shoulder, and the bottom is coated with a subtle grippy material, thus providing a secure, comfy fit.
Finally, most laptop bags are made of fine imported Italian nylon. The descriptions often dress this up with terms like ballistics grade, and tough as nails. Pass. The Scout is made of a water resistant canvas, that not only looks great, but feels great (think Domke camera bags). No static electricity issues with the Scout.
Style
As I said, whatever bag I settled on needed to look good in both casual and professional environments. Most professional meetings I attend are informal, so a traditional briefcase, or fine leather tote was overkill for me. Not to mention pricey. Therefore, more than looking good, I needed to feel confident walking in to a client meeting with this bag. A back pack wasn’t portraying the right message.
The Scout gets me there. I know that I can meet any of my clients and not look like a kid with a book bag. This is important to me.
Bottom Line
The Scout from STM is the perfect bag for me at this time. It’s compact, has ample room, feels great, and looks great in just about any situation. At $52 it’s a steal, too. For reference sake, the InCase bag mentioned above was $60 + tax.
The bag comes in three colors, olive (as pictured), ochre, and black. It is also available in extra small (for 11” and iPad) and medium (for 15” laptops) sizes.
If you are in the market for a solid laptop bag, you could do much worse1, and spend a lot more on other bags. Give the STM Scout Shoulder Bag a shot.
1 Did I mention STM’s packaging is completely biodegradable? Extra points!
The staging begins (Taken with instagram)
Book: A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates
Literally a book whose pages are filled with random numbers. The reviews are the best.
If you buy it, help a brother out.
Things I Want My Daughter To Know: Higher Education
It’s respected.
Higher Education typically refers to college or post-high school education. College is the time in your life where t-shirts and debt amass daily. Ideally, you would also figure out a general direction for your life.
Don’t let the part about finding a direction for your life scare you, though. You can always change it later. If you end up anything like me, you likely will. If you end up mostly like your Momma, you will know what you want to do with your life by the time you are 14.
What I want you to know, though, is that while higher education is respected, it is certainly not expected.
Modern history is filled with success stories of people who never finished, or went to college. Two of the most innovative technological minds of our time, Bill Gates & Steve Jobs, never finished college.
College, and the degree that comes with graduation, gets you a foot in the door with many people and places. That is it’s biggest advantage.1 People respect a degree. People also respect success. Figure out how to do one of the two, and you will do well.
No matter your route, be curious, ask questions, and work very hard. It’s hard to lose with this approach.
1 Highly specialized vocations such as the medical field, law, rocket science, etc. are obvious exceptions. You have to go to school for those.
When you love somebody and bite your tongue, all you get is a mouth full of blood.
Fruit Bats, When U Love Somebody
UPDATE: I fixed the streaming link to the song. Sorry for the tease.
Product Review: Speick Shaving Cream
It’s pretty great.
Quick context: I am not a fan of lathery shaves; I wanted something that was all natural; it needed to be carry-on safe.
Believe it or not, it’s difficult to find a shaving cream that fits the above criteria at your local Target. So, I widened my search to Amazon, and found Speick. Bottom line, I’m very happy, and will continue using Speick.
At $6.50, plus shipping if you’re not a Prime member (which you ought to be), it’s not the cheapest. However, the benefits are worth the price. I had been using some generic brand that cost around $5.00. So, an extra $1.50 for a natural product, that is carry-on safe is a steal.
Natural
This was a big factor in my search. I’ve been trying to switch to all natural products where possible. I just feel better about doing so, not a judgement.
Speick is 100% natural and contains beeswax, lavender, calendula, and the speick plant. It’s this plant that makes Speick Shave Cream so great, I think. The scent is distinct, masculine, and not overpowering.
Lathery, But Not Too
I prefer an actual cream, to a lather when I shave. So, I was skeptical about other reviews that mentioned a little dab would keep foaming. To my delight, Speick foams just perfectly to suit my tastes. While not the consistency of a cream, it’s foamy enough to create a smooth glide while shaving, but thin enough that I can see what’s going on and avoid the Papa Smurf lathered beard look.
Indeed, a small amount, about the size of a large pea, does the trick. And it will continue to foam once on your face.
One advantage to this just foamy enough consistency is that it washes off cleanly. No left overs underneath your ear lobes or nose.
Carry-On Safe
With a good amount of travel on my horizon, this was the big selling point for me. I’m really amazed at how difficult it is to find a carry-on safe shave cream. Weighing in at 2.5oz, you will have no trouble getting a tube of Speick through your checkpoint.
I was skeptical that 2.5oz would not last. I’ve been using the tube in the picture for a week now, and have a long way to go before it is empty (I shave 5-7 times a week).
Final Thoughts
Speick is probably best used with a brush and lather dish, but not required. I don’t like to use a brush/dish approach, I just rub it on my face. However, after, my hands feel a little too clean. It’s tough to describe. It’s not a big enough deal for me to discontinue use, but it has taken some getting used to.
I use a double edge safety razor, and suggest you use one as well. Those multi-blade razors are downright ridiculous. The combo of Speick, and my Merkur is the best shave I’ve ever had.
If you are in the market for a new shave cream, definitely give Speick a shot. I think you will really enjoy it.
Things I Want My Daughter To Know: The Internet
It’s awesome.
According to Wikipedia, the term Internet was first coined in late December of 1974. It was used to describe a network of networks. However, the Internet as we know and use it today really started to take shape in the early 90’s after Sir Timothy John “Tim” Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. The terms World Wide Web and Internet quickly became synonymous as the general public started taking an interest in what was once a technical and academic network of networks.
You will never know a world without the Internet, so let me tell you a little bit about how it was prior to this incredible creation.
- Everything was on paper.
That about sums it up.
Information was mostly printed on paper, and delivered by trucks. It was all very slow.
With the Internet, most everything is delivered through the air in bytes. Little things that you can’t see. It’s all very fast.
As such, life is much faster. Information is easily available. Everyone with access to the Internet has a surfeit of information, goods and services to consume. It can be overwhelming.
The Internet is changing the world, and the way countries are governed. President Obama is the first U.S. President to appoint a Chief Technology Officer for the country.
Not all world leaders are as welcoming of the Internet. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek had Egypt’s connection to the Internet shut off when his people peacefully revolted and demanded his resignation.
The Internet, though, is like water. It can find it’s way in to the hardest to reach places. The people of Egypt were able to stay connected, communicate with family & media, and after almost a month of protesting, overthrow their oppressive government. The Internet helped.
I love the Internet. It’s how I make my living. I make tools for people to access and share information, goods, and services.
Momma loves to read, and look at pictures on the Internet. Mostly pictures of you. She also uses it to stay in touch with her close friends.
You use the Internet, too. You love to watch videos. Double Dream Hands is one of your favorites. Everyone else laughs at it, but you dance to it.
By the time you are actually old enough to read this, the Internet will be very different. Your Elmo dolls will probably be connected, who knows. However it looks, I hope that you take a keen interest in using it, and learning how to use it to help people.
Future BFFs: Mona & Juni (Taken with instagram)
Herbie Mann, the title track from Memphis Underground
One of the best Wowsers, This Weather Is Unexpected And Amazing Day songs I’ve ever heard.
(hint: click the arrows on either side of the image above)
In the late 1800’s the D.A. Sanborn National Insurance Diagram Bureau worked up a slew of maps for the fire insurance industry.
The middle picture is in the area of Kansas City now known as the River Market. River Market is a hip neighborhood on the North side of the downtown loop. You’ll find everything from lofts, a farmers market, flea markets, thai food and coffee roasters in the River Market.
The last picture is near 75th & Wornall, which is a short walk from my house. If you look closely you’ll see that Wornall turned in to Broadway and that a street car line once joined it. This must be what we now know as the Trolley Trail. Would love to have that public transport back.
Beautiful maps. Incredible detail.
Thanks to badbananablog for the heads up on these. View the entire archive here.
