July 2011
1 post
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Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Chronometer
I’m slowly building a collection of very nice watches, but the hole in my collection is a dressy, black-dial watch. This self-winding, 43mm diameter chronometer from Ulysse Nardin is near the top of my list of choices. It would be the priciest watch in my collection at $8,400 MSRP, but man, is it nice.
This version has a stainless steel case, a black leather strap with deployment clasp,...
November 2010
2 posts
3 tags
three bean chicken chili
Last week, I won a trophy for the spiciest chili for the third time in four years. It’s not a bad track record, and each year I feel as though my chili gets better. For those chili fans out there, I’ve decided to share a recipe that is similar to my competition chili. This is my personal favorite - a three bean chicken chili. If you decide to try it, I’d love to hear your...
3 tags
August 2010
1 post
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my favorite inks
My ink collection keeps growing, and the organizer I have for them currently is beyond full - it’s about to start overflowing. As I was juggling ink bottles yesterday, I began thinking - if I had to downsize my collection (as opposed to finding a bigger space to store them, which is what I’m actually going to do), what inks would I keep?
I’ve narrowed it down to five:
J. Herbin...
July 2010
1 post
The Well-Appointed Desk: Ecosystem Architect →
The Well-Appointed Desk has a very nice review of the Ecosystem Architect journal. Go check it out!
June 2010
2 posts
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paper review: ecosystem notebook
Much has been discussed about Ecosystem’s commitment to producing a green notebook. The bright, white, 100% post-consumer, recycled paper by New Leaf Paper is prepared using a chlorine-free bleaching process and printed with a soy-based ink. It has an organic cotton bookmark, and the cover is coated with a water-based acrylic.
Additionally, all of the components are sourced in the United States,...
3 tags
the great ecosystem ipad cover hack
The fine folks at Ecosystem put out a call for people to hack their large notebooks in service of creating an iPad cover. I volunteered, and a large, flexi-cover, lagoon notebook showed up at my door a few weeks ago. I finally got a chance to play with the notebook today, and I think the hack turned out well.
Below is the ecosystem notebook with the iPad. The notebook is almost exactly the same...
May 2010
2 posts
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book review: superbug
After having read Mira Grant’s fabulous work of zombie fiction, FEED (read my preliminary review here), in which a terrible virus extracts an even more terrible toll on the world at large, I found myself on a virology kick and decided to read the new book, Superbug, by Maryn McKenna. The story of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (known by its acronym, MRSA) might not, at first...
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feed
FEED is a book about living with zombies. More precisely, it is about living in a near future where zombies have appeared and the world has entered into an uneasy equilibrium with them. The protagonists are young bloggers who are chosen to cover a presidential campaign; for them, the break that propels them into the big leagues - and a step up from poking zombies with sticks on camera. The...
April 2010
1 post
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instapaper
If you’re at all like me, and you have limited time to surf the internet, but unlimited curiosity, you’ll inevitably come across articles in your daily browsing that you’d like to read but just don’t have the time for when you encounter them. There are a number of less than ideal solutions to this problem. I used to bookmark articles with the intent of reading them later...
March 2010
1 post
how I learned to write pretty
Recently, I’ve received many compliments regarding my calligraphy, which I consider to be both flattering and encouraging, as I’m relatively new to the art. However, many of those who have offered compliments have lamented their own lack of ability in calligraphy. Since this is precisely the position I was in last year, I’d like to offer the lessons I’ve learned to try and...