March 29, 2007
Tumi Carry on Essentials
I was in NYC last week for a quick 30 hour trip. I packed one change of clothes. It seemed ridiculous to me to check a bag on the airline, but I wasn't fond of re-dispensing my shampoo, conditioner, face soap, and other "liquids" in small little unlabeled bottles for display to all TSA personnel either.
The no liquids over 3 oz. is the dumbest TSA rule ever. Even dumber than taking off shoes. What if I had a small vial of liquid in my pocket? It wouldn't set off the metal detector, so if I really wanted to get explosive goo onto a plane, I'm guessing it would be pretty easy. Unfortunately it looks like this rule is here to stay, at least until a rational democrat is in the White House.
And as long as we're stuck displaying our personal liquids and gels, we might as well do it in style, right? The folks over at Tumi are the first to launch a travel kit for Road Warriors who are tired of their ziplock bags falling apart mid-trip. The Carry On Essentials Pack will be offered as a gift to consumers who are purchasing a carry-on travel bag at any Tumi stores nationwide, but not as a standalone purchase. They might want to rethink that as they see the demand! www.tumi.com.
For more cool gadgets, products, and design inspiration, check out Josh Spear's Blog
March 27, 2007
It's a Woot!
No, that's not a typo. I really mean, it's a Woot!
We have a new addiction in our household. It's called woot. One item for sale, for one day. Woot offers one discounted product each day on its web site, woot.com. The product is available for 24 hours; it "expires" at midnight (US Central time) and is replaced by a different product for the next day.
Yesterday's Woot was a Dyson DC07 Vacuum for $299 plus $5 shipping. Andy and I have been looking at buying a Dyson for a long time now, but they are usually over $400. This seemed like a great deal. Even Andy who "hates to part with money" was ready to whip out his Visa. And that's the best part about Woot. It is a great deal. But it only lasts for a short period of time.
Today's Woot, a Two-for-Tuesday, was an indoor thermometer. Not that exciting to me, but it sold out before we even got to work today! The cooler and cheaper the woot, the faster they sell out.
Check out Woot.com, you never know what you'll suddenly decide you need because the price is just too good. Oh, and if you don't like the woot of the day, check out wine.woot.com for a weekly wine offering.
March 24, 2007
March 3, 2007
Denver Restaurant Week
To celebrate my birthday Andy and several of our friends took me to Panzano for dinner. The executive chef, Elise Wiggins, is a friend of mine and we have been wanting to check it out. Denver Restaurant Week happened to overlap my birthday, so it was the perfect time.
Participating restaurants come up with creative menus for a fixed price of $52.80 per couple (Denver is 5,280 ft above sea level). Panzano's menu was by far the most creative of the menus offered that week and it was one of the only four course meals. The meal was absolutely amazing and it made for the perfect birthday dinner. I highly recommend the restaurant for any special occasion or nice dinner out.
Panzano's Denver Restaurant Week Menu:
It’s like you’ve died and gone to Italy.
First Course (choice of)
• Mushroom Crepes with three cheese fonduta sauce
• Calamari with spicy aioli
• Warm Bruschetta with creamy feta, herbed pomodoro sauce and grilled crostinis
Second Course (choice of)
• Award winning Grilled Caesar
• Mista - mixed greens with sherry vinaigrette
Third Course (choice of)
• Pasticche – house made veal meatballs, three cheese tortellini, bolognese sauce, cinnamon custard and parmesan black pepper pie crust
• Organic Mushroom Fettuccini with Villa Stabbia Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic and grated grana padano
• Pollo Val D’osta: lightly breaded chicken scaloppini, speck, fontina, mashers, grilled asparagus and chicken jus
• Lobster and Shrimp Risotto with roasted red peppers and fresh basil
Additional Items (choice of)
• Tiramisu
• Chocolate Trio
• Rustic Winter Fruit Tart
March 2, 2007
867-5309
I hate when clerks, sales people, or other business ask for my phone number. A couple of years ago I decided that I'd give out fake numbers so that I didn't get all of the sales calls and telemarketers calling my cell phone. But that presented an interesting challenge. If you try and make up a number you look stupid as you sit there thinking "Uhm, my number is, uhm, 555-8243." I always felt like the clerk was looking at me just knowing that i was lying. The other problem was that I needed a number I could recite back if I ever was asked. Thus I settled on 303-867-5309.
The funny part is that I assumed most people would hear me say it and laugh at me. But in the over two years I have been consistently giving out that number, only one person as made any comment. He looked up at me and said "should I ask for Jenny?" and then laughed. But he still put my phone number into the computer.
A couple of days ago I stumbled on a blog entry from someone who had tried Jenny's number in every area code in the US: Jenny Are You There?