Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Now That's What I'm Talkin' About!

Speck Products has announced the SpeckTone Retro, a new iPod speaker system with some vintage Tiki Roomesque styling.

“SpeckTone Retro looks like nothing you’ve seen for the iPod. The clean lines and nostalgic elegance of 1950’s style makes a statement without replicating or competing with the modern, sleek look of the iPod itself,” says Speck. The $150 speaker system features a top-mounting iPod dock, 28 watt output, a 4” subwoofer and two 3” drivers, and support for 4G and 5G iPods, the iPod nano and iPod mini. SpeckTone Retro’s all-wood speaker cabinet is available in three high-gloss lacquered finishes—green/brown, black/black and white/silver. It will begin shipping in June.

Go Speck Products!

That's Right,

HMK

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Seduced By Packaging?


Growing up with 5 younger brothers you'ld think that I got all the new stuff like clothes, shoes, toys and whatever while my brothers got stuck with the hand-me-downs, right? In reality, more times than not, I ended up with the dregs of my frugal parents friends and secondhand stores.

Until I was about 30 or so, breaking the shrink wrap on a new album bought with my paper route money or a piece of stereo gear from my table waiting tips was the closest I'd come to experiencing that mystical euphoria one must feel from that first wiff of that new car smell or anything else for that matter. (I'm currently driving a 94 Altima I bought used in 1995 and my two previous rides were my 1966 convertible VW Bug and a sweet 1969 short bed Chevy stepside truck.

That's probably why to this very day the thrill and ritual of opening something new makes me feel like an 8 year old on Christmas morning. With that said, and for numerous aesthetic and geeky design reasons, I'm sure you'll understand why I''m totally digging Unboxing.


That's Right,

HMK

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Planet Claire Revisited


Some say shes from Mars or one of the seven stars that shine after 3:30 in the morning. But she isn't! Check out the amazing Real Time Satellite Tracking Here!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Download A Camera!


The good folks over at Linatree invite you to download, print, cut and build your pinhole.

A pinhole is a camera that uses a very small hole, as if made by a pin instead of a lens, for light to enter and form an image on the film or other light-sensitive medium.

Just download your next camera right here!

That's Right!

HMK

Friday, May 19, 2006

New Manhattan Apple Store


Open 24/7/365. Sweet - now we can schedule nocturnal Genius Bar visits...

That's Right,

HMK

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Big Weenie Roaster


This hot dog roaster has an oak handle and is available in a variety of life-like colors. It can be conveniently hung by its rope strap, too. Get this ballsy gag gift on eBay for $14.99.

That's Right,

HMK

Monday, May 15, 2006

Tango Spoof


Check out this awesome spoof of the Sony Bravia spot. Made for Tango by Clemmow Hornby Inge.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to adhunt.blogspot.com

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Avoiding Office Politics

Considering the source, you may just want to skip right past this post, since I’ve only paid attention to political maneueverings long enough to learn how to avoid them. I’m not much of a political player at work. A few years (and positions) ago, an older colleague of mine was regularly berating me (in a caring way) for not paying attention to the political process at work. I just didn’t have the stomach for it. Still don’t. Sometimes to my detriment, actually. But I’m cool with that–at least I can sleep at night. And I mean that literally. The craziest stuff will keep me awake, so staying non-political, at the very least, is a surefire way to ensure better sleep. I assume that folks who are political at work also sleep well…they just have a higher craziness tolerance than me.

The Why
The primary reason that I stay apolitical is that it takes up too much space and time, and I’ve already got enough things to worry about. Plus, I don’t get the sense that being political would appreciably contribute to my overall efficiency or productivity. So I stay out of it.

The How
This is both simple and sublime. I strive to just be me. Here’s how, deconstructed and in no particular order:

Wear No Mask.
By “mask” I mean those identities that we assume in order to fit in better, feel more comfortable in a situation, or get people to loosen up around us. I don’t do it. Some folks think it’s a good idea to change like a chameleon to suit the situation. I think that’s a recipe for disaster. I try to be me, all the time. The guy that walks into your office is the same guy that walks into your colleague or boss’s office. What you see is what you get. One face, no mask.

Be Transparent.
Not invisible, just without guise. All my agendas are clearly visible. You want to know what I think? I’ll tell you. The words I say might make one or both of us uncomfortable, but I’ll do my best to soften them without diluting their truth.

Flex & Bend.
Rigidity is a sign of rigor mortis. I strive to be flexible and willing to hear opposing points of view. Defending a lame position for any reason is, well, lame. I don’t assume I’m the smartest person in the room, and I generally take the opinions of others at face value (this is where being apolitical can be painful, but only in the short term).

Listen To ‘Em.
This helps with the flex and it helps with the ‘no mask’ thing. I'm learning to really listen twice as much as I talk. It’s hard to do if you’re unwilling to be transformed.

Park The Ego.
This is a difficult one (and probably is for everyone), but it’s essential for me. When my ego gets wrapped up in the work, it’s too easy to start defending those lame positions mentioned earlier.

Forget The Empire.
I don’t want to be an empire builder. I’ve got my responsibilities and I attend to them. If I acquire an empire, I’ll probably never notice.

No Gossip.
I fail too often at this one. Gossip is talking about stuff that you haven’t confirmed as true. Unfortunately I slip into gossip mode too often, and I think it’s because I’m so willing to talk things out. Though censorship is a sign of politics, ironically a little greater control over the internal censor is probably well advised.

Focus On It.
What’s the business issue at hand? Focus on it. The key is to be sure I’m not being myopic about the issue I’m focusing on. Sometimes the issue is broader than my current focus.

Apologize Later.
As opposed to asking permission first. This is really just a corollary, but the willingness to act first instead of asking permission sometimes helps me avoid other people’s political quagmires.

All of the above is really what I do. I think it’s just a tad ironic that I have a plan to avoid being political, but my plan basically boils down to being consistently authentic. Seems to work pretty well.

With thanks and gratitude to the folks at www.slackermanager.com

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Sci-Fi VW ?


At first glance these two photos of the Volkswagen's storage facility in Wolfsburg, Germany, looks like an artist's rendition of some sort of science fiction movie. It's not. This is an actual 20-story car tower that takes up just 20% of the space of a conventional parking garage handling the same number of vehicles. Volkswagen uses the facility in a showy delivery process for its new-car customers:

"In a fully automated procedure, your new car is brought down to you from one of the 20-story Car Towers. Large signboards in the Customer Center show you when your turn has come. Then, you're handed the keys, your picture is taken, the glass doors open and your brand-new car appears. You're all set to go."

Not only does it save space, but the storage facility's automated elevator system is able to retrieve cars much quicker than a potentially-careless human parking lot attendant.

That's Right,

HMK

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Behind The Scenes


Here's a behind the scene look at The Making Of The Be Yourself Campaign we're working on for the South Padre Island CVB.

That's Right,

HMK

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Apple Site 2001

Found a nice screen shot of the Apple 2001 Site at Leander Kahney's awesome Cult Of Mac site.

Dig the spinning First iPod

That's Right,

HMK