10E2413: Powers Of Ten

A [film, then book -ed.] dealing with the relative size of things in the universe and the effect of adding another zero. "Travel from the edge of the universe to an atom in the hand of a sleeping man at a picnic. The effect is a spectacular cosmic adventure. The journey involves astronomy, biology, particle physics and much more, but ultimately, it is about size." 

You can buy the flipbook of same from the Eames store. The Charles and Ray Eames studio created this film for IBM in 1977.

10E2277: The Farmers Arms - Industry Produceth Wealth

Ripped from the interwebs... "God speed the plough, 'a wish for success or prosperity,' was originally a phrase in a 15th-century song sung by ploughmen on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Day [Epiphany, Jan 6th in the UK - ed.], which is the end of the Christmas holidays, when farm laborers returned to the plough. via - Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins.

Had never heard of this Farmers Arms stuff till recently. Good potted history by FionaLake describing the succession of English china makers who since 1800s have produced various cups, mugs, jugs and pitchers with this agricultural toast/motto inscribed. Pristine examples can be expensive but they are all over eBay / Worthpoint etc. The design sort of reminds me of Jack Straws. Anyone??? Perfect gift for the rural man-who-has-everything.

uncle bill's tweezers -the sliver gripper

Uncle Bill's Tweezers; Made from a single piece of spring-tempered stainless steel with a patented clip holder that shields the points for use on a keyring. I like anything that is delivered in a tube... #fathersday

rerelease -orvis chew holder

For the man who has everything. Attach the Orvis Chew Holder to your untanned-hide or hand-dyed belt and avoid the dreaded Skoal-can "ring" on your selvege jeans. Available in red-engines neoprene or moss-green cordura. Fits standard Skoal/Cope tins. Limited quantities so don't sleep. Special rerelease for today only I believe...

little and large

Think we got these at LLBean forever ago. Yes, yes... nylon straps.
Small one holds a case of beer vertically. Perfectly.

These Kinco gloves are so simple and effective they have become
a mainstay in ski-towns across the nation. Essential. Imported.

Better? Two pair of choppers from Berlin Glove.
"Berlin Glove was founded in 1869 and based in Berlin, Wisconsin.
On May 21, 2008, Berlin Glove Midwestern LLC filed a voluntary petition for liquidation
under Chapter 7 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin" -via.

For the man/woman who has everything.

ftmwhe

This side of too much. Easy call; or for the man who has everything. $9 via Orvis.

wax -2

[update; also try Bear Grease. Name alone makes the list... thx jason.]

1. Hadn't heard the word "dubbin" for years but in the UK territories it is used as a verb meaning to oil/wax/polish your boots (often used for football studs/cleats(US)) and many products carry the word dubbin. This Chelsea Dubbin (named after the Chealsea Pensioners not Chelsea football, though commonly used in the footy world) and is made in England as it has been for over 100 years. Leatherfood, great word.

2. Titled The Original bee's wax waterproofing, Sno Seal was created in 1933 to preseve and protect leather ski boots. Still good for all types of leather goods, dries odor free. Clean & preheat leather before application. Can use shoe polish over the Sno Seal to maintain color. Contains no silicone. The beeswax formula dries to a solid wax that "stays put" in the surface of the leather so it lasts longer apparently.

3. Scout Mink Oil: Quick & easy leather care in a handy tin. Waterproofs & helps prevent salt damage. Recommended for leather work boots. Made in the U.S.A. Is this stuff infact made by Shepler's?

4. Pecard Chemical Co., Inc., started out in 1921, in Lena, WI. by Phil Pecard. The original leather dressings and oils were created out of necessity; that is to say the lumbermen of the Wisconsin north woods needed to protect their investment; boots. They needed their expensive leather boots to last and to stay dry in the cold, wet and often harsh environment of Wisconsin's Northwood so Phil Pecard created a product that held the promise, NEVER LEAK. Still family owned and operated, in Green Bay, WI. Great duck head logo...

5. Huberd's Shoe Oil has been conditioning and waterproofing leather goods since 1929. Made with leather conditioning oil and beeswax, Huberd's Shoe Oil helps restore dried-out leather. Huberd's was founded in McMinnville, OR in 1921 by Mr. Huberd himself -he started with a shoe grease, a beeswax formula, that was perfect for loggers' boots. Ok, yes the packaging got me... but good backstory too.

The great thing about all these oil/waxes is that they run around the $5 mark. You get a month of Sundays worth of shoes restoring for $5; nae bad.

Mo' wax here.

it's the little things

Got a new bath mat (Ace Hardware ftw.) Faux pebble-y. Where's my Irish Spring... Am I slipping here?? Bathmats?? Whatevs... I love this thing.

does what is says on the box

Sony SD memory reader. Quickly transfer your images, video or data to or from either [Sony proprietary -ed.] Memory Stick Pro Duo™ or bog standard SD memory cards; for PC or Mac. $10 at Target. Plus cher elsewhere. Has just improved my life, oh... at least 18%.

orvis chew holder

Attach the new Orvis Chew Holder to your belt and avoid the dreaded Skoal-can "ring" on your selvege jeans. Available in red-engines neoprene or moss-green cordura. Fits standard Skoal/Cope tins. Limited quantities so don't sleep. Today only I believe...

off duty with private presley

Maybe a little early for Father's Day, let's go with early birthday... but the Memphis Recording Service will release Off Duty With Private Presley next week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s discharge from the army in 1960.

There are official recordings made during Elvis’ time off-duty whilst in the army (A Big Hunk O’ Love, A Fool Such As I, I Got Stung...) also 30 unreleased tracks privately recorded by Elvis while stationed in the US and Germany. Plus a big old 100 page picture/info book focussing on Elvis' time in the US Army from his induction in 1958, to his discharge in 1960. It also details the recording sessions (both private and commercial) made during this time. Partner this with Tupelo Welcomes Home Elvis Presley and go yard...

parenting -sleigh ride

Taylor Farm in Southern VT (the Stratton, Bromley, Magic area) offers sleigh rides that are pretty much perfect for families. You can check out their dairy farm and cheese operation (various types of award winning gouda); then it is a 45 minute ride with a stop in the woods for a fire/cider in the shelter of a shed if you need it and yup, marshmallows on sticks. There was no moon last week when we went and a little cool for the tiny people but a couple of lap-dogs and lap-rugs helped out. It has snowed since then, but in the clip above long-time tenant-farmer Jon Wright (who runs the show at Taylor Farm; the farm has long been owned by a Taylor as in Lord&Taylor) notes the marginal snow fall.

This was the first time we had been on this sleigh and it was great. If it is just a bunch of adults going and you maybe want a faster/longer/bumpier ride you can check out Karl PFister who is in the next town (Landgrove). Either way, highly recommend.

shoot the cuffs -jpress

Recently found out JPress does barrel cufflinks, great news for me. TMLewin used to, then stopped. Now I am set... The small JPress shop in Cambridge, MA (which is serious geek out territory... rainbow tweeds, Shaggy Dogs, smalls, flap pocket OCBD's...) gives you the cufflinks in local bank deposit envelopes. Nice touch.

when life has even run out of lemons...

Crisis... no lemons in the house. Don't even think about finding nice olives around. It is martini hour and you don't want to head back out... If you are really scraping the barrel you can make a twist using grapefruit (oranges seems to render a too bitter twist). Like I say, crisis. An acceptable alternative is a few slices of firm pickle, maybe something small-batchy like Moon Brine. But what is the back up plan...


A jar of commercial cornichons (gherkins) have a shelf life of over a year (hand packed containers from the deli will stay crisp for months too) so can hang around the fridge as back up. Better than just crisis material though, these are becoming my goto. I'm going to argue that this makes some regional sense; cornichon pairing w/ French vermouth just by virtue of geography -though truthfully I'm in the Churchill/light-hits-the-bottle camp of martini drinkers. Don't be shy, add a small handful of cornichons to munch on.


Bonus; you will now have an excuse to buy a pickle/gerkin/olive fork. Retractable tines or three-tined trident style or even the grabber, $5 each.

folding rulers

Something pretty satisfying about stretching one of these out then doing the concertina dance at the end and snapping it shut. What is your poison?? The wood rule w/ graduated 6" extension slide... or the old bi-swing 3-footer with brass joints. How about bombproof fiberglass (had to be called Rhino right)? Folding ruler prawn below. Start w/ the Hultafors Downy Birch, they practically invented the folding ruler, further reading.

last from Horrible Old Man

2009 world porridge making championship -oct 11

No, The Golden Spurtle is not some kind of Harry Potter celebration (though slightly snicker inducing name... I mean come on) it is in fact the 16th Annual World Porridge Making Championship.

"The 2009 annual World Porridge Making Championships will take place in Carrbridge, Inverness-shire, Scotland, on 'World Porridge Day', Sunday 11th October 2009. The competition is organised by the Carrbridge and Vicinity Community Council. The main sponsor is oatmeal producers Hamlyns of Scotland." -via GoldenSpurtle.

The spurtle (also called a theevil by the threadcounting crowd) is a wooden stick used to stir porridge (synonymous with oatmeal). Wood so it won't mark or scratch your pots and pans. Stir clockwise. Made of beech, sycamore or maple they are inexpensive (around $10??) and bring a little WTF to your cutlery drawer...

Incase you were not aware, in Scotland it is traditional to have salt on your porridge rather than syrup or cinnamon/apple or sugar or whatever. It really is what you are accustomed to though, and we have plenty back-to-the-land friends that can't face salt; but Oma eats it that way. We have caved and use maple syrup...

etsy find -fieldy tweed

Etsy seamstress Fieldy Tweed out of Glasgow, Scotland (2 posts on Glasvegas today... not sure why) has some crafty (ouch.. ed.) ideas for Harris Tweed. Hot water bottle covers, almost time. Coffee-press cozy, for the man who has everything. Made from scraps of (non-production?)Harris Tweed the colors are much brighter and varied than the usual browns and blues out there. Natch' this smart lady has a blog, start here.
[Update from Suzanne: "I used to buy all my tweed direct from the mill in Stornoway which has since closed - I have quite a stockpile! The Harris tweed labels come with the tweed - there is a quota of 4 labels per meter of tweed which will soon be going up to 8 labels per meter. Hope this answers your question."]

file under marketing -gimme cap

Foam lined for fall. Cut and sewn in USA.