The Nail Clippers.

I enjoy a tidy, short, and well-manicured fingernail - it makes playing stringed instruments easier, typing on a keyboard less annoying, and to me, looks better. Long has it been since my convenience-store nail clippers have shoddily clipped my nails, leaving sharp angles that have to be filed down, followed by hangnails a few days later. And I've always complained about them, while doing nothing about it.

Klhip to the rescue!

I got an awesome surprise present in the mail from my sister-in-law (thanks Lisa!), which had the aptly-named "Ultimate Clipper" from Klhip inside.

Made in USA out of stainless steel, this little clipper will undoubtedly last a lifetime (and is warrantied as such), and if it wasn't weird to call nail clippers a family heirloom, these would totally be in my will, cause they're that awesome and will last for that long.

Klhip has won a bunch of design awards, both as a product and as a company, however what I really care about is how this little guy clips m'claws - and boy, does it. The "backwards" lever is actually the way it should be, as it provides pressure right over your nail. That makes the sharp blade's work even easier and the cuts all the more smooth and clean - thus making filing all the less necessary... which is almost a bummer, because I like filing my nails.

They fold up to be pretty compact, and come with a handy awesome tin or a superfluous leather sleeve (sorry, vegan habit to bash the leather).

I only hope Klhip comes out with a bigger toenail clipper soon, as my toenails are already jealous of their fingerly friends!

The Cat Fountain

First, let's get some things out in the open: if you don't like cats, stop reading this, and go have some alone time, and think about things. Cats are small and fuzzy, and like to snuggle, and quiet, and like to play, and loyal and smart. And also, there is Maru. I love me some canine companionship too, so don't get all "there's two types of people in this world: dog people and cat people" on me, cause that's not true. Once upon a time, I thought it was, but through a series of happenstances, I became a cat owner, and since then a double-cat owner and I now realize the truth: there are two types of people in this world: pet people and lame people, and that is that.

Ok, moving on...

Our cat fountain finally went bad. It served us for many years, but the cheap pump finally died, and just in time, as it got grungy even between regular cleanings and it never looked as good as the day I got it. So out I went on the search for a new cat fountain. My go-to source for everything awesome (Etsy) led me to Thirsty Cat Fountains, owned by Keith and Jackie Davitt, out of New York. They're all hand-made, one-of-a-kind ceramic cat fountains, with a cool cord that comes out the side of the fountain (instead of dangling over the edge), and completely safe and sanitary.

Not only do their fountains look great and work really well, but most importantly, our two cats absolutely love drinking from them. The water pump is adjustable, so we usually have ours on a low and quiet "bubble", but for the photo, I decided to put on the supplied copper spout to give it more of a proper "fountainy" kind of look.

These fountains are so much easier to clean than anything else on the market: three simple pieces... the ceramic bowl, the ceramic pump hide, and the pump. And filling it up couldn't be easier - just pour water into it - done! No inverted bottle or weird plastic hard-to-clean reservoir here - just a simple bowl, with water in it.

Pros:
- They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, to fit your feline's tastes in decor.
- They're handmade in the USA by two awesome and friendly pet people.
- They look way better than any and every other cat fountain out there.
- They sound like a peaceful mini waterfall.
- Cats love drinking out of it!

Cons:
- You thought there were going to be cons? Nope. Sorry... these are 100% Pros.

If you have a stale old bowl of water for your cats, buy a Thirsty Cat Fountain, and watch how much more your cat(s) will enjoy drinking fresh circulating water. And if you have a plastic water fountain that is a pain to clean, possibly contains icky BPA, and looks less than awesome, buy a Thirsty Cat Fountain, and watch how much better you'll feel about yourself.

The Poker Chips, et al.

When it came time for my poker-playing bachelor party, I realized that the old plastic chips I stole inherited from my parent's house were in need of upgrading. In my search, I stumbled across a whole world I didn't know existed, in the Chip Talk poker forums. There I learned a lot about different kinds (and manufacturers) of poker chips, what denominations to use for different types of games, and all of the other things you need, like a dealer button, a case, and oh yeah, cards.

But first thing's first. The chips.

I was on a budget, which is a hard thing to do if you're looking for some US-made poker chips - a nice set of Paulson's can run you $500 on the cheap side. However, the awesome folks at Apache Poker Chips had (and still have) a killer sale on ASM (aka Atlantic Standard Molding) Edge Spot clay poker chips, which are really close to the Paulson quality but are a lot less expensive. Apache says it best about ASM: "ASM has been making fine poker chips for close to 100 years. Little has changed over the years in their old fashioned process. Each chip is handcrafted in the United States. With so much attention to detail it is hard to find a better poker chip."

I had them "hotstamped" with a silver foil by ChipTalk member cgraham86, with denominations that I designed, and they turned out awesome. Thanks Corey!

They have such an awesome feel and weight to them, and are fun to play around with in your hands... so if you've only got one chip left in hold'em, you're still having a half-ways decent time.

Then, I obviously needed a cool dealer button. Again through ChipTalk, I found the excellent company Palm Gaming, who make custom clay dealer buttons out of Florida, amongst a bunch of other stuff (some made in USA, some imported). I sent Joe from Palm my design for a dealer button (complete with a logo of my initials in the middle), and he whipped a few of these up in no time.

It made for an awesome finishing touch to my poker chip set.

And what better backdrop for a photograph of a dealer button than some cool playing cards? I picked up some Italian-made Modiano plastic playing cards after reading some good reviews on them. Sure, a lot of Bicycle playing cards are Made in USA, but I always like the idea of seeing if there are any smaller other companies out there. The Modiano's have an excellent texture to them that make for a different experience than the normal cards we're all used to playing with - I like 'em. They even come in a cool plastic case, which makes everything feel a bit more old-timey classic.

And to finish them all off, I've ordered a wood case made in Ohio by Sven at Oz Woodworking, which should be arriving soon. Can't wait.

Sure, I lost big time playing cards for my bachelor party (weren't they supposed to let me win?!?), but I won big time with my poker chip setup.

The Tripod Setup. (and what good gear really is and does)

I want to share my tripod setup, because I love it.

First, a picture.
Missing from photo: my camera.
Reason for absence: something had to take the picture, right?

Gitzo GT2540 Mountaineer tripod
(link goes to the newer GT2541)
Made in Italy. Lightweight, sturdy, and compact. It's held up to a decent amount of abuse too over the years. I literally wouldn't change anything about this tripod. The G-Lock system rocks - easy to open, easy to close.

Arca-Swiss D4 geared head  
(link goes to Rod Klukas's website - Arca-Swiss' USA sales rep)
Made in France. Pricey, but worth it. So well thought out... not as bulky as the Manfrotto 405 or 410 geared tripod head, and arguably more accurate. The ability to loosen the movements and use it as a makeshift ballhead to get it into place, and then lock them down and use the geared knobs to precisely move it into place is awesome - getting your verticals, well, vertical, is better and easier to do in-camera than it is in Photoshop. It took some time to get used to which knob controls what, but that's usually the case for a new tripod head. Why the company is called Arca-SWISS yet the head is made in France is beyond me, but I'll take it!

Really Right Stuff B2 AS II clamp
(not pictured in photo - oops)
Made in USA. Once you've had the best, it's hard to go back. The Arca-Swiss clamp was nice, however it left a bit to be desired. It didn't have the same feeling that a RRS clamp has when it's locked in place, so I switched it out with a RRS clamp,  which just seem to be better engineered. I'm also going to take this opportunity to say that I love Really Right Stuff. I have two RRS heads (BH-40 medium ballhead and MH-01 monopod head), their MC-34 monopod, and a bunch of plates and clamps. I want everything they make - including one of their Carbon tripods, as soon as my Gitzo breaks or "grows legs" (get it?) and walks away... because they make everything to absolute perfection. Their customer service is exemplary - friendly and knowledgeable, and completely willing to help their customers out. I love Really Right Stuff. Love 'em. I have it on good authority that they'll be releasing some very cool new products in the future, so stay tuned.

It's a simple, compact setup that makes architectural photography all the more precise and intuitive, making it easier for me to concentrate what matters: taking an interesting picture. And while being a gearhead is fun, the camera and tripod are only tools that allow you to capture and share your vision.

Caravaggio may have had the world's most expensive paintbrush, but it wouldn't have done jack if he didn't know how to throw together a decent painting. Yo Yo Ma would probably still make a tolerable song on a $200 cello, even if it wasn't worth $2.5 million (which is apparently easy to lose). Michael Jordan still would have been a baller in plain ol' shoes than with fancy Air Jordans (really?).

Good gear is gear that inspires you and makes it easier for you to translate your vision of the world around you and make whatever it is you call art - whether it's photography, painting, music, basketball, scrapbooking, quiltmaking, writing, carpentry, masonry, hair cutting, or whatever else you like to do. As cheesy as it sounds, life is art.

The Yoyo.

One thing led to another, and I got into yoyo's. Being the person that I am, I took to the internet to find a yoyo that fit my strange unique requirements.

That led me to One Drop Yoyo's - designed, manufactured, and sold out of their shop in Eugene, Oregon. I liked One Drop partly because of the great reputation they have, partly because of their own small yet active forum, partly because of their very cool "shop cam" (which shows all the goings on in their shop), but mostly because they make really cool yoyo's.

One Drop was releasing a special version of their popular "54" model yoyo, called the "Black Smoke Monster" - a black & gray finish, an homage to the venerable character from Lost... so I knew it was meant for me.



This yoyo bridges the gap between art and toys. It's a magnificently engineered object that's both interesting to look at, and more importantly (to me, anyways) fun to play with - to the point that the yoyo itself inspires me to pick it up and play with it.

What makes the 54 so unique is that it has a swappable axle system called "SideEffects" that let you screw in different ends - such as the tough looking aluminum spike, as shown above, to a "stunt peg", allowing you to do some crazy gyroscopic tricks, to a Lego nub which allows you to attach a Lego piece (or a stack thereof) to your yoyo.

Thanks to a wealth of tutorials online, I can already do a handful of tricks that seem to impress people who don't know how many amazingly skilled players there are out there. Call it strange, call it unique - I call it fun.

The picture frame.

We bought a set of Jay Ryan's 2010 postcards, and when looking for frames, I went to one of my favorite sites, Etsy.com, to see what people were selling there. I came across the Etsy site of DA Custom Frames, and fell in love.

The frames are hand-made, hand-milled, and hand-finished in Woodstock, Georgia by David Arnold - the "DA" of DA Custom Frames. While David's website didn't have the sizes I was looking for, I simply sent him a note through Etsy and asked for custom sizes - and a couple of weeks later, they arrived at my door... complete with glass, acid-free foam core backing, and hanging hardware. BOOM!



I liked the rustic finish of David's frames so much so that I also ordered a frame for a big 18x24 Jay Ryan print... and it looks awesome.

Quality is amazing, customer service is fast and friendly, price is great, and supporting someone who does what they love is worth every single penny!

The bike.

I've been working with Ben's Cycle in Milwaukee for quite a while to get my dream bike made, and finally got it this past autumn. It's a fixed-gear bike (perfect for city riding), equipped with a front brake (for emergency stopping) and dressed up all in black, except for the cream colored frame.

The point of the bike was to get every single solitary component made in the USA, Europe, or other countries who treat their workers with equal respect while making high-quality parts. On top of that, I wanted it to be devoid of logos or branding - both for aesthetics and to not look overly flashy. It was a big challenge, but in the end, I think it came out looking half-ways decent - and most importantly, rides like an absolute dream.

Some detail pics:







(I'm waiting until summer to take a "whole bike" photo)

SPECS:
Frame & Fork: Milwaukee Bicycle Co. "Cream City" Track frame (USA)
Rims: Velocity Deep V (Australia)
Hubs: Phil Wood (USA)
Spokes: Wheelsmith ST (USA)
Tires: Michelin Krylion Carbon (France)
Pedals: White Industries (USA)
Crank: White Industries (USA)
Chainring: White Industries (USA)
Cog: Phil Wood (USA)
Chain: Wipperman 108 (Germany)
Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood (USA)
Handlebars: Cinelli Lola (Italy)
Tape: Cinelli (Italy)
Stem: Thomson Elite (USA)
Headset: Chris King Sotto Voce (USA)
Saddle: Selle Italia Trans-Am - non-leather (Italy)
Seat Post: Thomson Elite (USA)
Seat Post Clamp: DKG (USA)
Brake Lever: Paul Components (USA)
Brake Caliper: Mavic (France)

I'm planning more posts on bicycling - from tools, to components, clothing, and companies that are doing good things. But I figured I should start with my ride first.

The iPod Case

2011 EDIT: Looks like Q1AP is no longer in business... too bad, so sad!

Ok, let's get it out there in the open: iPods are made in China, and until the press found out about it (here's a link to a mirror of the first article), they were made by people getting paid next to nothing, and in less than ideal working conditions, to say the least. However, Apple has (apparently) turned over a new leaf, and claims to be "dedicated to ensuring that working conditions are safe and employees are treated with respect and dignity wherever Apple products are made." - scary that a company even has to SAY that.

So, all that said, I own an iPod - an 80GB Video - I bought one used for $50, and I like it. The day I got it, I realized that I needed a case for it, since it travels with me all day long in my backpack. So I set out on an iJourney to find a good iPod case that was Made in USA.

After a little digging, I found the iArmor, Made in California by A1 Quality Products. They're machined out of aluminum, and anodized... and they aren't bulky, aren't heavy, and you didn't need a special tool to put it on, as it's held together with magnets. So I called them up, and had a great talk with Joe Davis, the owner of A1QP, about the iArmor, and about the kind of stuff I write about here, and we have very similar philosophies, which was great to hear! So after telling him which iPod I had, he got to work, and BOOM, my iArmor arrived!



The iArmor is aptly named - although I wouldn't want to drive over my iPod with my car, I apparently could, as A1QP's website has video of (not recommended, obviously). It comes with a hard plastic screen protector, a click wheel protector, and obviously, the anodized aluminum cover. There's a thin rubber material inside to help with shock absortion as well. I've had mine for a couple of months already, and besides my iPod obviously functioning perfectly, the case still looks good as new.

And for you iPhone nuts (which I hope to be someday), A1 Quality Products makes iArmor for iPhones, as well as cases for some older Nano and Shuffle iPods.

And on related note, look for a future post on headphones for an iPod... as soon as I can scrape some money together, I've got my eye on a killer pair!

The pocket knife.

There are two things that I EDC (which stands for Every Day Carry) besides my keys, wallet and phone: a flashlight and a pocket knife.

The flashlight writeup will come sometime down the road, but here's my pocket knife. (I felt a little weird taking a picture of a knife, so I just took a picture of it clipped to my pocket):



It's a Benchmade Mini Griptilian - an incredibly sturdy and tough knife. It's big enough to get a good grip on it, but small enough to fit in your pocket and not really feel it. It stays clipped inside my pocket, as shown, every single day of the year. The clip has takin' a beating, but that's what I like to call "character marks".

I admit that I mostly use it to open and break-down boxes at work, but it also comes in handy surprisingly often, in a variety of situations - mostly other people asking to borrow it! (same goes with a flashlight - they think it's goofy I carry one, but the same person usually will ask to borrow it to look under their desk the very next day).

Benchmade knives are mostly Made in USA, although some are imported. They have several product classes (coded by color), which correspond to price, materials, build quality, and country of origin. The Mini Griptilian belongs to the Blue Class, which are Made in USA. Their website says if a knife is made in the US or not, so check there before buying! (although go elsewhere to purchase it for much less!)

The Mini-Grip can be had for $56 from New Graham Knives - I recommend getting the ComboEdge version, which has a serrated portion of the blade, for cutting rope, twine, and other materials that benefit from such a cut. New Graham is a great company - awesome customer service, follow-up, and will most certainly help you find a knife to your likings.

Good luck, be safe, and check your state and city's knife laws before you start EDC'ing a pocket knife.

The Band Aid.

I was at Walgreens the other week, buying medicine - for my cat - and remembered that I was out of band aids. While I was waiting for my cat's prescription to be filled, I ran over to the first aid section, grabbed the Band-Aid brand box, flipped it over, and to my surprise: Made in China.

Hesitantly, I grabbed a Walgreens-brand "Adhesive Bandages", and even more so to my surprise, a big ol' "Made in USA" is on them! Who'd have thought that a brand like Band-Aid would be made in China, and the generic stuff would be made in USA?



So, for your first aid needs, The Ethical Shopper recommends: Walgreens Flexible Fabric Adhesive Bandages. $2.99 for 36 of 'em. They're awesome - flexible, breatheable, and durable. And for you rough'n'tough types, they're even available in a "Strong-Strips" version, which is even more durable.

I never would've dreamed that a household name like Band-Aid would rub salt in my (ethical) wound. (sorry, couldn't resist).

The ukulele.

A while back, I thought I'd pick up a new instrument to play in my band.. a ukulele! The Uke has a long awesome history, and since it's a Hawaiian instrument, I thought I'd research Ukes made in Hawaii.

I found a few different brands that were Hawaiian-made:
Kamaka
KoAloha
Maui Music Ukulele (no website)
...as well as some custom builders ($$)

I ended up buying a KoAloha Concert Pikake from the Old Town School of Folk's music store called the Different Strummer - an awesome music shop with a knowledgeable, helpful, and really nice staff. The Concert Pikake is now discontinued, but you can still buy the regular Concert-sized uke.



It's a beautiful instrument made of Hawaii's local Koa wood. It's got a very natural and well-rounded sound, with a lot of punch when you need it. Learning the Uke was a breeze - it never ceases to be fun.

While your local music store is the best place to check out an instrument, you can also buy the above brands direct from their websites, or go to Ukes.com to check out all of 'em! They have a discussion forum as well, which is handy, considering they have so many brands.

Either way, go buy a Hawaiian-made Uke!