Remember the old days, when you couldn’t wait to see the newest design of the Air Jordan? Now, there’s no need to wait for Nike to set the trend; you can. At NikeID, customizable shoes – from running to team sports – come complete with your own color scheme and ID, a space to sign your name, keep a motivating phrase, or warn your opponents.
Choose from a variety of Nike styles as a base before making your own inspired creation. If you’ve recently formed a team or are training for an event with friends, NikeID allows bulk orders of custom styles with varied sizes and IDs. Designing your own gear costs no more than an off-the-rack Nike, but turnaround time is roughly four weeks, so order the kicks in advance.
We recently featured Proper Cloth as a solution to poor-fitting dress shirts. This week, we have another option: ShirtsMyWay.com. This site also allows you to custom-order dress shirts based on your own personal style and precise measurements.
Choose from a number of solids, stripes and checked fabrics before moving on to designate what style collar, cuffs and buttons you prefer; then, you may either have a trusted friend take your measurements with help from the Web site’s guide, or choose standard measurements, and voila! ShirtsMyWay gets to work on your very own, very well-fitted shirt. Affordably priced between $65 and $75, depending on what fabric you choose, ShirtsMyWay also offers free shipping and a 15-day turnaround time.
For those interested in the advantages of a Jason Bourne lifestyle, or if the current global state has you a bit anxious, Neil Strauss’ amusing new book, Emergency, is for you.Strauss, the author of The Game, is a typical city guy with no stomach for surviving in a world altered by catastrophic terrorist events, collapsing markets or Acts of God. Motivated by this, and his lack of working Boy Scout skills, Strauss synthesizes his research on how one might survive, should the worst happen. Among others, Emergency’s topics include:
-Setting up a Swiss bank account
-Securing multiple passports
-Geoarbitrage
-Escape and evasion techniques
-Undetected border crossings
-How to survive when modern luxuries – electricity, communication devices, gasoline – aren’t an option
An entertaining and surprisingly instructive read, Emergency has gotten glowing reviews from other well-respected, high adventure authors, including The 4-Hour Work Week’s Tim Ferriss, and from critics at Rolling Stone, Flavor Pill and Maxim. Here is a great book intro by Ferriss. ($10, Amazon)
(Photo courtesy of Sur La Table)
Seattle’s Sur La Table, which began in 1972 as a boutique kitchenware store specializing in products from France, brings a unique twist to cooking stores with unusual, useful tools from around the world and a boutique feel: there are only 74 store outlets across the U.S., one of which recently opened in Atlanta’s Perimeter Mall.
As spring descends on the Southland, Sur la Table offers the perfect tool for the season’s outdoor parties, a miniburger grilling set that serves up appetizer-sized sliders for hungry guests. The tools, made of rosewood, stainless steel and aluminum, make mini-patty formation, grilling (with the miniburger “basket”) and bun-cutting, a breeze. $44.95 for the three-piece set, or $5-$25 a piece.
Photo courtesy of SolLight
Thanks to the SolLight 200, an environmentally sound, pack-friendly lantern, you can leave flashlights, headlamps and heavy batteries at home when camping or traveling. The SolLight, which is approximately two inches in diameter and weighs less than three ounces, snaps on the top of all standard water bottles (Nalgene, Camelbak, etc.), soaks up the sun’s rays for energy, and emits light from the glow of your water canister when you need it the most.
A great item to have during emergencies or for any outdoor activity, the SolLight is weatherproof and armed with both a daylight sensor that turns the lamp off automatically and four super-bright LEDs. This budget-friendly, innovative gadget sports a leak-proof, internal O-ring for an extra-tight seal and a safe, long-lasting NiMH battery. $24.95
