Sometimes you just need to get away. Even if it's only for a day. Because the thought of one more report, one more "urgent brainstorming" meeting with the boss, one more phone call from an irate client, and you're thinking thoughts that could get you 10 to 20. Time to call in for a mental health day.
That's why SOYJOY came up with their
Daycation challenge, to get guys everywhere to take a short break from the madness and recharge. And they invited me to step away from my keyboard, turnoff my cell phone and get away for a day. So they sent me a Daycation pack that had all the gear for getting away, including: a digital camera, some sunblock (which I wouldn't need... you'll hear about that in a minute), a great cooler bag that chills in the freezer so there's no need for ice (that will get its share of work for years to come), a SOYJOY water bottle, towels, tshirts and a whole bunch of SOYJOY nutrition bars.
Why take SOYYJOY bars on a day trip? Couple of reasons: they are baked and have real fruit and whole soybeans for on-the-go nutrition, and most importantly, they won't melt in your pack on your way to the beach, trail, or for a day on the water... which is what I chose to do for my getaway. Only I chose to do it during hurricane season, in South Florida, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee were hitting...
Here's what happened: I mentioned to my buddy I was going to take my girl for a day of kayaking down the Intracoastal through Fort Lauderdale. Maybe stop on one of the many islands, have some lunch, a few drinks, a SOYJOY bar or two, then paddle back. Leave civilization behind. He's got a better idea: He has a "buggy boat" and we can take it to the Deerfield Island Park. It's only accessible by boat, really secluded, there's nature trails, a place to have our lunch... and with his boat, my girl won't need to paddle. Perfect. Except the only day we can organize it, we are having the typical Florida on-and-off thunderstorms.
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By Luis Leon
For anyone who’s fallen for x-ray specs, sea monkeys or anything else that you could order from the back of a comic book and found it to be a complete crock, it’s hard to believe that any product with a gimmick can deliver true value without a catch. Thankfully there’s a phone that delivers on two fronts, it’s immensely cool, while still being practical and powerful That phone is the
LG Thrill 4G.
The first thing you’ll notice is the massive
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GEAR | CELL PHONES
August 10, 2011
That may look like a bent iPad or iMac hanging on the wall above your stove, but it's actually an innovative new range hood from Zephyr called the
Horizon Wall.
Why the resemblance to your latest iDevice? Might be because the hood was designed by Robert Brunner, the designer of the iMac. And while the Horizon Wall may not be able to run any of your cooking apps, it will light up your stove with its twin halogens, and suck the smoke out of your kitchen when you're broiling that steak.
Available in black, red or white glass on stainless steel.
ZephyrOnline.com
GEAR | KITCHEN
June 22, 2011
By Bob Lesher
If you’re a gamer and you want to upgrade to a digital projection system, you often run into the same problem when trying to decide on a projector: Most projectors were designed for PowerPoint and not
Gears of War.
They’re not bright enough, they don’t support HD, or they pixelate at high frame rates. Oh yeah, and if you do manage to find one with the right specs you practically have to sell your soul to be able to afford it. Don’t give up just yet because Optoma Technology has just the thing with their
GameTime Projector Series.
Released about a year ago (plenty of time to get any bugs worked out), the GameTime Projector series is the industry’s first
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If you're spending your weekends bombing down mountain trails or dodging traffic Monday through Friday riding to work on your bike just to be "green," you know the advantages of using an
SPD clipless bicycle pedal to keep you connected to your ride.
The only problem with that is most SPD compatible shoes are less than stylish. And by "less than stylish" I mean embarrassingly ugly. So unless you want to lug around an extra pair of kicks to wear to lunch, you'll find yourself tiptoeing around town. That's why DZR created their line of
Urban Cycling Shoes.
Made to fit in no matter where you go, DZR's line was created by people who live on their bikes, and wanted to be able to go from trail to town, and have the balance of performance on the bike, while looking good off the bike.
The five shoes in the line deliver
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GEAR | STYLE
June 20, 2011
True story: When I opened the box from Imperial Toys and saw the four
KAOS Nemesis water balloon launchers and 800 water balloons (yep, you read that right, EIGHT HUNDRED water balloons), they sent me, the first thing I did was give my buddy, Adam, a $500 damage deposit on his house.
Because I knew when I took these water weapons of mass hydration to his three kids, there wouldn't be any stopping them until the very last of the water bombs was hurled at a screaming sibling. No matter where they were trying to hide... (What does it cost these days to remove water stains from a leather couch??)
And you don't have to be a kid to appreciate the sheer joy of whipping a water balloon up to 100 feet, at a fleeing target, with just a flick of your wrist. Without said balloon bursting in your hand, as can happen when attempting a deep throw barehanded.
Plus, with the Launcher (complete with 50 water balloons), costing less than $15 bucks, and 150 Water Bombs running under $6, you can have an all-out weekend water war without driving up the defense budget.
ImperialToy.com
Already in the bags of Nike athletes on the PGA Tour, including Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim, Francesco Molinari and Tiger Woods, you can give Dad the same technological advances that gave those pros an almost unfair advantage.
The new
Nike VR Pro Wedges, available in Satin Chrome or Brushed Oxide Raw, are created out of a precise forging process that results in a wedge that offers accurate shot-shaping performance. Even from a high handicapper like Dad... How do they do it? Each wedge face features more grooves, resulting in cleaner, more consistent ball flight and spin (while still conforming to the new USGA and R&A rules.)
With more grooves closer together and deeper on the clubface, the VR Pro wedge ensures more control and consistency in all conditions off of the clubface. And just to be sure the club grabs enough of the ball to create that green-stopping spin, a precision laser crosshatch pattern is applied to the area between the grooves. This adds three times the surface texture versus conventionally finished faces, creating more spin in all conditions. And by all conditions, I mean even when Dad is working on a double bogey on the Par-4 14th, and he's over-swinging like John Daly with a driver.
MSRP: $149.99 ($119.99 street price)
NikeGolf.com
GEAR | SPORTS
June 14, 2011
By Luis Leon
You know by now that we've been advocating you ditch the usual tacky team logo tie and socks, and get your dad one of these 9 truly memorable and unique gifts that’ll give you the edge in the "Favorite Child" contest he pretends he’s not secretly having:
Enterprise Pizza Cutter
If your old man dreamed of leaving this planet for intergalactic adventure but never made it past Starfleet academy, then maybe you can give him a small touch of escapism with the USS Enterprise pizza cutter from Thinkgeek.com. I found the extra large circular cutting blade (the ship's bridge) really useful for divvying up a massive stromboli. Pick it up and revel in your dad exclaiming 'Qapla'!
$29.99
ThinkGeek
SOG Gunny Series Knife
R Lee Ermey (the drill sergeant who was the best part of the best half of "Full Metal Jacket") designing a combat knife is like Chuck Norris designing a pair of nunchucks or Ron Jeremy designing a... nevermind. My point being, the man knows his weaponry. So give your favorite hardass dad one of the 1000 "Gunny series" limited edition knives being made by SOG. This 12" blade is made of hardy Cocobolo hardwood, inlaid with Stingray leather, and the blade is made of VG-10 stainless steel. (Plus it chews iron and shits nails. Really.)
$500
SOGknives.com
Klhip Nail Clippers
If pops has the nasty tendency of letting his toe nails go all Freddy Kruger, then send a loving message and get him the Klhip nail clippers. The Maserati of nail clippers (just go with me on this), the
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GEAR | BUYING GUIDES
June 13, 2011
Not that you're saying Dad's getting a little thicker around the middle, but those years of backyard grillfests might be starting to show a little more each year. And since he may think "core training" has something to do with using apples on the barbecue, you might want to gift him with the
TRX Rip Trainer this year.
A 42-inch commercial-grade bar with a sheathed elastic resistance cord that can anchor to any solid object (so dad can workout anywhere there's a fence, railing, tree, or door), the TRX Rip Trainer focuses on spiral movement patterns with an emphasis on rotation.
(Video after the jump.) That's trainer-speak for it'll strengthen Dad's core, increase his power, lessen the risk of him getting injured picking up a bag of charcoal, and will enhance his overall cardiovascular fitness. But don't tell him that. He'll never use it. Maybe just say it'll help improve his
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SPORTS | GEAR | HEALTH
June 10, 2011
Nothing makes a man prouder than looking out over all he surveys, and seeing a lush, green lawn. The kind of lawn that makes the groundskeepers at Augusta weep.
So to help you induce some serious "lawn envy" in your collar-popping, Bimmer-driving neighbors, I turned to the folks at
John Deere, to get their expert tips on keeping your grass in golf course shape. The choice of country singers and guys who choose to "ride on," they've just released a new edition to their EZTrak mower line.
And to help us homeowners keep our yards enviable, they've put a ton of tips and advice on their
Facebook page where you can also (proudly) post photos of your property, find out what type of landscaper you are, get some new ideas, and more.
Here are their top 8 tips for keeping your lawn in shape this summer:
Landscaping Tip #1: Adjust the height of the mower deck to mow only the top one-third of the blade of grass. This helps encourage a deep root system and keeps the lawn looking and feeling healthy.
Landscaping Tip #2: All summer long, mow in the mid to late-morning, when it’s cool and dry. After the morning dew dries off is the best time for the grass -- it isn’t suffering from afternoon sun stress, but it isn’t so damp that grass clumps form in the blades.
Landscaping Tip #3: Water your lawn if you notice curling grass blades or “footprinting.” If you’re dealing with
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