cool book sighting

In case anyone is looking for the book to give a kid after you give her Swallows and Amazons, I just stumbled across it: The Anti-Pirate Potato Cannon and 101 Other Things for Young Mariners to Build, Try, and Do on the Water. Given that last time I encountered someone with a potato gun they were using starter fluid as the propellant and that pretty much any potato gun I’ve ever seen involves some kind of explosive propellant, I was startled (and impressed) to see it in a kids’ book. Apparently it also includes instructions on not only harmless crafts (make an underwater viewing bucket) but useful skills (navigate by the stars, build a raft) and some other riskier stuff (waterski on bare feet, do an Eskimo roll). I cannot help but think that the crews of both the Swallow and the Amazon would approve – except that Susan would insist on supervising the younger ones with the potato gun.

Mirrored from Dichroic Reflections.

Please vote!

No, not for President (yet). For my new jacket design. If enough people vote for it, Betabrand will manufacture it and then I can get myself one.

Voting Link.

Betabrand is a clothing company that seems to specialize in unusual products. The one that seems to be their flagship is the Dress Pant Yoga Pant, which you might have seen advertised if you use Facebook much. The idea is that it is a pair of comfortable stretchy pants, like yoga pants, but that look nice enough to wear to work. (I have a pair. They really are comfortable and well-made, and they come in Petite, Regular and Tall. They’re also washable; only downside is that they do not have real pockets.) Anyway, Betabrand’s business model is as unusual as their clothes. Anyone can submit a design idea; if enough people vote for it, they make and sell prototypes, like a Kickstarter project. If enough people buy (and thus fund) the prototype, it gets manufactured and sold thereafter.

You can see more information and also vote on other design ideas at the Betabrand Think Tank page. There’s no charge to vote, and as far as I know there’s no limit to how many you can vote for. There are a lot of very cool designs there, as well as some outstandingly goofy ones.

Mirrored from Dichroic Reflections.