General
The best Travel backpack
Travelling is a wonderful experience filled with new emotions, experiences and memories. Unfortunately travelling unprepared may mean these turn out to be negative emotions, horrible experiences and terrible memories. Typically a wonderful experience turns bad when a traveller has his/her most important items stollen (think passport credit cards, traveller checks, money, etc). Unfortunately tourists are targets for theft in too many countries and they have to take special precautions. Over the years I have tried several dozen products to keep my valuables safe but the one I keep coming back to is my PacSafe (link) backpack.
The 5 o'clock clock
We all know that the most important time of the day is when you punch out to go home so the only time you really care about it 5PM. Now a company has turned your punch put obsession into a clock that has just one time marking on it. This wondrous clock can be had for only $100 on Amazon (link). Unfortunately it seems this clock sold out quickly and is no longer available on Amazon. I decided to post this anyway to show the wonderful world of modern design.
Strange napkin table invention
Since we've cured all sickness and disease, the human race can now turn its attention to the incredible important issue of dining while at a picnic. All right... We haven't cured everything yet which is why I am so dumbfounded when I see people waste energy on absolutely useless inventions like this. I can't wait to see the ads for it on TV. Are you tire of eating on the floor at picnics? Want to keep ants away from your food?
Now every room can smell like Mac and Cheese
Everyone loves Mac and Cheese. It is that wonderful comfort food that reminds me of my childhood. Just the smell evokes so many positive memories. That smell takes you back to wonderfully serene mental state. If you want to easily go into that automatic Mac and cheese trance, you can with the Mac and cheese air freshener for only $5 on Amazon (link).
eCool environmentally friendly outdoor beer cooler
Nothing is worse than a lukewarm beer on a hot summers day. You could install an outdoor fridge but this requires electricity which will cost you money and anger some environmentalists. Some creative designers have solved your beer cooling dilemma with the eCool. The eCool uses the constant cooler temperature of the earth to keep your beer desirably cool. You basically dig a hole, drop in the eCool and have 24 cans of drinkable beer. the creators also claim that those living in cooler countries (aka Canada), can enjoy this year round because the eCool will prevent the beers from freezing.
Top 10 countries visiting my blog for May
Readers and manufacturers often want to know where my traffic originates from... For the month of May (2014), the top 10 countries generating traffic for my site are [in order of traffic]: United States (USA) Canada UK India France Australia Germany Italy singapore Hong Kong The top 2-3 are always on the list but the rest fluctuate per month depending on the content.
Cat saves kid from dog
Every once in a while we hear about a dog that saves its owners life and the internet loves these heartwarming stories. Now there is a situation where a cat saved a little boy from a dog attack. I'm more of a dog person but this is a great story I wanted to share anyway ;-) Basically a boy is playing in his front yard and a dog tries to drag him away when the family cat jumps to the rescue.
New Gillette razor changing a 100 year business model?
It seems every couple of years, Gillette releases a newer, better, closer, more precise shaving razor system that turns out of be incompatible with all previous blades. Many have said this is a technique to keep the price of blades high. Now there is a twist to the story with Gilette releasing the new ProGlide with Flexball technology (link) which accepts the previous series of ProGlide blades. No one know for sure but many analysts have said it is an admission that companies like DollarShaveClub, Harrys or Dorco (link) are really starting to hurt the king of razors.
Cheap clean water from a book
Living in Canada, I often take clean drinking water for granted. During my many travels to Africa, it became abundantly clear that fresh, clean drinking water was a global problem and I'm happy to see organizations working hard to solve this epidemic. A team of university researchers have created the Drinkable Book. The book teaches readers about how to purify water and the actual pages turn into usable water filters capable of removing 99.9% of harmful bacteria (cholera, typhoid, E.Coli, etc).
Quote about Thinking
"Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts." - Soren Kierkegaard
Quote about peace and joy
"Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity." Thich Nhat Hanh
Buddha Quote
"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." - Buddha
Be vigilant! Don't get scammed online
I hear horror stories everyday about people getting scammed and swindled online by professional thieves. Sometimes you lose a couple of bucks while others lose thousands. Regardless of the amount, it feels bad. Here is an example of an online scam I stumbled on the other day perpetrated on Twitter. <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/93cc47169a.jpg" alt=""> First you get a tweet that looks "normal". They use various subjects that they know people will be interested in. In the above case, both tweets actually take you to the same place.
Make the world a better place
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/2a913aecb5.jpg" alt=""> be the reason the world is a better place today - Edward Kiledjian
Best travel water bottle - Vapur Elements 1L
Travel a couple of times a year (or more) and you start finding some of our new security rules stupid. One of the most stupid rules is the fact that I can't bring a water bottle with me through security but I can buy a $5 bottle from the convenience store. Eventually you get tired of having to pay $5 and you start testing the various types of reusable water bottles you can bring empty and fill after the security checkpoint.
Your ideas about Africa are all wrong
We live in a world obsessed with instant. We want instant food, instant gratification and instant information. The media is happy to support the last point but you have to stop and ask yourself the question : Aren't there two sides to every story? The majority of the population accepts everything we see on TV as absolute truth and our perception of other countries is often defined by these externally generated sources. One such perception is about Africa. Over my career, I have had the pleasure of working in Africa and quickly learned that my North American view may not jives with the reality on the ground.
Tankman solves drought problem for thousands of people
Simple solution that went "viral" and is helping thousands survive severe drought conditions. Sometimes simple is better.
I give you chocolate flavoured toothpaste
Ina world where anything is possible and the affluent are looking for better ways to spend their money, Theodent has a solution: Chocolate flavoured toothpaste. Now you too can live your childhood dreams of brushing your teeth with chocolate flavoured toothpaste for the measly sum of $100 a tube. The magic is possible because of a patented cacao extract called Rennou which is non-toxic, safe for children and tastes like everyones favourite guilty pleasure. Organic shoppers will love the fact the toothpaste contains no fluoride (uses theobromine, calcium and phosphate) and helps strengthen tooth enamel, whiten and strengthen your teeth.
This Atomic wristwatch is the most accurate available
Where possible, I try to buy clocks that automatically correct their time using the signal from the Atomic Clock in Boulder CO. The atomic clock loses 1 second every 300 million years... The magic of this always correct timepiece is the Cesium 133 core. It is the natural decaying of this isotope that allows the atomic clock to sat on track. Casio has a line of wristwatches called the Waveceptor series which can also automatically correct its time based on the Atomic clock signal.