They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so these are worth a few days worth of writing I guess. Some great stuff this month, and some things that will be going to the kids too. Have a look, and make sure to subscribe to these great services if you like what you see.
Monthly boxes of random coolness (and sometimes crap)
I realized as I was sitting in the dentists office waiting for my son and daughter to finish that it had been a while since I had posted anything about the random unsolicited boxes of products I have received.
Some of these boxes I expect every month from subscription services hoping for publicity like the great folks at GeekBox and Wet Shave Club. Others show up out of the blue, like the tshirt and sweatshirt that arrived with the "Last Star Fighter" logo shortly after I reposted an article about a sequel to that amazing movie being in the works. Sometimes the contents are worth keeping, sometimes they are worth passing on to Jimmie and other friends, or handing to the wife and kids. Once in a while they are barely worth the room they take up in the trash can.
Here come the pictures and descriptions, I'll come back through when I get time and add links where I can tomorrow. Enjoy!
This liquor infusion kit from TongueSpank Spice Co. was a welcome arrival
This hoodie and matching tee came from the production folks behind the new Last Starfighter movie
These are just some of the tees to arrive from the guys at pop-up-tees this month
Zac Brown Band sent us a few copies of their newest album. If you haven't yet, buy it now.
May's monthly box from the guys at Birchbox included no-show liners from the folks at Taft in addition to the normal variety of grooming samples
This month finally brought the release of the Nüüd for iPhone 6 Plus from the folks at Lifeproof. I've been amazed at how long it has taken some companies to get precision manufactured cases on the market for the 6 Plus, but this is by far the most durable case you will find, especially when combined with a ballistic glass screen protector.
GeekFUEL's theme this month was Teams, and featured items surrounding comic and movie teams like the Avengers and TMNT
As I've written about before, one of the most important items in my gear bag is a large battery pack to keep my devices charged. This aluminum number from EliteBuy was on sale for just $30 on Amazon and is rated at 10000mAh, or around four full charges for your iPhone. The color didn't win me over but construction was solid
This pack from Aukey, who are quickly becoming one of my favorite accessory companies was on sale for $20 when they sent it for review. It features auto sensing technology that adjusted the output on the USB ports to charge devices as quickly as they would take power, and more importantly reduce output when your device gets closer to fully charged or is a lower powered device. Very important to prevent overheating, especially when they are carried together in a gear bag.
This cool tabletop BX Bluetooth speaker from GoGroove is part of their BlueSYNC line. While it's dual drivers and multiple input sources are pretty standard, and it's wood grain finish helps it fit in nicely on my night stand, GoGroove is hopeful that what will set this product line apart from the masses is the addition of a removable and rechargeable battery that is interchangeable with the other speakers in the lineup.
The newest kid on the "lets throw together a box of stuff geeks and fanboys will like every month and see if they will pay to get surprised" block is NerdBlock, and they didn't do too bad with their first box. I'll reserve final judgment on the company as a service until we get six months in, but I'm not upset by what I've seen yet.
The Foldio 2 from the folks at Orange Monkie is the perfect mobile photo studio
Well, that was most of the assorted stuff that came in May. I have some other reviews to get caught up on, and some great recipes to post for you guys. Stay tuned.
I opened Esquire this month and a video started playing.....
It isn't the first time it's been done apparently, but it's the first time I've seen it. Chevy Truck's ad agency worked with a company called Americhip to put a video player inside the page of my magazine. It powers on when the plastic tab you see at the left side in the fold pulls out and allows the battery to complete the circuit. You select which video file to play with one of three buttons on the right hand side. On the back of the page is a perforation that reveals a micro-USB connector. I tried plugging it into my computer but it didn't show up as a drive, so it appears to only serve as a charging port with video files hard set in the memory chip.
I'll play around with maybe tearing it down and seeing if the parts are hackable over the weekend.
Will SlingTV kill cable
In January at CES Sling announced a partnership with several cable television networks including Disney and CNN to offer a monthly subscription service which promised to bundle together the most popular cable television networks into a single streaming service they dubbed "SlingTV".
Including such popular networks as ESPN, FOOD Network, and CNN into a $19.95/month service the announcement rocked the internet and cable television worlds at the same time.
The promised service launched today with a 14 day free trial, and I've been using it on a variety of platforms for a few hours to see how it works.
My first notice that SlingTV was live today came via my FireTV, not a press release. This ad greeted me when I turned my TV on this morning.
The biggest limitation for most families is going to be that only one device can be logged in to the service at a time. Logging in on my iPad deactivated my viewing on my TV, actually logging me out and forcing me to log back in with email and password to begin watching again. For families with a multitude of screens like ours this is a serious limit with such a hefty price tag. A $20 subscription per family member would make cable television cheaper and give us a wider range of programming.
That being said there is a lot to like here. Even with what I am sure is a huge look-in audience on launch day there were no quality issues on any of the devices I tried. Playback is smooth and full HD quality, a must at this price point.
At launch Sling also offers a sports add on pack featuring 10 additional channels including ESPNews and Universal Sports for an additional $5, with the promise of more add on packs such as family and movie packs to come as deals are made with production studios.
In all it is a compelling if expensive service that delivers exactly what it claims if not anything more. Give the trial a spin and if you find yourself using it enough it may be worth the price tag for your family.
LootCrate: January 2015
This month LootCrate celebrates classic arcade gaming with its theme, "Rewind". From 8-Bit sunglasses and Voltron t-shirt to a skinny tie featuring Space Invaders from BlackTieGeek and special limited edition cover of issue 1 of the new Star Wars comic re-launch. There is nothing here that I don't want to hold on to. As always we'll let the pictures do the talking as we unpack the box this month.
Voltron T-Shirt from FlopHouse
The full box with the shirt removed
8-bit Glasses by Lootrate Lab
Comic Notebook from Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Retro Arcade Skinny Tie from Black Tie Geek
Retro Arcade Skinny Tie from Black Tie Geek
10-Doh Figure from Squid Kids Ink
Star Wars #1 - Exclusive LootCrate variant cover
A new service is on a mission- can they out-geek LootCrate?
A few months ago I was contacted by a new Kickstarter project with a simple concept: to be a better and geekier box-a-month service than LootCrate. The project was successful, reaching their funding goal in less than a week, and GEEKFUEL was born.
I just received their first ever box, along with a Kickstarter exclusive bonus box, and so far their method seems to be at least partially focused on enlisting popular artists from the DeviantArt community to add exclusive artwork to the mix. Add exclusive comic books, limited edition Pop vinyl figures, caffeinated beverages and access codes for games and downloadable content on Steam and I think they have a chance to give the veterans a run for their money.
Instead of listing the contents I figured the best way to describe this product would be to take pictures as I was unpacking the box. So here we go. I give you GEEKFUEL:
All told a pretty impressive showing for a first issue. Subscriptions are available monthly, quarterly, every 6 months, or annually with price breaks and bonuses at each increased level. I've been a big fan of LootCrate for a long time but GEEKFUEL is definitely making a name for themselves in Fat Boy Heaven.
Review: Wet Shave Club
There have been a ton of changes to the way men shave over the years, and there have been hundreds of patents filed trying to make a better and more expensive razor blade. In the last year a couple of companies have tried to fight the tide of rising prices by introducing shave clubs, most notably dollarshaveclub.com. I came across Wet Shave Club and was intrigued by their idea. Instead of reinventing the razor blade, their idea is to bring shaving back to its roots.
In 1880 the first safety razor was patented, for the first time putting a safety comb over the top of the blade to prevent accidental cuts. Wet Shave Club said "Double edged razor blades are just pennies a piece and available world wide, why not start a shave club that uses that instead of fighting it?" and they are onto something.
The Wet Shave Club starter pack includes a safety razor, blades, shaving brush, shaving soap, and astringent to help with nicks.
Here's how it works. For $29.95 a month you get a starter kit (pictured above) which includes a safety razor, blades, shaving brush, shaving soap, and astringent sticks. The starter kit also includes shaving instructions for those who have never shaved with a brush and safety razor before. After that you get a box delivered every month with an assortment of shaving soaps, blades, after shave, and other shaving products.
If you are tired of spending way too much on razors and looking to get back to an easier and better shaving experience, give Wet Shave Club a try.