Is this the smallest car you've ever seen - or just a joke? None of the two, it turns out: PodRide is an e-bike(!) like no other, being developed by the Swedish engineer Mikael Kjellman who started sketching his idea several years ago. Obviously, the legal framework for e-bikes varies hugely between countries but at least in Sweden (and apparently most EU countries, plus UK) a four-wheeler e-bike is just fine.
Mikaels's PodRide has been available for backing on the IndieGoGo crowdfunding platform since 2016 but, during the last couple of years, few updates have popped up there. However, the latest update is fresh - at the time of this writing - dating from November 2020 so the project is still very much alive.
I'd think most people have strong opinions about PodRide; nerdy, quirky, crazy, cute come to mind right away. I sure would leave out the 'crazy' and go for the three others; adding Cool makes perfect sense to me as well. Go PodRide!
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There is a winter tradition in my Nordic area that goes back probably all the way to the ice age: drinking (steaming hot) glögg! There are, of course, several versions of the theme in other regions - and one of them is the well known mulled wine. However, proper Swedish glögg is most often quite a bit more powerful in comparison!
These days there are quite a few glögg brands available in Sweden; both non alcoholic ones and those that are heavily 'spiced' with brandy or rum. The latest addition to the Swedish glögg supply is Gin & Tonic Glögg(!), available from SwedishTonic (the potent variety through Systembolaget only) - the well known producers of excellent, hand made tonic with no artificial ingredients.
This very special Glögg - spiced with both Christmas flavors and gin, of course, wasn't a great favorite of mine (see the full story) but now my ingenious wife has found a way to actually enjoy this brew. Tre recipe is simple: forget the hot beverage; instead drink it on the rocks, preferably with some lemon! We also add sparkling water, just a little bit. What about more gin, perhaps? Not tested - yet.
Summing it up: Gin & Tonic Glögg is not cool - it's ice cold!
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There's tons of hype about AeroPress; the (totally) incredible, (fairly) inexpensive, manually operated coffee gadget that (almost) instantly brews you that amazing (espresso) cup of coffee! Providing you have some ground coffee and hot water, that is. So much about the hype - now, let's see about the real deal.
I decided to get the AeroPress Go which is the most compact AeroPress version, easy to bring along in case you ever travel anywhere in this weird world of ours. Basically, it's the very same design as the 'original' AeroPress; three main parts only plus the filter holder 'cap'. Let's get the facts straight:
AeroPress Go is very compact, very durable, very much Go
I don't see the point in using disposable paper filters; go for metal
The UpsideDown method is the way to go - never makes a mess, at least for the first cup. However, I never pour in more water afterwards! Crazy!
I grind my coffee pretty fine; not espresso fine but close. The one and only golden rule: freshly ground coffee makes the best cup of coffee, period
Don't rush it, when using the plunger - easy does it, for best results
Forget about the 'science' of exact water temperature and the absolutely right amount of coffee grounds. Instead, wing it until you like it
The coffee you get is definitely notespresso!
What about the cup of coffee you do get, using your AeroPress? I like the coffee from my AeroPress Go; it's strong but not bitter. I do prefer my Go to a French press and - for whatever reason - when drinking AeroPress coffee I never get trouble with my stomach which does sometimes happen with the java from a French press.
One more bonus for AeroPress: it's very easy to clean this thing and dispose of the coffee grounds when they have done their magic. The grounds are pressed into a puck that - after a while - can be dumped in one quick move. Very Cool!
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I have been enjoying sea kayaking, or actually kayak island hopping - thanks solely to the superb initiative, way back in time, from my wife and super cool kayaking buddy! - for many years but it never even crossed my mind, to consider mounting a sail on my kayak. Kayaking is all about paddling; why on earth would I want to mess things up with a sail? A sea kayak is definitely not a sailboat!
So, years rolled by and I was still paddling my trusty age-old North Shore Calypso: extremely well built in the UK, very seaworthy, super comfortable, very safe - and kind of slow. Not that I'm in a hurry when on the water but those modern kayaks just seemed to - almost effortlessly, when observing the one in the cockpit - float away from me. I sure wasn't getting any younger and stronger so perhaps it was time to get something new. I might need a bigger boat! And yes, that's paraphrasing a movie tagline; you can see what I mean here...
Close to present
Some research followed and I got especially interested in the long (585 cm = 19,2 ft) and apparently fast Skim Distance. A very cool touring kayak, it seemed; there was just one obvious drawback: the price tag. After all, I had a perfectly well functioning kayak and when you have a brand new one, it's always such a hassle if you get it scratched or banged up a bit. Sounds like I had a hard time, making up my mind? That's putting it mildly.
One day, I was - once again - checking kayak related stuff on the web and somehow I happened to notice a post about a Finnish(!) guy who had bought a FalconSails kit, installed it in his Distance and was now thoroughly enjoying kayaking with a wind booster. The next step was to move on to the FalconSails site, get in touch with Patrick Forrester there and very soon I was hooked. Shoot, I had already modified my Calypso a bit so drilling some additional holes wouldn't matter that much. Done deal, I ordered my kayak sail kit!
Installing and testing
When my FalconSails kit arrived, I noticed right away that it was for real - not something hastily thrown together for show only. The quality of the materials seemed very good and the kit was complete in a way that was really impressive. Every nut, bolt and line was also neatly packaged and clearly labeled; something that I appreciated a lot. The instructions that accompanied the kit were extensive and well written so I felt I should be able to manage - even though my DIY skills are nothing to brag about.
It turned out that I possibly should have read the instructions more carefully than I did; I mailed Patrick quite a few times about my installation woes and I must say he was very patient and always answered my questions promptly. I took my time but, in the end, everything was set for the first trial and it sure was an exhilarating experience. Everything worked fine; however, I decided to add the (optional) back stays and that was a wise move - after that the rig has been rock solid even on really windy days.
Looking back - and forward
It's full winter now in January on my home turf - temperature sometimes goes down to, say -30C (= -22F) or so - and there's definitely no open water available anywhere close! Next time I'll be in my kayak again will probably be in May and then - with water temperature just slightly above freezing - I'll also be wearing my (very light weight) Ursuit MPS dry suit.
I have been learning more and more about paddle sailing during the past three summers and here are some of the key points:
The Falcon sail does not change the paddling characteristics of my Calypso when the rig is down; it's still the very same sea kayak and the rig is out of the way - tucked in just by the cockpit. When I have the sail up, the boom and the sail hardly restrict my paddle strokes at all which is great. The skeg works very well when using the sail.
I started testing the rig in very light breeze, as recommended, and that's smart for sure. Slowly, I have gained more confidence and the rig has performed flawlessly even when the wind has picked up quite a bit. In steady breeze, I get an amazing boost from the sail and I always keep paddling along; something you have to do on a big wind day in order to brace instantaneously when an unexpected gust suddenly fully powers up the sail. Gusty wind is the worst!
After some practice, I find it fairly easy to control the kayak when using the sail. In heavy wind - providing it's not gusty! - I'm fine by using the paddle a lot, often skimming the wave tops with the paddle and supporting the kayak. Kind of a flexible outrigger, it works surprisingly well.
Falcon is not only a downwind sail and that's really cool. Actually, I prefer having the wind more from the side. Of course, there's no point in having the sail up in headwind; no sail can magically transform a sea kayak to a sailboat.
The kit is designed to be used with an (optional) boom vang to keep the boom down and thus increasing the sail efficiency. It does make a difference but also makes things much more complicated. Forget about the boom vang when you're just getting started.
Getting the rig in place before kayak launch is easy and takes perhaps ten minutes. I want to be careful, not to get the lines sandy so I'm probably slower than most folks though! Launching the sail on the water is very quick; depowering it, taking down the rig and fastening the whole shebang takes a couple of minutes only.
In my view it's definitely a smart move, to take down the rig well in advance before getting very close to land - I almost got knocked over once by a mean, sudden gust extremely close to the beach! No more showing off for my part...
Famous last(?!) words
Adding a small sail to a sea kayak increases the fun factor enormously and also makes it possible to cover much longer distances, weather permitting. However, the sail also adds complexity and thereby increases the risk; there is no way getting away from this fact. There is an excellent and very comprehensive OPM article about using a sail on kayak expeditions, written by an Australian sea kayaking pro Rob Mercer, and you can find the text here. Some parts of the article definitely also apply to a fair weather kayaker like me.
Transforming a kayak into a fun sailboat-of-sorts - with a huge sail and all the hardware that comes with the deal - is possible but nothing I ever considered. My main interest is still in paddling my sea kayak and keeping things as simple as possible on the water. My Falcon sail is just about as far as it gets! In addition, I often tour the outer archipelago of my home waters where quick weather changes are frequent. Getting stuck out there in a kayak-turned-into-a-sailboat with unfavorable winds (or dead calm) would definitely be a real bummer. I'm pretty sure that trying to paddle that thing home would be a nightmare.
There is a, at the time of this writing, still new (private) Facebook group that focuses both on kayak and canoe sails and everything connected to that: Kayak And Canoe Sailing. If you only want to focus on kayaks, there's now also the Kayak Sailing group (group owner is Patrick from Falcon Sails). I'm A Bad Facebook User myself and the groups are to me the best feature of this social media behemoth - and pretty much the only thing that keeps me from deleting my account.
I do find it interesting that during my kayaking years I have never seen another kayak in the Nordic waters sporting a 'real' kayak sail (umbrellas, sure!). However, this discovery might be connected to the fact that there are altogether only some 10 million people living in Sweden - and kayaking wintertime is not an option in my neck of the woods!
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Luckily, I rarely need to load and unload my (old and heavy!) Calypso on my own but sometimes it's the only way to go in order to get out there on the water. I find it way too easy to mess something up when loading or unloading; either myself - my back often reminds me that I'm not very young any more - or the car, or the kayak. So, when some fellow kayakers discussed this very issue and mentioned the Boat Roller I decided to check it out.
It's a very simple construction that attaches to the rear car window with suction cups that seem to be reasonably powerful. Then, it should be easier to push the kayak up to the roof rack from behind the car.
I haven't tried this thing yet - temperature dropped down to -30C = -22F so I preferred staying in the garage instead of test loading my kayak outdoors! However, the weather is milder now; soon our neighbours will be wondering if I've finally gone completely nuts, considering the fact that Bothnian Bay (in Swedish: Bottenviken) is frozen solid.
UPDATE: Yup, I've tried to roll my boat and this thing works alright. Just see to it that both the car window and the suction cups are clean!
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A masterpiece of engineering: the semi automatic toaster, combining a pro manual mode with the ease of use through ingenious automation. Truly a gem in any kitchen!
What's the brand, then? Sadly, I have no idea - this amazing piece of kitchen equipment is not ours. Sigh.
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This summer, I was sure I had lost my Gerber multitool that had been serving me so extremely well through the years. I looked everywhere - over and over - but no luck. Talked to some friends we had recently visited and asked them to check if I had left my Gerber lying around somewhere; nope. Nothing. Finally, I figured that it was time to swallow the (very) bitter pill and get a replacement. After some research I chose the Leatherman Skeletool CX which is way more compact - and much lighter - than the Gerber. Then, after the Leatherman arrived, well you can guess what happened: I reached all the way down into one of the side pockets of my back pack and: hello again to my Gerber!
I was really glad to find the good old tool of mine and, actually, I was also very happy with the new and - in comparison - tiny Leatherman. The two multitools both sport very capable pliers but the design is completely different. Gerber is obviously much more heavy duty and has several built-in tools whereas the Leatherman actually only has two main functions: pliers and a knife. You can use the Gerber pliers with one hand only just fine but forget about the knife; the Leatherman definitely takes both hands to fold out the pliers but you do easily operate the very capable knife with just one hand. The very best of two worlds, then, but unfortunately not in one single package.
So, what gives? It would be major overkill to be carrying around two multitools, that's for sure! To me, this is the deal: the Leatherman is so small and 'skinny' that I hardly notice it in my pocket (it has a very smart clip that holds the tool firmly in place within the pocket) so I actually do end up carrying it most of the time. This - and the fact that folding out the knife and locking it in position with one hand works super smooth - is a really great combination. I don't need the pliers very often so it's okay to me that it takes both hands to use them.
Build quality of these two multitools is excellent; the Gerber is built like a tank and the Leatherman Skeletool perhaps more like a sophisticated surgical instrument (full disclosure though: I know very little about surgery). The joints used to fold in and out the Skeletool plier jaws are ingenious and tight but, of course, there's no way I could do any repairs if they would malfunction somehow.
Thumbs up to both tools but the tiny young guy wins by sheer grace and engineering genius!
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The pic is definitely not great but hey - I couldn't take it with my Pixel 2! To see some of my Pixel 2 photos, see this link
Tons of photos and three years later - my initial review from 2018 here - my Pixel 2 is still doing really well and I do intend to keep using the '2', even though there are now some issues that do worry me a bit.
During these three years, the Pixel 2 has been in steady daily use and I have also carried it in the front pocket of my kayaking PFD vest on many paddling tours. Close contact with water spray and waves has been frequent and, so far, I haven't had any problems. There is one thing to be aware of, however: when the (USB-C) charging port gets wet, you can't charge the phone - any phone! - until the port is completely dry. These days I always use a tiny piece of Gorilla tape to keep the charging port out of the harm's way and it works just fine.
One of the main advantages with Pixel phones is that you get software updates immediately when Google releases them; this applies both to security patches and Android updates. Unfortunately, after these three years, the Pixel 2 will not get any additional updates in the future and that's a bummer for sure, considering that my phone is still in (close to) top shape. The software updates have been really great; one of my main gripes early on, the auto screen brightness trouble, got fixed quickly and after that it's been perfect.
Pixel 2 was the first showcase phone for amazing computational photography - especially in low light situations. There was also a great bonus: I have been able to automagically upload all my photos and videos to GooglePhotos in full original quality. Soon, this will come to an end but unlimited 'high quality' - which will be the deal for me, as a Pixel 2 owner, later on - is pretty good as well.
Perhaps the only thing that really worries me now is the battery. Today, I still get decent battery life during summer months but when the temperature drops way below freezing - which is normal for the Nordic winter - the battery just quits when I take the phone out of my down jacket pocket. Replacing the battery can be done, by pro service providers, but it's pricey and I doubt that the water resistance afterwards will be anywhere as good as it's been from the beginning.
I sure like my Pixel 2 and one of the big(!) gripes I have with most new phones - including Pixel phones - is the (huge) size. I do not want a bigger phone! Actually, I don't want a new one at all; my Pixel 2 still does everything I need perfectly well. If only I could fix that battery...
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Sure, this might be pushing it a bit but.. Hey, I do like a good gin tonic! A lot. The fact that all the tonic goodness pictured above - from SwedishTonic - ended up on our kitchen table is interesting and there's definitely a back story to it..
The tonic produced by the folks at Swedish Tonic in Stockholm is different; those guys are dead serious about their tonic and the (yup, pricy) liquid is apparently hand made from scratch - no artificial flavors whatsoever. Their tonic also has this really neat amber glow since that's what you get if you use 'real Chinchona Bark'. Anyway, that's what they say and I choose to believe them.
I'mnot sure where I heard about SwedishTonic the first time but I have bought their tonic syrup several times now; I prefer mixing the tonic with sparkling water - from our Soda Stream, works great - myself, instead of buying their bottled tonic (which is also good).
So, earlier this winter I noticed that Systembolaget - the state liquor store in Sweden - would soon get the special Christmas glögg from SwedishTonic, spiced with gin of course. I made my move quickly and reserved two bottles right away. They were not cheap, by the way.
Then came Christmas time, and also time to sample some very special glögg! Me and my wife opened the beautiful bottle, took a little sip, looked at each other slightly puzzled, took another one - and we were done. Not tasty; somehow bitter and almost perfumelike aftertaste. I wasn't happy, partly because there was one more bottle in the cellar.
I had been in touch with the SweTnc folks before so I decided to shoot them an email with some feedback. Not long after I sent the mail I got a reply stating they were sorry I didn't like the glögg and they would be happy to mail some tonic my way. Okay, no objections to that.
Acouple of days later I got a notification on my phone: there was a package from SweTnc waiting at the local grocery store, a ten minutes' walk from our house. Cool, I figured I'll take a walk and bring that bottle of tonic back in the pocket of my down jacket. At the store I went to the cashier, showed the delivery info and then got my package - all 10 kg of it (yup, that's more than 20 lbs US)! I was pretty sure the folks at the store had made a mistake but nope, it was my package alright.
Itwas a short walk from the store but it had been snowing quite a bit and when I was back home I was drenched with sweat.
I wonder if the SweTnc guys somehow knew that I would collect my package on foot. Could they also have checked the weather in advance so they knew about the heavy snowfall in my area?! Shoot, I'd guess I'll never know - and, actually, I don't care that much. I think I'm going to make myself and my wife a really good gin tonic.
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Ihave been using the (old and wired) in-ear Bose QC20ANC headphones for many years during my commute & travel and the active noise cancelling in that old design still works amazingly well - especially for low frequencies; see my full review). However, the QC20 has some other very serious flaws so it was definitely time to move on. Big cans are a no-no so there was basically just one way to go: wireless BT in-ear with ANC. After some research it was obvious that these things do not come cheap so I got my priorities set:
Good in-ear ANC is expensive and I'm fine with that - if it really works well. Top priority!
A bit of a breeze should not mess up the ANC completely
The earbuds should be discreet and comfortable to use, even when wearing a warm beanie or a ski hat (we still have real winters on my home turf)
BT connection must be solid
Goes without saying - almost - but the audio quality should be good
Phone calls is not top priority for me; functional would do
Decent battery life is nice
Reviews, reviews
After reading a bunch of reviews I zoomed in on Sony WF-1000XM3, even though they seemed anything but very discreet. The ANC function got super high marks almost everywhere so I was curious and decided to check out the Sony earbuds - after making sure that I would be able to return the buds in case they wouldn't cut it for me.
January 2021
At the time of this writing, I've been using the Sony XM3 buds for roughly a month and here's my take:
Sony ANC is a disappointment to me. I know that the passive seal in the ear must be good in order for the Sony ANC to work well but the 'default' tips were comfy and the others just didn't fit well. Anyway, my old QC20 - that doesn't go deep into the ear canal at all - still beats the XM3! Really surprising and also a bit depressing. Sure, the electronics of the QC20 are not within the earbuds themselves but heavens: it's been five years..!
Using the XM3 outdoors is not much fun when the wind picks up a bit (or if it's rainy; no protection against the elements at all). Wind messes up the ANC function big time, just the way it does for the QC20 by the way. No improvement here during the years that have passed, apparently.
The Sony XM3sticks out of the ear 'like a sore thumb' - a quote from one of the reviews I read and that really nails it. With other words: pretty much the opposite of discreet. The buds are reasonably comfortable though, providing you are not wearing a warm beanie or a ski hat! Taking that ski hat off, you need to be very careful not to send the earbuds flying and then (in case you'll ever find them) you've probably got a pair of very expensive ear plugs.
BT connection is solid - independent connection for each bud - and so is the audio quality which is top notch. The buds have touch controls that enable you to pause the audio, skip tracks, adjust the ANC mode and deal with phone calls. The controls work okay for the most part but taking out one of the earbuds did not reliably pause the audio; it was hit and miss. Battery life is average in this category and the charger case - USB C, yay! - is fine even though it sure is pretty big.
Summing things up: the Sony XM3 have good build quality and audio but they are not for me. Wearing them makes me look (even more) weird, they are almost useless outdoors on a breezy day, I can't wear them comfortably under a warm beanie, they don't cope with rain and the ANC should be better considering the price tag. Thumbs mainly down.
Now, then?
Pixel Buds 2 might be ideal for me, the way they seem to fit almost flush in the ear, but unfortunately there's no ANC - and you do apparently still get connection issues. So, the hunt goes on; guess I'll try the Jabra Elite 75T next. Stay tuned!
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