Just A Guy Thing » Fine Living

The New Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight Makes Raw Style Affordable

James — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:00:40 +0000

Harley-Davidson responds to the recession by introducing the new Forty-Eight motorcycle, a raw and stylish ride that can be had for under eleven grand.

Riding low with a slammed suspension and featuring a classic 2.1-gallon “peanut” fuel tank, the Forty-Eight combines a bulldog appearance with the performance of its blacked out and polished rubber-mounted Evolution 1200 cc V-Twin engine. The low solo seat, under-mounted mirrors, side mount license plate, clean rear fender and tall and fat front tire emphasize the Forty Eight’s focus on chiseled customization. Love it!

The Forty-Eight embraces the street up front with forward foot controls, low profile custom handlebar, under-mounted mirrors, fork-mounted turn signals, slammed speedometer mounting bracket and fork brace with lightening holes. A unique dual texture solo seat with a height of 26 inches fits the lone rider, while a passenger pillion, footpegs and backrest are some of the many accessories that can be added.

And while the Forty-Eight model may break bad when it comes to straight-on style, it won’t break the bank starting at just $10,499 MSRP in Vivid Black. Now the rest of us can finally afford a Harley.

The Forty Eight is part of Harley-Davidson’s Sportster line-up, which has been around since 1957 when the foundation of custom culture was being formed by hot rod gear heads hanging out on city street corners, in gritty garages or at dusty dragstrips. Sportster motorcycles became an iron canvas for many legendary choppers of that hot rod era and beyond.

The Forty-Eight model comes in Vivid Black (my favorite), Brilliant Silver and Mirage Orange Pearl colors and will be available soon at Harley-Davidson dealers.

The Gentleman’s Digital Analog Timepiece

James — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:00:14 +0000

If you can’t decide between the classic looks of an analog watch or the precision of a digital watch, now you don’t have to choose. Josh Chadwick, a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology’s graphic design program, is the winner of a national contest to design a very cool new timepiece for Cadence Watch.

The Josh Chadwick Watch is sleek, combining design elements of an analog watch with the aesthetics of a digital display. The face of the watch has a modern digital face while still functioning like a traditional analog watch. In addition to winning the design contest, Josh is also pursuing a masters degree in industrial design at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts.

Cadence expects to start selling the Josh Chadwick watch in September 2010. To see his design and to reserve one for yourself visit: CadenceWatch.com/josh-chadwick.

Control All the Music in Your Home with Your iPhone

James — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:00:09 +0000

IPod docking stations are so 2009. To really control your music you need the Sonos S5 music system. This baby streams music wirelessly from online sources like Rhapsody, Pandora, Sirius and 25,000 internet radio stations in any room of the house from your iPhone.

Since everything is wireless there’s none of that annoying docking required and you can pretty much place it anywhere you can find a plug. You can place several Sonos systems throughout your house (assuming you have the loot) and control them all via your iPhone.

I haven’t actually heard one of these things yet, but the Sonos supposedly has great sound. It comes with a 5-driver speaker system individually powered by 5 dedicated digital amplifiers. So you get 2 tweeters, 2 mid-range drivers and 1 bass driver for accurate tonal balance and deep bass.

Cool device? You bet. Cheap? Not so much. The Sonos S5 will run you $399. Check it out at Sonos.

Spend a Cheery Night Inside a Converted Nuclear Bunker

James — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:30:28 +0000

Nothing says fun like an underground nuclear bunker, am I right? If you find yourself in Switzerland and want to live it up for a night, head on over to the Null Stern Hotel in the town of St. Gallen.

The welcoming retreat has been dubbed the world’s first “zero star hotel.” The “only star is you” the hotel’s website proclaims. The Null Stern Hotel is an invention by the Swiss conceptual artists Frank and Patrik Riklin. The hotel can host 14 guests in a configuration of 6 single beds and 4 double beds – each bed “a room without a wall”

If hunkering underground waiting for the nuclear holocaust is your thing then you’re in luck – even the priciest bed at the Null Stern costs less than $30 a night.

For more photos or to book a room, check out the Null Stern Hotel website.

It’s Good to be the Azerbaijan President’s Son

James — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:30:50 +0000

I’ll bet 99.95% of you out there couldn’t find the country of Azerbaijan on a map if your life depended on it, but this county has got a lot of oil. So much oil, in fact, that Heydar Aliyev, the son of Ilham Aliyev, the country’s president, reportedly spent nearly $44 million on nine Dubai waterfront mansions. Oh, and did I mention he’s 12 years old?

Yes, a 12 year old has allegedly bought the mansions at the ultra-luxe Palm Jumeira island for more money than you will ever lay eyes on. This over a span of just two weeks, says the Washington Post.

The total price tag is roughly 10,000 years’ worth of salary for the average Azerbaijan working joe.

Now how, you may ask, does a 12 year old have so much money, especially when daddy’s annual salary is just $228,000? Well, there’s the mystery. No one involved in the transaction is talking, but something tells me we’ll hear more about this terrible tyke in the coming weeks.

photo credit: PhareannaH

Finally – Get Your Own Personal Jetpack

James — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:04 +0000

What’s cooler than zipping around on your very own personal jetpack? If you thought you would have to wait decades before buying one, think again. The Martin Jetpack (technically it’s a turbine powered ducted fan, but whatever) will begin rolling off the assembly line in the very near future.

The Martin Aircraft Company will begin producing 500 jetpacks a year for about $75,000 apiece. Steep price? C’mon – it’s a personal jetpack. That’s a bargain!

Better yet, the jetpack requires no pilot’s license to operate. You fill up up with premium gasoline from your friendly neighborhood service station and can go for up to 30 miles on a tank.

The jetpack goes as fast as 60 mph and gets you as high as 8,000 feet. Yee-ha! And just in case something goes wrong, it comes with a low altitude ballistic parachute for safety.

Here’s a video of the Martin Jetpack in action:

Now I admit this is not the sexiest piece of equipment ever built. But may I remind you that it’s a freakin’ personal jetpack? Sign me up!

Ready to buy yours? Check out the Martin Jetpack website. Let the future begin!

[via OhGizmo]

Here’s What You’ll Be Driving in 2040

James — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:36:06 +0000

If you’re wondering what a state-of-the-art car will look like in thirty years, the Mercedes C.S.V. concept car might be it. The C.S.V. stands for Cyborg Sensation Vehicle. What does that mean? The car responds to your thoughts. Like we said, it’s just a concept at this point.

As a driver you wouldn’t need analog controls since the car would drive just by your thinking. Conceived by designer Derek Chik Kin Ng, the C.S.V. would read your thought patterns as soon as you sat down in the vehicle.

This may or may not ever come to pass. We’ll have to see in thirty years.

[via Yanko Design]

How To Taste A Fine Whisky

James — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:30:30 +0000

If you’re a beer drinker you probably think all whisky tastes the same. But like anything else in life, the more familiar you are with whisky the more you will enjoy it. If you’re new to tasting a fine whisky, here are a few tips from Canadian Club’s Dan Tullio to get you going:

Step 1: Color
Use a clear glass with a narrow mouth and a wide bottom to pour ¾ oz of room temperature whiskey. Notice the color of the whisky – the darker the whisky the longer the product has been aged.

Step 2: Aroma
Some of the flavor compounds found in whisky are volatile, and the smell is part of the experience. Hold the glass in your hands to warm up the whisky. Put the mouth of the glass an inch from your nose and inhale the aroma. You are looking for fruity smells – take note of what you smell and try to describe it. Then put the glass closer to your nose (almost in the glass).

Before you get ready to taste, add a tiny bit of room temperature bottled water to open up or release the flavor of the whisky. The water will also dilute the concentrated spirit somewhat, allowing you to taste the complex flavors more clearly without the burn from the strong spirit.

Step 3: Body
Take a sip of the whisky and notice the body of the flavor in your mouth. Is it aggressive; is it sharp, obtrusive? Take note.

Step 4: Taste
The final step is to really “taste” the whisky. Notice where it hits your tongue (tip – sweet, back – bitter, top – salty, side – acidic).

Step 5: Repeat and enjoy!

photo credit: Kyle May

The Craziest Apartments in the World

James — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:04:18 +0000

While you might live in a boring, run-of-the-mill apartment building, there are those out there that have a more interesting living environment.

The folks at Koldcast.tv have compiled a list of the 20 Weirdest Apartments of the World. Some are sleek, some are beautiful, and some are just plain wacky. Here are a few of our favorites:

The Turning Torso Building in Malmö, Sweden is not only spectacular, but at the time it was built in 2005 it was the second tallest residential building in Europe:

The Elephant Building in Bangkok, Thailand looks more like a giant duck, but it’s a lot of fun nonetheless:

The Urban Cactus High Rise is not located in Arizona, but in Amsterdam:

Check out all 20 crazy apartments at Koldcast.tv.

The EB-48S: A Concept Car You Can Actually Drive

James — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:30:38 +0000

Most of the concept cars you see out there are exactly that – an idea for a car, not an actual car you can get in and drive. The EB-48S Concept designed by Emil Badal is one badass concept car that’s actually on the road.

Emil Badal’s beauty features a mid-engined V6 supercharged 4.8L. The car also comes with a very cool LED lighting system that automatically changes to different colors depending on the time of day and weather conditions.

[via Like Cool]

Reading Glasses for Extremely Lazy People

James — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:13 +0000

If you’re too lazy to prop yourself up on a pillow when you read in bed, the folks at Hammacher Schlemmer have the glasses for you. Called the Supine Reading Glasses, these spectacles use two glass prisms to bend your vision 90 degrees.

So instead of propping yourself up to read, just lie down and look straight up. This level of laziness will only set you back $50. Check them out at Hammacher Schlemmer.

[via Gizmodo]

The WiFi Dowsing Rods Leads the Way to the Internet

James — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:00:17 +0000

You know those dowsing rods that locate water underground? Well now someone has come up with the high-tech equivalent – a wifi dowsing rod that tells you where the local Internet signal is the strongest.

Walk into a Starbucks cafe with this thing and you’ll instantly know where to sit to get the best signal. Sure, the people around you will think you’re crazy, but that’ll just give you more space to make yourself at home.

The Ultimate Pimped Out Lamborghini

James — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:00:55 +0000

If you’re going to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars on a Lamborghini Murcielago LP650-4, you might as well go all the way and pimp it out to the max. That’s exactly what one owner did and here’s the result.

This is the only black Murcielago LP650-4 in the world that is not to original factory spec. The owner also installed 19-inch GFG three-piece forged alloy wheels along with a 1600 watt sound system. Is that pimpin’ enough for ya?

This is about as close as you can get to tooling around in the Batmobile without wearing a cape.

Here’s a video of the sleek machine:

[via Carscoop]

Lincoln To Create Luxury Mini Car

James — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:46 +0000

Lincoln is not exactly the name that pops to mind when you think of fuel efficient small cars. But Ford wants to change that perception with the Lincoln-C concept car.

One possible version, shown here, was displayed at the recent Los Angeles Car Show. It’s kind of a glorified hatchback with some futuristic touches.

While the Concept C is only as long as a Ford Focus, it’s about as wide as a MKZ sedan, meaning it can accommodate two rows of three full-sized adults:

The Lincoln-C is expected to be released under the Mercury brand later this year and go on sale in early 2011.

Get Your Favorite Gamer Drunk with Atari Shotglasses

James — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:00:18 +0000

Mix retro video games with alcohol and you get these Atari-themed shot glasses. The set of 6 glasses feature six classic arcade games: Asteroids, Centipede, Pong, Breakout, Missile Command, and Battle Zone.

On the back of each glass there’s a color-coordinated Atari logo.

Here’s the perfect opportunity to combine the passion of your youth with the addiction of your adulthood. You can find these at Amazon for $16.99. It’s a great gift for that grown-up gamer in your life.

The Misa String-less Digital Guitar Rocks

James — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:30:51 +0000

Who says a guitar needs strings to rock out? The new Misa Digital Guitar has a very cool touchscreen control and sounds great.

The Misa runs on open-source Linux, so it’s geek approved. It’s essentially a MIDI controller with 24 frets and a large multifunctional touchscreen that interfaces with the software on your computer.

No strings mean no tuning. It also means a variety of musical effects can be built into the experience. As the Misa website says: “The right hand doesn’t pluck strings, it controls sound.”

Here’s a demo to show you how good it sounds:

You can check out more at Misa Digital.

A Stereo Headset that Vibrates with the Music

James — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:00:32 +0000

If listening to your favorite tunes through a headset just isn’t enough, now you can feel your music with the Ear Vibe by Technocel.

The Ear Vibe will literally vibrate when your tunes hit the low frequency bass, so you can really get down. It features high-fidelity stereo sound and includes a microphone for hands free voice calls for clear conversation and music.

The Ear Vibe is compatible with most mobile phones that have music playing capability, as well as all MP3 players including the Apple iPod.

The Ear Vibe just hit the stores and retails for $29.99. Could be a gimmick, could be fun – if you get one let us know how you like it.

Vuzix Wrap Glasses Make Your Reality Even Better

James — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:00:18 +0000

If the real world is just too dull for you, you need what is known in the business as “augmented reality” glasses. These glasses – usually seen in a military context or on shows like “24″ – allow you to view the real world as well as computer generated imagery at the same time.

Vuzix, which makes high end augmented reality glasses for the defense industry now offers the Wrap 920AR for consumers. The glasses feature a 67-inch display as seen from 10-feet and a stereo camera pair that “looks” into the world, bringing mixed and augmented reality content to life.

With the Wrap 920AR, users can view the real-world environment and computer-generated imagery seamlessly mixed together, allowing video game characters to jump out of the TV and come to life in your living room. Magazines and books could have animated links that bring you back to the web in real time. Pretty cool, huh?

The stereo camera pair, each capturing 752 x 480 images at 60 fps, delivers a single 1504 x 480 side-by-side image that can be viewed in 3D stereoscopic video on the Wrap eyewear displays.

Sure, you’ll look a bit dorky wearing these glasses, but something tells me that hardcore gamers are not going to care.

The Vuzix Wrap 920AR is expected to hit stores in the second quarter of this year and will retail at around $800.

Mr. Norm’s Super Cuda is One Badass Retro Car

James — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:30:48 +0000

The Dodge Challenger is a classic muscle car, but you’ve never seen one like this. Called Mr. Norm’s Super Cuda, this custom tuned machine updates the Challenger look and adds a whole bunch of horsepower under the hood.

A new grille and front spoiler give this car a retro look. But what really distinguishes the Super Cuda is the engine. Outfitted with a supercharged Hemi powerplant, this baby churns out more than 600 horsepower.

While muscle car fans will cheer, green car proponents will probably weep. Go ahead and cry as this beast blows the wheels off your girlie Prius.

[via Autoblog]

Golf Ball Launcher Turns You Into Tiger Woods (Sort Of)

James — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:30:19 +0000

Remember when Tiger Woods was known more for his amazing tee shots than for his amazing menagerie of hos? The new Golf Ball Launcher lets you drive the golf ball 300 yards from the tee without the hassle of those annoying golf clubs. Or talent.

The Golf Ball Launcher is powered by an air compressor and does precisely what you want it to – shoot a golf ball a long, long way.

While the Golf Ball Launcher will give you amazing tee shots, once you hit the green the putting is still up to you.

The device is not yet available and is probably illegal on most golf courses. When it does hit the market, expect to shell out around $800.

[via Oh Gizmo]