Aaron's Favorite Things 2017

Amazon Echo Show: “Alexa, set pizza timer for 10 minutes, Alexa, re-order La Croix, Alexa play Avery’s Humpday mix from Spotify."  Alexa is slowly taking over my house; I’m even calling my wife Alexa, albeit with less response.  The Alexa Show is Amazon’s top-of-the-line Echo device and deserves prominent kitchen real estate.  Setting multiple kitchen timers, creating/editing shopping lists, ordering or re-ordering products, and playing music is all better with the the visual touch screen.  Set up Echo dots in other rooms and you now have an awesome home-intercom system using Amazon’s “Drop In” function.  “Alexa, Drop-In Riley’s Room.....  Are you up for school?  Dad, Stop!”

Apple AirPods: My left eye still twitches when I see people with wired headphones.  STOP!  Please people, if you have anything with wires, just do 2018 and me a favor, throw them out.  I was never a fan of Apple’s wired earbuds, however, the AirPods fit nicely in your ear and you’ll soon forget they’re even in.  The case acts as a charger and using one AirPod at a time is very handy.  Try out the stealth Podcast road trip: drop one AirPod in your left left ear while driving to Grandmas; your wife will have no idea you’re listening to “Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History,” while she carries on about whether or not to wallpaper the powder room -just remember to periodically nod.

99% Invisible: Speaking of Podcasts, my favorite to date is “99% Invisible,” which tackles random stories often forgotten or unknown to the general public.  In concise, roughly twenty minute productions, one can learn about the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects, a student crunching numbers for her thesis when she realizes a recently completed New York City high rise is in jeopardy of collapsing, why walking or driving around downtown Salt Lake City just feels weird, or how an advertising agency plucked two relatively unknown decathletes and created the “Dan vs Dave” Olympic phenomenon.   

iPhone X: It’s time to pay the Apple Tax; don’t whine, don’t tell me your current phone is just fine, just do it, pay the tax and join the digital revolution. The X is my favorite iPhone ever and well worth the price tag.  Size, facial recognition, edge-to-edge OLED screen, Augmented Reality, and wireless charging are the main reasons to ditch your slow, battery deficient 6S.  If this is not reason enough, knowing you can communicate with your family as talking poop should seal the deal. 

AG Lux Khaki: I’ve always been a jeans guy, so when my buddy said, “try these and you’ll never wear jeans again,” I was skeptical.  Well, I can’t say never, but I rarely wear jeans anymore.  Jeans feel like heavy sandpaper compared to these silky smooth, light weight, stretchy pants.  They are not cheap, so sign up for their newsletter and wait for a sale to stock up.  They come in just about every color, but grey seems to be my workhorse. 

Tretorn Shoes: In 2nd grade, Bjorn Borg was my hero.  As such, my tennis outfit was all about Filas and Tretorns.  As Bjorn sailed off into the sunset so did the Tretorn brand.  Recently, however, Tretorn made a major come back and my nostalgic self is all over it.  With very reasonable pricing, I bought the whole family including Mom a pair of Tretorns.  The girls actually love their white pairs with silver emblem and I gravitate to the classic black with white emblem.  There are several colors and styles to choose from, so join me and bring back tennis’ golden age with a pair of classic footwear.

Headspace: I was sitting in a bustling NY City subway taking in all the sights and sounds when my eye caught a hypnotic advertisement.  Tunnel vision ensued and the colorful little characters transported me into an alternative dimension.  Well, something like that, but I did make a note to download the app upon returning to the hotel.  Headspace is a wonderful tool for learning and practicing mediation, mindfulness, awareness, consciousness or whatever you want to call the “head space” that exists outside the normal shit show happening between your ears.  

Zen Puzzles: Now that you're in the right head space, you can enjoy a fun zen activity with a hand designed, wooden jigsaw puzzle from Zen Art & Design.  I love sitting down with the family and knocking out a good jigsaw puzzle - a nice break from Netflix, our Binkies (iPhones), and the constant barrage of digital information.  I found Zen Puzzles in a little Ithaca, NY boutique and absolutely love them. I'm not sure why, but clicking the thick wooden pieces into place gives me tactile and overall sensory satisfaction - explains the name.   This is an awesome gift.  Sizes range from 125 to 300 pieces, don't get the large pieces.

1Password: I know you’re hiding your passwords in your contacts or notes.  Ok, so now that your secret is out, it is time to spend a couple dollars on a reliable, efficient password app.  With facial recognition (only with iPhone X), this App is easy to unlock and is a great aggregator for all your online passwords, travel documents, and credit cards.  You probably don’t realize it, but you most likely have more than 150 usernames and passwords (I’m up to 174).  Thank me later.

Shoe Dog: I don’t read business books and I don’t care for the genre, but if Warren Buffet and Bill Gates say it’s their favorite book of the year, I’m listening.  This reads like a seat-of-your-pants page turning novel.   Phil Knight’s Nike story is so unbelievable that after finishing the book, I bought a pair of retro Air Jordan III’s as a hats off.  He absolutely refused to lose, kept fighting and his dogged determination and can’t lose mentality ultimately prevailed.  Buy this book - Just Do It!

 

23andMe: I was always told growing up that I was equal parts 1/4 English, French, German & Irish.  Well, my DNA says otherwise, turns out I’m almost all English and my heritage is of course noble - this is a formal request to all my friends to properly address me as either Lord or Sir, thank you.  In addition to your ancestry composition, 23andMe is the only online company approved by the FDA to perform genetic testing.  I found out I do not have a predisposition to Alzheimer’s, but more importantly, I have little chance of developing back hair.

Muji Notebooks:  While I love taking digital notes on EverNote or Apple Notes, there’s always a time and place for an old school notebook.  I still firmly believe any good idea should be written down -something about pen or pencil to paper that helps manifest the crazy idea du jour.   These Japanese designed notebooks are small, light weight and won’t take up too much space on your desk or in your briefcase (does anyone still have one of these?), satchel or whatever hip Tumi backpack you're rocking.  

Nokia Weight Scale: To think, Nokia, once the world’s largest phone manufacturer (anyone miss snake?) is now relegated to notifying me how many pounds I packed on over the holidays.  This futuristic weight scale wirelessly tracks your weight using an App; I have a chart going back five years and can pinpoint every vacation and Holiday over the years. I like the charts and long term trend line - unlike Nokia’s stock price, my downward trend is positive.

Ring Video Doorbell 2: This is supposedly for security and I’m sure most people use it for that intended purpose.  However, I use it to fight with Amazon - “I don’t care if it says delivered, I’m watching my ring video and no package was delivered at 3:43 PM!”  This front door camera/doorbell notifies your phone if there’s motion at your front door or if someone is ringing your doorbell -you can watch live video and talk to the person.  Customize your alert settings and adjust sensitivity and range of motion.  I have mine set to not show me video of my daughters’ boyfriends kissing them goodnight.    

Roku Streaming Stick: Everyone should travel with a Roku Streaming Stick.  Plug this in your hotel TV's HDMI input and your instantly plugged into your Netflix, Amazon, HBO and Showtime shows.  I’ve had Google’s Chromecast, Amazon’s Firestick and much prefer the Roku - better user interface, content agnostic and superior remote control.  Do not get the 4K version - hotel wifi can be weak, so the less MB's you're downloading the better.  

Clear: TSA Pre lines are synonymous with carpool lanes.  At first, it was great, you sailed right through, but over time, people caught on and congestion ensued.  There’s now a better, VIP way to get through security.  Scan two fingers and boarding pass on their machine and a Clear representative personally escorts you to the very front of the security line right up to the x-ray machines.  If you travel often, this is a no brainer.  

Garrett Leight Glasses: Garret is Larry Leight's (Oliver Peoples Founder) son and is out to make a name for himself.  I first saw a pair featured in a magazine and decided a trip to their Venice boutique would be a good excuse to get me out of the South Bay bubble.  I ended up walking out with three pairs, one pair of spectacles and two pair of sunglasses.  I love their clean look, light weight, and most importantly my hipster neighbor Mich likes them on me.