
It's a shame.
"What's a shame?"
I've come to sense the limitations of my Belstaff Colonial Canvas shoulder bag.
"Buh-wha...?"
I've been on the road an awful lot lately, and it's just not cutting it.
"I thought that bag did everything but wash your dishes and stop bullets."
Don't get me wrong, it's a great bag. It's just not convenient for the serious traveler.
"What happened?"
First of all, it's just not big enough. I'm schlepping around a laptop, files, notebooks, my pencil case. . .
"You carry around a pencil case?"
Dude. You need a pencil case. I keep my spare pens, refills, my automatic pencil, a glue stick, all kinds of useful stuff in it.
"You're scaring me."
OK, where was I. Besides the pencil case, I carry an iPod Touch, the wires and charger for it, a phone, and that doesn't start to cover the other bits of crap I carry around, like hand sanitizer, whiteboard pens, a harmonica, a small stack of origami paper. . .
"Origami paper."
You need that for making presents for flight attendants.
"I'm not going to ask."
I've got my worry stone, a pewter acorn from the Morton Arboretum...
"OK, I have to ask. Why an acorn?"
You carry an acorn to bring luck and ensure a long life.
"Really."
I'm not taking any chances. Oh, and then there's my Midori Traveler's Notebook for tickets, receipts, itineraries, business cards and whatnot. And that doesn't include any books I'm reading.
"That's a lot of crap, Bob."
Seriously! If you're not getting on and off planes for a living, the Belstaff bag is swell. But I need something bigger.
"So just get a backpack or carry one of those big laptop bags."
Perhaps you haven't been paying attention. I need a bag for my stuff, not a ballistic-fabric monster.
"Except now you've got more stuff."
What can I say.
"So what man purse. . .I'm sorry, man bag are you looking at these days?"
Funny you should ask. Check out the Barbour Retriever Bag.
"Oh my."
It's waxed cotton so it's light, water-resistant and durable. It's got that nice Barbour tartan fabric liner. It's one big pouch with two small external pockets. And check out the dimensions: 16.5 x 16 x 6.5 inches. That's a good three to four inches longer, wider and deeper than my Belstaff bag. And it's not man-baggy-looking, if you know what I mean.
"Have you read any reviews?"
Come on.
"How much?"
Around $120, maybe less if I get lucky on eBay.
"That's a lot less expensive than the Belstaff."
And get this - there's a Barbour repair center out east in case something unfortunate happens to it. I don't have to screw around negotiating with someone in the showroom to get it fixed.
"Very nice."
I agree.
"Got another picture?"
Sure: 
Monday, February 08, 2010
change: a (new) man bag for (old) man stuff
labels - lint
news: my new adventure
I'm not quite sure how to tell this story, so I'll be brief, start at the end, and leave the beginning for another day.
I'm working at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History as the product manager for the Encyclopedia of Life.
A few years ago Edward O. Wilson asked attendees at TED to "imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth." Some brave people took up that challenge and a year later EoL was launched. If you want to learn more you can visit www.eol.org and poke around.
It's audacious, it's meaningful, it's a long way from finished - actually, it will never be finished, and that's part of what makes it so special. If we do our jobs correctly it will change the world. I'm honored, delighted and extremely humbled to be a part of it.
labels - news
Sunday, January 24, 2010
oh: and by the way
A few unrelated topics:
1. After three days in Leiden I'm convinced we'd all be better off if we all rode bikes. I think the Dutch ride bikes in part because being a pedestrian there is a full-contact sport. Curiously enough I didn't see a single person wearing a bike helmet, and yet I didn't read any stories of devastating head injuries. Could it be they've made cities "bike safe"? Or are their heads simply that much harder? By the way a wonderful review of a typical Dutch bike can be found here, with bonus points going to the author for being a Chicago resident.
2. Somewhere over the Labrador coast yesterday I finished Gail Carriger's Victorian-era vampire/werewolf comedy Soulless. It's a fast, fun read that will appeal to fans of the Dresden books (comme moi). It's a little long on the smoochy bits for my taste. The second book in the series is due out later this year.
3. While I invite and value your comments, I am going to delete any comments that include long strings of embedded URLs. I hope my Chinese readers will not be offended by this and will continue to read ack/nak.
labels - lint
definition: what is a product?
I had the opportunity to "define" what a product is to my steering committee last week. I thought I'd share my definition with you.
"Brands make promises to people - products keep those promises by delivering value in consistent, meaningful and delightful ways over time."
You'll note there are a few keywords missing there, such as profitable. It's missing because it's built in to the concept of delivering value over time - products that can't be sustained (by whatever means matters to you) can't be delivered, QED.
This definition works for me, because it aligns the mind around the customer, and it puts products into the higher-order perspective of the brand.
It also works for me because I can say it with my mouth full of food.
I hope all of you are well. I'm a week or so (I think) from being able to talk about my new adventure in greater detail.
labels - product management
Sunday, December 06, 2009
warning: worst beverage ever

I'm reluctant to name names, but if you should ever find yourself debating the relative merits of, say, a delicious carbonated fountain beverage and a "plain cappuccino" while waiting on line at a branch of our nation's (perhaps our world's) largest chain restaurant, PLEASE G_D select the delicious carbonated beverage. Because if you choose the other beverage, you will get a beverage that will give you diabetes on the spot in addition to burning whole swaths of taste buds as efficiently as if you had licked a simmering cauldron of napalm.
When asked "can you make it less sweet" we were informed "that's the way it comes out of the machine".
And we didn't even get it with the traditional garnishes of whipped cream and brownish sugar ooze (a.k.a. chocolate syrup).
It went unfinished into the garbage can around the corner.
You've Been Warned.
labels - reviews
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
discovered: saddleback leather company
Readers know I'm devoted to my Belstaff Colonial Canvas shoulder bag.
labels - reviews
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
thanks: giving
I have an awful lot to be thankful for.
labels - lint
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
considering: what's first UPDATED
I'm waiting.
labels - product management
Thursday, November 12, 2009
thinking: about the blessing of mileage
A friend of mine has just started a new business - a genuine wine and cigar "bar" in Brighton, Michigan. It's already getting some great press. You should go there. But that's not why I'm writing this.
I know the guy who owns it. He is, as one of my Irish ancestors would say, a mensch. Such a man as operates this genuine wine and cigar "bar" you will rarely find, even if you lift up rocks in the search for said brand of fellow.
labels - reviews
