When I bought it, I was under the illusion that bigger was better. And at the time, the Victorinox Champion was the biggest and most feature-laden model available. I paid $19 for it, which was a lot of money to me back then. (The latest equivalent has a few more features and costs $99.)

I am amazed that the basic design has remained the same over all those years. The seventh-generation Porsche 911 looks similar to the original 1963 model. When a design is good, it’s worthwhile to explore deeply the reasons for changing it, before a re-design.

What is the thing you’ve had longer than anything else?

I zoomed in here for you to see the whimsical concentric starlight pattern that makes up the taillights. This is a very serious car. Serious price, serious performance. But the designer felt the need to inject a little bit of fun into the equation.

I’d urge you to do the same.

I didn’t think to look at what the bike’s price was. Transporting it back to America would have cost a lot. Storing it when I returned would have been a challenge. And restoring the old bike to its original glory would be about number 3,000 on my list of priorities.

But it was fun to fantasize.

If you liked this post, here are two more you’ll like: Go digital and Archive it and More Kringwinkel fun.

I took this photo at the W Hotel in Austin, Texas. The supreme tour guide Sheila Scarborough was giving me a tour of downtown Austin, Texas, and we popped into W. (It’s named that way since it’s part of the Westin/Sheraton Hotel Group — not after a former president.)

Everywhere we turned, there was an exciting detail to catch. Nothing was left “normal.”

Admittedly, it’s hard to give that much attention to all you do. But choose something today to add spice to. It will make your life more interesting — and also the lives of those your “something” touches.

It’s the “Samsung Series 9 NP900X3A-A03 13.3-Inch Laptop.” (Just sort of rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it?)

Anyhow, I visited the Microsoft Store with my wife & daughter a few weeks back... you know, just to check out the enemy. And I was seriously impressed with this Samsung laptop! Mind you, I would never think of buying one. (Regular readers know where my loyalties lie.)

The best I can tell is that Samsung is attempting to compete with the MacBook Air. About the only thing the Samsung has over the Apple is processor speed. The Mac’s hard drive is twice as big as the Samsung’s. They weigh exactly the same.

For a Windows laptop, the design is really not bad. They’re trying.

Thanks to 1and1, the company who paid for the ad this photo came from.

A reflection of how hard this vehicle is to categorize is that Car & Driver magazine and Automobile magazine both gave it really unusual reviews. One was an epic poem — “The Oddity”. The other was a Q & A, in which the reviewers asked, “Does it do this well?” for 4 different categories, and the answer in every case was: “No.”

(My apologies if you just bought one. And also, please know that I have nothing against the regular Murano.)

The photo came from Car & Driver magazine.

I love so much of what they sell. Cool. Sometimes inexpensive. Often high quality. But I know that many of their products were built with laborers working under non-ideal conditions in China. And Ikea has had some problems with the rights of workers in their factories outside of China.

Alternative to that? Not much. If we all bought fair-trade everything, we wouldn’t drive any car. Or watch any TV. Or enjoy using any computer.

On way forward is to do some things to make a difference. Buying fair trade coffee or chocolate is a small thing, but it will impact the farmers who worked hard to get you those beans. Maybe some day the fair trade movement will extend to furniture. And cool lights.

I love them. Almost makes me wanna have a baby again just so he or she could have a pair. (Don’t worry — that’s not gonna happen.)

Anyhow, I like the bag-less aspect. Heather doesn’t.

But the one thing that they did wrong is the power cord. It comes out of the side! A very simple way to make cleaning rugs with it easier: have the cord come out of the top of the handle! As it is, I have to hold the cord with the other hand to keep it from running under the brushes.

(And yes, I miss my mom. I wish she were using it and not us.)