The Rarely Updated Blog of Nate Warner

Things move so fast on Facebook!

A few months ago I got a Nike+ system for my iPod Nano. The Nike+ system consists of a bluetooth transmitter for your shoe and a bluetooth receiver for your Nano. The sensors record how fast/far/long you run.

In all honesty this is one of the best partnerships/products I have ever seen. The execution of the product is nearly perfect. The data is easily understandable, automaticaly updated to nikeplus.com and relevant. The community features of nikeplus.com are fantastic. The Nike product tie-ins are obvious but are presented as a feature not an advertisement. I probably would buy some Nike+ shoes if they fit my feet.

Bottom line: Since I got this thing, I actually want to run more.

The problem?

After being berated by half truth marketing messages for 25 years, I unconsciously developed the attitude that all marketing is exaggerated. (which is 99% true) When the Nike+ system actually exceeded both my expectations and the marketing I got uncomfortable. I don’t like feeling like the marketers were right. I try to tell myself that I would be running anyways, but I know its not true.

I guess for now I have to give credit where credit is due: good work Apple and Nike… thanks for making a product that is so good I actually don’t want to like it.

I would humbly like to submit this as the Best-Picture-Taken-With-A-Mobile-Phone-Through-A-Car-Window-While-Driving-Around-A-Corner.

*No photoshopping or color correction has been done to this image.

The TED conference kicks ass. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it before.

TED stands for Technlology, Entertainment, and Design.

The TED group throws a conference for the top 1000 scientists, inventors, designers, business leaders, artists, photographers, architects, film-makers, musicians, authors, explorers and visionaries. The goal is to provide a forum for sharing ideas.

This, of course, is what TED has always been about. Bring together extraordinary people from every area of thought, work and culture, and lo and behold, astonishing connections are made, excitement and inspiration follow.

It works this way because all knowledge is connected. Hearing experts in your field may deliver incremental improvements to what you do… But if you want the big breakthrough, the giant Aha… then you have to emerge from your trench, climb to higher ground and see the big picture.

After 5 minutes on the TED site I was hooked. I had to attend the 2007 conference. Unfortunately I ran into two problems. The $4400 price tag and the fact that the passes have been sold out for nearly a year. Ah well, I guess I will just have to follow the the TED Blog like a normal person.

Check out their site and blog. Make sure to watch some of the podcasts. I only got through two of them tonight, but it is some of the best content I have viewed on the web. Very inspiring.

Why not break up the lack of blog posts with a bouncing bear! Ahh Montana, how I miss thee.

Tyler pointed out this post on http://collegehumor.com. Sweet.

“We forced two freshmen to carry the background for us.”

If you find scary movies unnerving, brace yourself for the new designer purses they’ve (obviously) inspired
By Dale Hrabi

As various blogs have documented, high fashion has been working its malnourished butt off lately to make handbags as ugly as possible. While we’re concerned about these purses’ self-esteem—how would you feel if your face were obscured with gratuitous zippers, vomitous fringe, leprous appliqués, and macabre pom-poms?—the real question is: What’s behind this trend?

At first we were puzzled. Then, while screening the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we casually noted Leatherface’s resemblance to a certain Fendi satchel and a light went off: Have designers, desperate for shock value, been turning to horror movie villains for inspiration? Further investigation bears out this troubling theory.

HANDBAGS OF HORROR CONTINUED