High Tech Desk With High Price Tag Has High Hopes: The Stir Kinetic Desk

Many of us spend a good portion of our waking hours at desks, using computers and other devices to communicate and collaborate with the world around us. The folks at Stir felt that there was an incredible opportunity to re-imagine the desk as something powerful, life-changing and even lovable and that's how they came up with the pricey $3,890 Stir Kinetic Desk.



The people behind Stir are from places you’ve heard of: Apple, Disney, and IDEO to name a few. This includes industrial designers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, software developers, user-interface designers, marketers, media folks, and a whole bunch of smart business creators.

In recent news Stir has secured $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Vegas TechFund and Zach Ware. Josh Makower, John R. Woodard, Richard Klein, and other Apple alumni also contributed to the round, according to TechCrunch.

The startup will use the new capital for the expansion of its production and distribution. It will also develop more ways to increase the functionality of the kinetic desk, the report added.

So what makes an almost $4000 desk a worthwhile investment?



Here's how it works:
The Stir Kinetic Desk is driven by software, and adapts to your work style. It knows when you arrive, and tracks standing time and extra calories burned.


The Stir Kinetic Desk also learns from your patterns and preferences. In active mode, the Whisperbreath feature gently moves the desk up and down one inch, inviting you to change position. It’s a gentle, tactile reminder to breathe deeply and change things up. The desk learns when it’s best to remind you, so that being more active is effortless.



Beneath the desk’s sleek exterior, sophisticated electronics learn users’ patterns and preferences and coordinate the desk functions with user goals. A presence sensor identifies when a user is at the desk so that calorie burn and percent-standing metrics are accurate. A database tracks each user’s goals and progress and automatically invites movement at appropriate times. The “active mode” switch on the front of the desk turns on and off reminders. A color display with a touch-sensitive interface provides user interaction and feedback.



The user interacts with the desk through a 4.3-inch color LCD touchscreen (approx. 2” x 3.5”). A user can command and control the desk with gestures through the simple touch-sensitive interface.



Data on progress and history are provided through a series of graphical and text-based data visualization tools. These tools allow a user to be in touch with fitness progress toward individual fitness and health goals each day, week, or longer.



Working at a desk also means connecting to power sources and accessory devices. The Stir Kinetic Desk is equipped with bluetooth and wi-fi hardware and has built-in ports for both AC and USB power. Your desk will be neat, clean, and free of pesky cords that can distract you from being inspired or anchor you in a sitting position.



The Stir Kinetic Desk has a set of proprietary algorithms and custom interfaces to allow the desk to sense, learn, and adapt to the needs of each individual user. The firmware also tracks usage and remembers data and preferences.

Health and Wellness
Stir's surveys indicate that less than 30% of other sit/stand workstations successfully engage their owners and deliver the full health and wellness benefits of sitting less. They are either too hard to use, disrupt other worktop equipment, or simply get left in one position for too long because you’re thinking about something else. The Stir Kinetic Desk was created to eliminate these barriers.

People around the world are studying the ill effects of what is now being referred to as the "sitting disease" and below are a few examples:

• ”Sitting is the smoking of our generation.“ - Harvard Business Review

• Each 8-hour day sitting can cut 2.5 hours off of life expectancy. - British Journal of Sports Medicine reference in NYT

• ”When you sit for an extended period of time, your body starts to shut down at the metabolic level.“ - Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri (Women's Health: Your Body's Biggest Enemy - The dangers of living a sedentary life)

• 50-minute daily productivity improvement with sit/stand - Miami University Study

Detailed Technical Specifications*


• Dimensions
Top Dimensions: 58.5” x 29.5” x 3.5”
• Adjustable height:
Approximately 25” – 51”, electrically actuated
• Weight: ~150 lbs.
• Dynamic load capacity: 75 lbs.
• Static load capacity 200 lbs.
• Capacitive Touchscreen input: color 4.3” screen
• Power ports: 8 AC & 4 USB
Two (2) power ports at back corners of desk, with 4 AC and 2 USB each
Each port compartment is 12” x 8.5” x 2.5” and can be used to hide or store cables or other power equipment

Materials and Colors:


• Desktop is a hardwood core with a variety of premium finishes including hardwood and hard-coated polymer options
• Power port covers are powder coated metal, hinged in coordinated colors
• Desk legs are powder-coated metal, available in coordinated colors
• Desk underside is lacquered high density fiberboard, available in 4 colors
Green: Pantone 361C
Ultramarine: Pantone 2728C
Crimson: Pantone 200C
Charcoal: Pantone 426C
Electronics
• Line Voltage: 100-120V AC
• Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz, single phase
• Operating Temperature: 50° to 85° F (10° to 29° C)
• Relative Humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing

Simple assembly required including attaching legs with bolts and attaching the middle underside panel.



* Specifications subject to change. Product includes wifi and bluetooth hardware. Software to use these features has not yet been developed. Wifi and bluetooth features will not be enabled initially and the timing for offering any additional features using wireless communication functions will be at Stir's sole discretion, and with terms of use to be determined by Stir. User presence sensing accuracy can be impacted by some environmental factors; 100% accuracy not guaranteed. Stir desktops are made from natural hardwoods and are hand crafted and finished and therefore may have irregularities in the surface and finish.

Order the Stir Kinetic Desk here

Visit Stir for more information

Best Time To Go Pee During A Movie? There's An App For That.

Yes, there really is an app for just about everything. And RunPee is proof of that. The app, which is downloadable for the iPhone, Android and Windows phones, is pretty damn genius. Not only has Dan Florio come up with a wonderful idea for movie watchers with small bladders or enlarged prostates, but he has also created and implemented the app in such a way that it is truly helpful and more informative than one might think.  

Note: The logo, social media sites and website are in desperate need of a redesign, but I'm going to disregard that for now.



How Does It Work?
After carefully watching newly released and in-theater movies, RunPee determines the best "Pee Times," 3-4 minute windows during which nothing crucial, extra funny or visually fantastic is occurring, for a large database of commercially produced films.



You start a timer at the beginning of the movie and your phone will vibrate (no bothering fellow movie-goers) a few minutes before each Pee Time so you can just sit back, relax and enjoy the movie.



It offers "suggested Peetimes" - Not all peetimes are the same. Some are better than others. The apps have a short message before the peetimes informing you which one we would recommend using and which ones might be for emergency use only.



There's even a synopsis of what you might miss during a particular Pee Time (you can read that on the toilet):



Scanning the movies to find these times where you need not worry you wasted your hard-earned movie ticket money and you can slip right back into the movie, able to pick up where you left off without having missed anything major, is only part of the app.

Additional Features:


• Gives you a synopsis of the first 3 minutes of most movies just in case you’re running late.

• Check-in to social media sites Facebook and Twitter



• Lets you know if there is anything during or after the end credits that you should stick around for like bloopers, outtakes, epilogues or funny jokes. No more waiting 8-10 minutes for nothing. [Note: This is also very helpful for those movie theaters with crowded parking lots so you can just duck out the second the movie ends]



• Quick access to RottenTomatoes.com ratings as well as information about the cast and crew from IMDb.com



• Uses local storage to store movie data on your phone for use later when in case you are offline inside the theater.

• Sign up for an e-mail notification as to when a movie is released on DVD/Blue-Ray.



• Post movie reviews to Facebook from the app without the trouble of texting:



• View ratings/ reviews by other RunPee app users




The website RunPee is free to use, but the mobile app has certain advantages over the free web service, such as most of those listed above. The movie list on the free website only goes back 3 months but the mobile app let you view every movie in the database - covering nearly ever wide release movie since Summer of 2009.


above: Dan Florio, the brainchild behind RunPee, came up with the idea for the app while watching the 2005 three hour remake of King Kong.

In addition to the aforementioned, the Run Pee page on Facebook also gives you a peek at movie trailers for upcoming releases and reviews of new movies.

With the help of movie critic, Shanee Edwards, who now works for the folks at RunPee, they have access to movie screenings before a movie is released to the public, so that in most cases PeeTimes for a newly released movie are posted quickly.



The app is only .99 cents, which is a great bargain.

Download it here:

Eat Fit Cutlery - A Workout With Every Bite.

Eat your way to bigger biceps as you shovel food into your pie-hole. Eat Fit Cutlery is a stainless steel knife, fork and spoon with a dumbbell as the handle. The flatware tips the scales at 1 Kilogram or 2.2lbs each - the equivalent of a bag of sugar.





The utensils are expensive as they are handmade. Knife and fork set is $125 and the set with dessert spoon weighs in at $149.

Dimensions:
1kg Knife measures approximately 32.5cm(L) x 4cm(Ø)
1kg Fork measures approximately 30.5cm(L) x 4cm(Ø)
2kg Spoon measures approximately 32.8cm(L) x 5.8cm(Ø)

Sold out everywhere else, they are only available at The Cheeky.

The San Francisco BatKid Story Should Move Your Money As Well as Your Heart.

If you haven't yet heard the amazing story of the city of San Francisco pulling together to make the dream of 5 year old cancer-stricken Miles Scott come true, you simply must read about it here.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation transformed the "City By The Bay" into Gotham City, providing the 5 year old leukemia patient with a Batmobile, a nemesis and a damsel in distress. In addition to a specially printed newspaper front page and the cheering support of hundreds of locals, he even received a key to the city.

If the #SFBatKid story is warming your heart (and if it's not, there's something wrong with you), here's your chance to do something about it. Donate to Make-A-Wish Foundation here so you can help make someone else's dream come true.

You can view live updates here and follow him on twitter at @SFBatKid

Repent With Sin-Care, A Line Of Skin Serums For Those Of Us A Little Less Than Perfect.

Despite my vanity, I've done all the things one ought not to when it comes to protecting my skin over the years. I've indulged in both smoke and drink, baked in the sun, ingested far too many sweets, rarely get a good night's sleep and live in a city known for smog. And yes, my skin is paying for it. Enter Sin-Care, a line of nine specialty booster serums from Australia, is here to help me - and you - atone.



The Sin-Care serums are made with natural ingredients tested for their efficacy and come in sleek, recyclable Italian glass 50 ml pump bottles. You don't need to change your present skin care regimen or buy a bunch of products, just use this along with your other products to help your skin repent for all that unintentional skin sinning. The packaging has a tongue-in-cheek retro pin-up girl look and the frosted glass bottles are made of recycled glass. Carried at the chicest of stores, they cost $80 each.

Full size boxes:


sample sized boxes:


above photos ©if it's hip, it's here

from their press release:
Also known as “extrinsic” aging, lifestyle factors both within and outside of our control can age skin as much as time itself. After years of studying the effects that certain habits and environments can have on skin, the company has launched the world’s first serum-only product line with a holistic, lifestyle-based approach.

Most anti-aging skin care products are designed to reduce the signs of chronological aging, also known as “intrinsic” aging. This refers to the slowing of collagen production, the breakdown of collagen and elastin, and a weakening of the skin’s underlying support structure. But these products can’t possibly know your secret indulgences (be they smoking, sugar, alcohol or sun), whether you live in a polluted city or in the desert, or what kind of stressors you may face – from over-exercise to lack of sleep. All of these external factors can produce fine lines and wrinkles, and dull the skin.

Pick your potion
Simply own up to your problem, select your Sin Care fix from a repertoire of nine precise, silky serums – and slip it into your existing skin care regimen. There’s no need to change the products you’re currently using. Choose from:

• PARTY GIRL – If you love evenings out with friends spent to the music of champagne corks, cocktail shakers doing their work, and the clink of glasses, this one is for you:


• URBAN RENEWAL – City life is exhilarating, except for the polluted air. Give skin a breather


• SUN GODDESS – For hard core ex-sun junkies AND everyone who drives, walks the dog or strolls out to the mailbox


• LINE REWIND – Neglected skin is older looking skin. Time for a do-over


• RELAXATION SENSATION – A spa in a bottle for stressed faces


• SLEEP DOCTOR – For those who work or frolic too hard


• SUGAR HIT – Have your cake and beautiful skin too


• SMOKER’S SECRET – Use it, just until you quit


• SKIN COACH – Replenish minerals after that triathlon, or brutal session with your very mean trainer


Saintly serums
Sinned against skin needs serious help. Sin-Care chose to deliver that in the form of serums, which are far more concentrated than most facial creams. Such creams are made of either “oil in water” or “water in oil” emulsions which sometimes contain as little of 5 -7% active ingredients. (A greater quantity would cause them to separate or disintegrate.) Serums, on the other hand, can accommodate a greater number of concentrated ingredients and a higher concentration of those actives, thus offering stronger anti-aging protection. In addition, serums can be layered or mixed with other skin care products to customize a beauty routine. They can be used on any skin type and are also gentle enough to use in the delicate area around the eyes, one of the spots that is highly susceptible to lifestyle aging.

Virtuous ingredients
Sin-Care serums are made from a cocktail of nutrients that include natural cosmeceuticals, vitamins, herbs, antioxidants and biotech ingredients like yeast and algae. They also contain hyaluronic acid from a vegetal source to help instantly diminish the appearance of wrinkles and moisturize the skin. All ingredients have been tested for their efficacy against the lifestyle factor in question.

Even if you’re zealously faithful when it comes to hydrating, using sunscreen, and always removing makeup before bed, you’re bound to commit a skin care sin from time to time. Thanks to Sin-Care, your skin no longer has to let the whole world know what you’ve been up to. For that, there’s always Facebook.



Sin-Care serums are available at NewBeauty in Fred Segal Santa Monica, Henri Bendel in New York City, Soft Surroundings stores, Beauty Collection Sherman Oaks, Amazon Prime, BeautySak.com, and other fine retailers across the U.S. For further information, visit here 

info and bottle photos courtesy of Sin Care