Jan
10
2010
In an age where it’s easy to buy stuff on a whim I’ve been having a think about the things I bought last year which I’ve continued to use consistently and gave the maximum return on investment. They range from under a pound to, well, a bit more
iStuff Hamburger Speaker
(Pic: laptopstuff.co.uk)
Apart from having young children I’ve not experienced such a big sound from something so small. Makes a big difference during presentations and demonstrations or just waking up a lethargic office at the end of the day.
KettleBell Weight 24KG
(Pic: Jordan Weights)
Easy to keep in a corner and there are a host of effective CV and strength exercises which can be done with this. If I’m travelling in the UK this goes in the car without having to pack a set of weights.
Samsung X360
Fabulous for travelling around as it's lighter and more powerful than a MacBook Air with more expansion, more memory, 7-8 hours battery life and the screen is the best feature by far. This easily gets into the Top 5 and, yes, runs Windows 7 very nicely.
Rage against the Machine tracks
(Pic: BBC)
Low cost but great return. No, I’m not a ‘smug liberal’, not ‘looking down my nose’ and, as far as I know, not a sheep. I was, however, a massive Rage Against the Machine, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine and Nirvana fan in the early nineties and thought this was a well-executed campaign which put one of my favourite tracks at the top of the charts. As for Joe McElderry, he did very well in X-Factor and does have a nice voice, but the resumption of a proper Christmas battle with a great track was the icing on the cake.
Last but by no means least:
Triumph Sprint ST 1050
(Pic: motorrad-erinnerungen.de)
The MCN reviewsays it all:
“The Triumph Sprint ST is the best sports-touring motorcycle of its generation by some margin”
I’ve an ‘07 plate non-ABS the same colour as the photo above. My favourite features? The burble sound of the triple pipes once it’s warmed up, the single swing-arm look and the sans-panniers grin and blast it gives me on a warm day (not that there’s been one for a while). There is a 3D PhotoSynth of the bike here
Just missing out…
Had to be the kayak I managed to get for a reasonable price back home in Cornwall. Only excluded as I managed to use it for just a week, although I plan to improve on that this year…
(Pic: September 2009 looking towards St Michael’s Mount)