O’BON: Building a Better Pencil
These fabulous pencils aren’t built in Los Angeles but we can sure benefit from them
by Deborah Shadovitz Instead of pencils and paper, how about pencils made out of paper — and paper made from sugarcane. [column-group][column] You know that mild frustration that comes when you sharpen a pencil — and the wood doesn’t peel evenly so you have to keep cutting away at the wood until you can actually write or draw with that pencil? Or the frustration of a pencil point that keeps breaking off as you sharpen it? I don’t — when using O’BON pencils. I first saw O’BON pencils at an ecology show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. They were laid out on a table and were so attractive that I just had to stop and look. Picking one up, I noticed how smooth the sharpened area looked, and then I saw the unique design that encircled the lead. It was then that I noticed the bowl full of pretty swirls was actually a bowl of pencil shavings. Could a pencil really be made from newspaper wrapped graphite? I’d never really thought about how that graphite ever got into its wood. I tried the pencil. It was an excellent quality 2B graphite, silky smooth both writing and held to the side for sketching. I came to learn that O’BON makes a point out of using high-quality graphite. O’BON also makes sketching pencils and colored pencils. I liked them all.




Notebooks and Binders, too
O’BON also makes binders and journals (notebooks). The journal pages are made from Sugarcane (aka Bagasse) Paper, covers printed with Soy-Based Inks. This means that no trees are used in the process of creating the paper. Not even recycled paper.About Bagasse
Bagasse (Buh-Gas) is the remnant of a sugarcane plant after the juice is drained from it. By creating paper from it, the company is getting more from the plant. You can learn more about bugasse here at O’BON’s website and learn more about the making of the bagasse products here.More Info
You can learn about the making of these and traditional pencils on the O’BON website. [/column][/column-group]]]> O’BON: Building a Better Pencil
These fabulous pencils aren’t built in Los Angeles but we can sure benefit from them
by Deborah Shadovitz Instead of pencils and paper, how about pencils made out of paper — and paper made from sugarcane. [column-group][column] You know that mild frustration that comes when you sharpen a pencil — and the wood doesn’t peel evenly so you have to keep cutting away at the wood until you can actually write or draw with that pencil? Or the frustration of a pencil point that keeps breaking off as you sharpen it? I don’t — when using O’BON pencils. I first saw O’BON pencils at an ecology show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. They were laid out on a table and were so attractive that I just had to stop and look. Picking one up, I noticed how smooth the sharpened area looked, and then I saw the unique design that encircled the lead. It was then that I noticed the bowl full of pretty swirls was actually a bowl of pencil shavings. Could a pencil really be made from newspaper wrapped graphite? I’d never really thought about how that graphite ever got into its wood. I tried the pencil. It was an excellent quality 2B graphite, silky smooth both writing and held to the side for sketching. I came to learn that O’BON makes a point out of using high-quality graphite. O’BON also makes sketching pencils and colored pencils. I liked them all.




Notebooks and Binders, too
O’BON also makes binders and journals (notebooks). The journal pages are made from Sugarcane (aka Bagasse) Paper, covers printed with Soy-Based Inks. This means that no trees are used in the process of creating the paper. Not even recycled paper.About Bagasse
Bagasse (Buh-Gas) is the remnant of a sugarcane plant after the juice is drained from it. By creating paper from it, the company is getting more from the plant. You can learn more about bugasse here at O’BON’s website and learn more about the making of the bagasse products here.More Info
You can learn about the making of these and traditional pencils on the O’BON website. [/column][/column-group]]]>iPod & iPhone Speaker Recommendations
Because the people of Los Angeles deserve good sound
by Deborah Shadovitz with Mario Salinas (2010) Much like the CDs reduced people’s music collections from major shelves (or multiple milk crates) to shoebox-sized containers and the iPod reduced CD collections to the size of a deck of cards, we’ve seen home speaker systems shrink greatly as well. However, sound is the result of air being moved. That’s much easier with a large speaker in a large speaker cabinet, but a great challenge for today’s small speaker system that typically contains an iPod dock. The challenge for speaker manufacturers is to create true, clear sound within a small box. On this page we show you two speakers that we’ve tested and like. Both are by Memorex. We’ll bring you other recommendations as we have the opportunity to check them out for you. [hr] About our speaker evaluation The best measure of an audio playback or speaker system is: Does the music sound like the producer of that music intended for that music to sound? Is the sound reproduced faithfully? Most of us can only guess what any particular music producer had in mind for his/her sounds. So we called upon Mario Salinas, a professional music producer, former owner of Milagro Sound Recorders in Glendale, California. Mario tried these systems with his own music, music he produced — so he knows for sure what was intended to be heard. He also tried each speaker with a range of other music in order to hear which type of music each speaker or headphone reproduced best. [hr]The Memorex™ PartyCube™ CD Sound System
We love this speaker — for many reasons! It’s amazingly well thought out. It sounds great.
Excellent sound
PartyCube CD Sound System can easily fill a room with clean-sounding music without irritating distortion. It has a crisp high end and enhanced low end while the voices sit nicely in the middle, making it a fine choice for most songs with lyrics and also for orchestral compositions. If you raise the volume to the point where you start to feel the sound like in the old big-speakers days, the music will distort. That’s not what this comfortable-sounding home speaker is for. At the mid volumes which is easily loud enough when you’re alone enjoying the sound, the music is true to what the artists wanted you to hear. If you were to use it during a small get-together, full volume would cause your guests to have to yell to be heard and would ask you to turn the volume down. At full volume the sound reached into every room of a one-level, two-bedroom condo. Mario felt that in a family home situation, the sound from the PartyCube wouldn’t blast the house and annoy other family members. With great clarity on the high end and good sized speakers, it’s an excellent choice for a home or office if your choice in music is most popular music or orchestra. It’s not strong on bass though so if you’re into Hip-hop this isn’t the greatest solution for you. (But your neighbors would like you better than when they get stuck hearing your base in their walls.)Convenient built in CD Player
Having an iPod is great. It holds a ton of music and makes it easy to get to any of your music. But what about the times when a friend brings a CD to your party, get togethers, or just to hang out? Even with the most convenient laptop, it’s not appropriate to stop and import that music, create a new playlist, stop the party to undock your iPod and sync it. That’s inconvenient, and there’s a matter of this being illegal as well. Having a CD player right on top to easily pop your friend’s music into is a terrific plus. Memorex has another model of the PartyCube that doesn’t have the CD. It’s about $49 less, but we so love having the CD that we didn’t ask to try that model.Features we love in the PartyCube™ CD Sound System

Any downsides?
The only downside is that if you’re into having a remote you’re out of luck. To turn the volume down or switch playlists, you’ll need to step up to it. But is it really that awful to have to get up from your couch to turn down the volume when you answer the phone? These days, most of us need any excuse to get up off our butts. Actually though, this unit will nicely fit on an end table for those who want it to be within reach.More info
The PartyCube™ CD Sound System is by Memorex™ and comes in both White and Charcoal Black. MSRP is $149.99 You can learn more about this speaker at the official Memorex product page for the PartyCube CD Sound System or its product support page. Unfortunately, we cannot find technical specs for this speaker anywhere on the Memorex site.The Memorex™ Tagalong™ Portable Boombox — for iPod or iPhone


Features we love in the Tagalong
- At just 6.7″ x 3.5″ x 8.7″ with a built in handle, it’s easy to pick up and take anywhere.
- It can run on 4 AA A batteries.
- The electrical plug is relatively small and thin, and faces sideways so it doesn’t hog your power outlet.
- Silicon feet protect your furniture and help the speaker from sliding around. (A smaller unit, these feet don’t keep the Tagalong in place as with the PartyCube.
- It charges all iPhones and iPods, as do most iPod dock speakers
- It contains an AM/FM radio tuner so we don’t need yet another device, as is typical with most iPod/mp3 speaker systems. There are 3 FM and 3 AM presets (on the front). (FM antenna is included.)
- It has a backlit display so you can see your radio station, track number, etc.
- Memorex has brilliantly placed a flat knob behind where the iPod sits. There’s no need to change out backing panels or risk the iPod sitting too loosely.
- There is a line-in jack so you can connect other mp3 players, or other digital audio devices.
Any downsides?
Designed for portability, the speakers on the Tagalong are not large, reducing it’s ability to produce low end sound as faithfully as the PartyCube CD Sound System. But it’s not meant for that finer reproduction. There’s no remote, but as this is always within reach a remote would add unnecessary cost.More info
The Tagalong™ Portable Boombox is by Memorex™ and comes in both White and Charcoal Black. (Our photo of the white Tagalong doesn’t do justice to it’s color.) MSRP is $59.99 SRP is $59.99 You can learn more about this speaker at the official Memorex product page for this speaker or its product support page. Unfortunately, we cannot find technical specs for this speaker anywhere on the Memorex site.]]>iPod & iPhone Speaker Recommendations
Because the people of Los Angeles deserve good sound
by Deborah Shadovitz with Mario Salinas (2010) Much like the CDs reduced people’s music collections from major shelves (or multiple milk crates) to shoebox-sized containers and the iPod reduced CD collections to the size of a deck of cards, we’ve seen home speaker systems shrink greatly as well. However, sound is the result of air being moved. That’s much easier with a large speaker in a large speaker cabinet, but a great challenge for today’s small speaker system that typically contains an iPod dock. The challenge for speaker manufacturers is to create true, clear sound within a small box. On this page we show you two speakers that we’ve tested and like. Both are by Memorex. We’ll bring you other recommendations as we have the opportunity to check them out for you. [hr] About our speaker evaluation The best measure of an audio playback or speaker system is: Does the music sound like the producer of that music intended for that music to sound? Is the sound reproduced faithfully? Most of us can only guess what any particular music producer had in mind for his/her sounds. So we called upon Mario Salinas, a professional music producer, former owner of Milagro Sound Recorders in Glendale, California. Mario tried these systems with his own music, music he produced — so he knows for sure what was intended to be heard. He also tried each speaker with a range of other music in order to hear which type of music each speaker or headphone reproduced best. [hr]The Memorex™ PartyCube™ CD Sound System
We love this speaker — for many reasons! It’s amazingly well thought out. It sounds great.
Excellent sound
PartyCube CD Sound System can easily fill a room with clean-sounding music without irritating distortion. It has a crisp high end and enhanced low end while the voices sit nicely in the middle, making it a fine choice for most songs with lyrics and also for orchestral compositions. If you raise the volume to the point where you start to feel the sound like in the old big-speakers days, the music will distort. That’s not what this comfortable-sounding home speaker is for. At the mid volumes which is easily loud enough when you’re alone enjoying the sound, the music is true to what the artists wanted you to hear. If you were to use it during a small get-together, full volume would cause your guests to have to yell to be heard and would ask you to turn the volume down. At full volume the sound reached into every room of a one-level, two-bedroom condo. Mario felt that in a family home situation, the sound from the PartyCube wouldn’t blast the house and annoy other family members. With great clarity on the high end and good sized speakers, it’s an excellent choice for a home or office if your choice in music is most popular music or orchestra. It’s not strong on bass though so if you’re into Hip-hop this isn’t the greatest solution for you. (But your neighbors would like you better than when they get stuck hearing your base in their walls.)Convenient built in CD Player
Having an iPod is great. It holds a ton of music and makes it easy to get to any of your music. But what about the times when a friend brings a CD to your party, get togethers, or just to hang out? Even with the most convenient laptop, it’s not appropriate to stop and import that music, create a new playlist, stop the party to undock your iPod and sync it. That’s inconvenient, and there’s a matter of this being illegal as well. Having a CD player right on top to easily pop your friend’s music into is a terrific plus. Memorex has another model of the PartyCube that doesn’t have the CD. It’s about $49 less, but we so love having the CD that we didn’t ask to try that model.Features we love in the PartyCube™ CD Sound System

Any downsides?
The only downside is that if you’re into having a remote you’re out of luck. To turn the volume down or switch playlists, you’ll need to step up to it. But is it really that awful to have to get up from your couch to turn down the volume when you answer the phone? These days, most of us need any excuse to get up off our butts. Actually though, this unit will nicely fit on an end table for those who want it to be within reach.More info
The PartyCube™ CD Sound System is by Memorex™ and comes in both White and Charcoal Black. MSRP is $149.99 You can learn more about this speaker at the official Memorex product page for the PartyCube CD Sound System or its product support page. Unfortunately, we cannot find technical specs for this speaker anywhere on the Memorex site.The Memorex™ Tagalong™ Portable Boombox — for iPod or iPhone


Features we love in the Tagalong
- At just 6.7″ x 3.5″ x 8.7″ with a built in handle, it’s easy to pick up and take anywhere.
- It can run on 4 AA A batteries.
- The electrical plug is relatively small and thin, and faces sideways so it doesn’t hog your power outlet.
- Silicon feet protect your furniture and help the speaker from sliding around. (A smaller unit, these feet don’t keep the Tagalong in place as with the PartyCube.
- It charges all iPhones and iPods, as do most iPod dock speakers
- It contains an AM/FM radio tuner so we don’t need yet another device, as is typical with most iPod/mp3 speaker systems. There are 3 FM and 3 AM presets (on the front). (FM antenna is included.)
- It has a backlit display so you can see your radio station, track number, etc.
- Memorex has brilliantly placed a flat knob behind where the iPod sits. There’s no need to change out backing panels or risk the iPod sitting too loosely.
- There is a line-in jack so you can connect other mp3 players, or other digital audio devices.
Any downsides?
Designed for portability, the speakers on the Tagalong are not large, reducing it’s ability to produce low end sound as faithfully as the PartyCube CD Sound System. But it’s not meant for that finer reproduction. There’s no remote, but as this is always within reach a remote would add unnecessary cost.More info
The Tagalong™ Portable Boombox is by Memorex™ and comes in both White and Charcoal Black. (Our photo of the white Tagalong doesn’t do justice to it’s color.) MSRP is $59.99 SRP is $59.99 You can learn more about this speaker at the official Memorex product page for this speaker or its product support page. Unfortunately, we cannot find technical specs for this speaker anywhere on the Memorex site.]]>So much more than just a pen!
By Tyler Regas It’s rare to experience something that fundamentally redefines the way we look at something we never even considered a candidate for advancement. The pen is certainly one of those devices. What more could you do with a device that makes a line on paper when you move it around? [clearboth] [column-group][column] Humans have been making written records for centuries and for most of that time we’ve used something akin to the common, consistent, irreplaceable pen. It has taken many forms, but its function has remained the same — until the Pulse smartpen from LiveScribe Inc. came along.


- Draw sketches as well as words.
- Draw working calculators or use the scientific/financial/statistical calculator included inside the cover of every notebook.
- Create “pencasts.”
I find that in most cases I do very well with my Pulse smartpen and my BlackBerry smartphone. The Pulse smartpen should be a huge success in the professional service industries and I expect it will be used by millions of doctors, lawyers, and engineers who must retain copious notes on everything they do. In fact, I suggested a Pulse to a doctor friend some months ago and soon after, received an angry phone call from his assistant demanding to know when she’d be getting a Pulse! It is amazing that a small, simple, and common piece of technology can have such a profound impact on how we work, but the LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen is just such a product. This pen is well worth the cost and will last years. If anyone in your life has issues with technology but needs help getting organized or takes a lot of notes, strongly consider the gift of an easier life in the form of a LiveScribe Pulse smartpen.
The Pulse Pen Specs
6.1″ 1.3 oz. 150MHz processor 2GB = $149.95 4GB = $169.95 Available at Livescribe.com and at retailed listed here. Several types of notebooks and accessories are available. Company:
About The Dot Paper
There are many paper options. You can even purchase UK-sized paper. Check Livescribe.com for current offerings.- Single Subject Notebooks
- Flip Notepad, 4-Pack, Black Cover A pocket-sized (3″ x 5″) flip notepad with a protective black cover makes it convenient for quick and easy note taking on the spot.
- Lined dot paper replacement flip notepads.
More Info
You can see this pen in simulated action on this LiveScribe page Note: This review was written July 2009. It’s still accurate, but the pen keeps getting even more powerful, so use this as a basis for your expectations, not as the last record.[/column][/column-group]]]>