LootCrate: January 2015

This month LootCrate celebrates classic arcade gaming with its theme, "Rewind".  From 8-Bit sunglasses and Voltron t-shirt to a skinny tie featuring Space Invaders from BlackTieGeek and special limited edition cover of issue 1 of the new Star Wars comic re-launch.  There is nothing here that I don't want to hold on to.  As always we'll let the pictures do the talking as we unpack the box this month. 

Voltron T-Shirt from FlopHouse

The full box with the shirt removed

8-bit Glasses by Lootrate Lab

Comic Notebook from Unemployed Philosophers Guild

Retro Arcade Skinny Tie from Black Tie Geek

 Retro Arcade Skinny Tie from Black Tie Geek

10-Doh Figure from Squid Kids Ink

Star Wars #1 - Exclusive LootCrate variant cover

Boulder Creek Men's Big & Tall Fleece-Hooded Camo Shirt Jacket.

Boulder Creek has been making clothes for big men for a long time, and they are thankfully consistent with their sizing.  One of the biggest problems I have had with ordering clothing online is that a 6XL can mean wildly different things depending on what country and brand is producing it.

King Size sent me this Camo print hooded shirt jacket, and just from the brand I knew I wasn't going to need to worry about the fit.  As far as the shirt itself, it is warm without being too heavy, and the sleeves button securely but are thin enough to be able to roll them up if you need to.

If you are looking for something to keep you warm but not too hot while working outside that will wear well and fit the way you expect, this shirt will do the trick and keep you comfortable in Fat Boy Heaven.

A new service is on a mission- can they out-geek LootCrate?

A few months ago I was contacted by a new Kickstarter project with a simple concept: to be a better and geekier box-a-month service than LootCrate.  The project was successful, reaching their funding goal in less than a week, and GEEKFUEL was born.

I just received their first ever box, along with a Kickstarter exclusive bonus box, and so far their method seems to be at least partially focused on enlisting popular artists from the DeviantArt community to add exclusive artwork to the mix.  Add exclusive comic books, limited edition Pop vinyl figures, caffeinated beverages and access codes for games and downloadable content on Steam and I think they have a chance to give the veterans a run for their money.

Instead of listing the contents I figured the best way to describe this product would be to take pictures as I was unpacking the box.  So here we go.  I give you GEEKFUEL:  

All told a pretty impressive showing for a first issue.  Subscriptions are available monthly, quarterly, every 6 months, or annually with price breaks and bonuses at each increased level.  I've been a big fan of LootCrate for a long time but GEEKFUEL is definitely making a name for themselves in Fat Boy Heaven.

Stop the woman from yelling...a Kickstarted relationship saver coming your way

I came across a simple yet elegant Kickstarter project today that is going to save a lot of relationships if we can all get on board and support it and get orders placed.

Adam Raby was brushing his teeth one day when he stabbed himself in the gums with a stray beard trimming that had fallen into his toothbrush.  It led him to launch this project.​  A specially coated cloth with suction cups at two corners which attach to your mirror to keep it above the items on your counter.

A simple easy solution and it will keep mama happy.  Not a bad plan, and it will keep us all living in Fat Boy Heaven.

Five years ago the world almost ended - Big Drew's View

Five years ago today Carrie came home from a doctor's appointment and said she needed to talk to me.  Those who have known me all of my life know I've been in some scary places, but I didn't know what fear felt like until my wife told me she had cancer that afternoon.  I didn't know what to do, but a song from my youth popped into my head, and it's lyrics never felt more appropriate.  Petra had a song in the late 1980s called "Get on your knees and fight like a man", and never did those lyrics make more sense than that night.

Somehow we made it through Christmas without telling the kids ( I can't remember how we managed that), through our individual breakdowns with family and friends.  We made it through the doctors appointments and surgery the same way we have made it through everything else life has thrown at us: together by the Grace of God.

When you are facing the ultimate test of faith and grace you learn a lot about yourself and those around you.  I learned two things.  First, I married Wonder Woman.  She beat cancer and came out the other side deciding to run marathons and finish college while still working full-time and not missing a beat.  The second thing I learned is that I don't know who I would be without her in my life, but I know it would be far less than I am.

Carrie completing a half marathon the summer after her cancer surgery.

In a few weeks she will be "Officially" Cancer Free, and we will celebrate with joy.  But this Christmas I wanted to make sure to that the world knew how thankful I was for the only gift I'll ever need:  my beautiful wife.

Carrie, the kids, and I this Thanksgiving 

The gift every one on your list needs this holiday season and doesn't know exists

In today's high tech world I am sure I am not the only geek who has a gear bag that goes everywhere I do.  Along with my iPhone, iPad, Bluetooth speaker, and headphones there were few things as critical to life as charging cables and power adapters.  Now added to that list are the technology accessory I buy for all of the non geeks in my life, portable power packs from Anker.  For an extremely limited time the great folks at Amazon are letting me give you this link for more than 50% off the normal price of their latest product, the 16000mAh Astro E5.  Fatboyheaven.com readers can buy it now for $39.99 instead of $89.99 by clicking this link right here.

The 1st gen devices were a revelation to me, carrying enough power to last a cross country train trip with my iPhone.  When I got this 2nd Gen model I was blown away.  It was less than 1/3 the volume while providing more than 2/3 the power.  That leap in battery technology is huge, and critical to keeping me out of the chiropractic office and in the field.

In this age where everyone has at least one piece of tech they can't be stranded without, this is the perfect gift you can be sure will be used and appreciated, even though most of the people you give it to will never have even known to ask for it.

Gizmodo has all the best CyberMonday deals in one place

As always, Gizmodo and Kinja have teamed up to put together a comprehensive list of CyberMonday deals for all things tech and geek, I'll post deals as I find them but their list is a good place to start today.

Our pick for best headphones less than half price today

Microsoft is selling the V-Moda LP2 CrossFade headphones that won our headphone comparison this summer for only $99 as a CyberMonday special while supplies last both online and in store for those of you who live near one of their Apple Store clones.  Run, don't walk to grab these while you can!

Great deal on one of the worlds best coffee makers

Amazon has discounted the price on the AeroPress, voted numerous places the worlds best coffee maker and one of our personal favorites.  Normally $30, it is now $25 and a great deal for the coffee lover in your life this holiday season.  We reviewed the AeroPress here early in the life of Fat Boy Heaven, you can check out what we had to say about it there and follow the link below for a great deal.

AeroPress

Review: NomadKey - The ultra portable lightning adapter

Nomad started as a KickStarter project in 2012 with a product called ChargeCard, a USB cable the size of a credit card.  That project raised more than 10 times the requested startup costs, and launched Nomad onto the stage, now with a range of USB products.

Their latest product to ship is the NomadKey, an ultraportable USB lightning adapter the size of a house key.  It is rugged and flexible while remaining infinitely portable.  So small it ships attached to a greeting card sized mailer.

For $29.00 this MFi certified cable is the greatest accessory cable I have for on the go convenience.  It and a full line of accessories are available here.

No Shave November is upon us, do you REALLY know how to shave?

This time of year hundreds of thousands of men will shave clean on November 1st and then forgo the razor for the rest of the month, either in pursuit of fundraising for numerous charities (most notably colon cancer) or out of corporate laziness.  However the key is a clean and close shave at the start of the month, and it is the small things that make the difference in a good shave.

A while back I posted about receiving my starter kit from Wet Shave Club.  There is something refreshing about taking the time to do things the old fashioned way.  Over the years somehow we have gotten to five bladed disposable razors and dozens of different shaving creme formulas purporting to cater to every possible skin type at often insane prices.  However my grandfather and yours managed to get close and clean shaves every morning using a double-edged safety razor, a puck of shaving soap and a brush.  Shaving is becoming a lost art, but it doesn't need to be.  

Here is how to shave the way our grandfathers did:

Step One:  Use a new clean blade every three days or so

Step Two: Prep your shaving brush by soaking it in warm water to soften the bristles

Step Three: Prep your beard.  This was often done at barber shops by placing a hot towel over the face to soften up the beard, but in my experience nothing beats a hot shower to soften up your hair and get it ready to come off.

Step Four: Build a lather with your brush.  Start with as little water as you can and add water as needed to get lather to desired consistency.

Step Five: Apply lather to beard.  Dab on, brushing with the grain.

Step Six:  Put razor to face!  Start with handle parallel to floor and then slightly drop end down until the blade just starts to grab hair.  Apply as little pressure as possible, letting the razor do the work unlike disposable razors.  Make sure you shave with the grain of your beard to avoid ingrown hairs.

It could take two or three passes to get a nice clean shave, but it is a beautiful thing.

Here's one for the country music fans

Yesterday morning I opened me email to find a message from Mr. Garth Brooks talking about his new album, Man Against Machine which is set to be released in a few weeks.  He was excited about this great idea one of the guys at GhostTunes (the site he launched to sell digital versions of his music) came up with.  The concept was to record a quick description of the song over the preview sample so that we could hear Garth's own thoughts about each song on the album.

Since the website is called GhostTunes and it was already the end of October they decided to launch the preview on Halloween.  Head on over for a sneak peek, it sounds amazing.  I can't wait for the album and Garth finally touring again after all these years.

From Garth's email:

"...a friend of mine at GhostTunes asked if we would take a different look at sampling for this new record...he wanted to know if we would speak a little bit on each song as a snippet of the song was playing. Because he asked, we went into studio and tried it. We were all surprised to hear how cool it turned out. Because it was his idea and his ask, I felt it fair to keep this to GhostTunes. Because it is GhostTunes, Halloween seems like the perfect time. So, for 24 hours, starting at midnight Thursday night, October 30th and for the entire 24 hours of Halloween, 2014, a sneak-peek at the new album will be available..."

You can here the preview at https://www.ghosttunes.com/garth-brooks/