It’s always a great feeling when someone compliments you on what you’re wearing. I routinely get compliments on my pants when I wear a pair of (the few I own) Bonobos trousers.

Recently, Bonobos paid me quite a compliment by pointing to this here little site as one of their favorite style blogs. That’s quite a crew they lumped me with and I’d just like to say thank you.

You might say I like “designing” bikes. While I’ve only completed two, I get very obsessed with finding parts, styles and looks I want to take and make into my own bike. Below is the second bike I have worked with JD’s Cycle Shack on (the other is a mountain bike I’ll feature later). I call it the “Gentleman’s Cruiser”, and while there is much more for me to add to it, I thought I’d get the semi-finished product up here.

Current features: Brooks (brown) leather saddle, wood grips, my grandfather’s WWII compass and a handmade umbrella.

Soon-to-be features: wood pedals, Billy Kirk bike bag, coffee holder on handlebars, front bag rack.

Before I forget, I’d just like to add a quick plug for JD. The prices are fair and the results and care are aces. The cool thing for me about it is we take an old bike, strip the paint, powder coat it and make it like new.

Here’s my thoughts on what sort of newspaper I would like to have delivered to me daily. This little thought of mine was largely triggered by Don’s posts on the topic (I may even offer my commentary on his iPhone magazine).

For starters, I do not want the newspaper to die. I love the feel of the paper on my fingers and looking at baseball box scores (tangent: is it just me or are radio and newspaper the only way to take in baseball if you’re NOT at the game?).

I do believe, however, that the model for newspapers needs a bit of an adjustment. Here’s my biggest wish: I want a different paper on different days. I’ve spent some quality time flipping through the pages of different newspapers and know that I like the Washington Post on Thursdays, The Wall Street Journal on Fridays, The Sunday NYT, Financial Times on Tuesday, etc.

Can you see it? I want subscription model where I am able to select the paper I want on what day. I think I’d spend a bit more and with the ability to print anywhere (I mean can’t they just email the stories to a local printer?) I should be able to pick (and change weekly if I want) what paper I want on what day. Here’s what I want:

• Sunday: New York Times and Local Paper (coupons, obvs)
• Monday: USA Today
• Tuesday: Financial Times
• Wednesday: Local Paper
• Thursday: Washington Post
• Friday: Wall Street Journal
• Saturday: International Herald Tribune

It can’t be that difficult to pull off. And, I’d bet there are others who would be interested in the model (if not, I think the point is that “old” media needs to be flexible and give people the content the way they want).

Another idea I’ve had, is maybe delivering in the morning doesn’t make sense anymore. What about offering an evening edition? I think having my paper in the evening is more likely to offer me news I can’t get on the internet during the day (I’m willing to bet that more often than not, we spend less time on the computer in the evening versus the day).

And, what if newspapers focused more on a magazine style format? Meaning, not focused on trying to get immediate news out the door and more focus on the editorial work. I wouldn’t mind seeing the local paper print 0nce a week with very detailed and well-thought out content. Then use the internet (Don’s iPhone magazine would be perfect) for the more immediate publication of stories?

Great little blurb here on why you should learn the skill of being lucky.

The American male is [now] more fashion-conscious … spending more time considering his appearance. It’s no longer just the metrosexual man that wants to dress well.

I concur.

A man should have a butcher.

A list of the 100 most beautiful words in the English language. Let’s make it a goal to add one word to our (speaking) vocabulary every week for the next 100.

Ailurophile A cat-lover.
Assemblage A gathering.
Becoming Attractive.
Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
Brood To think alone.
Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend together.
Cynosure A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance A brief love affair.
Demesne Dominion, territory.
Demure Shy and reserved.
Denouement The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude Disuse.
Desultory Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous Filmy.
Dissemble Deceive.
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent Bubbly.
Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.
Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir A good potion.
Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient A softener.
Ephemeral Short-lived.
Epiphany A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile At one time, for a time.
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative Suggestive.
Fetching Pretty.
Felicity Pleasantness.
Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious Fleeting.
Furtive Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour Beauty.
Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.
Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue To infuse, instill.
Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue A naïve young woman.
Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.
Inure To become jaded.
Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe A special kind of gift.
Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.
Languor Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure Free time.
Lilt To move musically or lively.
Lissome Slender and graceful.
Lithe Slender and flexible.
Love Deep affection.
Mellifluous Sweet sounding.
Moiety One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen A slip of the ear.
Murmurous Murmuring.
Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea A solution for all problems
Panoply A complete set.
Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra A half-shadow.
Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora A large quantity.
Propinquity An inclination.
Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most essential.
Ratatouille A spicy French stew.
Ravel To knit or unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Riparian By the bank of a stream.
Ripple A very small wave.
Scintilla A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal Eternal.
Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous Whispering, hissing.
Talisman A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation Tinkling.
Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial In trace amounts.
Wafture Waving.
Wherewithal The means.
Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.

An intentional community is a

planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and are often part of the alternative society. They typically also share responsibilities and resources.

Details on this forthcoming…

Hotel Secreto in Isle Mujeres, Mexico looks like the place I need to be right now. Rates through December 15, 2009 are ~$125 per night. If only I wasn’t too lazy to renew my passport.