penguin

Fizz With Flair, SodaStream's Penguin

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

The recent crop of home soda makers appeal on several levels: environmentally (no plastic bottles to discard), economically (no plastic bottles to buy) and practically (fizzy water for everyone, anytime). But one shortcoming has been aesthetics, since most models look like a Nalgene bottle jacked into a piece of lab equipment. Thankfully SodaStream has corrected this oversight with their Penguin.

Available through SodaStream's website and at Williams-Sonoma, this avian-themed carbonation factory is something you'll actually want to display at home. Operating without batteries or an electrical connection, the Penguin carbonates beverages with a few quick pumps of the beak (I prefer to add my own penguin sound effects when doing this). Simply rotate the stainless steel flask and insert one of the two glass carafes provided, which are attractive enough to pass for vases or decanters. Close and lock, depress the beak to activate (2-4 times, depending on how much fizz you're after), and push the pressure release valve before opening again. Once carbonated, you can seal the carafes with the provided hermetic stopper for freshness. The CO2 canisters that power the Penguin are easy to install and SodaStream estimates you'll get about 45 carafes-worth of fizz out of each.

SodaStream also offers various soda mixes and recently released a line of all-natural flavor syrups, from apple mango to pink grapefruit, but I've found that a few well-placed lime wedges work just as well. I haven't yet experimented with the Penguin and alcoholic beverages, but something tells me a Collins night is in order soon.

Tags: carbonation, kitchen gadgets, penguin, soda, sodastream, water, williams-sonoma

Chopard 150th Anniversary Animal World Watch Collection

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Luxury watches for women with animals on them are really in - and Chopard is taking full advantage of that with a major new collection in celebration of their 150th anniversary. The collection is actually not just about watches, but a full line of animal themed jewelry that is quite well done may I say. The watches follow suit with their Happy Diamonds / Happy Sport watches - sharing a similar case shape and having the free floating diamonds in the watches. See here are three watches in 18k white or rose gold. Seen here are the Polar Bear, Monkey, and Penguin watches. What I really like is that the animals are placed against a background of their "habitat." The lone polar bear has ice behind it, the monkey is in a jungle, and the penguin is in the midst of fellow birds. the animals are covered in diamonds, and the watches further have diamond bezels. Straps are satin fabric, and the movements inside the watches are likely quartz. You can of course tell the time via hands in the background, but time is not the emphasis of these pieces. Learn more about these and the rest of the Chopard Animal World collection here. The collection is very well done, with some beautiful pieces.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 150th, Animal World, AnimalWorld, anniversary, Chopard, monkey, penguin, polar bear, PolarBear, watch

Pricey Cruise To Peep At Penguins

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Think 'luxury cruise' and visions of hot sun and warm blue water probably come to mind, but that couldn't be farther from reality on the latest cruise from Quark Expeditions called "Emperors & Kings: Snow Hill and South Georgia." Leave the sun hat at home and instead grab your ice cleats and arctic gear to sail to Snow Hill Island and South Georgia to see two of the largest and most elusive penguin species, the Emperor Penguins and King Penguins, living in the wild.

The cruise ship, complete with on-board helicopter for shuttling guests to and from the penguin rookery sites, sets sail in November of next year. Prices start at $21,890.

Source

Tags: cruise, cruises, penguin, penguins, quark, quark expeditions, QuarkExpeditions