I own a number of packs for a variety of pursuits and they all have hydration support. What this usually means is a compartment for a bladder and on the higher end packs, elastic bands for tube routing. That’s really the extent of the “advanced” features when it comes to hydration packs – until now. Osprey, a name synonymous with high-end technical packs, has recently introduced their Hydraulics line and their engineers have come up with some really unique features that make so much sense, it makes you wonder why nobody thought of them earlier. The Raptor is geared towards mountain bikers and comes in four sizes, all the way down to a minimalistic 6 liters. It touts a dedicated tool pocket, blinker light attachment, reflective graphics among its features. The Manta is their answer to a modern daypack and the one I am most excited about. Three sizes (20, 25, 30L) means anything from a full day outing to a light overnight. It boasts a built in raincover and trekking pole attachment among its lengthy feature list.

What really sets this series apart are the best-in-class innovations. First is the bladder, which was developed by Nalgene. The stiff back allows you to easily slide it into a pack even when loaded. It provides support that molds along your back and you can refill it even when the pack is full. It also is designed to prevent barreling while creating positive water pressure. Another feature I really like is the magnetic attachment for the bite-valve.  Great innovations by Osprey, check it out.

Genius. Why didn’t I think of this? A TSA-Friendly boutique: 3floz.com

For those who travel, those who are curious and those who can’t commit.

I’m in Long Beach for TED 2010, and the vibe here is great. The speaker lineup looks simply incredible. Already did a bit of an exciting helicopter tour (see some shots from the sky here) in a bit of a rain storm around LA and looking forward to a seirous brain safari starting tomorrow! Blogging every session from here is hard, but tweeting isn’t, so follow on.

The above image is by Chris Jordan and depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours. I realize I am in some way apart of the problem. I guess the next thing to do is start offsetting my carbon more often. Tips welcome.

* indicates cities visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

Amman, Jordan

Boulder, Colorado

Canton, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cancun, Mexico*

Dalian, China

Davos, Switzerland

Dead Sea, Jordan

Denver, Colorado

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Hakone, Japan

Hong Kong, China*

Las Vegas, Nevada*

London, England*

Long Beach, California

Los Angeles, California

Macau, China

Miami, Florida

New York, NY*

Phoenix, Arizona

Sarasota, Florida*

Salt Lake City, Utah

San Francisco, California

Sedona, Arizona

Stamford, CT

Tokyo, Japan*

Vail, Colorado

Vancouver, British Columbia

Washington, D.C*

Zurich, Switzerland

Hat tip to Kottke and Amit for the idea again (my last year’s 2008 list has somehow disappeared though.) Once in a while I linked to  the reason behind my trip, although that got complicated quick.

If you dream of being a great filmmaker, this could be Your Big Break. Write a screenplay for a 3-minute film that ‘captures the spirit of 100% Pure New Zealand, the youngest country on Earth’, and you could be one of five filmmakers to wing your way to NZ to have your short film produced by Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne. The winning film will be selected by Peter Jackson and presented worldwide as part of 100% Pure New Zealand!

Disclosure: 100% New Zealand is currently advertising on this site. And I think this is a damn good promotion for creative professional to get to work!

Even though I’m told there isn’t a word for entrepreneur in Arabic, there is certainly a good amount of “from the ground up” spirit happening from within a new generation of people living in Dubai. I had the pleasure of visiting one such project called The Shelter, a wonderful workspace, cafe, store, screening room type place.  It’s situated in an old warehouse in an industrial part of Dubai, off the beaten path. If you’re in town and need a place to work (or just want to see something that makes you feel good), I highly encourage you to stop in and see this place.

The Shelter is a first of its kind community workspace that allows individuals from various creative disciplines to engage in an environment that nurtures entrepreneurial small businesses. The Shelter is a medium for forward thinkers, creatives and intellectuals to connect and exchange ideas; converting those interactions into commercial services and products through subsidized work spaces.

I’m headed to Dubai for the Summit on the Global Agenda (a World Economic Forum event), as I’ve been serving on the Marketing and Branding council. I’ll let you know how it goes. Excited to see the tallest building in the world, having previously gone up the Taipei 101 as well.

Tips on Dubai? See you on the other side…

On my flight out to Hong Kong from New York earlier this week, I had the pleasure of trying out Cathay Pacific’s new business class seat for the first time (at my own expense). Spending 16 hours on a plane is never fun, but I have to say, it went by in an absolute flash this trip and it was all because of the seat.

I’ve written about all kinds of aircrafts, seats, classes and long-haul international flying options and I’ve got to say these new fully-flat seats on the 777-300ER Cathay planes are some of the best I’ve ever experienced.

As background, it’s important to know the difference between “fully-flat” and “lie-flat” seats. There are plenty of airlines that will give you a lie-flat seat, but they angle it at the ground to fit more in the cabin. These slanted seats constantly feel like you’re sliding down them and you’re always thinking you’re going to fall right off. Fully-flat seats are, well, completely flat. Horizontal to the ground and most like your bed at home (or, they certainly try to be).

Layout wise, the business class on Cathay Pacific is most like Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class. The herringbone style lineup gives extra privacy when you recline it into a flat bed and although it feels a little sardine-like at times, it feels good to have walls up on both sides of you while you sleep. Design wise, there’s not much to say. It isn’t much to look at (that’s not the point), but it’s soft and comfortable in all the right places and allowed more than enough room for me to stretch out fully with room to spare.

The entertainment system is also worth mentioning as I think it’s the first setup I’ve ever seen which easily rivals (if not beats) Virgin America’s highly technical and impressive system in the USA. Entertainment was shown on a massive moveable HD wide screen. One gripe of most planes is immovable screens but not here. A complimentary noise canceling headsets was also included. I was able to watch Star Trek in all it’s glory, create a good playlist for the trip, and choose from what seemed to be easily more than 100 on-demand movies and TV shows to make my selection.

For me, the true test of any airplane seat like this is simple. Did I sleep? Like a baby. 11 hours worth (with no pharmaceuticals). A highly recommended seat, and amazing treat!

Asking a seasoned traveler for the name of a good Chinese restaurant is like searching online for a custom made shirt. With no chance to feel the hand of the fabric or compare that particular shade of blue you like with your skin tone, the search for right tastes and a healthy blend of ingredients is elusive at best and can often lead to a major disappointment if not a sour stomach. So, it was a rare and welcome discovery to sit down to the five-course near perfection offered up by Chef Chan Yan Tak at Lung King Heen in Hong Kong. Situated in the spectacular Four Seasons Hotel (the largest Four on the planet), this three star Michelin master holds court daily for diners whose adoration for dim sum bring them to the ongoing power lunch scene around the peaceful, spacious and beautifully arranged tables of this stellar restaurant. We passed up the initial invite for lunch so as to be able instead to savor a delicious dinner we will lovingly remember.

Well prepared to feast on a variety of Chef Chan's Cantonese signature dishes, we passed over the objectionable but requisite opening page of twelve shark's fin this and that to make our selection from the not-so-obvious fish and seafood, tofu, vegetable, rice and noodle offerings many diners consider side dishes. Carnivorous reviewers of Lung King Heen have already waxed eloquent about the numerous beef and pork entrees which are a standard in Hong Kong; however, our intention was to ascertain whether or not a globe-trotting vegetarian, vegan or macrobiotic diner could leave feeling healthy and sated without exceeding the credit card limit. Following the complimentary opener – a nibble of bean curd floating atop three straight, bright string beans cleverly arranged to reflect the I Ching hexagram for Heaven, a platter of eight small servings of “Crispy Scallops with Fresh Pear” (pictured below) started the meal with sweet slices of fruit bonded to the tender seafood by a thin layer of rich shrimp pâté. Numbers play a big role in all of Hong Kong, the land of feng shui and good fortune, where three and eight carry promising significance. The scallop-pair combination was like a fine French pastry and made us giddy with anticipation.

“Fried Rice with Lobster and Seafood” was equally divine; the rich taste of the rice combined well with sweet peas, tiny slivers of carrot delicately mixed with small bites of succulent lobster, prawn and crab. The result was tasty without being too filling, as much a light vegetable dish as one with seafood. From the page entitled “Organic, Vegetarian” we selected the “Five Grain Noodles and Assorted Vegetables”, abandoning our gluten-free preference for this special occasion. Both full of flavor and rich, this was as fine a noodle dish as any we'd ever had, the accent on the organic solidly noticeable with each bite. Since most noodle dishes in lesser establishments are often buoyed by water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and Chinese cabbage, the absence of these staple fillers has to be acknowledged.

More familiar with tofu than most other patrons (my family has made our own for four decades), we were eager to try the “Crispy Tofu Sheet Rolls with Vegetables.” We'd happily devour this dish, with a bowl of brown rice (not served here) and steamed greens, on a daily basis – that is if we could prepare it as well as Chef Chan did. It was exceptionally appetizing and totally enjoyable.

Despite our sense that we'd ordered the right amount to share, we soon realized our dinner would pack well for a four-hour plane ride the next day. Our wish would be graciously granted as the remaining food was taken to the kitchen and boxed for travel. This gave us a chance to sample one of the eight dessert bean or fruit puddings and one of the eight innovative pastries offered on the menu. Accompanied by Fuding Silver Needle Tea, a surprising twist awaited us as we sampled the “Chilled Coconut Pudding with Hasma and Longan.” While the “Red Bean Cream with Lotus Seed” was pleasant enough, the Coconut Pudding was truly unusual. It was a wholly unrecognizable taste: a sweet, light custardy soufflé layered between cool agar, somewhere between sparkling aspic and Japanese kanten.

Vegans, vegetarians and macros take note: don't settle for ordinary rice and bean curd just to save money in the great city of Hong Kong. Assuming they sample the beef, pork and shark's fin items on the menu, most people pay $150 – $200 each at Lung King Heen. Calculating that our meal served three people generously, the tab was $50 US per person, and we dined at the only three star Michelin Chinese restaurant in Asia. If that's not great value for money, then my tai chi is full of hungry ghosts.

The surprise ending? Hasma, known for its health-giving properties, are moist, chewy morsels with almost no taste. Hasma is said to be very good for the kidneys, lungs and women's skin as it contains many hormones and has a high lipid content. This is because it is a combination of fat and part of the reproductive area of a white-bellied frog from the north of China. Thus, as the meal ended, we conceded that when searching for healthy food, it just might not be essential to avoid all four-legged creatures that evolution moved out of the water. Astonished that we'd ingested our first amphibious body part, we both left of the same mind, feeling blessed that dinner at Lung King Heen was the best Chinese meal we'd ever had.

I’ve been enjoying being off the grid in Asia.  Sorry for the lack of updates, but I promise some pictures and reviews soon.  I’m having a great (and interesting) time!

Remember last year when I went to Mainland China and Japan? I’m going again– leaving on Sunday (and checking out the new Cathay Pacific Seats on my way there). Speaking of which, I should probably start packing, eh?

The primary purpose of my trip to China is for the Young Global Leaders Dalian Summit. I’ll also be in Hong Kong for a few days, Macau for a night (wish me luck), and then I’m off to Japan. In Japan I’ll be in Tokyo a bit, as well as Hakone for some much needed Onsen and likely a day or two in Kyoto.

If you have any tips, want to meet up, want me in to speak at your company or agency, whatever– drop me a line.

As always I’ll be blogging along the way, but Twitter is also a good place to hear/see what I’m up to.

Attention femme fatals: if the past few weekends have consisted of daring missions to Bed, Bath and Beyond and seducing the bag boy at the grocery story, maybe it’s time to really indulge in something more exotic. Stiletto Spy School will plan full day adventures for ladies looking to improve their hand-to-hand combat, martini mixing, stunt driving, or tango dancing skills. You can choose from one of their planned itineraries, or create your own assignment. James Bond, meet Jane Bond.

Via Zoomdoggle

The club scene in Rome can be pretty lame if you stick to the most ostensible standbys, the places usually crowded with more done up travelers than actual locals. The scene in those places ends up being as superficial as the worst American scene, and you find yourself wondering how that fits with the laid back temperament of Romans. One of the largest clubs in the city, and one slightly out of the way for non-locals, is Circolo Degli Artisti, a mostly outdoor club with a couple of indoor DJ rooms. A half dozen bars serve as various sitting and lounging areas — and then there’s the swimming pool. Big and small shows alike come through this venue, but just about any night is bound to be pretty damn fun. (You can catch Dinosaur Jr. there in September).

You can check out my Favorite Places for NYC on Google. I even got my own custom pin!

Explore the favorite places of local experts from cities around the world. Find out where they like to go, and why, from their own perspectives.

TechCrunch has the rest of the story if you’re interested…

There are plenty in the creative arena who scoff at the idea of sport, likening athletic competition as entertainment for uncivilized mongrels. However, when the chasm between brute force and artistic inspiration is bridged, some wonderful things can occur. The Lawn Series from Recess is a refreshing and original happening aiming to eliminate the gap between endlessly inventive artisans and the arena of athletics. For three glorious days during the sweltering NYC summer on Governor’s Island, playful pastimes will overtake the creatively inclined as they attempt to best one another in exhilarating events such as badminton, table tennis, and bocce. In addition to the flowing of the competitive juices, each event will be met with some pretty kick ass sponsors as the likes of Tretorn and Puma will be putting their stamp on the festivities while Biomega and Kronan will be on hand to offer bike test rides. Count us in and bring it on. The first day of competition is June 20th. We’ll see you there…unless you’re afraid of defeat.