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Cut the Cord: This Wireless Charging Pad Makes Apple Look Ugly

By Jahla Seppanen Oct 31, 2017 1:00 PM

It’s been said that true progress is the ability to simplify. And we believe it. That’s why our de-cluttered sensibilities swooned over Grovemade’s latest release: a gorgeous Wireless Charging Pad that is the best wireless charger we’ve seen in years.

“When designing something to be simple and clean, it’s about the material choices you make,” says Sean Kelly, Lead Product Designer at Grovemade. “With the Wireless Charging Pad, the materials speak to their function and you can remove unnecessary adornments.”

True that.

Grovemade Wireless Charging Pad — Image courtesy of Grovemade Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Wireless Charging Pad features a solid stainless steel base and soft natural cork top available in light and dark finishes, hand-sanded to sit flush in the final design. It holds a 5watt power rating and the candy red power cord wraps cleanly under the doc when not in use. i.e. no excessive cord clutter. (There’s nothing so aesthetically frustrating as a clean tablespace littered with white wires.)

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We’d now go as far to call Apple, Samsung, and Qi’s wireless charging pads as unsightly (ok, ugly is the real word) in comparison to Grovemade’s charging design.

Grovemade Wireless Charging Pad — Image courtesy of Grovemade Image used with permission by copyright holder

That’s because instead of a plastic-looking, awkward puck, the Wireless Charging Pad is elegant in its use of premium natural materials. The ¼-inch stainless steel base provides the weight the Pad needs to stay in place during use throughout the day, and visually contrasts the soft natural cork top. Cork also creates an ideal resting surface for phones while efficiently conducting a charge, while emitting a visual warmth to your deskspace.

But really, we’re not surprised its Grovemade who innovated such a simplistic yet visually ace wireless charging pad. After all, this Portland-based workshop of designers and craftspeople are behind this Japanese-inspire Minimalist Knife and neat Desk Shelf System. All releases, including the Wireless Charing Pad, share the ethos of clean, handcrafted goods made from natural materials.

Dilly Dilly to that.

Born and raised off-the-grid in New Mexico, Jahla Seppanen is currently a sports, fitness, spirits, and culture writer in… Read Full Bio

What Is a Cigar Without the Perfect Pair? What to Drink With Your Favorite Stick

cigar on an old fashioned

Chocolate and peanut butter. Beer and pizza. Buzz and Woody. Ruth and Gherig. There are just some things that work well together. And no matter what you do, you will never beat them and spend all of your time trying to find a more iconic pair than what already exists. I can count on one hand how many times I have smoked a cigar without an old fashioned in the other hand. And, there is a reason there aren’t more times…because, honestly, why would I waste the time smoking without drinking? Why would I waste chocolate without peanut butter? Why would I waste beer without pizza? I wouldn’t. And the Yankees wouldn’t have been the same without Murderer’s Row. And Toy Story would have been nothing without the rivals-to-friends of Buzz and Woody.

But how do you pair a cigar with the right drink? For me, bourbon mixed with sugar, bitters, and a bit of fruit is a good combination with anything. But I reached out to John Gaglio from La Aurora to get a little more guidance on how to deepen my pairing of the two, and here is what I learned.

Do you know the myth of Napoleon (the pig…not the man)

Napoleon

One of the many times I watched The Gentlemen, I laughed at the scene where Matthew (Jeremy Strong) joked that it was illegal in France to name a pig Napoleon. Of course, there are ridiculous laws all over the place. Want a few? In Georgia, it is illegal to eat fried chicken with a fork. In Arkansas, it is against the law to say the name incorrectly. Which means Bill Clinton would have come after me for years of me saying “ARE-Kansas.” It is prohibited to sleep on top of a refrigerator in Pennsylvania. That means my cat is a thug in Penn. And one of my favorites: It is illegal for unmarried women to parachute on Sundays.

The point is that there are crazy laws all over the place that seem completely ridiculous, and there is almost always a story behind them. So, is the Napoleon pig law a real thing? Is it illegal to raise a swine and name it after the legendary French Emperor? Well, let’s dig in. Why? Because I am a nerd and I need company in the weeds.

Who does James Bond work for? And is MI6 real?

James Bond Specter double breasted

We have some news on the movement of the next James Bond. According to reports, we are looking at the final four (we know of three). Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk), Callum Turner (Eternity, One Night Only), and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, Challengers) are all in the final running to portray the next 007. We also, allegedly, have a fourth, unannounced actor in the running. But of course we do. And since we have news and movement on the James Bond front, I started thinking about what the next movie will be about. That took me down a rabbit hole, and I landed on a question. What is MI6? James Bond’s employer is a shadowy government agency, like Jason Bourne’s Treadstone or Ethan Hunt’s Impossible Mission Force (IMF). But there is one major difference between them and the organization that signs 007’s paychecks.

His is real.