*NOTCOT in
home+decor - 08.08.11 -
This post is brought to you by Lowe’s, and is the brainchild of NOTCOT. Find inspiration and encouragement as you plan, begin and complete do-it-yourself projects at Lowe’s Home 101. 
Composting offers a great way to turn your kitchen waste into something useful. Depending on your setup it can even be easier than doing the dishes. There are a number of strategies for working it into your life even for those without a lot of time or space. Today we decided to round up some of the interesting composting techniques and options we have today ~ from giant rollers, to worms doing the job for you, to magical Bokashi cultures, and the gorgeous little incognito kitchen counter contraptions you can use… see it all on the next page!
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Just launched today ~ Bluelounge MiniDock! This magical little contraption means you can now charge your Apple gadgets directly from the wall socket, saving counter/floor space and cables. Perfect for hotels, sitting in airport lounges, bedside charging… you name it! As usual with Bluelounge the product feels great in your hands, the details are perfectly simple ~ as the press kit cover says “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler,” quoting Albert Einstein. Take a peek at the unboxing as well as examples of it in use (and video!) on the next page!
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Fresh in my inbox ~ my dad’s latest adventure seems to have landed him at Art Center for the new 2011 Pagani Huayra’s photoshoot on its way up to Pebble Beach ~ where all the stunning cars are migrating next week… from the sleek and agressive exterior styling i can’t stop staring at (and that COLOR!) ~ to the carbon fiber leaf like side mirrors ~ to the steampunk-retrofab interiors (the BUTTONS!) ~ and well, the Mercedes-AMG V-12 twin turbos and carbon fiber chasis and body… there is so much lustworthy loveliness to stare at, take a peek at his pics on the next page. Seriously, this seems like the hardest week to try to car shop with so many incredible launches and lustworthy cars passing through… enjoy the design details and sketches!
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*NOTCOT in
travel - 08.06.11 -
So, who would have thought the Pittsburgh/LA direct flight route (one a day in each direction on United!) would be so awesome. With no wifi, a small plane, magical first class upgrades, food, and super nice crews… with window seats and great timing on the flights to catch sunsets mid flight… i’ve been getting some of the best meditative/ME time! Awesome naps and placemats filled with notes ~ and between naps today i scrambled for my camera as soon as my eyes opened a crack and thought i was in some otherworldly place. Turns out a cloudy day below can make for quite the surreal flight home… some of the shapes were unreal, how did the clouds even make those angles and layers?!?! How did those layers of clouds start to look like a glassy ocean with peeks of the midwestern farmlands below barely showing through? And the way the dramatic shadows change as the sun begins to set… mesmerizing. While cloud watching is fun laying on the grass, staring up at the sky… seeing what creatures and objects you spy… it can be even more amazing from the side, or from within the layers of them! So take a peek at Operation Window Seat’s first Cloud edition on the next page… what do YOU see in them?
p.s.
for whatever reason the first thing my subconscious thought was: care bears + game of thrones. And the picture above looks like a rather pointed submarine with an arrow like periscope… or am i just seeing periscopes since its one of the current NOTlabs research project?
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*NOTCOT in
design - 08.05.11 -
On fun new web resources, loving Google’s Hotel Finder experiment. It has a beautiful UI allowing you to search for hotels in the US filtering by location (with 4pt shapes), dates, price, hotel class & user rating… you can also flip between map and list view and even have hotels in your shortlist in a different color… But my favorite feature is definitely “Highlight popular areas” ~ which is perfect for new cities you are visiting when trying to figure out what hot spots are. Read more about it on the Google Search Blog and see more pics of the details on the next page.
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Vast Canadian national parks, sandy dunes and underwater adventures are all part of this week’s roundup from NotVentures. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.
p.s. I know we seldom back to back round up here ~ but it’s been a rough week or so, so taking a little break in Pittsburgh at the moment, and taking a bit more me time, but will be back to normal in a few days!
*NOTCOT in
food+drink - 08.03.11 -
A sumptuous roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious offers inspiration for your kitchen. To find out more about each dish, click on its individual image.
*NOTCOT in
design - 08.02.11 -
A few weeks ago, Eric Yang of Gear Patrol, was nice enough to step in for me and go on a British adventure with Bentley on behalf of NOTCOT ~ of the MANY pictures he returned with, one of the first to catch my eye were these from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 at the entrance to the First and Concorde Galleries lounges… Troika’s “All The Time In The World” from 2008 looks beautiful. This 22m long electroluminescent wall “extends the conventional notion of a world clock, which commonly concentrates on capital cities in different time zones, by linking real time to places with exciting and romantic associations like far-away places, exotic wonders and forgotten cultures.” The way the text is drippingly formed is fun to watch ~ take a peek at it i the video and pics in the next page.
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This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes raging children, never-ending mobius bracelets, a gallery of regeneration and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.
*NOTCOT in
travel - 08.01.11 -
On delayed San Diego Comic Con adventures ~ one of the last things i imaged writing about was Disney’s Phineas and Ferb booth. But it was massive. Had impressive branding… and a converted trailer that was turned into a HUGE Platy-BUS. Seriously, how impressive and eye catching is that thing? Making of video of it on the next page is surreal. While i must admit i’ve caught a few of the cartoon episodes, enough to at least make sense of what was going on… visually, the booth was like entering a crazy cartoon world, and they definitely took it above and beyond. Inflatable tree… with karaoke, guitar, and little platypus stools beneath it… large purple “evil incorporated” blimp flying above… and food truck like trailer serving up limited edition blind box toys of Perry the platypus pet that turns super spy… Then there’s the bizarre branding overload, with nice display cases showing off everything from the Kraft Mac & Cheese version of the characters and fruit snacks to band aids and toothbrushes… as well as other toys. It looked less like they were pitching those to kids and parents, but like a brand display to show off how far they can reach. Anyhow, it was quite a world they created… So things design worthy to note? The Platy-BUS and making of, the platypus stools, and the packaging details… check it all out on the next page!
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My first reaction was “omg. super hipster plush toys?” ~ then when i couldn’t seem to close the tab and kept flipping through the pics, the adorably illustrated and reversible Patrice and Beatrice grew on me. And i secretly want them both… with their hipster glasses wearing serious fronts, and their beach ready, summer loving backs (or vice versa, on which is front and which is the back) This pair of plush toys over at Smallable are an exclusive collaboration with My Name Is Simone, aka French designer, Caroline Castagna-Suarez. “Caroline Castagna-Suarez, aka Simone, finds that Sometimes, growing up stinks. Therefore, she spends her free time battling against Seriousness, in every way she can.” See close ups of these two… as well as Super zéro, Suzanne, Simon, Daisy, and Jean-Louis on the next page!
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More fun from 
I haven’t been able to stop staring at 
I love when a graphic can transport you to another world… or make you wish you were somewhere else… just got an email from our friends at the 
Just got to PIttsburgh for the week ~ woke up mid flight to some fascinating views for 
