Articles by Judie Lipsett Stanford

Craft Brews, Pairings, & Inspiration at the Great American Beer Festival

125 members of the media along with a score of craft-brewers and homebrewing elite met at noon Friday, inside Denver’s Grand Hyatt Pinnacle Club Peak Ballroom on the 38th floor for a Great American Beer Festival working media luncheon consisting of a five-course pairing luncheon and briefing. The theme was “homebrewing and its connection to the craft brewing community”, and the idea was to “highlight a few commercial beers that were inspired by their homebrewing roots.” Are you a homebrewer who has ever considered going pro? This luncheon was all about people like you! all photos by Kevin Stanford It’s easy…


id America Cushi Dot Soft Foam Pad for iPhone 5 Review

all photos by Kevin Stanford What if I told you that you could stick a piece of 3D foam on the back of your iPhone, and that by doing so you could both protect your phone and make it a little bit more fun? Would you be interested? I was. Id America makes protective 3D skins for the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 called Cushi; they are available with colorful stripes, polka-dots, or an assortment of retro, cartoonish, and other graphic designs. I was sent one of the “Original” collection, a design appropriately called, Owl. I happen to like owls,…


This Week’s Entertainment Weekly Has Tina Fey and a Free Phone

Grab the latest Entertainment Weekly edition (the one with the lovely Tina Fey doing her best Audrey Hepburn on the cover), and you’ll also get a bonus inside. An active LCD screen which when freed from the magazine reveals … a working phone? Check out this video where Christina and Lance, from Mashable, tear apart the October 5th Entertainment Weekly to reveal what powers the CW advertisement inside. “It’s a phone! It’s a phone! It’s a PHONE!” Priceless. If you want to get your own free “fully working Android [skeleton] phone” — one that would make MacGyver’s head swim with possibilities —…


Monster Inspiration Active Noise-Canceling Headphones Review

What would it take to get you to spend $350 on a set of headphones? I’ve been asking myself that very question over the last two weeks, and I think I may finally have an answer. The question wouldn’t have even come up if I hadn’t been sent Monster’s newest Inspiration headphones, which — as you may have guessed — retail for that exact amount. all photos by Kevin Stanford I approached the package unwrapping with some trepidation … what if I liked them? Granted, these were sent to me as a review sample that I would be allowed to…


Liquid-Armor Invisible Nano-Coating Tech Screen Protector for Tablets and eReaders Review

all photos by Kevin Stanford Like many who ordered an iPhone 5 when they were first available, I didn’t have any kind of case, screen protector, or protective skin on hand when mine arrived. I did have a review sample of Dynaflo’s Liquid-Armor, however. Nano-coating tech? What’s that all about? I was ready to find out! Included in the package are one 0.33 ounce bottle of Liquid-Armor fluid, an 8″ x 8″ microfiber cloth, and a second, smaller (bonus) microfiber cloth The Dynaflo site says that the Liquid-Armor system – Provides scratch-resistant surface for normal wear and tear. – Screen…


The Verizon HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE Review

all photos by Kevin Stanford It’s hard not to get excited when a new phone shows up for review, especially when one boasts all of the bells and whistles found in the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE. This particular Droid model was announced earlier this year at CTIA, and I have been using it off and on for the past month. What I’ve learned during this time is that while the Incredible has a slightly smaller build than most of the higher-end Android phones we’ve seen lately, you won’t be compromising too much with this device, and there’s much to…


Join Us for the Apple iPhone 5 Press Event!

Are you ready to see the end of all the rumors and speculation regarding the newest iPhone? We are, too! Let’s get something straight, although we do our best not to report on rumors, it doesn’t mean we don’t read them. We have, and we’ve gotten more and more excited. Sure it does seem like pretty much everything that needs to be known about the new iPhone has already been leaked, but that doesn’t guarantee the rumors are correct and, even if they are, it doesn’t make us any less excited for the announcements and that One more thing…! And…


Element Case Walnut Wood iPad Shell Review

I’ve made no secret of my fondness for adding wooden accessories to my iPad and iPhone over the years; I absolutely love the juxtaposition of warm wood on an otherwise industrial-styled piece of electronics. Now I think I may have found one of the most amazingly designs yet seen from one of the last places I would have thought to look. Element Case has long been known for their beautiful and functional metal and composition iPhone case designs, but nothing in their manufacturing history would have led me to expect that they would make the leap to wood. That’s why I was…


Rolling Avenue’s iCircle for the iPad 2 and New iPad Review

Doug recently pointed out in a news post that his family has moved away from using a home theater setup to watching their own content on their own devices because of their individual tastes. That got me thinking about how much of that goes on in my family. Sure, we have 55″ LCD TV in the living room, where we watch movies, sports events and other TV shows together as a family, but we all watch streaming or stored content on our iPads, too. When watching a short YouTube video, it’s second nature just to hold the iPad, watch, and…


Oberon Design Sienna Cover for the New iPad Review

In the earliest days of bookbinding, when handmade and handcut parchment pages were sewn together and bound inside richly colored covers made of leather, it was common to see elaborate hand-tooling and metalwork on a book’s exterior. Books were rare; their contents were important and often considered precious. Decorating a book’s binding was one way for an artisan to show off his skills while honoring the importance of the book being covered. Over time, like so many other things, books became mass-produced. One of the first casualties of the publishing industry was the artistic leather binding that had once been…


Eight Chocolate Planets for the Discriminating Palate

I’m still mourning the loss of Pluto, but you’ll find the other eight planets (including the sun) in this luxury chocolate gift box … Chocolate can taste all of the solar system eight planets, planet is chocolate set. Planets lined up in a row in the package that the image of the universe, like a real solar system space. You can be happy as a gift, is a popular set. “Kaiseki chocolate solar system”?(pictured above) , set of 9 (× 9 individual species 1) ¥ 3,619 (¥ 3,800) If $46 seems a bit steep, then you can opt for the…


The Magnificent Grand Canyon

When you drive through the pine forests leading up to the Grand Canyon’s rim, no one would fault you for thinking that what you are about to see couldn’t possibly live up to the hype. But when you get to the rim, when you have your first chance to look over and out … the view is simply mind-boggling. How big is the Grand Canyon? The park covers 1,218,375.54 acres, which is about 1,904 square miles. If you measure it in river miles, following the course of the Colorado River at the canyon’s bottom, you’d call it 277 miles long. The…


Marvelous Mesa Verde!

Imagine for a moment that you are a cowhand, and that you have been riding in the desert heat for some time in search of missing cattle. Across from the Mesa you are riding upon, you happen to look at the wall of the cliffs below the mesa opposite you. Your mind drifts for a moment, and you find yourself studying the composition of the opposite mesa’s cliffs; you find yourself paying attention to the layers of clay, limestone, sandstone, shale, and other geologic materials that make up of all the cliff-patterns and colors that you are used to seeing…


Exploring the Captivating Carlsbad Caverns

Have you ever been to Carlsbad Caverns? If not, and assuming you like exploring, then you owe it to yourself to go. Nestled in the Guadalupe mountains about 150 miles North East of El Paso, Carlsbad Caverns is worth the drive from just about anywhere. So how were they discovered? The story goes that in 1898, a 16-year-old cowhand named Jim White [most likely] entered the caverns for the first time. Who knows exactly who was the first to find the cave entrance, but by the time he died in 1946, Jim was known unofficially as “Mr. Carlsbad Caverns” for his “exploration,…


The Miniot iPhone 4 Pouch Review

It’s no secret that I love to cover my gear in wood; I’ve written about wooden iPhone cases before, and recently I shared how much I love the Miniot Cover Mk2 for iPad. Not long after finishing the Mk2 review, I ordered and received Miniot’s Pouch. I knew going into this purchase that I wasn’t going to be receiving a “play-through” case, and I knew that functionality would be a bit limited with what basically amounted to a gorgeous, albeit glorified sheath. Did that stop me from ordering? Obviously not. Here’s a quick video from GearFest, where Dan puts me on the…


Get Your Tickets for the Great American Beer Festival!

If you have a love for hops and tasty craft-brewed adult beverages, then no doubt you’ve heard of The Great American Beer Festival, an event put on by the Brewer’s Association which has become the largest and best known of its kind. The Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer festival and competition. Each year, GABF represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in the format of a public tasting event plus a private competition. GABF brings together the brewers and beers that make the U.S. the world’s greatest brewing nation. This event showcases the diverse…


BodyGuardz Ultimate Protective Clear Skin for MacBook Pro with Retina Display Review

While I was waiting for my MacBook Pro with Retina display to show up, Dan was kind enough to loan me his 13″ MacBook Air. Once it had arrived, I found his Air inside a protective plastic shell … which I promptly removed. I did wonder for a few moments about whether or not I was taking a chance of having something happen to Dan’s laptop, but in the end I decided just to be extra careful, Sorry Dan! No tossing his Air in my bag next to the car keys, no laying it naked on the carpeted floor just behind the…


The ePool Smart System Swimming Pool Wireless Monitoring System Review

One of the things that makes living in West Texas bearable during the “hot months” — you know, mid-April to early September (when the temperatures consistently hover around 100º) — is having a pool or favorite watering hole that you can use to cool down in. We have a freestanding 30’x6′ concrete stock tank not far from our back door. While the primary function of this tank is to hold water which pipes to a trough our livestock drink from, we have also outfitted it with a regular pool filtration system so we can enjoy algae-free swimming; it’s pretty much awesome, and we…


Turkey Dubstep Animation Is Awesome

Whether you like dubstep or not, there is no denying the cuteness of two turkeys spitting it out. The video short was so popular that not only has it earned a sequel … Turkeys + Dubstep + a little bit of success = Selling out … it has also earned several YouTube remixes, including one that lasts a ridiculous 10 hours. I’m looking forward to seeing what Will Anderson, the artist behind White Robot, shows the turkeys doing next. 😉


International Supply’s iCircle Puts a Ring on Your iPad

We’ve seen a plethora of iPad cases that have plastic ringed cutouts covering the Apple logo on the iPad’s back; they usually work so that the plastic ring rotates in the rear cover to allow the iPad to be propped up in either landscape or portrait mode. While I like the general idea and function behind this type system, I haven’t yet seen a rotating ring case that I liked enough to use. The International Products iCircle, however, looks pretty promising. Judging by the photo and the way the cutouts are placed, I’d still be able to use my Miniot…


New York City’s High Line Park is a Raised Treasure

Charles Harvey demonstrating his elevated railroad design on Greenwich Street in 1867, source In the 1930s and 1940s, New York’s elevated High Line ran between factories and warehouses delivering milk, meat, produce, and raw and manufactured goods without creating congestion on the streets below. Rather than run above the streets of the businesses it serviced, the High Line ran through buildings, which was the city’s attempt to “avoid creating the negative conditions associated with elevated subways.” In 1980, the last train ran on the High Line pulling three carloads of frozen turkeys. In the mid-1980s, area property owners began lobbying…