The Case-Mate Blog: Make A Statement

It is amazing the things you can accomplish in the morning before work and still be on time.

Shower ✓
Breakfast ✓
Brush teeth ✓
Police officers in my living room ✓

Yes I said police officers, yes that’s plural.

8:15 a.m. I was blow-drying my hair.
8:25 a.m. I opened the front door to let Weagle, my dog go outside.
8:35 a.m. As I was starting to get dressed for the day, Weagle began to bark uncontrollably (not uncharacteristic for him) so half dressed I turned the corner to find TWO fully uniformed men in blue standing in my hallway yelling FREEZE; POLICE!

They were IN my HOUSE, not outside my house, knocking on the door. Apparently, someone called 911 from my house. The irony is I do not have a land line, just a cell phone. I told the officers this and their only response was, “We need to see proof of I.D. that you live here.” So, just my luck, I couldn’t find my drivers license. Finally, I walked outside to my car and find it. After validating my residence one of the cops radio’d the operator to get the phone number that called. He repeated it out loud to me like I was supposed to lead him in the right direction. Of course, I did not recognize the number.

8:45 a.m. The officers were squeezing their way out of my locked gate (best part of the whole experience).

9:00 a.m. I slid into my desk like Tom Cruise in Risky Business, not a minute late, no thanks to the po-po, 5-0, pigs, fuzz, bacon, boys in blue, cops, dogs, feds, flat foot, Johnny law, LEO, narcs…

This weeks Niche Society is a V-LOG (its basically when you do a blog, but you use a recordable video device to capture movements and words, and broadcast it over the Internet using a state of the art technology known as YouTube, this process is very expensive so I hope you guys enjoy it).

We have a vending machine at the office, so some co-workers and I decided to break down ALL the snacks and rank them 1, 2, 3 along with a People’s Choice. So watch the V-LOG and send it to all your friends.

So I’m back, sorry it’s been a few weeks since my last post. I was out in Vegas last week for MAGIC, a streetwear fashion trade show and this week I had the black plague. But alas I’m back here at the old bullpen delivering you this week’s Niche Society.

Last time I shared how to hack great coffee at your desk with everyday materials. This week I’ve employed the help of a special guest, Jeremy Jones, one of our graphic designers. Jeremy has a creation called ‘Super Hot Dogs’ and I will show you how to assemble them with the minimum office kitchen facilities.

Ingredients: 1 medium plumb, juicy red tomato; 1 crisp, pungent red onion; 1 jar of Claussen pickle spears; 1 large plastic container of off brand Mayonnaise; 1 delicious, buttery smooth avacado; 1 packet of Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon; 1 package of Kroger brand white flour hot dog buns; 1 package of very rare Oscar Meyer hot dogs; and one blue plate.

Step 1: Take a paper towel, place it in the microwave carefully throw 3 pieces of Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon onto the paper towel and cook for 2.5 minutes.

Step 2: Slice your plumb red tomato, pungent onion, buttery smooth avacado into spears mimicking the spear shape of the Claussen pickle spears. Also place the Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon on the blue plate.

Step 3: Take your very rare Oscar Meyer hot dogs, place them on a paper towel and cook those little dogs for 1 minute.

Step 4: Add the dogs, the Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon, ketchup and mayo to the bun.

Step 5: Carefully assemble your Claussen pickle spears, avacado, red onion and plump tomato on the Super Hot Dog.

Step 6: Eat every last bit, except three very large crumbs.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Office Hacking, I’ll see you guys next week for the BEST – and the final – version of Office Hacking.

After having a few weeks off cleaning up Fairbanks’ leakage, PD has decided to keep the information channel light this week. However, do not make the mistake of confusing light with irrelevant or you will really miss out.

Innovation is hard work. Inspiration for innovation is even harder. What makes case-mate so unique is that we have the ability to create our own inspiration. In PD the #1 thing that inspires us is music.

Maybe its because we have a BOOMING Bose system or maybe it’s our impeccable taste in music, either way… “music/ makes the designers/ imagination/ floooow (In Madonna’s voice.)”

If your foot’s not thumpin’ yet we will leave you with a playlist of a typical day in the life of Product Development:

Metric and Decemberists
Zef Side-Die Antwoord
El ten eleven
Ferras
Justice
Daft Punk
LIL WAYNE (notice the caps lock)
Sugarland
Kings of Leon
Young Money
Madonna
Black Eyed Peas
Winds of Plague
Beyonce
Passion pit
Bollywood songs ( hindi )
Jay-Z
Muse
Static X
System of a Down
Slipknot
Jennifer Nettles
Mudvayne
Rob Zombie
Chevelle
Coal Chamber
Outkast
Disturbed
Drowning Pool
Godsmack
Hollywood Undead
The Offspring
P.O.D.
Papa Roach
Sevendust
The Union Underground

This week’s post marks the start a three part series entitled “Office Hacking.” Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “What is office hacking?” It’s all about taking what you have at your office and making the very most out of it, through slight modifications and small tools. So, this three part series will be all about how to make the most out of cubical life, and squeeze every little drop of enjoyment out of it.

***

I enjoy coffee just like every other American, but unfortunately my taste buds have been awakened to the taste of delicious coffee. I can’t and I won’t settle for the regular office sludge, I need good coffee. The problem is I just don’t have the time to swing by my favorite place in Atlanta (octanecoffee.com) to have a cappuccino before work. Some people say “just go to Starb***s and get coffee.” Well, I’d rather hold onto my $4 rather than choking down an old, burnt espresso and boiled milk. I might sound harsh and opinionated about my coffee, but once you’ve had black you’ll never go back!

My solution? The “pour over.” I’ll show you a step by step process of how to get a great cup of coffee, in under 5 minutes. The most important thing is the beans, it’s all about the beans. I usually use Counter Culture beans that I pick up from from Octane. If you let them know your using it for a pour over they’ll grind it accordingly for you for no charge. The only other things you need are a simple plastic pour over and filters, both of which you can get at your local Kroger (or other grocery store) for about $10 for both.

Next, just pre-wet the filter to get the paper taste out before putting your beans in.

Put your ground beans into the filter and start pouring hot water onto the grounds in a circular motion to bloom the grounds. After it blooms, continue pouring the water in a circular motion until your water is out. I usually use around 8 oz. of water, per couple of spoonfuls.
Note: It’s no exact science, more grounds = stronger coffee, less = weaker, try it out ’til you find your perfect combo!

And voila! A nice tasty, cup of coffee to get the day started off right!

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s entry of Niche Society stay tuned for more “Office Hacking” next week!

We need a Golden Standard for the twist off vs. pry off bottle industry, we can’t have both.

On Sunday, I scoured the kitchen looking for bottle opener and ended up with a damaged counter top after I tried to open the bottle MacGyver style – only to find out it was a twist off. Sometimes I’ll give it the ole’ one, two in a twist off attempt when it’s a pry off and all I’m left with is a rigid imprint in my palm of how I failed instead of the cool beverage I wanted.

I’m sure you feel my pain, this week’s Golden Standard is a request for uniform bottle caps.

As previously mentioned, the Product Development room holds top-secret case-mate information.

What if the information inside the four walls of the PD department wasn’t so secret anymore?

That’s right, this is a LEAK and I, Fairbanks, am not ashamed. What are those fools going do to me anyway? I mean as it stands I have to threaten to go to the bathroom on the carpet because these so called designers are so busy sketching they sometimes forget to take a break to take me outside. So, if this is how they’re going to treat me… I will continue to LEAK.

Apple iPad: What? You don’t honestly think they haven’t mastered protection for the new iPad? News Flash: They have!

Picture this: You live in the city. You don’t have a car because you ride the train to and from work. The average case isn’t good enough for this situation. We’re talking clean, comfortable and convenient is a must. For the user on the go, case-mate’s got you covered.

Picture this: You’re in class and everyone has the same case on their iPad. You don’t want to conform, but boy, you sure could use some protection – that tall kid who sits in front of you is always knocking things off your desk. What if you could customize the designs and colors of your case? If you want the best of both worlds: customization and protection, they got you covered again!

Picture this: It’s Monday, you don’t want to wake up. You’re late and rushing out the door for work. Coffee spills all over the brand new Hugo Boss shirt your wife just bought you. To top it all off you have a 9:00 a.m. meeting with the VP. Where is your iPad? Oh there it is, in the executive inspired chiche folio. For the user that wants business executive style and convenience, case-mate still has you covered.

Picture this: You are on a plane, no you’re at the coffee table, no wait you’re at your desk. Forget it. Who cares where you are? When you want to use your new iPad but don’t feel like holding it, don’t! Foldable, slim and contemporary designs, for the user that wants the perfect stand, case-mate will have you covered.

I hope you’re starting to get the point. Colors, privacy, comfort, style, they’ve got you covered. The ability to open the back door in a timely manner, they just can’t seem to figure that one out…

Until my next accident,

Fairbanks

So, here is my second post for Niche Society, and I have another movie trailer to share, but I promise I wont be doing movies every week! When I saw this trailer on Hypebeast I knew I had to blog about it.

Chasing Legends (http://chasinglegends.com/trailers/) is an intense behind the scenes look at the Tour de France. The movie looks like it features last year’s Tour de France, when Astana rider Alberto Contador took the coveted victory.

I’m particularly excited about this film because I’ve been following the Tour and cycling since I was 14 and there hasn’t ever been an in-depth look quite like this before. Just watching the trailer you get a feel of how heavy the burden this race creates for the competitors, and how grueling it actually is. I think this going to be great for cycling and exposing it to the masses, and help open the eyes of people who know nothing about the Tour or the sport in general.

I’m sure it wont disappoint.

Springtime is steadily approaching and, like most people caught up in the jet stream of New Year’s Resolutions and the approach of warm weather, I’ve been on a live healthy / workout fix. Part of my “live healthy” regiment has been to drink more water and eliminate carbonated drinks from my diet. Seems reasonable, sure, but I noticed that I’ve been thrown into the center of a conspiracy, and area restaurants are severely hindering my H20 needs.

The “Golden Standard” I’m proposing this week is a minimum capacity of 10 oz. for water cups at all restaurants.

I don’t need to be punished for ordering a water with my lunch. Just because I didn’t pony up the $2.00 for a fountain drink doesn’t mean you get back at me by serving me a thimble full of warm water. Macy’s doesn’t cut the sleeves off your shirt if you don’t by a scarf with a sweater. Nike doesn’t repo your shoe laces if you don’t buy socks with your new shoes. So, why is it okay for restaurants to give you a shot glass to drink from when you don’t purchase a carbonated drink? Sure, I know what you’re probably thinking out there, “David, you good looking son-of-a-gun you, restaurants need to focus on making money.” My response? Well they are making money, I just paid $8.50 for a BLT. If I have to pay $8.55 to get a cup for water to go with it that’s bigger than salt shaker then so be it. I’m a very optimistic person but in this case, the drinking cup is half empty.

Editor’s Note: David is still single, has a full-time job (with benefits) and accepts date requests. Please email dates4david@case-mate.com for further information

Welcome to your first taste of the PD Slice, served weekly. PD (Product Development) is a mysterious department within case-mate. Therefore I will make it a point to cook you up just a little bit less than top-secret toppings. Otherwise, I’d have to kill you.

PD is so top secret that we are equipped with our own guard dog, Fairbanks. Standing 9 inches tall and weighing a beefy 9 lbs., Fairbanks is the leader of the PD pack.

Like Fairbanks, the rest of us animals in PD make it a point to stay hydrated, take frequent breaks to use the bathroom outside and of course, beg for food.

In an attempt to not over cook this first entry, consider your first PD slice served.