Cast-Iron Cookware

Cast-iron cookware is a great tool in the kitchen. It has several strengths:

• High heat retention
• Even heat distribution
• Naturally non-stick
• Cheap
• Adds iron to the diet

The heat distribution and retention make cast-iron a great option for anything from frying eggs to baking cornbread. Cast-iron can be used on a stovetop, in the oven, or even over a grill.

The non-stick properties of cast-iron come from 'seasoning'. Seasoning cast-iron involves bonding fats to the surface the cookware. This can be intentionally to speed up the process or it also does it all by itself with regular use. To maintain seasoning, wash cast-iron while it still hot with nothing but a brush and water.

The last bullet is not a joke. Cast-iron cookware actually leaches small amounts of iron into your food. This can be a benefit for those with low levels of iron.

Lodge Cookware is an American company founded in 1896 that still makes cast-iron cookware. They are still family owned and produce their bare cast-iron cookware in the USA.

So, next time you order a breakfast skillet at 3:00am, stop to appreciate the magic of cast iron cookware.

Vac-pot Coffee

The first cup of coffee I ever drank was brewed in a vacuum pot. I was very young and it gave me a very bad stomach ache. But now I am a grown up.

Vacuum brewing is a method that was popular back in the day, but fell out of popularity when home drip brewers were introduced to the market. They have had a small resurgence among coffee aficionados. The ten thousand dollar coffee brewers used at Intelligentsia are basically high-tech vacuum brewers.

The coffee they produce has less sediment than a french press, but retains all the oils important to flavor. The brewing process also helps to ensure optimal temperatures.

Combined with fresh ground coffee, a vac-pot could the best way to brew coffee at home. Also, it looks bad ass.

Pilot Precise V7

The Pilot Precise series of pens are my favorite note-taking pens.

• Opaque gel ink
• Quicker drying than the G2
• More consistent stroke than the G2

Basically, makes the G2 look bad.

Polaroid 680 SLR

Polaroid 600 film is fun and rewarding. And the Polaroid SLR 680 and 680 SE are the best cameras for that film.

It features an auto-focus system for the lens and flash angle, is made for 600 film (unlike the SX-70), and probably has the best lens Polaroid made for a 600 film camera.

It's not as small and compact as the SX-70, but there's no need to darken the lens (making the viewfinder useless in the dark). It also has a regular flash, no need to search for flash cubes.

I picked up a mint condition 680 on losangeles.craigslist for only $90 last week.

Mele Inauguration

Monument to the Conquerors of Space

'Monument to the Conquerors of Space'
Moscow, Russia

I'd like to give a shoutout to titanium and modernism.

Coast of Oregon

(Photographer: Eliot Elisofon)