Max and Emma are our two dogs. Max is a 3 year old Labrador and Emma an 18 month old Belgian Sheppard. If you know Labradors, then you know about their beautiful rich fluffy coat. Emma has a much shorter and finer coat and her hair is not as long as Max’s. We do not comb them daily although we have one comb in the car and one at home. So when they shed, they shed a lot of dog hair. The following story is my experience on using a dog hair vacuum cleaner.
Before I ever wanted dogs I said to myself that my apartment should never have dog hair all over the place. It turns out that’s a big goal because, as I know now, dog hair is so easily shed all year round and especially around the seasons change.
I had not idea that I would ever be concerned with the questions what dog hair vacuum cleaner to use. So what is then the best way in my own experience to take care of dog hair? I tried a hand held small vacuum clear that quickly looses of power and the battery wears out. Sure, I can easily take it anywhere I want but it’s cumbersome. My wife had already bought a Dyson vacuum clear which I did not use much before. The Dyson vacuum clear was stored in a cabinet and hardly used and in the beginning I said to myself ‘well we don’t need that’. But what could I do now? I did not want to use the hand held vacuum clear anymore. Dog hair was piling up and out apartment is more a loft which means I have a lot of square foot to vacuum. So I gave the Dyson vacuum cleaner a try.
As you can see from the photograph the Dyson vacuum cleaner works really well. It works on all carpets we have in the apartment and with some small modifications I can get to all awkward places, too. May be you wonder why I am doing this? The reason is that I am working from my office at home when I am in the US and I cannot stand it to have hair on the carpet or the hard wood floor. So I can recommend Dyson vacuum clear based on my own experience. The reason why I post this experience here rather than on our other blog is that Dyson is an outstanding European idea and product.
Here are my recommendations:
- If you have the discipline, comb your dog with the right tools. Do it outside and not near your neighbors’ house; do it in a park or somewhere else.
- Take a suitable dog hair vacuum cleaner like the Dyson to vacuum your apartment.
- Do it regularly especially when it’s humid (you do not want for any reason dog hair to stick to your floor or carpet and when it’s wet or humid that can happen).
- Do it when the apartment is well lit or during the day as it’s easy to overlook even bushels of hair. Then you put the vacuum clear away only to discover you missed a spot.
- Take your dog to the grooming service one in a while. They do a much better job that I ever could.
And before I forget: it’s actually not bad to do it myself because it gives me a break during my work at the PC (or now iMac).
Birkenstock shoe
Let’s face it when I grew up in Germany, Birkenstock shoes were looked upon as an ugly shoes worn mostly by Green and alternative people with wide trousers. The socks worn with them were made of thick wool giving the whole thing not much sex appeal. Actually, my first girl friend wore Birkenstocks and she look cool with wide navyblue-white stripped trousers.
Functionality or sex appeal has been dominating shoe business before but the astonishing story of the Birkenstock shoe has changed that all.
The Birkenstock family has apparently not withered nor hesitated with their course and their recent acceptance in the world of fashion has made them really successful. Within the last 30-40 years this ugly shoe is both revered as healthy and trendy. Celebrities like Leonardo di Caprio wear them and those socks I just mentioned made it to the front line of European fashion design when the label Dsquared put them on the catwalk for men wearing Birkenstocks with them.
Birkenstock has a long history attesting to the strength of their idea. A church record shows that Mr. Johann Adam Birkenstock registered himself in 1772 as a shoemaker in Germany. By 1896 Mr. Konrad Birkenstock owned two shoe specialty stores in Frankfurt, Germany and was starting to produce footbed insoles. That is the key term, the footbed sole. That is unique to Birkenstock shoes and lets their shoes appear a little too big and a little bit too awkward. It kind of breaks the line of fashion design because it does not fit in with the apparel.
So leave alone the appearance of the Birkenstocks and just try one. They feel very comfortable and have helped me to get over some ailments that I incurred during my workouts and jogging. Today I own 3 pairs of Birkenstock and they have been part of my wardrobe for a while now. Yet, I admit, when I wear them for work in my fashion company, two female colleagues greet me with a smile…
Birkenstock is not just a product but a European idea that has lived through dedication and consistency. That’s what I like about them too. An in addition, when they upgraded their footbed production they did this with a view on environmental protection and power consumption had been reduced by over 90%. This is another European idea: long before the term sustainability ever became en vogue, they did it already.
The Swatch watch is an inexpensive plastic watch from Switzerland recognized for its colorful and joyful design. It is lightweight and invites you to own more than just one watch but rather one for every occasion. Colorful watch like this were virtually inexistent in European style design and plastic was not really cool as design material. On the sad occasion of it’s founders death today it is worth to look at what this plastic Swatch has set in motion.
Nicolas Hayek moved to Switzerland from Beirut as a young man. He studied mathematics, chemistry and physics in France and came to Zurich, Switzerland to start his consulting firm. Notably, at that time the Swiss society was pretty tight and closed and he made an amazing carrier as a foreigner. He was pretty outspoken and direct, which is not exactly what we find often in the business world today.
The classical Swiss watch industry is a pillar of the national economy and had fallen into a crisis. Japanese digital watchmakers like Seiko had begun to undercut Swiss prices. Also public tastes were shifting from the prestigious hand made analog Swiss timepieces to the digital watches that came to serve the mass market. The Swatch watch and Mr. Hayek company have saved the Swiss watch industry to stay in business long enough to see the renaissance of the classical Swiss watches made by craftsmen.
The Swatch has also influenced the car industry by the invention of the tiny Smart car, a truly European style design car. Your still see only a few of these cars in the US.
Swatch is a European idea that inspired European style design with respect to cars, watches and the use of plastic as a design material of choice. We will admire him for his imagination and free outspoken voice. Let’s not be sad but celebrate by buying a wonderful Swatch.
 Smart Car |
 classical Swatch - European design |
Bicycles are on vogue now in New York City. Ten years ago there was not much going with regard to bikes in the City. Yes, we saw bike couriers and messenger bags but wide public use of bicycles like in European Cities? Not really.
Now we see bicycle lanes, bicycles shops, bicycle garages and bike tours. This is great. I have two bikes myself and I love it. But what do I do if I have to use the subway in Manhattan? Or, say, I need to commute between the City and Hoboken with the PATH train? If I have to commute but I do not want to take the bus and ride to the station instead, what do I do? Well, I could leave the bike at the station and take the subway or PATH. But do I really want to do that? Leave my bike at the station? Abandoned? No. And strictly speaking I am not allowed to take the bike on the train between 6.30am and 9.30am and between 3.30 pm and 6.30 pm (see here for rules and scroll down until you find bicyles).
Here is the solution: Take bike like from Brompton. If this young lady can do this and still wear a dress, well then anyone can. I saw her climbing up the stair at Hoboken station coming from the City and she allowed me to take a picture. She actually carried the Brompton bike in a shoulder back when she climbed the stairs. In Europe we call them femme velo (for French: women with the bike). I spoke to her and asked if she new about the rules about bicycles on PATH trains and she said that because she carried the bicyles in a shoulder back she is fine. How cool is that, I said to myself. Check out Brompton.
 A Brompton bike in action |
 femme velo with Brompton bike |
Incidentally, this reminds me that I should really write to the Port Authority of NJ/NY and ask them to revise their rules about transportation of bikes. I have seen empty trains during the day past rush hour and there as sufficient space for bikes.
Best regards,
Mark
