Spool Dock

I am a huge fan and user of Reddit. What fascinates me about the website is that there is someone for every visual pallet. It doesn’t matter if you are like me and like to visit tech and gaming “subreddits” (the separate sub-communities of Reddit) like /r/technology or /r/gaming, or if you like to visit the popular cute animals and babies in /r/aww or typically stunning photographs of /r/pics. There is literally something for everyone. There are also a plethora of much darker and adult themed subreddits, but that is something best left undiscussed for now.

Perusing the website the other day I stubbled across /r/iPhone. Being an iPhone fan–I stood in line on release day for my iPhone 5s–I clicked through the links to see if anything of interest caught my eye. That’s when I first laid eyes on Spool Dock by Quell&Co.

Spool Dock is a project on Kickstarter and is what I consider “the perfect dock for iPhone and iPad mini.” Not only does it dock either device, it also has built in cable management. The dock is made up of two primary parts that allow for your Apple Lightning cable to wind itself around the core of the dock–similar to a spool of thread.

Spool Dock also looks great. It has a modern look, without being made out of a chunk of aluminum, and yet maintains a classy, elegant look as well. The spool design is simple and something that surprisingly hasn’t been done yet. It’s comprised of three main materials: hardwoods, 100% Merino wool felt and a durable powder-coated metal base. It is as gorgeous as it is practical.

Unfortunately, the Spool Dock Kickstarter ended yesterday and came nowhere close meeting its goal of $85,000. In an email to Spool Dock’s backers, Quell&Co. said they still had great interest in their dock and that they were “pursuing a few different paths to bring both the Spool Dock and Quell&Co. to life.” Be check back in here or check out QuellandCo.com for updates on the future of Spool Dock.

Seven weeks in

It has been seven weeks since we have moved into our new place, and while the majority of the house is fairly neat, we do have a few boxes that are still in need of being unpacked. That’s fine as the new place feels more like a home to me than any apartment Allison and I have ever had–perhaps with the exception of our first place…I mean, it was our first place after all.

I was sick last week and then Allison got sick with something completely different, but now I think I am coming down with whatever she is getting over. So goes the vicious cycle. I can’t make any promises but I’d love to write more this weekend. Until then, here is a picture of Sully I took this morning…oh and you can follow me Twitter while you’re at it if you would like.

Sully was looking like a puppy this morning. #walkwithsully #frenchie #bulldog http://t.co/4ff0pptJzE

— Mike Ackerman (@mikeack) September 26, 2013

This will change everything

It has been well over a year since I’ve last posted on this site and a lot has happened. I by no means plan on updating this blog with all that has happened, nor do I believe it would be all too interesting. Instead, I would like to focus on what is happening now…on what is new.

My wife, Allison, and I recent moved to an area of Norfolk called Ghent. We’re renting the third floor of a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood and have turned the 1,300 square feet of space into a home for both us and our three year-old French bulldog, Sully.

I should probably stop for a moment and mention that I have no recollection as to what I’ve written on here previously, so from here on out I’ll just assume that everything is new.

I like to think that my tastes in things are a bit eclectic. My major in college started out in biology and ended with me successfully completing a degree in animation…with stops at accounting and computer science along the way. Now I find myself working on a master’s degree in journalism and loving every minute of it.

I work in the IT department of the university that I received my animation degree from and am lucky enough to be able to take two grad classes per year for more or less nothing because of my job. However, I find myself wishing for a different job and hoping to receive my master’s degree from a different school. While I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take these classes at such a discounted rate, I loath my environment…well, most of it.

I moved to Virginia when I was 10-years-old so my father could go to the same university that I did and have lived in the same zip code ever since. That is, until this past weekend. Allison (my wife), Sully and myself moved out of Virginia Beach and into Norfolk! We’ve been here less than a week and already feel so much more at home than we ever did in Virginia Beach. We will take Sully on walks and random strangers will walk by, say good morning and smile. There is an actual sense of community and a feeling of belonging to that community that in my 26 years I have never felt.

Everything just seems right in the world.

Until next time,

Mike