The management of water has become almost as crucial an environmental cause as carbon emissions or deforestation. And we’d like to think that this, and this alone, was the impetus for designing Piet Hein’s drink cooler.

Sadly, there’s no such eco-romance to be found behind the invention of this liquid-filled, stainless steel ’super egg’.

It would seem, instead, that the inventors were more concerned about the epidemic of watery drinks – the victims of fast-melting ice (or slow drinking partygoers).

It’s a novel idea, but we can see a handful of negatives that might keep us wasting more megaliters on old-fashioned ice:

• Those of us used to swilling around the icy remains of our drinks are in for a rude shock when, instead of the splish-splash of water, we’re greeted instead by a handful of broken glass, shattered by a stainless steel, egg-sized wrecking ball;
• There’s no better way to subtly point out that it’s your buddy’s shout than by chewing your ice in front of them while they continue to avoid the next trip to the bar; and
• For some of us, the melted ice in our gin is the only worthwhile hydration we get…

But this is sure to be a hit with gadget-obsessed cocktail partygoers everywhere. And those genuinely concerned by the rampant misuse of water for cooling whisky.

Drink Cooler by Piet Hein [via Luxist]

A serene English monastery hardly seems a plausible birthplace for Britain’s anti-social behavior epidemic.

But Scottish authorities have tracked all society’s ills to the monks of Devon’s Buckfast Abbey and their quaint alcoholic yield – Buckfast Tonic Wine.

Brewed since the 19th century by these Benedictine monks, and affectionately known by its loyal following as ‘Buckie’, the sweet, thick tonic is 15% AbV, high in caffeine and particularly popular among underage drinkers – hence the public concern.

And there’s no doubt, we’re sure, that bored, disillusioned youth would be far better behaved, more scholarly and home before dark if they were instead taken to drinking beer, rum, whisky or colorful, sweet pre-mix spirits.

How lucky to be Scotland. While communities of disaffected kids the world over battle meth addiction and petrol sniffing, they’re concerned instead with this peculiar (and actually quite vile) boutique Benedictine brew.

What next? The war on ginger wine?

Binge drinking - the Benedictine connection [BBC]

Any techheads out there want to help out on WallStreetTechDaily.com. It seems our current writer has jumped ship. Drop me a line at john at bigwidelogic dotter com. Thanks.

Having heard rumors about Pioneer’s S-A4SPT-PM Pure Malt Speakers a couple of years ago, we’re glad to hear now that they’re: a) available outside of Japan for the first time; and b) actually quite good value for money.

These speakers, made out of 50-year-old former whisky barrels, are more than just a cool ‘water of life’ lover’s gadget or the clever recycling of timber.

The use of aged oak, as opposed to the MDF from which most other wood speakers are made, apparently gives the speakers a a mature mellow tone and, without question, an aesthetic advantage over the myriad boring grey and black plastic eyesores adorning entertainment units the world over.

Pioneer S-A4SPT-PM ‘Pure Malt’ Speakers [via Tree Hugger, via Gizmodo, via CNET (what a journey…)]

This isn’t a watch. It’s a horological machine. In fact, short of salivating over its aesthetics and admiring (what we can only imagine is) the incredibly complex engineering, our humble knowledge of watches doesn’t allow us much scope to comment on this at all…

Each pair of barrels needs to equalize their energy with the other around the void of the tourbillon in the narrowest section of the movement. Distributing that immense power required the development of a sophisticated beryllium gear train. Using four mainspring barrels in parallel enabled MB&F to reduce the torque of each mainspring, thus improving accuracy, decreasing wear and increasing longevity - all while maintaining an incredible seven days reserve of power!

See what we mean? Mere mortals like us would be wasted on a timepiece like this.

But it is cool. Damn cool. Emotionally cool. We would give up close friends and relations for this watch.

MB&F Horological Machine No.1 [via Retro Thing]

Ignoring the “why” and “what the f***”, this VCR from JVC upscales your old VHS cassettes to HD quality. Will you notice a difference in 1080i when you watch your old Knight Rider recordings? Probably not. But, there’s also a built-in DVD burner so you can transfer the adventures of Michael Knight and friends to a medium that’s more “current”.

The system costs $270, but may be useful if you have any old family movies you want to transfer to DVD yourself, instead of being charged somewhere along the lines of $50 if you take it to a store. A good idea to remember your wife back when she was only half your weight instead of three-fourths of it.

Press Release [JVC via Sci Fi Tech]

If you were always impressed by the startled, insomniac fish swimming in the walls of any number of try-hard inner-city nightclubs, or perhaps by Karl Stromberg’s decorating in The Spy Who Loved Me then today’s your day to bring the ‘fish in the walls’ look to your very own apartment.

Okay, so there’s a couple of catches. It’s not the wraparound floor-to-ceiling look that a true nightclub boss or evil genius really prefers, and it kinda hangs on the wall like a painting, rather than becoming the walls, like in Stromberg’s hideout.

But it’s a start. And costs several million dollars less than building a underwater mansion that rises magically out of the sea on demand.

Wall Aquarium [via Cool Buzz]

Showing up to a party or a restaurant with your wine in a brown paper bag from the liquor store is no way to impress. Bringing it in a fake violin case, however, is a different story.

Threaten your enemies and hassle shopkeepers for protection money on the way if you like – if you’re all dressed up, but nowhere near a concert hall, everyone will just assume you’re a 1930’s gangster.

The leather, velvet-lined case actually raises more questions than it answers, however, such as:

• Is velvet a good insulator? (And will it deal well with condensation?);
• During the prohibition, do you think they carried booze around like this? (And were there ever tense moments between drunks and mobsters?); and
• Why does the online shop sell them by the dozen?

But we like it. Especially the ** LIQUOR NOT INCLUDED ** disclaimer. You need to spell these things out. Like, who wants to mislead the Mob?

Violin Bottle Carrier [via Liquor Snob]

If you’re sick of living in a cramped apartment in the middle of the city (or even a slightly spacious house in the middle of the suburbs), have you ever considered an enormous castle in the middle of nowhere?

Forbes is running a feature on the growing real estate market for castles, be they medieval or brand new, and the list of features available is nothing short of, well, baffling:

It is not unusual to find a castle that offers 40 or more bedrooms, but only two bathrooms, and has central heating in only one inhabitable wing of the castle…

That still sounds a lot better than our crummy house, however. Throw in a dungeon, a moat and some turrets and we’re sold!

Castles For Sale [Forbes]

There was once a time where you could tell how important a man’s files were from the elegance of his briefcase. But with the classic briefcase slowly being squeezed out of existence by the laptop bag and all manner of vulgar messengers and satchels, it’s hard in the modern age to differentiate neurosurgeons from graphic design students (although the stethoscopes and scrubs tend to give it away).

Thank God for British designers Bill Amberg, whose Rocket Bag has reassured us that modern life isn’t rubbish after all. As the team at Spungle explain in their extensive review…

On first glance you’ll realize that your new Rocket Bag is stunningly sleek. The bag gets its name form the fact that when looked at from an oblique angle, the side panels have a rocket shape. This design is such that the front and back of the bag seem to just flow from the magnetized anodized handles right in to the floor; giving the bag a sense of authority when situated next to you, and a sense of bold presence when placed on the board room table.

The materials are exceptional, the design is exquisite and the construction is of the standard that we’re assured these will outlast the era of laptop computing and simply be carried to work, empty, by style-conscious cyborgs in centuries to come.

The Rocket Bag by Bill Amberg [via Spungle]