On the rare occasions when sweet sentiments are sent or linked to us, we note they’re the rambling, incoherent compliments that only come from readers who are sober enough to type, but drunk enough to be honest.

In short, we’re read through beer goggles.

Hence we’re ecstatic to see the glory of the humble beer goggle brought to the world of optometry.

Chicago eyewear rogues Urban Spectacles of Wood, best known for their custom timber frames and vinyl ‘record specs’ (made out of your old vinyl records, obviously), are asking you to drink a couple of your favorite beers, box up the bottles, and send them in for your own bespoke beer goggles.

Seems they’ll even take accommodate prescription and tinted lenses, charge $250 and slip you a subtle warning about the fact they’re made out of glass and sit on your face (which, when combined with a few drinks, becomes a fascinatingly dangerous proposal).

Beer Goggles [via Boing Boing]

Another for the ‘why has it taken so long’ category; LG have finally released a refrigerator with an accessory that’s both cool AND sensible.

Recognizing that opening the door and releasing all that hard-earned coldness just to fix a quick drink is possibly not the most energy-efficient way to do things, the LG Home Bar Side-by-Side features the ‘coolbox’.

It’s basically a small door that folds down to reveal a chilled compartment. Which is so simple and brilliant, we’re astounded we’ve not encountered it before (if we’ve just been oblivious all these years and it’s, in fact, quite common, let us know). As with all side-by-sides, it also has the handy icemaker and chilled water tap.

For possibly the first time in our lives, we’re excited about a refrigerator. What are we becoming?!

LG’s entertain-o-fridge [T3 via Gizmodo]

Few subjects in men’s fashion are as touchy as the ‘man bag’.

We’re in an age when many carry around at least some keys, a phone and a wallet, often as well as an iPod, a camera, a decent paperback (for those emergency public transit trips), some cigarettes, a diary and who knows whatever else.

Obviously piling everything into your trouser and jacket pockets makes for unnecessarily lumps, whereas a few assorted trinkets are hardly cause to carry an entire rucksack.

Still, we’re as able to throw everything into a small over-the-shoulder bag as we are to throw on some matching pumps.

So the debate over the state of the man bag has raged. And Bill Amberg, knowingly or otherwise, has presented the solution from the most unlikely of places – the world of hunting.

In his shooting collection, a modern interpretation of traditional hunting kit, Bill has given us a few small, convenient and unquestionably manly choices – not the least of which is the truffle hunter. As our friends at Spungle put it, it’s perfect…

…this bag is one the best medium-sized utility bags we’ve seen in a long time. It’s smart looking, it’s functional, it’s unique, and most importantly, it does anything and everything you need it to do.

As you’d expect from Bill Amberg, it’s made of vegetable-tanned buffalo hide and is hand stitched. The price tag is also typically Amberg, with £360 what it takes to buy the only man bag you’ll ever need.

Bill Amberg Shooting Collection [via Spungle]

If, like us, you think vanity plates are an unnecessary vulgarity, then you’re best not to read on.

Dutch firm Name Your Porsche has taken the whole horrible business one step further with their new service, creating customized nameplates for all models of the iconic 911, as well as the Cayenne, Cayman and Boxster.

And it’s not just limited to names..

You can make up anything you want: ‘made in Germany’, ‘back off’, ‘follow me’ or ‘have a nice day’… Or why not use the back of your Porsche to make a personal message like: ‘no more Ferrari’, ‘my third’, or ‘thanks daddy’.

How about ‘Please don’t hate me because I’m a wanker’, ‘If you can read this, what’s happened to my caravan’, or even ‘For sale – call ********’.

Name Your Porsche [via The Red Ferret Journal]

Everyone has a tried and true hangover cure: fried food, more alcohol, over-the-counter analgesics, medically-induced comas, etc etc.

As with every illness, however, prevention is the best cure.

(Obviously the best way to avoid a hangover would be to stay sober. But we all know that’s not an option. In fact, we’re disappointed in you for making us mention it.)

Luckily our bitter enemies kindred spirits at Urban Monarch have posted the foolproof five simple rules to drink to excess and avoid a hangover. For example:

RULE # 2 : Stick to top shelf booze

Part of what causes a hangover is the amount of contaminents which remain in the liquor after the filtration process in complete. Higher quality (and yes, priced) liquor constantly advertises the fact that additional distillation is used (”Triple Distilled!”) for a reason; it makes the taste smoother and eases your body’s work in processing it. And leads to a lot less hangovers.

They all make sense, and there’s nothing there that we haven’t heard before.

But it’s amazing how soon we forget them when the thinking turns to drinking.

A tippler’s life for me : preventing hangovers [Urban Monarch via
Liquor Snob]

There are men who wear scarves and men who don’t. Those who don’t won’t understand. Those who do will agree that it’s half of the fun of winter.

Carrying an almost eccentric style about them, as much is conveyed by the way a scarf is tied, as in the choice of scarf itself.

Thankfully for the unenlightened, Men’s Flair have thrown together a quick cheatsheet on the hows and whys of scarves and scarf tying, as well as throwing in a few scarf basics.

You can also try a white silk aviator scarf in the style of Robert Redford in the 1974 film The Great Gatsby, which you wrap once around the neck. Worn with a leather jacket or sophisticated dinner dress, this look is rarely seen anymore, so if you’re a classic guy who likes originality, then this is certainly for you.

It’ll tell you which mean wear which scarves and with which outfit. And, best of all, it even advocates such antiquated and bizarre styles as the ascot, the shawl and the regular necktie wrapped around as a scarf.

The time to reclaim scarves from the snowmen is nigh! Actually, they can probably keep them. Like, they’ve been sitting out in the snow and are covered with kid germs. And they smell of pipe smoke.

Men’s Scarf Tying Guide [Mens Flair]

Not wanting to sound like we’re Bond-obsessed around here (even if we are), but sister site The Wrist Watch Review has posted a timely (arf) review of Bond’s timepiece of choice for the past decade, and we’re too awestruck and envious to let it pass unremarked.

The Omega Seamaster 300M Chrono Diver is a modern icon – beautiful, stylish, rugged and unmistakably cool. It’s a favorite among men who wouldn’t know a scuba tank from a snorkel, it’s equal parts formal and sporty, and it’s extra helium release button has been invaluable to the British MI6, who seem obsessed with hiding incredulous gadgets within.

I’ve opened the case once, like a fool, and it is quite striking. It’s rhodium plated and sparkles in the light. I quickly closed her up, but it was the stuff dreams are made on.

Head on over for the full review, and some very saucy pictures of this $1500 beauty.

Review: Omega Seamaster Professional 300M 2225.80.00 Chrono Diver [The Wrist Watch Review]

The best real estate searches embarked upon often involve steadily increasing budgets with steadily decreasing standards. In the world of mortals, that is. Most are happy to find somewhere in a reasonable position, with sufficiently operable plumbing for a price that falls acceptably short of enforcing complete bankruptcy.

Others, however, set forth with tens (or hundreds) of millions, and can just never find a home that’s sufficiently opulent, oversized and isolated: A dream island, with too many islands nearby, a ranch of only a few thousand acres or a castle with an army that just doesn’t care anymore.

For these discerning house hunters, Sotheby’s have developed possibly the most amusing realty site online. Rather than selecting which suburb you’re after, pick which continent. Instead of specifying how many bedrooms you’d like, let them know how many fireplaces you’ll need. And forget choosing between a house or an apartment, concentrate on the pros and cons of ranches versus islands.

Don’t take too much offence at the concept of the ‘trophy apartment’, as often advertised on this site. Nor that nine miles of exquisite Californian coastline is being used to house cattle for the amusement of the rich.

Take heart, instead, that the most ludicrously expensive property listed also happens to be the ugliest…

Sotheby’s International Realty [via Life Hacker]

When 007 returns this year in Casino Royale, he’ll suitably be behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DBS. And that’s how things should be (plan your bathroom break for the scene in which he drive a Ford Mondeo).

Due to the British marque’s chequered history since the 60s, however, Commander Bond has been forced to drive all manner of other machines in the intervening years, and Forbes Autos has celebrated the new release with a retrospective on the top 10 Bond cars of all time.

Including such breath-taking models as Lotus Esprit and Toyota 2000GT, the list is almost perfect. Almost. Sadly, however, ranking the list by box office results rather than simply judging the cars has seen some unfortunate aberrations slip their way in, and some memorable gems denied their rightful place in the top 10.

Rather than the vulgar BMW Z3 and quite boring BMW 750iL, Forbes should’ve cast their memories back to one of the most forgotten, yet wonderful, Bond films, and its similarly ignored autos. 1987’s The Living Daylights, Timothy Dalton’s debut as Bond, was the sole appearance of Aston Martin through those troubled times, and showed off two of it’s more beautiful modern models – the V8 Series 5 Vantage and soft-top Volante (cleverly playing the same car). Instead, they’re given an honourable mention with the likes of the 2CV and Alfa GTV.

It could be worse, though. Let’s hope that the current speculation surrounding the selling of Aston Martin are true, and we’ll never have to suffer the sight of 007 behind the wheel of a Mondeo (or Focus!) in future lists.

Top 10 Bond Cars [Forbes Autos via Jalopnik]