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Cool Stuff | PRODUCTS THAT MATTER
 OAKLEY COCKPIT-FRIENDLY RACING BOOTS
The folks who brought you one of the most stylish names in eyewear are now making footwear—fire-proof racing footwear, no less.Spotted by our friends at AvShop as an ideal and necessary piece of cockpit equipment, these slick-looking, highly engineered racing boots come in a variety of colors and sizes for both men and women, and are priced at about $250 per pair. For more information, visit avshop.com.The mid-height boots feature a patented, CarbonX® flame-resistant lining for fire protection, coupled with what Oakley calls “self-extinguishing suede” and a high-grip, vulcanized rubber sole for good rudder pedal response. You'd like to think you won’t need this much fire protection on you next cross-country, and you probably won’t. But you’ll look really cool in these boots, and that’s what counts.Now if they could just engineer a way to deal with the smell.
 LOSE WEIGHT FAST!
Here's the quickest and least-expensive way to increase your airplane’s payload: Ship your luggage. For about $2 per pound, a company called Luggage Free will pick up your luggage at your house and ship it anywhere in the continental United States. And if you’re traveling outside the US, Luggage Free will even take care of making sure your luggage clears customs, so that you have it waiting for you at your hotel when you arrive.There is a $20 pickup charge and a minimum price of $95 per order. For more information, visit luggagefree.com.
 A CLASSY TRAVEL ALARM
This stylish Seth Thomas alarm clock is perfect for travel. Close the case and it’s small enough to drop into your flight bag or purse. Slide it open, and a tiny stand snaps into position holding it upright so it can be read day or night (the hands glow in the dark). Less than 3” x 2” and available from Sporty’s for $50. For more information, visit sportys.com.
PANASONIC GETS TOUGH
 Frequent business travel means your computer takes a lot of abuse. Now there’s a way to protect your business investment and upgrade your cockpit experience in a single purchase. The Panasonic Toughbook18 is a rugged, shock-absorbing notebook computer that connects to just about every wireless network out there and has enough horsepower to crunch your biggest spreadsheet. But what makes this machine truly air-worthy is its flip-top display that can be rotated, instantly turning the notebook into a tablet PC that will run electronic flight-bag software from companies like Jeppesen or Flight Prep.The Toughbook weighs about 4.5 pounds and has a magnesium-alloy case, rubberized edges and corners for shock absorption, and sealed connector ports to eliminate dust and moisture problems. It’s packed with as much performance as any top-line notebook, has a battery life of four to six hours, and can even be purchased with a built-in GPS unit for real-time flight-tracking on your EFB. Let’s see paper do that.
 YOUR WATCH TO THE RESCUE
The Breitling Emergency watch is made exclusively for pilots and air crews. It has a built-in transmitter that can be activated during an emergency to send a distress signal on 121.5. The signal can be heard up to 100 miles away, and will continuously broadcast for 48 hours. The Emergency strikes a bold profile (15.7 mm in thickness; 43 mm in diameter), and its heft (84.6 grams) calls for a strong wrist. Its analog face is supplemented by a digital strip that can keep time in another time zone or act as a countdown timer or an alarm. Available from Mayfair Jewelers at 631.462.9282 or visit www.breitling.com
IT'S A PALM, IT'S A PHONE, IT'S... SUPERPHONE!
 Whoever said you can’t take it with you never got wind of the PalmOne Treo 600, a hybrid device that combines Palm OS-based applications with a digital cell phone.This handheld is ideal for the busy business traveler, who may find it difficult to stay in touch and productive when weather delays and FBOs with no Internet access seem to team up just to take you out of the loop. With the Treo 600, you can surf the web, check your e-mail, or run any of the hundreds of popular personal organizer applications written for the Palm platform. There are a number of good aviation applications written for the Palm platform as well, including calculators, airport directories and the like. But that’s not all. The Treo 600 is also a powerful cell phone, featuring up to six hours of talk time on a fully-charged battery, a built-in speakerphone and camera, and the ability to dial a number by simply selecting an entry in your contact database. The Treo 600 costs between $450 and $500 when purchased with a wireless plan from your favorite wireless dealer. For more information, visit palmone.com or your local wireless dealer.
 CHILDREN'S LOG AND ACTIVITY BOOK
Necessity is the mother of invention, so when Joyce Logan and her husband needed a way to occupy their children on long, cross-country trips, Joyce came up with the idea of an activity book the children could fill out along the way. Filled with puzzles, games and other activities, the book also includes a trip log so that youngsters can take notes about each trip to go back and relive later. Available for $15 from Amazon.com.
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