Summer = beer.  If you agree with me on this, you may also be aware that local micro brewers Paddock Wood Brewing Co. has recently been selling affordable and tasty beer in refillable growler bottles. While these are a great way to buy bulk beer, if you're taking more than one home it can get a little precarious with multiple (nearly) two litre bottles clanging around in your back seat, on your bike rack, or stacked in your arms. 

Enter the Growler Crate.  Made from acacia wood, Growler Crates sport "duel 5x5 inch compartments separated by a wood buffer" that keep your brew safe and sound. And if you, as my friend Brennan remarked, "need a de-luxe [sic] model that carries four at a time," you'll be happy to hear that they will soon be making 4 and 6 "seater" models.  Check them out here.  

For opening slightly smaller beer bottles this summer, throw on one of these Bottle Opener Rings. Simple and clean, I could see this coming in handy (N.P.I.) at the lake or a festival campground when you're stuck without an opener or haven't yet mastered the lighter trick.  

A few days ago I stumbled on this slideshow of photos of a pretty amazing home on Vancouver Island.  The property has a grove of 350-year-old Douglas fir trees and preserving them "meant building around them. One trunk pokes through the roof, and another grows so close to the house that you can reach through a window and grab it." The view of the ocean from the living room is particularly breathtaking.  

The owners of that house probably don't have this next item but THEY SHOULD! Amphibiously named Wibit Sports make the crazy Sports Park floating play zone that looks like a cross between bouncy castles and Tyrion's defences in the Battle of the Blackwater. Having one of these monstrosities at the lake would be any kid's or drunken oversized kid's dream. Here's an incomplete list of the included obstacles: "oval, long jump, podium, balance beam, high jump, base, bridge, cliff, slide, pond, sidekick, trampoline…" I don't know what a floating bouncy "sidekick" is but it sounds awesome. Plus, when the weather gets shitty you can just pull it onto land and have a killer paintball arena or really flamboyant insta-Occupy encampment.  

Speaking of extreme sports, DC just released the latest in the Ken Block Gymkhana series.  For those unfamiliar with the vaguely erotic sounding "gymkhana," it's a type of motorsport that basically involves getting from point A to B while doing insane precision driving stunts in between, as fast as possible.  DC has been making these ads/videos with professional rally driver Ken Block for years now, and the production values have increased with each one, culminating in the latest, Gymkhana Five: Ultimate Urban Playground San Francisco.  Do not try at home. (but do also check out episode four)  Video below: 

DC SHOES: KEN BLOCK'S GYMKHANA FIVE: ULTIMATE URBAN PLAYGROUND; SAN FRANCISCO