On my first trip to England, I did something I never do: I bought something from the on-board duty-free store. I got a Braun travel alarm clock, which served me well on that trip, on a subsequent trip to Scotland (to the Royal Observatory at Edinburgh, Piazzi Smyth’s domain), a trip to Trinidad and Tobago (for a friend’s wedding), and various excursions around the United States.

It was just fabulous: a simple design, amazingly loud alarm, very easy to adjust and set (important when you’re jet-lagged: you don’t want something complicated, but rather something where it’s very clear that you’ve either done the right thing or not).

A few years ago, I broke it, probably doing something stupid. It seems impossible to get them in the U.S., or at least in California. However, Amazon.com now carries them, and I ordered one for this trip. (Update, 9/5/2006: it’s no longer carried by Amazon.com, and it looks like Braun no longer sells alarm clocks in the U.S. Sorry, everyone.)

The clock is the AB314SL.

And the clock face is clear enough to make it good for timing yourself at talks, too.

Plus, when you’re doing a talk on the future of design, it can be a prop. I just hope there aren’t any Danish travel alarm clock makers in the audience who take offense…. But hey, you’ve got to let the facts go where they will.

[To the tune of Projections, “Luminate Pt. 2,” from the album “Between Here and Now“.]

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