We work hard so we can have nice things
I received some money I was due for work that I did recently and, as a thank-you-for-putting-up-with-me-slash-valentine's-day present, I bought Carolyn a Canon Ixus 55. It is nice, and I don't say that in the sense of "nice because I can't express myself any other way" but in the sense of "this is really niii-iice".

I have this theory that there is an ineffable quality to certain attractive consumer products, and I can only term it niceness. It's the MSG of consumerism - you don't know what it tastes like by itself but you know when it's present and you know when it's not.

See, all Apple products have niceness. iPods, in particular, have their little metal and plastic bodies stuffed with it. The Sony PSP has niceness. Carolyn's Anolon Circulon pots and pans have niceness. My Canon 350D has niceness. My Spire backpack, indeed, has the nice nature. Levenger products are just .... nice.

By comparison, most Ikea products are not 'nice'. They're cheap, functional and acceptably durable, but you generally don't develop an emotional bond with your POÄNG. Some of their super-high-end office chairs are approaching nice, but they're not Aeron nice.

It's somewhere in the confluence of size, shape, materials, texture and that pleasant weightiness that lesser products don't have. I said it was the MSG of consumerism. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't more like consumerism's crack cocaine. Jonathan Ive is my dealer.