Defy Google and Facebook by bringing one of these things to work
A stylish act of defiance.
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There's one thing that has come to characterize tech companies above all others.
No, it's not intellectual arrogance. Nor is it a complete disregard for the human condition.
Instead, if you mention working at the likes of Google and Facebook to many a world citizen, they'll say: "Whoa! They serve great free lunches, right?"
Times, though, have changed. Tech companies are under severe scrutiny for their anti-social ways. Even some employees are showing mutinous qualities.
I'm grateful, therefore, to my robust ZDNet handlers for sending me details of something I'd never considered. Because I had no idea such a thing existed.
It's called a lunch tote. In this case, I was sent some marketing blurb for the T|W Lunch Tote. This is, according to its creators: "The Professional Lunch Bag to Replace Your Briefcase."
People still carry briefcases? I had no idea. Yet I confess to having been moved by some of this tote's creators' more florid prose.
Sample: "No man should have to sacrifice his style thanks to the professionally styled T|W Lunch Tote. This hand-sewn vegan leather tote comes in colors that perfectly coordinate with men's suits and seasonal attire."
No man, eh?
Sirs, have you, deep inside, felt you've been sacrificing your style? Do you don your seasonal attire as you go to your tech job and worry that you'll have to shovel lobster down your throat again?
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Don't you wish you could bring your own home-prepared twist to work? Do you fear, though, that pulling a white bean sandwich out of your backpack is a bad look?
Well, here you are. Something to make a naked socio-political statement in the conformist saunas that are most tech companies.
I was sent one of these bags to try out. I asked my wife to try it, too.
Our verdicts were a little different. I'm not much of a luncher, but I went on a small wine-tasting trip and put my lunch in the bag. One person stopped me and asked me whether I had brought my own boche balls. (Hey, Napa. What can you do?)
T|W promises that this bag can keep things hot for eight hours and cold for 16, and I'm prepared to believe it. My ham and cheese sandwich sat happily inside for a couple of hours.
My wife, however, wasn't moved. She's a scientist and therefore can be very to the point. She came home from work and said: "Meh. It doesn't have a strap, so it was an extra thing to carry."
Which was something of a contradiction to T|W's marketing blurb: "As stylish as these bags are, men need to watch out! This sleek, versatile tote is catching the eyes of women as well."
That, as they say in British parts, takes the biscuit.