A friend of mine published on her blog a list of things she just loves, to give folks out there ideas for Christmas gifts, not for her, but for others in your life. I thought it was such a groovy idea I decided to a similar post of my own. Having recently seen our house burn with all our belongings in it, I’ve had a chance to acquire some new stuff. Most of it hand selected by me, after careful deliberation, spec-analyzing, and testing out. So without further adieu, I bring you Ryan’s List of Stuff I Really Like:

SmugMug. At $35/year it’s a low price for unlimited online secure photo storage. There’s no limit to the size or quality of your pics, and it’s easy enough to upload out of iPhoto or Picasa. It’s a weight off my shoulders knowing that I don’t have to worry about backing up our favorite photos.

Kuhl Pants. I love love love my Kuhl “Kuhldry” pants. So much so that I own three pairs and they’re basically the only pants I wear. They’re light, durable, great for travel, look nice enough to wear to work, and of course my primary requisite: comfy. (PS: order from Zappos for free return shipping if you don’t like ‘em)

This is the deodorant I’ve used since before I hit puberty. I’ve tried many others, but this is the smell I like. I only wish I could find it in sub 3oz containers so TSA would stop confiscating it!

North Face “Surge” laptop backpack. This holds my 15″ MacBook laptop in a padded compartment, very easy to remove for airport security, and has all the other bells and whistles of a modern, “performance” backpack. It doesn’t have wheels, but makes up for it by fitting my body so well that it’s almost a pleasure to lug around heavy loads.

North Face “Hedgehog” Shoe w/ Boa. OK this is a controversial subject, but I love these shoes. Not only do they fit me really well, but the Boa wire thingy I find very handy. It tightens on my foot uniformly, doesn’t stretch like laces, and makes it very easy to “tie” and “untie” my shoes using one hand while standing up. Yes, I wear these to work.

Makita Lithium Ion Impact Driver. Not that I’m doing much household upkeep these days, but if I did this is the first tool I’d reach for. Not only is the impact-ness powerful enough to drive long screws into solid wood (I’ve used it to mount kitchen cabinets), but it’s lightweight, charges quickly, and just feels so damn sexy to hold. Incidentally, this tool not only survived our house fire but still works to this day!

Sesame Honey Cashews from Trader Joes. Love love love ‘em! We don’t have a Trader Joes where I live, which is probably a good thing else I’d gorge on these way to often. Everytime a friend goes to there, tho, I ask ‘em to bring me back these luscious lil nuggets. They go great with…. anything!

Dropbox is one of my favorite computer utilities. I have it installed on four of my computers and my iPhone. It provides secure online storage. I use it to store all kinds of files, and it makes it a breeze for me to edit a document on my laptop, then pick up where I left off with the same document from my work computer. The free account provides 2GB, which is enough for my current needs, but if you need more you can upgrade.