Hey, we never said our favorite things were practical. This week, Darren tells us why his $125 shoulder bag was worth it, while Jason defends his decision to purchase an 82-inch 3DTV at 2AM (no he wasn't drunk -- we don't think, anyway). Rounding things out, Jon doesn't generally like super-sized phones, but he can't help but enjoy the Galaxy Note II. Read on to find out why.

ColcaSac Jack Bauer shoulder bag

I was a ColcaSac fan before, but now I'm bordering on being an evangelist. After picking up a couple of cases for my wife's gear, I was able to test out something a little larger -- the Jack Bauer shoulder bag. Yeah, shoulder bags come a dime a dozen these days, but ColcaSac does an outstanding job of differentiating itself. It's all about the exterior materials as well as the craftsmanship.

The entire thing is composed of un-dyed hemp canvas, which -- if you haven't seen it -- is quite the looker. You'll catch plenty of eyes with it hung around your person, but not in the "please steal me" kind of way. It's as soft and flexible as a bag could be, making it quite capable of doubling as a pillow (while empty) on a long flight. I found the compartments to be just large enough; any more, and you'd probably lose things. At 15.5 inches wide and 11 inches tall, it's quite capable of carrying around your average laptop and / or tablet, and while aesthetics are obviously a matter of perception, I've fallen quite seriously for the design.

Jolla launched its Sailfish SDK at MWC 2013 and we got the chance to chat with CEO Marc Dillon about the company's history and find out how things have been coming along with Sailfish OS since our hands-on late last year. We also discussed the time frame for Jolla handsets (still on track for H2 2013) and what the Sailfish SDK brings to the table for developers today. You'll find a full transcript of the interview along with our video after the break.

Myriam Joire: Hi there! It's Myriam with Engadget and I'm here with Marc Dillon, the co-founder of Jolla at Mobile World Congress 2013. Hi Marc, how's it going?

Dennis Tito is planning an ambitious private flyby of Mars for 2018 that will carry all kinds of logistical challenges during its proposed 501-day span, not the least of which is shielding the crew from radiation without consuming valuable resources. The team's solution is a clever one, if not especially pretty: human waste. While the walls of the Inspiration Mars spacecraft will initially be lined with water-filled bags to guard against cosmic rays, their contents will be gradually replaced with er, byproduct that will be dehydrated through the bag (possibly using polyethylene) to reclaim and purify water for drinking. As water-based materials are better at stopping radiation than metal, the approach theoretically represents the best of all worlds with less bulk, a simpler life support system and maximum room for supplies. If the Inspiration Mars group can keep the bags working at high efficiency in space, it won't have to worry about its travelers' safety; their comfort with being surrounded by their own waste may be another matter.

We told you about it late yesterday, but now it's about time for the livestream of SpaceX's Dragon capsule reaching the International Space Station. If all's going as planned, the craft would've begun some preliminary maneuvers toward the ISS roughly an hour ago. According to the company, astronauts aboard the ISS will attempt to grapple it with a robotic arm at 6:36AM ET. If that's successful, the actual berthing of the capsule is set to begin at 8AM. Don't take our word for it, catch the NASA TV live feed (coverage starts at 3:30AM) at embedded after the break!

Here's to wishing that all continues to go well overall on this resupply effort!

Adafruit's just outed a new Internet of Things Printer kit that's traded in its ethernet connection for WiFi. Instead of using an Arduino Uno like its wired sibling, the new DIY hardware is built with a Raspberry Pi Model B running Raspbian Linux. Programmed in Python, the software on the box wields the Python Imaging Library, which gives folks flexibility when it comes to typography and graphics, and can leverage the language's raft of libraries. If you're not in the mood for coding, however, the contraption brings a few sample applications that'll print out daily weather reports, sudoku puzzles, tweets and images on 2.25-inch wide receipt paper. The project rings up at $189 -- $100 above its predecessor -- but it isn't up for sale quite yet.

LG PASSES TEN MILLION MARK IN LTE SMARTPHONE SALES

LG Expands LTE Market with Compelling Lineup Targeting Diverse Range of Consumer Needs

SEOUL, Mar. 3, 2013 -- LG Electronics (LG) reports that it has sold more than 10 million LTE smartphones worldwide, a result of the company's aggressive push into 4G markets with a combination of the best hardware and advanced 4G LTE technologies.
"Aggressive pushing forward with 4G LTE technology allows LG satisfy the needs of consumers and is a huge factor in our growing success in global LTE smartphone sales," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of the LG Mobile Communications Company. "Having established ourselves as a major industry player, we will continue to expand our footprint in the global LTE market with a wider range of differentiated, high quality LTE smartphones."

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Nikunj, who wants to produce his own apps for both sides of the smartphone war. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I'm a C++ student and I was wondering what's the best language to develop apps in both Android and iOS? Is C++ enough, and if not, could you all suggest some other languages? Thank you."

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought news of a new direction for Muve Music, the arrival of a budget smartphone at Sprint and a whole lotta LTE expansion. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of February 25th, 2013.

Muve Music to spin-off from Leap Wireless

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Life -- as they say -- is short. So, you gotta cram in as much as you can while you're here. Right? How about a once in a lifetime trip around Mars? Well, if that's on your bucket list, then you might just be in luck. There's other news pertaining to one of life's biggest events over the fold, too, but we'll leave you to figure out which story that is. Hint: it's not the robotic bird. This is alt-week.

The Galaxy Note 8 -- it's the next logical step in Samsung's ongoing Note saga, and it finally launched in Barcelona. We spoke with Nick DiCarlo, VP of Product Planning for Samsung mobile, about the company's latest tablet. He mentioned that the voice capability, which is a very polarizing feature for some, was a common request among customers. It's unclear if the US carriers will keep this functionality intact, but he suggested that you, dear readers, might be able to sway them by emailing in. We discussed some of the Note 8's other selling points, such as the S Pen-sensitive buttons (finally!) and the IR blaster, which we think is located in the wrong place (the right edge instead of the top) -- possibly the result of Peel's landscape-centric remote control app. Design was an other area we touched upon, and something we feel Samsung's been complacent about this past year. Materials and build quality just don't do the company's products justice, especially on flagships like the Galaxy S III and Note devices. Mr. DiCarlo acknowledged our concerns but pointed out that the entire Galaxy line is light, thin and durable, something everyone wants in a quality smartphone or tablet. Let's see what the Galaxy S IV brings to the table, right? Until then, watch our video interview after the break.