Thanks for using the MVS-Amazon link!

[matthew1]

Thanks for using the Amazon link here.

Here are items I've gotten off Amazon in the last few months:

A $27 U Brand whiteboard for my son's room, 35x23 inches. It's not too big, and is relatively well built for what it is. He needs it to write down due dates for assignments, and, well, I love whiteboards and have since I worked as a Web developer starting in 2000. I got these $7 whiteboard markers and they have magnets in them to stick to the board, so I didn't install the tray.

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Aspercreme for achy muscles. I've been buying this stuff for probably 10 years. Importantly, it's got no smell.

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AA batteries, Amazon brand which I think are just fine. I've never tested them to know if they're somewhere between generic and Duracell quality, which I'd guess they are, but they just work.

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Absurdly cheap $14 Fruit of the Loom zipper hoodie. This is my second. They're perfectly fine and not polyester-ish.

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$7 Amazon Basics USB-C to USB-C 2.0 Cable. I like Amazon Basics items, and this is no different. Not as high quality as a more expensive brand, but those are... more expensive . These Basics cables work fine and last a long time. I bought a few AB cables years ago of different types and they're still fine.

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[matthew1]

I ordered one of these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LCMYT54?th ... s_li_ss_tl for my son's birthday. It should be here on Tuesday and I'll give a full report. It replaces a smaller curved screen gaming monitor he's had for about 3 years.

His grades this year are simply outstanding, significantly better than middle school, so he gets anything he wants. He doesn't take advantage of this policy.

ASUS TUF 34 Inch Curved Gaming Monitor - WQHD (3440x1440), 165Hz, 1ms, Extreme Low Motion Blur, FreeSync Premium, Eye Care, Height Adjustable, DisplayHDR 400, DisplayPort, HDMI, USB - VG34VQL1B

[BlackBart]

His grades this year are simply outstanding, significantly better than middle school...

V Nice! Good work, Dad.

[matthew1]

He's the one doing the work. I'm just the carrot or the stick.

[matthew1]

This morning I ran across this quote

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.”

- Judge Holden

And looked up Holden. He was the basis for Cormac McCarthy's character The Judge in Blood Meridian.

Now before you set off to read Blood Meridian, you might want to take heed: it's the most violent book I've ever read. Full stop.

Ultimately it's not about violence however. It's not a horror book. It's about the American West in the 19th century.

“When the lambs is lost in the mountain, he said. They is cry. Sometime come the mother. Sometime the wolf.”

That quote from BM makes me think of wind whistling through sage or tumbleweeds in the evening, blood spilled on the sand nearby.

Remarkably, to me when I first read it, a few pages of the book take place in San Felipe, which was where I was lucky enough to visit several times in the 1980s, and many times in the 1990s.

Fan art depiction of The Judge:

credit: https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Judge_Holden

[abscate]

I’m pretty sure that’s Mr Hom from STNG….

[matthew1]

LINK --> Amazon.com

happy_holidays_amazon2.png (164.81 KiB) Viewed 48122 times

[volvolugnut]

This morning I ran across this quote

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.”

- Judge Holden

And looked up Holden. He was the basis for Cormac McCarthy's character The Judge in Blood Meridian.

Now before you set off to read Blood Meridian, you might want to take heed: it's the most violent book I've ever read. Full stop.

Ultimately it's not about violence however. It's not a horror book. It's about the American West in the 19th century.

“When the lambs is lost in the mountain, he said. They is cry. Sometime come the mother. Sometime the wolf.”

That quote from BM makes me think of wind whistling through sage or tumbleweeds in the evening, blood spilled on the sand nearby.

Remarkably, to me when I first read it, a few pages of the book take place in San Felipe, which was where I was lucky enough to visit several times in the 1980s, and many times in the 1990s.

Fan art depiction of The Judge:

Screenshot 2024-10-29 at 8.59.00 AM.jpg

credit: https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Judge_Holden

I agree, Blood Meridian is very violent. Interesting and thought provoking, but violent.
The Road is also violent and thought provoking, but in the current time.

volvolugnut

[matthew1]

So I recently bought a soap refill for the shower. I was at a Sprouts Market and this looked good. I bought the refill because it's 32oz and my empty Everyone soap container is empty and also 32oz. Perfect. I figured they're the same product more or less: soap is soap is soap, right?

At first I noticed that the new Dr. Bronner's is far less viscous. I thought it'd have less cleaning power because it's thinner... "watered down." Wrong! It's got more, oddly. One pump washes my hair very well, where I used two pumps of Everyone soap. Same with skin... less needed to do the same job.

I'm no chemistry major, but maybe it has less emulsifiers and fragrance than Everyone soap. Less lye? More lye? Whatever the case, it does the job better. Recommended.

Actual photo of my new soap

IMG_9937.jpg (37.08 KiB) Viewed 48126 times

Old, less efficient soap

everybody.jpg (26.66 KiB) Viewed 48126 times

[matthew1]

I've had a "SimpleHuman" brand kitchen trashcan for 7 or 8 years. Shortly into that span I discovered off-brand bags that saved me a ton of money. One box = one year. Plasticplace Custom Fit Trash Bags, Compatible with simplehuman Code N (50 Count)