Timelapse Perseid over Stonehenge via Warren Ellis.
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Category Archives: toys
New Whip
I took a year off from the upgrade cycle last year. Even though I was enrolled in the iPhone upgrade deal, I just never got around to making the upgrade from the 14 to the 15.
I went with the titanium white for the new phone. I am sure I’ve had a white phone before, but I don’t remember which model it would have been.
I like to get the new phones to try out all of the cool photography junk they add. I don’t know how much I’ll have a reason to use the Apple Intelligence features, but I’m willing to try them out.
Le Petit Croc
As a long-time advocate of the McDonald’s cheeseburger (and a reluctant convert to the comfort of the Croc), the newest Happy Meal toy promotion is an awkward confluence for me.
iOS 18 with the chubby icons
While I do enjoy an OS update I wasn’t really paying attention to what was coming. The beefy, dark-mode icons were a fun surprise.
I am curious about the Apple-flavored AI stuff, so I refreshed all of the hardware for these updates, too. I got the M2 Macbook Air last year, the M2 iPad Air this year, and I’m jumping on the Watch 10 this year after getting into the SE2 over the last little while. I am in the iPhone Upgrade Program to get the good camera setup every year on the Pro Max.
Should be fun to see how it goes. I like the tech stuff.
Jinhao 80
I was reading about the Chinese Jinhao 80 fountain pen, and how it looks like a Lamy 2000 knockoff but only costs $6 ordered from AliExpress. So I ordered one (and a borderline janky bootleg Kaws companion, that I love despite the jank).
It might look like the 2000 while capped, but it doesn’t have the cool hooded nib nor is it a piston-filler. It’s still surprisingly smooth. I inked it up with the Pilot Kon-Peki. It’s a nice blue and decent contrast to the white pen. I don’t know that I’ll have a place for this pen in the regular rotation, but it’s neat to see one.
The internet seems split on it. The Jinhao design is obviously an homage (or a rip-off) of the 2000. The spring clip is neat, especially for a pen that’s so inexpensive
But because of the different fill mechanism and nib, it’s really just the look that is a copy. I’m okay with it.
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Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day to my impossibly patient and caring wife, Michelle.
Also, please check out this sweet LEGO jam I made.
Our Cuisinart Kettle
This electric kettle is one of the smartest purchases we’ve made as a family. For real.
I was electric kettle shopping 5 years ago because I kept burning stovetop kettles by forgetting that I had put them on. Like, I would put on a kettle and then see a neighbor in the street and go chat for half an hour, only to come back to an empty, dry, glowing hot kettle on our electric range. Not good.
So I went to the Wirecutter, like a proper Interneter, and bought their top pick. It was the Cuisinart CPK-17. It has pre-programmed buttons from 160 degrees through boiling so you don’t have to pay much attention when you put water on for, say, a green tea (170 degrees) or a pot of pour-over coffee (200 degrees) or a packet of instant oatmeal (boiling, baby!). We’ve had this thing for 5+ years, I use it twice a day (tea for kids and coffee for me), and we’ve never had any trouble with it. The numbers on the buttons are mostly worn off, but the element inside keeps making the water very hot.
It’s also comforting to my min/maxers heart to learn that this is still the Wirecutter’s pick for best electric kettle.
I’m a smart shopper sometimes.
“Big Trouble…” by Funko
Some of these Funko toys have been clever but there is something about the big, square head that has kept me from pulling the trigger.
Until now. Damnit.
I have until February to either: 1) forget that these exist or 2) get some kind of toy display deal set up in my office.
San Diego, Day Two.
I’ve been home from SD for 2 days and I’m just feeling up to recapping. It was an excellent, exhausting time.
Friday at the con was first about getting in on a Monster Worship sale for these dudes:
I’ve admired Jeff Lamm’s work for a long time but it always sells out (and gets expensive on eBay). This was a chance to get a Greasebat and some of his pals at an easy price. I also impulse bought Johnny Ryan’s “Cannibal Fuckface” (in a different colorway than that link). It’s pretty cool but it’s the only thing I got this weekend that I wasn’t 100% on.
The other big Friday thing was watching David Choe and Asa Akira (don’t google her from work) do a live DVDASA podcast from the floor. It’s sweary and NSFW so take care with clicks.
It was weird and kind of gross with a hint of nudity. Later, they all did a signing at a yogurt shop in Poway, about half an hour outside of San Diego. We went out there thinking that it might be lightly attended since it was so far from the Con and he’s isn’t someone I’d immediately associate with comics in general. We were wrong.
We waited in this line for almost an hour. When we got up front they were giving away three posters that they were all signing *and* David Choe bought yogurt for everyone. It was nice to end the night with a sweet treat.