Jackie's Fridge

What company? I know a number of them have been bought out and ruined over the years.

You may be able to find a replacement by asking after similar styles on an enthusiast forum (like Head-Fi).

Crap quality bluetooth headphones that hurt your ears cost twice as much as wired, but go on

I’ve got plenty of vacuum tubes to test…if it still works. Who tests the tester?

In the board game theme, have you tried any 2-player abstract strategy games? Some of my favourites include:

Quarto (complex 4-in-a-row game with a twist: your opponent chooses the piece you must play)

Quixo (from the same publisher, Gigamic - tic tac toe on steroids with an ever-changing board)

Hive (each piece moves a certain way, very portable defend-the-queen game)

Tak (simple rules, deep strategy - connect opposite edges of the board while preventing your opponent from doing it)

Not strategy, but abstract speed game: Nine Tiles by Japanese company Oink Games (not Nine Tiles Panic, tho that one isn’t bad). Oink has very clever, easily packable party games and a few can be played with two people.

Found an EMC Model 213 tube tester at a thrift shop this summer. It’s a cute little portable unit in a fabric covered hard case, from about the early 60s. Useless without the chart (typeset on a literal typewriter) that tells you how to set the row of 12 switches & three knobs that dial in the proper test for each type of tube. Luckily I found a scan online!

I was miffed when, in the early 90s, grunge swooped in and wrecked powerpop’s resurgence. MTV had Jellyfish in every corner, and seemingly overnight Nirvana took over.

In the search for harmonies, major key power chords, and jangly, summery guitars (not to mention hummable hooks galore) I had to dig.

The Well Wishers Dressy Bessy The Lolas The Beths The Dahlmanns The Riffbackers

And I know I’m missing so many more feel-good bands…

Leatherman Juice Pro here. I use it almost every day, mostly the knife & pliers, but the tweezers, screwdrivers, and scissors get used about once a week.

I see the people saying why carry one - if they need tools they’ll just go to their toolbox. I do that too, but having this saves me the trip, and on more than one occasion, lots of time. I’ve done roadside car repairs with just the Leatherman, and around the house it’s nice to have immediate access to a capable set of tools without searching. I’ve even grabbed the wrong tool, got to the top of the ladder, and then just used the Leatherman because it was there.

You might not realise how often you really would use these, and they barely take up any room.

I got hooked when I first laid hands on a friend’s Monotribe some years ago. Now I’ve been over a year & a half with the Dirtywave M8 handheld tracker and it’s my favourite workstation bar none. Instant on, multiple synth engines, sampler, amazing sequencer, and lovely effects, all in a Game Boy sized package with a lightning-fast 8-button workflow. Insane that technology has come this far.

It’ll be a capitastrophe.

I watched this Futurama episode back when it aired and was disappointed to see this reference make it to the screen. It wasn’t clever and they spent too much time on it. The term “cringe” has managed both to come into and go out of vogue in the intervening years.

I use an old Note 8 as a music/podcast player because it connects to WiFi and I can download and manage content. No cellular connection.

For serious listening I have an Astell & Kern AK120 that sounds lovely, but the UI leaves me pining for Rockbox. I need to repair my old iPod Classic just to have Rockbox back for my dream machine.

Rockbox spoiled me for all other music player UIs.

Looks like an exploding moon in every sci Fi anime

Moon is a slow burner but stick with it and try to avoid spoilers. It’s SO GOOD.

Like many people have said: freezer.

We have a box of quart-sizes freezer zip bags. Whenever you make food, immediately separate half of what you made and freeze it. You can always thaw it later when you don’t have time or energy to prepare food.

Dairy tends not to freeze well. Most other foods do. You can freeze pasta, rice, and bread easily, so make a bunch to mix in to future dishes, and if you can’t get through a full loaf of bread before it spoils, freeze half the loaf as soon as you bring it home.

There are a lot of meal prep tips websites, and it sounds like you are inadvertently meal-prepping. See what tips they have for storing food.

What about “hello I’m your customer and I’m not installing your app.” End of argument.

The Gandalara Cycle by Randall Garrett & Vicki Ann Heydron is a fun one (available digitally on Amazon). It’s a product of its time (soft misogyny comes to mind) but I don’t remember anything drastically awful. Escapist fantasy.

The worldbuilding is deft, the stakes ramp up from book to book, and the story unfolds nicely to the Big Reveal in the last book. It’s a quick read. Plus: giant telepathic cats.

Apologies It’s been a lifetime of frustration and sometimes I lash out at people (and threads) who don’t deserve it

Not sure how such an outlandish tale captivated so many people for so long, but: Trickle-down economics.

If you enjoy adrenaline & frustration, Super Hexagon is one of those thumb-twitchy games that gives you the “just one more” impulse when you die. Unpossible is another.