$1.99 well spent
I was in a Walgreen's recently and bought something that was too good to pass up.
This is a computer thing, and it's honestly something I didn't think I'd be buying again, but there it was...
...a Verbatim 25-pack of DVD+R discs on the clearance shelf. I knew that these things are already cheap, but there was no price tag on it. I brought it to the front for a price check, because I wanted to know how cheap we're talking about here.
The price was $1.99. It was a very steep discount because that store just wanted to be rid of these things.
I bought it.
Why?
Indeed, why.
I just talked about USB sticks recently, and I did mention DVDs there as a means of cheap long term data storage.
$1.99 (which after tax is just a little over 8 cents per disc) is as cheap as it gets. If it were any cheaper it would be free.
DVD is good for backing up everything - except video
Video files are huge and that's just the way it is. A 10-minute 1920x1080 video recorded from a smartphone is usually (if not always) over 1GB in size. Given a DVD can hold just 4.7GB, you're not going to be able to store too much video there.
But for just about everything else such as documents, photos and most audio, yeah, DVD is a-okay for that. Most phones take photos that have a file size between 2MB and 5MB. Documents in DOCX, ODT, PDF or whatever don't take up that much space. Audio is only huge if it's FLAC or uncompressed WAV but much smaller as high-quality MP3.
As long as what's backed up isn't video, sure, a ton of stuff can be put to DVD, and moreover...
DVD will outlast a USB stick
There are two longevity problems where USB pendrives are concerned. The memory can lose its 'charge', and the USB connection point can develop tarnishing and/or corrosion. Either of these can spell out disaster later in the future where the stick can't be written to nor have its data read.
Then there's the bog standard DVD. It uses no electricity. The drive it is put in needs electricity to read the disc, but the disc itself won't lose any 'charge' sitting in storage. There is also nothing to corrode or tarnish on a DVD since the whole thing is encased in plastic.
The worst that can happen to a DVD over time is bubbles forming under the plastic. It takes a long time for that to happen even with standard discs.
I mean, sure, there are archival grade and M-DISC DVDs, but regular consumer grade still takes years before the bubbling starts - if it even happens at all.
Where USB sticks are concerned, some may believe that if you take a stick, write data to it, then put it away in safe storage, it'll still work fine 5 or 10 years later.
I seriously doubt that.
What you're supposed to do is plug in a USB stick once every 6 months or so and let it idle for a while just to give it some 'charge' (and to make sure it still works)...
...and nobody does this.
If long term storage is the goal where you can just write data, put it away and not worry about it, DVD is the better choice.
Yes, you could just get a CMR 3.5" hard drive (Seagate Barracuda Pro is the easiest go-to for that) along with a toaster to put it in, but the DVDs are easier to store away.
I was happy to find a 25-pack of Verbatim discs for 2 bucks. Decent brand, good discs for long term storage, and I found them for a dirt cheap price. It doesn't get much better than that.
an external android auto/carplay screen is not a bad idea
I drive an older car with with no screen in it (unless you count the gas gauge which is a tiny LCD panel), and given I've been using Garmin GPSes for almost 20 years, that's the only screen I use in the car.
If I weren't using a Garmin DriveSmart 66 for navigation however, the alternative is actually not a bad idea at all...
...and that's the external external android auto/carplay screen. These come in 7" and 9" flavor, and several of them are under 50 bucks.
They do exactly what you think they would. Wirelessly connect to your phone and display whatever Android Auto or Carplay app you want displayed there.
This for me would be a navigation app, such as Google Maps, HERE WeGo, Magic Earth, Organic Maps or whatever I'd choose to use.
The reason this is awesome is because:
- It gives you a bigger screen without having to buy a bigger phone.
- You decide where to mount the screen.
- You don't have to manage two devices since the external screen is just that. No need to juggle multiple accounts or multiple phones or whatever.
- It can be moved between vehicles if you own multiple cars.
- You don't have to mess around with a phone mount. Mount the external screen in the spot you like and pretty much leave it there.
My only complaint...
...is that it doesn't come in a 6" flavor. The smallest appears to be 7".
What physical size is that? It's about the same dimensions as a standard double DIN car stereo (for width/height and not in depth since the screen is slim).
Still, the fact you can get one of these things for under 50 bucks now is nice.
I'd also imagine a screen like this is a great replacement for older cars with an infotainment screen that can't run modern apps. True, you'd have to come up with a creative way to mount the new screen over the old one, but for under 50 bucks, it's totally worth a go.
I'm glad this screen type exists and that the cost of entry is low. It's nice to have options.
the biggest problem with cooking at home
I've been to a good number of restaurants over the years, but I am one of those people who sincerely believes eating out was better in the '90s. Early-to-mid '90s, specifically.
I used to think this was all in my head, thinking yeah, I'm older now, so of course I'll say eating out was better in the past. I don't think that way anymore.
What changed my mind? I learned how to cook.
An example of something I made very recently: Jasmine rice, cheap baby frozen shrimp fried, cheap fresh green bell pepper chopped and fried, then when all mixed together, add a pat of unsalted butter, a light salting and garlic powder. And it was good. Really good, actually. All that stuff together really brought the flavor...
...and that right there is why eating out sucks now. I learned how to bring the flavor, which really made me notice how flavorless food is when eating out. Or if not flavorless, it's some chemical trash masquerading as flavor.
It is really depressing that I can take genuinely cheap food bought at the grocery store, cook at home and make it taste fantastic, and can't get the same flavor experience at a restaurant.
Has the food quality at restaurants gone down? Yes. Big time. It doesn't matter if you pay $15 or $150 a plate. What you get is flavorless trash. It may look the same as food from 30 years ago, but it certainly doesn't taste like it.
What does restaurant food taste like? Nothing. It's all just texture. Oh sure, you can salt it yourself using the cheapest grade table salt the restaurant has (they never use decent quality salt). But all that does it make the food taste like salty texture.
I wish I could say that if you go to a more expensive restaurant, you get better food, but you don't. All you get a nicer environment to eat in. The food is no better than what you can get at a gas station. I'm not kidding. If you don't believe me, go to a high-end chicken place and order some wings. The next day, go to 7-Eleven and get some cheap wings there. No significant difference at all where food quality is concerned. And that's not because 7-Eleven got better. It's because restaurants got worse.
The chemical trash restaurants use is comical. Any kind of flavor you could hope to get out of the food will either be from fake cheese, the lowest grade table salt or "sauce". That sauce will taste like one of three things. Candy-like sweet, fake-tangy hot, or both. There will be mild variations with a fake cheese flavoring and the level of salt within the sauce itself, but make no mistake, it's 100% artificial.
When I go out to eat now...
...I set the bar low. Really low. To-the-floor low. I know that what I'll get will be flavorless texture. Since I know the food will just be fake garbage, I just aim for places with decent atmosphere now.
It's sad that atmosphere is the only thing that sells me on a restaurant these days, but that's the way things are.
Exceptions to this are some bakeries, some Asian places and some Indian places. It takes some hunting around to find any that bring the flavor. And it's interesting that the ones I do find are rarely high-end places. For where I live, the smaller locally owned bakeries and restaurants usually have the best food. That may sound cliche, but it's true.
If you want to bring the flavor...
...you're going to need some proper kitchen stuff to get it at home.
A decent kitchen knife set is mandatory. Gotta have that.
It also helps to have a mesh strainer set for draining things like rice and pasta. Bear in mind the mesh is typically different from a colander, although some colanders are mesh-like, so you might be able to get double duty out of one or a set.
Steam pots are great to have for steaming veg. True, you could always use a rice cooker for the same function, but I like being able to cook rice and steam the veg at the same time, which is doable with steam pots.
It is worth it to have a decent cutting board set (always go wood, don't use plastic), not only for chopping veg but also for things like using a box grater.
Speaking of the box grater, fun fact: Making your own cole slaw is stupidly easy with a box grater since it's just cabbage. You can do cabbage-only or mix it up with cabbage + carrots.
Prep bowls aren't mandatory, but nice to have when putting together something that involves multiple ingredients, especially in smaller amounts.
A decent food container set is mandatory, however. True, you can just use a bowl and put plastic wrap or aluminum foil over it, but it's better to use the container. The square or square-ish ones are the best kind because they're easier to organize and move around in the fridge.
You get the idea. If you're sick of the flavorless trash when eating out (and who isn't?), get the stuff necessary to cook at home. Get the foods, the spices, the oils, whatever. You'll eat better than you ever have in your life once you figure out your way around a kitchen.
As for eating out, do what I do. Go for atmosphere, because any food you get will be terrible. The good stuff will always be better at home.
i would get a jackson monarkh...
Part of the reason I'm thinking of getting a Telecaster again is because it's a guitar that agrees with me. I can work with a Tele even if it has really ratty sounding pickups in it.
But then there's the Jackson Monarkh. I actually have played one of these and do genuinely like the guitar, but can't get one. Why?
It's the pickups. I can deal with ratty sounding single-coils easily, but with humbuckers, yeah, they have to be good for me to get along with the guitar. My favorite of the lot are covered alnico 2 magnet type. An example of that is the Seymour Duncan '78 model. Tons of options for that including open coil, covered (nickel or gold), all black or zebra, and so on. Good stuff. The magic comes from the alnico 2 magnets used. That's a "vintage" spec lower-output pickup (like a real-deal vintage Les Paul would have) that just sings. Instead of sounding like hot-output muddy trash, alnico 2 brings out the highs and mids that sounds much nicer to my ear. You could put those pickups in a guitar made of plywood and it would make it sound amazing. I'm not kidding.
Would it be worth it to mod a Monarkh?
Maybe.
Said very honestly, the Monarkh is a good player, even for the cheap JS22 version (which amazingly does come with a bound neck).
Also, the headstock that's on the Monarkh is the best design Jackson has ever had. It's pointy but distinctive. And while I wish it existed on a Dinky body, it doesn't. To get that headstock design on a 6-string model, it's Monarkh or nothing as far as I'm aware.
And yeah, I know, some people hate the look of the Monarkh, because players would rather see the "open book" Gibson headstock shape. Well, Jackson obviously can't do that, but what's there honestly grows on you over time. It has for me...
...but I can't get past the stock pickups the Monarkh has. I'd have to junk those for a good set of alnico 2 magnet humbuckers.
Monarkh is another one of those "maybe" guitars on my list, especially in JS22 form because you actually get a lot of guitar for the money at that price point.
telecaster again?
Near-end-of-year guitar update.
No new guitars acquired - yet. I am entertaining the idea of a new Telecaster.
Which Tele, specifically? The Squier Affinity Telecaster. Not the Thinline, just the regular solid-body. I have a reason for this. The solid-body has a belly cut in the rear like a Stratocaster and the Thinline does not.
Why have I not bought this sooner? None of the colors offered really do anything for me, so were I to get one, the price has to be right. As in lower than normal. And that might happen with a Black Friday sale. If the price gets knocked down to something that agrees with me, I might go for it.
If I don't, there are two other guitars I'm eyeing right now. a black Squier Affinity Stratocaster (I have the white one but really want the black), or a white Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT. The Sonic HT is an interesting one because it's a top-loader Strat, which means slightly looser play since the strings don't go through the body.
As far as any newer models are concerned, I thought about the Squier Paranormal Troublemaker Telecaster Deluxe, but nah. Nice guitar, but not my vibe. The Squier Paranormal Offset Telecaster SJ, however, yeah I dig that one. Single-coil at the bridge and Jazzmaster pickup at the neck. It's a bit up in price for a Squier, but again, if a Black Friday sale knocks that price down, I could go for it.
Lastly, the Squier Paranormal Strat-O-Sonic. I seriously considered this one because it's a Strat with a 24.75" scale instead of the usual 25.5", and it's a top-loader for super slinky play. The problem is the pickups. Not enough treble "bite" for my taste. The pickups can be switched from in-phase to out-of-phase, so yeah, the guitar has some nice tonal tricks, but from demos I've heard of it (I've not played it), the Strat sparkle just isn't there because it's not that kind of guitar. Darned shame. If it were the regular 3-pickup single-coil setup, I'd probably own it right now.
Either at the tail of this year or early '25, a new Squier might in the barn here. Or not. Haven't decided just yet. Price will be a big determiner, because again, nothing out there for colors really speaks to me, so price will dictate whether a new axe is bought or not.