5 crazy things you can buy direct from Amazon
It's crazy you can direct order this stuff.
Most people think of smaller items when it comes to buying things from Amazon. This is some of the bigger stuff, but with a twist. All of these are Amazon brands.
Starting with...
A couch
Amazon has a brand called Stone & Beam along with many other couches available for purchase.
If Amazon ever gets to the point of opening local storefronts everywhere, I'm certain every one of them will have Stone & Beam offerings along with others. And I'm also certain local furniture stores would get real scared, because S&B is genuinely good stuff.
Why would anybody bother ordering this from Amazon? The two main advantages are free shipping and a generous return policy.
Welded Outdoor Wire Crate Kennel
I initially thought Amazon was charging way too much for this... until I checked the prices for the same thing at Home Depot. Amazon's price is actually competitive because of one word, welded. When you go welded with cover, the price jumps up for one of these quite a bit.
I did like that the "returnable until" date is listed right up front without even needing to add to cart. This is a big thing, so yeah it's important to know that info.
Height-Adjustable Gaming Desk with Raised Monitor Shelf
This is another furniture item. What got me about this one is how low the price is.
If you use a PC, you need a desk for it, and this is what a decent modern computer desk is. I do like the monitor shelf a lot because that does promote a better seated ergonomic position. You're supposed to look directly at your monitor with your eyes at about the top third position.
I'll explain that one a little more.
Imagine your computer screen as 3 equal horizontal pieces. Top third, middle third, bottom third. When sitting in your chair at the desk, your eyes are supposed to be aligned between the top third and middle third. Why? Because this is the position where at no point you're craning your neck up or down to see anything, and that means less stress on your neck and eyes while using the computer.
Having a height-adjustable desk for computer use is just a really nice thing to have. I intend on getting one at some point.
I can actually see a legitimate need for people to buy 30 mice, and not just for business.
Some people have children that absolutely destroy computer mice routinely where they're lucky to get one month of use out of it, and that is the type of non-business-owner buyer who would get every penny's worth out of buying a 30-pack.
For the business owner, getting a 30-pack is smart for any computer used in an industrial environment, such as a warehouse or mill. Dirt, oil and so on destroys these things, so it's not a bad idea just to have a whole box of them whenever a replacement is needed. And it is always good to replace something with the exact same part whenever possible.
An entire pallet of printer copy paper
I know the first question you have. How much paper do you get?
Answer: 40 cartons totaling 200,000 sheets.
This is one of the rare and few Amazon listings that has a solid 5-star rating. People just gush about how good this paper is. Reviews say it's a good value, the corners of the sheets are very square as they should be and quality is high.
The only real complaint anybody talks about is that delivery driver people really don't like delivering this because it's just annoying to ship. Well, that's their problem and not yours.
If you ever needed 200,000 sheets of printer paper, now you know where to buy it, and you don't need any kind of business account to make the purchase.
I should also note that you can get smaller numbers of sheets. You can order sheet counts of 500, 1500, 2500, 4000, or 5000, meaning you don't have to get 200,000. But it's there if you want it.
This Disney animation still holds up over 90 years later
I watch this every year in October, and love it every time.
You most likely know Disney's Fantasia, a film released in 1941. The Skeleton Dance was released 12 years earlier in 1929, making it 93 years old as of 2022.
Will Disney celebrate this short film in 2029 when it becomes 100 years old? They might.
The official Walt Disney Animation Studios YouTube channel added The Skeleton Dance in 2015. I remember when they did that, and oh yes, I was all sorts of happy they did. The video has 25+ million views and deserves every one of them because the film is that good.
What makes this short film so great? A few things.
The music. You might recognize the composer's name, Carl W. Stalling. If you don't, I guarantee you've heard his music before. Ever see a Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies cartoon? The best ones (such as "Blue Ribbon" Merrie Melodies) had the music composed by Carl, and he's featured here in this Disney film.
Hand drawn skeletons are very challenging to animate, but Ub Iwerks certainly pulled it off in fine style. Lots of skinny parts, lots of sharper lines, and so on. But it's also noodle-like where it needs to be to keep a smooth flow going. It's a total showoff piece, done in a very classy way.
And then there's the fact the animations match up so well to Carl's music, all while being done in 1929 using the animation technology of the time.
Lastly, and most importantly, none of the technical stuff matters because it's just a happy little film. What you get is a small story of skeletons coming out to dance at night for absolutely no reason at all other than it's fun...
...and that is what has made this short so enjoyable for so many years.
Not a luxury item anymore: Entertainment screens in cars
This used to be something very special.
Remember Pimp My Ride on MTV? That's a show that debuted in March 2004 and ran until December 2007. At the time I write this, December 2007 is almost 15 years ago. Yeah, that was a while ago, but not that long ago. (Side note: The show did relaunch online-only just very recently as of August 2022, but it's on MTV UK.)
If you're not familiar with that show, it was all about taking junky cars and "pimping" them out to make them special, both inside and out. For many of the "pimped" cars, the interior had a screen (sometimes multiple screens) added in, usually in the form of a mounted portable DVD player.
Why is watching a movie in a car such a big deal?
Answer: To keep children in the back seat entertained. That's the only reason.
Where the driver is concerned, all that matters are four things where a screen is concerned. Speed, fuel (or charge level,) turn signals and navigation. That's it. Everything else is secondary.
Where the front passenger is concerned, they don't need a screen. If they absolutely have to have one, they can bring their phone and use ear buds.
The back seat is where having a screen or two actually matters for kids that just won't shut up without having some form of visual entertainment from a glowing slab.
It is great that this tech is so cheap
All you need is a cheap tablet, wireless earbuds and the headrest mount. That's it. And you can get all of that brand new for under $100. Maybe the only thing you could add to that is a long USB-C cable. Even if you did add that in, you'd still be under $100 for it all.
What really makes this all doable is the mount more than anything else. That cheap piece of plastic is a true "no mods" add-on. There's nothing to drill nor remove. The mount goes into place, a small adjustment is made to give it tension so it stays put, and that's it. Mount the screen and you're done.
Is traffic reporting really necessary with navigation?
I've been living with my Garmin DriveSmart 66 for a month now. The traffic reporting it has is great, but do I really need it?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer:
Whether the traffic reporting is useful or not depends on where you are, what roads you drive on regularly and what traffic coverage is available to you.
Firstly, I should note there are two ways the DriveSmart 66 can get traffic data. The first is by use of a Bluetooth-connected smartphone using the Garmin Drive app, and the second being the no-smartphone method of FM-received traffic data. I use the second way, as I do live within one of the major metros in the United States that has coverage. There is no setup involved getting traffic data the FM way. If there is a traffic FM signal available, the DS66 will pick it up usually within a minute or two after power-on. I've actually been using FM traffic for years. More on that in a moment.
Secondly, yes the DS66 will route you around traffic if you have the option set to do so.
Were I living in New England (northeast USA,) it's probably true I wouldn't need traffic coverage at all. Maybe if I traveled to Hartford CT, Boston MA or Providence RI regularly, sure, I could see the need for traffic avoidance. Using Connecticut as the example, there are some parts of I-84 and I-91 in the Hartford area that can get particularly nasty. Or, if I routinely traveled the southwestern coastline of CT on I-95, yeah, that can get clogged up with traffic as well. But for literally anywhere else in the state, traffic reporting isn't needed (I highly doubt there are many traffic jams in Salisbury CT.)
For where I'm living now in a major southern metro, the traffic reporting is definitely more useful. But it's not perfect.
I started using FM traffic some years back and stumbled upon it by chance. I have many Garmin GPSes in my collection (more than I care to admit,) and a used one I bought arrived with a traffic charger, the GTM35, which is the previous version of the GTM36. I tried it, it worked on the model I was using at the time, and I've been using a Garmin with traffic reporting ever since.
The majority of the traffic reporting is for highways and interstates. After that, some "major roads" are included, which basically means large multi-lane roads that command a lot of traffic but aren't necessarily highways. For all smaller roads (residential and otherwise,) there isn't any traffic data there, and that's okay.
How useful has the traffic reporting been?
The best way I can describe the usefulness of traffic reporting with navigation is that it's like having a specialty tool. Most of the time when you're working on things, you never need the tool. But for those few instances where you do need it, you're very glad it's in your toolbox.
What I like best about the way the DS66 handles traffic is that it can be used without thinking about it. I have mine set up to "automatic" everything as much as it can, meaning I don't have to adjust anything just to use the feature.
Does the traffic avoidance always work? No, because there isn't any traffic avoidance system that can avoid 100% of traffic 100% of the time. But I can say it has worked well for the most part. The only times it outright hasn't worked are for certain construction zones, and that's not the fault of the DS66 but rather the construction crews that didn't report what they were doing in a timely fashion.
Could I go back to no-traffic-reporting navigation?
Yes - but that's a conditional yes.
The condition is that I'd have to do some map study so I would know ways to get around the high-traffic areas. It is absolutely true that the easiest way to avoid traffic is to simply use roads most people don't use.
Example 1: If there's a major road that gets jammed up with traffic often, I'll look to see if a residential area is nearby that I can pass through to simply go around it.
Example 2: If a particular highway exit ramp gets backed up with cars routinely, I'll take the next or previous exit instead. In many instances, this only adds one to two minutes of travel time.
Example 3: I compare how long it takes to get somewhere highway vs. no-highway. If the no-highway route only adds a few minutes and there aren't too many additional stops or traffic lights, I'll use that instead.
From 2005 all the way to 2019, I never used traffic reporting with my GPS navigation, so the fact I use it now is a relatively recent thing.
Nice to have? Yes. Required to have? No. But again, it's like having that specialty tool where when needed, you're glad it's there.
Some rechargeable batteries are better than others
I used to think all rechargeable batteries were the same. They're not.
A big reason I buy regular alkaline batteries (in a 36-pack for AA size, thank you very much) is because over the years I've had bad luck with the rechargeable stuff. At first, yeah, the rechargeable is good and does the job... but only at first. After a few charges, I'm only able to get maybe 50% of the charge I used to at best and then stick a fork in it, it's done, throw it out. And that's no good.
Rechargeable batteries now have grown up, so to speak.
What I mean by that is that you're now told outright what the mAh is. The higher the mAh, the longer the charge, the longer the battery lasts over time (usually).
And example is the AA rechargeable in 2400mAh flavor. That's a true high-capacity, and it comes pre-charged. Yes, good. I like that. That actually sounds promising.
Then there's the 850mah AAA in 850mAh flavor. This is labeled as high-capacity. Is it? I don't know about that because 850mAh doesn't sound that great.
However, then there's the 1100mAh AAA rechargeable. Okay, now we're talking. And oh yeah, not cheap. For an AAA battery, that is.
The one that really blows me away is the 5400mWh 9V rechargeable, and it even comes with a charge cord included. Surprisingly, not that expensive for what it is. I may go for this at some point because even though I don't have many things that use 9V, the 5400mWh would be oh-so nice to have.
In the end, mind that mAh or mWh rating. It matters. A lot.