What have you bought lately?

[SubvertizingOrg]

I mean, besides groceries and essential life things.

Most of my shopping I do on ebay, and looking back at my most recent purchase history:

I bought a lock box to keep all my self-medication and cash I'm saving and double-edged razor blades (cops confiscated my last stash FOR SHAVING MY HEAD cause thought I was a suicide risk):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165703784145


And I bought a megaphone for when I will storm the town of Eureka Springs shouting things like "Humans are in denial of their animal nature!" and "Human civilization is bullshit and will cannibalize itself!" and so forth:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354311624435


Then I bought this ethno-tribal pencil skirt to wear:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/314125048961


And a velvet choker:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222515453773

Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition Install CD *NEW* for playing old games like SS2 eventually:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125474307115

What have you bought lately??

Edit: EDITED

[Cipheron]

Haven't bought any stuff lately, because I quit my job during the pandemic and am living on savings, so i want that to last a while. I will be buying a new PC sometime soon however, so i can run some of my PC games better.

Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition Install CD *NEW* for playing old games like SS2 eventually

Hmm yeah, I had one game machine I really liked with 98se on it, it was a Pentium IV, so you can get that to run on some pretty sweet hardware when you do. No need to get an actual 1990s machine.

That said, I'm pretty sure I had Windows 7 running when I got around to playing SS2, so give that a shot too, it'll run on a much wider range of hardware than 98se.

[Tocky]

I have bought way too much from Ebay over the last couple decades. For common stuff Amazon is often cheaper but most uncommon stuff is on Ebay. The last thing I bought was a lawn light but not for the lawn. I cut a small cedar down to use for a cane and hollowed the end out to accept the solar powered crackle glass globed lawn light. That's it in the center. It has the added benefit of looking like a nocturnal wizard lighting the way with his staff. Also the shaft and pointy push in the ground bit fit on the other end of the cane in case I need to stab anything.

I'm not happy with how it looks. I will either paint or shellac holly leaves on the black parts to make it look more organic.

Oddly nothing in the picture is something I got on Ebay except lower left, the G.I. Joe search for the stolen idol next to the plant. I like going into antique stores and finding stuff. Also I like making friends with the owners and discussing all manner of antiques.

I've been toying with buying one of those steampunk canes with a telescope in the knob portion.

No bullhorn for me.

[Tocky]

The Creepy issue I got off of Ebay and the necklace in front of it. I forgot about those. I wasn't looking for the necklace but when I saw it I knew what it was. On the back of this issue was an advert for a coffin shaped necklace containing dirt from Dracula's castle. Technically, by lore, if Dracula comes by, he can sleep at my place.

[heywood]

Sup,

I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work yesterday. I was going to make some chipotle chicken tacos for dinner. But while I was over in produce, I saw Thai basil. First time I'd seen it locally in at least a month. And the little red prik chee fah chilies too. I have a thing for Thai food and my daughter loves pad krapao gai, so I changed the menu. I got home excited, spent a good deal of time chopping up 2 lbs of chicken thighs into little bits, and then looked for the chilies and garlic to crush. They were nowhere to be found, along with the other veggies I bought. I left the stupid bag at the store and had no dinner for the family. I just went back there today on my lunch break, and no more Thai basil. My daughter is going to be pissed.

[Tocky]

Every time I find a good Thai restaurant in Oxford it goes out of business. The grocery store didn't save your bag in case you came back? Or did the next in line person take it?

Anyway, this is the wanted poster picture in the background. I had to argue with the picture guy in Gatlinburg to get this done my way. He was obtuse about what made a good picture but I know my wife. That gun is pointed exactly right.

[SubvertizingOrg]

Hmm yeah, I had one game machine I really liked with 98se on it, it was a Pentium IV, so you can get that to run on some pretty sweet hardware when you do. No need to get an actual 1990s machine.

That said, I'm pretty sure I had Windows 7 running when I got around to playing SS2, so give that a shot too, it'll run on a much wider range of hardware than 98se.

..that's cool. But I'm actually planning on playing a few games that I highly doubt are gonna run on new hardware. I have Descent + Descent II, Mechwarrior 2…and I also have all of my favorite point-and-click adventure games from back in the day which would be:

Myst & Riven



Starship Titanic

…but the BEST one (and I mean by an enourmous margin): Traitors Gate:



I assume Win98 is my best bet to get all/most of these running.

[SubvertizingOrg]

Sup,

I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work yesterday. I was going to make some chipotle chicken tacos for dinner. But while I was over in produce, I saw Thai basil. First time I'd seen it locally in at least a month. And the little red prik chee fah chilies too. I have a thing for Thai food and my daughter loves pad krapao gai, so I changed the menu. I got home excited, spent a good deal of time chopping up 2 lbs of chicken thighs into little bits, and then looked for the chilies and garlic to crush. They were nowhere to be found, along with the other veggies I bought. I left the stupid bag at the store and had no dinner for the family. I just went back there today on my lunch break, and no more Thai basil. My daughter is going to be pissed.

That's a really sad story. But if you'll notice, I said in the original post that I wasn't really talking about grocery shopping. I mean your Thai Kum Krap Prik sounds delicious and I absolutely love Thai food also, but in the future you might start a thread about grocery shopping to tell these things instead of spamming my own thread with content that I clearly stated is against the rules.

[SubvertizingOrg]

EDIT: Double-post glitch

[heywood]

OK, we're going by the rules this time.

At the end of the summer I purchased a kayak, a small tandem inflatable do-anything boat. It's the one you see below. I've been waiting for years to paddle again, and this summer my son finally got comfortable enough in the water to deal with a capsize event. So we rented a couple of tandems and the kids enjoyed it. The inflatable is an awesome recreational kayak, but now we're thinking of kayak camping next year, so we'll need another tandem, something more serious.



And Tocky, there's where my wife would be pointing it too, with a grin on her face. Perhaps all wives, after childbirth.

[Tocky]

Where do you go to kayak? I've never been but have often seen them on the Ocoee river in the Smokies. There is a launch point we have stopped, near Cleveland I think, to watch them and farther along near the train tracks is a pull-off where a short drop makes water pour down every kayakers back and you can sit and listen to them scream one after the other at the coldness of the water. Beautiful place with a train that runs along the foot of the mountains. Renz would know where I'm talking about. Anyway, I've been a bit afraid of that capsize thing myself. Suppose you lose your paddle? How do you right yourself then?

[Tocky]

Got the new Galaxy fold screen flip phone! Z4 I think. I had to because 3 G is going out at the end of the year. I can't see the screen lasting but it's cool to have a folding phone again. I can even put it in the pocket of those usually useless cargo pants with small pockets. I could even get rid of my wallet with the leather cover/wallet if I want to lose everything in one fell swoop should it fall out.

Anyway here is a pic of not that but a more comprehensive view of my computer area with a few of my memory touchstones. Everything has a story about the purchase or use or gift of it.



Can you name anything you see there?

Here is a game for you, a sort of where is Waldo-

1. Can you find Mr. T?

2. Can you find both six million dollar men "action figures" (as Lee Majors admonished me)?

3. Can you find the original Thing bank from the Adams Family (in original box)?

4. Can you find the original Mr. Spock Mego character?

5. Can you find Pumpkinhead?

6. Can you find the official boy scout Bowie knife from 1973?

7. Can you find the calender from 1973?

8. Can you find a crystal globe of the world with the America's showing?

9. Can you find a bivalve fossil?

10. Can you find a tiny figure of Riff Raff from Rocky horror?

11. Can you spot Morbius?

12. Can you see The Fly monster?

13. How about several early sand dollar fossils?

14. The Startling Stories with "All Men Must Die" on the cover?

15. Surely you see one sarcophagus from the G. I. Joe Secret of the Mummy's Tomb but do you see the second one?

16. Can you spot all three pictures of my wife as a little girl?

17. How about the picture of my grand daughter holding up a fish? No you can't because that one had a flash flare blind spot on the fish portion.

18. Three pairs of glasses, two functional and the other hippy sunglasses.

19. Three time keeping devices.

20. My dad's bull head pipe.

21. Two containers for tobacco.

22. A dead faerie.

23. Six skulls (no not the paper mache' above the lamp) .

24. All three crystal balls (one is really small- and no I'm not including the one in the painting or the one on the DC comic).

25. A Johnson reel from the sixties.



Okay go!

[heywood]

That's a long list. I'll have to tackle a bit of it later.

To answer your question though, since this particular kayak is still quite new, it has only been on Canadice Lake in NY and Pawtuckaway Lake and Massabesic Lake in NH. Just recreational paddling so far. My son and I are going to do some fishing on it in local lakes. It will get used on the Maine coast, and in some mild whitewater in Quebec, to access remote camping sites, and who knows what else. We also need to get another, more capable touring kayak if we're going to remote camp. I'm shopping for that now. And as far as capsizing goes, the ease of recovery very much depends on the kayak. With this wide, inflatable one, you just climb back in over the side, open the scuppers to drain any water inside down to just about floor level, and get the last of the water out with a giant sponge. It's super easy. But with some kayaks, you may need a paddle float and a lot of practice to get back in.

Did you get the Galaxy Fold or Flip? I almost bought the Flip last year. I love the size and pocketability and the always on display. I prefer Android as well. But I chickened out on the Flip because I wasn't sure how well the screen would hold up.

[Tocky]

It's the Z flip but there isn't much flipping about it. No doing it like a Star Trek communicator. It' more like unbending. And yes, that is my fear as well about how long it will last. How many times can you bend and unbend one till something breaks? I picture a piece of tin being bent back and forth. I will let you know what happens. I do know it's fairly water resistant because I left it on the table outside when we had friends over and it rained early this morning. The thing is, I even woke at 3 AM and remembered I left it there but it hadn't rained in weeks so I passed on going to get it.

Jesus man, be careful on the Maine coast. I've heard of Kayakers being swept out to sea by the undertow and not making it back for a whole day or more. Also you didn't say how you right yourself without a paddle. When I was a kid I got stuck in an inner tube upside down and that gives me the heebie jeebies.

[heywood]

Here is a game for you, a sort of where is Waldo-

1. On the shelf above your monitor, on the left in the back.
2. One on the top of your CD rack, wearing the original red jumpsuit, sitting on a blue chair. The other (I think) is next to your printer sitting in a white adirondack chair. I'm not sure though, because I don't recognize the outfit.
3. Top of the CD rack next to Steve Austin.
4. In the same area, but up and back in the corner, standing on what looks like a couple of CD cases.
5. I don't know what Pumpkinhead is, actually, so I'll pass.
6. Hanging at the end of the CD rack above your headphones.
7. Right wall, next to the headphones.
8. Next to the computer, in front of you, on top of the hourglass
9. Is it the grey rock on the shelf above the monitor, under the troll dude's head, between pictures?
10.
11. On top of the EERIE picture
12.
13.
14. On the wall, top level, next to the newborn picture.
15. One is standing next to Spock, the other is laying down on the shelf above the monitor.
16. On the shelf above the monitor.
17. On the front of your computer.
18. The hippy sunglasses are on the white head at the top of the lamp shade. It looks like there is a pair of glasses near your monitor on the right, leaning up against something. I'm missing the third.

Will have to come back later to finish.

[denkmal]

Here's my specs: -

CPU: Intel E8600 Dual Core @ 3.33GHz
MB: Asus P5Q-E
GPU: eVGA GeForce GTX 980Ti
RAM: 2x2GB DDR2 (4GB total)
Sound card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium
Primary Storage: 250GB Samsung EVO 840 SSD
Secondary Storage: 500GB Samsung EVO 840 SSD
Removeable Storage: LG DVD Rewriter
Case: Fractal Design Focus G
Cooling: Be Quiet Shadowrock 2 Cooler, 2x Corsair ML120 120mm fans (CPU cooler/rear), 2x Fractal Design 120mm fans (front)
Power Supply: Seasonic 750W Prime 80 Plus Gold
Monitor: Asus ProArt PA248QV 24" @ 1920x1200 (native)
Speakers: Klipsch Promedia 2.1
Keyboard: Logitech G513 with Cherry Brown switches
Mouse: Logitech G703
OS: Windows XP SP3 (32-bit)

oh...and of course DSL, my friends.

[Tocky]

Aw man, you have never seen the movie Pumpkinhead? That is such an atmospheric horror. Mayim Bialiks first movie role. My wife and I still say a line from it whenever we hear anyone say "Goddamn you". He already has, Ed Harley, he already has. I'm not sure where exactly but it's in my top 10 horror movies.



You have every guess right so far and I really wasn't expecting you to see the fossil bivalve. I have a hint about the sand dollars. It's that the current version is not what they started out as. They did not start out flat.

Also the "troll dude" is the crypt keeper from Tales From the Crypt.

Also when you see the last pair of glasses it will be so obvious to you that you will wonder how you missed it.

[Aja]

I bought two wood-carving knives, one straight and one hooked, for making spoons. I felt like an old man, sitting by the creek carving a spoon last Saturday, and that was pretty good. My spoons don't look great so far, but it's been fun learning the process. Next I want a better hatchet for roughing out the shapes.

[Medlar]

I got crazy a while back and ordered a Steam Deck, I am very pleasantly surprised to find I can play System Shock, Half Life, Underworld Ascendant, the last Thief and various Assassins Creed games.
It’s a very nice piece of work from Steam

[Aja]

Can it play the original Thiefs? I suppose you’d ideally want an OLED for the best black levels since those games were designed for CRTs, but still, it’d be fun.

[Tocky]

I too am curious whether it can play the early Thief games. I liked those better than the last. How much was it?

Also nice spoons Aja. A little sandpaper and they should be complete. I am wondering how long to wait to carve a monkey's paw on a cedar cane. Cedar is a very sappy wood and stays soft a fair amount of time so how long till it loses some sap but is too hard to carve well?

[Aja]

Everything I've read says that greener wood is easier to carve, like freshly cut. The wood I've been carving is partially dried already, and it's been pretty difficult overall. I'm waiting for a windstorm or a fresh pruning in my neighbourhood to hopefully get a few green logs. I'm not sure about cedar. It's super soft all already. If you let it sit, where would the sap go? Maybe it's better to just carve it now while it's pliable and deal with the sap.

[Medlar]

I test installed Thief Gold on to the deck last night. It loaded and started the training, so I kept going on the joy stick “steering” following the foot prints until I had to duck and creep. Could not duck so could go no further. However I’m sure a smarter gamer than me could get it to run smoothly. I’m sure if I connected a keyboard and mouse as is possible, it would run well. The graphics are very good as is the movement just needs the controls mapping.

It also loaded System Shock 2 same result. Underworld Ascendant perfect as is 😜

Cheapest Deck £349.00

Expensive Deck £569.00

[PigLick]

so you would say its as smooth as rum butter?

[Medlar]

Very nearly… p~{