jim writes about his stuff
14 items so far / archive / about

travel mugs

I don’t know how this happend, but we have a lot of travel mugs in the house. I bring one with me to work, but I don’t know where the others come from.

I do have a few requirements for a travel mug though and it’s a simple request: for it to *not spill. You would think that would be a very simple requirement, but nope. I want a lid that does not leak and that’s it. But threre seems to be different variations of the lids and in my opinion, it matters. I like to keep my shirts clean and don’t want to have cofee spilled all down the front of my shirt so buying the right travel mug is important to me.

Amazon

kids headphones

I don’t know how parents did it before where they actually had to interact with thier kids. :) I guess we had a lot more freedom as kids compared to now where we tend to keep tabs on our little ones at all times comared to days of yesteryear.

Anyway, unless you’re really strict or live a very simple life - your kid probably has a device. and that device makes sound. If it’s like our house that device plays frozen over and over again. Let me tell you that Frozen gets old real fast. “Let it go…..”.

So what better way to silence the singing in your head than to introduce the singing in their head and have the noise from the devices pumped directly into their ears? And they come with volume limiting so those tiny ears won’t get damaged

It’s win-win. You don’t have to listen to their songs over and over again and yet they are entertained. These things are worth more than they cost. Hit the link below to check the price.

Amazon

socks for four year olds.

I don’t know where these things go. I swear we just bought her some and yet when laundry day comes there are no socks. No, let me rephrase that: there are no matching socks. We have a lot of single socks so she wears these because, they’re still socks for 4 year old girls.

Amazon

squismallows

Wow, that got out of hand in a hurry. Last I counted, the 4 year old has 9 of these stuffed toys which are apparently the cabbage patch kids for 2023

squishmallows

Wow, that got out of hand in a hurry. Last I counted, the 4 year old has 9 of these stuffed toys which are apparently the cabbage patch kids for 2023. At least that’s what I think.

What I do know is that the dog loves them and will eat them if given the chance. It got one a few weeks ago and there was fluff everywhere. I am not sture what they stuff these things with, but there’s a lot of it in there.

These things can be cheap, but the bigger ones can run you more than $40.00 so don’t let your dog near them. Ask me how I know.

Amazon

short rca patch cables

In an effort to keep my writing area cleaner I have downsized my headphone amplifers to smaller units but I also replaced the 3 foot RCA cables with something much shorter as the 3 footers were just too long when you only need a few inches.

I ended up with much shorter rca patch cords that really help with keeping the desktop clean and I don’t have such a mess behind my desk.

These ones are actually nice and are simple and reliable cables and nothing else. I hate the marketing that goes with audio cables that are priced in the hundreds and even thousands of dollar when a pair of ten buck cables will do the trick. These are well made and cheap.

Amazon

smartphone cases

Hey, what do you think about phone cases? Are you a case person or a naked phone type of person?

Personally I like to have a case because I drop my phone a lot and phones are expensive. Yes, it makes the phone bulkier but I prefer that to dropping a grand worth of glass in my hand. I never understood the internet’s obsession about phones and design. They’re all pretty much the same and if you slap a case on it there’s a good chance you won’t even see the design - so whatever.

Anyway, phone cases: I used to buy just otterbox cases but they’re pricey for what they are and I have gotten cheap in my old age. That said - I don’t recommend some of the cheap cases from China you can find because well, they’re cheap. I tend to stick to recognizeable phone case brands and right now I am rocking a Spigen case that seems to do the trick.It comes in some colors but I just opted for basic black.

Amazon

yellow pencils

“How come there’s never a penci when you need it” he thought as he rummaged through the junk drawer in the kitchen. Ther was string, batteries, toothpicks, and pens galore - but no pencil.

He couldn’t belive that there was no pencil in the house. How could that be? The wife was a teacher. Maybe she had one in her office.

windshield washer fluid

He never really thought much about washer fluid, because it’s, well…washer fluid. He just bought whatever blue jug he could find and poured (most of it) in the car and he was good for another few days/weeks/months depending on the weather.

But then he noticed the cheap stuff was, well…cheap. It wasn’t working as well as it could. So he switch to the more expensive stuff: RAIN X Windshield Washer Fluid and the difference was clear. He could see again.

It’s pricey, but it works. And that’s all that matters.

Amazon

sennheiser hd560s headphones

He needed another pair of heapdhones like he needed a hole in the head. He was up too… a number too embarrasing to actually say out loud. But they were a deal. He had to have them.

They arrived and they are pretty good. Yes, they are made out of plastic and yes they are cheap (compared to some others) but they also sound very nice and were bought used so the savings are pretty great!

He has found himself listening these a lot. They’re black and boring too so they’re easy to sneak into the house too.

Besides, what’s one more pair?

Amazon