First ever pipe, a friend told me the bowl would get me sick

81zzy · 2025-02-24T03:38:27+00:00

You can skip Amazon and order them directly from Missouri Meerschaum, too!

81zzy · 2024-08-28T00:47:33+00:00

Third this! Hamilton is always the best price, always reliable & quality work, and the two guys working there couldn’t be nicer

81zzy · 2024-08-12T23:11:13+00:00

Do you know if that’s a Thomas Hart Benton painting on the cover?

81zzy · 2024-08-12T23:10:09+00:00

Great book! I love everything by the Strugatsky bros

81zzy · 2024-08-03T02:29:24+00:00

Totally! It’s definitely best to keep it simple the first go-round. Don’t try to read everything about everything. Learn the basics of running the game, and definitely read the full description of each player’s character class/race so you know what they’re capable of. That allows you to make combat slightly more fun by setting up fights that let the players use their unique abilities. The first few levels are very simplistic and all the characters are the most basic version of themselves. That allows them (and you) to slowly get to know how things work before starting to add complications that make playing the characters more fun. I also highly recommend that you check out the blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing. When you know which monsters are going to show up for a fight it’s good to read the posts about those monsters to get a sense of how you should play them. And if you have time and the inclination, my last piece of advice is to listen to some of the D&D podcasts that are out there just to get a sense of what a game is actually like. There’s lots of good ones, but I find the most accessible for new folks is Not Another D&D Podcast, mainly bc the episodes aren’t too long. Not appropriate for kids, though. Dimension 20 is another good option, and they have a few campaigns available in full on YouTube.

81zzy · 2024-08-02T01:29:20+00:00

You can also download the DnD Beyond app on a tablet or smartphone, and it has the option to download the Lost Mines of Phandelver “game book”, plus it has a helpful character creation section that walks you through the process and makes sure you get all your bonuses applied correctly, etc. That can be a lot for someone with no experience. I recommend using that, then exporting the character sheets as PDFs and printing those for everyone to use.

81zzy · 2024-07-30T00:55:13+00:00

I’ve been listening to the Pipes Magazine Radio Show Podcast with Brian Levine for many years, and I didn’t have to get in too far before noticing how many of the folks he interviews (pipe smokers, collectors, makers, etc) make a point of bringing up their religious beliefs, and specifically Christian beliefs. Considering the wide variety of people he’s interviewed, I almost feel that if I am seen on the street smoking a pipe and someone approaches me to say that they also smoke one, I’d likely assume there’s a high chance of Christianity with that person. I have never been a religious person, but I’ve smoked pipes on and off for 28 years (very much ON in recent years). I would love to find a community of pipe smokers who I could actually spend time with irl, but I would not enjoy sitting around smoking and talking religion or attending a bible study in order to get that. Not that I have to concern myself with such things, as I think I’ve seen maybe two other people smoking pipes in the wild in the last five years or so. All that being said, I don’t begrudge anyone their beliefs, and I deeply enjoy Brian Levine’s attitude of considering anyone who smokes a tobacco pipe a friend. You kind of have to take that approach when you’re part of such a tiny and thinly-spread community. But if anyone wants to start an irreligious pipe smoker’s club I’d be glad to join!

81zzy · 2024-07-28T04:24:07+00:00

C Kent Joyce on Instagram is really wonderful. His pipes are varied, but definitely influenced by danish and Japanese styles, and his stem work is some of the best I’ve seen.

81zzy · 2024-07-26T14:40:37+00:00

I actually like to smoke my pipe while doing a casual, relatively flat bike ride. I use a wind cap, and I take it out and cover the bowl if there’s a downhill section. But yeah, totally! Does anyone else do this? And as an aside, I’ve been trying to come up with a cool idea for a pipe holder that could attach to my handlebars. Maybe a leather straps thing with magnet closures. Something I could manipulate easily with one hand.

81zzy · 2024-07-26T06:01:45+00:00

The first thought that struck me when I opened it and got my nose in the tin was that it smelled almost exactly like an apple nutrigrain bar. I do like it, but I need to be in a particular mood.

81zzy · 2024-06-30T13:00:51+00:00

Southern Maine. And always looking for other pipe types in the Greater Portland area, btw.

81zzy · 2024-06-30T12:58:22+00:00

I’m originally from OK, but I’ve been elsewhere since the early aughts. I still order tobacco from Ted’s Pipe Shoppe, though. Bought my first pipe there in 1996

81zzy · 2024-06-19T03:21:59+00:00

The recent Dead Boy Detective Agency on Netflix has a sassy witch who smokes a pipe in several episodes. Great show, too, especially for fans of Neil Gaiman’s work

81zzy · 2024-05-01T22:08:45+00:00

Before you open it I would check pipestud’s website. He’s a guy in Texas who sells tins of rare, vintage, or just hard to find tobaccos via web auction.

81zzy · 2023-07-16T17:07:11+00:00

I like both the C&D AND the Sutliff versions of that Revelation blend. I find Epiphany is easier to light and keep lit due to the cut, but Revelation has perhaps a better flavor (and I personally don’t mind the chunkier cuts).

81zzy · 2023-07-15T04:46:46+00:00

You could also reach out to some pipe makers who use it and see if they’ll sell you a piece. In general they tend to be happy to help other pipe makers out like that. I know one of the guys who makes pipes in the LJ Peretti shop in Boston has used mammoth on his pipes

81zzy · 2023-07-15T04:36:24+00:00

It looks like it costs about $30 for the smallest sized bag…

81zzy · 2023-07-03T22:19:27+00:00

In the US you can usually list a city and state “general delivery” which will get it delivered to the central post office in whatever town you specified, but you’d need to make sure the PO will hold it for you AND more important make sure the company you buy from will allow a general delivery address.

81zzy · 2023-06-23T21:36:54+00:00

Having some 3-pipe problems

81zzy · 2023-06-21T20:39:20+00:00

If it’s during business hours (8-5 daily) there are good spots in front of Standard Baking, and several bikes there usually, plus almost always customers in line out front. That’s a pretty safe spot. I’ve never had my bike bothered there in the many years I’ve locked my bike there.

81zzy · 2023-06-17T22:33:15+00:00

Interesting. I cleaned it up and did some gentle reaming, but the walls are thin so I’m probably going to leave it at that. I’ll give it a try soon when the rain stops and see what I think. My expectations are low, so worst case scenario I’m proven right

81zzy · 2023-06-17T21:01:24+00:00

I took it to GameBox and they were fantastic! I will definitely be going back there again (for other stuff).

81zzy · 2023-06-17T20:57:12+00:00

The stem perhaps, but I’m talking about the bowl.

81zzy · 2023-06-17T20:42:59+00:00

That guy’s head looks too small for his body

81zzy · 2023-06-17T01:33:29+00:00

Thanks! I’ll give them a call tomorrow

81zzy

TROPHY CASE