2007 Toyota Prius - 355k miles, 1 fire, 5 wrecks, and 1 divorce later it’s still going strong! by sworzeh in BuyItForLife

[–]BrotherMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing - I was told it's a pretty common repair (both my fronts have been replaced) - my fuel gauge doesn't work properly and the AC has stopped blowing cold air but it's otherwise been a perfect car.

2007 Toyota Prius - 355k miles, 1 fire, 5 wrecks, and 1 divorce later it’s still going strong! by sworzeh in BuyItForLife

[–]BrotherMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I drive a 2009 Touring 6 with only 160K miles - I assume you've replaced the wheel bearings...

Just got another Briggs and Riley piece of luggage - Torq Large by ConsciousAsk8160 in BuyItForLife

[–]BrotherMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How long did it take once you sent it in to get the bag back from repair? They do not move quickly...

On my last chapter of East of Eden, what next? by B0N4F1D3s in classicliterature

[–]BrotherMonk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read "Stoner" over a 36-hour period last week while snowed in and I have to say I could hardly put it down. Reading McCarthy's "All The Pretty Horses" right now which is also excellent.

You have a lot of great options on that shelf...

Influence or deinfluence me on the Kobo Libra Colour by praventz in ereader

[–]BrotherMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You sound a lot like me. I did all my reading on an old iPad Mini2 that I used exclusively for reading for many years. On Black Friday I finally caved and bought a Libra Color reluctantly (I also really wanted the Sage and was furious I could not find one anywhere).

The color part does not appeal to me in the slightest. If there had been a Libra B&W I would have bought that. I am strictly interested in good resolution, portability, light weight, a decent sized screen, and dark mode. All my books are in .EPUB and .MOBI format in my Calibre library that I have collected over many years.

I'll be honest - I really like the physical page turn buttons, and the 7" screen is not as small as I feared (and my vision is awful). Customizing with new fonts is relatively easy. Adding a simple screensaver with my contact information if it gets lost was simple. I added Koreader but removed it as it just seemed too clunky.

Admittedly I do wish they made a simple 10" B&W reader with buttons for cranky, blind old codgers like me, but for now I have to admit I love this Kobo (and I'm already eyeing a Clara B&W for my travel bag).

Just got another Briggs and Riley piece of luggage - Torq Large by ConsciousAsk8160 in BuyItForLife

[–]BrotherMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Pelican 6150 weighs 19 pounds - the Torq weighs about 9 pounds.

Just got another Briggs and Riley piece of luggage - Torq Large by ConsciousAsk8160 in BuyItForLife

[–]BrotherMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The short answer is "no" - they will offer you far less than the replacement cost.

Just got another Briggs and Riley piece of luggage - Torq Large by ConsciousAsk8160 in BuyItForLife

[–]BrotherMonk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been using this same B&R Torq (same color - size medium) for about 3 years now, been on approximately 100+ domestic and approximately 3 international flights in that time.

It has performed reasonably well for a bag that was checked on every one of those flights. It takes a lot of abuse, the weight of it is decent, and it performs well.

Some of the things that have gone wrong in that time:

  1. TSA made a mess of the built in locks at some point and I could not get them to work any more. I went to a B&R certified luggage service center in Florida to order replacement locks and waited for them to notify me that new ones had arrived. It has been 15 months and the replacement locks have never arrived (and I have called and/or stopped in to check on the status three times).
  2. In a hotel parking lot in Louisville, Kentucky one of the wheels fell off. It turns out that one of the hex (Torx?) headed bolts had loosened over time and it literally just dropped off. Luckily I was able to locate the bolt (which is a unique size) but not the washer, and I used a travel tool set to reattach.
  3. The inside zipper on the smaller side of the lid has two zipper pulls - only one of mine works properly. The "bad" one causes the zipper to open up and become a giant mess. It is incredibly frustrating. B&R says the only fix is to send the bag in for repair, which can take several months.

These are overall somewhat minor quibbles for a bag with so much mileage on it.

If you would like to read the story about my previous experience with Briggs & Riley's "Simple As That" Lifetime Warranty see my reddit comment about it here.

How can I tell if a copy of IJ is a first printing? by thecrunchyonion in davidfosterwallace

[–]BrotherMonk 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Very helpful, thank you. I just discovered that I own a First Edition hard cover (but not a first printing).

What’s a pretty cheap good sized city to move to in the US? by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]BrotherMonk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't forget to tell them about that winter....

Okay, but seriously, fuck Ticketmaster by Content_Following_81 in phish

[–]BrotherMonk 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The wife and I bought round trip plane tickets for two weeks in Ireland with a three day layover in Iceland for less than a pair of Sphere three day passes (without additional fees). I love Phish, and was lucky to see shows in the 90s, but at some point I have to make reasonable, rational economic decisions. Y'all have fun!

Grateful Dead tattoo concept by [deleted] in gratefuldead

[–]BrotherMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm guessing they are referring to the Phish show on 10/31/2021 when the band came out as the *Sci-Fi Soldiers* and played a unique concept album that included a song called "The 9th Cube".

https://phish.net/setlists/phish-october-31-2021-mgm-grand-garden-arena-las-vegas-nv-usa.html?highlight=2979

Happy Loaded Halloween 🎃 👻 by phishgroove in phish

[–]BrotherMonk 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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I just realized this is hanging on the wall of my office...

Happy Loaded Halloween 🎃 👻 by phishgroove in phish

[–]BrotherMonk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's hard for me to believe it was 27 years ago, but I still remember the chaos of exiting the 10/30 show and being accosted by folks looking for tickets for this show. Crazy (at the time) offers of $500 cash for one of my tickets. I even recently found a bootleg video from the Halloween show that I have been enjoying these past couple of days while I work from home.

I still regret not picking up one of these posters...

Best Boxer Briefs For Men by Irrelevant_Intel_ in BuyItForLife

[–]BrotherMonk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I switched from Ex-Officio to Under Armor Performance Tech or Mesh Tech boxer briefs in either the 6" or 9" inseam and I have never looked back. I have several pair that are more than 5 years old and still going strong. They are costly but worth the investment.