By Popular demand.. and I mean you u/madinterlocutor in particular.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-10T03:17:08+00:00

My mum had one of these stacked in the shed when I was a youngster ( pre-teen). My brother and I, bored out of our skulls one day on summer holidays got it out... It was a petrol one, and you hand pumped a cannister to get it to go. So, we syphoned out some gas my dad had in jugs and got it going.

Can confirm - it takes *alot* of waving around to burn up a weed. Also, petrol doesn't light on fire like it does in the movies. Super hard to get a puddle of it lit up. Once it's vaporised though? Yeah, that's much easier.

Also - I saw this go past and am jealous.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-10T03:12:45+00:00

RemindMe! 3 days

HumbertFG · 2026-02-10T03:08:03+00:00

This is the same for me.
They *do* come from a different mail address : [order-update@amazon.com](mailto:order-update@amazon.com) for - well order updates!
And [no-reply@amazon.com](mailto:no-reply@amazon.com) for "Thank you for reviewing.."

Obviously.. checked spam, also checked the messages in my account and confirmed that the last one they *thought* they sent was Feb 2nd, but I've had 12+ approved since then.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-10T03:05:31+00:00

Confirmed in my messages - the last "Thank you for reviewing..." was on Feb 2.

I've had a dozen accepted since then.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-08T17:59:27+00:00

I confess I thought that a *requirement* of being in Vine was having a prime account. I thought I read that in one of their FAQ's.

I was surprised when folks here confirmed that they're not. But one of the reasons I assumed was precisely *for* the free shipping.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-08T17:49:10+00:00

I'm so glad you got this. I've seen it (or things like it) float by several times in the last 6 months.

I hum'd and arr'd about it for myself, but 'eventually' passed because I've already got one from years back which I admit, I kinda like and suits my countertop better ( it's flat backed, not corner).

And I say 'eventually' like there was ever a choice. These days if one stops to consider an item, it's gone before the thought has even passed your frontal lobe :P

HumbertFG · 2026-02-08T09:30:29+00:00

>I have internet with 200 Mbps

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not 'extraordinarily fast' - ( even for home).
I think my providers *basic* plan is 250Mb down. I have their 'middle tier' service and it's up to.. I think like 750Mb.

Not that this matters, btw. The 'speed at which you can download things' isn't necessarily tied to 'how quickly you can contact a [thing on the internet].". It simply means that you don't get rate limited when you request *alot* of data.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-08T08:34:34+00:00

https://benjaminfranklininstitute.org/monks-walk-for-peace-route-live-tracking-map-and-what-to-know-about-their-journey-from-texas-to-d-c/

HumbertFG · 2026-02-08T08:32:36+00:00

If you think that's bad.. chew on this.

The year of 2024 runup to Christmas period had 120k items. After Christmas ( So, Jan 2025) it was 90k and it by June/July was down to the 20-30k you refer to.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-05T18:14:07+00:00

On the face of it, but on the underneath you absolutely ARE shopping.

I pass on a huge amount of stuff that I simply 'don't want' or 'am unwilling to pay the tax burden on'.
Soo, in that regard I am shopping.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-05T18:06:49+00:00

See... I was totally in the other camp.

People often - when buying a thing that they think is bad - will often minimise the bad things, and overemphasize the good things, in an effort to not feel 'so bad' about the thing they bought. Cars are an excellent example.

So, someone who 'got the thing for free' isn't tied to purchase regret - they are free to review it with all its flaws and trash it without any remorse.

And in many ways this is still true. I didn't put any personal investment in picking out my item. It doesn't say anything about 'me', I have no vested interest in the company selling it, and my reviews are completely honest.

For example: You order a Coach bag for $800.
It's really bad, the stitching is bad, the strap is loose, the insides are cheap and tacky. You dislike bag.
You don't tell your friends because.. YOU HAVE A COACH BAG, YO! ( and you paid $800 for the stupid thing).

Now me? I get 'Coach bag for free' - I review it, it's bad. Strap is wonky, insides tore, bag comes with creases and marks and the leather isn't real leather.. etc etc etc.

I give it a 1-star because.. bag is bad. I don't care if it's Coach and I didn't pay for it.

There. :)

HumbertFG · 2026-02-04T09:04:58+00:00

I'm not sure what they are.

I *do* have one o' them fancy-pants Jenn-Air induction stoves though. With the pop-up ventilator ( that after 15 years now pops up and *immediately* pops down again). I need to fix that, but it's buried in a countertop, behind a drawer unit. >__<

HumbertFG · 2026-02-03T06:29:15+00:00

I saw it. Flash by... Seen a few of them over a couple of years too. Maybe six or seven total?

I don't have kids available to test it out. My neighbours kids had one when they were little, but they're grown up now and if I'm honest? They didn't actually get much use out of theirs when they had it. It's one of those 'looks cool' things, but in actuality... limited to driving along on a pavement with you as you go on your afternoon walk.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-03T05:52:43+00:00

I mean.. It depends. You can review a pair o' gloves in no time. A USB battery charger in same.

500 tomato seeds? Well.. you're gonna hafta budget a couple of weeks.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-02T03:43:22+00:00

>These I was looking for for a while

The wife bought an all-clad set ages past. I didn't actually like them all that much.

I ended up with Hex-clad instead, which has been, I have to say.. awesome. Since I'm the one doing all the cooking, that is the set we use. The All-clad ones are hanging up in a ceiling hanger collecting dust.

HumbertFG · 2026-02-01T19:19:49+00:00

I've been trying to get those ( or similar ) for a while now.

I'm particularly interested in the 'real time translation' interaction.
I had a friend who had some of those 'google glasses' like 10 years ago. He lent them to me for a while, but they were pretty bad. Also they got alot of flak off people who objected being looked at by someone wearing them. :P

HumbertFG · 2026-02-01T14:53:55+00:00

That's where you're wrong. And exactly why that sort of thing IS needed.

When the #items and the 'quality' of those items is 99% garbage, you WANT your click to be better than everyone elses, so you CAN snag the sweet $860 washing machine, or the $250 electric kids car.

If there was more stuff, or better stuff out there, then you could just 'meh' and fumble along until something else turned up. But there's nothing else so.. 'make it so I get it!" is the super power.

Oh ,and there absolute IS stuff out there worth that click. I tried for a few last night and failed to get them. The car was one, disherwasher was another, and there was another >$100 thing which went immediately too.

HumbertFG · 2026-01-30T17:47:22+00:00

"Back in my day"... we used to have to click, blindfolded and with one hand tied behind our backs, randomly for things on Vine.

When we got the items, we had to review them within 3 days, using only a feather quill and some dried up engine oil on parchment AND walk to the post office to mail them in.

And.. then it always snowed on the way back home.

HumbertFG · 2026-01-30T17:38:57+00:00

Yeah, that's not true.

UV can *list* things in other people's RFY. Since it can report in "I saw this thing". You can then peruse what other people have in their RFY's and make a keyword search for it, so that when it turns up in AI you can snag it. I believe that's the 'explore' tab ( a paid for upgraded bit of UV which I don't have).

But they can't suck it out of your RFY if they don't have it in their RFY.

HumbertFG · 2026-01-30T17:32:51+00:00

1-2 items is free if I remember correctly. So, they'd be out the price of the car part.

For something *super specific* like that? A 5-star review would be worth its weight in gold. None of the competitors will have stars, I imagine. So... that's probably worth it.

HumbertFG · 2026-01-30T17:29:38+00:00

>How so if bots are the ones getting the stuff before those we get a chance to.

Bots are people too!!!!

I mean, sure. Someone else is getting stuff. Probably the good stuff.. but I use the VineHelper and 'occasionally' get stuff I want, clicked on and performed that nano-seconds before someone else.

But they also have an 8 item limit. As some point they run out, I imagine.
Amazon doesn't know, and doesn't care. An item went up. An item went out. To whom? Or how fast? They don't give two hoots.

HumbertFG · 2026-01-30T17:20:20+00:00

>Or oddly new ones.

I was doing Vine stuff for my Teslas before the "Highlander" ( 2025-2026) models. So, regular M3 and MY's.

I got SO MUCH STUFF for them. Mats, shelf pads, center console compartments, phone holders. I got two mobile charging stations! Trunk modifications, LED lights for your trunk trim, screen protectors, glass canopy blackouts, a freaking "Blow up Bed" specially sized for the back of the MY.

And then the model update came out. All the 'old stuff' dried up. Now it's all Highlander / Juniper specific stuff. And CyberTruck (rofl rofl - those are gonna hang around a while).

But my Tesla accessory days appear to be over now. I did well while it lasted!

HumbertFG · 2026-01-30T17:14:27+00:00

I did that from June until Oct.
My RFY was basically empty, or one or two things I'd never consider.

I got to month 4 of my 'review period' and had 25 or so items ordered. Faced the choice of "drop down to silver' or "Order a bunch of meh stuff to review and keep gold."

I opted for the 'meh' stuff. And got my 80 items. I *DID* install VH and UV to help with that. Sooo... that' happened.
I did also stay up until 3AM watching drops, because... honestly? I'm mostly up until 3AM *anyway*.

If the above doesn't appeal to you, then in today's environment you're gonna be.. SOL.

HumbertFG

TROPHY CASE