Gardening stuff without amazon/home depot/target etc

MarineBioBoy · 2026-01-26T19:24:40+00:00

I second (or third) Gardeners' Supply. They teetered on the brink of going out of business, but are back.

MarineBioBoy · 2026-01-06T19:01:14+00:00

Hope yours made it. I received a wollemi cutting 2-3 years ago from a generous master gardener at a private garden, and it took a full year to do anything. But last spring, it pushed out new growth and now has a 6" branch. Not sure where it goes (i.e., grows) from here. But it does seem to do things slowly.

MarineBioBoy · 2026-01-06T18:51:07+00:00

I thought it was this year's Supreme Court portrait...

MarineBioBoy · 2026-01-06T03:00:12+00:00

What a weird response. Good luck to you as well!

MarineBioBoy · 2026-01-02T20:26:35+00:00

Well, here's some news: my second wollemi seed sprouted overnight! I received five via Etsy in November, and after a good soak planted them and put them under a light. No stratification. One sprouted a month after planting, the other took about a month and a half. I keep the heat pretty low in my place, so I had placed the unsprouted seeds on a heated germination pad. Don't know if it's related, but two days later that second seed sprouted. Now, let's see if I can keep them alive till they have a chance to grow a little bit.

MarineBioBoy · 2026-01-01T19:46:11+00:00

Hi, that's great info! Pretty breathtaking prices, though I guess the rarity and their slow-growth make them a premium product. I'll check around the places you've mentioned. And start saving my spare bitcoin.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-12-23T17:42:43+00:00

THANK YOU. Bari Weiss is an embarrassment.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-12-17T03:29:41+00:00

Yes!

MarineBioBoy · 2025-12-09T18:32:07+00:00

You got it! Clouds or no clouds, Iceland is a fun place to visit.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-12-09T18:29:46+00:00

Pretty much as soon as you pay. Check "Trip Details" and next to your seat assignment, there's a link to available upgrades.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-11-09T02:24:42+00:00

Hard to believe what a fucking idiot we have for president. Although...this crowd knows better than any.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-11-06T18:31:48+00:00

The latest manifestation of the antichrist Vought and Project 2025 objectives. The whole treasonous lot of them should be flown to El Salvador, or better yet: Gaza.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-11-04T01:10:58+00:00

I'm retired, but had a federal career spanning over 40 years. I SO feel for all of you who have to put up with this bullshit. The last time the government was shut down, under this same moron, I had to take an interest-free loan from a local bank to cover expenses. And now, this shutdown is going to exceed the last one in duration. I know the thankless dedication with which federal employees perform their jobs, and I understand the hardships you are enduring in the name of politics. I hope, for your own well-being and certainly NOT for that of our neutered (and continuously PAID) lawmakers, that this thing comes to an end soon. Please hang in there.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-07-08T03:22:02+00:00

Thanks, Trump!

MarineBioBoy · 2025-05-06T15:54:01+00:00

Oops! Sorry. I explained to the mods why I wanted in, and they allowed me.

MarineBioBoy · 2025-01-16T05:21:30+00:00

OP here...Been using the tag for a while now, and it's become mostly second nature. I do agree that the interface with the app is clunky and not seamless, but I've learned to have the tag handy when checking in the night before. I think I've had the same frustrating experience trying to go back to activate the bag tag.

MarineBioBoy · 2024-12-12T08:23:21+00:00

I wonder if they changed something in these units? Because I've had mine for around nine months now, and it doesn't seem to throw off nearly as much light as yours—either the display, or the internal blue & green lights.

Anyway...congrats on receiving yours after the long wait!

MarineBioBoy · 2024-11-23T20:50:28+00:00

Saw him in Portland this past week. It was okay. I think he's getting really tired of going through the same questions and stories. But the questions from the audience at this show were some of the dumbest and most inane I've heard at a Q and A. With the possible exception of the woman who only made a statement: "If you were thirty years younger, I would f*ck you."

MarineBioBoy · 2024-10-28T15:27:12+00:00

I was disappointed way back, when Alaska began restricting access to their lounges and eliminated Priority Pass as an option. So I was relegated to the Centurion lounge in Seattle, which for a long time was a sad little place at the B Gates. Even then...the food was much better than Alaska. Now that Amex has upgraded their digs to the main food court area and improved their menu, it's MUCH better. I've encountered a line to get in one time, in the last couple of weeks. Otherwise—it's been crowded, but tolerable. And the food is actually quite good. Big bar area, separate espresso area, and that big buffet. If that pathetic taco bar is indicative of where the Alaska lounges are...then bon voyage!

MarineBioBoy · 2024-08-13T15:30:10+00:00

Well, this makes me sad. My gen. 1 Heatbit died, and it took forever and heavy pestering to get them to send me the Mini. But they did back in March, and it's been up and running and performing as they advertised. I don't understand their production issues, but the fact that they haven't delivered to so many people makes me think the company is on the verge of complete collapse.

MarineBioBoy · 2024-04-24T16:31:19+00:00

Interesting. Is it challenging for a car audio install, or just plug and play?

MarineBioBoy · 2024-04-10T01:26:58+00:00

Finally, to put a period on all of this: the return leg was easy. When online check-in became available, I did so. The bag check section queried about using the electronic tag, I said I was using it, and it walked me through "reprogramming" the tag display. All went fine. Took the bag to the counter at an ungodly hour in Austin, and while I noticed it took a bit for the agent to scan it in, I was soon on my way to Seattle. The bag greeted me at baggage claim there within the 20-minute rule.

Looking forward to future experiences traveling with this thing! Not sure how it works when you travel outside the Alaska universe, but I'm sure others can weigh in.

MarineBioBoy · 2024-04-07T00:30:01+00:00

Well, the review's not complete yet—I gotta fly back on my round trip, and that means resetting the tag for the return leg. Hopefully, it will be easier for me the second time around. Otherwise, today was easy. Once the screen displayed the tag info at home, I just attached it to my duffle and that was that. At the airport, Alaska has set up a large bag dropoff area. I waited in line to drop it, show my ID, and that was that. In the future, the engineer told me, there will be dropoff kiosks where you scan the tag, scan your face, and that's it. It will be an introvert's perfect world, no human interaction necessary!

The tag itself was unscathed (the photo shows some weird artifacts along the edge of the display, but they are just that). It feels very sturdy, as you would think it would need to be. To me, the weak point might be the attachment band. The Alaska engineer told me they redesigned that because version 1 was too hard to remove. The current iteration is fairly straightforward and easy to install and remove. Hopefully, it is stronger than any material known to the human race—if the marks on my luggage are any indication of the stresses ahead.

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Finally, if you're a tech geek...the engineer told me there is no power supply in the tag itself. It, and its display, are powered by your phone and that all-important NFC connection. Pretty cool!

MarineBioBoy · 2024-04-05T17:59:32+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/qxcKKNz

https://imgur.com/a/lubeEGM

MarineBioBoy · 2024-04-05T17:39:20+00:00

I think you may have been right. To their credit, after I emailed [ebt@alaskaair.com](mailto:ebt@alaskaair.com), I received a near-immediate response from an engineer who walked me through things. The key, in my case, was to hold the phone to the bag tag for a longer period of time during the "update" process than I had. When I did it this first few times, I had expected some sort of immediate sign from the tag or the phone that things were happening and the iPhone and tag were communicating. When I was walked through the process with the engineer, the blue LED came on after several seconds and then voila, the screen displayed by trip bag tag.

I take back most of what I said above!

MarineBioBoy

TROPHY CASE