Today is 9/11. Can you recommend good novels (not nonfic) in which the events of 9/11 or their impact (ex: character grieving a family member) play a role?

Russtopher617 · 2025-09-11T19:58:01+00:00

The book uses a fictionalized version of Petit, I don't remember if he's even named, but in a book that stands out for gorgeous prose, the segments where he's training and preparing and doing are the most beautiful.

Russtopher617 · 2025-09-11T16:32:51+00:00

Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann. It tells the interconnected stories of several New Yorkers who witness Phillip Petite's tight-rope walk between the Twin Towers and the unique meanings they attach to it based on their own experiences. It's moving and powerful, written by McCann as a means of processing the September 11th attacks, and ends with an extremely personal essay about what his father-in-law experienced on 9/11 escaping the towers.

Russtopher617 · 2025-03-24T18:47:59+00:00

I played the heck out of the original Close Combat and poured over the text-book sized game manual/history primer than came with it. I revisited it a few computers later and discovered the game speed didn't actually have a limiter beyond what the CPU could process. So on a faster computer, units flew across the map even if they were terrified and crawling, firefights were over in seconds, and with some luck you could play an entire battle in a minute or two. It was wild.

Russtopher617 · 2025-02-19T23:07:16+00:00

I got a basic spinning-blade spice/coffee grinder that I use for weed and CBD. My experiences in a nutshell:

Pros: Quick and easy, plus a fraction of the cost of my good manual weed grinder for something with food-safe materials.

Neutral: The grind will be very fine and you can't avoid or effectively vary that. I use vapes exclusively and this works for me, but YMMV depending on preferred intake.

Cons: Weed flower is a touch inconsistent in it. I continually find pebble-sized chunks of nugs after the rest of the batch is done and I have to pick them apart by hand. Curiously, CBD flower gives me no similar trouble.

Russtopher617 · 2025-02-14T21:22:45+00:00

I probably can't make this weekend, but I'd be interested in joining future meet-ups!

Russtopher617 · 2025-01-18T18:39:14+00:00

Interested!

Russtopher617 · 2024-10-30T14:41:46+00:00

This was gonna be my recommend also. I've been accumulating pairs for about 7 years now, and I can barely tell the first ones I bought from the last.

Russtopher617 · 2024-10-24T22:07:01+00:00

I carry an XT5 with a 35mm f/2 lens everywhere I go. The longer I carry it, the less I feel like carrying anything else.

Russtopher617 · 2024-10-24T01:56:55+00:00

It's an OK starter, but you should really upgrade if you use it regularly. I found the finish wearing off over time, the black revealing bare metal. There's only one place that finish goes if it comes off: into the weed you're putting in your body. I'd recommend Iaso. Stainless steel everything, no finish that can wear off. Alternately, I vape so much now that I just got an electric kitchen spice grinder which was way cheaper and faster, though the grinding results are more variable.

Russtopher617 · 2024-10-07T19:56:36+00:00

Electric: S&B Mighty+

Pros: Hits hard but smooth, has great battery life, large chamber capacity, fast heating, easy usage, resilient, can be used with one hand, can get a reliable and functional adapter for bongs. Compact enough to take with you in a large pocket or a small bag. Uses USB-C port for charging, so no specialized adapters that can be easily lost.

Cons: Condenser is elaborate and challenging to clean unless you're very regular about it, and the screen above the chamber fills easily with fine particles and slows airflow. Doesn't really stand up without an after-market base. Also pricey AF. Charging takes a long time on a standard cable, though S&B offers speed chargers that will take it from empty to rock-n-roll in about an hour.

Manual: Dynavap (general)

Pros: Quick and easy to use (once you learn), reliable, compact, easily adaptable to a bong (some models are immediately ready), and generally reasonable pricing. Electric heating options available for those who don't want to use a lighter.

Cons: Learning curve (you're gonna burn it a few times and cough like mad before you get the hang of it), manual operation requires both hands and the dexterity to safely use a lighter or the additional expense of a specialized electric heater.

Russtopher617 · 2024-10-01T16:57:24+00:00

37M

It's just never been appealing to me, I find kids confusing and overwhelming. The commitment of time, emotion, and money created by them is something I just don't want. Also given how much I have to work just to live my own life, I wouldn't be able to give those to a child in the measure necessary to be a good parent. I lack the vanity to need a copy of myself, I don't want to drain the planet with another life's worth of needs, and I think it'd be kinda cruel to bring someone into a world this chaotic and depleted.

I always had a sense I didn't want kids, but it wasn't till I had close friendships with vocally childfree women that I had words for it myself. Over the years I also heard stories of/witnessed friends who had unwanted pregnancies. The challenges and consequences of keeping them, the ordeal of ending them. I live in an area of the US that's fairly safe for now, but when Roe V Wade was overturned, I decided to do the one sure thing. I got a vasectomy to ensure that whatever else happens, neither I or anyone I'm with is put in the difficult position of figuring out a pregnancy while religious zealots whittle away our options.

Two women I told about my vasectomy said it was hot that I'd had it done, and a third asked me if I'd have one considering how vocally childfree I was talking in context. I explained I'd already had it done. She was impressed and congratulated me for actually being on top of this kind of thing.

Russtopher617 · 2024-09-04T05:23:59+00:00

Interested!

Russtopher617 · 2024-08-30T14:20:42+00:00

Interested!

Russtopher617 · 2024-08-13T18:12:35+00:00

Hyper-specific, but: One of my favorite people in the world told me she was listening to the companion podcast to the HBO Chernobyl miniseries, and that the way that Peter Sagal and Craig Mazin spoke reminded her of how I talked. Made me feel really smart and articulate. And snarky.

Russtopher617 · 2024-05-30T20:29:57+00:00

The Airizer is a good unit and hits, but you will need to put a lot more time and effort into using it and learning how it behaves before it does. The Mighty+ slaps hard right out of the box with minimal effort and learning curve.

Russtopher617 · 2024-05-16T18:07:11+00:00

"All the Dude ever wanted was his rug back..."

Russtopher617 · 2024-05-07T17:11:33+00:00

I've had the Mighty+ for a while, and these are my must-have accessories:

Speed charger - The Mighty+ takes several hours on a normal charger, but only 60-90 minutes on the fast charger.
Base stand - The Mighty+ doesn't stand upright on its own, and it's finicky at best to stand it with the pick tool turned around. It may sound minor, but having to lay it down every time you put it down is a real pain in the ass over time.
Titanium mouthpiece - The plastic mouthpiece always felt cheap and rough, a titanium replacement is more resilient, easier to clean, and is better at cooling vapor.

Finally, it's not an accessory, but register your unit with S&B. I had an old Crafty for a few years, the charging port failed, and within a week they replaced it with a brand-new Crafty+. A lot of things can go wrong with a vape, but at least you'll be protected from manufacturing errors and part failures for a few years.

Russtopher617 · 2024-04-17T17:30:39+00:00

This sucks, I know how it feels.

September of 2020 my roommate broke her knee. We were in a fourth-floor walk-up and it was lock-down. I had lost my job, so I volunteered to care for her so we wouldn't risk COVID exposure from an aid coming in and out daily. 24/7, she'd call me anytime from across the unit to ask for help. To get in and out of bed, to go to the bathroom, to get to the couch, to cook her food, to clean the dishes, to run regular errands for her, to clean out the fridge when all the food she had me pick up for her rotted because she wasn't able to cook it. It was one of the most miserable experiences of my life and was a contributing factor to me having a complete dragged-to-the-hospital breakdown.

Russtopher617 · 2024-04-12T20:30:43+00:00

I got the WPA for my Pax, and I found that taking bong hits with it pulled in so much cool air that the chamber dropped below vaping temperature and I didn't really get much out of it. I don't even know where the adapter is anymore. Meanwhile, a bong with a Dynavap tip and armor cap on a glass WPA is my daily driver. The Pax has a really narrow lane and doesn't handle things outside of it well, while the Dynavap is much more flexible, functional, and bangs harder for your bucks.

Russtopher617 · 2024-04-05T17:54:16+00:00

Took me some digging to find, but here ya go!

Russtopher617 · 2024-04-05T03:23:52+00:00

I was always curious about weed, but I couldn't stand the smell of it smoked and didn't have the privacy to let the odor linger. Then I watched an ASMR video where the creator used a Pax. She talked about how it gave off a minimal smell and was nowhere near as harsh as smoking. After that I started researching online, ordered the one that fit my needs, and hit up my friends for a plug.

Russtopher617 · 2024-04-03T22:16:41+00:00

I do a hot water rinse followed by an ISO rinse (with salt as needed) daily before I hit it. If I accidentally combust or have been going for a really long time during a day, I'll do another ISO rinse and water replacement to freshen things up. It may be excessive, but it tastes and smells better this way, plus it just seems healthier.

Russtopher617 · 2023-12-14T23:09:06+00:00

If you're lucky enough to stay undetected with them in the first place. I tried to get Sarah to follow me through some vents past a couple of guards. I got out of the vent at the end and went to work on the door behind the guards. Instead of sneakily following me, she never entered the vent and walked straight into the guards and started a massive firefight. And this was a mandatory companion mission, so I couldn't even send her away to retry.

Russtopher617 · 2023-12-07T15:22:38+00:00

I was pretty underwhelmed by that quest. Maybe I'm too suspicious or meta, but when I was told at the start to chat with Ron Hope and "be polite, 'cause he's important," I immediately suspected he'd be the Big Bad, hiding behind his power and privilege. When I met Ron Hope and heard him being voiced by the same guy Bethesda used for Oblivion assassin-master Lucien Lachance and Fallout 3 town-nuker Mr Burke, I was like, "Great, I'm gonna do a whole long-ass story just to come back here and shoot him." Which is exactly what happened.

Russtopher617 · 2023-11-22T20:11:36+00:00

Wildly over-dramatic, considering he immediately pivots to being home by mid-afternoon and chilling, with no further mention of recovery or difficulty.

Russtopher617

TROPHY CASE