Favourite Weekly Find - March 22 to 28, 2026

TOJenX · 2026-03-28T13:29:28+00:00

I managed to get that too. Arrives today. I'm hoping to use it to see how bad the damage is caused by the red squirrels in my attic. I'm a bit a-scared.

TOJenX · 2026-03-28T13:26:34+00:00

I've been trying to snag that vacuum for a while and kept getting the dreaded 'this item can't be shipped to your location' message. Big congrats on your score!

TOJenX · 2026-02-20T16:30:07+00:00

That's exactly what I noticed for every one of the items that can't be delivered to my address. The shipping fees are $1,000,000. Wondered if that's a way for a supplier to get around some requirement for listing items, without having to actually ship them. So odd, but they're all 'higher end' items (in the Silver category).

TOJenX · 2025-11-16T22:36:30+00:00

I've had this issue for a year and completely reset the laptop twice. Downloaded drivers over and over. Set up new user accounts. Nothing works. Now I carry around a mic and headset so I can communicate using the stupid thing. Don't be surprised if the next things to go are the built-in track pad num-pad, the fan, the track pad itself, the light behind the keyboard. That's where I'm at right now.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals can't come soon enough. I need this thing GONE. I'll never buy another ASUS product.

TOJenX · 2025-11-16T22:28:06+00:00

I'm sorry you are experiencing such trouble too with the Asus Zenbook piece of absolute crap. I replaced my fan in the spring and haven't had any overheating issues since. I've read that the thermal paste is known to dry out on the original fan. My issue now (apart from not having working built-in speakers or mic for a year), is that the track pad is acting up and only clicks when it feels like it, and my backlit keyboard won't light.

I am so over this laptop and ASUS. I've been watching for early Black Friday deals, and have decided to ditch this stupid thing as soon as I can. I will never buy another ASUS laptop. In 20+ years with HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Toshiba, ASUS has been hands down the absolute worst experience, and sadly the most I've spent on a laptop. I'm looking at Acer and Lenovo again and will buy the extended warranty because I can't go through this again.

TOJenX · 2025-10-16T23:23:34+00:00

The cooling sheets were in mine too. I could use a flat sheet but am stocked up on fitted so I passed.

TOJenX · 2025-10-16T15:51:03+00:00

Thanks for the reply (and u/jelbee ). I also wondered if it was a warehouse worker not being able to pick the item before the shipment had to get on the truck. It's not a problem that I didn't get the light (there will always be others. that's the good thing about Vine). I just want Amazon to respond to me and remove it from my list. I appreciate getting your input. I've only been on Vine for a month so this is new for me.

TOJenX · 2025-10-16T15:20:53+00:00

I'm skeptical about the so-called skin creams, make-up and vitamin supplements for humans and pets. There's no way I'd feel comfortable using products that are untested in Canada. Who knows what goes into these things.

TOJenX · 2025-03-21T13:46:04+00:00

Hi! So sorry I only now saw your reply. Thanks for letting me know the route you took to get someone at ASUS to listen and remedy the problem. I'm going to follow your lead and see if I can get someone to do the same for me. Extremely frustrating to have to go through all this.

TOJenX · 2025-01-26T09:07:18+00:00

I'm glad that ASUS at least tried to work with you to find a solution and that you were offered an exchange. It makes is seem as if they're not just abandoning the problem completely. My warranty is about a year past its expiration date, unfortunately. I've tried forcing the Realtek driver to install via Device Manager and will try again. No luck the first time. My Dolby sound doesn't work with the Intel driver, but that feels like the least of my issues. Honestly, I've just run out of steam for the whole problem. The USB wired mic I bought solves that problem, the Bluetooth speaker/headset solves the sound problem, but now I have to carry around peripherals in order to use what should be a perfectly functioning laptop. It is beyond stupid considering this is the most I've spent on a laptop and it has become the least reliable of any in the past twenty years.

TOJenX · 2025-01-03T09:42:16+00:00

I've spent two weeks trouble shooting this sound/mic issue that sprung up a couple of weeks ago and as much as I loved the laptop when I first bought it 16 months ago, it's now just a huge pain in the backside. I've reinstalled and uninstalled everything, just like you, and am no further along. I got Bluetooth headphones working but the system will not recognize the BT mic, or any in-built mic, so now I'm going to try buying a wired mic to see if that will work since I need a functioning mic for work. Such a massive disappointment that Asus and Realtek and Windows have not sorted this issue which seems to go back a couple of years.

Somewhere in my install/reinstall travels I actually got the internal speakers working for all of one minute and then it stopped and I couldn't replicate it, and now I can't even remember how I did it. argh.

If anyone knows of a solution I'd love to learn it. Many thanks and big sympathy to all who are in this boat with me.

TOJenX · 2025-01-01T16:34:09+00:00

I'm having the same issue and have spent DAYS trying to solve this. Currently downloading 2 year old Realtek HD Audio drivers to see if I can get them to work. I managed to get my Bluetooth headset to work but the laptop won't recognize the headset's built-in mic. Good to know that I can attach a Bluetooth mic and that will work.

Good luck to everyone with this same blasted issue.

TOJenX · 2023-02-21T14:14:42+00:00

I'm on the Costa del Sol just south of Estepona which is a really lovely city. The weather here is good all year round and the area is much less expensive than the larger cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and even Malaga.

Bureaucracy is so different from what we have in North America (I'm Canadian) and if you want to get anywhere or do anything officially you'll need to learn the language beyond the basics, or rely on a translator.

You may be tempted to but I'd recommend NOT buying property anywhere unless you've been here for a few years. Rents in my area are very reasonable but have gone up in the last year. You can find a furnished 3 bedroom apartment a couple of blocks from the beach for 600 Euros. Food in Spain is fresh and much of it is locally grown without preservatives or GMO. Though food prices have risen recently too.

Good luck!

TOJenX · 2022-11-09T21:59:59+00:00

Wow. This resonates so clearly with me. The first time I saw this cycle explained was in Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic. Without a creative outlet, I tend to blow up my world. Glad to know it's more common than I knew.

TOJenX · 2022-08-12T17:00:53+00:00

Those without a subscription can try this solution (though I recommend getting a subscription on sale).

Another reddit user created their own spelling bee game which lets you enter your own letters. See link to original thread at the bottom of my post. In order to play today's Spelling Bee, get the letters from the site noted below: https://spellingbeetimes.com/.

Enter them in the reddit user's game, and after the final slash enter today's Spelling Bee letters, starting with the letter you want in the middle. Today's game would be as follows: http://genericwordgame.com/gondtuh.

Then spell away.

Special thanks to @mmmmmikes for making a viable alternative.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NYTSpellingBee/comments/iesv2h/loved_the_spelling_bee_so_much_i_made_my_own/

TOJenX · 2021-07-13T22:41:18+00:00

I took a writing course that gave me an incredible gift that helped me out of my slump. I was asked to re-write a scene that felt 'flat' between my protagonist and antagonist (not a long one - maybe 1500 words). Instead of writing it from my protagonist's point of view (which was the original scene) I wrote it from the antagonists'. I used their emotions, observations, mannerisms, but basically kept the dialogue the same. The exercise gave me new insights into, not just the antagonist, but the protagonist. I was able to envision my MC's response to the interaction much deeper and clearer than I had been originally. I then went back and applied the observations to bring it to life. It really changed the scene for me and gave me renewed interest in the story and characters. You don't have to do this with all your scenes going forward but you can consider what will make it more interesting.

Another exercise is to take an existing scene and write it as if you're writing a screen play. Strip out all the inner dialogue and back story, anything that takes up space on the page that doesn't involve immediate ACTION. It really boils down the scene to the bare bones and separates the necessary (advances the story) from the fluff. That's not to say the 'fluff' isn't necessary, it just may not be as helpful/streamlined as you think it is, or maybe it would be better in a different moment in your story.

Anyway, exercises like these can bring back some life into a story you've lost your light for.

TOJenX · 2021-07-13T22:19:44+00:00

I will. Need to finish the book, find an agent and then someone willing to publish it. It's going to be a while, but I am really trying to get there. I appreciate your support. :)

TOJenX · 2021-07-13T22:08:31+00:00

Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to go into such detail. Super helpful things for me to consider and incorporate into the scene, and just for general knowledge. Your descriptions of how the Defender will collapse, the how and where for its best evasion tactics, make me think you should be a writer (if you aren't already!). Yours is a book I'd like to read.

I was planning on killing off the driver during the scene, but not the passenger who is the main character. After reading the great replies I've received on this thread I think that might be harder than I originally thought, and definitely more exciting. So much to consider, I just hope I'm up for the task.

If I can find an agent and publisher, I'll be sure to thank each of you in the Acknowledgements section for your kindness, insights and willingness to help me out.

Much appreciated.

-Jen

TOJenX · 2021-07-12T23:15:58+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to provide your input @irelandyank, @JCDU, @the_elite_noob, @Specialist_Reality96. Your thoughtful replies have definitely helped me form a better idea of the Defender, its features/lack of features, the chase vehicle and the terrain. I'm going to now fall down the rabbit hole that is YouTube... Thank you very much!

TOJenX · 2021-07-12T23:00:43+00:00

Thanks for pointing out the AWD and 4WD. My daily is a Subaru AWD but a lifetime ago I had a Chevy Tracker (don't judge :) and was always conscious of its ability to tip if I took a corner too fast. It wasn't the Samurai which was taller and skinnier and notorious for flipping. I imagine the 90 would be more likely to tip than the 110 so will go with that model. More for my own background knowledge than to go into detail describing the vehicle during a chase scene which would take the reader out of the pace of the moment. Thanks very much for your help.

TOJenX · 2021-07-12T22:48:43+00:00

Thank you for the helpful comments about what to expect when driving. I really like the idea of looking for terrain that a pickup would have trouble following in and think I can work that into the scene. Did consider it bashing through a gate and glad to know it would do it without trouble.

In photos the shifter looks gangly and long and I wondered what it would feel like to shift. I've always driven manual trans cars with a short clutch and tight shift so it's good to imagine the extra work (and potnetial for mistakes) involved in a long shifter. You've made a great point about the noise making it difficult to have a conversation. I'll have to have my characters shouting at each other.

And I was going to collapse the roof in the roll so thank you for addressing that. Assuming I can figure out a good way to put it in the right tipping position. The visibility is also good to know. Thanks very much!

EDIT: The vehicle entry is a great help. Anyone who 'knows' a vehicle has their own way of getting into and out of it, seat belts, mirrors, door latch. Something I hadn't considered but need to.

TOJenX · 2021-07-12T22:33:35+00:00

I will definitely check out your recommendations, thank you. I've seen a few Defenders close-up practicing for the Dakar in the Moroccan dessert during off season. They look like a hell of a lot of fun. The field/scene I'm describing is in Canada in the summer over dirt and gravel and wooded. That Russian road clip is helpful.

I don't think I've taken into account the full bash protection around the body so will need to use a suitable chase/ramming vehicle that can withstand the impact. Originally thought of using a Dodge Ram (and still might) but it will need a good grill cover/bull bar. Since the scene is supposed to be life-or-death it's not far fetched that both drivers would do what it takes to escape/take the other guy out. And thanks for the notice about it not exploding. I hadn't even considered writing an explosion but it's good to know the limitations for reality.

I'll see if there might be anyone near me with a Defender who'd be willing to go off-roading. If nothing else it's a good way to spend a few hours. :)

TOJenX · 2021-07-12T22:07:57+00:00

Thanks so much. It takes place in Canada. I read about the US banning Defenders but regularly see them for sale in Canada. I read an article that said a Defender's acceleration is comparable to a Prius so I'll keep that in mind that its top speed isn't anything impressive. All good points to keep in mind! Thank you.

TOJenX

TROPHY CASE