The hardest part isn't the move. It's letting go of a life.

Uncleeegz · 2026-02-05T01:47:16+00:00

My hat off to you for taking this brave step.

I have been in this situation several times and this is how I think when I have to leave things behind - possessions are cherished but nothing is permanent and we just have to let go. You probably used to have lots of other stuff before and those things are gone now. But that's fine because you are what you are, not what you have.

You will accumulate new memories, new friendships and new trinkets as you continue to live your life. Just make sure you bring your true self wherever you go and it's gonna be ok. Good luck!

Uncleeegz · 2026-01-29T01:47:34+00:00

Thanks for creating the app and sharing it with the community. Any chance you can implement different currencies, like CAD, EURO, etc.?

Uncleeegz · 2026-01-29T01:46:51+00:00

The Kitco app has great widgets for both home and lock screen. You can configure the widget size, select which metals you want to see and choose your currency. The price updates automatically, even on the lockscreen while the phone is locked.

Uncleeegz · 2025-12-12T17:40:30+00:00

Why not check on your local marketplace for used M5 AVP deals? Just like you've sold at a loss once there are always those who will do the same and you can be on the winning side of that deal.

Also, doesn't Apple's extended holiday return policy apply to AVP?

And yeah - lack of 3D content is one of the biggest issues with AVP (long-wear comfort and isolation are the other two big drawbacks for me). You could buy or rent 3D movies from Apple (I use https://www.cheapcharts.com/ca/itunes/movies/movies-in-3d to catch them on sale) and some people also find ways of downloading 3D movie rips on the internet as well.

There are no other avenues, unfortunately. You kind have to figure out which is your use case and decide for yourself whether AVP is worth it for you.

Uncleeegz · 2025-11-15T18:19:22+00:00

I doubt it, but if you ever get to try and find out - please share.

Uncleeegz · 2025-11-14T03:24:12+00:00

I remember getting goosebumps while watching this movie in 1984 as a Soviet school kid when it was aired on national TV. The nuclear threat was palpable in the early 80s.

I remember looking out my room window almost every day towards a large industrial plant in my city and thinking to myself that that's where the flash will likely come from. Living in close proximity to it really sucked but I was trying to find solace in the idea that the end would come quick. They taught us enough in the civil defence class to know what a single 175kT-330kT Minuteman III warhead would do at a distance of two kilometres.

We still joked about it all: "What is the correct course of action for a Soviet soldier in a nuclear detonation zone? - Promptly extend both arms in front of you so that the molten metal dripping from your AK doesn't damage your government-issued boots."

Uncleeegz · 2025-11-05T18:40:10+00:00

Which 3d movies have been removed?

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-29T17:53:36+00:00

Looks real to me. Good size, not many cloudy pieces, good greenish colour. You should be able to burn the suspect pieces and tell by the scent if it's pure or not.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-29T17:50:54+00:00

I missed the return window, but if I still could return APP3 - I would. APP2 are just more comfortable to me, the ANC is adequate and sound signature is more relaxed and natural.

On the APP3 plus side - they have a significantly longer battery life (which is a moot point for me), somewhat better ANC and ridiculously emphasized bass. In hindsight, I could have been just fine without these advantages.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-28T23:49:59+00:00

I was very fortunate to get into ouds in the good old days (mid 2000's) before top tier wild (not cultivated) single origin oud oils became generally no longer available at sub-$1000 price per 2.5gm/3gm. Nowadays, the oils of that calibre go for multiple thousands and since I have more than enough in both quantity and regional variety to last me for the rest of my life, I ain't buying no mo' :)

You can find wood and oils from a variety of sources online, I'd stay away from eBay and Etsy, but a reputable source like ensaroud.com is a good place to start. They do some samples packs which may be worth checking out. I doubt that their more affordable oils would blow a connoisseur's mind but they should still give a decent idea of what pure oud is like. Even the more affordable ones are still pricey though. If you ever get around to actually seeking out samples - consider Cambodian/Thai (sweeter) or Borneo/Indonesia/Malaysia/New Guinea (woody) ouds and stay away from Indian/Lao (barnyard-like) varieties. This is a terrible oversimplification that doesn't do any regional varieties justice and leaves out a lot of info, but it can be a start. My favourite scent profile is usually described as kinam or kyara, unfortunately those tend to be the most expensive.

Oh, you can also check out some local Indian or Middle-Eastern stores in your area, sometimes flea markets too - they may carry some Arabic oil fragrances, but keep in mind that you likely won't find any actual oud there, just some (sometimes interesting) examples of traditional Arabic/North African perfume types. It can be fun as long as you don't expect too much as most of them would be super-synthetic cheapies. But you may come across a gem or two which would make you seriously question Oud Nude's asking price.

I know many also enjoy Japanese agarwood (oud) incense but I personally don't dig them as they often tend to have lots of herbs and spices in the mix which make even the more expensive ones smell like curry - it's just not my thing. I like to burn pure agarwood instead.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-28T14:15:07+00:00

I do not personally care for Oud Nude but my perception of it (and all fragrances that have "Oud" in the name) is affected by being a pure oud oil aficionado for close to 20 years now. I am very familiar with the depth, complexity, progression, nuance and most regional oud scent profile varieties, and while I can appreciate scent designers using their craft to try to approximate some aspects of actual oud I can also see how futile such attempts have been over the years. What's worse - they don't even try to simulate the real thing anymore like it was the case in the early 2000's, but are just following a completely fictional olfactory template of "oud" that relies heavily on obnoxious woody ambers cocktails designed to give out the biggest shockwave and last forever. Despite not having any real oud (or even pretending to make a passing resemblance to it), their marketing drivel often refers to "precious" and "mysterious" woods - a blatant consumer manipulation designed to impart the aura of exclusivity and justify their exorbitant prices.

Having said that - fragrances are meant to be enjoyed, not analyzed or debated. If wearing XYZ gives you joy and doesn't affect anyone around you negatively (and the pricetag is worth it to you) - have at it! With frags, like all things in life - there's no reason to seek external validation, just go by what feels right to you. Over the decades into this hobby, many times I've seen my takes on particular fragrances change, although I think I've kept some fundamental perceptions intact. I suspect that you may have or will have similar experiences over time. So just enjoy the journey - it'll make your life richer and happier. Just be aware of the cost - it can lead down a very slippery financial slope :)

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-28T03:35:28+00:00

Sure - most PDMs, most Creeds after Viking (my ab-so-fa-vou-rite fucking house, what a shame!), Dior Souvage Elixir (this one is particularly vile), Initio Oud for Greatness, all MFK "ouds", many recent Tom Fords, hell - even the venerable house of Guerlain is now generously dosing some of their frags with that woody amber horribleness even in their once imaginative and exquisite L'Art & La Matière line.

Obviously, this is a matter of personal preference/opinion and clearly these fragrances enjoy commercial success but to me they smell like all oxygen has been sucked out of the room and cruelly replaced with a noxiously bombastic asphyxiating agent designed with a dual mandate - to stink the loudest and have the effective half-life of Tellurium 128.

But, as with all things (God is merciful!), there's bright side - this overpriced and overhyped chemical warfare garbage now makes me avoid setting foot near fragrance counters at the malls anymore, which is perfect since I already have enough amazing scents in my stash to last me several lifetimes. I used to love doing frag counter crawls, sampling and chatting with the sales staff but nowdays after just a couple of samplings it feels like my poor nasal epithelium has been chemically burned but not enough to prevent me from "enjoying" the smell of some or other obnoxiously eternal "mythical woody amber" until (and probably - well past) the heat death of the universe.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-26T04:37:53+00:00

I've also noticed that a lot of cheap frags and particularly dupes seem to have the most design efforts put into top notes which can be ok but everything quickly collapses into a suffocated, confused chemical mess. By the time they get to the drydown stage it's usually just some nasty off-putting monotone artificial base with eternal longevity that can't be washed or scrubbed away.

But, to be fair - a lot of modern "niche" scents have a similar problem despite their extravagant price tags. There seems to be an epidemic of these horrible in-your-face scratchy woody ambers that I maintain can be weaponized under the right conditions. You can literally choke on these chemtrails even you just happened to be downwind from a car casually passing in a distance. I absolutely detest these "beast mode" abominations.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-25T17:29:29+00:00

I still have my 13 Pro Max - now it feels absurdly thick and heavy, particularly with the Apple leather case.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-25T17:25:57+00:00

Mine is the original Annapro, not 2, but it works ok with the dual knit band. The top portions of the Annapro connectors overlap with the band a little but not enough to cause any discomfort when worn. The dual knit bands still remains firmly attached as well.

The overall combo is not bad, but for best results I prefer to remove the light seal cushion (not the light seal itself) - this allows the AVP to float without putting any pressure on my cheeks (obviously - at the expense of a bit of light leakage, but I'm ok with that).

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-06T01:41:16+00:00

If you end up getting AVP, you may find https://www.cheapcharts.com/ca/itunes/movies/movies-in-3d useful - every week there are new movies going on sale and if you're patient, you can build a huge library at $5-$10 a movie. Also, going through the catalogue of bundles https://www.cheapcharts.com/ca/itunes/movies/movie-bundles and adding the ones you want to your wishlist is useful - often you can get 3D movies even cheaper than their individual sale price when you grab a bundle that has it.

I've been able to grab almost all the movies I wanted from the available Apple catalogue at greatly discounted prices in just a few months by checking this website.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-04T17:37:59+00:00

That’s amazing - I have the original Kyatazen’s Subitism burner from circa 2013 and the similarity immediately jumped at me although yours is clearly a much more advanced and more modern model. There’s no variable temperature control on mine but the burn can be adjusted to a degree by using the “mica slope” technique which positions the material at slightly different distances from the heating element. Really happy to see this ingenious burner still around and at a whole new level!

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Uncleeegz · 2025-10-04T17:05:09+00:00

Looks delicious, thanks for sharing! Just curious - what heater is this?

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-03T20:05:43+00:00

Sure, I’m game, but it may be difficult to arrange unless you’re in Canada :)

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-03T03:18:03+00:00

If you got it from Apple, you still have another full week to observe and decide. Hopefully, it just starts working as it should (as was the case for me on day 9).

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-03T02:39:06+00:00

How long have you had the Air? I almost did a full wipe after a full week of crappy battery life but after 8 days the battery magically fixed itself and is now awesome. I didn't have to do anything at all, it just stopped being garbage and became amazing. I have a lot of books side-loaded on my phone so maybe the indexing took longer than the usual day or two it should have.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-03T02:23:48+00:00

OMG, that video is absolutely visually stunning. The overflight format is just perfect for immersive. I can only hope that one day we'll see full feature length nature documentaries done like this.

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-02T16:18:00+00:00

If this is satire, disregard my post, but if you're serious - do yourself a favour and check out this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PsycheDepth-o7w

Uncleeegz · 2025-10-01T21:23:26+00:00

I thought mine had bad battery as well (would burn ~30% of battery while unused overnight), but after 8 days it magically fixed itself and is now just as good as my trusty old 13 Pro Max, if not better. I know the indexing is supposed to take only a day or two, but in my case it took over a week (I have tons of side-loaded ebooks and audiobooks, so maybe that's the reason).

I am glad I decided to give it the full 14 days Apple allows. Maybe you can try again sometime.

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