Fuck that... quality stuff that gets used hard, all the time. My Domino, hand planes, router bits, chisels, water stones, and tons of cool hardware (cabinetry knobs and hinges, that kind of stuff)... all came from Lee Valley, and are well used. I also get all my West Systems Epoxy from there. I stay away from the fancy Christmas gift type stuff they carry, but can say nothing but great things about their woodworking gear. They go out of their way to ensure that everything they sell is quality, and works well.
I definetly used it as a gift store in the past. My grandparents were birdwatchers, and as you know that place was ideal. And I grew up right near London's East end store so my dad was constantly browsing the place every time he went by. I swear an invisible tractor beam pulls men into the place if they try and sneak past. I haven’t been to one in quite some time. I’d probably appreciate it a lot more now.
Just peruse through the fine woodworking catalog on this page: http://www.leevalley.com/en/home/OnlineCatalogs.aspx
See, that’s what I was saying before. Their gear is so nice I almost want to stick it behind a glass case. That combination plain looks like it was designed by an engineer on coke. Reminds me of my Stanley 45. Gorgeous. Sexiest-looking tools you can find.
Oh, I would use it. But I work with steel 20 times more often then wood, so I’m “rammy” as they say. My tool money is concentrated into the cordless power variety, mostly. I go through the cheap ones VERY fast. Black and Decker will last as long with me as long as Billy Crystal would fighting Fedor.
Obligatory. Also, my sister has an answering machine at home, and she was in town staying with my mom over Christmas. She told me how much she was enjoying her new Echo. So, later that night, I called her house. When the machine picked up I started hollering "Alexa, set an alarm for 4:30 a.m.! Alexa, buy more toilet paper! Alexa, send a $100 Amazon gift card to Rush-O-Matic! Alexa, play all my music on shuffle! Alexa, remind me to shave my eyebrows every hour!"
I spent Christmas in Mexico (Playa del Carmen) and just got back last night. Awesome trip, soooooo many shots of pretty good tequila, but it's fucking cold today. -4 this morning. I want to go back so badly, but my liver says no as does my bank account. If anyone is looking for a cool spot for a vacation I highly recommend Sandos Caracol, kid friendly if you happen to have ankle biters. https://www.sandos.com/sandos-caracol/sandos-caracol-eco-resort
I need one more Christmas present. My pregnant wife had some really bad belly pain this morning. That lead us to her doctor, who sent us to the ER. The baby is fine. But her Appendix is not. She’s currently under the knife. I guess is what I really need is two presents. The baby and the wife to make it out ok. I realize this is a common surgery, but man does it not feel good.
Both my children had some NICU issues, during the birth of my second one there was a few minutes where my wife’s own life was in danger. Between what happened to me with my brain tumor, and what I saw with my wife and my children (nevermind other children in the nicu), those hospitals work miracles. My ptsd used to flare up real bad when I even saw a hospital, now I am largely comforted by the sight of one. I wish my experiences on no one, but damn if it didn’t prove to me the insane capabilities of modern medicine.
Well, I was able to have her set alarms and reminders, but not order anything. And, since my sister checked the answering machine, she disabled it all. But, experiment: success!
A little redneck logic is always fun. Today I found out after another shoulder doctor visit that my shoulder (or rather, upper arm) is in fact slightly fractured. So now their question is whether it’s also sprained or torn. The doctor is worried it is torn and gave me two months of physical therapy to hopefully help if it is sprained. I don’t like physical therapy, rather do it my own way. I can deal with the broken bone pain, I’ve broken a shoulder before (falling off a tractor), I know what that feels like. So I hauled out our old Xmas tree and am chopping it up with my machete for the fire pit. If my shoulder doesn’t heal from that in two weeks, it’s torn. If it does, congrats, didn’t need that damn expensive therapy anyway. Sad I’m at the point where a little cracked bone doesn’t stop me. Saves on some medical bills though.
So... that brain tumour of yours... do you have an IQ points custody agreement with it or something? Split them 60/40 on weekends? It gets the holidays?
We have an agreement to where it gives me super power pain tolerance and I marginally respect it But yeah... I mean if you wanna get deeper into it, I live my life a lot more risky now because I am 100% convinced that I am un-killable. A lot of events, that I have shared on here, have only contributed to that belief. This video about sums it up: A combination of knowing my limits and knowing when to push them. I feel most alive when I’m riding that educated edge. Still chasing the adrenaline rush I had when I woke up and I realized I lived through the surgery that should have killed me. Still chasing the dragon. ... but yeah. A custody agreement. Kinda.
Sounds like your tumour has taken full custody of your IQ points in order to protect them from yourself. Which then further endangers them. Quite counter-productive, really.