Latest "Notable" Purchase

[Dragon Lord]

Finally did something I should have done a long time ago -- purchased a monitor arm. Tired of not having any room on my desk in front of my monitor because the legs stick out so far. Found one that can support my beefy 32'' monitor that was on sale, plus had a $20 off coupon on top of that, so ended up getting it for $60 instead of the normal $100, which is nice.

Look forward to actually having NORMAL room for my keyboard and mouse at long last.

[Moonface]

If you've set up that arm already @Dragon Lord how's it treating you?

Been buying quite a few things lately due to college, so got a little bit of a list for once:

• Richeson Twisted Etching Needle
  
• E C Lyons Double-Ended Steel Burnisher
  
• Twin pack of LP-E10 batteries for the Canon DSLR camera I'm borrowing from @ShiraNoMai's workplace because one of the two batteries they have doesn't charge
  
• Fabriano Studio Watercolor Pad, Hot-Press, 9" x 12", 140 lb., 50 Sheets, White
  
• K & S 6602 Copper Etching Plates, 0.050" Thick x 5" Wide x 7" Long, 1 Piece, Made in The USA - 2x
  
• Amazon Basics 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod With Bag, Black
  
• Amazon Basics 50-inch Lightweight Camera Mount Tripod Stand With Bag (returning this one because I prefer the 60-inch)
  

Fortunately it hasn't cost me a huge amount of money for all this stuff, probably somewhere around $120-150.

[Kyng]

A model of a GWR 1500 Class 0-6-0 pannier tank.

I was a bit hesitant at first, because some of the online reviews pointed to quality issues with this model. However, it's such an unusual prototype (it looks like a weird mash-up of Victorian tank engine and American switcher) that I just had to get one. And I'm pleased to report that my example is nowhere near as bad as some of the samples from the reviews: it's not perfect, but it's at a level that I'm happy with. I certainly won't be sending it back!

[Mr EliteL]

I'll post about my little haul from yesterday albeit most of it is from a game, quite obvious which, although I wasn't exactly intending to just get items from only one thing, but whatever.

Genshin Impact Artbook Vol.1 (bought cheaper than what Amazon was selling for)
Genshin Impact Battle Stance Mystery Box Mondstadt Edition x2 - Venti & Barbara (both were a mystery until I opened them)
Genshin Impact phone strap x2 - Noelle & Xiangling
Strawberry Pocky x2
Tekken 8 lanyard & sticker (there was a poster not present when I first collected these, they ran out when I went back, darn it)

Also a bunch of Gintama chibi mini figures given free to me from a generous passerby who saw my Gintama T-shirt, she wrapped them in orange wrapping paper decorated halloween-like. I've opened each orange wrap, and confirmed they're official items but when opening one box I found two mini figures inside, one not featured on the box so from a different set. I assume the rest are similar. Cool.

I intended to hunt for Tokyo Esp vol 3, anything Gintama (wasn't much but also nothing I wanted), and a Code Geass Shirley figurine from a set I have which is missing her to no avail. Ah well. Did find a very interesting group called GalleryPanda doing some sick posters on acrylic...board things that also can be put in a lightbox display to light up the colours. I was going to get some but decided against it for now, but something I'll reconsider at a different, hopefully they return next time I go or I'll buy from their website.

[Dragon Lord]

Razer Basilisk V3 Pro wireless mouse
Razer Black Widow V4 75% Keyboard
Sennheiser HD 560S open-back headphones
Wicked Cushions replacement pads for the 560S headphones

Sadly the headphones won't be here until Dec 8-11th some time, so got a bit of a wait for those.

[Kyng]

A couple of bottles of whisky and rum, which I got for my dad as Christmas presents.

They're produced locally, and they were for sale in a Christmas market - so they're not the sort of thing that's available just about anywhere!

[Dragon Lord]

PHILIPS Fidelio X2HR open-back headphones
AKG K702 open-back Headphones

Decided that I'm still not happy with the HD560S set, so after doing some more diving, I decided I'm going to give these two pairs of open-backs a try. My main issue with the Sennheiser sets is the shape of the ear cups just don't seem to feel comfortable to me. I'm constantly adjusting them trying to get them to feel comfortable and it just isn't working out. These two pairs I just bought look to have much bigger cups, which should give me the fit that I'm looking for. So I'll return the HD560S and then go back and forth with these two until I decide which one I like the best and then return the other one.

One really nice thing about Amazon having returns until January 31st right now is that it allows me to buy multiple pairs and try them out for a bit of time before I have to worry about sending them back. Honestly if I still can't find satisfaction with any of these, I'll probably just pick up another pair of Audio Technica M50Xs, which is a closed-back pair that I really enjoyed. Everyone in reviews and such say they have "muddied" sound in certain areas, but honestly I don't even think my untrained ear would hear the difference between all of these, so I stopped caring about what people said the sound is like and started looking for what would seem to provide me with the comfort I am seeking.

[Dragon Lord]

PHILIPS Fidelio X2HR open-back headphones
AKG K702 open-back Headphones

Funny that this was my last post in here. The AKG headphones ended up being crap. For how expensive they were, I can't believe how cheap they felt. The headband was AWFUL as well. I've never put on a pair of headphones and had such instant discomfort from how stiff the headband was. Pure garbage.

The Philips are good. I changed out the stock pads with Dekoni Suede pads and they became even better. Very comfortable most of the time. Sometimes I still feel a tiny smidge of discomfort, but I honestly can't tell if it's because of the headphones or something wrong with me, haha.

I honestly thought I found my pair with the Philips... until I decided to try one last pair of headphones. The Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros (closed back) headphones. I got these things, put them on, and the comfort was wonderful. Though there was still just a little something missing... so I once again turned to Dekoni and bought their Choice Leather replacement bads for these cans. Man, the moment I switched the pads and put them on, I was like... this is it. These are it. Amazing comfort with these pads on them.

Now I'm facing the choice of... do I keep both the X2HRs and the DT770 Pros? Or do I return the X2HRs? One is closed and the other is open back, so having both pairs could be nice for switching when I feel like one would benefit over the other. They are both really nice and definitely worth having, in my opinion.

Another recent, major purchase I made was the purchase of an Elgato Wave 3 microphone, along with accessories for it (boom arm, shock mount, pop filter). I decided it was just finally time to take a dive on a mic, and I feel like the Wave 3 is a great starting point. Not too expensive, but offers wonderful quality for the price. It should be a great mic to use to get a start with streaming, and of course to offer my friends much better audio quality when playing games with them.

I purchased some new switches for my BlackWidow V4 75% as well. Unfortunately I've encountered the double inputting issue that their orange switches that the board comes with get. Since the board is hotswap anyways, I decided to take this chance to live my dream of keeping my entire neighborhood awake at night and bought some Kaihl Box Jades, which are, from what I researched, some of the loudest clicky switches you can buy. They will be here Monday and I can't wait to drive anyone in a ten mile radius of me absolutely crazy with them.

Also random note, back in December I bought a stainless steel litter box. Best decision ever. It's so nice and has already been a huge upgrade over a plastic litter box. So much easier to clean, doesn't retain stink like plastic does. A bit expensive at around $40-$50 for it, but has been worth every penny since the day it arrived.

[Kyng]

A couple of tickets for my girlfriend and I to see a snooker tournament in a couple of weeks.

We enjoyed the first one we saw, back in September last year - and I hope we also enjoy this one!

[Moonface]

Another recent, major purchase I made was the purchase of an Elgato Wave 3 microphone, along with accessories for it (boom arm, shock mount, pop filter). I decided it was just finally time to take a dive on a mic, and I feel like the Wave 3 is a great starting point. Not too expensive, but offers wonderful quality for the price. It should be a great mic to use to get a start with streaming, and of course to offer my friends much better audio quality when playing games with them.

Also random note, back in December I bought a stainless steel litter box. Best decision ever. It's so nice and has already been a huge upgrade over a plastic litter box. So much easier to clean, doesn't retain stink like plastic does. A bit expensive at around $40-$50 for it, but has been worth every penny since the day it arrived.

Huh, I didn't know you had been considering streaming at all.
I didn't know litter boxes could come in anything other than plastic either because I've never seen any other option before. If you wanna maybe save on cat litter costs, consider looking into something called "Pretty Litter". I use it for my furry night demon and it's great because you don't have to swap it out as often plus it doesn't clump up at all from pee; you just have to mix the litter around every other day to just "refresh" it so to speak. Price might vary where you live but here in FL it's like $30 a bag at Target and lasts for a whole month, but that is also with one cat so I dunno how much mileage it would get with multiple cats.

And yes, I know this is a very late response but I hadn't seen this post until now.

A couple of tickets for my girlfriend and I to see a snooker tournament in a couple of weeks.

We enjoyed the first one we saw, back in September last year - and I hope we also enjoy this one!

I'm curious what attending a snooker tournament live offers over watching it on TV, only because it seems like the crowd is often very quiet so it isn't like most sporting events where the crowd is creating an atmosphere and such.


Went to the Florida Renaissance Festival over the weekend and grabbed a few things while I was there:

• This floppy dragon that comes in its own egg.
  
• An adorable stretching black kitty tote canvas bag.
  
• Drunken Dragon Pub shirt, which was one of the themed pubs at the festival that had an animatronic dragon at the entrance.
  
• These huge lollipops that I think will take quite a while to finish. I've been sucking on mine (the red one) all day today and feel like I've barely made a dent in it.
  

[Dragon Lord]

Yeah, I've considered streaming for many years. Just never had the self-confidence to go out and actually do it. Even now despite having bought a mic and having pretty much everything I need to just do casual streaming for fun, I'm still having trouble getting myself to actually do it. Hopefully soon I can actually get myself to pull the trigger and start up a stream, because who knows, it might actually lead to something greater. Regardless of that though, I've always enjoyed sharing my experiences in games with other people, so streaming, even just to a small number of viewers, would be really enjoyable for me just because I'd get to share my gaming experiences with others.

As for the litter boxes, I didn't pay attention either until one of my previous co-workers told me that she got a stainless steel one. So I looked into it and apparently they are really great compared to plastic. Easier to clean, they don't retain the odor (in big part due to not getting scratches in them from the cat's claws) and they do actually just look nicer. I need to get a second one to replace the other litter box. For the litter thing, I'm pretty happy with the litter I use. It's $20 for a 40lb box and deals with the odor pretty well. I just need to scoop it every other day at the very least, because with four cats, it does fill up fast.

My latest notable purchases was my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, upgraded from my S22 Ultra. So far absolutely loving it. It having a flat screen compared to the slightly curved screens of previous Galaxy phones alone is a huge plus for me and made the upgrade more than worth it.

[Kyng]

A NowTV pass to watch the 2024 Formula One season.

Normally, their sports passes cost £34.99 per month - but here, I was able to get 12 months for £19.99 per month (although I'll only actually need 10 of those months before the season ends, so I intend to cancel the last two in December ).

Also, they were a bit sneaky... they added in one month of free Boost (basically, higher sound and picture quality). If I forget to cancel it after the one free month (which most people probably will), then it'll be £6 per month after that. But I might decide I like the higher sound and picture quality, and decide to keep it anyway .

[Dragon Lord]

Corsair K65 Plus Wireless 75% Keyboard

...Listen, I don't have a problem. This one is wireless and my BlackWidow V4 75% isn't. See? Plenty of differences between them to justify buying yet another almost $200 keyboard.

[Kyng]

I don't know how 'noteworthy' this is, since it cost only £4.99, but I just bought a new mouse.

My old one broke this morning, and I was stuck using laptop trackpads for most of the day, which was rather frustrating >_< . My new one is nothing fancy, but at least it works .

[Moonface]

Yeah, I've considered streaming for many years. Just never had the self-confidence to go out and actually do it. Even now despite having bought a mic and having pretty much everything I need to just do casual streaming for fun, I'm still having trouble getting myself to actually do it. Hopefully soon I can actually get myself to pull the trigger and start up a stream, because who knows, it might actually lead to something greater. Regardless of that though, I've always enjoyed sharing my experiences in games with other people, so streaming, even just to a small number of viewers, would be really enjoyable for me just because I'd get to share my gaming experiences with others.

Yeah, there's so many factors to consider with it that even someone with a lot of confidence would probably be tested hard when starting up a stream. I expect one of the tough things is knowing what to do when there are no viewers at the start, or the chat isn't giving you stuff to bounce off of so you have to try and naturally say things from a starting point that isn't typically natural for people.

As for the litter boxes, I didn't pay attention either until one of my previous co-workers told me that she got a stainless steel one. So I looked into it and apparently they are really great compared to plastic. Easier to clean, they don't retain the odor (in big part due to not getting scratches in them from the cat's claws) and they do actually just look nicer. I need to get a second one to replace the other litter box.

Hmm, maybe I'll consider one if/when I wanna replace my kitty's box. The one thing I hate most with any litter box is figuring out the best way to empty out all the litter as efficiently as possible. Right now I grab a garbage bag and try to squash the front end of the litter box into it so I can pour all the litter straight into the bag, but that wouldn't be possible with a metal box unless it was smaller than the one I have now because a metal one obviously isn't going to bend into a bag that's smaller than it.

A NowTV pass to watch the 2024 Formula One season.

Normally, their sports passes cost £34.99 per month - but here, I was able to get 12 months for £19.99 per month (although I'll only actually need 10 of those months before the season ends, so I intend to cancel the last two in December ).

Also, they were a bit sneaky... they added in one month of free Boost (basically, higher sound and picture quality). If I forget to cancel it after the one free month (which most people probably will), then it'll be £6 per month after that. But I might decide I like the higher sound and picture quality, and decide to keep it anyway .

Ugh, I hate when services add in a free thing but just automatically charge you for it after a certain period so you have to remember to cancel it or get screwed by a surprise charge.
Since it's been more than a month since you posted about this, did you choose to keep the Boost in the end or no?



I recently bought the A to Z of The Designers Republic from Amazon after learning of its existence and seeing that it was on sale for $60 instead of $85, and I really like their work. It's a big book too coming in at 500 pages. I mainly know of them because of all their work on the WipEout games so it'll be cool to sit down and look through all their other work in the book when I get a chance to do so.