Exit, pursued by a ...? Nope, sorry. Xerxes I (aka Xerxes the Great) is the one featured in 300, but the defeat of his navy at the Battle of Salamis (as depicted in the film) was not the end of the Achaemenid dynasty, nor even the end of his reign. (For context, the battle took place in 480 BC, and Xerxes reigned for another 15 years). The Achaemenid dynasty didn't come to an end until the rise of Alexander II of Macedon (the Great), and his invasion of the Persian Empire in 334 BC, starting from Anatolia (today's Turkiye) and ending near northern India. Seriously, the Achaemenid dynasty (starting roughly 688 BC and ending in 329 BC) is one of the ancient world's most remarkable, enduring and sometimes admirable state. It was probably the world's first superpower, stretching from the Indian border in the east to Thrace (today's Bulgaria) in the west, and from the Egypt in the south to Central Asia in the north. But it was also (mostly) religiously tolerant, economically advanced, militarily powerful, and culturally admirable. Even the Greeks, their greatest enemies, admired them as much as they feared them. So, I think it's a shame that the film 300 reduced the Persians to a bunch of pompous, pampered clowns. *shrug*
Bought and fitted a new set of strings for my guitar. It now has a new lease of life after having sounded dull and flat for a while. Should have done it weeks ago.
If ever there's proof that Guitarists & Bassists are the cool guys in a band then this is it. Drummer & Vocalist having a brawl live on stage in a club Drummer loses his glasses - Rockin' Al Boomer Fight (youtube.com) PS: Do you think this is when the band broke up, or, they straightened things out afterward.
I know I am old and boring now, because I get excited about purchasing minor appliances. My cheap, poverty-model vacuum finally died after 8 years. A pretty good run. I replaced it with a lower middle-class model, and oh my goodness. Wish I'd upgraded a long time ago. This thing kicks ass. I also tossed out my very old deep fryer. Hadn't been using it much anyway. Replaced it with a very nice air fryer, however when I plugged it in, it wouldn't power on. I always expect the worst with these kinds of things, but when I contacted the manufacturer, they just asked me to send a video of my trying to power it on, and a couple hours later they said they'll be shipping a replacement. Pretty good service, caught me off guard. I feel like it's wasteful to just toss out the one that isn't working. I bet someone who is handy can take it apart and it will be an easy fix, like a basic soldering job or something. Wondering if maybe I should throw it on Kijiji and see if a handyman wants to take it for $20-30. I sure wish I was handy.
A good vacuum is extremely underrated. You don't realize how much a cheap one sucks (or doesn't suck, get it?) until you have an upgrade!
Depends on what happened to the glasses, and whether they broke or were straightened out. *drum fill* That's an airy view that could help you clean up. *drum fill* (I'm sorry. I truly am)
Marlowe often helps with my book related social media posts and as I work for a bookshop I get a significant discount that allows me to indulge in my one major vice. Books. These were added to the TBR and lasted about three days...The Spellshop, especially was just a warm hug of a book. High Fantasy that is Shire-sized. Plants are my other major hobby and I honestly have never spent an arm and a leg on a plant. The most expensive plant in my collection was Big Red, (Congo Red Philodendron) closest to the window. The Hope Philodendron (bottom closest to Marlowe) I found during a PA outing with Marlowe at our local home improvement store. The Philodendron Micans (hanging basket closest to Marlowe) I got earlier this week on another PA outing it the puppy. The Micans was in tough shape and as such, we got a really nice price on it. I love rehabing sad plants. What's fun is that my best friend, whom I live with, (because of cardiac crap I'm not allowed to live on my own even with my dogs) found out I'm strangely good with plants and overindulges my hobby. Nothing I get has died and as such, I've accrued a significant collection of houseplants and orchids. Philodendrons are my favourites because of their sheer variety and easy going nature. I have another identical plant stand to the one pictured above that is out of frame that was sent to me by a friend living in California. And those stands have been a huge help in organizing and streamlining my collection and its care. Not gonna lie, I honestly get more than a little spoiled by my friends.
Thank you for sharing, Socks Fox. Marlowe is adorable. I also looked into The Spellshop and it sounds interesting. I'll try to score myself a copy.
A new lawnmower, lithium-battery-powered, eco-friendly, and highly recommended by Consumer Report. The old mower, after 12 years of faithful service, had conked out. I pondered just hiring someone to mow the lawn and said, nah, not while I'm still able and besides, this thing is cool. Bedazzled by the new toy, I got it powered it up, and cut the back lawn that had been needing a shave for a week since the old one quit. The mower worked great, much better than the old. Now I sit here waiting for the grass to grow so I can play with the mower (and justify the expenditure).
Is it really powerful enough? I always wondered. I have a rechargable battery powered string trimmer and it does a good job, but I also have a rechargeable leaf blower and it really blows, meaning it doesn't blow for sh*t. I'd be better off making a paper fan and going out there waving it at the leaves.
It might be crappo or the intake could be obstructed. Blowers are notorious for that with all the clippings and yard detritus flying about. But if never blew good then it definitely just blows.
It came free when I bought the string trimmer, and everybody said it's garbage. In fact I've read nobody makes an electric motor powerful enough for a leaf blower, at least not one that can take rechargeable batteries. I'm not sure how that applies to lawnmowers. They're rotary and go real fast and all, but it might be different since it doesn't have to blow air real hard.
My old mower was also battery powered, and it worked as well as the gas mower it replaced. Electric mowers are more environmentally friendly; years ago I had a corded one but the possibility of running over the cord always concerned me. My old battery powered one was a bit awkward to recharge, I had to plug it into the charger; this one I simply remove the battery and insert it into the charger; it charges much faster and seems to have a lot more run time ; and this mower even has headlights. Not that I plan to mow at night, but it's a standard feature and with these heat waves, who knows? I don't know about the power of a battery charged blower; the one I have is corded and it works fine. And is much quieter than my neighbor's gas powered one.
they make battery powered leaf blowers for commercial applications that are powerful enough for sure. Ego is one that I’ve used but there are others.
Plus it's annoying to deal with,. I used to have an electric leaf blower and trimmer and I had to lug around this big heavy cord and keep flipping it around this way and that to get it out of the way. A real hassle. I like the cordless trimmer so much better. Assuming I remember to charge the battery. That's good that batteries can supply enough power to run a mower. I might look into getting one. Mine's pretty old, though it's been amazing. It isn't gonna last forever.
An Eastman T484 hollow body Xmas gift to myself. It rips like a 100lb violin plugged into a military grade foghorn. Basically a copy of a Gibson ES-339 for about one third the price. I played them both side by side at the shop, along with a couple of Guilds, Gretchs, and D'Angelicos, and it more than held its own. The Gibson sounded maybe 5% better but nowhere near as playable. The Eastmans have very tight C necks with an ebony fingerboard and Seymour Duncan pickups. The Jazzmaster in the neck and the 59 in the bridge. Kind of like a classic metal guitar fitted into a Gibson ES chassis. I can't get over the sound. Being a hollow body, it's obviously enormous, which is awesome 90% of the time but cumbersome for the other 10%. The sustain is off the charts but resonates back through the body as the sound from the amp decays, sounding crazy harmonics and feedback. Great when you want it but sometimes it almost pitch-shifts the notes, isolating that 5th harmonic from the resonance even with mild overdrive. The bridge tone knob has a lot to do with that, it seems. If you sweep through the EQ you can hear it pick out the harmonics, amplifying the 4th and 3rd sometimes. I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet, but I couldn't be happier with the new addition to my arsenal.
Is it just me or should this be moved to the erotica subforum? I can get in touch with a mod if you want.
A beautiful, almost mint condition copy of Pride and Prejudice from the 40s. My very first fountain pen. Both were presents.
I bought a ginseng ficus bonsai and a desert flowering rose plant. Then went to another plant bar to repot the bonsai (i got it in one of those plastic pots) for $6. It looks so nice! My ginseng tho, looks like it has 2 thick thighs and a penis. So i named him "Maurice" (Mo for short)
