Goat Day #13: Where have you been all my life?
9Few things that I have ever bought have been great enough for me to advertise, unprompted, without compensation of some kind. Today, I discovered one of those things.
I’m not going to go full blown sales rep for them, but here’s my pitch. I hate tying and untying shoes. I hate laces that fray, are too long, lose tension, or otherwise just suck. I slip on shoes that aren’t slip on, wear out the backs of them, then cut up my heel. Get a new pair, and do it all over again.
Anyways, one of the laces on my new shoes frayed after only a few weeks, probably because it was too long. I went online looking for a cheap replacement, and stumbled across Lock Laces:
They are one size fits all shoe laces, that you trim to size. For me, they are a really big deal. They solved all my problems, and are extremely comfortable. Yeah, I’m excited about shoe laces. Here’s a video on installing them:
What’s a product you regularly pitch to other people, even if they weren’t looking for advice/input on the subject?
- 17 comments, 26 replies
- Comment
I’m always pitching Meh. Nobody listens…
Catshirts.
Ice to polar bears.
/image Ice Bear in freezer
Medical cannabis.
/giphy cannabis
Aww, he got the velcros!!
@2many2no
Not gonna lie, I felt like a kid when I was installing them. I also recently caved and bought a pair of Crocs, because they have no backs, and my heel hurt really really bad. Although I will still make fun of them, they are in fact really comfy and convenient.
@lichme You sound like my coworker. “They are so fucking stupid!” … until he tried them. “They are so fucking comfortable!”
@narfcake That is pretty much exactly how it went.
@lichme Crocs makes plenty of other comfy shoes that aren’t hideous looking. I have a pair of loafers that come with the same comfy foot bed but not all the insults. Their flip-flops are also quite awesome.
@cinoclav @lichme I actually have two pairs of Crocs slingback heels. They are the most comfortable heels I have.
A fresh batch of hot air biscuits for the kids.
#driveby
I don’t think I’ve ever admitted it, but I suppose I’m fairly anti-shoe-tying as well. I usually tie my shoes just right to be able to treat them like slip ons. Might have to check these out.
I did install some little silicone lace substitutes in a pair of Vans not too long ago. They look like shoelaces that go straight across each pair of eyelets, but they just have tabs that hold them on the inside of the eyelets. They’re not bad as long as you don’t need to tighten the shoes at all.
/image silicone shoelaces
@djslack @lichme I have some privo (Clark line) water shoe type sandals that come with Lock Laces. The cats though enjoy biting the ends (the plastic clip to keep the two ends contained.).
Sailboats. I have owned several elderly ones of the 14-16 foot length variety. I don’t pitch them though. I sail them. People then can see me enjoying it which is pitch enough. Besides I am not sure I want a ton of people to own one. Water traffic jams can be hell when people don’t bother to learn the rules of the road. (Exhibit #1 Amsterdam)
@Kidsandliz oh i have pitched yawed and rolled in boats too.
@CaptAmehrican @Kidsandliz
I have a blast with my little Zuma, but it’s a lot harder to load it on the Highlander than the ex-Passat wagon so don’t get out as much these days.
/image Zuma sailboat
@CaptAmehrican @compunaut Nice boat. That’s why I bought boats that came with trailers. That was easier and I could back them up so getting the boat in and out of the water was relatively easy (often sailed alone). Putting my 90 pound canoe on top of the ghetto van without scratching paint got tricky at times (well and eventually it was so old it didn’t matter about scratches - spray paint took care of that). Kayak was easy. What was hard for me is sometimes getting the forestay attached to the mast on the flying junior. I’d get within an inch and really struggle. Usually there were enough people at the public landing that I could get help if I needed it.
@CaptAmehrican @Kidsandliz Some of these dang new-fangled boats don’t even need stays or shrouds.
I’ve never really had much room for a trailer. When I graduated from college I had a Lockley wet-sailer not much bigger than a canoe - could easily hoist it onto the roof of my Fiero alone.
/image Sea Skimmer
I did have the family Mutineer at my place for awhile, but it’s a little too much boat for sailing solo. My brother still has that boat on his little lake in MI.
/image Mutineer sailboat
Audiobooks
Books
And the general art of
“making things too complicated”.
@f00l
Yeah, ain’t that the truth.
@Barney
The “complicated” habit brings me great sorrow and great joy.
Tents. But I don’t pitch them.
@cinoclav Your family does for you? (snicker)
@Kidsandliz That’s disturbing. Not my family, but I know plenty of woman who pitch my tent.
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz bad choice of words. O.o
/runs off to tell @cinoclav’s wife
@cinoclav PS you have a dirty mind. It didn’t even occur to me my post would be interpreted “that” way.
@Kidsandliz I’m not married. And tbh, I have absolutely no idea what you actually meant otherwise. That’s the only way my mind made any sense of it.
@cinoclav that you were lazy and made your family put up the tent figuring you’d be sitting in a chair watching with drink in hand
. Growing up the parents made the kids, once we were old enough, do most of that kind of stuff (and pack up when leaving too - I got very good at the puzzle of making sure the tent top trailer was packed so that you could both get at what was needed from the door when the trailer was closed and have the beds slide over the mess - hard as we had too much junk and initially it took several tries).
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz Several women have mentioned that I have too much junk for them to handle.
@mike808
Sorry to hear.
The film Super Mario Bros.
Everyone “remembers” this movie as being awful, but I’ve probably watched it thirty times. It was a childhood family favorite, and I can quote large swaths of it. It’s just a lot of fun.
And no, I’m not claiming that it is “so bad, it’s good.” It’s just good! Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo claimed to be drunk during the majority of shooting. It had Mojo Nixon as Toad. The film’s explanation of the Mario Brothers’ actual names has been accepted into Mario Canon. It has Joe Satriani on the soundtrack!
“Trust the fungus!”
Also, the Vostok Amphibia.
If you’re interested in mechanical watches, the Vostok Amphibia is a lot of fun. It’s a line of watches from an old-time watch factory in Chistophol, Russia. The quality control on them can be a little spotty, but the engineering is incredible. Some aesthetics have changed a bit, but the design is pretty much unchanged for the last 50 years. And you can get a solid, 200 Meter dive watch brand new and shipped to you for about $75. Sometimes less. And there are several different case styles and bezels available.
And there are a lot of aftermarket parts available for modification purposes, and if you want to learn how to work on watches yourself, replacement parts are cheap and easy to order. Seiko also has a great line of lower-end mechanicals, but spare parts are much more expensive and harder to get.
@Limewater
Like classic Soviet/Russian watches.
@f00l Here’s a great old story about an old watch with a Soviet movement, though the writer did not actually know what it was.
Jessica’s Cornavin Dolphin
I recently learned that the movement in that watch was either a Poljot 2614.2. You can actually see part of the marking in one of the photos.
Cornavin was a Swiss brand that moved production to Russia in the 70s.
I bought a set of those laces off the clearance table at Fred Meyer a couple of weeks ago. Haven’t tried them yet. They don’t really “go” with my current work shoes, and my other shoes seem to stay tied OK.
That video was about as exciting as watching paint dry, but on your recommendation, I will try them…
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007DLVLBQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
/image curly shoe laces
When someone asks about getting a watch (happens less lately) for general use, not dress, I nudge them towards Casio G-Shock models. They can last for decades with infrequent battery changes, and are reliable as hell. Even the sad downgrade to chinese manufacture for most of the lower models didn’t hurt them too badly; I think Casio does a good job of riding herd on the quality.
I still have the first and second Casio I ever bought, one in high school, one in early college. Both still work fine though the water tight seal failed and I can’t find the right gasket/o-ring to fix them. I’ve had to replace bands and batteries but the watches just keep working. So they’ve been with me most of my life at this point.
@duodec I’m pretty certain that I have one of these, I’ll have to double check. If so, the battery has been going ever since I got it, probably close to 10 years ago.
@duodec
I love g-shocks.
They appear to be indestructible. As in, will survive the death of the sun.
They are fun.
They work perfectly.
Did I mention that they are fun?
I buy old ones off eBay sometimes when they are super cheap and look different that those I own.
They don’t break. You might have to replace the battery after many many years.
They now make a Wear OS version. (typical short battery life, as for a Wear OS device).
I don’t own one of these
Yet.
The colors are great.
/image red Casio g-shock
I want one of those “Iced Out” “Master of Bling” versions.
Because they are over the top and cool and stupid and stuff and fun. And they work perfectly.
Perhaps in rose gold. Or in gold gold. Hmmmm…
I own too many g-shocks.
And not enough.
Safeway grocery delivery w/ free delivery. and the MSFTSAVE promo code that always works for $5 off
Turns out, I seem to sell natural peanut butter pretty hard.
It can be surprisingly inexpensive if you buy the Whole Foods 365 Everyday store brand in the 36oz. jars.
It’s one of the few things that are actually cheap at Whole Foods.
@Limewater Lately I tend to only shop at the grocery stores that have the peanut butter machines, I love it fresh and healthy like that! YUM!