@zachdecker I’ll raise it by 1

@Deftoned989 I’ll give you 3 guesses, and not one is “made in USA”

@robson Where do you see reviews for the identical product? The Walmart website has none.

@Kidsandliz I was looking at the Amazon reviews for “similar”.

I know it’s not identical, but I bet it’s made at the same factory. Or not. Nonetheless, I don’t expect name-brand quality from this.

Even name brands are not immune to the issue of QC failure when the actual production is done by an invisible offshore manufacturer not directly owned and controlled by the brand. When Trek first tried shifting its consumer-level bike production to China, the first thing they discovered was that they absolutely had to have their own QC staff on site at every production site during every shift, or they wouldn’t get the product they had contracted for. Simply setting up a branch of their own company in China and establishing their own plant was out of the question. I’ve seen multiple gripes that the Chinese government is exceptionally hard-assed about not allowing foreign ownership and management of businesses in China.

@hchavers olympic pins are very collectable. I have a box of them somewhere from when the trials were in STL. 1994 I think??? I worked at the hockey arena and all of the ice related sports were there. I was able to score a bunch. Seeing the pics reminded me about them and made me smile

@hchavers @tinamarie1974 Lint and shedded dog hair seem to be even more collectable in my household.

@hchavers @phendrick Charlie sprinkles his fur around like fairy dust

@hchavers @phendrick @tinamarie1974 Well for me it Cat fur!

@hchavers @mycya4me @phendrick upu and @unksol

@hchavers @mycya4me @phendrick that was suppose to say you and @unksol

@hchavers This guy:

@hchavers @tinamarie1974 Having seen the results of getting hooked on the idea that “collectible” stuff is inherently worth having, the term has become a warning label against acquisition for me. YMMV; those who enjoy the ownership of collectibles are free to disagree, and I won’t get in their way. But I’d really prefer not to be named as the executor in their will. (I have a friend who is presently faced with the task of trying to recover some value from something on the order of a thousand assorted “collectibles” that her mother owned. There is zero hope of finding a broker willing to take the lot and sell it off, even for just a token return.)

@hchavers @tinamarie1974 I saw so much hockey and figure skating then!! Loved it!

@bigjl98 @hchavers it was fantastic. I worked for the Dir of Operations at the old Barn that summer. It was a lot of fun!!!

@hchavers @werehatrack but I think that falls somewhere past collection and more towards hoarding or did I misundstand

@hchavers @mycya4me @phendrick @tinamarie1974 the cat hair… Just floating around.

@hchavers @phendrick @tinamarie1974 @unksol Yes I like cats, Plus I better say that or my Cat Thor will do a number on me while I sleep!

@hchavers @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack
Re:collecting. I’m sure it can get out of hand.

Grandma and Grandpa used to just go to yard sales/garage sales alot. And would pick stuff up then have a booth at the flea market/go to the auction. They did fine/never went crazy though.

Grandpa had a case of marbles but he mostly bought lots and picked out the valuable/cool one. Those old Ball jars. Other antiques. Old tools.

Grandma has/had a bunch of classic hardy boys/Nancy drew/tom swift hard backs that I read all of. I think she only sold the duplicates but kept one of each.

She did get into Beanie baby’s as a hobby at one point but never paid a lot/gave them away to grandkids as the toys they were meant when that whole thing died.

It’s obviously relative. A big expensive collection with a small audience, and if you try and move a ton at once… No one wants exactly what they were into and pieceing it out takes forever. Or it will sell cheap and be broken up. Wont be worth near what was put into it.

Even museums can’t take/show something like that intact, with the intent of the original collector.

A hobby… More sentimental obviously. I’d make some space for somethings

@hchavers @tinamarie1974 @unksol @werehatrack Yeah, it’s sad. I knew a man whose brother had the money to collect some fantastic rare books, and he’d collected a set of all but one of the books ever printed by John Baskerville, an 18th C. printer/type designer etc. A real labor of love. And my friend tried to get a university library to accept the collection, but they turned him down. So the collection got broken up and sold off as individual volumes, which made my friend some $$, but he did try to honor his brother’s intentions.

@hchavers @Kyeh @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack

The problem with museums, even if you didn’t care about the value, and even if it’s that specific niche, is that person probably put a ton of time and money and built their own display, and most museums have such limited floor space. And so much in the vaults. They just can’t display it as intended. Even if they could accept it it’s hard to take it may never be seen as intended again. Collections are very one off.

Sometimes it’s better to auction/pass on to private collectors that you know care and want to share it. Even if breaking it up. And may give more access than that one niche museum in the country that already has 5 copies in the vault.

Firearms and military/WW2/history museums are like that but I’m sure many others are. The theme for that very special collection may be unique to that person.

Forgotten weapons argument for private collections/more access to researchers. But that depends on the collector making them available.

@brennyn Sounds rather un-American of you, comrade.

@mcanavino A true comrade would not ask you for ninety bucks.

@brennyn @mcanavino Yes, you will use your government-provided backpack and you will like it!

@brennyn Jeez, I hate to imagine what you charge for a private show…

@macromeh If you have to ask, you are ineligible to bid. (This is a variant of the answer to inquiries about what’s under the kilt.)

@macromeh @werehatrack having been to Scotland I know what is or isnt under the kilt!!!

@TheStas I actually had the opposite reaction. But I’ve been to Paris many times (for work in the 80’s-00’s) and so maybe I knew the locations better and also how they managed it in the unexpected heavy rain. Also knowing Paris, how much of the area along the river had to be completely sealed-off in a security perimeter with apparently over 50,000 police and military but they were careful not to show any of that on TV. I also think it depends on what TV service you watch because it was 4 hours over several miles/km and they had to pick what they show at any moment and sure I question their choices at certain points. Overall I say it was a success.

@pmarin it looked more like the closing ceremonies for humanity than anything Olympic but I’m glad you liked it

@pmarin @TheStas I loved it, I thought they did a spectacular job.

@Dizavid FBI visit scheduled for 6AM get ready.

@Dizavid Yessss cops bad, irksome lost ‘protesters’ good. Check.

@Dizavid “If you don’t Love it, Leave it!!” … dedicated just to you (and anyone else like-minded):

@brainmist Yep, I agree 100%.

@brainmist It might be more interesting to me without the commemorative branding, to be honest. But I have zero need for another backpack, and I’ve learned not to buy this class of product without being able to inspect it in person first.

@kknuutila https://www.fanatics.com/olympics/team-usa/team-usa-team-usa-shield-backpack-black/o-2476+t-03288150+p-81027229922+z-9-3337285322?_ref=p-DLP:m-GRID:i-r4c2:po-14

@zachdecker It worked! Your order number is: useful-universal-prison

/showme useful universal prison

@mediocrebot That’s actually a pretty nice AI-generated fantasy world. Not sure about the “prison” part. It might be showing what’s happening underground at the Apple campus.

/image apple campus cupertino