2022s
- Half Sheet Shipping Labels - Buy a bunch and use them for years.
- Package Filler
- The Best Tape & Dispenser - Shipping tape can be such a hassle to deal with. This tape is strong enough and the dispensers are best in class (you never have to find the end of the tape.
- Small Bubble Mailers
- Large Bubble Mailers
- Save Small Boxes - Recycle all of those smaller Amazon, etc boxes you get.
- Mail Scale - Knowing the correct weight will save you time and money.
- Measuring Tape - Any measuring tape will do, but having one of these makes it so much easier.
I have learned way more than I ever thought I’d need to know about trademarks, BIMI, DMARC, etc over the last couple weeks.
I made a very simple landing page of sorts for the domain my wife and I use for email. There are always a few people who visit the domain to verify our email authenticity (particularly when using PayPal, etc). Maybe it’ll serve as enough verification for them.
Finished reading Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr today. It’s a fantastic and unique story that I would recommend to almost anyone.
Took the day off to go ice skating with my son for his 6th birthday. We had the entire rink to ourselves.
I’ve been a recent convert to the Kindle + Libby setup for reading. Disappointed I didn’t dive into that ages ago. The Kindle Oasis (got it for a steal) makes all the difference for me.
I’ve still got a few things left to tweak (dark mode for example), but I’m happy with my new micro.blog theme. Clean and simple.
GoRuck GR2 26L
I’ve always been a believer in having a nice bag when possible. Often times, people put thousands of dollars of equipment (laptop, phone, iPad, Kindle, chargers, adapters, batteries, cameras, books, etc) in a $40 bargain basement bag. It just doesn’t make sense!
There are many solid options in a variety of price ranges. Today, I’m going to take a quick look at the GoRuck GR2 26L.
My Uses
These bags are almost indestructible. They’re frequently used by ruckers (hence the name), soldiers, and the like. I am none of those things. In fact, my primary use cases for the bag revolves around daily office use and light travel.
You can find countless reviews on the durability and functions of such a bag, so I’m gonna skip past all that. I’ll simply try to answer the question: Does it work for me?
The Good Things
It’s built to last a lifetime. I won’t get into the material specifics, but you can rest assured that it’ll handle whatever you throw at it. It has a lay-flat opening for the main compartments that I love. This is especially great for travel. Accessing what’s on the bottom of the bag is as easy as getting what’s on the top.
The laptop compartment is well built, close to your back, and out of the way of other things. The straps are perfect once they’ve broken in (they’re a little stiff initially). Unlike other GoRuck Bags, this one offers a good bit of organization.
Lastly, it looks and fits well on a variety of people. Here’s how it looks on me (6'3"):
Here’s how it looks on my wife (5'4"):
The Lesser Things
Honestly, there are no true negatives. It can be a little rough on some shirts if you wear it all day, but that’s the nature of these types of bags. Accessing the laptop can be annoying if it’s something you do multiple times per day.
The biggest drawback to these bags is the price. At almost $400 for a new one, you might think twice. However, this is a case of “you get what you pay for.” It really can be the last bag you buy.
I’m still struggling to find the ideal read-it-later/consumption service. Instapaper hasn’t evolved, Pocket isn’t my thing. Matter is OK. Readwise’s Reader (beta) is strong but is trying to do too much (like Feedbin, Inoreader). Any suggestions?
Having quite the productive day. Knocked out a good bit of day job stuff, redesigned my blog, and booked a small Christmas family getaway.
I’m currently reading Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and loving it. His Pulitzer winning book, All the Light We Cannot See, is one of my favorites from the past 10 years. So far it seems CCL may be better. 📚
A Day in the Life. Around 10am in Lafayette, Louisiana.
I took the plunge and invested in a new AppleWatch Ultra. I’m a big guy, so I appreciate the extra size. Having said that, it looks just fine on almost anyone (my more petite wife included). I’m a big fan of the default (Ultra-exclusive) watch face as well. I went with both the Ocean band and Alpine Loop, but the Ocean one has been my favorite so far.
How to Ship
Ben Brooks at Brooks Review (link is behind a paywall) recently posted some tips for shipping items. I do a lot of the same things he does but with a few slight differences.
My process is the best cheap/easy combination I’ve been able to find.
PayPal has a solid built-in integration with Shipstation, but you have to jump through a few hoops from time to time to make it work (particularly if you don't use Goods & Service or Purchase Protection). I think what I use is better, PayPal or not.
The most important part of the process is using Pirate Ship. You create a free account and don’t have to worry about any extra fees. The only money they make is through their partnerships with USPS and UPS. Because of that, they have the cheapest shipping rates you’ll find..
Pirate Ship also has the easiest and most straightforward process for getting from I’ve packed the box to the label is on and it’s ready to drop off.
Here are the products to have on hand:
I ship a lot of things, so I bought one of these roller carts from Target (IKEA has a similar one) to use as a mobile shipping station.
Lastly, if you live in an area that doesn’t have restrictions on the types of mailboxes you can have, I suggest grabbing one of these monsters. It’ll help you save countless trips to the post office, and your mailman will love you too.
Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links for products I use and recommend.
My lil guy loves some baseball.
I’m a big fan of the new Omega x Swatch watches, but it looks like I’ll have a long wait before I can grab one (or ten).
It’s nice to have baseball things happening again. My oldest (5) became obsessed with it last season, and I promised him we’d go to a game or two early this season. For a while, that looked to be in jeopardy. Luckily, our plans are good to go.
Well, at least we still have baseball here.
I was able to snag an Okluma DC0 today. A particularly mind-bending purchase if you’re not familiar with the industry, but a profitable one if you understand the market/uses.
Wife and kids grabbed me a new Bugout for Valentine’s Day this year.
The dishwasher goes out and suddenly the whole robot apocalypse thing sounds like a promising future.