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. 📚
2022-10-19

Having quite the productive day. Knocked out a good bit of day job stuff, redesigned my blog, and booked a small Christmas family getaway.
2022-10-20

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?
2022-10-21

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”):

GoRuck GR2 on Matt

Here’s how it looks on my wife (5’4”):

GoRuck GR2 on Kalena

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.

Get one here.

2022-10-21

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.
2022-10-22

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.
2022-10-23