#i also got a portable charger! which is awesome

[bikeforlife]

Bike Tour Blog

I honestly can’t believe I made it from the Pacific to Atlantic.   This morning I woke up in my own bed for the first time since early February.  Oh my god it felt so good.  If a mattress maker wanted a testimonial, today would definitely be the day to get one from me.   After 45 days straight of being on a bike it feels really good to be home. 

On the first week we made from San Diego to Tucson Arizona.  This section had some significant climbs through places like Alpine CA  and  Pine Valley CA and lots of desert riding in eastern tip of California and the state of Arizona.  We camped in San Dunes CA where ATV’s are very popular and in places like desert view towers that had insane views of the Ko-Pah mountains.   We also slept in a town park in small town in Arizona called Welton.  I did snap my chain in Pine Valley but Tone was right there to help out.  It was also the first time I rode my bike on the interstate and the first time I ever had rode a bike 10 miles straight downhill from the Ko Pah Mountains to Ocatillo California. 

The next few week would take us through New Mexico and the beginning of Texas.  The highlight of this section was the climb through the Gila National Forest on our way to Emory Pass.  This section had absolutely breathtaking views and an abundance of nature.  We climbed to over 8200 feet of elevation at the peak and went through awesome towns like Silver City NM and Hillsboro, NM.  A couple days later we crossed the border into Texas at El Paso. This mammoth state would be approximately 1/3rd of the total miles we would cover.  Many parts of the Us but especially Texas  had recently experience significant weather event with snow, freezing conditions, and a failure of the local power grid.  Fortunately we got to the state about a week after the weather had passed.   

In Eastern Texas a significant portion of our miles would be on US highway 90.  This would feature some awesome small towns like Marathon and Sierra Blanca Texas. The route also had remote areas  of riding where there wouldn’t even be a gas station for 80+ miles.  I found myself having more to think and unwind than at any part of my adult life.   It was also during this stretch that we stayed at some great state parks.  Seminole Canyon State Park and Lost Maples State Park in particular stood out to me.    There is something magical about looking at the stars on a clear night without light pollution.  

Eventually we went through Austin, Texas and I got to reconnect with my friends Jason and Max. After so much time pedaling through remote areas it feels really good to see friends and be in a city.   Austin as a city has grown so much since I was there last.  I ate great food during our off day and found an amazing bike mechanic that help me resolve a derailleur issue that had been lingering since San Diego.  

We would hit a few more state parks on the eastern half of Texas and eventually crossed into Louisiana.  After being in a very dry part of Texas the swamps of Louisiana offered a very different riding experience.  For the most part the terrain was flat and the roads were in good condition.  This part of the tour was special to me because of the amazing friends we made.  During one week we stayed with Mandy in Deritter, LA and Perry in Jackson, LA.  These amazing people took us into their homes and did everything they could to be helpful and make us feel at home.  We were able to take a day off in New Orleans which was awesome.  My friend Chris and his friend Bobby came down from from Jackson Miss and we all got a chance to hang.   It was great to see Chris again after almost a decade of not seeing him.  Hopefully I’ll make it to Mississippi at some point 

The final stretch would have us riding through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.   During this time we met even more incredible hosts.   Kellie/Mason in Bay Saint Louis and Dave/Stacy in Bagdad, Fl were both incredibly kind and generous.  Thank you for everything.  The ride took us through places like Dalphin Island, Alabama.  I never knew there were islands in Alabama . They are absolutely gorgeous.  

We stayed in a couple more awesome state parks in this stretch.   In Bainbridge Georgia we stayed in the east bank campground operated by the army core of engineers.  They gave us a site right by the water and it was a pretty magical experience.  The final section of the tour featured a massive uptick in the number of bugs in these parks.   I found that during camping were almost always under attack from mosquitoes or being visited by either argentine ants, caterpillars , or bees.  Bug spray can help but sometimes you just have to cover every single bit of skin on your body. 

During the final day push to the ocean Tone and I split up.  The original route that we were using had us going through Jacksonville to Saint Augustine Florida. He wanted to stick to the route while  I made a decision to go directly to Jacksonville which was more direct to the Atlantic Ocean.  For me the final day was filled with a range of emotions and thoughts.  Admittedly even 10 years later I still have some anxiety of my past medical condition.  As i’m riding i’m feeling a huge sense of accomplishment and simultaneous release of anxiety/stress. To be able to survive a full coast to coast tour of the United States on a bike is the kind of proof that the only limitations are the ones I place on myself.  I think about my life with Riana over the past 10 years and how fortunate we’ve been to be able to experience living in larger cities, traveling abroad, and getting to start our own business.  

I think about how grateful I am to Tony for doing this tour with me.  I’ve known him for 15 years and he’s always pushed me to do things outside my comfort zone.  From helping me get first passport stamp, to hosting great events, to now riding through the US on a bike.  Particularly on this tour he went above and beyond.  He help me with mechanical issues which i’m not particularly good at, he lead our route navigation almost every day, he found places for us to stay, and helped lead us through all kinds of unique day to day challenges.  

My tour came to a strange end.  I was on my way to stay at my friends Stephanie’s house in jacksonville when I stopped at a convenience store.  When I came out my bike and all of my gear was stolen.  This included my passport, clothes, tent, sleeping bag, paneers, bike tools, food, journal, and more.  I tried my best to look through the neighborhood and called the police but no luck in recovering any of it.  As unfortunate as this situation is, I'm grateful it happened on the final day of the tour just a couple of miles from my friends house.  I won’t let that person take away my memories and diminish the experience.   They are worth infinitely more than the material value of the bike and my belongings.  

As i’ve had a couple of days to relax before going back to work  i’ve been reflecting on the experience more.  I absolutely would recommend doing something like this to anyone I know for a few reasons.   It’s a great way to decompress.  You have time to actively think and it helps your focus significantly.  The riding is tough but manageable.  I only rode my bike on a couple training rides beforehand.  I was also asked a ton of questions from people about my experience. So I wanted to answer them one by one below.  

What did you eat?  

Being a vegan on a bike tour has its challenges.  I ate a lot of clif bars, peanut butter banana burritos, trail mix, , Fritos chips, subway Veggie Delights without cheese and Impossible burgers from Burger Kings.   Honestly a lot of days on tour it was challenging to find vegan friendly dishes.  Thankfully our hosts made some really nice home cooked vegan meals and every large city we visited had great vegan options.  

Where did you sleep?  

It was a mix of hotels, backyards , rv parks, state parks, town parks , and then random wild camping.   On nights where it was too cold to camp we opted for hotel most of the time.  

What gear did you have?    This was my packing list before the bike was stolen. 

Tools Bag

Park tool Allen key Hand pump Kevlar spoke Back up derailleur  Baby wipes Chain scrubber Degreaser Spare tube x2 3 tire lever adjustable wrench Poncho Hand warmer Head lamp

Food Bag Varies but generally 3 portable camp meals  Clif bars 

Back paneer 1

Extra water plastic jug - Nalgene Sleeping bag (40 degrees) Sleeping bag liner. (10-15 degree etc) Micro fiber Towel Waterproof socks Large winter gloves Small gloves Zip ties

Back paneer 2 Short tech shirts (red and green) Socks (long wool, short cotton Medium wool Blue t shirt

-Toiletries bag

Deodorant dr Bonner liquid and bar soap, bug spray toothbrush toothpaste back up Masks Hand sanitizer

Electronics bag Solar charger Headphone and charger Cell charger Extra water container - 3 liter emergency

Duffle Sleeping pad Wind pants Under armour Long sleeve shirts (grey , black , blue yellow winter Jacket

What was the hardest part?    I suspect every single rider will have a different answer to this .  For me there were two things that probably equally as challenging.  First and foremost there are large portions where people are not wearing masks.  It was very demoralizing to be in situations constantly where people have made a conscious decision to disregard the health of others.  Since the services were so spread out I found myself having to get food from places that have anti mask propaganda on their front door.  

Secondly this tour really taught me that I am more comfortable in cities and around people.  It was charming to spend  days riding our bikes through  farm country in remote roads but eventually it began to wear on me and I found myself crave cities.  Also in cities the percentage of people wearing masks shot up significantly.  

What was your favorite small town?  

I really enjoyed Silver City New Mexico.   It was a quirky mountain with good architecture and really nice people.  There was also a very helpful bike shop, great co-op,  nice motel, and the town was filled with cool art.    

What was the weather like?  

For the most part we had good weather.   I would say were typically 50-60’s during the day on the first half but colder at night.   We were able to avoid some of the extreme weather that hit Texas but still found ourselves that was a little too cold to camp in.    Most of the biggest issue that would we would face would be consistent headwinds.  After a first week full of tailwinds the rest of the tour would almost always deal us 10-25 mph headwinds.   

How many issues did you have with your bike?  

There are always some day to day issues but the most common were flat tires ( I think i had 5 throughout the trip), My front derailleur was a consistent issue.   The fenders on the bike were kind of a pain.   However for an old 80’s bike with an older drive train it held up pretty well.   I would recommend to anyone thinking about touring to consider customizing their bike to their own needs as opposed to buying a brand new touring bike.   There will always be maintenance.    

 How did your body hold up?   

For the most part I wasn’t in a lot of pain on this tour.   Everyone’s body is different.  I found that if I got a majority of my miles during the morning I would do much better.   However on days where we were riding until close to sun down i found myself in a lot of pain near the end of the day.   Most commonly knees, butt, lower back, quads.   Occasionally my hands would be numb on long riding days.   

How long did it take?  

45 days coast to coast.   During that period we took 3 full days off and had a number of short days (30-40 miles).    I’m told that this was a very quick trip as many folks take between 60-70 days to complete this route.  

What would you recommend to someone doing this?  

There are a million things but i’ll try to summarize here.  

If you’re touring with other people try to have honest conversations in advance about things like how many miles you want to shoot for a day.   How early in the morning do you want to start pedaling.   Where you are you comfortable staying.  What kind of timeline you’re under with work?    What food you’re comfortable sharing.   If you’re comfortable deviating off the route to save miles/time.       Ultimately the more you and your riding partners discuss this in advance the less confusion you’ll have day to day.  

With your work I would communicate to co-workers honestly how involved you want to be while away.   Some have traditional jobs that allow them to totally leave work and decompress.  In my case as an entrepreneur I found myself involved on almost daily basis with work.   For me that was comfortable but for others it might take away from their experience.   

I would also make sure that you have a good instinct for eating food even when you’re not hungry.  I had to learn this throughout the tour as my food options were limited with a vegan diet.  

I would recommend that you try to do some level of training in advance.  On my first bike tour I did almost no training and I was in pain almost right away.  On this one I did some cross training and some scheduled rides.  It made all of the difference in the world as far as my day pain levels.   

Would you do it again? 

I don’t personally know if I would do a tour of this length again.   While I enjoyed the experience and the bucket list aspect of it I found myself going through the motions on a lot of days.    I think I would enjoy much more doing a tour of a 7-14 days.   Possibly if I’m ever retired I may feel differently but the looming pressure of my career was a bit hard to get through mentally.   

[petoskeystones]

In Which They Go To The Amusement Park

stucky, pepperony, thruce, danbeau, platonic clintasha

no warnings

tw: cursing, maybe anxiety/panic attack

5,556 words

chapter 1/1

no beta because I’m not a coward

Tony was excited to go to his favorite amusement park with his best friends. He was not excited about the fact he had to wake up at three o’clock in the goddamn morning to get there. But he did wake up, and it only took him 25 minutes to get dressed and meander his way into the kitchen.

“Morning, Jarvis. Hey, Peter- what the hell?”

“Hey Tony!” Peter Parker sat at his breakfast table while Jarvis- bless him- made bacon. 

“And what are you doing here?”

“You told me to be here at 3:15!” 

“Oh yeah.” 

And Tony sat down and ate a piece of bacon and inhaled three cups of coffee while Jarvis looked concerned.

“Master Tony, we have to pick up Bruce Banner at three-forty-five.” So the boys grabbed some food and jumped in the car. Once Bruce was safely in the seat next to Tony (Peter had grabbed shotgun, and he was so cheerful at this ungodly hour that Tony didn’t complain) and Peter was rambling away up front, they raced to school and made it to the bus in time to grab great seats. Once they were seated Tony took the opportunity to look around. He saw Thor get out of a black escalade in the parking lot smiling, and as it drove away a hand from the driver’s seat waved (Hela, probably) and a hand in the back flipped him off (Loki, definitely)

Bruce had sat in the window and Thor quickly joined him, just across from Carol and her girlfriend Maria. Carol and Thor were chatting while their respective girlfriend and boyfriend slept. Steve and Bucky were sitting upright like the ridiculously well-adjusted people they were: Bucky was reading some Russian novel and Steve was sketching him. Clint and Nat were not sitting together but opposite each other. Natasha was listening to music and Clint was interrupting her every fifteen seconds. Natasha was capable of murder and Clint seemed to forget that fact. Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne were watching Netflix and-

Pepper. Potts. She walked onto their bus? Pepper was on their bus? Tony nudged Peter, who was already vibrating with pent-up energy beside him: “Did you know Pepper, Rhodey, and Peggy were on our bus?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Sh-oot. Shoot.”

“You can swear in front of me, you know.”

And thus began the four hour bus ride to the competition and amusement park. 

--

The ride up was actually fun? Peter was surprised that he made it either way though. He could barely make it from the Stark building to the school. And he usually would walk around the bus and maybe talk to someone at the front, or ask the teacher a question, but when Fury was the chaperone he decided to not risk it. He contented himself by scrolling his Tumblr dash for an hour, then checking his regular tags (“ravenclaw”, “adhd”, “thomas sanders” and “science side”), then he rearranged his apps. He also added some songs to his playlist and watched an episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved. Then he texted every group chat he was a part of, chatted with Steve who was across the aisle to him, and took some aesthetic pictures. He also went over his sheet music, scoured the website for the park, and finally fell down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about Dracula that ended up with the Korean revolution. And then they were there. 

He was in band, and so was Tony, Bruce, Thor, Carol, Rhodey, Hope, and Bucky. Everyone else was in orchestra. That’s why they got to go on this sweet field trip: they were competing in their individual categories and then would spend the day going on roller coasters. 

The performance went well, surprisingly. Peter yawned during their second song but that’s all and he was singled out by the moderator for being the youngest! Skipping two grades had its perks.  Then they were on the bus getting ready to go! Peter had his headphones, his earplugs, his earbuds, his phone and his portable charger and his money and his raincoat in case it rained. His science teacher had gone over the weather the day before and it would almost definitely rain, and so everyone brought an umbrella or poncho or jacket. Except Steve and Bucky. 

“How does the weatherman know?”

“All that technology can’t be trusted.”

“And besides, Ms Bowey gets things wrong.”

They hadn’t brought anything and everyone was waiting for it to rain to see the looks on their faces. 

So after a lot of rules and yelling from Fury, and some smiles and reminders to have fun and to be at the ballroom area for the awards at five pm from Hill, they were off!

--

Bruce was happy. He was happy to do this forever, maybe: walk around the park holding hands with Thor, smiling while Peter talked and talked and talked, while Steve and Bucky walked side by side with whispers and scowls at Tony, and while Tony suggested every huge and scary coaster in the place, while Nat and Clint walked a ways behind and bickered. No school, no stress, no worrying. Even when Peter stopped to put his headphones over his ears when it got especially crowded and noisy, even when Tony stopped dead and hid behind a bench (Pepper had passed) and even when Clint tripped over absolutely nothing and they had to stop to check that he hadn’t broken anything he was absolutely fine! What a concept.

--

Carol and Maria were having the time of their lives. They had gone on every medium-level coaster in the park and were excited to try the especially fast and scary ones. The ride up had been nice too: Maria had napped and listened with one earbud to their Queen playlist and Carol had taken the other earbud while she chatted with Thor and exchanged pictures of their pets. Carol’s cat Goose was the greatest cat ever, but Mjolnir was a huge golden retriever and he was pretty freakin’ awesome too. 

 Carol had only joined band because Thor joined band. Thor only joined because Bruce joined. Bruce joined because Tony talked him into it in sixth grade. Thor had been dismayed to find he was the only jock. Carol had had to choose between orchestra with her girlfriend and band with her best friend, but she decided violins were dumb and took up the trombone. It wasn’t her favorite thing ever, but they got to take cool trips. And now they got in line, holding hands, hair windblown and messy. About five seconds after they got in line it someone put up a sign: the ride was closed due to weather. Good thing, too: it started to pour about five minutes after they left the line. 

--

It started to rain while the group looked for food and Steve was going to punch something, he swore. Tony had an umbrella, Peter had a raincoat, even Nat brought a jacket. Clint had a dumb poncho. Thor and Bruce had jackets too and he and Bucky had nothing. As everyone started to snicker, Bucky scowled and Steve rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah, keep laughing Poncho Boy. “

“Poncho boy!”  Nat started to laugh. “New contact name.”

“Oh, you’re getting rid of Katniss Ever-lame?” Clint fake-smiled at her. 

“Yep,” Natasha already had her phone out and was typing. “Smile!” Clint looked confused and so his new contact photo was him looking confused in a poncho while the rain poured with the new name “poncho boi”. Everyone was already changing the name too. Steve smiled while Clint looked disgruntled. He was still, however, wet. Peter’s hair was starting to frizz and Bucky looked less than enthusiastic. He dragged his boyfriend, along with Tony, Peter,. Thor and Bruce, and Clint and Nat, into a random store that apparently had candy and ice cream. And ice cream cheered everyone right up. 

--

It stopped raining and they headed outside in the post-rain warmth and haze. Everyone else was smiling outside and when Bruce tugged on his hoodie sleeve Thor looked up and saw a double rainbow. He took a picture and posted it to instagram along with most of their friends, but Peter won Best Caption.

The sky said GAY RIGHTS

The speakers around the park had been playing music the whole time and all of a sudden, You’re My Best Friend was playing and through all of the people, Thor saw a tall girl with dark, short hair start wildly waltzing with a shorter blonde girl in a flannel. He smiled. 

 --

Their group had a problem, Clint soon realized.  Natasha, Thor, Bucky and Tony wanted to go on every single ride and coaster in the park. Peter, Steve and Bruce, along with him, wanted nothing to do with scary rides. So they compromised. They built up to the scary rides and they started with some of the wild, spinny rides; those were Peter’s favorite anyways. There was no line for them. They rode them about five times in a row: Clint and Peter (he was mad at Nat), Nat and Steve, Bucky and Tony (they looked ready to throw the other out of the seat) and Thor and Bruce. Peter weighed about five pounds so he was repeatedly thrown into Clint while they laughed. 

Then they went on the pirate-ship that rocked from side to side. Peter wasn’t allowed to have headphones and Nat saw him get worried, so she sat next to Peter and let him latch onto her wrist during the ride.

“HOLY FREAKING- OH MY- Oh wait, this isn’t so bad!” Natasha laughed as Peter relaxed next to her (even though he maintained his grip on her arm) and once they got off of the ride everyone was a lot less stressed. 

--

“YOOOOOO,” Tony yelled. Bruce looked over and saw one of those cheesy games: Guess Your Age, Weight or Birthday! If I Guess Wrong, You Win A Prize! The prize was a large stuffed sloth that was about as big as Peter.

“Nope.” Natasha flat out forbid Tony. “You want to drag that thing around the rest of the day and then on the bus? Bad idea, Tony. Just buy one, you’re literally a billionai-”

He was already giving the lady five dollars and hopping on the scale. Natasha sighed and resolved to join the group with Pepper, Rhodey, Peggy, and Carol and Maria next time. 

“So the way this works is that I guess the weight. If I’m wrong by five pounds you win a small prize. If I’m off by ten pounds you win a big prize.” Tony nodded.

“Hmmmm. I wanna say ninety pounds.” Tony stepped on the scale.

“A hundred and ten! Jeez, okay. You win a big sloth.”

“Fine. Nice job, Tony.”

“How on earth do you weigh a hundred and ten pounds? I can bench press you,” Steve wondered. 

“It’s all muscle, Steve.” At that, Bucky choked on his water. 

They sat down at some benches in order to get situated when Steve’s eyes opened wide and Tony turned around and Pepper Potts, the most  beautiful girl in school, his best friend Rhodey’s new sort-of best friend, the girl who was rumored to already have been accepted to Harvard business school, she was walking right towards him and he was holding a ridiculous sloth and also hanging out with a bunch of nerds and Thor. 

“Oh, hey, Peg. Hi, Rhodey, hey Pepper!”Steve smiled like he wasn’t talking to a literal goddess, the head of the debate team as well as the head of the Women’s Club at their school, and the greatest person possibly ever. 

“Hey, so Tony, Rhodey pointed out your sloth and we were wondering where you got it? It’s so cute!” Pepper smiled at him and Tony would have come up with a good response, he swears, something like oh yeah I won it at that game over there they guessed my birthday wrong! And his friends would have maybe kept their damn mouths shut because they all knew how long he had liked Pepper. He forgot, however, that at the particular late-night study session when he had admitted this, Bucky hadn’t been there and so Bucky ruined it all. 

“Yeah the lady at that booth guessed Tony’s weight as ninety pounds because he’s a midget, haha, and he actually weighs one-ten! Which is probably the snacks we’ve all been eating today. It’s funny because Steve’s maximum weight at the gym is one-thirty, Steve could literally bench press Tiny- sorry, Tony, here-”

A few things happened at this point. 

Bruce yelled “Bucky, shut up!” while

Steve clamped a hand over his boyfriend’s mouth. 

Meanwhile Peter and Thor began to ramble to cover everything up and

Natasha apologized for “my dumbass friends.”

Clint was giggling and the worst part was that

Rhodey shot Tony an I’m-so-sorry-dude-I’ll-talk-to-her look while

Pepper walked away, confused and probably thinking Tony was a short, weird, loser who could be bench-pressed by her best friend’s ex boyfriend, and most likely deciding to never speak to him again. 

“BUCKY!” Steve was berating his boyfriend. “Why would you say that?”

“What does it matter, Steve?”

“Bucky. Pepper- Pepper’s the first person I ever really liked, like I really like her!” 

“The first person you really-really like?” Steve arched an eyebrow. Tony had confessed to liking him in their freshman year, and Steve had felt the same way for a while too, but it was all in the past now. “The first person ever?”

Tony rolled his eyes. Bucky, meanwhile got the drift. 

“Ohhhhhh, shit, Tony, I’m so sorry.” 

“As entertaining as this is, guys, we’re going to be late for the awards if we don’t haul over to the pavilion thing. It’s four fifty-five,” Bruce interrupted. “C’mon.”

--

When Bruce said “C’mon”, the Panic! At The DIsco song got stuck in Peter’s head and he hummed it while they jogged through the park. They found everybody in their school standing at the pavilion, milling around with the students from a bunch of other schools in the area. Peter felt his chest getting tighter and took a few deep breaths in order to calm himself down. Hill and Fury called them all into the huge room and told them to sit with their groups on the ground. Peter hated sitting on the ground. Everybody was so darn loud, why were people so  loud? He was sandwiched between Peter Quill, who was yelling something, and T’Challa, who was at least talking at a normal volume to Nakia, and Quill was touching him and everybody was so loud still, and where was Tony? Why were people touching him? Why couldn’t he breathe correctly? He heard Thor yell something across the floor, and his jeans felt weird on his knees, and he really hated the way those jeans felt, why did he wear them? Was the floor always slightly sticky? He grabbed his headphones and slid them over his ears, screwing up his eyes and humming “C’mon” a little louder and tapping a beat on the sides of his headphones. WAs that kid from another school laughing at him? He had to get out of here. Natasha and Clint were the closest to him. Clint noticed Peter and signed “are you o k?” at him. “No. SOS” Peter signed back. (Most of them knew sign language. Clint was deaf and Peter, when things got to be too much for him, would slide headphones over his ears and revert to signing everything.)

“I'm gonna take Pete outside, Nat.” Cluint stood up, earning a glare from Hill, and grabbed Peter’s arm and took him outside. They sat on a bench and watched the ceremony. 

The band was the only one in the mixed highschool category and got first place, but the orchestra got third. Peter smiled and met up with ihs friends afterwards, keeping his headphones on but chatting with them nonetheless. 

--

Maria and Carol were in line for the biggest roller coaster in the park. Again. They had been kicked out due to rain, had to leave the line to watch the awards, and now they were back. There was a huge line and Pepper and Peggy were supposed to meet them in the line after finding Tony and Peter and trading Rhodey for Thor. They were looking at a picture of Goose on Carol’s phone when they heard Thor’s loud voice from the back of the line (they were about halfway there, and the line was long as hell) yelling “Carol! Maria! I am here with Pepper and Peggy!”

The girls and Thor started to walk past the people waiting and were almost there when some lady stopped him. 

‘Excuse me, where do you think you’re going, young man?” Karen (Carol decided to call her Karen because she looked like a Karen) asked him. 

“Well, those are our friends right up there and we were going to ride the roller coaster with them.” Karen looked up at Carol and Maria, still holding hands, who waved at her and smiled. Karen faced Thor again. 

“No.”

“But we have to be in a group together! It’s the rules for our school trip. Let us up!” Peggy looked angry. 

“Young lady, go to the back of the line!”

Peggy was going to yell some more, and Pepper was seriously annoyed. But then there was a chime from their phones.

Maria: just leave it

Maria: legit it’s okay we can go on this one and y’all can pick another ride

Maria: and meet at another, cooler ride 

Carol: my girlfriend is so smart❤❤❤❤❤❤

Pep: fine

Thor: sounds good!

Peggy: i will fight this lady tho

Carol and Maria advanced in the line, and they saw that the coaster even went upside down. They looked at each other and grinned. 

“Good practice for when you’re in a fight and your plane goes upside down,” Maria said with a smirk.

“Yes, Maria. Because going on one roller coaster will prepare us for the Air Force. Mhmm. Yep. Okay. Put that on your application, Rambeau. 

Carol and Maria continued the back-and-forth that Bruce and Thor loved to watch on their frequent double dates until it was their turn on the roller coaster-

“Sorry, girls. The ride’s full. You get to be first on the next turn!”

Carol was hopping up and down in excitement, and Maria was excited too (just a little less… bubbly) and that’s when the ride lurched forward and took off. They saw how fast it was and it was going to be so cool and then they heard the mechinery of the ride sort of stop. They waited for amminute but they couldn’t see the roller coaster come speeding back around. And then the announcement:

“Laaaaaaaaaaidies and gentlemen, the roller coaster is experiencing technical difficulties and we’re going to have to shut it down for the rest of the night. Our apologies again, and have a lovely evening!”

Maria snapped a picture of the priceless look on her girlfriend’s face. 

--

Peggy, Pepper and Rhodey were having a great time on their own. Peggy was happy to see how much fun all of her friends were having, but the one thing that would have made her day almost-perfect was having a boyfriend there with her. Not because she particularly cared about romance right now, not because she was pining over Steve (she wasn’t) but because she was in a group of either five or three all day. Carol and Maria were roller coaster buddies for life, and Pepper rode with Rhodey because she was the one who had invited him along with their group to spend the day away from his best friend anyways, it would be rude to make him ride with Peggy or with a stranger. So Peggy was stuck with the “dad in the family of three” or the “third wheel” or the “flirty boy who had no sense of boundaries” and she was sick of it. On this ride, which might be one of their last, she turned around to see her prospects and decided that she might as well be proactive and pick someone who looked nice and her age and who would be willing to shriek with terror and exhilaration in the front seat. 

There was a group of about seven boys directly behind them and so she took a deep breath and pivoted around, smiling. 

“Hey, I’m Peggy. I’m in a group of three-” she indicated Pep and Rhodey, “-and so I was wondering if any of you guys would want to ride the roller coaster with me? Preferably someone who doesn’t mind the front seat and my incessant yelling.”

The boys looked at each other and Peggy worried she was about to be made fun of, or worse, put in yet another bad situation, but instead a boy with a smile and a crutch walked forward. 

“Daniel Sousa, roller-coaster-rider extraordinaire, at your service, Peggy.” He smiled and she smiled back and the boys behind her started to giggle and Pepper did too. Peggy didn’t care, though. 

Apparently Daniel wanted to go into the military, maybe the government, same as Peggy. He was here with a different school and had lost his leg after a bad car crash when he was a kid. He did martial arts and liked roller coasters and Peggy had a good feeling about her roller-coaster buddy. 

The coaster itself was great. Pepper hated it but Rhodey, Peggy and Daniel loved it. And afterwards, when they were leaving to meet Carol and Maria at another ride, Peggy said “Well, it’s been lovely riding roller coasters with you.”

“Come on, Daniel! Give her your number and let’s get outta here,” one of Daniel’s friends called. Peggy and Daniel turned red. 

“Shut up, Ray.”

“Wait!” Peggy grabbed a random piece of paper in her pocket, it turned out to be a note Steve had tossed her on the bus reading “does peter quill ever shut the heck up” but she scribbled her number on it and handed it to Daniel. 

‘If you ever want to talk more about politics and martial arts, let me know.” Daniel nodded and Peggy smiled before walking away with her friends. As soon as they were out of earshot from the boys, Pepper whooped and Rhodey high-fived her. 

--

“Tooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyy,” Peter groaned in the arcade. “Lend me a dollar. Please. You’re part of the reason I lost five bucks on the bus! You’re a billionaire. Please.”

“What do you want to play, anyways?”

“I want to do the claw machine? They have a stuffed Bulbasaur I’m almost positive I could win.”

“Fine. Have a dollar. One dollar only.” Tony handed it to Peter, who grinned and ran to the machine. Clint was trying to get a stuffed Rowlet, and as soon as he lost Peter pushed him aside. 

“My turn, poncho boy.”

Peter did win the Bulbasaur, and he gloated to Tony the whole way to the next ride.

“Okay. So some of us want to go on the huge, scary rides. And some of us want to go on the smaller ones. So Rhodey and Maria are meeting us here, and I’m going with Thor, Bucky and Tony and meeting Pep, Peggy and Carol at that ride that goes up the huge pole thing and drops down? And you guys can go on another ride. Deal?” Natasha finished speaking and nodded at Rhodey and Maria. 

“Pep and Peg are at the Big Scary ride, Carol’s meeting them there after she eats her ice cream. Have fun!” Maria waved them off and the new group set off for some smaller rides. 

They found one that didn’t have a very long line. It was basically a tilted platform, with a big circle on top with the seats. The circle spun around, slightly elevated, and Bruce took a long look at the machinery underneath. It was greasy and not very well maintained, but still cool. 

Peter was hugging his Bulbasaur (“Her name is Delilah!”) and while they stood in line and watched some smaller kids go around and around, Maria picked Delilah up.

“Aww, how cute.” Clint grabbed Delilah away and put her in between the metal railing separating them from the ride. And Peter made to grab Delilah but only knocked her onto the ride. He looked in horror as she spun around, fell off, rolled to the edge of the underneath platform, and settled mere centimeters from falling into the greasy, deep pit of machinery and despair. 

“Clint! Look what you did!” Peter said as they watched, transfixed by the steady brushing of the top platform brushing her bulb. The ride stopped, finally after what seemed like an eternity. Peter rushed forward and rescued Delilah, sticking his tongue out at Clint. The ride was starting, and Rhodey yelled “Steve! Your hat!” but it was too late and Steve’s army patterned baseball hat was blown off onto the platform, then off the platform, then it slid down to the gate. After the ride he grabbed it, ignoring the snickers from his friends, and they set off to find their friends. They were not in line for the Big Scary ride, on the ride, or anywhere near the ride. 

“I’ll call Natasha.” Clint grabbed his phone and the conversation on the end Peter heard went like this:

“Hey Natasha, where are you? I can’t hear you. Yes I’m wearing my hearing aids, zhopa. I’m hanging up now.” Clint hung up and then said “No idea, couldn’t hear.”

Peter, Bruce and Rhodey went to their group chat with Tony:

Petey boi: tony where u at

Platypus: yeah tiny where r u

Bruce Banner: Tony, where are you guys?

Tiny stank: can’t talk rn guys

“Nothing.”

“Let’s get some food, then, we haven’t had dinner,” Maria suggested.

“Yeah! Let’s get this bread!” Peter punched the air and Btruce closed his eyes in silent pain. He missed his lab, with its complete silence and absence of memes. 

They found the food and sat down on some benches in a sort of courtyard area, laughing at Peter as he stood on the tiptoes of his converse to order some tacos. Then Clint saw poor Delilah (who had already been through quite an ordeal) and grabbed her and sat on her. 

Peter returned, saying “Dinner orders are in! For Maria, Clint and Steve: hotdogs! For Steve: a slice of pizza! For me and Bruce: Tacos! Where the frick-frack is Delilah?”

Clint snickered and everyone else maintained a poker face. 

“You have to find her and then we can leave.”

“Give her to me, Clint!”

“Why do we always assume it’s me that does these things?”

“Because you’re the only one who does these things.” Everyone nodded. 

Peter, resigned to his fate, walked in circles around the courtyard while Clint shouted “HOT” and “COLD” and Maria stifled laughs. FInally Peter gave up. 

“Where is she?”

Clint stood up, Peter started to pounch Clint’s arm, and then their friends walked up. 

“Topolino, what’d poncho boy do to you?”

“He took Delilah, Tony.”

“I swear to god, Tony- if you just referred to Peter using an Italian word that parents call their small children- I’m gonna-” 

“Shut it, Steve. Like Bucky doesn’t call you dorogoi more than he calls you Steve.”

They kept bickering through two more small coasters, and another spinny ride, and then when it got dark they walked back to the bus. It was eight pm and they were going home. 

Pepper was standing with Peggy and Carol, Rhodey and Maria jogged over and some of Peter’s group followed. Tony went over, too, and so Peter followed and left Clint, Nat and Steve on a bench looking at a vine compilation. 

‘Hey… guys,” Tony said and Peter watched him not look at Pepper, but like in a subtle and chill way so it was less of a I’m-not-looking-at-you-because-Bucky-made-me-look-like-an-absolute-buffoon

And more of a I’m-just-really-interested-in-this-story-Rhodey’s-telling-about-that-one-guy-behind-you-on-the-ride

And Peter thought he was doing very well. Then they all drifted away to their own groups and Tony returned to casting wistful glances at Pepper, who was chatting with Peggy and some boy with a crutch and a wide grin. 

“Y’know, in the cheesy romance movies, the boy wins a stuffed animal and gives it to the girl. Give your sloth to Pepper!” Bucky aid it like it was an amazing plan. 

“No,” Natasha and Peter said in unison. 

“If you had won the smaller sloth, and if Bucky had kept his mouth shut, and if you had given the hypothetical smaller sloth to her earlier, and if you were better friends with her, maybe. But if someone you were good acquaintances with gave you a sloth that was, like Peter’s size, and this was after that same person’s friends had acted like idiots- me and Peter not included- that would be red flags that that person had a huge crush on you. Don’t do it.”

Then they were called to get on the bus, and so they did. 

--

AN HOUR LATER

Natasha was smiling at her phone. She was watching her favorite anime, First Squad. Her head was leaning on the chilly bus window, her feet were dangling off of the seat, one earbud was out, and she could hear the bus sounds around her. 

Pepper and Peggy giggling and looking at Peggy’s phone. 

Bruce and Thor watching Masterchef on Thor’s iPad. 

Peter humming a Panic! At The Disco song right behind her.

Tony’s classic rock very faintly, he was blasting it in his headphones. 

Carol and Maria quietly singing “Good Old-Fashioned Loverboy”.

Rhodey whispering to Tony, something like “it’s okay, she didn’t care.”

And of course, Clint Barton being a bitchass bus-mate. 

Clint was her best friend, a decision she regretted almost every day. Right now she just wanted to watch some anime, relax, and maybe doze off a bit. But Clinton Francis “Poncho Boy” would not let that happen. 

Natasha had brought snacks, and in the aisle of the grocery store at ten pm the night before, a big box of Welch’s Fruit Snacks seemed like a good idea. 

“Nat, I want a fruit snack.”

“Natty, I can’t open the fruit snack!”

“Tasha, can I have another one? This one is mostly raspberries and those suck.”

“Natka, I started season three of Stranger Things and I swear to god, If Joyce Byers doesn’t get a break this time I will destroy the Monster Of The Year myself.”

“Holy shit, Tashie, you will love this season of Stranger Things.”

Finally Natasha opened her texts and just texted him with both earbuds in.

Poncho boy: it’s too loud on this fckin bus

Nat: take out your hearing aids and shut up

Nat: <shutthefuckupandgotosleep.mov>

Poncho boy: rude

Poncho boy: u know what

Nat: what

Poncho boy: imma watch buzzfeed unsolved

Poncho boy: also fuck you

Natasha was fine with that as long as Clint shut up, so she lay down and tried to fall asleep for a bit but Clint was also laying down (he took off his shoes because he was a horrible human being) and their legs were too long to fit on the seats, so after a brief (read: five minute) foot war they settled by having Clint put his legs on Nat’s seat and Natasha balanced her toes on the edge of Clint’s, she was shorter by about six inches. Clint soon fell asleep and Nat rested her head on her arm and finished her show. 

--

Peter was less bouncy on the ride home. He got a seat to himself and so he curled up with The Office, spinning a fidget spinner and chuckling quietly, and then settled into his playlist until they pulled into the parking lot. That’s when the BIG THING,  the thing that made this field trip go from “just another band trip” to a trip that was legendary in their friend group.

TOny had been eating the whole trip: chips in the morning, and then ice cream and tacos and cotton candy at the park, and on the bus home he finished off Natasha’s fruit snack stash with Clint and ate a Hershey's bar he found in his bag. Then he watched Netflix the way home on the bumpy bus ride. And the bus stopped, Peter Kept his earbuds in and then… something changed in the bus. Peter pulled out his earbuds:

So don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

And nobody told us

'Cause nobody showed us-

“What the fuck just happened?”

“LANGUAGE, Mr. Lang.”

“Tony? You OK?”

Tony Stark, the heir to the biggest tech company in the world, a genius, the coolest dude in school, had just thrown up in the dimly lit bus aisle with his crush- the beautiful, incredibly smart and poised Pepper Potts, sitting two seats in front of him. Natasha started to yell. 

“You guys. Let’s just get off of the bus, everyone.” Clint supplemented with “Shut up, Burch. It could have happened to anybody.”

Everybody got off of the bus except peter, Tony, Delilah, and the giant sloth that Tony named George. Tony looked at Peter. He really didn’t look that bad. 

‘I should have given her the sloth, Pete.”

Peter laughed despite everything and helped Tony off of the bus, where JARVIS was waiting.

[morganvetter-blog]

Zero SR vs Energica SS9: EV Race

Brandon and I recently drove down from Monterey to LA on business. He rode an Energica Esse Esse 9 while I rode my Zero SR. One of the main features of the Energica is the full support of level 3 CCS stations which can deliver a full charge to the bike in as little as 20 minutes. One of the goals of the trip was to visit as many CCS stations down Hwy 101 as we could and determine if it was possible to make the trip entirely utilizing CCS.

Meanwhile my Zero SR was equipped with 4 digiNow SuperChargers capable of delivering 13kW from the plentiful selection of level 2 stations available at every town and sometimes in between. This gave my Zero with a Power Tank a consistent 1 hour charge time if totally empty but required use of either dual J1772 stations or a single Tesla Destination station.

On Thursday we drove down and mostly explored what was available for CCS while meeting with friendly fellow riders and documenting stations. Late Thursday night we stayed with a friend in Hollywood and discussed the plans for the rest of the trip and reviewed footage taken earlier that day.

The next day Brandon and I parted ways to take care of business but hatched the idea of a race back to Monterey on Saturday. I would be starting in Irvine and Brandon in Long Beach. Neither of us thought the other stood a chance, and we both proclaimed our own easy victories. Obviously I would win, I had consistent 11-13kW and a nearly infinite amount of stations. Brandon had powerful 23kW stations as long as he was in the greater LA area. Beyond that they grew fewer and fewer, sometimes only one per town, and in some cases the single one was offline. I fully expected him to be far ahead in the morning with me easily overtaking him when he was forced to subsyst on level 2 charging at 3.3kW. He, on the other hand, figured he would gain an insurmountable advantage early on and the times he would have to utilize level 2 would be inconsequential. We were both wrong.

The night before the race I mapped out my route via PlugShare. It should be noted that I had rode this route once before with Brandon about 15 months prior. He was my guide because he had ridden these roads constantly and knew every station along the way. I remembered a couple of his preferred stops, but not all of them. On his end, he was going on the information he'd learned on the trip down. He knew the roads but not the level 3 stations. I would also like to note that I was carrying all of the gear. This includes about 40lbs of 6awg wires and portable charging stations in the case on my bike because primadonna Brandon refused to sully the beautiful Energica with things like luggage or straps.

Saturday morning I awoke shortly after 6am. My gracious host was already awake and playing Hearthstone on his PC but offered to cook breakfast for me, which I readily accepted, not knowing which charging stations were near any sort of amenities. I was also accutely aware of Brandon's inability to function before 8am and figured I would ensure my victory by starting early. By 7:15 I had said goodbye and was on the road. Please note the awesome matching Teslas of my host. Zero hidden in middle of shot.

My first stop was a complete failure. I had planned out a reasonable office complex in Santa Monica that had a non-shared ChargePoint. I made great time, but one of the stations was taken by an EV car. As I plugged into the single station I quickly scanned Plugshare for alternatives. The Wells Fargo building nearby promised 8 J1772 stations, but I quickly discovered it was locked for the weekend, and also apparently under construction. I then wandered, seemingly aimlessly, for some time as my GPS on my aging iPhone 6 is spotty and unreliable. I eventually found myself in a paid parking lot at some sort of recording studio fussing with Tesla Destination chargers. They worked but shut off after ~4 minutes. I tweaked the settings on my chargers to skip the ramp procedure so I could just reset every 4 minutes and grab full power, but this grew tedious. A security guard wandered out after 20 minutes to investigate what I was doing, but wished me luck after I explained what I was doing. I found another potential spot for consistent charging and left having only gained about 25% battery and paying an astronomical $12 parking fee.

Brandon was awake by this point. Not only awake, but also apparently playing in Malibu Canyon a mere mile or two from me.

My next stop was perfect. It was a 4 story parking garage between Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys that promised 4 ChargePoint stations on the roof. As it was Saturday I figured it would be empty. I was right. Not only was it empty but it also had a shaded alcove with 3 benches where, presumably, employees took smoking breaks. I popped the drone out and took a little footage. I was able to get full power off 2 stations and completely top off having wasted over an hour getting lost in Santa Monica.

At this point I made sure to share my location on my phone with Brandon. He had already done so for me so I felt it was fair that he should see what I was doing. Due to the inconsistency of my GPS this did make him paranoid as apparently my map location had a tendency to warp. My next stop was one I remembered from the previous trip, the Amtrak station in Carpenteria. This one was extremely important because I remembered 4 Chargepoint plugs, bathrooms, a mini mart, and a beachfront burger joint. I arrived at around 15% charge and discovered, much to my dismay, an EV car plugged into one of the stations. These were shared stations meaning each station has the capacity to deliver 6.6kW total between 2 plugs. In order to get full power I would need to be the only one at the 2 stations. This proved impossible so I plugged in 3 of my chargers into the 2 plugs and set myself to 3/4 charging capacity.

I checked my map to discover I was actually ahead of Brandon but he was closing in fast. I thought he might watch his map and come say hi but instead just blew by on highway 1 at high speeds. 

Sadly my 3/4 charging speeds meant I would need over an hour, so I had a burger at the tiny beachfront joint. It was noon by this point. After I was done there it came time for one of the most enjoyable legs of the trip: Highway 154 to Chumash Casino. This is an absolutely gorgeous twisty road that climbs up and down the mountains and a must for anyone traveling the 101 on a bike. As it ends it spits you out at Chumash Casino which is jam packed with free level 2 charging stations. I plugged in, went inside the casino, and had some sort of asian steamed veggie bowl at the food court so I could feel good about patronizing the establishment. I don't have a photo of this because I was trying to do a facebook livestream but apparently the signal in the garage is insufficient. Refreshed and full of bok choy, I resumed my trek north.

My next stop was the Lowe's parking lot in Santa Maria. I had scouted this out on PlugShare and knew it was a goldmine. 10+ free J stations? Heck yeah. I used to live near another Lowe's that had a similar setup so I was certain this was a good choice. It was. I parked, plugged in, and checked my map. Brandon was a mere 0.3 miles away at the CCS station at a BMW dealership. It was at this point my brother texted us and said he had made a ton of cheeseburgers on the grill and we should hurry home to eat them. I found out later Brandon had not eaten all day and was basically drooling in his helmet the next few hours thinking about burgers. I sat down behind a shaded wall in the parking lot and uploaded the following picture to FaceBook:

This generated a buzz because Brandon was posting about his progress and people realized we were damn close. This, to me, indicated some theatrics were in order. I noted that my batteries were quite warm at 120F, and Zero's safety measures shut them off around 136F. However, the cautious way I was riding meant my batteries cooled down as I rode and warmed up as I SuperCharged. I knew this, and I knew how to keep them from overheating. But I posted like I was concerned about this to generate a little drama. Obviously I was going to win at this point. Brandon was a couple hundred yards away and running out of CCS stations. What chance did he have? In fact, his very last CCS station was next and it only gave 17kW. I topped off, packed up, and headed to Paso Robles.

Because I was so confident in my imminent victory I decided to delay posting of my photos until I was done and packing up rather than having just arrived. I had planned to use a high-power Tesla Destination charger in Paso Robles, but some inconsiderate Tesla owner, no doubt a paying guest of the hotel, was using it instead. Disgusted, I backtracked to the South edge of town and the promise of 4 open ChargePoint stations. There I encountered 2 homeless men keeping out of the sun thanks to a large tree on the south edge of the parking lot. I asked if I could share their shade and struck up a conversation. It was a father, Jim, and his adult son who had fallen on hard times, had been living in a shelter in San Luis Obispo, but took the train up to Paso to visit mom for Mother's Day. We chatted and he charged his phone off my bike. As we talked I checked my map and realized Brandon was literally about to pass by within 50 feet.

"Wait for it," I said to my new friend Jim. About 10 seconds later the banshee wail of the Energica could be detected. Brandon breezed through town, looked right, and gave a friendly wave and beep while heading to his CCS station. Jim was over the moon with newfound excitement. I hope he gets back on his feet.

Despite pulling ~12kW from the 2 ChargePoints, Brandon was fully topped off and heading North before I was even done. This is where it truly got interesting. North of Paso the headwinds kick in STRONG and there was literally no more CCS for Brandon. I planned to stop at a place called The Mill at 43 Olive Ranch which has several Tesla Destination chargers and a Clipper Creek J1772. The final stop would be King City which had a single Chargepoint station. Brandon would have to stop at The Mill to top off before King City, and it was basically all over for him at that point.

I pulled into The Mill to find it totally empty. No Brandon. Turned out he found a nice, fat truck to draft behind and, AGAINST ALL ODDS, made it from Paso to King City in 30mph headwinds on a naked sportbike. Hell, it killed half my battery to get to The Mill a mere 30 miles away. Tiny voices of doubt started to make themselves known. But surely he could only charge at a paltry 3.3kW in King City, right? I was drawing 12kW and could draw 6.6kW once I hit King City which was double his rate.

I cautiously drove to King City. As Brandon pointed out in one of his posts during all of this, the Zero batteries were never meant for this sort of duty. They are meant to be bulletproof. The cells are encased in a flame-retardant epoxy. This keeps them super safe but makes cooling them a bit of a challenge. Running air, water, or ice along the outside does not appreciably lower the temperature of the cells deep in the middle of the pack. They have to naturally dissappate heat. I'm aware of this so I almost never went above 70mph to allow my pack to deal with the constant stress of lugging me and all of Brandon's 6awg charging cables. My batteries never went above 124F which is, as I posted on FaceBook, where stuff gets REALLY fun. The hotter the battery the less resistance there is and in Brandon's bastardized phrasing, more opportunities for 'dank whoolies'.

I arrived in King City. This was our first stop a mere couple days before. We were both around 30% if memory served but I was charging at twice his speed at this point. This was where the biggest decision was made. Brandon assumed he had it in the bag at this point, because the road ahead was Carmel Valley G16, an incredibly twisty difficult path. I have driven this road. I've driven it in both daytime and nighttime. It is completely acceptable in daytime. Welcome, in fact.  In nighttime is is full of families of wild boar crossing the road in packs and moths that suicide into your visor and render it inoperable. No thanks. I opted to stay on Highway 101 to Salinas and deviate to Highway 68 from there. Brandon's smirk shriveled when I told him this. "But.. the twisties are where I have an advantage!" he bemoaned

"I know," I said, "I'm not a complete idiot."

To pass the time we headed to the local diner and consumed our pre-battle milkshakes while Rampage played on the TV

As my Zero SR finished charging, Brandon was only at 74%. He insisted I couldn't leave before him, and some other words I couldn't hear from my helmet as I left before him. I drove to Salinas VERY, very carefully. The headwinds were very strong and constant. I probably never went above 60mph. Up ahead were milestones I knew from months of commuting and were also the most harrowing parts of the journey. I *knew* that at the turnoff I was headed towards I would need 15% battery under normal riding conditions. I reached the turnoff at 14%. I *knew* that it would take me 7% battery to climb Los Laureles Grade to get to the EV station on the other side. I reached the grade at a low 7% and drove it at 30mph, waving any car past me. At the peak of the grade I was casually climbing at 25mph and wondered what would happen if I twisted the throttle all the way. Nothing happened, actually. I crested the peak at 2% and was horrified to remember that regenerative braking doesn't work when you're that low. I coasted all the way down to the EV stations at 2% and found all parking spots were full. Just about to give up I realized only 2 out of 3 cars were actually charging, and the 6.6kW Clipper Creek was open. Carefully I wedged my Zero between the cars without touching them and, with about an inch to spare, plugged into the station for some sweet sweet sip.

I checked my map and Brandon was lost in the deep, dark, receptionless land of Carmel Valley. I *knew* I needed at least 10% from that particular EV station to the finish line, so I opted to charge to 11% and pack up. I checked my phone again and Brandon popped into view less than a mile away. Aw, crap. I hastily packed up my EV cord and avoided hitting the charging Teslas as the unmistakable motor in the Energica passed me. Single lane road. No way to catch and pass him. Double crap. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we finished within mere minutes of each other. He arrived at 2% battery; I arrived at 1%.

Final thoughts:

I was really pushing the Zero to its limits. Brandon was regularly dumping ridiculous amounts of power both to and from the battery. As long as Zero motorcycles have the 1C limitation on charging they won't be aimed towards any sort of touring. Or, to put it another way, if you plan a day trip that has more than 2 full charge stops, the Zero is probably not the right choice. But this was NEVER what the bike was intended for. I'm literally trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. The Energica battery, on the other hand, is more suited to dissipating heat as Brandon was not only charging at 2C or more, but as he admitted later he was often driving well above the posted speed limit*.

*allegedly

If you are in an area with plentiful level 3 CCS charging, an Energica is an incredibly viable choice for not only a daily commuter, but also for a killer weekend twisty beast. Personally I think we should embrace both. What do you guys think?

Also for real neither side is paying me for this write-up. Both Brandon and I agreed we'd like to do more of these races in the future. If you'd like to get in on this with your electric motorcycle please drop us a line. The more the merrier.

[traveltechgadgets]

Best Deals On Gadgets & Travel are on Prime Day

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What is Prime Day? Prime Day is an annual deals event just for Prime members. You’ll find hundreds of thousands of awesome deals, with new deals starting as often as every five minutes, and special offers across everything included with Prime — from music and video to reading and voice shopping. This year you also can shop by what you're into, whether you're a pet lover or gardener, techie or artist. When is it? July 15 & 16, 2019, is the third annual Prime Day. This post may contain affiliate links; please read my disclosure here New for this year Prime Day begins earlier and earlier every year. Last year it lasted 36 hours, this year it is a full 48 hours. That means you can start to shop deals on July 15 and through July 16. You’ll find Prime Day offers on amazon.com and amazon.com/primeday. You also can start watching deals on July 14, 24 hours before they are live and put them on your list. In addition, there will be deals and discounts on Amazon Music, Prime Pantry, Amazon Video, Kindle Unlimited, and more. Also, in 2018, 17 countries including Australia, Japan, Singapore, China, India, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico participated in Prime Day. This year, there is a good chance for even more countries to be included Also new for this year are Prime Day Launches. Amazon will be launching new products starting July 1st and offering products just for Prime members, for a limited time. For example, Belkin Rockstar iPhone Headphones, are not currently available and will be launched on July 1st. Prime members get the first look at this brand new gadget. How can I join in on Prime Day? To participate, in the biggest shopping day, you need to be a member of Amazon Prime. With this membership, you are not only eligible for Prime Day, but you will also get access to Amazon Prime movies, books, music, photos, and more. You can sign up here for a 30-Day free trial and cancel at any time.

Related articles: Amazon Prime - Why I Use It For All My Travel and Gadget Needs How to Take Book Library Along on Your Travels Without Breaking Your Back On its biggest shopping day of the year, Amazon also usually sells its own products at nice discounts. Look out for deals on Kindles, Echo, Echo dots, and Fire table and TV, other Amazon gadgets. It recently released Echo Dot Kids Edition, which is specifically designed for kids with kid-friendly features pre-loaded.

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What We Look For And Have Purchased During Prime Day: There are a lot of big-ticket items that go on sales during the day. These are usually on many people's lists and they get bought up very quickly. We tend to look for smaller items. This has been a good strategy and we have gotten some great deals. Though it looks like folks are catching on as Prime Day is becoming more and more popular and looking for these types of deals as well. Batteries A lot of products, especially kid toys need AA and AAA batteries. Amazon has had some great deals on these by a major brand and, as of late, on their own brand. Memory cards SD cards are usually under the radar but also necessary in many travel gadgets from digital cameras, video cameras, to phones. Portable chargers Just like batteries, you will not get far without a phone charger to charge up your travel gadgets, your phone, and tablet. We got the Anker PowerCore 10000. It is one of the smallest and lightest chargers with a 10,000mAh battery. It weighs about 6 oz. PowerCore has a capacity for 3 full phone charges. In the previous year, we have also got the Anker Astro Candy-Bar, which is about the same size as a candy bar and comes with 6,700mAh. It is great for travel as it fits easily not only in bags but also in pockets and pocketbooks.

LifeStraw personal water filter

You can also do a lot of the deal searching and buying on the go using the Amazon mobile apps. Visit amazon.com/app from your mobile browser to download the app. Make your list now of all the items you need and want so you are ready for when the deals start streaming. Prime Day Shopping List (Printable) And don't forget in the meantime, or while shopping, you can enjoy some great tunes with Amazon Music What gadgets and travel deals were the most popular last year: Audible Memberships Kindle Paperwhite – Now Waterproof with 2x the Storage

Kindle Unlimited membership Fire TV Stick Fitbit Alta HR

Bose QuietComfort 25 noise-canceling headphones

Sony wireless noise-canceling headphones LifeStraw personal water filter

Instant Pot Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker took the top prize for being the most sought after product on Amazon in the US.

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[oopsitsmyfandoms]

The Squip Squad goes to Disney World

This is a random list of head canons i compiled. i could literally go on for sooooo long about them and disney cause i practically live there but i thought that might be excessive 

so lets start off with them flying to disney from new jersey and how much of a train wreck that would be

the only one of them who has ever flown before is chloe. she went to visit one of her relatives in CA before in like 6th grade so obviously she's an expert on flying because of that one experience

christine is the mom of the group, texting all of them beforehand giving them lists of what to pack 

 she goes through everyone's suitcase before they leave for the airport 

 this is why they're behind now as they scramble through the airport trying to find the security check

"Chloe i thought you knew where the hell we were going" 

"I do!"

she doesn't. she has no clue

they end up getting stuck at the metal detectors because OF COURSE brooke brought her opened starbucks and they wouldn't let her through the checkpoint with it and she REFUSED to go without it 

 so she's standing there and they all wait on her before going through the like (rookie mistake) 

once she's done with her venti-whatever-frappachino, they go through the line 

and just their luck the metal detector is like freaking out when rich goes through the line halfway through their entire group 

 and he starts freaking out cause what if its the squip and what if they're not going to let him on the plane and this is going to ruin his magical fun time with his friends that he rightfully deserves

but its not the squip. he didn't take his belt off and they're all gucci. 

 his tiny mistake cost them an extra 30 minutes wasted though 

 so yet again they're scrambling through the airport trying to find terminal 13B 

 they finally find it and just their luck the flight was delayed 40 minutes 

"it's all good guys!" the ever so optimistic christine says, "now we can hit up the food court!"

cue the entire squad cheering for food

jake flips his shit when there's a sabarro in the food court. he drags rich with him but all rich wants is a cinnabon 

 "jake its 9am why the fuck do you want sabarro instead of breakfast? c'mon man" 

 the girls wander around looking for a healthy snack place 

they end up finding a really cute one with a little coffee shop and they stock up on snacks and drinks for the plane ride 

 brooke finds the pinkberry and literally cries because holy shit she's going to disney and the airport has a pinkberry this is the best day ever 

michael and jeremy get burgers and find themselves wandering around the gift shops and little boutiques

jeremy realizes he left his earbuds at home and then they go on an adventure to find him a pair that aren’t ridiculously expensive (which is nearly impossible but chloe finds them in a store and finesses her way into getting him a deal)

they all end up getting back to the terminal just before their flight lands 

brooke has a mental breakdown cause they're supposed to board the plane in 5 minutes and her venti-whatever-frapp just hit her and she REALLY HAS TO PEE but airplane bathrooms terrify her 

 so her and jenna SCOOT to the bathroom cause no girl ever goes alone and the rest of the squad gets everyone's carryons ready 

 as soon as brooke and jenna get back they get to board 

jenna is decked out with her travel pillow, eye mask, and earbuds 

 she puts on a netflix series and legit shuts herself off from the rest of them the entire flight because they're loud and rambunctious as hell 

christine gets a window seat while jeremy sits between her and michael. they're the most sane of the group. 

 jenna also has a window seat a row up from them with chloe between her and brooke.

chloe had the isle seat but brooke gave her the puppy dog eyes cause she wanted to be able to talk to rich and jake across the isle 

THANK GOD the seat between rich and jake was empty because those two literally sprawled out across it the entire time (brooke would occasionally hop over there to chit-chat when chloe would doze off)

CUE A LIZZIE MAGUIRE PLANE MOMENT BETWEN ALL THE PRECIOUS COUPLES AT ONE POINT IN TIME

the almost 3 hour plane ride actually isn't so bad. jeremy's anxious self almost had a panic attack at take off, but michael and christine were able to calm him down. 

when they land the entire squad is very cranky from being cooped up side by side for such an amount of time, but as soon as they get off the plane and into the airport their attitudes get better 

they're at the airport ready to get on the magical express transportation when michael sees the disney store and forces everyone to go inside 

they easily blow some money between the NASA, disney, & universal stores in the airport and then they go get in line to get on the magical express

it takes them to their hotel (they stay in art of animation resort and i know thats hella expensive but let my kids live this is a hc so anything can happen) 

 they end up staying in the cars themed suites because rich and jake DEMANDED it 

 they won't stop making 'KACHOW' noises the entire fucking trip

so they all unpack their stuff and get ready to go eat dinner in the parks. they decided to go to magic kingdom the first night because it has the most food options 

 they end up going to cosmic ray's starlight cafe and the entire time the whole group is rich's impulse control so he will refrain from jumping up on the stage with the animatronic alien and dancing cause it is his first day and they do not want him getting kicked out of the park

so they finish eating and go get in line for rides with smaller lines since they're all tired and want to make the most of their time since its like 8pm by the time they're done eating 

they ride pirates of the carribean and thank god they were the only ones on their boat because it erupted in a splashing war and they almost got kicked out but somehow they miraculously didn't 

cue christine becoming a total mom saying 'if you don't keep your hands in the ride at all times we are going home immediately"

they then go over to the haunted mansion 

 michael and jeremy are fascinated the entire time about all of the eye tricks the ride plays on people 

 when they're walking through the interactive graveyard brooke and christine act like little kids, touching all of the interactive stuff they can and squealing when water or air puffs out and sprays them

when they get into the ride chloe is the one that screams just to scream and fuck with people 

she thinks its funny but when jake gives her a death glare to knock it off cause he's seriously scared she stops 

jenna is the person who tries to take pictures with the flash on and the entire group of people around them (including the rest of the squad) tells her to knock it off

they end the night with some shopping in the main street USA giftshops 

brooke and chloe find matching minnie ears and vow to wear them the rest of the trip 

this vow ends 15 minutes after they put the ears on cause damn those really hurt your head 

the entire squad established that each day they would all disneybound a certain movie and they surprisingly pull it off and it looks AWESOME

like its so good people come up and ask for pictures with them 

jenna is the self proclaimed artsy photographer of the group and gets roped into taking all of their pictures 

she doesn't mind though cause they're her friends and she enjoys taking the pictures just as much as they enjoy getting them taken 

christine has a backpack with extra money, sunscreen, water, portable phone chargers, and snacks just in case anyone needs anything

jeremy and michael do in fact blow all their money at the star wars launch bay

jake and rich blow all theirs on food. like all of the mickey mouse themed snacks? yeah they've each had at least 12 of every kind

brooke and chloe spend their money in epcot going around the pavilions buying trinkets and snacks

christine gets all the plush toys she can get her hands on. jeremy has to cut her off at some point

jenna spends her money at downtown disney at all the stores they don't have back at home

rich and jake definitely buy two of the big turkey legs and try to sword fight with them just cause they're dorks

[booksiseeloveandread]

Master Post for Fellow First-Time YALC-ers!

So I’ve been pestering the whole book blogging community for over a month, trying to find out some tips and tricks as well as getting all my YALC anxieties out of the way before I go to London, and I figured I would compose a master post of all the things I’ve learnt so far.

Disclaimer: this is the first time I’m going to YALC or any kind of book convention/author signing, so I don’t know how helpful all these things are going to be, I’m just combining all the info I’ve managed to uncover!

1. Bring a bag on wheels. So a trolley, or anything else that you can pull around instead of putting all the weight of books on your back. If you’re going to be there all day, it’s going to hurt. I’m bringing a small trolley (The kind you would take if you’re staying somewhere for one night) and my backpack, with a bunch of tote bags stuffed in (My sisters is making me a custom one! If you’re still looking for some awesome totes, here’s her store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GoodDayPrinting - Yes, I know, shameless promo)

2. Leave room in your bags. If you’re like me, and you’re going for the first time, chances are you have 30 books ready to go. (Yes. 30. In my defense I’m going all 3 days) But after having spoken to a few people, it’s smart to leave some space in your bags. Obviously for freebies you’re going to get, but there are also going to be authors who aren’t part of the official line-up, who will be at the stall of the publisher. For example, I already found out Kiran Millwood Hargrave is coming! (Pleasepleaseplease let there be ARCs of Way Past Winter) So you’ll probably end up being some books of authors you didn’t know were going to be there!

3. Bring cash, not card. You can’t pay by card at most stalls! So make sure you have enough cash on you for the day. I haven’t figured out how much I’m bringing yet, but I’m thinking of making sure I always have £50 on me.

4. Sunday is buy day. On Sunday there will be a lot of cheap books apparently, since the publishers want to get rid of as much as possible, so there’s less to pack up. That said, if something is limited, chances are they won’t be left on Sunday, so don’t wait forever. If there’s something you reeeeally want to have, I wouldn’t take the risk of waiting until Sunday. On Sunday I’m just going to have a walk around to see if there’s anything left I’d like to have!

5. The amount of books you bring per author doesn’t matter. That’s a fib, there were differing opinions on that. Some people told me it didn’t matter, except if it’s a popular author. Others told me a number of 3 books. My plan is to go in with all books, and if I notice the queue is getting really long, I’ll subtly start pulling books out of my stack. (I have 5 books ready to go for Joanna Harris!) 

6. Already signed books? Up to you. This is a hard one. I heard that if you have multiple books, they’ll only personalise the first one and just sign the others? In which case there’s no point in bringing signed books with you if you’re bringing multiple books for one author. I’m sticking with the rule that I can only bring a signed book if it’s the only book I have for the author.

7. You don’t have to read all the books you’re getting signed beforehand. That’s impossible. I tried to give myself the rule of ‘one book read per author at least’. Yeah, didn’t happen. Apparently authors are pretty cool about it, just talk to them about how excited you are to read it!

8. ARC giveaways are going to be different this year. Apparently in previous years there have been announcements on Twitter that ‘ARCs are available now’ and people would just start running and the whole hall would go insane. There have been a lot of complaints about that, as it’ll cause some people who aren’t as fast as others to always miss out. Now, I think they are publishing a schedule beforehand. In any case, I know some people on Twitter have been in contact with publishers to compile a list of the all the ARCs and when they will be handed out: https://twitter.com/littlehux/status/1019214749429633024. It should be published this weekend! -- But just in case turn twitter notifications on, because publishers are still bound to keep everyone up to date via twitter.

9. Bring food and water. Food is apparently really expensive inside, so just in case pack a lunch and some snacks if you’re going to be there all day. Also, it gets really hot inside! So wear light clothing and bring enough water with you.

10. Bring a poster tube. To not fold posters you might get, obviously.

11. Plan ahead. Go over all the schedules, and pick out all the things you want to go to: workshops/panels/signings. You’re bound to find things will clash and you’ll have to make a decision about what you want to go. Someone else also told me that you’ll probably only make it to 3 authors in one signing slot, on average. So if you find you have 5 authors you want to see in one slot, you might want to prioritise beforehand! Also print the schedules to bring with you, as well as the map. YALC just published the map of who’s coming and where they’ll be: http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/images/yalc/FLOORPLAN_YALC_HIGH-RES.pdf

12. It’s not a bad thing if you’re going alone. You’re going to be in long queues, so make friends! Talk to other people in the queue about the books you’re getting signed! There’s also a ‘Chill out area’ where you can calm down, take a seat, and maybe read a bit if it all becomes a bit much, or if you just get tired. Also I’m going alone too! So come say hi to me! I’m the overwhelmed one, probably.

13. Bring a portable charger for your phone. If you’re going to be there all day, taking pictures, being on social media, it’s going to drain your battery in just a few hours, so make sure you have a back up battery to charge it a bit towards the end of the day, so you can get home!

14. YALC is at Kensington Olympia. I realised a lot of people might not have been in London before, and might even be coming from abroad. I’ve been going to university in London for four years and my exams are always at Kensington Olympia (I know, weird right?). So if you’re unsure about getting around, send me a message and we’ll figure out together how to get you to YALC on time! :)

That’s all I got! I hope this is helpful. And an enormous thank you to all the people I spoke to on Instagram, Twitter, and here on Tumblr! (Thank you @thgbookprincess!)

If you have any more tips, drop them below, and I’d really appreciate it if you guys share this so people see this! And to everyone coming, seriously, say hi to me! I’ll be posting a picture of the tote bag I’ll be carrying around so you can recognise me and adopt me into your group!

[felicia-cat-hardy]

The 7 Best Kitchen Vacuums

Likely more so than your full-house vacuum, the best kitchen vacuums should be compact, lightweight, and easily accessible. Think of it as almost like a broom, but with way more power and convenience. As a result, the type of vacuum and its power source will probably be the most important qualities to consider as you shop.

Odds are you don’t have carpet in your kitchen, so the best options will be well-suited for hard floors. Vacuums for hard floors don’t usually need quite as much power as carpet or upholstery vacuums, so they can be slimmer and lighter weight — all great qualities for those with small pantries or other tight corners to clean. Consequently, this list is comprised of mostly stick and upright vacuums with kitchen-friendly features (sometimes also referred to as electric brooms), but there’s also a handheld, a stationary, and a canister vacuum to suit all needs.

Between coffee grinds, crumbs, and dirt, kitchen floors require frequent cleaning, so the more accessible your vacuum, the better. A lightweight cordless vacuum (which runs on a rechargeable battery) ensures that you can pluck it from its storage spot, do a quick once-over, and put it back in mere minutes. However, in order to recharge while storing, you’ll need outlets in your pantry or utility closet, which aren’t always available. A corded option, on the other hand, might be a little more restrictive during cleaning, but it likely offers more power — and it will never run out of juice halfway through the job.

No matter the size of your kitchen, these are the seven best vacuums on Amazon.

1. The Overall Best Vacuum For Hard Floors

It’s an investment, but reviewers swear that the Dyson Cyclone V10 is the “best money [they’ve] ever spent in [their] entire life.” Using over a dozen concentric cyclones, a soft roller head, and whole-machine filtration, this one picks up both large debris and fine dust particles in a single pass. It’s also shockingly lightweight (less than 6 pounds) and can run for up to an hour on its cordless rechargeable battery. While it has several modes for different floor types (including carpets), its power and portability make it well-suited for the kitchen and beyond.

Power source: rechargeable battery

Weight: 5.88 pounds

One reviewer wrote: “Vacuuming has never been easier! We have 3 dogs and the dog hair piles up. It is so easy to grab this thing off the wall and do our entire living room and kitchen in less than 3 minutes. Now our place is always spotless.”

2. The Best Budget Kitchen Vacuum

Even though it costs less than $60, the BISSELL Hard Floor Expert holds its own in terms of power, portability, maneuverability, and convenience. It also offers one brilliant feature that others don’t: a V-shaped head, which allows you to effortlessly clean around chair legs, baseboards, and pet food bowls. It also sweeps debris right into the center, where the bagless cyclonic technology picks it up — so you can get all that food, hair, dust, and dirt with fewer passes.

Power source: standard wall plug

Weight: 7.5 pounds

One reviewer wrote: “I was looking for one especially for the kitchen, where small messes can be annoying to clean like a few sugar granules, flour, a stray raisin, a pea my toddler flicked off his high chair. This little vacuum gets it all!”

3. The Best Vacuum & Mop Combo

For both dry and wet messes, there’s the BISSELL Crosswave All-In-One, which vacuums and mops with the same tool. It features a brush with both nylon bristles (to sweep up debris) and microfiber (to scrub and soak up spills), plus a two-tank system that keeps the dirt separate from the cleaning water. Last but not least, it has easy-to-use controls on the handle so you can switch between rugs and hard floors with ease.

Power source: standard wall plug

Weight: 11.5 pounds

One reviewer wrote: “I use the Crosswave for kitchen and hardwood floors. Crosswave does a fantastic job on cleaning litter messes and spills. So far one of the best products I’ve purchased; no longer need to sweep and mop separately.”

4. A Budget-Friendly 2-In-1 Stick & Handheld Vacuum

The TOPPIN corded stick vacuum has several features that make it an impressive bargain at less than $50: First, the tube hinges a few feet from the head, so you can reach under tables, chairs, and cabinets without ever having to bend down. Second, it has a 600-watt motor and four-stage filtration system despite its 5.22-pound weight. Finally, the top section pops off to give you a convenient handheld vac, which is super handy for countertop messes and tight spaces. Even though it’s corded, the 23-foot length should get you around your whole kitchen.

Power source: standard wall plug

Weight: 5.22 pounds

One reviewer wrote: “I already have a big and heavy-duty vacuum, but it's not convenient for daily use. Therefore, I bought this and keep [it] in the kitchen.... Even kids can use it to clean by themselves. Very easy to use.”

5. The Most Handheld Vacuum

Powerful enough to suck up cereal, crumbs, pet food, and coffee grounds, but small enough to fit in almost any kitchen drawer, the eufy by anker handheld is my go-to tool for minor kitchen messes. Its wine-bottle size and 1.2-pound weight alongside plenty of suction power earned it a Red Dot design award. It is Micro-USB rechargeable, so you could technically power it up with juice from your laptop, car charger, or external battery, if you wanted. It also comes with two attachment tools, and it has a washable filter and a debris compartment that empties in seconds.

Power source: rechargeable battery (Micro-USB)

Weight: 1.2 pounds

One reviewer wrote: “Awesome. Perfect for the kitchen, desk, car. We might need one on each floor of the house.”

6. The Best Canister Vacuum For The Kitchen

Like most canister vacuums, the EUREKA WhirlWind offers powerful suction and enough versatility for almost any surface — but unlike others, this one is extremely lightweight at 8 pounds and has a bag-free design and washable filters for effortless emptying. As a result, it’s well-suited for your hard floors, but also has attachments for your area rugs. Plus, when you’re done with the kitchen, it can effortlessly transition to clean your carpets and upholstery elsewhere. Finally, since it’s small with a self-retracting 16-foot cord, it’s relatively easy to stash away.

Power source: standard wall plug

Weight: 8 pounds

One reviewer wrote: “I just used it for the first time and CANNOT believe the suction in this little guy! I have hard wood floors, a few area rugs, linoleum in the kitchen and tile in the bathroom. This thing cleaned my house up in a quarter of the time it used to take me with the upright vacuum.”

7. The Best Stationary Vacuum

If your storage space is too limited for a stick or canister vacuum, consider a stationary option like the EyeVac, which lives permanently in any empty corner or open spot. Thanks to its automatic infrared sensors and 1000-watt motor, you can just sweep debris towards the mouth, and it’ll suck it right up into the bagless canister. It also has two high-efficiency filters that freshen the air, and its standard wall plug means you never need to worry about changing or recharging batteries.

Power source: standard wall plug

Weight: 11.2 pounds

One reviewer wrote: “I got this for my kitchen. I have 4 little boys and they can be messy. I clean my floors 5 times a day. This makes cleaning up crumbs easy. No dust pan and chasing crumbs or pulling out the vacuum.”

Get Relationship Advice Here

[happy1ew8ou]

Dublin Day 2

I met a girl, hopping off the bus to the castle named Megan from Canada. We walked and explored together, taking photos of each other before having coffee and cake in the cafe (delicious stuff). We got on really nicely and it was cool to share the experience with someone else. She’s staying at a different hostel but mentioned that hers does a pub crawl every night from 9pm for 12 euros. So after we caught the bus back, I went to the pool and sauna for a couple of hours then quickly went back to my hostel to change and pick up my portable charger then raced to her hostel to start the pub crawl. We got a shot of different specialties at each bar and made good friends with the leader, Keith who’s in the theatre business. He took us to Mezz, which we were late so only ended up spending about 5 minutes there. Then Bad Bobs, where there was a great singer/guitarist, he had all the good songs arranged and kept the attention of the whole bar the whole time, it was awesome!. Then went to The storehouse which also had some live music, but wasn’t as good. Afterwards we went to a pub called Whelans which is where a scene from P.s I Love You was filmed which is pretty cool. It had a silent disco upstairs, but I failed to check it out- too busy drinking my Guinness! We ended up at Flannerys, a night club where Megan and I got lost and actually locked out of the main area because we went to a closed off section to go to the bathroom.. That was funny.

[agilenano]

Agilenano - News: Parenting is its own reward, and you can’t put a price-tag on love

We all know it. And yet, when Father’s Day rolls around each year, that’s sort of the task before us — scouring the internet for a Father’s Day gift that will reflect how much we value everything dads do. And it can’t just be a generic expression of gratitude — it’s about finding a gift for dad that he’ll actually appreciate and put to use. ADVERTISEMENT Especially this year, when so many of our activities are limited to home, backyard, and neighborhood, finding a creative gift for dad is a challenge. Maybe it’s a tech gadget, a bottle of fine whiskey, backyard barbecue tools, or home exercise equipment. The best Father’s Day gifts tap into his passions and interests, or maybe turn him on to something new. “I think, as with any gift, it should be something special that the person might not ordinarily buy for themselves,” says gifting guru Ann Cantrell, owner of Annie’s Blue Ribbon in Brooklyn. This Year, Mother’s Day matters to your family... More than ever Less than ever About the same Thanks for the feedback! Oops! Something went wrong. Please contact support@fatherly.com. Chances are pretty good that you’ll be able to find something on this list that the husband or dad in your life will love. Why? Because we pored over all the stuff and found gear that he’ll love at a price you’ll like. Happy shopping. The Best Gifts for Dad Under $50 L.L. Bean Canvas Hunters Tote Throw anything in this bag — firewood, barbecue tools, fishing gear — and go. Made from a tough, water-resistant 1,200-denier polyester shell, it's as indestructible, useful, and reliable as bags come. $35.00 Ooni Baking Stone Designed to fit the awesome Ooni backyard pizza oven, the Ooni baking stone works just as well in your home oven. At roughly 13-by-13 inches, it fits almost any oven and turns out the perfect crispy pie in minutes. $30.00 Bellroy Tablet Sleeve This 10 inch charcoal iPad sleeve, from a fancy Australian accessories brand, has a magnetic bumper closure and a quilted microfiber lining for extra protection. It's handsome and practical. Buy Now $39.00 Matador Pocket Blanket This water-resistant portable blanket is 63 x 44 inches when unfolded, large enough for a picnic with the family or a solo reading session outdoors. It comes with metal stakes to keep the blanket secure. Buy Now $29.99 Nodpod Bead Filled Sleep Mask This brilliant sleep mask is cooling on one side, if he runs hot. It blocks out light like a champ, is machine-washable, and is weighted, to help him fall asleep. Buy Now $42.00 Fjallraven Gear Bag A heavy-duty all-purpose gear bag that holds 4 liters' worth of stuff, this has a main compartment with a zippered pocket and two open compartments. He can use it for tech or toiletries. Buy Now $33.71 Carhartt Legacy Tool Roll The handy dad can keep his tools organized with this Carhartt tool roll. It's got 18 slots for different tools;, plus three small parts pockets with hook and loop closures for small tools or utility items. It's just as suitable for tech gear, camping utensils or even art supplies. Buy Now $24.95 LEM Products 468 Jerky Cannon If dried meat is his jam, he'll be into this jerky gun. This rather impressive cannon holds 1 1/2 pounds of meat and produces flat jerky, or round snack sticks. Buy Now $39.99 Genuine Crazy Horse Leather Electronics Organizer Roll Bag He'll never leave home without this roll-up case, which has three mesh pockets for a USB, SD card, SIM card or other small items, two mesh zipper compartment for his phone, mouse, power bank, two leather compartments to store passports, plus of course, Velcro for the chargers. Buy Now $47.49 Nomad Carabiner He can clip this carabiner with a built-in charing cable to his belt, or his backpack, and always have power handy for his Apple tech. Buy Now $34.95 Fisher Space Bullet Pen First designed in 1948, this classic bullet pen elevates the basic task of note-taking. It works no matter what angle he's using. Even in zero gravity. Buy Now $22.10 Peugeot Whiskey Tasting Set Like a decanter for wine, this whiskey taster captures alcohol burn while releasing its glorious aroma, and the metal base cools the whiskey to the optimal temperature without watering it down. BUY NOW $40.00 Radiate Portable Campfire You get three hours of burn time with this portable campfire, which uses recycled soy wax. That means no smoky smell when you burn it in the yard or on your patio. Buy Now $29.99 Banks Journal Primary Beanie Thanks to its perfect fit, this sleek beanie can be worn anywhere, anytime, with anything. BUY NOW $21.00 Billy Jealousy Beard Envy Kit Help him keep his facial hair groomed and looking great with this Beard Envy kit, which includes a hydrating beard wash with aloe and soy protein, and boar bristle brush and a styling beard control product with jojoba oil. Buy Now $25.00 Wayfinder Flux Waterproof Card Holder For dads who go fishing or boating, this understated cardholder has 3 slots, room for folded bills, and a coating that keeps everything dry. BUY NOW $36.00 Viski 4890 Summit Signature Corkscrew Every proper oenophile needs a proper corkscrew, and this is it. It has a double-hinged design with stainless steel foil cutter. Buy Now $7.85 Andar AirPods Case This supple leather case protects and charges your AirPods (but note, it does not work on the Pros). BUY NOW $30.00 Spigen Rugged Armor Apple AirPods Case The carabiner always keeps them close by, and the rugged armor case charges the Apple AirPods Pro while also cushioning them during falls. Buy Now $16.99 Purist Collective Mover Cup This 18 ounce cup has a glass interior, so whatever he drinks always tastes pristine. Cold drinks stay cool for up to 24 hours; coffee will stay hot up to 12 hours. BUY NOW $48.00 Printworks Classic Domino Game The humble game of dominoes gets a facelift with this refreshing new look. BUY NOW $32.00 Corkcicle Chillsner Beer Chiller What's worse than no beer? Lukewarm, nasty beer. Avoid this at all costs with this beer chiller set, which cools beer without watering it down. Buy Now $19.95 Areaware Drink Rocks Stick these beauties in the freezer. And then the soapstone and marble rocks chill whatever wine or spirit he's drinking. BUY NOW $35.00 Opinel Pocket Knife French knife-maker Joseph Opinel fashioned his first single blade knife in 1890. Since then, his eponymous knives have only undergone minor changes.The handle on this knife is made of beechwood. Buy Now $19.00 Norlan Whisky Glass These aren't your average whiskey glasses. The Norlan glasses are made of hand-blown double-walled borosilicate glass and have an outer rim that perfectly fits his (or her) lips. Buy Now $48.00 Native Union Belt Cable He can charge his Apple devices insanely fast with this cable, which wraps up neatly when he's done. The four-foot braided cable is wrapped up and secured with an integrated leather belt so it's always ready to charge. Buy Now $24.99 Chrome Industries Kilo Dopp Kit You can't get more understated than this sleek dopp kit from Chrome Industries. This Chrome dopp kit features a commercial grade five-bar webbing hang strap, and is the go-to accessory for guys on the go. Buy Now $25.00 GearLight High-Powered LED Flashlight This flashlight has five settings, and can survive a 10 foot drop or being temporarily submerged under water. In short, it's as tough as he is. Buy Now $15.99 Bevel Safety Razor The Bevel razor cuts at skin level, and doesn't tug or pull, thus reducing unsightly razor burn. And it works with all standard double-edge razor blades. Buy Now $49.99 Audio-Technica ATH-M20x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones, Headphone junkies love the sound quality and design of these affordable Audio Technicas. At just over 6 ounces, they're among the most lightweight you can buy. Buy Now $49.00 Rose & Fitzgerald Mugavu Geometric Bottle Stopper Each of these hand-crafted stoppers is one of a kind, and creates an airtight seal that saves his unfinished pinot noir. BUY NOW $45.00 Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole Hip Pack So lightweight he'll forget he's even wearing it, this upgraded fanny pack is packable and has enough room for all his essentials, like keys, phone, and even a T-shirt. BUY NOW $29.00 ADVERTISEMENT Every product on Fatherly is independently selected by our editors, writers, and experts. If you click a link on our site and buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. Related Articles: Pattinson Explains Why His Take On Batman Feels "Spicy" Disney Moves 'Hamilton' Release to Disney+ More Than a Year Earlier Than Expected Cloth Rainbow Masks Contain Hidden Messages SNL’s Dad Prank Video Is Hilarious Because It Barely Feels Fake The post The Best Father’s Day Gifts Under $50 appeared first on Fatherly. #Gear

Agilenano - News from Agilenano from shopsnetwork (4 sites) https://agilenano.com/blogs/news/parenting-is-its-own-reward-and-you-can-t-put-a-price-tag-on-love

[ethreesixty]

8 Awesome Smartphone Gadgets & Accessories of 2020

A smartphone is the most used thing in a human’s daily life. There would hardly be a single person who does not have a mobile phone. On a daily basis, Android and iPhone makers introduce new and latest phone gadgets and accessories. This review will be interesting for those who can’t live without their phones and also look for new phone gadgets & accessories items. I'm here with a list of some amazing Android and iPhone accessories. Tribit Maxsound plus:

I have to say this is one of the best sounding Bluetooth speakers you can buy right now. In the price, you're getting an expensive sound excellent battery life and a rugged ipx7 water-resistant body. It’s a generic pill-shaped speaker but it's definitely rugged around. The back is a silicone flap hiding the micro USB charging port and 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. The controls are on the top plus you also get a nice carrying string. The speaker gets loud enough to fill a medium-sized room and the sound quality is top-notch with great bass and if you want more bass you can just press the X base button. The battery life is rated at 24 hours of playtime. All alone for a speaker of this size. Choetech charging pad:

This is a sleek modern looking 360-degree charging pad that can charge two phones simultaneously at 20 watts. It uses a wide five coil spread to increase the charging area and charging efficiency. You also get three charging modes 10 watts 7.5 watts and 5 watts for standard phones. The design for this pad is flawless with the PU leather surface that's modern stylish and makes the entire pad lightweight and portable. Plus the material makes it more grippy so that phones don't slip around. And due to the 5 coils, you get a wider charging area for a single phone no need to fumble with your smartphone for a better charging position. All I have to say is that this is a great wireless charger to buy especially if you've been waiting for the Apple air power. Crazybaby Nano 1s: As more and more smartphones this is the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. The market for true wireless Bluetooth earphones has become increasingly flooded. Now, this is where the crazy baby one has come in. The design is solid and the carrying case looks sharp the base isn't too strong but the treble range is where they truly shine. Which makes the Nano 1s spectacular for a variety of different genres ranging from classical to modern electronic music.

On the top portion of each earbud, there are two small control buttons. You can use these to raise or lower volume skip between tracks and manage calls. Each bud is capable of providing about 3 hours of playtime and that starts to extend towards 6 or 9 hours. After you have accounted for the charging case and the case has a very premium feel. With the addition of the USB C and the LED indicator, it looks sleek and finally, the buds are also very comfortable and stays fit inside your ear. If you're looking for a premium Tru wireless air bar on the market then this is a great choice. Lamech Hall Phonestand:

If you want a nice stand for your phone then look no further stand from Lamech hall. First of all the build quality is sturdy and is pretty lightweight too. The stand is angled just perfectly and has a hole on the back to route ear wire. Plus it's got rubber on the bottom to prevent it from slipping and rubber on the front. So your phone sits comfortably if you like to watch videos on a stand or just want to make it as a charging dock this will be perfect. Lamicall phone ring holder: Now, this is something that you thought you might never need but once you've used it you cannot live without it. This is a simple ring with a strap but it makes holding your phone so much easier. You can now reach the corners of your screen pretty easily and the strap will prevent you from accidentally dropping your phone.

The ring can also be used as a stand as well and you can just pop off the front so you can wirelessly charge your phone. Or if you want something more subtle then you have phone bloops these come in various designs and goes on your phone case. So it can also be a good design statement. The fun snap capture: Cameras on smartphones have gotten a lot better and shooting videos with your smartphones has become the norm lately. But smartphone footages tend to be a little shaky and lack some good shots. So this surprisingly cheap gimbal from fun snap will be the perfect companion for your shooting needs. The gimbal is very stable and can hold big phones.

As well as action cameras and if you have an even heavier phone you can just use the counterweight in the box. It also comes with a panoramic mode to take some amazing shots and it's easy to shoot as well. Especially with the dedicated shoot button on the back, the single battery can last you about six hours. So you have plenty of time shooting. Conclusion: So we discussed some of the new phone gadgets and accessories that you can need. With these smart accessories and gadgets, you will get more comfort by using your phone. If you have any other information about these please share with me in the comment box. Read the full article

[rideofbrunhelga]

nycc recap!

OK.

so now I'm on my computer finally ( I slept most of the day lmao ) so lemme give a rundown on my nycc experience!

thursday:

So. I got a SUPER late start because I barely slept this week due to work stress and just general stress about getting a bunch of stuff done prior to leaving for NY. I drove to Hamilton station in NJ and was told that their overnight parking was full so I had to drive to Trenton. Then I think because I was so in a tailspin just trying to get there when I was already running behind, I missed the train and had to wait for the next one. I got into NY around 2:30. I was meeting my BFF and she thought I wasn't getting in until 2:45ish so I waited for her outside MSG at Penn Station for a bit.

So, we finally made it to the con around 3:15 and it was packed. I couldn’t even believe it (this was both our first con). But right when we walked in, the shrine with spongebob pineapple was at the entrance and I got emotional (I was also tired so emotions were running high) but there was a huge line. Not for the shrine, but to meet Spongebob and Patrick who were basically in front of the shrine. The guy told us they would be leaving soon so we decided to come back later.

We walked around for a bit, we got a pic with BB-8. They explicitly told us not to touch him. And then after our pic I subconsciously used him to pull myself up LMFADJSAKLDJAKDJA. omfg the girl looked like she was ready to murder me but it was a complete accident the second I did it I was like OMG I’m so sorry. and I HIGH TAILED IT THE HECK OUTTA THERE.

While we were walking (by the way I felt like I couldn’t even stop to look at things because people were EVERYWHERE you felt like you had to keep moving), we saw Kevin Smith. I didn’t know who he was and I was standing right next to him and this guy ran up to him to get a selfie and he was like “thanks man it means a lot” I was like “who is this guy?” lmfao. Then I noticed there was security and the one said “he can’t take anymore pictures he’s on a tight schedule.” and my friend then realize it was Kevin Smith hahahahaha. Then we headed back to the shrine and spent a good half hour there. NO one was taking pictures with it. I have no idea why because it was so neat. The people at the Nickelodeon booth didn’t care that we were just like having a full on photoshoot with it so that was cool. 

We went outside and there was this Jigsaw escape room and we’re like “oh yay fun” but the girl was like “we’re closed for the day” so :(. Oh well. We bought overpriced drinks and sat on the floor for awhile to decompress before we met up with our other bff for dinner. 

We then had dinner at this ramen place on the upper west side. It was fun except so bizarre. This woman tripped over my friends chair, fell to the floor and for like 45 min she refused to get up from the floor. The owner looked panicked and kept asking to call the ambulance and she was screaming “NO!” “NO!” like 500x making a HUGE scene. She wouldn’t get up and was just sitting there. Someone eventually called an ambulance because like wtf? If you don’t think you can get up you can’t just sit on the floor of a restaurant the whole night? People were so uncomfortable and trying not to laugh because she was being so dramatic lmfao. When the EMTs came they basically were like “lady we’ve been doing this for years, your shoulder is not dislocated and we need to get you off the floor” so finally that was that. Then we went to have gelato and they made mine into a really beautiful flower I was like omg?? Then I went back to my friend’s apartment and we watched AHS: Cult which I think I cannot watch another episode of because it was so traumatic. 

friday

I woke up around 7. Took a shower and got ready for the panel. I knew I wanted to get there around 9 because I planned to sit through the first panel. In line I met two girls from the Facebook group and they were so sweet and so fun. We all sat together and managed to get front row. I’m not sure HOW that happened but I think it’s because the rows behind us were reserved so people assumed our row was (it wasn't). so that was so good! Especially considering I think I was in the first 100 people at Hammerstein and still managed front row. 

This girl and DJ were hyping the crowd and then the first panel started. It was for both Amazon’s Man in the High Castle and Electric Dreams shows, both Phillip K. Dick works. It was cool. It would’ve been cooler if Bryan Cranston was there but Liam Cunningham from GOT was there and Rufus Sewell. 

Finally that ended (lmfao). I swear. 85% of that crowd was there just for Arnold. There was 45 min in between panels. It got a lot more crowded for Arnold. The DJ was spinning some 90s tracks and people were dancing in the aisles lmfao. The hype girl then brought some people on the stage, one of them in Helga cosplay ( she was AMAZING, she was stomping around like Helga too we all were cracking up ) and two 14 yr old girls in Arnold apparel. She asked them how they got into Hey Arnold! since they were so young, and the one girl said from watching The Splat and we all cheered. The other girl was like “it’s a long story” I was like ok I guess? Then we played a game where the DJ played like two seconds of a 90s cartoon theme and the audience had to guess what it was. I also got another Arnold hat that they were giving away. 

FINALLY it was 12:15 and the panel began. 

It was hosted by Keely Flaherty (sp?) from BuzzFeed. She was cute. They started playing the music and introducing everyone. Everyone got a huge reception, especially Craig and Franny. I was freaking out. I started getting choked up the moment I saw Craig LMFAO. The audience was going NUTS. They spoke about doing the show all those years ago and if they remembered their first auditions (Toran revealed he didn’t originally audition for Arnold, he possibly auditioned for Stinky but wasn’t sure). Craig said they were doing the auditions where they made Ren and Stimpy. Then they discussed each of their characters at length. Craig noted he voiced all the animals including Abner, lol. Anndi also talked about how she was competitive like Phoebe, and tried to join Boy Scouts as a kid. 

It was revealed that Toran was playing a character of Che, who is Olga’s love interest in the film. We saw the character lineups that we’ve seen before as well as some new ones. Everyone was laughing with Rhonda’s newly revealed jungle outfit. Craig said she Rhonda is going to have a hard time in the jungle. Olivia was like “Thanks Craig. Do you hate me or something?” lmfao. 

They were showing new stills and every time a new one was shown the audience oooh’d and ahhh’d. Craig then introduced the trailer and I died. I really fricken died. I was a mess. The girls I was sitting with were choking up too. When the lights went back up, Franny looked over at Anndi with her hand over her mouth like she was ready to cry and they hugged each other, Anndi started crying. Most of us stood up and clapped and cheered. I CRIED EVEN MORE. Craig was like “let’s play it one more time!” and we all cheered lmao. So we watched it again, and I caught things the second time around I for some reason didn’t notice the first time. We then had a Q&A.

The one girl I was sitting with asked a really great question about if Craig incorporated any of the technology and animation styles from Dinosaur Train and Ready Jet Go into TJM. He seemed impressed by the question. People asked about Mr. Simmons sexuality, Gertie’s role in the film, Phoebe x Gerald, so on and so forth. Some people just complimented Craig on things that they loved about the show. There were a couple weird moments. Someone asked Craig how it felt when the first movie didn’t do well leading the series cancellation...I was like ??????? He then got up from his seat and was like “WELL AT LEAST WE’RE GETTING THE JUNGLE MOVIE NOW!” and we all cheered :D

SADLY the panel came to an end and I started crying again. It was so much fun. I can’t even express it properly here. The vibe in there was awesome and everyone was so excited and happy. They were taking a group picture on the stage and people then rushed up to the stage to shake Craig’s hand like a freakin rockstar (I have pics of it). It was so funny. He was like “guys I have to get off the stage” lmao. 

I then had a couple hours to kill between the panel and the signing so I headed over to Javits. It was MOBBED. I wasn’t sure how it could be worse than yesterday but it was lmao. I saw amazzzzzing cosplay. My phone was dying and my portable charger was drained but I was like whatever we can’t take pics at the autograph session anyway (which apparently was not enforced -_-) I sat for awhile and calmed my nerves down and then realized I had no idea where the signing was since it wasn’t clear in my email. I asked so many people and staff and NO ONE knew. I finally found it in the corner of the Autographing area. I saw the one 14 yr “it’s a long story” girl hanging around there and I was like “is this the line for Arnold?” and she was like “Yeah, but it’s for lottery winners ONLY.” I was like ‘I know I have a ticket.’ and she shot me this weird look and was like “You’re lucky.” LISTEN HONEY, YOU WEREN’T EVEN BORN WHEN THIS SERIES ENDED I’VE WAITED TOO LONG FOR THIS don’t sass your elders like that!

I got in line. I was pretty okay waiting. I realized Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter and Pornstache from OITNB were doing signings at the booth next to us lmao. Finally the cast came out and I was okay, totally calm. Then I was up next and my heart started beating out of my fricken chest lord have mercy.

I can’t tell you everything because I feel like I blacked out a portion of it lmao. Craig was the first person you go up to. I said “Hi Craig.” and he said “Hi! What’s you’re name?” I said Andrea and he asked me to spell it. Then I was like “It’s really so nice to meet you.” he asked me if I watched the show growing up and I as like ?!?!??!?!?!@!@PUQIOERDuwqajdJALSDJAKLD YES. I told him how I made a petition when I was 11 and mailed it to Nickelodeon. He got a kick out of that and asked if I sent to the 1515 New York address, which I do remember was the address I had at that time. He’s like “so maybe in a way you influenced this” I was like, “I hope so!” and he asked me if I went to the panel and I was like ALDJASLKDJAKLJLK YES. I told him how the energy in the room changed once the first panel was over. I was like, “IT WAS COOL AND ALL BUT WHEN IT ENDED THE ENERGY CHANGED” and he loved that and said he heard the hollering from the audience backstage and asked the staff what the audience was cheering for and she said it was for them and he couldn’t believe it! I told him that it really meant so much to me to that this was happening. I told him I was beyond thrilled for him and couldn’t wait. He thanked me and I really felt like he meant it. He was sooooo nice and so interested in what I had to say. Franny was next to him and I said “Hi Francesca, so nice to meet you” And she asked how I pronounced my name and such. I told her I was like “I don’t know if you remember but a few years ago I emailed you about doing a paper on Helga.” She was like “YEs!” And I thanked for her for taking the time to do that and giving such great answers. She asked me if I graduated college, what I majored in, what I was doing now, what the class was for, etc. Like, me? Let’s talk about you? Then I spoke with Anndi, who asked if I would consider shortening my name to hers lol. She was very very sweet and warm and beautiful in person. I think I blurted something stupid to her and Olivia at the same time about Instagram like, “you guys are so cool!” LMAOOO. What a moron. 

Anyway they all were incredible and down to earth, they seemed just as excited to meet us as we were to meet them. Olivia asked if I went to the panel, and Anndi said “She was in the front row!” I think they asked this because prob some of the lottery winners were not even fans lmao. 

I’m missing some detail because like I said, I feel like I blacked out aldkjasdjasdkl, but it was AWESOME. The whole day was just so fun. It was beyond my expectations. The trailer was incredible - I really am so stoked now. Like, the movie looks so fun and action packed. I am so glad I decided to go because it was really something I will remember and hold close to me the rest of my life. I wish we could all have a screening to watch the movie together because it was too fun being in that room with all the fans experiencing that collectively. I am so grateful for the experience, and to be apart of such an incredible fandom that has such a wonderful cast and creator behind it. I could not ask for better. I feel so lucky.

I love you guys! I hope you enjoyed my coverage on ig story. I’m gonna image dump on here soon from my experience. I’m so excited, we are so close and it’s all feeling real now!

[squeemcsquee]

Prose and Cons: Convention Day Bag

I said I was going to do this before Wizard World Peoria...well, that got cancelled, so I loafed around and procrastinated. Whoops.

Anyway, this is a subject that many have touched on. If my list doesn’t suit your needs, I will link to a few other takes on the subject at the end.

Now, there are two kinds of day bags that I tend to carry around: I have a sturdy, decently-sized, beat-up backpack or a messenger bag. 

CHOOSING A BAG

You want a bag that will last you through the weekend, with everything you need for your enjoyment.

Here are some factors to consider:

1) Con size: Smaller cons will probably have less loot in the dealer’s room that you want to haul away, and might be quiet enough you can run back to your room or to a nearby restaurant for a bite to eat without missing much. Larger cons...not so much.

2) Compatibility with your outfit: This year at ACen, my cosplay had wings. I wasn’t able to wear my usual bag as a result. Take the limitations of your cosplay into consideration when choosing a bag. If you aren’t cosplaying, then you probably won’t have as much to worry about, but you still want to be able to put the bag on or remove it easily. 3) Comfort: A bag that is compatible with your cosplay isn’t always the most comfortable. I learned that this year, actually. The messenger bag I wore as part of my Twilight Sparkle cosplay is great for smaller cons...but not larger cons, when I’m more likely to be running around with it all day. My shoulders got super sore, super quick - with my wings, I couldn’t wear the strap across my chest, which was part of it.

4) Bag size: Remember - the bigger the bag, the more it holds - and the more it gets in the way. The smaller the bag, the more chance you can’t take everything you want/need. PACKING YOUR BAG

This is my personal list of what I would consider essential for a con. Your own experiences may differ - and that’s okay!

1) Wallet - Whether you plan to spend money or not, having your wallet is what I would consider a must at most cons. There is always the chance you will need your ID, or you have to get extra food or drink, or cover a travel expense you weren’t planning on.

2) Con Badge - If it isn’t around your neck or clipped to your costume, make sure it is in your bag. You can be asked at any time to show it.

3) Phone - For most people, their phone is their clock, their camera, their communication device, game device, music player, e-reader, etc. Maybe you have the digital copy of the convention guidebook on your phone. Maybe you like using the Apple Pay or Google Wallet or whatever payment methods.

Maybe you don’t have a smartphone and your phone is just a phone. You still need it.

4) Snack - Have a snack of some kind handy, just in case your meals aren’t quite as regular as you originally hoped. I would recommend trail mix, granola bars, or similar - something that will have some staying power. 

5) Small water bottle - Most cons have water around somewhere. But if you can’t find it, or the cups have run out, or the convention center is charging an arm and a leg...if you have your own, you’re set. Heck, worst case scenario, at least you can fill it up at the bathroom sink!

6) Con Guide - A lot of cons offer digital guides and that is super awesome. But if your phone dies, it’s nice to have the physical copy on hand, just in case.

7) Multi-end charging cable with plug - Yes, with the plug. I have had my portable battery run low before, so it’s nice to have an option if it fails me completely before I can recharge it. Sure, wall outlets are at a premium, but at the cons I’ve been to, I’ve been able find at least one while in a panel. Just make sure to sit near any device you have charging, so you can keep an eye on it!

8) Portable battery - Because wall outlets are at a premium

9) Something to help you pass the time in lines - Even the most outgoing people I know sometimes prefer to just do their own thing while in a line. Whether it’s a 3DS, a fidget device, a Kindle, a manga volume...have something that lets you kill a little time.

10) Small notebook & pen - Because you never know when you might hear about an awesome game or show to check out or need to write someone’s social media stuff down...and your phone has died.

Additional: I recommend a camera, if you have a non-smart phone, or a smart phone with poor camera quality. Remember to have spare batteries or a charger on hand for this.

I also recommend a folder, or artist portfolio, or something on hand to keep your lovely Artist Alley prints from getting damaged.

Finally, I also carry a small, folded tote bage in my main bag. This way, if I really binge too much on Artist Alley or Dealer’s Room items, I have a spare bag handy for anything that won’t fit in my regular day bag.

And that is that! For now. I may have more to say in the future. Sorry for the delay on this!

If you want other opinions, check the following articles from these sources:

L.A.Weekly

Lifehacker

Nerdophiles

I have seen a couple of videos out there as well that I’ll mostly likely add to this at a later date.

[laurafizerdmd-blog]

“Which Toothbrush Is the Best?” 

There are a lot of different brushes out there on the market. I have used a bunch of them. I will give my feedback on some of the biggies below, but the basic concept is simple. PROPER USE of the toothbrush is so much more important than the brush itself. I want to you use the toothbrush that works best in your hands. You don’t HAVE to have an expensive toothbrush. You don’t even HAVE to have an electric toothbrush.

This is what you HAVE to do:

Set a timer. If you don’t you are likely kidding yourself about how long you are actually brushing. But, here again, there is nothing magic about the number 2. In reality, the reason we recommend brushing for 2 minutes is because that’s the average amount of time it takes to make sure you are removing all plaque and covering all surfaces. It is certainly possible to brush for 2 minutes without brushing well, but sticking to this time limit is a great place to start!

The upper molars where the cheeks are tight. If you have trouble getting there, try a kid’s sized toothbrush. 

The lower molars where the the tongue is. Keep your tongue relaxed so your toothbrush gets all the way to the bottom of the teeth and the gum line.

Under the lips. Keep your lips relaxed, otherwise they will push your brush out. 

Behind the lower front teeth. Angle your toothbrush accordingly. If you don’t feel the bristles on your gums, you aren’t getting the entirety of the tooth surfaces.

Don’t be overly aggressive in your brushing, even with a soft bristled toothbrush. This can wear teeth down over time, particularly when you have exposed root surfaces. You can also cause damage to your gums if you brush them too hard. All of the toothbrushes I discuss below have soft bristles.

There are some charcoal bristle toothbrushes on the market now. There is reason to be concerned that these are too abrasive. The American Dental Association does not give any charcoal products its seal of approval. My advice: until more research comes out, stay away.

Your toothbrush can harbor bacteria. Don’t keep the same one too long. The bristles also splay over time and just aren’t as effective at getting into the nooks and crannies of the mouth. If your’s is looking rough before 3 months or you’ve been sick, replace it sooner! Again, nothing magic about the number 3, here, either. Maintain your brush so your time is well spent.

Brush in the morning. It will start your day with fresh breath and a clean smile!

Brush before bed. Don’t let food/drink from the day sit on your teeth overnight. That’s prime time for bad bacteria to go to town.

Brush more than that if you like!

If you have trouble with dexterity or just want to go the extra mile, this is when electric toothbrushes really make a difference. They are not a replacement for mechanical brushing, but an adjunct. It is possible to use an electric toothbrush and not do a quality job. And, no, electric toothbrushes are not replacements for flossing either.

Please keep in mind that the information below is a summary of my own personal opinion and experiences. I have nothing to gain or lose from these reviews. Just because I had a particular experience with a brush,  does not mean your’s will be the same. Every person and every mouth is different. That’s why I advise that the BEST toothbrush, is the one that works best for YOU! 

Old Faithful: 

ORAL B COMPLETE HANDHELD

Amazon price: Brush: ~$3.25/brush

Heads: NA

These are what you find in the goodie bags from our office. Without any bells and whistles, they are tried and true. I grew up using these! 

Pros: 

They’re small. They fit in toothbrush holders, in a drawer, in your purse or suitcase, wherever you need. Super portable.

When I was pregnant and nauseous, THIS is what I used. 

They are cheap.

They have grips on the handles.

Bristles are multiple lengths and fit the contours of the tooth well.

If you follow the guidelines above, this is all you really need.

Cons:

No built-in timer.

Can be difficult for children or arthritic patients to use when the dexterity for proper brushing just isn’t there. 

My First Electric Toothbrush

ORAL B SMART SERIES

Amazon prices:

Brush: Smart Series $130, Pro $50 

Head: ~$3.75/head

In full disclosure, I got one of these for free when I was in dental school. It was awesome! My teeth felt super smooth and clean after using it. Was it the toothbrush or the fact that I’d never timed my brushing before? Not sure. This is an effective toothbrush and a great option. I know people that swear by these. The newest model of the Smart Series even alerts you when you are brushing too hard. Pretty cool! We have these brushes available for purchase in our office. The Pro is a cheaper alternative under the Oral B umbrella.

Pros: 

The round shape of the brush head mimics the shape of the prophy angle (what we polish your teeth with at check-ups). This shape fits the contour of the teeth and gums nicely.

The bigger handles can be easier for some patients to comfortably hold, compared to handheld brushes.

Cheaper than Sonicare.

Built-in timer.

Alerts when using too much pressure.

One handle can be shared by multiple family members by easily switching out the brush heads.

Cons:

It can feel BULKY and somewhat aggressive. It can be hard to fit in small mouths or where lips/cheeks are tight. The bulk is the primary reason this is no longer my go-to.

Requires a charger. It’s one more thing to add to your pile of cords and cables. It’s one extra thing to have on the counter.

The Fancy One

PHILIPS SONICARE

Amazon prices: 

Brush: Diamond Clean $167, Protective Clean $40 

Head: ~$8/head

I purchased the Diamond Clean brush years ago, despite the bigger price tag, and despite having the Oral B already. I loved it! This brush and brand has just as big a following as Oral B. The brush and head are both small enough that, to me, it felt more natural to use compared to the old school brushes I was always used to. It felt more delicate and gentle on my gums. This quickly became my brush of choice. But, admittedly, it was MUCH fancier than I needed. There are many settings offered on the brush, but I never utilized them. This brush is a great investment if it’s what you are looking for, but it may not be necessary to go that pricey. Sonicare also offers less “fancy” options, like the Protective Clean. I can’t imagine it’s less effective… or at least $110 less effective.

Pros:

My favorite of the big brands.

Gentle, with a petite brush head.

Built-in timer.

The bigger handles can be easier for some patients to comfortably hold, compared to handheld brushes.

One handle can be shared by multiple family members by easily switching out the brush heads.

Cons:

Pricey. This is what eventually drove me away.

Also requires a charger. Again, just one more thing to keep track of. 

The Trendy One

QUIP

Quip website (www.getquip.com) prices: 

Brush: plastic brush $25, metal brush $40

Head: $5/head (includes delivery) 

I first heard about this brush from a patient, so I did my research and decided to give it a try. I have the copper metal version. This brush was developed by a dentist and their website has a lot of great information! It’s a neat concept- replacement heads in the mail every 3 months to help keep you honest. Subscriptions for replacement heads can even include toothpaste refills, if you’d like. They make it easy. They are sleek and modern looking. I have been using this one for about a year. The only problem I encountered was that I broke the toothbrush when I removed the head for the first time, causing the toothbrush head to pop off during each use. However, once I contacted the company, they sent me a replacement right away. I have since successfully changed the brush head without breakage- I advise watching the tutorial video before attempting the change.

Pros:

My current go-to.

Very sleek and most like a handheld brush.

No charger. This brush runs on a battery. Replacement batteries are delivered with the replacement heads. Again, easy! Because it has no charger, it fits down in my toothbrush holder.

Refill subscriptions available (but not required). 

Built-in timer. 

Cons:

Every family member should have their own. The brush heads aren’t meant to be changed out daily. The battery life is based on 2 brushings of 2 minutes daily by a single user. 

Can break if the head is removed improperly.

I like that the handle is smaller than other electric toothbrushes, but I would NOT recommend this as the best electric brush for arthritic patients. It can be harder to hold because it is smaller and could pose a problem for some.

So, there’s my two cents. I’d love to know, what is your favorite brush and why?

Laura Fizer, DMD

[stupendousnerdcloud-blog]

Top 5 best hoverboard in the market

hello everyone welcome to a new video where today we're going to review the top 5 best hoverboards in the market in 2018 immedately is based on my personal opinion and I try to list them based on their price quality durability and more if you want to find out the price in more information about these hoverboards.

If you want to learn deeply on hoverboard and want to choose the best on Acejourey [ Best Hoverboard Under 200 ] has an detailed article on this topic.

Best 5 hoverboards in 2018

#5 mangaboos tw0 1

Mini scooters have become a rage in the

recent past everyone from celebrities to

people everywhere are seen using it it

is a vehicle that looks so easy to use

in a building that everyone feels like

trying it out the tw0 1 is lightweight

hoverboard that can be used by both kids

and adults and it looks very modern and

attractive with 4 different colors

available if you haven't driven a

hoverboard before you don't have to

worry because it is easy to learn and to

use the tw0 one hoverboard is very

lightweight making portability no issue

you can carry it anywhere with you

the mega wheels dw0 one is one of the

best 16.5 in Southborough scooters that

excelled in all electric city safety

tests with UL 2272 requirements which is

powered by a four thousand four hundred

million power samsung lithium battery

and comes with ul-listed charger all of

this can prevent the hoverboard from

getting damaged the tw0 one hoverboard

is equipped with two 350 watt motors so

you can have more stability and more fun

while riding it it's high speed can

reach 12 km/h which is pretty good

considering the price of this hoverboard

looking at this hoverboard it is easy to

find many reasons why purchasing it

would be a great investment although it

is definitely a plus it you will look

cool riding up and down the street in

your neighborhood on the newest

hoverboard

>>Features

there are other feature that this

hoverboard offers it has 6.5 inch dual

tires which are pretty good and they can

even let you drive this hour board

through grass mud or other rough

terrains

even though it can do that I don't

recommend you to take it is a tough

terrains

since it that can damage the hoverboard

if you're a heavy guy you don't have to

worry because this hoverboard can handle

people that weight up to 240 pounds

without the problem most of the

hoverboards today in the market can

support that much weight so that's a big

plus overall it's a great and durable

hoverboard so if you are looking for a

hoverboard that will get the job done

perfectly and that doesn't

much then the mega with tw0 one is your

answer

#4 razor hovertrax

To the first hoverboard modeled from razor did not come out the way they've hoped and even though it was a good ride it did like some of the features and also the speed and distance were just mediocre but this new upgraded 2.0 Harbor tracks is much better than most of the whole boards in the market today

Details:

for starters razor is a well known and

trusted brand which distributes products

worldwide which means that they know

what they're doing and they always stand

by their product and quality it's been

tested by ul and gotten its certificate

for being one of the safest hoverboards

available and there's nothing to argue

about that here it's reliable and if

you've seen the way you have test these

sour balls you'd know that if it passes

its robust and quality made what I love

the most about this hoverboard is that

it is usable by both adults and children

and it performs equally well for both of

them

the main quality of this hoverboard is

its durability it's made from shatter

resistant polymer allowing it to

withstand a fair amount of punishment

wasted looking brand new the Howard

trucks 2.0 features dual motors that are

so sudden that you can barely tell

difference between the device being

powered on or off what I don't like

about this hoverboard is that it's not

waterproof meaning there's no way you

can use them outside on rainy day also

the fact that it can only run for an

hour before draining the battery is a

bit discouraging these problems aren't

specific to the racer though this is

hoverboards in general and maybe they

will get fixed in the future since they

are still new also I think that the logo

on the side of the wheels looks a bit

childish in my opinion but that's just

me and this shouldn't be a huge problem

with everything said and done the

original Chuck's 2.0 is one of the most

attractive Autobots on the market and

definitely one of the most reliable and

advanced ones the improvements over the

previous version are quite a brilliant

and it's perfect for everyone from

absolute beginners to hoverboard experts

looking for the next big thing it's just

the kind of model you can go wrong with

no matter how hard you try don't just

take my word for it though you should

definitely check it out for yourself

because it's a great hoverboard and I

highly recommend it next up at number

three we have a

#3 sweater on t1

you'll probably have heard that a number of our boards all last year when the fire or even exploded there are way too many unregulated products with dodgy components and frankly it's surprising there were more fires than accidents however this is not the case with a spectrum t1 the spectrum t1 is one of the first hoverboards that got certified by ul so you can say that they brought the trend to the market this means that the electrical drive battery and charging systems have been being saved the specs

Details

on t1 is a solid well-built versatile

hoverboard it has plenty of power and

really accurate periscopes that pick up

on every nuance of your movement this

hoverboard has two safety technologies

which will develop a swagger on to make

their board the safest on the market and

those technologies are the safe stop

technology and the century shield the

safety of technology system aims to

eliminate false caused by the battery

suddenly dying on you what it does is it

makes the hoverboard beep with a warning

signal before it detects that the

battery level is too low and it limits

the top speed of the hoverboard so that

if you to continue writing it a sudden

stop won't be as jerky or Saada endless

and the century shield technology is

aimed at the safety of the batteries the

ride is super smooth of course the 6.5

inch wheels won't go over big cracks or

grass as easily as a loo larger tires

but that's to be expected

the ride is battery smooth as the

gyroscope in a spectrum t1 are top

quality this hoverboard with his

excellent handling incredible safety

features and really awesome weight limit

of 220 pounds his ideal hoverboard for

kids and adults also overall I really

love this hoverboard and I would

recommend it to both children and adults

that are looking for a high quality

hoverboard this is durable enough to

withstand shocks and beginner mistakes

it's not that expensive and I would say

that it is definitely worth the price

and number two we have the epic go

classic epic go south classic scooter is

packed with powerful features and is

everything you could wish for from a

reliable hoverboard with these great

levels of safety and performance it is

ready to go for any form of journey you

need to make eight point five inch

rubber tires can navigate most terrain

support the state making it the best

hoverboard in this category the sturdy

build is easily evident through the

entire board it provides riders with

good grip on gravel sand crest or

pavements which allows you to travel

anywhere you will be able to feel how

stable the hoverboard is even when

traveling at high speeds the well

thought-out design of this product is

nothing less than great it scores highly

in all aspects from its powerful motor

to get you moving over different

surfaces

- is ul 2271 certified health working

battery epic goes hoverboard is larger

than others on the market safeguarding

your better ride with increased control

with the sleek an extractive design it

is a strong product to work the 400

watts dual motor on the self balance

board can propel you up to immersive

speed of 10 miles per hour as the motor

is so powerful your speed can be

maintained while traveling uphill -

making it among the fastest offer boards

available it allows you to travel around

10 miles on average with just a single

charge the power means that it will

offer you a greater balance capabilities

as you speed along with a good battery

life this is the perfect board to take

for a day playing at the beach or in the

park even if you plan on being confident

to the payment this board does a great

job of handling the roughest of roads

and the bumpiest pavement I personally

also love the design of this hoverboard

because it looks a bit different than

most of the models in the market and

that's a pretty good thing overall the

epic go classic is a high-performing

model that performs is saved in the well

this model is extremely fast stable and

decently comfortable to ride it has the

customer support to back it up a nice

fantastic peak for those who want to

push their hoverboarding to the max

#1 spectrum t6

the spectrum t6 is so far the biggest

swagger on hoverboard on the market it

is equipped with a 10 inflatable rubber

tires mounted on aluminum rims and

powered with two 350 watt motors the

maximum speed of the t6 is around 8

miles per hour with maximum driving

range of 12 miles with turning radius of

Caesar decrease in collective ability of

swag 26 is up to 30 degrees depending on

if you travel through mud grass or

gravel

one really great feature of this

hoverboard is its cargo capability with

maximum load capacity of 420 pounds

which is almost twice as more as the

majority of other available hoverboards

on the market also it comes packed with

LED headlights and non-slip foot pads to

the speaker's up control and built-in

carrying handle to ensure the battery

lasts long enough despite the hard

conditions of upright rides the t6

battery both central shield multi-layer

battery protection which essentially

encases the battery in a Democrat

mininum casing this technology is

patented to switch on and is perhaps one

of the reasons Western hoverboards past

the ul certification testing with 235

work models under the hood power is no

problem for the swagman t6

you probably will notice much difference

in terms of speech from prior models but

it really does the business on rough

ground and in clients let's have the

twelve miles per hour speed limit is

right up there with the faster boards on

the market certainly fast enough for

most and you'll be looking at a range of

up to 12 miles per charge depending on

how you handle it along the way this

model also has Bluetooth speakers

included which have been taking a step

into the right direction with the

spectrum t6 offering clear louder and

generally better sound than ever before

that's also not denying how beautiful

and sleek the unit itself looks as a

whole to be honest this faction t6 is a

bit harder to ride compared to some of

the hoverboards on the market that is if

you are a beginner also when writing at

top speeds it feels a little bit shaky

but nothing to be concerned about

internal although users seem to love the

t6 and find that it delivers up to the

claims a spectrum makes for it it's not

cheap but its durability and off-roading

capabilities justify the price assuming

that's what you're looking for in a

scooter it's definitely one of the best

hoverboards in the market and if you are

looking for a hoverboard that is durable

and that will last you for a long time

test Vectron t6 is your answer thank you

[thebibimbapmom]

My Baby Must-Have Items

Ever since Leo came into my life last February, I’ve grown a collection of baby things that saved me. I’d like to share these items with you in hopes that some or all of these will help you as much as they did me. I definitely plan to have all of these on hand for my future babies.

MyBrestFriend

I heavily relied on this for the first month and a half of Leo’s life. While Leo was teeny tiny, I would lay him on this pillow and wrap my arms around him. Since this was my first baby, I really had no idea what I was doing or how to properly hold Leo while nursing. This pillow gave me the support I needed to feel safe holding my newborn baby boy. It also allowed me to have free hands to help Leo get a proper latch. I didn’t get to use it for long since Leo got very heavy. Thankfully my friend gifted me hers, so I didn’t have to pay anything for it. Once Leo started making the MyBrestFriend sag too much from his weight, I decided to stop using it. At this point Leo was big enough for me to hold comfortably without any support. 

Snuggle Me

I heard about this a month before Leo was born. It was highly recommended by everyone who had one so I just had to get it. I was able to snatch one during a sale, and thank God I did! Leo sleeps best when he’s in the snuggle me. We only let him sleep in it if he has the Owlet sock on (more on this later). Tip: The company sells “imperfects” which are a bit flawed and sold for much less than the normal price. Leo’s outgrowing it quickly. His little feet are starting to hang off the edge. A toddler size snuggle me is available to buy but the price tag is high, so I’m still debating whether to get it or not. For now, Leo is happy with his current snuggle me.

Owlet Sock

This item is pretty pricey, but in my opinion well worth it. The Owlet has brought us much peace of mind while Leo sleeps. I’ve heard of many parents checking on their child often to make sure he or she is breathing. My husband and I just check the owlet app on our phones and we know Leo is OK. We don’t even have to check our phones, since the app will sound if Leo’s heart rate gets too high/low or his oxygen levels too low. I got the Owlet Socks off of Facebook Marketplace. It was being sold brand new (never used) for half the price, such a steal! The package comes with socks in three sizes, with the largest sock lasting up to 18 months of age or 25 lbs. Leo is on the largest sock now and he’s only 5 months old. I'm hoping we can keep using it until he’s at least 12 months old.

CasaCam Baby Monitor

This baby monitor has not given us any issues in the past 5 months of use. While choosing a monitor, we kept reading reviews of how other monitors would stop working or something would break after a few months. We haven’t encountered anything like that with this monitor, and therefore, I highly recommend it. The only drawback is the battery life of the monitor. We find ourselves having to put the monitor on the charger often and wish the battery would last longer without needing to charge.

Nested Bean Zen Swaddle

This swaddle saved us during Leo’s first 4.5 months. He had a really strong Moro Reflex (”startle reflex”) and when we’d try laying him down unswaddled, within minutes he’d wake himself up and start crying. We also tried using muslin blankets to swaddle Leo, but even as a newborn, Leo would find his way out of them (I suspect we weren’t making them tight enough). Thankfully, we had this swaddle and let me tell you, Leo slept “like a baby” and so did we!! The swaddle uses velcro, so we didn’t have to do any fancy or complicated wrapping (trust me, simple is best when running on a couple hours of sleep per night). The velcro was strong enough to keep Leo from escaping. Around the 4.5 month mark, Leo outgrew the swaddle and would wake up with his arms out of it (sad days). At this point I knew it was time to teach him to sleep unswaddled (TIP: sleep suits help with that). I’d recommend buying two of these swaddles for when the other is in the wash. We only had one swaddle (they’re pricey), so we used the following swaddles which were good, but not our favorites: (SwaddleMe and Halo SleepSack).

Nested Bean Zen Sleep Sack

Once Leo was able to sleep unswaddled and without a sleep suit, I transitioned him to this sleep sack. Leo has slept much better in this sack than he has in any other. He’s nearing his 6 months now and is able to sleep fine even without this, but I think he sleeps longer in this for sure. 

Spectra Baby USA - S1

I’ve been pumping since the week Leo was born due to a low milk supply. Because of this, I got to try three different pumps (Medela Symphony, Ameda Finesse, Spectra S1) and can say that the Spectra is by far my favorite of the three. The suction is not rough on my nipples and the sound is very quiet compared to the other pumps. Another awesome thing is that it’s battery powered and rechargeable. It really is the best pump, you must get it!! The worst pump was the Ameda Finesse. It hurt my nipples and the suction was very mechanical like, it didn’t feel anything like the suckle of a baby. Not to mention that it barely pumped any milk out, even in the highest setting (ouch!).

Dr Brown’s Options Bottles and Ultra-Preemie Nipples

We realized I had a low milk supply after nights of Leo crying from hunger. Because of this, we had to supplement with bottles of pumped milk to make sure he was eating enough. We didn’t know much about the best anti-colic bottles and the thought of nipple confusion didn’t really cross our minds (we just wanted our baby to eat). After some time of bottle feeding Leo, he began getting gassy at night and was unable to sleep. He also stopped wanting to nurse all together and would get frustrated on the breast. After some research, we found out that these bottles help minimize colic and that using preemie nipples is the best choice for breastfed babies because of the slow flow. I highly recommend these bottles & nipples to anyone who plans to continue breastfeeding but finds themselves having to supplement with a bottle. As soon as we started using these nipples, Leo began wanting to nurse again.

Gripe Water (with chamomile)

As mentioned previously, for some time, Leo was getting very gassy at night after drinking his bottle. In addition to changing the type of bottle we used, we also began giving him Gripe Water. We noticed he would not wake up as often due to gas, after giving this to him. Plus the chamomile helped him sleep better! 

Baby Gym & Toys

Leo LOVES this gym! He has used it since day 1. He used to stare at the toys hanging down. Then one day I saw him swipe at the toys, which eventually led to pulling and shaking the toys. Now he sits up and touches and grabs the toys. This also saves me during diaper changes, since it distracts him while I do the “dirty work” without little hands getting in the way. 

Baby K’Tan

When Leo was between newborn to 3 months, this saved us. There were times when he would cry non-stop and the only way to sooth him was to put him in this and wear him around the house. He would usually fall asleep within 5 to 10 minutes of being worn.

Baby Tula Explore Baby Carrier

This is such a comfortable carrier. It’s easy to get Leo in and out of and doesn’t hurt my back. So far I have only worn it with Leo facing my chest. I look forward to having him face outward, I’m sure he will love it! Sometimes I take Leo out on walks with this as I feel that Leo can see and experience more when he’s in this carrier versus sitting in the stroller.

Activity Arch

This has saved us on long car rides. Before we had this, Leo would fuss a lot whenever we would slow down in the car. We had to try and catch all the green lights and avoid traffic, in order for Leo not to cry. Once we got this, Leo was entertained and didn’t mind car rides as much. He loves this activity arch so much and stares at every single part of it. Lately, he has also been pulling at the toys and interacting a lot more with it versus just staring at it. 

Coconut Oil

Extra virgin coconut oil is a must-have item for so many reasons. I use it to give Leo body massages after his baths. It also gets used to prevent and fight diaper rashes (which don’t happen often thanks to cloth diapering, more on that later). I used to apply the oil on his cradle cap too. There are so many ways to use this “magic oil”, even for yourself! 

Water Wipes

I have heard that the chemicals in other wipes can be too harsh on baby’s delicate skin. I never tried other wipes on Leo, and don’t plan to. These wipes smell fresh and work great. I also use them to wipe his mouth after he eats and to clean his hands (baby hands get so dirty & sticky). 

Thirsties Cloth Diaper Covers (AI2)

I absolutely love the Thirsties brand of cloth diaper covers. I didn’t get to start using them until Leo was a month old because they were a little too loose on him. I love these because of how thin the material is. It feels closest to a disposable diaper in terms of thickness. If you choose to use a different brand, I definitely recommend going with the AI2 system. This means you have a cloth diaper cover and an insert. With this system, you simply replace the insert when wet or soiled and reuse the cover as long as it did not get soiled. Thanks to EC (more on that later), I find that Leo sometimes does not even have a wet diaper for quite some time, which means less laundry!! yay!

Mini Portable Washer

This makes cloth diapering so much easier and less smelly. After each diaper change, the insert gets thrown into this washer where we left it full of water and white distilled vinegar (to soak). At the end of the day, we run the wash and done. This particular washer does not have a spin & rinse cycle, so we typically move our diapers down to our washers to do the final spin cycle before we hang the diapers to dry.

Buttons Prefolds

I got the bamboo unbleached prefolds and they are amazing! The fabric is super soft and I don’t worry about Leo being uncomfortable. I also got some OsoCozy prefolds but those are very rough and I worry that it could agitate Leo’s skin. I use these in combination with the cloth diaper covers rather than using regular diaper inserts.

Nursing Pillow

Once I stopped using the MyBrestFriend, I found that after some time of Leo nursing, my arm would hurt. I was afraid this was hurting Leo, and then I found this pillow online. It was an impulse buy but sooo worth it! Leo gets very comfortable on this pillow while he nurses and he eventually falls asleep. 

Baby Bjorn Smart Potty

Our family has decided to practice Elimination Communication (EC) with Leo. We started when he was four weeks old and at first I was doubtful of it, but now I’m a believer! Leo is only 5 months old and he recognizes the potty and goes pee or poop when sitting on it. We change a lot less diapers and especially less poopy diapers thanks to EC, who wouldn’t want that? :) You should definitely look into EC and give it a try, what’s there to loose? 

There you have it, my list of favorite items thus far. I hope this has helped you as you prepare for your bundle of joy. Leave me comments if you have any suggestions or feedback.

Thanks,

Bibimbap Mama!

Some of the links in this post are a part of the Amazon Affiliates Program. This means I get a small percentage back from Amazon from any potential purchase. I only share products that are loved and well used in our home, and want to pass on to you. Clicking on these links is what keeps this blog running. Thank you for your support, and for reading my blog!

[imaloserinlove]

So I’m bored and wanted to answer those concert questions I reblogged the other day so here they are

How many concerts have you been to? 51

Have you been to any festivals? 8123 Fest, Warped I guess is technically a festival.. and Radio 104.5′s Birthday Shows if they count idk

Which artist/band have you seen the most live? The Maine lol big shocker

First concert you went to? Jonas Brothers with Demi Lovato and the Veronicas

Last concert you went to? 104.5′s 10th Birthday show with Andrew McMahon, Foster the People, Bleachers, The Killers and a few others

What is your next concert? I actually don’t have any planned right now which is odd and sad

Which artists/bands would you love to see live? I really want to see Hozier, Ed Sheeran again, fun. if they ever reunite, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga, Owl City tbh, State Champs, Tom Petty, and Walk the Moon again

The farthest you’ve traveled to go to a concert? Phoenix, AZ from NJ

Best opening act you’ve seen? Colony House was pretty sick and Night Riots are awesome too

Worst opening act you’ve seen? Man Overboard but only because their fans are the fucking worst

Have you met any bands/artists at a concert? So many

What’s one thing you have to bring to a concert? Portable charger for my phone

What’s the most you’ve paid for a ticket? Probably the $100 for the gold bundle for 8123 Fest I guess?

Best concert you’ve been to? American Lines Tour when The Maine and Mayday Parade toured together!! Not including The Maine it would be the Boys Like Girls 10 year self titled show last summer 

Worst concert you’ve been to? The Glamour Kills tour in 2013 when Man Overboard fans almost murdered me

Have you been in a social media post an artist posted after a show? A couple yeah!

Funniest concert memory? Idk but anytime I go to a show in a city with Kelli we get lost and that’s pretty funny. One time John O’Callaghan talked about eating chicken nuggets off the ground too

Do you buy your tickets as soon as they go on sale, after, or the day of? Depends on the artist but typically as soon as they go on sale

Have you ever been noticed by an artist at a concert? Yeah John O’Callaghan pointed me out in the crowd at Rutgers a couple months ago and I’ll never live it down

Have you met any internet friends at a concert? SO MANY. Pretty much all of my 8123 friends and of course Jackie at Andrew McMahon. I’m sure there’s more too.

Which concert that you’ve been to has had the best stage setup/production? Lovely Little Lonely Tour is definitely the best

Have you ever caught a guitar pick, drumstick, got a setlist, etc.? I have a pick from Nick Santino, a drumstick and setlist from This Century, I caught a Mayday Parade drumstick and gave it to Kelli, and I caught one of Pat Kirch’s drumsticks in Phoenix but then left it in a bar and cried

Favorite concert venue? Probably Starland Ballroom in NJ or The Fillmore in Philly

Least favorite concert venue? TLA in Philly

Which do you prefer: indoor or outdoor concerts? Indoor hands down

Which do you prefer: clubs, theaters, arenas, or stadiums? Clubs

Have you ever missed school or work to go to a concert? Lots of times lmao

Have you ever been surprised with tickets from someone? Nope!

Who do you enjoy going to concerts with? Anyone I can drag with me but preferably people who like the band/artist

General admission or seated concerts? Gen admin, though as I get older having seats is nice lmao

Have you been to multiple dates for one tour? yep

Have you been to concerts 2 or more days in a row? I went to two concerts in the same day and also 2-3 days in a row a few times yeah

Have you ever received free tickets from a contest or an artist’s crew? Nah

Have you been front row and/or back row for a concert? Yep both

Have you ever gotten sick, bruised, or broken a bone after a concert? Yeah when you’re on barricade you get hit and bruised

Have you ever had surprise guests at a concert you attended? A Rocket to the Moon was a surprise at 8123 Fest so YEAH

Did you start listening to an opening act after you saw them in concert? A couple yeah, but most of them have fallen off the face of the earth 

What’s the latest you’ve got home from a concert? Idk probably like 2 am?

When is the earliest you’ve arrived to a venue for a concert? 10 am

Have you seen your favorite artist in concert? 17 times and counting boi

Longest you’ve waited in line for a concert? like 8 hours

Have you ever attended a concert alone? Yeah it’s not as bad as everyone thinks hahah

What’s the best part of a concert in your opinion? Singing along to your favorite songs w so many other people that you don’t even know

Have you ever heard/seen an artist soundcheck before their show? Only from outside the venue

What’s the biggest venue you’ve been to a concert at? Probably BB&T Pavilion or PNC Bank Arts Center??

What’s the smallest venue you’ve been to a concert at? The Balcony at the Trocadero in Philly

Have you ever had side stage seats? nah

Which venue have you been to the most concerts at? Probably BB&T or Webster Hall at this point

Do you post a lot about a concert you’ve attended on social media or very little? Usually one Instagram post, maybe a Snapchat story and I upload some pictures to Facebook

Has a concert or tour you were planning on going to got cancelled? I don’t think so

Have you seen a band in concert before a member left the band / they broke up? the Jonas Brothers, This Century, A Rocket to the Moon, and I saw Panic! before Spencer left

Favorite song you’ve heard live? I just saw The Killers and they played Mr. Brightside live and I think my soul ascended to heaven

Have you ever seen an artist/band play an album in full? American Candy, Boys Like Girls self titled, and A Lesson in Romantics

Which artist would you refuse to see in concert? idk like Chris Brown probably

What’s the craziest thing a fan has done at a concert you’ve been to? One time when I saw the Jonas Brothers some girl was there in a wedding dress that was pretty weird 

Which venue(s) would you love to go to for a concert? I really want to go to Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado because it looks lit

Have you ever been to a concert at a venue that no longer exists? Roseland Ballroom in NYC! And I think Webster Hall is about to close too?

Have you ever lost something/got something stolen at a concert? I lost Pat’s drumstick at the bar after the show but that was my own fault

Have people made fun of you or laughed because of how you were acting at a concert? People make passive aggressive comments about my height but it’s fine

Have you ever been kicked out of a concert? nope

Has an artist thrown or spit water on you? plenty of times lol

Have you ever seen a security guard dance to a song at a concert? Not dance but I’ve seen a few nod along and enjoy the music

Have you seen any acts you don’t like at a concert? A few opening acts I wasn’t too into but no one that I really didn’t like

Have you ever passed out or thrown up at a concert? Been close to passing out but never actually done either god bless

Have you seen any artists in concerts that you don’t like anymore? Nevershoutnever because he’s a dick now and he was then too I just didn’t realize it lmao