I was tempted to name this piece “Strange Things That I Buy” but they’re really not strange. They’re just odds and ends. Often they’re impulse buys that are just a few bucks and for some reason I think, in the moment, that I might need them. Often I find out, in time, that I don’t really need them and I stick them away, in case I ever do.
CD/DVD player for the computer. I’m an Apple computer guy. I have been since the mid 1990s when Apple was the company that catered to creatives (they don’t really anymore). None of my current Macs have a CD/DVD drive on them (an old laptop still does) and I can’t even remember the last time that I needed one. But this week, for some reason, I got it in my head that I should have one just in case. Actually I’ve had that idea for years but never bothered to act on it. Why did I this week? I don’t even know. But I saw one on sale for $20 and bought it. The kicker is that I haven’t even been able to get it to work yet. I thought it would be plug and play but it’s plug and don’t play. Oh well, it’s a good thing I don’t really need it.
A second BlueTooth Adapter for the car. I have a Bluetooth adapter that pugs into the 1/8 inch port on my car radio so that I can stream the music from my iPhone over the car’s speakers. I also listen to audiobooks. With a couple of the audiobooks I was getting some kind of interference as I played them. There were dropouts and some crackling. I thought the adaptor was starting to go so I decided to get a new one just in case. They’re only about eight bucks. Then everything cleared up with the old one. No more dropouts. So I’m still using it and the new one just sits there.
“It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken” by Seth graphic novel. This is one of my favorite graphic novels. I already have the original issues of “Palookaville” that it appeared in plus I have a hardcover version it. Then one recent night I was looking at random stuff on eBay and the softcover version of it popped up for about eight dollars. That seemed really cheap (it usually goes for around twenty dollars) so I ended up buying it. I really have no need for it so I think I’m going to give it away to one of my students.
Acrylic Paint Pens 15mm. I bought a lot of acrylic paint markers this year so this one really isn’t a “Why did I buy it?” one. I had been trying to figure out what to do with all these paint markers I bought and how to use them to make art and one day I decided that my problem was that they were all too small. Most of the paint markers that I bought were either brush tips or 2mm tips. So I thought I should get some of the big 15mm tips. The reason I put them on this list is because I put them down, put something on top of them, and then forgot about them for three months. I rediscovered them this week. The good news is that I started working with them. I think I might have some ideas for them.
CGC 2.0 Graded Comic The Human Fly number one. I never send any comics to CGC to get encapsulated and graded but sometimes I buy graded comics. Usually the ones I buy are cheap and odd. I buy them as if they were art objects and they are conversation pieces to me. One night I was trying to figure out why was the most rare and cheap low grade CGC slabbed comic on eBay. Most low grade comics are fairly expensive because it costs money to get them graded so people usually grade ones that are worth it. The Human Fly is a mostly forgotten Marvel comic from the 1970s. It’s not well regarded but those of us who do remember it but I have a soft spot for it since I bought it in my childhood. That someone slabbed a 2.0 (out of 10) version of it is crazy. The book in that condition is a dollar at most and it cost around $30 to grade a book. I spent $30 on a dollar book. It is also the lowest graded Human Fly number one with no other one slabbed in that grade. So it’s a singular comic.
Lady Stilt-Man Heroclix figure. This is a weird one. Heroclix is a game played with these small inch tall figures. Stilt-Man is a low level (and goofy) Marvel Comics villain. Lady Stilt-Man is a goofy female version of the goofy villain. I saw that they made a Heroclix out of her and I also saw that someone on eBay was selling a version of the small figure that he painted to make her look topless. I thought that was the funniest thing. But the topless version was $25. Too rich for me. Then I thought that I have plenty of paint and brushes so I bought the regular version for $8 and painted it myself. It looks ridiculous.
Pentel .5 Mechanical Pencil. I’ve been buying a lot of Pentel mechanical pencils lately for various reasons so this one is not too odd. But it’s not the regular version of the Pentel .5. It’s a slightly different version named the drafting version. I have one of them and I’ve had it since the early 1980s but I’ve never seen another one like it. It turns out that they still make them so I bought another one like it. It was only $9 so now I have two of them after having only one of them for forty five years!
Spider-Man Magic the Gathering Cards. I used to play this collectable card game when I was working at Marvel back in the 1990s. Recently they came out with some Spider-Man cards for the game. I liked the art on some of them and decided to buy them just for the heck of it. Only three cards and they were $1.50 a piece so it was no big deal but they’ll never get played in a game. They’ll just sit on my desk for a while.
Everyday carry tactical pouch. One final thing for you is a small bag to carry things in. You’re supposed to fill it with small tools and such that you might need during the day and attach it to your belt. You can put your phone in it too. I’ve had various bags like this and I have fun filling them up but I never end up carrying them. I usually carry a big bag when I commute and everything I need is in that. I also don’t like things attached to my belt. But I still like the idea of an everyday carry bag and sometimes buy a new one to try out. Usually I end up giving them away only to try another six months later.