My cheap no-name Chinese backpack is finally falling apart, after over 20 years of absolutely solid service.

I want something that will last at least another 20 years, will hold a modern 16" laptop (e.g. Macbook), and will also let me toss a pair of jeans and light jacket in, when I ride home from work in the spring and fall afternoons.

I'd like to avoid American brands if possible.

Looked online at the SwissGear 5698 and Endure, but don't know how well they're built, or if they'll hold my junk.

Any recommendations?

My car was written off and hauled away to scrap a few months ago. However, I still have the coded socket for the secure lug nuts (one per wheel).

I can't think of a good reason to keep it, but thought I'd ask here before chucking it.

A few weeks ago our shower started to occasionally drain slowly. As it got worse, I thought I'd have to get out the snake or call a plumber. Then the other day I thought 'why not just try the plunger?'

30 seconds of plunging, and I suddenly felt the blockage break loose, and the 8cm of standing water drained immediately.

Gotta love simple fixes that work.

OK, I am obviously not talking about Hawksbill tortoiseshell - so illegal it almost hurts to LOOK at a pick. So we have created a thousand analogues, including things like synthetic plastics (delrin, ultex, etc.) and polymerized natural proteins (galalith et al).

But there are green turtles which are entirely unthreatened, and have comparable shells. There are horns from a dozen animals which are made of keratin. There are HORSE HOOVES that get routinely trimmed. Why are these not being used to replace actual tortoiseshell, despite being chemically closest to it?

The fencer who disqualified the US épée team from competing in the 2024 Olympics was sanction in August 2025 due to "multiple violations of USA Fencing's code of conduct and athletic code of conduct." He will be eligible to apply for reinstatement in August 2030.

Just in the last few months, it seems like everyone who is doing content creation on youtube (etc.) is holding a tiny mic up, in the frame of the camera.

I get that mics are needed, but a good desk mic or a headset or whatever else you might imagine is just as good acoustically, and far less distracting. And they were all in use up until a few months ago.

Is this just a fashion trend?

I realized I don't often see spools on bikes when I'm out, and am wondering if people take them off when not using them.

The front of the cutlery drawer pulled off the drawer frame some months ago. Finally got around to reattaching it, better than the cheap constrution it originally was.

Obviously they won't be identical, and year, etc. will make a difference too. I'm just curious if they're fairly close or very different.

Anyone with experience?

The Bay was drawn to the $12.5 million offer because it "substantially" exceeded the value the charter had been given during a 2022 insurance appraisal, said Adam Zalev, co-founder of Bay financial advisor Reflect Advisors, in a court filing made Wednesday.

My friend and I were talking about power requirements in loudspeaker design and the fact that almost all of the power is required to drive the woofers and move lots of air.

Then he asked "do basses exert more energy talking or singing than sopranos?"

Or put another way, does a lower frequency voice need more power (energy) to achieve the same volume as a high voice?

Google Contacts, like most of their products, keeps changing and getting worse. Somewhere along the way it deleted all of the street address information from my contacts!

Ideally looking for a tool that checks these boxes:

• Open-source
• Android, Web, and (if necessary) Linux and Windows clients
• Stores contact info locally (i.e. self-hosted)
• Stores contact info securely (encrypted)
• Can store in a cloud location (e.g. Sync, Dropbox)

It seems like a tall order, but KeePass has managed to do that with their password vault, so why not contact info?

Any success stories out there?