Feb 20th - Choice Stuff

This is Spike after getting her CBD chews, ready for the car ride to BKLN. (info below)

When I first started this second email for the newsletter, I called it Cool Stuff, to share other people's vids, posts, and gear that I think you might find interesting. But it sounds too close to Cool Tools, the podcast and newsletter by Kevin Kelly and his crew. And I would not be pleased if someone titled their newsletter a few letters different than mine. GardenShovel? So I wrote out paragraph describing my dilemma and what this second email of the newsletter is in Google Gemini and got 10 quite good ideas for a title. I liked Eric's Choice Goods as soon as I read it. I dropped the "Eric", and changed it to Choice Stuff. can't verbalize why, but lets try this out.

Gemini then offered to write out several taglines, and most were good. I liked "Vetted gear, digital finds, and things worth your time." best. But I think "Things Worth Your Time" is even better. To me it says, "this is stuff I think would be worth your time checking out".

I have a pretty good idea of who you are if you have subscribed to this newsletter, based on emails I get and comments on the vids. After watching my YT vids or listening to the podcast it takes some effort to find the link to the newsletter sign up page.

So when I find 'interesting stuff' that I like, I know you will probably like it too. And some of it ends up in this second email Choice Stuff.

So even though AI can be used for some very bad stuff by bad people, it can be good for helping brainstorm names and taglines.

BTW, did a friend of yours forward my newsletter to you? Sign Up Here 😄

Just Watch This Vid, Smile, Then Read The Text Below It
From Kottke.org: Best not to know anything going into it…just watch all the way to the end. Heads up: Part of the blog post after the video has a text and visual reference to adult anatomy.
Made me smile, this story is about the kind of thing you and I would do. Worth 15 min of your life. Watch Here.

The Meaning Of Carhartt - Can one earn the right to wear Carhartt? This is a newsletter post from the podcast Articles of Interest, whose origins started at the 99% Invisible podcast. I wear Carhartt clothing. I'm not sure when I started, but when I did, I got my clothes from Dave's Army Navy on 6th Ave and 17th St in Manhattan. Dave's is still there, but many of the customers are tourists from Europe. For people like myself who do hands on physical work, its good gear that lasts a long time.

But now there is a fashion side of Carhartt. There is an upscale Carhartt shop next to the Flatiron building in Manhattan at 23rd St. I see people in BKLN wearing Carhartt hats and clothing whose shoes are immaculate. A friend of mine works for a German company, and when his boss flies in to NYC, he has to go to Dave's to get his kids Carhartt.

So this article is about all this and the author's trip to the Carhartt HQ in Michigan. Read Here. Articles of Interest podcast 99% Invisible Podcast

In my twenties I was in a field about an hour north of London watching Rick Astley shooting a music video. How I got to and why I was in this field is a long story. And I kinda forgot about that experience until I watched this doc about Rick Astley and the song that launched him. What I like about this doc is its not just about the song, but about Rick and his life. Watch Here.

Found in a wooden boat buried in the UK, this Middle Age jewel came from really far away. I've become an amateur archeologist, specializing in the United Kingdom. This all from my being an Anglophile, and YouTube suggesting I watched this archeological dig show called Time Team. There's 20+ seasons of hour long shows. So much better than regular TV, IMO.

But this is not a Time Team video, but one from the British Museum talking about some of the items found at Sutton Hoo, a famous burial site where experts have found several graves, at least one with a boat in it. The head slap for me is just how much trade took place across oceans and desserts back before GPS. The evidence here being the jewels found in the boat and other burials. Watch Here.

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Calm Your Dog For Storms and Car Rides
Spike does not like the car ride, and after using trazadone and gabapentin, our vet told us about Elevet CBD chews. We give Spike 2 of them three hours ahead of a car ride and she is very low key for the ride. You can buy cheap CBD chews but these Elevet chews are very good and have been well tested. The chews are pricey, but you can buy a 4 pack of on Amazon to try out. You can order a container of them with a discount code and set up an auto reorder with a discount on the their site here.

Thanks for taking the time to subscribe and read my emails, watch the vids, and listen to the GardenFork Radio podcast. If you are interested in getting behind the scenes photos, brain dump posts, and the After Show podcast, you can become supporter for a cup of coffee a month on Patreon here. - Eric.