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u/OwlIndependent7270

r/questions r/bookhaul r/currentlyreading r/XboxGamers r/restoration r/vocabulary r/Discussion r/Helldivers
More Non-Fiction*
▲ 16 r/bookhaul

More Non-Fiction*

There is an asterisk because The Last Great Road Bum is technically a novel, but it was written using said Road Bum's diaries.

I don't know if i agree with the title Hero for anyone - especially an officer- in the British Royal Army. They were the villains for centuries. I know almost nothing about Lawrence of Arabia, though, so maybe he'll be the one good one.

Chernobyl has always interested me, as well. I was born in 1986 - the year of the Chernobyl meltdown - and it has always fascinated me. I've watched the HBO series multiple times. I'm reading a book about The Challenger Disaster right now, which also happened in 1986.

I'm glad that I finally was able to get back into reading. I was struggling for a while, but I've found my Book Mood, as I call it (fiction, nonfiction, sci fi, historical fiction, etc). My Book Mood varies, and sometimes I -like this time- don't even realize right away until I can't find anything i want to read.

u/OwlIndependent7270 — 2 days ago
▲ 7 r/bookhaul

Non-Fiction

I read 68 books last year, and i got to about 15 in April. I abruptly stopped (a new video game was the primary cause), and I've since struggled to find something i wanted to read. Last week, i realized that the primary issue was that my book mood had switched to non- fiction.

I started and am currently reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky. I knew Salt was an important commodity in the ancient world, but it far surpassed my expectations. The Romans, Basques, and Vikings (in a different way) all played a vital role in salt production and/or a vital role in associated commodities (cod being one of the largest).

He piqued my interest in those cultures that I have only base knowledge of (excluding The Basques. Before starting Salt, I knew zero). The second picture is my new TBR after adjusting it for nonfiction.

u/OwlIndependent7270 — 10 days ago
▲ 12 r/currentlyreading

Salt by Mark Kurlansky

Last year, i read 68 books, I believe. This year, I've struggled. Around April, I essentially stopped reading after about 15 books. I read Angel Down a couple of months ago and City of Thieves a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed them both, but after finishing CoT, I couldn't find another book that I wanted to read. I realized that part of my problem is that my reading mood has shifted from fiction to nonfiction.

After looking through my books, I settled upon this, and holy crap it's interesting. He excels at making a bland (ha! pun intended) topic interesting. I haven't been bored in the 100 pages I've read thus far. I knew salt was an important commodity, but it played a far larger role than i could believe.

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u/OwlIndependent7270 — 14 days ago
▲ 4 r/vocabulary

"Great Word Usage"

So, I'm almost 40 years old (39M), and I would say that I have a larger vocabulary than the average person. I'm not a pompous ass about it, and I generally don't use large words in my everyday life that most people don't know... but sometimes, one of those words conveys your position, thought, or idea perfectly. If that's the case, then I'll use it. I've actually spent a lot of time improving my vocabulary simply by reading and using a dictionary if I don't know what a word is. Some I incorporated into my normal vocabulary, and many I've forgotten. There is this guy at work - he's my age - and he more than once has said to me, "great word usage!" The words were specifically "penance" and "obfuscate. " Penance I've used plenty of times (not generally speaking of catholic confession. He made some simple mistake, and I jokingly told him, "your penance is such and such", because I'm a giant smartass). He and another coworker were lauding the word usage because they'd never heard it used that way before. The other (and more recent) time I used the word "obfuscate" - in the correct context - in our conversation, and he said, "great word usage!"

Has anyone else experienced something similar? It might just be him because he's kind of weird, but I just felt that a grown adult complimenting someone on their use of a, let's say, "obscure" word was very odd. It pretty much tanks the conversion because it is just plain weird to compliment an adult the way you'd compliment a child on their vocabulary.

I'm sure I'm overthinking this (it's my specialty), but i just wanted to ask others. I'm not sure exactly where this goes, but this seemed like the best sub from the ones I've found.

Thank you!

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u/OwlIndependent7270 — 15 days ago
▲ 128 r/restoration

Butcher Block

This is a very old butcher block that - we were told - came from the Kansas City Stockyards. One of the previous owners purchased and placed it. The wood is all dovetailed, and it has 4 long square-head nuts and bolts across the length. I also included some pictures of about 1/3 of the broken knife tips, adding to the provenance. I'm not interested in fully restoring it or removing any patina. I just want to redo the surface because we use it often, and I've never done any refinishing. If we use use a knife and it leaves small cuts, they are almost self- healing. They don't stay around, and the ones we have now are barely visible. I'm sure it's probably just a thick layer of beeswax - the top is definitely coated with some type of wax. I don't know how to get that wax off to even try to redo the top. Should I even attempt it? Would running a torch over to melt and even out the wax do anything?

And about the large crack, the block is structurally sound. I've thought about cleaning it out, adding glue, tightening the bolt, and clamping it, but i worry it would do more harm than good. There is a 3 foot bolt running through it, and it's never shifted a millimeter. The wood filler looking stuff was not placed by me. And my cat has kind of destroyed the base. It can easily be rebuilt. I've tried to mitigate it, but the base isn't as important. And I can't move it, either. I'm not sure if it's bolted to the floor or if it's just that heavy, but it doesn't move.

If you would like other pictures, I can provide them.

u/OwlIndependent7270 — 29 days ago
▲ 1 r/XboxGamers

Keyboard Compatibility

I've been playing Helldivers 2 a lot lately. I don't have a headset (don't want one), but communication is still important. There is a chat feature, but it's a pain trying to type anything in a mission. There are chatpads that you can connect directly to your controller, but i have a Scuf Valor Pro, and they aren't compatible. I've found a few inexpensive options on Amazon (link below for the one I'm looking at), I just can't figure out if they are compatible with Xbox or not. I don't need anything fancy. I don't chat all the time, I just need a faster way to send a message if I need to.

Thanks!

https://a.co/d/0ecj5ptp

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u/OwlIndependent7270 — 1 month ago
▲ 1 r/Discussion

What's Your Favorite Disney Movie?

Or also, what is your favorite Disney character/villain? Why are these questions still so common when talking about kids' movies or shows? I have 4 kids under 10, so I have a ton of experience, but Illumination has out-produced and outclassed Disney (and DreamWorks, Sony [sans K-Pop], etc) in every sense for the last decade. We got tickets for the new Minions movie tomorrow, which is what got me thinking.

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u/OwlIndependent7270 — 1 month ago