I am so grateful that people continue to prompt me for suggestions and interests of the things I would appreciate as gifts. I’m hard to shop for and worse at reciprocating, but for some reason people continue to express generosity towards me. This page is intended to show the interests and excitements I am shopping around, some of which are reasonable and some of which are crazy and aspirational.
About this list
I’m trying this format out, since I don’t want to limit ideas to those available on Amazon and further enrich them. One disadvantage is that it may be harder to tell if someone has gotten the same thing for me (not that so many people are shopping that this tends to be a problem). If you have concerns, please coordinate with my partner and she can serve as a clearinghouse for such things.
Video Games
Also on my list are, Going Medieval, Elden Ring, the Riven remaster, and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Fun With Research
If you want to get me something that I’m not expecting, here’s a couple things that I want, but I don’t know what I want.
Jamie got me a lovely display light saber at Galaxy’s Edge, and since then I’ve really wished I had another one that I could hit things with (such as other light sabers!). There are some wonderful builders in the niche collector world. I don’t want something crazy fancy like the combat sabers at Vader’s Vault, but I would like something nicer than the cheap knockoffs on Amazon. The lightsabers reddit is a good starting point for researching options and finding something robust and with good features without spending too much. Primarily I’d like a decent saber with a quality core-soundboard like the Proffie, CFX, or Verso. It’s a fun topic to research and poke at options, but I haven’t had the time and would enjoy the surprise as a gift.
The other thing I would like, but I haven’t had a good chance to research is a new mechanical keyboard. The main things I’m looking for in a new keyboard are that it runs on one of the programmable firmwares that let me map keys and macros and that it has very quiet key action during phone calls. I’ve heard good things about the Topre Rubber Dome keyswitches, and there may be others out there that are very quiet (I definitely don’t want loud and clicky).
Music and Listening
Listening to music, I’ve been enjoying my first set of high-quality wired headphones and I’ve heard amazing things about the Qudelix-5K Reference DAC AMP, which can simultaneously take computer audio and music playback from a phone and amplify the signal with deep power and exceptionally fine equalization. I’m Ready for It.
I already have a good entry level pair of audiophile headphones, and have made the decision to practice with some of the “good” ones before getting crazy with any of the top-of-the-line Sennheisers and whatnot. New headphones are not a huge priority for me yet, but that said, if I were to get a next pair, I’d try the HiFiMAN Edition XS Planar Magnetic open back headphones. The reviews say they would be a solid step up on my Phillips set and that they are large enough to fit comfortably on my mellon.
One of my nostalgia favorites is radio drama, and I’d love to have a good copy of the 13 episodes of Doc Savage from the NPR radio series of 1985. CD Sets are available from Pulp Radio.
Handy Household and Home Office Stuff
I’ve spent a lot of time rewiring the outlets and switches in the house and if I’ve learned one thing, it is that I’m done with wire nuts! I would love to have a selection of Wago Wire Splicing connectors handy for the next time I’m pulling off a wall plate.