Essentials: What in Your Life?

Headphones. 

In a year that I flew in excess off 100k miles, my Sennheiser headphones were essential for me!

Pan-Am leather shoulder bag.  I've had it for over six years now after purchasing it from a store in SOHO.  The company that makes it purchased the logo when the airline went bankrupt.  It has replaced my company's laptop bag and backpack.  I like it because of the nostalgia and because it is still functional as a personal item when traveling on a plane.  

Shoes!  Bought a few pair of Aldo’s recently.

doubled posted:

Pan-Am leather shoulder bag.  I've had it for over six years now after purchasing it from a store in SOHO.  The company that makes it purchased the logo when the airline went bankrupt.  It has replaced my company's laptop bag and backpack.  I like it because of the nostalgia and because it is still functional as a personal item when traveling on a plane.  

Very cool and retro!

jabe11 posted:

Shoes!  Bought a few pair of Aldo’s recently.

Nice. I don’t know the brand but one can never have enough shoes.

A fine ( or numerous) tool watch. 😎

Bespoken suits. My last purchase recently arrived from Harris and Howard. 

I've been rocking my Deutsche Bank branded sweatshirt for almost 16 years now.  Especially when the weather gets cold.

The other is this 1$ bamboo backscratcher from china town.  If i didnt look totally classless in public, i might acutally consider travelling with it.

Nothing new but my iPad Pro is pretty darn essential on a daily basis. I haven’t traveled with a laptop in years and even in the office I use my iPad 90% of the time.  

Golfclubs

Cellar

Cigars

Wife

(Not necessarily in that order) 

uschelseafan posted:

Golfclubs

Cellar

Cigars

Wife

(Not necessarily in that order) 

Which cigars would you say are your top 3-4 go to cigars?

Golf Clubs

Swimsuit

Skechers slip on shoes - so comfortable

Parabolic skis

i-pad/pc

Costco - wine, meat and various other goodies

Sunglasses-much needed in Arizona and Utah

Headphones:

Sennheiser HD 600 open back -- best sounding phones I've heard. Amazing clarity and definition, and a HUGE sound stage.

But thanks to Rob for also turning me on to the Meze 99 Classics. He made me realize I needed closed back phones. Warmer sound than the Sennheisers, and also lovely to look at.

And for running or working around the house/yard, I love my Jaybird X2 wireless Bluetooth buds. The best sounding buds I've heard - even better than the Jaybird X3 and Jaybird Run.

The other essential: a Kindle.

Gieve's & Hawkes denim jeans (& Dutil Denim Shop). G&H on Savile Row used to make jeans. They were the best jeans. Fit me like I was the mannequin they were created for. They stopped production and I bought 5 pairs. All of them eventually wore out in the crotch. Dutil rebuilt them to the point where a foot away you couldn't tell. I have my jeans back.  

My wallet. Card holder that fits 4 cards on each side. Every time I pull it out I love it. It was a fidget spinner long before they were a thing and the pearl from the stingray will let it spin like a top for 30+ seconds. The pictures were from before it was folded in half. 

I've been thinking about this since I first saw this question, and couldn't come up with an immediate answer - the reality is that it's everything I have, or nothing that I have.  But in terms of those things that I use daily and enrich my life, I would say my car.  Sure, I could get by with an old beater that gets me from point A to point B.  But I really enjoy my BMW 535 i xDrive and look forward to driving it every day.

And, as Sunnylea mentioned, my Kindle App on my iPad.

I thought you were going to post the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles Championship Season DVD so you can watch it every year when the team is officially eliminated from the playoffs.  

sunnylea57 posted:

Headphones:

Sennheiser HD 600 open back -- best sounding phones I've heard. Amazing clarity and definition, and a HUGE sound stage.

But thanks to Rob for also turning me on to the Meze 99 Classics. He made me realize I needed closed back phones. Warmer sound than the Sennheisers, and also lovely to look at.

And for running or working around the house/yard, I love my Jaybird X2 wireless Bluetooth buds. The best sounding buds I've heard - even better than the Jaybird X3 and Jaybird Run.

Thanks for this.  I have been considering Sennheiser phones for home use, and definitely want open back, so I will look into the 600.  I need some closed back ones, too, for traveling.  I was not familiar with the Meze.  Is that a better option than closed back Senns?

doubled posted:

I thought you were going to post the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles Championship Season DVD so you can watch it every year when the team is officially eliminated from the playoffs.  

It's on the DVR I guess your Le'Veon Bell jersey is headed to the goodwill bin 

I've been in a serious funk the past few months. I keep buying stuff, but none of it has been providing any joy. Like sunnylea, my Kindle is my daily companion. I just received the new Kindle Oasis today to give a straight e-reader a go now that my tablet has gotten so big it's no longer comfortable to read with at night. 

Let me know how the kindle oasis is.  my tablet's ended up getting so bright that I couldn't sleep properly when i did a little reading.

Cards Against Humanity 

(Although the new ones don’t always allow for the same level of creativity)

haggis posted:

sunnylea57 posted:

Headphones:

Sennheiser HD 600 open back -- best sounding phones I've heard. Amazing clarity and definition, and a HUGE sound stage.

But thanks to Rob for also turning me on to the Meze 99 Classics. He made me realize I needed closed back phones. Warmer sound than the Sennheisers, and also lovely to look at.

And for running or working around the house/yard, I love my Jaybird X2 wireless Bluetooth buds. The best sounding buds I've heard - even better than the Jaybird X3 and Jaybird Run.

Thanks for this.  I have been considering Sennheiser phones for home use, and definitely want open back, so I will look into the 600.  I need some closed back ones, too, for traveling.  I was not familiar with the Meze.  Is that a better option than closed back Senns?

I haven't tried closed-back Sennheisers but if the open-back models are any indication, I expect the upper-range closed-back models are excellent. 

Here's a review of the SD 600s:

https://www.rtings.com/headpho...nheiser/hd-600-hd600

The main thing to note is the frequency response graph. A slight boost in the upper mid-range (2K), and the very low bass tails off, but I prefer this to the artificially enhanced bass-thumper phones that are prevalent these days.

The Meze were recommended to me by Rob Sutherland. Very high quality construction, very comfortable. I like the sound very much, but they do have a warmer sound than the Sennheisers with boosted low mids and bass. Here's a tech report showing the frequency response:

https://reference-audio-analyz.../meze-99-classic.php

wineart 2 posted:

uschelseafan posted:

Golfclubs

Cellar

Cigars

Wife

(Not necessarily in that order) 

Which cigars would you say are your top 3-4 go to cigars?

I'm a simple man. I like Ashtons.

Fine mechanical watch (es) for all occasions. 😎

sunnylea57 posted:

The other essential: a Kindle.

Basically just this 

My all clad copper core 10.5 inch essential pan but really just cooking in general.  Nothing relaxes me more after a busy day at work than turning on some music, making a cocktail and  cooking dinner for my family.  Cooking and pairing wine with a family meal is not just essential it is our lifestyle.  

I’ve been traveling more than normal this year including a few longer trips 4-5 days away at a time.  I cannot stand eating out 3 meals a day for more than a few days.  At home we cook probably 5 of the 7 nights and often breakfast, lunch and dinner on the weekends.  

GlennK reminded me: 5qt All-Clad Copper Core Sauté Pan. I make an unnecessary percentage of my meals in this pan. Also, Wusthof Classic knives. Particularly the 8” Chef’s. I’ve played around with the fancy stuff — even purchased some. But this is what I always come back to. 

A proper set of knives! 

well then you need a proper set of sharpening stones!

g-man posted:

well then you need a proper set of sharpening stones!

We have a guy that picks up and cares for ours. He told me he is getting me a knife from a place named, Cut Brooklyn. Do you know of the place? 

wineart 2 posted:

g-man posted:

well then you need a proper set of sharpening stones!

We have a guy that picks up and cares for ours. He told me he is getting me a knife from a place named, Cut Brooklyn. Do you know of the place? 

w+a2,

Cut Brooklyn puts out a solid American made kitchen knife. The only thing I'll point out is they make some in stainless steel and quite a bit in high carbon steel which will require a bit more attention and will develop a nice patina. I'd be sure to ask your knife guy if there are any specific steps he recommends for caring for the particular blade he procures for you. I'm sure you'll enjoy it quite a bit. 

fly fishing in the flats (or almost any type of fishing for that matter) and cigars

Le Crueset dutch oven.  soups, stews, browning meats, as a cloche for baking bread. on the stove, in the oven, in the BGE....  without a doubt the most important tool in my kitchen.  And they last forever.  My mom just gave me the oval one she got as a wedding gift.  

and my bike.  any of them.  any bike really.  essential.  I've never got back from a ride in a worse frame of mind than when i jumped on it.