Idle Time

I know Black Friday—which these days lasts about a week, if not all of November—gets pushback for the crass commercialism of it, and I don’t disagree.

At the same time, I’m keenly aware that some folks need to save money wherever they can, and also that people who are in that position deserve nice things when they can get them.

Also, the pushback should be directed at big corporations that drive down costs by outsourcing their labor to workers in foreign countries whom they can pay pennies on the dollar, and then have to lower their prices and offer sales in order to sell anything to now-impoverished people at home. Small businesses don’t have the same culpability; they’re just trying to scrape by in a market where everybody’s belts are tightened and the big boys hold the marketing megaphones.

So, here’s my little attempt to help: A collection of Black Friday sales that I think you should check out, because I think the product is worthwhile. These are all by small businesses; some are only one or a few people, while others might be a bit larger but still aren’t humongous mega-corporations.

Nothing in this post is a paid advert. With only one exception, these are products I’ve bought before with my own money and like enough to recommend. The exception is my own cookbook, so I hope you’ll indulge me on that.

Unless otherwise noted, all of these deals are available all day today, if not longer. There are a couple that end before then!

Software for macOS

• Acorn

  What: Image editor (competitor to Affinity, Photoshop, etc.)
  How much: $20, which is half-off
  How: No effort needed; price shown is with discount
  When: For one week (so, through Thursday)

• Kaleidoscope

  What: Diffing tool (like FileMerge but better)
  How much: $57.60, which is 40% off, each year for two years (it is a yearly subscription), and you get an extra two months free
  How: Coupon code KS23BF25
  When: Until Wednesday, December 3

  I admit that I don’t use the current version; I use version 3, which was the last version with a perpetual license. But they don’t sell that version anymore, so if you want to start using Kaleidoscope for your diffing, and you can afford the yearly cost, this is the best deal going.

Reading material

• I Need Food

  What: My cookbook!
  How much: $2.50, which is half-off (you can also pay more if you like)
  How: No effort needed; price shown is with discount
  When: Through Wednesday, December 3

  This is a cookbook for people who aren’t cooks. If you’re low on energy, or don’t want to stock ten million different ingredients, or just want easier-to-follow instructions, my cookbook is for you.

• Iron Circus comics

  What: Graphic novels and anthologies
  How much: Half-off sitewide
  How: Add to cart; discount shows in cart automatically
  When: Until 9 PM PT today

  Iron Circus publishes a wide variety of stories by independent, mostly queer authors. One recent title that I recommend is “Motherlover”, about two moms who meet when one of them moves into the neighborhood, and how their lives change as a result. You can also read it for free online, but reading webcomics from PDFs is generally a nicer experience than waiting for each and every page to load.

  Note: Some titles Iron Circus publishes are meant for adults. These are clearly marked.

• Wizard Zines

  What: Educational zines about various (mostly computer) topics, the newest one being “The Secret Rules of the Terminal”
  How much: Half-off sitewide
  How: Add to cart; discount shows in cart automatically
  When: Until 9 PM PT today

  Julia Evans combines solid explanations that promote understanding with a cheerful, encouraging style. No matter the topic, you’ll come away feeling like you can do it.

Respiratory health/disease prevention

• Flo Mask

  What: High-quality reusable mask to block smoke, viruses, and more
  How much: 25% off sitewide
  How: Coupon code FLO25OFF
  When: Through December 15

  I know most people have at this point resigned themselves to getting covid over and over, but for those of us who still insist on staying healthy, a good mask is vital. The Flo Mask is my preferred mask as a glasses-wearer, and produces less plastic waste (because you only have to throw away the filter) compared to N95s.

• SIP

  What: Drinking valve for N95 masks
  How much: Today, buy two, get one free; from today until 9 PM PT on December 1, buy four, get two free
  How: Add three/six items to cart; discount shows in cart automatically

  One of the challenges of wearing a mask for extended periods is staying hydrated. Doffing the mask to take a drink is a little bit of a hassle and wears on the elastics. This thing enables you to basically just drink through your mask, while still maintaining an airtight seal whenever you’re not drinking.

  I have tried it with my Flo Mask and found that the two don’t combine very well; I’d mounted it in the middle of the filter, where the largest gap in the frame is, and that proved to be too high up. At some point I might try installing it lower. But if you use N95s or other disposable masks that don’t have a plastic frame behind them, this may work a lot better for you.

• Aranet4 Home

  What: Carbon dioxide monitor
  How much: $143, 46% off
  How: No effort needed; price shown is with discount
  When: Ends Tuesday, if I’m doing the math correctly

  Carbon dioxide is an indoor pollutant that tends to accumulate in enclosed spaces such as unventilated rooms, cars, buses, etc. The more people in a space, the more people building up CO² there. If you’ve ever gotten sleepy on a long drive or a shuttle bus ride, CO² is probably why. I did a long drive with an Aranet4 some years ago and it quickly identified I was accumulating CO² inside my car; I turned my car’s fan up higher and that fixed it. I’ve kept it set that way, and I’ve never gotten sleepy on a long drive ever since.

  This is in the covid-prevention section because carbon dioxide accumulation in an enclosed space can also be a rough proxy for germ transmission risk, since if CO² is piling up, germs might be, too. I say “can be” and “might be” because filtration can remove germs from the air but not carbon dioxide, so if there are visible air purifiers or if filters have been installed in the HVAC system (and maintained), the risk might not be as elevated as the CO² levels.

  Still, if CO² levels are elevated, you might want to (weather permitting) open a window—for multiple reasons.

Other

• Wicked Cushions

  What: Replacement headphone earpads
  How much: 25% off sitewide
  How: Coupon code BFCM2025
  When: Through Monday, I think

  I’ve written about these before. If the earpads on your headphones are falling apart but the rest of the headphones are still perfectly good, you might be able to replace the earpads alone.

• LD Products

  What: Toner cartridges (and ink, but I haven’t tried their ink)
  How much: 20% off their own-brand cartridges; 5% off brand-name cartridges
  How: Coupon code BLKFDY20
  When: Until 23:59 today PT

  Black toner is one of those things that’s basically a commodity; there’s not a lot of difference between brand-name or off-brand toner cartridges other than cost. I did find the LD Products toner cartridge for my laser printer produced somewhat darker prints; maybe their toner particles are slightly bigger than the OEM toner. But it’s within my tolerance.

  They also sell ink, but my inkjet printer is one of those that takes its refills from bottles rather than having ink cartridges, so the name-brand ink for mine isn’t obscenely expensive and I’m not particularly motivated to try an off-brand. I’m even more disinclined to try their color ink, because the one or two times I tried off-brand color inks (in my old Color StyleWriter 2400), the color balance never came out right. That was many years ago with a different brand, but regardless, I haven’t tried LD Products’ ink and I’m not planning to.

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