Welcome to the beginning of the end of 2025!

To usher in this year’s season of “Best Of” lists, I’m starting with the best things that exist in the real world that don’t fit into ofthe rmediums. I am not sponsored by any of these products or places but really really wish some of theme would!

Starting with:

No slam toilet seats.

I am not kidding at all when I say: No slam toilet seats will change your life.

As a guy who stands to piss, not having to reach down and gently lower the seat for my seat-sitting roommates and co-workers is easily giving me back hours of my life. That and I don’t have to touch a toilet seat every time I piss.

And yes, you read that right: I made my workplace install no-slam toilet seats. No longer is there any reason to leave the seat up.

Also, how many times has a seat accidentally slammed shut mid-piss, creating pure chaos? It’s a fear in the back of your mind you no longer have to indulge with a no-slam seat.

It’s so life changing that when you go somewhere that has a slam seat¹ , it feels like your stepping back in time. I don’t know why everyone does not use them. Even weirder when hotels have slam seats, like you’re supposed to be luxurious but now you expecting me to lower my own toilet seat? Are you crazy?

Dish Daddy

As the person in my household who does the majority of the dishes² , I really respect a good dish wand. This year I came across the Dish Daddy Scrub Daddy Dish Wand™.

If you have any experience with other wands like Scotch, the act of squeezing soap out of the wand will give you carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s like they don’t want to do the one thing you want a dish wand for. I have never had any issues with the Scrub Daddy wand.

It’s also has a handy er, handle that you can stand the wand up when not using. Unlike the other brands that are shaped like suppositories.

Surprisingly sturdy and long lasting. Yeah they’re more expensive than the other brands but I got 2 Scrub Daddy’s over a year ago and I’m still using the first one.

Café De Olla from De La Tierra Café

Nestled in between a dance studio and a Mexican tienda is a little café with handmade furniture and a lot of good coffee.

It opened in late 2024 and when I finally gave it a try, I instantly fell in love. First off, De La Tierra is owned and operated by 3 Mexican women. No private equity here. Second, all the food is made fresh when you order, no tossing things in the microwave. Finally, they make the best café de olla I have ever had in my life.

I’ve had café de olla before but other places either rely too heavily on the sugar or the cinnamon. De La Tierra has the perfect balance of spices and sugar that isn’t overwhelming. Like a good addict there was a period where I was having 4 to 5 a week. It’s that good.

So if your ever in the area I highly recommend supporting these ladies.

Vertical Gaming Mouse

As someone who only recently (relatively) got my first gaming PC, adjusting to playing more games with a mouse and keyboard is an on going battle. One thing that has always bothered me during extended gaming sessions is the dumbass design of the modern gaming mouse. The buttons are so sensitive and my hand rests on the mouse fighting gravity the entire time so as not to accidentally click something. This is caveman era technology, I needed to adapt.

Of course Razor made a vertical gaming mouse but they also wanted $100+ for it. After extensive YouTube research I finally landed on the Trust Gaming GXT 144 Rexx Vertical Gaming Mouse. It’s about half the price of the top-shelf mice but I haven’t experienced any hiccups with it at all and my sessions have been way more comfortable for far longer.

The New York Review of Books

Nothing gets me more excited to read than the critiques in the NYRoB. They are just so smart and in depth that I often add multiple books to my reading list from one review.

They also review many mediums, not just books. One of my favorites being a critique of a live performance of Romeo & Juliet that inspired me to read more Shakespeare.

For less than $100 a year for 20 packed issues (And often on sale for $45) I really can’t complain about the price. Don’t underestimate how fun it is to have something in your mail other than bills on coupon clippers.

Also, you will never feel more like the intellectual elite than reading this giant formatted paper in public.

Other Notables:

** “In my own case, open marriage did “work,” in that my marriage needed to end. Sometimes destruction is precisely the work that needs to happen.”

** A clear sign of obsession is risk blowing up your home, spending 8 hours and $40 to do something that saves you $20.

1  That’s what they’re called now: Slam Seats.

2  This really has nothing to to do with my roommates, I just kinda like doing the dishes.