The Brooks Review

Top Posts

The Hype: Yoshida & Co’s Porter BagsAugust 26, 2025
G-SHOCK DW-H5600 After 7 MonthsJuly 31, 2025
Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022

Recent Articles

  • Keizoku

    Keizoku

    Neat little app.

    A reader sent in an app they made, and I have to say, I kind of dig it. It’s very simple, but simple is good.

  • A Staggering Amount of Words Objecting to Something You Can Choose to Not Use

    A Staggering Amount of Words Objecting to Something You Can Choose to Not Use

    Yikes.

    Part one is over 4,500 words. Part two is over 2,500 words. So like a total of, hang on let me ask Claude because those are big fucking numbers, Claude says the sum of those is:

    A one-star Amazon review of a $12 cable

    It would have been much simpler for Gruber to just say “Hey! Hey! HEY! You, Claude, get off my fucking lawn.”

    Anyways, I didn’t read much more than 1/3 the first post, but I have to ask if someone would check on Gruber. Maybe buy him a drink.

  • Member Journal — 8/17/26

    Member Journal — 8/17/26

    Let’s talk about my three e-ink tablets.

    This week: e-ink tablets.

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  • Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow

    Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow

    This light bar is fantastic and won’t break the bank.

    Note: This item was provided for review.

    For the last couple of months (or more?) Amazon has been recommending this light bar to me, but since I already had one, I kept scrolling. Then Quntis reached out to ask if I wanted a review sample of the Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow 16.1 inch (41 cm) Grey, and I accepted — I needed to know how well this light worked given how much less expensive it is than the leading brand(s).

    It’s been about a month of full-time use on this, and it’s very good, and when you factor in the value proposition, it’s fantastic. Let’s dive in.

    (more…)

  • Gear Report — 8/12/26

    Gear Report — 8/12/26

    New stuff, still many tools.

    This week: new gears.

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  • Member Journal — 8/10/26

    Member Journal — 8/10/26

    Yeah I messed some stuff up along the way.

    This week: lessons from the stuff I’ve been building.

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  • Gear Report — 8/5/26

    Gear Report — 8/5/26

    This was a good buy.

    This week: 7,500 miles on the Land Cruiser.

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  • Member Journal — 8/3/26

    Member Journal — 8/3/26

    Literary snake oil.

    This week: Pangram is bullshit.

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  • Gear Report — 7/29/26

    Gear Report — 7/29/26

    A random collection of new things.

    This week: new gears.

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  • Member Journal — 7/27/26

    Member Journal — 7/27/26

    My current thoughts on LLMs, and how I use them.

    This week: current AI models, usage, and tools.

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  • Gear Report — 7/22/26

    Gear Report — 7/22/26

    When remodel meets pocket knives.

    This week: using your pocket knives hard(er).

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  • Member Journal — 7/20/26

    Member Journal — 7/20/26

    Working thoughts, haha, see what I did there.

    This week: some thoughts on working and such.

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  • Meermin Welted Deck Shoe

    Meermin Welted Deck Shoe

    An excellent summer shoe for anything.

    Note: this item was provided for review.

    When I was offered the chance to have a review sample of Meermin’s new ‘Welted Deck Shoe’ sent over, I jumped at it. I am a huge fan of Meermin’s offerings, finding the finishing, style, and comfort of every pair I have tried to be fantastic. I am happy to say that these deck shoes are no different: great looking, well made, and comfortable.

    I’ve been wearing these for several weeks now, and I would happily spend my own money on these if something were to happen to them. Let’s dive into why.

    (more…)

  • Gear Report — 7/15/26

    Gear Report — 7/15/26

    You have been asking about my thoughts on saws, right?

    This week: new gear, and some thoughts on saws.

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  • Member Journal — 6/13/26

    Member Journal — 6/13/26

    We need to take a stand against how shitty everything is getting.

    This week: everything is shitty now.

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  • Gear Report — 7/8/26

    Gear Report — 7/8/26

    A quick note.

    This week: a coupon code.

  • Member Journal — 7/6/26

    Member Journal — 7/6/26

    Life on Linux is not as bad and hard as you might worry.

    This week: thoughts on living with Linux and a Framework.

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  • Zero Tolerance 0512

    Zero Tolerance 0512

    This is a beast of a knife, and it’s awesome.

    Whew, I saw this show up on a website, and I love the way it looked. Then I dove into the details and it seemed like the kind of knife I could perfectly justify buying, as I have nothing else like it.

    This is a beast of a knife, and it’s absolutely fantastic.

    (more…)

  • Gear Report — 7/1/26

    Gear Report — 7/1/26

    More new tools.

    This week: new tools!

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  • Member Journal — 6/29/26

    Member Journal — 6/29/26

    Some thoughts on Macs with the price increases.

    This week: Om, Macs, and iPhones.

    ## We Lost a Good One

    This past week, Om Malik passed. That was sad news to hear across the tech-blogosphere, as he’s been a staple for a very long time. He was a kind man. Not someone I was close enough with where I’d say he was a friend, but certainly an acquaintance.

    The type of guy who would send me the odd email, which would lead to a back-and-forth email conversation which might last months. He’d ask me for advice on a new blog or newsletter setup. Why me? I don’t know, but I always loved his curiosity.

    The type of guy who, when I was looking for work and reached out to him, put me in touch with the founder and CEO of a company in mere hours. A nice guy. A genuine guy. We shared emails, video chats, and the like, but never found ourselves in the same locale at the same time.

    The world is a little less bright without him.

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