Coffee Break: Clip-On Cup Holder

42 Comments

1. Pro tip- after WFH, these work GREAT with beach chairs.

   1. Exactly what I was wondering. I could use the heck out of this come summer.

2. I do not understand why this product exists.

   1. Right. Isn’t a desk just one big place to put your cup?

   2. If your desk is waaay too small (govt agency, work with the furniture that you have), these can be useful as a tiny desk extender. Of course, only cups without handles fit in these. Often used not for drinks but for a pencil holder cup.

   3. I think it’s ugly but i actually could use something like this. I’ve knocked my water/tea/soda over so many times. I’m like a toddler apparently.

   4. This reminds me of a little piece of malware that went around many, many, MANY years ago. You’d get an email that said “click here to install a cup holder on your computer,” and when you clicked it would make the floppy disk drive (with hold in the middle, similar to a cup holder) slide open.

   5. It might be useful to have a place off to the side where you can’t knock over your cup into your keyboard/computer.

   6. While I don’t think I’d use it in my home office, it is great for playing games (like at a card table). My mom’s entire mahjong group has them, since space is limited. Not only does it mean drinks aren’y on the table, they are less likely to be knocked over due to the design.

3. In case anyone is interested, I ordered N95 masks from two of the companies in the NYT article. I’ve been wearing them pretty much exclusively for the past month. We’re last in line for the vaccine and I’m using these primarily to protect myself, not others (although that’s a bonus). The Demetech ones were almost twice the price of the United States Mask ones ($80 after shipping vs. $50 after shipping). They both seem very well made and sturdy. The US Mask ones are individually packaged within the box, the Demetech ones are not. Both are around the head elastic only, which I think is a requirement for N95. US Mask’s elastics are a bit softer and comfier, but its nose bridge is less good. The Demetech masks have these foam strips under the adjustable nose bridge whereas the US Mask ones are like a straight metal wire under the mask material (and feel like it). I seem to get a better fit on the Demetech ones, although that might be my face shape. I can feel both masks “suck in” when I breath in.

   1. If you care to, you can purchase nose bridge strips — both foam and metal, which can be used together or separately — on Amazon. So you could apply a foam strip into the masks that don’t come with them to make them more comfortable/better fitting. I have used these on some fabric masks that don’t have nose wires and they help make the mask rest lower on and closer to my face.

   2. Not OP, but I recommend AccuMed. Well-established medical supplies distributor that carries N95s as well as other mask options that includes all rating info and manufacturer.

   3. Are you paying $80 for one N95 mask?? Or are you buying a pack?

4. Hey y’all, Does anyone know of an app, spreadsheet template, etc. to help with tracking your billable hours target? I’d like to be able to easily see how many hours I still need to bill (on a daily or weekly basis) to hit my target for the year. Any recommendations welcome! Hoping to avoid reinventing the wheel… Thanks!

   1. Are you sure your existing software does not have this feature? Every billing interface I have ever used does have this in some form, though it has been more obvious and user-friendly in some than in others.

      1. My large Biglaw firm’s software does not do this or anything even close to it.

   2. Yes, there was a spreadsheet recommended here a while back. I think it was $40. I wish I could remember the name. If you can’t find it from some searches, post again tomorrow!

   3. Easy Hours is an app I use for consulting. It lets you separate into project.

      You can try the free version, then pay for more features if you like it.

5. Re: the TV recs this morning

   I’m a fan of the British crime/detective genres. Loved Broadchurch, currently on the last season of Marcella and have watched a lot of them on PBS in the pre-streaming days.

   I am currently just blindly stumbling through whatever Netflix recommends (like The Stranger) but think I could be more methodical about this and also use services other than Netflix.

   What series did you really love?

   For some reason I mostly can’t get into the American ones like CSI etc. They feel expensive yet cheap compared to what the Brits do.

   1. Loved Morse and the spinoffs (Endeavor, Lewis). Probably loved the spinoffs more. Also Grantchester.

      If you loved Broadchurch there’s a great four-or-so-episode series called Deadwater Fell starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo from The Good Fight. I watched it on AcornTV on Amazon. In fact, Acorn should be right up your alley.

      1. DAVID TENNANT.

         That is all.

         1. Indeed.

            Have you seen Staged? It’s a pandemic series done on Zoom with David Tennant and Michael Sheen. More of a novelty than anything else but lots of great Tennant content.

   2. Ooo! I got this…Luther, Shetland, Hinterland, Foyle’s War, The Fall. I’m not sure how many of them are still on Netflix, but they are some of my favorite British crime shows. I also go in and out of Silent Witness which has a CSI number of episodes at this point. And in case you’re okay with subtitles, there are some good French ones too: The Chalet, The Frozen Dead, La Mante. The Tunnel is also great (think it’s a PBS one) that’s dual French/British.

      1. Oh The Fall was so good.

   3. You might want Acorn or Britbox — think the Agatha Christie mysteries, Father Brown, Grantchester…

      1. Oooh, I love Father Brown! Foyle’s War is another good one with a similar vibe.

      2. Also check out which streaming service you can get for free through you library. Hoopla, which I can get through my library, has a ton of BBC/PBS/Acorn content.

   4. I liked Happy Valley. It is not happy, but it is good TV.

      1. Ooh I thought Siohban Finneran/O’Brien was great in the Stranger. Happy Valley looks like something I’d really like.

   5. Oooh, Scary British Murder is my favorite genre! I have also watched Sherlock, Bodyguard, London Spy, The Five, DCI Banks, Hinterland. When I asked for recommendations from friends, I was told to watch The Stranger, Luther, Line of Duty, River, No Offence, Hidden, Giri/Haji, The Night Manager, The Fall.

      My dream job now is to be a DCI.

      1. At some point I should probably find out what DCI stands for since it’s in all of my shows!

         1. Detective Chief Inspector. I might have watched way too many such shows and read way, way too many British detecetive novels.

            I also recommend the OG of such series, Prime Suspect.

            1. I LOOOOOVED Prime Suspect!

   6. Happy Valley! Unforgotten!

   7. “Shetland” on Netflix is fantastic also “Midsomer Murders” – more funny than gross but so lovely for murder mysteries. Also on Acorn “No Offence” – unbelievably talented women protagonists, “Manhunt” (Martin Clunes – divine), “Code of a Killer” – about the first forensic use of DNA. On CBC Gem in Canada we can stream “Happy Valley” which used to be on Netflix, and “The Tunnel” which are both amazing, although quite dark. In a slightly different vein but yet another example of how other nationalities do things better than the US alone for TV (apologies, American friends), I can also highly recommend “Lillehammer” on Netflix which is SO GOOD and yet also SO FUNNY. I have had to ration myself with all of these series.

      1. I have decided it is worth $5/month to pay for CBC Gem premium and stream without ads. I just started Miss Scarlett and the Duke, which is hitting all of my “mysteries but make them historical and pretty” requirements for escapist TV.

   8. I’ve loved all of these and will add Wallander. Based on the Swedish novels but with British accents.

   9. I don’t watch it regularly, but will often watch Vera on PBS when visiting a family member. It’s usually enjoyable and the “who dunnit?” answer is typically a total surprise to me.

      Also, not at all related to British detective shows, but I missed this morning’s post and wanted to recommend Grey’s Anatomy as a series to get into. I recently watched it for the first time, all the way through. It takes ages because there’s so many episodes but I really enjoyed every single one!

   10. If you’re willing to give an American one a try, the third season of True Detective felt a lot more like Broadchurch than something like CSI. It was good and quite unlike the other previous seasons.

       1. Thank you. I liked almost all the episodes of True Detective and I agree. I also like Barry, for a different twist. I guess it’s the CBS, NBC, ABC stuff I really don’t like.

   11. Thanks everyone! I’m writing all these down. It looks like I need at least one more streaming service.

       We switched to all streaming because cable seemed ridiculously expensive when we watched maybe 5% of the channels but streaming is figuring out how to creep back in on the money side.

       1. I pay ~$5/month each for both the Britnox and Acorn “channels” on Amazon Prime and find it very worth it! If you have Prime, you have Prime Video and can watch a lot for free!

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