I’ve been an Amazon customer since at least 1996 (remember when they only sold books?). I was pleasantly surprised at the end of that year when they sent me a free mouse pad; the next year, I got a free tumbler.

And that was the end of the freebies.

Until this month, when, out of the blue, I got invited to join Amazon Vine, which is a program to encourage reviews of selected items for sale on Amazon…but you get them for free (though the fair market value is taxable, and Amazon reports it to the IRS so they get the write-off).

I looked through the items on offer and found something I thought would be useful, a USB-C docking station, so I ordered it.

I hooked it up; it is, indeed useful (if nothing else, I have fewer cables on my desk than I did before). I’ve written and submitted a review, which should be posted soon. I don’t know how helpful the review will be to potential buyers, since the dock is “Currently Unavailable”, but I did my part!

I have three more items on order.

I had a busy day, but not one which generated any photos, nor much of interest. Mostly, I took care of tasks that had built up over the past month or so – you know, life stuff.

We did watch the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s production of King John tonight through their “Theatre on Film” program. I don’t think watching on TV did it justice; it would have been more interesting and involving in person. It’s the first time I’ve seen King John, and I think I understand why it’s one of the infrequently performed Shakespeare plays.