deleted by creator
I bought a cheap plumbers torch a little over two years ago and it’s been the most useful thing I’ve purchased. Lights my wood stove quickly and without hassle, lights my offset smoker, lights my firepit and any other fires quickly and effortlessly. It’s such a small thing but makes a huge difference in everyday life for me and my family. 4th of July is better without needing to constantly click a lighter that may or may not blow out from a gust of wind.
Didn’t buy this (got as gift) but Nicron B74 flashlight, super bright
Whirly-Pop popcorn pot. Perfect unburnt popcorn every time.
I got a mechanical keyboard for Black Friday this year. So much better than scissor switches. I think I got one with a yellow switch. Feels quite cushiony while still having the clickity clack.
I’ve have and have had multiple mechanical keyboards, with both blues and browns. I also have the Logi MX Keys S.
I think I prefer my cheap ass Dell keyboard at the office though.
Cordless vacuum was a costly one but certainly made that chore a lot more easy and kinda fun. I planned to store it in a closet but I’d take it out every few days so eventually I started leaving it on the floor, it’s not in the way there either.
On a similar note, robot vacuum. It cleans quite nicely, is surprisingly reliable, and as a bonus you keep the floor less cluttered to make sure it doesn’t run into stuff it shouldn’t.
This year, my partner and I traded our large “traditional” vacuum for a robot + cordless stick vacuum.
Honestly, a great decision. Robot vacuum runs once a weekday, house has never been cleaner. Anything it doesn’t get, we can quickly grab the cordless for.
I just got one too, pricier as you say, but removing the activation energy needed to lug around and plug in the old one means I might actually use it.
Yeah I got one of those Samsung ones with the dock you set it in when not in use. It charges it up and empties the canister into it’s own built in vacuum. I use it all the time to pick up the loose cat litter and quick vacuum jobs on the floors.
A cheap little projector I got using Amazon vouchers from my birthday. Is it perfect? No. Is it still great for watching movies and sport? Absolutely.
Which brend and model didyou get?
If you don’t mind, how did the Fitbit motivate you to be more active? I’ve been considering one for a while but it doesn’t seem like something I’d have a lot of utility for
Two ways:
One, it kinda gamified it for me, just having a score, meant I could go for a high score on days when I had the time for lots of steps/exercise. They build some in too, like streaks and hitting goals.Two, the HR monitor definitely helped me push harder in cardio workouts. Knowing when I hit my max, and when it started dipping made even short workouts feel more effective (even if they weren’t, placebo FTW).
Same… 35kgs for me… I’ve put about 10kg.back.on…but im less active than I used.to be to get the weight off
That’s awesome. Yeah, definitely a rollercoaster for me, winter gets harder since walking was/is a big part of my routine. But even 25kg must feel great. I love feeling like I’ve kept some of the muscle, but lost a beer keg worth of extra weight every time I climb some stairs or carry something heavy.
At first, solo, very solo. Like I’d even avoid my wife until I felt comfortable, because at my size (was over 300lbs) certain things were embarrassingly difficult. As I lost some, and more importantly found workouts that worked for me, I started venturing out, now I do a lot of group classes (dance stuff mostly). Even though I’m still often the biggest, I feel a lot better about myself overall so I enjoy it and I’ve found some very supportive studios with awesome vibes.
Blink twice if you’re in danger
Nah, that’s boomer humor. Since it’s not really expected that we have to get married, and divorce isn’t as frowned upon, generally speaking most people who are married nowadays want to be.
You just need the ring?
I went the whole hog and got the package with wife/wedding as well. Like you, It brings me joy every day, but was probably a lot more expensive than just getting a ring.
Actually, the wife came for free. Got a complimentary upgrade from the girlfriend package from her… The fool. I’d paid all I had three times over for her. 17 days ago, she got me another upgrade with the “newborn son” addon. Can’t wait to see how that turns out in the long run. This one won’t be free though.
deleted by creator
Takes a while to configure its settings just right, especially when it frequently wipes them.
Congratulations on the new kiddo, and good luck! The learning curve on that one is steep, and the return policy is draconic, but it’s still one of the most worthwhile things I’ve ever done.
Those addons are fun for about 12 years, but then they become really expensive with micro transactions like crazy, and later ending needing an entire college DLC. Start saving.
I have a couple of the same addons. I’m on day four thousand and something. Can confirm those addons are not free.
A home server. Originally a Dell R710, now a custom built desktop.
If I can possibly self host something now I will do that over using big tech proprietary services. I feel free.
Just don’t forget backups! I use Borgbackup for mine.
I know some people don’t want a home server because of the space it’d take up, but you can get pretty powerful mini PCs these days (look for ones with an i3-N305 processor) or buy cheap second-hand ex-office PCs on eBay.
For people that still don’t want to have a physical server at their house, you can do a lot of the same self-hosting stuff using a VPS. If you live in an area with expensive electricity (like California or Australia), you can usually get a VPS with a modern processor, ~8GB RAM, and a decent amount of NVMe disk space for $5/month or less, which is easily what it’d cost you just for the electricity usage of a home server.
Can you recommend a good VPS service? I’ve been meaning to get a Synology, but it’s out of my budget for now.
Same. I’m almost completely off the cloud at this point and I love it.
How do you access it away from home. I’m able to access my NAS since Synology gives us a domain to use and we do everything using port forwarding. I would assume that if you set everything up by yourself, you would need to get your own domain and ssl certificates and everything?
I setup my own VPN using this on a raspberry pi. Using the ikev2. I like DietPi for the OS.
Yes! I have so much random junk I’ve fidgeted with on my desk, and a fidget cube really helps.
Care to share a link please?
There’s millions but here’s an example on Amazon.
PTX Products Matte White and Neon Green Fidget Cube https://a.co/d/4lLZJry
Note there’s more than a cube. As someone with two ADHD boys and myself with ADHD there’s lots of options and they’re almost all cheap just find what works for you
Its kind of silly, but VR. I like hanging out in vrchat with my internet friends and it makes me feel a lot closer to them. Even when we’re just talking and goin to cool worlds.
Can you suggest what headset to get? Currently deciding between Quest and PSVR.
Not op but quest 2 is a great deal right now for cassual gaming. It works stand alone and with PC. I have also quest 3, but quest 2 is insanely cheap right now and will hold at least a couple of more years. The differences vs quest 3 do not justify the cost difference unless you are hardcore gamer. Imo
Valve Index kit is the best overall setup for the money. Quest headsets are for more casual gaming but the Index uses the power of your PC and its GPU for the graphics.
I got an older Vive Cosmos headset for like 300 dollars. The controllers kinda suck but its easy to use. Might upgrade tracking and get valve knuckles but its expensive to do so.
Was also gonna say this since expensive gadgets weren’t excluded. I played a bunch of VR minigolf over pandemic to socialize with my irl friends who I couldn’t hang out with and these days VR has been the center of more than half of the social gatherings at my place where I demo games and we pass the headset around for everyone to try different stuff. Seeing new people try VR for the first time never gets old.
Mobile telephone. Does all kinds of fancy stuff, it’s even got a torch!
A smart switch for my espresso machine so it turns on a timer each morning so it’s ready for when I get up, it takes about 25 minutes to fully warm up. Also I can turn it on or off using voice controls, great when I want another coffee later in the day.
Damn, that is a slow espresso machine. Mine takes like 1min.
Also, would that work for devices that need to have the “on” button pressed in order to turn on?
For example: Say I unplug one of my devices, while turned on. If I plug them again in the outlet, they will be turned off and I will have to turn them on again, even though they were on when I unplugged them.
Majority of any e61 espresso machine is like that, pretty much par for the course for anything other than budget non e61 or some of the new high end espresso machines that use some variation of electrically heated groups.
Mine will be “ready” after about 15 minutes but as an e61 group head is a heavy block it takes along time to get good thermal stability. Difference is I can steam and extract shots at the same time with 2bar steam and 9bar espresso, shot after shot.
My espresso machine has a proper on/off switch, so I just leave that set to on and control the power from the smart switch.
It’s more about getting the portafilter hot too.
As for the on button, I use a SwitchBot Bot.
They might have a different style. I have one of these, and it definitely takes 20 minutes or so to get up to pressure.
I didn’t think about a smart switch, like GP. That’s a slick idea. OTOH, I turn the machine on and go do something else for a few minutes - I don’t find it an imposition.
What don’t you like about the Bambino?
Is it a Switch bot?
If so, quick question: Does it need a hub? Or can I just but the switch, install an app for it, then couple it with a home assistant?
No, its a smart thing switch as I have the hub, so its z wave. However I have a lot of smart home switches, lights and so on so that makes sense for me. Plenty of options if you do not want a hub now.
The espresso machine has a proper on off button so I just leave it in on position and the switch turns the power on and off
The most common ones use WiFi, so you don’t need any hubs other than a router.
They nice machines but I wanted more consistent with its pressure and water flow, better steaming, not made by breville,and made with industry standard components that can last decades.
It’s a decent machine for the money but compared to its competitors from gaggia and rancilio what they lose in fancy programming or the pid or the easy steaming (which is still way off mine) they gain in actually having an opv (depending which one you have), build quality and self service.
I’ve seen far too many people have issues with breville stuff and then problems returning it. It’s not that good ones don’t exist it’s just that more reliable does.
To put your seven years into perspective I should be getting 30 to 40 years out of mine with some regular servicing.
Steam Deck. Without question. I don’t think I would have been able to cope with the last year and a half of my life without it. This year has been very rough and I have been able to escape life while still spending time with my family. Top-tier psychological maintenance for me.
Same. Long Covid has me tied to my bed and with the Steam Deck I can at least get some gaming to pass the time. It’s awesome!
