I bought a nice pair of fingernail clippers. ~$15 Green Bell from Japan. You hardly have to apply any force to the lever at all, and the nail just slices off neatly and falls inside. Not like my old cheapo pair that went "KACHONK" and endangered anyone in my vicinity of shrapnel injuries.
I don't know man, the kachonk is a valuable part of the experience for me, great tactile feedback
I guess I can see the appeal of that. But it's pretty fun feeling like a nail salon samurai, too.
I have one of those Japanese nail clippers. I'm wondering how they make it cut so softly. Like even if it didn't eat the nails they wouldn't launch. Best clippers ever, even if it's harder to get the edges.
Pretty sure they're just incredibly sharp. The Japanese like to sharpen things.
I'm betting that it almost all comes down to sharpness and using better metal (harder, keeping it sharp)
Well Wet Bob, you made me laugh.
I keep an extremely small 64GB USB-A/USB-C flash drive on my Keychain so I can move files between phones, phone to computer, or load movies and TV shows from a computer or phone and plug into a TV to play.
It's only $10 and sometimes it's very convenient to always have on hand the ability to move files around without the use of a network or the cloud or whatever. The size of it is extremely small.
Verbatim 64GB Store ‘n’ Go Dual OTG USB 3.2 Gen 1 Flash Drive for USB-C Devices – 2 in 1 Type C Thumb Drive https://a.co/d/40uW3fE
I remember when an 8gb flash drive was like $20. This is wild.
my first one was 128MB and it was > $100. this was when iomega zip drives were popular.
I remember upping my ram from 2MB to 4MB, while I had a 6GB hard drive.
So simple to siphon off stuff from the phone like photos to back up! And load it full with films.
It's crazy how everything is so locked in.
Why I'm holding onto my note 20 ultra for the foreseeable future as well. Last samsung flagship with an SD card slot. It holds all my pictures, videos, and TV shows and movies on that little card.
This is good.
Also, though it's more than $10, but my phone battery has gone to shit lately (f u Google for your shit pixels), and my anker mini power bank is carrying me right now: https://a.co/d/5lmsCiI
Tip for increasing the life of your next battery:
Li-Po batteries degrade far faster when their charge level is at the levels the manufacturers call 0-15% or 85-100%; the exact minimum and maximum charge levels are a manufacturer decision that trades off total battery capacity when new against battery life. Manufacturers make the decision by thinking about what is most profitable for them, which is the biggest possible advertised (brand new) battery capacity, while dying quite fast (within a couple of years) to sell more, but not so fast consumers can claim it is faulty.
So they will happily make the battery last 1/5th of the life it otherwise would, for +30% brand new battery capacity, even if that 30% will be gone in a year of typical use.
Those decisions are aligned to the manufacturer's interests, but they are seldom aligned to a consumer's interest. Most consumers would be better off with 30% less battery capacity, but a phone battery that lasts 5x as long - many people for example charge every day, and only get down to 80% or something anyway.
The way to re-align to your interests are to: stop charging above 85%, and shut down at 15% instead of going down to 0%. You can do this manually, but it is a real pain; you can't just plug it in, and leave it until it is charged, you'd need to micromanage charging. Some more responsible manufacturers (e.g. some Samsung devices) have features that will do this for you if you set preserve battery mode. Others, including Google, however, really don't want you to do this, because it hurts their sales. They don't provide standard APIs available to unrooted devices that would allow apps that do this.
If you are willing to root your device (and ideally install a third party Android distro like LineageOS), you can install ACCA (https://f-droid.org/packages/mattecarra.accapp/) on a rooted device, and set it to stop charging at 85%, and shut down at 15%. This will increase your battery life very significantly, and drastically slow the decline in capacity you'd otherwise see. Unfortunately, many manufacturers hate people taking control of their own devices this way; Google has unfortunately convinced major banks etc... to use their so called "Play Integrity API" to check that your device is "secure" (where secure is defined by Google as including a phone no longer receiving security patches, with known vulnerabilities that let someone trivially install a keylogger over the wifi, but excluding the same phone rooted by the owner, with a highly secure up-to-date LineageOS install, with extra security software like firewalls that stock Android wouldn't allow, and with ACCA installed; it's almost like "secure" means toeing the Google line, and the banks have been conned). There are sometimes ways to pass the Play Integrity API checks even when rooted, but Google is constantly battling users to try to break them. But it might be worth it for better security and battery life.
Not a pixel, but I literally just replaced my note 20 ultra battery like 2 hours ago. I have all the equipment and knowhow to rip phones apart that don't want to let you. I believe most of the pixels aren't too bad to get into and battery replace if you ever get a wild hair in you to give it a shot. Just fyi, go with an oem battery. Pretty much all aftermarket ones are terrible. Also be careful of the loads of counterfeits and used sold as new batts on eBay.
My wife has a different style by them and it has served her very well for two years.
“Lock laces” elastic shoestrings. Gives me a nice fit and I can slip my shoes on and off more easily.
I will definitely second that recommendation. They turn basically every shoe into a slipper.
I was skeptical when I read about them, but gave them a go. Reason being: my feet swell during the day, which means I was constantly loosening my laces throughout the day. Which isn’t ideal.
The Lock Laces help in that they’re always perfect: they flex with my feet and always have just the right tension.
They are popular with a wide range of people. Triathletes like them for fast transitions since you don’t need to retie your shoes. Marathon runners also love them since it means no more laces getting undone. And yes, they’re obviously great for old folks and people with disabilities.
I like them so much, I now put them on every new pair of shoes that I buy.
A pi zero w. Need a wireless Android Auto adapter? Flash the right image. Need a Klipper controller for a 3D printer, flash the right image. Need to add a wireless thumb drive to any device that you can drop files to over the network? Flash the right image and run a few commands. They are very cheap and insanely versatile. I originally got a handful for $5 each and am still finding uses for them.
I'm gonna go buy one for that wireless android auto, I never even considered a dongle let alone a DIY pi dongle! do you have a link for that wireless thimbdrive one too? and/or is there an easy way to browse other interesting images/tasks you can do with the pi zero w?
https://magpi.raspberrypi.com/articles/pi-zero-w-smart-usb-flash-drive
It gives instructions for starting from a desktop OS, I just started with a headless OS to begin with. Then you can skip disabling the desktop and go straight to setting it up.
I use it for sending files to my resin 3D printer that doesn't have wifi built in. I just power on the printer before I prep files and then I can save them to the printer over the network.
For finding more uses, probably searching Hack-a-Day. That's probably how I've found these over the years.
How do you hook up to it?
I tried a similar board once (Orange i96 ?) that was cheap and had no video nor ethernet, just wifi and usb and I was never able to hook up to it in any way (ssh or some video over wifi).
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-imager-imaging-utility/
This tool makes it easy to flash images as well as pre setup WiFi and ssh on the image.
For the Android Auto you only need the image and Balena Etcher.
I've got two just lying around. What image can I use for the Android auto adapter?
Get into locksport!
Check your state/local laws before buying anything, not legal to own lockpicks everywhere.
I wish there was a place for people to send random locks they break off or find to newbies like me. Buying a lock just to pick it feels insane, but I also want to feel that delicious click out of 1
Get a practice lock that you can re-pin. They're cool so you can see what it's like to have spools or serrated pins. I messed with one for a while and then was like "I wonder how much harder it would be to pick my front door lock instead of this cheap practice lock?" Turns out, the front door lock is ridiculously easy compared to a practice lock.
Try picking your front door… could be very instructive ;-)
I've tried this one but really prefer Sparrows more. After a day or two with picking with that clear lock, it becomes pretty loose. Also, doesn't feel like a lock at all. Sparrows cutaway locks still allow you to see the pins but it also feels like a real metal lock.
I really want to, and every time I look into it I feel like I'm in for a £200+ initial investment that I'm not really up to at the moment.
Getting started is closer to a tenth of that— the starter kit linked is $10 pre shipping from a brand that is generally considered overpriced in locksport. Buying locks is the expensive part but you probably have a couple of padlocks to start with. And for those £20, you can get the knowledge and basic skills to open the vast majority of locks.
I’d personally recommend JimyLong’s starter kit if you can catch it in stock but hook and turner will work. Then don’t buy anything else until you know exactly what lock you want a thinner hook or different pick for; that set would open about any lock you can find in store. Spending £200+ to start out is more lockpick consumerism than an actual on ramp since you’d likely be bogged down by too many tools.
21 dollars shipping ._.
A dual USB C/USB A drive is always nice.
It makes transferring files from phone to phone or from phone to PC significantly nicer.
Shoutout to LocalSend if a purely software approach is applicable. Fills the same role very nicely, and is free.
LocalSend can also send installed .apks if you're on android.
Localsend is just awesome in general, use it if you need to send files wirelessly over lan
Is anything wrong with using Quick Share to get files to a computer, or vice versa?
Not at all, it's just what I'm personally familiar with.
DYMO Embossing Label Maker
They're like $9 on Amazon and I label everything. I have 2 myself, and they're also my go-to for white-elephant parties.
Once I went on leave and the fella who filled in for me got a few complaints that he was slow. He said it was because I hadn't labelled my store room properly. I added a few dymo labels around the place. The next time I went on leave he got a few more complaints and gave the same explanation, so I added a few more. After the third time I left the room looking like this picture and he shut up.
I guess I should rephrase.
I label a lot of boxes and spice containers but nothing unhinged lol
I'm not sure if that says LEGO or LEAD
You can get a wax seal kit for that much. I have a whole set now, but I seal absolutely everything. All you need is a candle, a wax melting spoon, a seal, and sealing wax
A small dry erase white board for grocery lists on my refrigerator.
BoogieBoards are really nice for this.
They’re electronic whiteboards essentially. No mess and they have a ton of erase cycles.
Laser pointer
Its amazing for both tasks related and unrelated to playing with my cat
A cat wrote this comment.
glove lights. they are great for working in dark places where you can't hold a flashlight.
Whoa
Microwave Splatter cover
Managed to pick up an attachable bidet toilet washlet for around $16. Worth every penny.
Bidet master race.
Got myself one with heated seat, heated water (tankless water heater, not a connection to a hot water tap that takes ages to warm up), and even a hot air dryer thing that I only really use in the winter.
Cost a hundred bucks, best hundred bucks I've ever spent, I'll never go back.
Cold water ones are good too, more practical even, but the water gets cold here in the winter, make your brown eye blue lol
Victorinox Nail Clippers:
https://www.victorinox.com/en-US/Products/Swiss-Army-Knives/Personal-Care/Nail-Clipper/p/8.2050.B1
I would contend Harperton are comparable quality and somewhat less expensive
I’ve been looking for a decent pair of nail clippers for ages. Just ordered, thanks!
Thinkpad T440p docking station, I get everything these days is USB C but I love having a docking station thats sturdy and has tons of ports vs a dongle that hangs off the side of my laptop and has maybe six ports.
manual pull string food processor.
I love chopping up food with it. It's very fun and works perfectly.
immersion blender honorable mention.
Just be careful when you wash them. Destroyer of fingers and knuckles.
I have a salad spinner like that; use it all the time.
Nice. I've only seen salad spinners with those inconvenient handles on the top that I don't like to use, so I'm glad to hear they're using the pull ring finally.
Do you mean like...those gyroscopes you'd spin up using twine?
i'm not sure what you mean.
I'm talking about one of these manual food processors:
https://www.amazon.ca/Starfrit-092969-Chopper-Processor-Green/dp/B09VM9C8R4
the one I have is a little more ergonomic with a ring on top.
Uhh, dildo.
I 3d printed one for a few cents
I wouldn't use that...
- slicer for round fruits
- large 1l cup (not that small ^^)
- book light with attachment
Why not get a small 1l cup instead?
I have the medium sized, it's great!
Little remote ring for my phone. I can change the music/volume during my walks without having to dig my phone out of my pocket/etc. I also use it when gaming to change songs without having to put down the controller, same when I'm knitting.
Like an actual ring you can wear? What's it called?
This was the one I purchased.
I like to do photography and timelapse videos, so my favorite gadget is a collapsible tripod I can use with my phone. It doubles as a selfie stick and includes a carrying bag and an optional bluetooth remote.
Car charger that does the OnePlus specific fast charge thing. Cost me $12 delivered on AliExpress. Adds about 2% per minute to my phone battery. I love it so much.
It also has a second port which does "normal" fast charge for any passengers.
Wouldn't that wear out the battery faster?
Faster charging means more heat, which means more ware on the battery?
I had to get a new battery for my OP6T after using it for over 5 years - exclusively charging it using the fast charger. I'm sure that I can get another 3 years out of this phone, at the very least.
The battery + replacement service fee was around 40 USD.
I don't expect much more from the battery TBH.
How long are you gonna keep a phone tho? 3 - 4 years? A fast-charged battery will be fine for that time span.
I own a 4yr old xiaomi. Still great, 8gb RAM, yada, yada… 4 years charging at turbo (33w I think, there are 100w phones now, I think). Still a day+ charge. Good enough for me for a 4 year old phone
You think normies care?
Bought a Rovyvon keychain flashlight I believe was around $20 that's amazing. It's Iike 650 lumens or something and it's tiny so I just have it on my keychain and turn it on at night if I need it in a jiffy.
VE Monk in-ear headphones. Easily the best audio value in the world. Prepare to have your mind blown by the sound. Look up reviews
I concur. VE Monk and it's successor Monk Plus are the best $5 earphones you'll ever use. They compete against earphones in the $100-$150 category. Don't let their appearance fool you, they look like a cheap crappy plastic pair you'd get for free with a discman. But their audio quality is phenomenal.
I'll note here, the VE Monk success has spawned a bunch of competitors in the very-cheap-but-shockingly-good category, notably look at the Faaeal Snow Lotus and Faaeal Iris, I have both and they are great.
like a cheap crappy plastic pair you'd get for free with a discman.
You must be matured around my age talking about discmans like that. Although, The last "discman" i bought was a portable CD player, and wireless earbuds didn't exist.
This is crazy, according to wiki: "The Sony brand name for Discman changed to CD Walkman, initially for Japanese lineups launched between October 1997 and March 1998,[1] and then entirely in 2000. Discman and CD Walkman players were discontinued at the beginning of the 2010s when they lost popularity with the general public."
Makes me feel a little old...
Not going back to cables. Hated it when I yanked them out accidentally.
These ones were my best buy for an item around 20€:
https://www.amazon.de/Xiaomi-Earbuds-Basic-Freisprechfunktion-Aufbewahrungsbox/dp/B08GSQ7B9Z
Pretty sturdy. Much bass. Very good connectivity and fit.
They are good but do they still make them find it hard to find them
I got a new pair of VE Monk Plus about 10 months ago, from AliExpress, but I haven't looked recently.
LED adhesive strip lighting for the back of my TV. Back lighting is super soft on the eyes and with color changing you can incorporate the color to match the mood. Playing Zelda, green. Watching sci-fi blue/purple. Halloween content, orange. Etc
What you want is ambilight or clone
My air fryer... Also my Casio watch.
Where do you get so cheap air fryers/Casio watches?
Stole them.
My air fryer was $15 from best buy around thanksgiving two years ago. Classic casio watch is under $20 from Amazon.
This is almost the air-fryer I picked up. Mine is white, but they don't sell this size anymore. :( https://www.bestbuy.com/site/bella-pro-series-4-2-qt-manual-air-fryer-black/6507322.p?skuId=6507322
Maybe it'll come back.
book holder opener
Kuhn Rikon Swiss Peelers. They come in 3-packs for like $15. They're sharp AF, lightweight and easy to use.
Zyliss make amazing peelers too
Arduino? you can get like 3 or the mini ones for $15 and depending on the amount of effort you are willing to put in it can control almost anything.
Love is a bit of an overstatement, but I got a cheap Walmart brand USB hub for my laptop since it only has a single USB male (female?) port and I needed more for my mouse and thumb drives. Definitely worth it to ensure I could save work to my thumb drive at college.
Male: with connector outside (like penis)
Female: with connector inside (like vagina)
Terms arose before trans people got so visible, so there's that.
Not exactly the same, but I find “plug” and “socket” or “jack” to be generally more useful terms since the definitions are based on function rather than similarity to genitalia. Plugs are usually male, but always. For example, computer power supplies typically have a male jack and a female plug. In those situations, I find it more meaningful to describe the part by whether it is fixed or moves rather than which way the prongs go.
I've never seen Great Value electronics. Guess they're branching out.
It's ONN, but I've been told that it's a Walmart brand, so I don't question it because it's cheap. That, and I haven't seen that brand in any other stores.
Small fold up table. It's a little bigger than a TV tray. It's out and used almost 24/7.
Mantric Rechargeable Remote Control Knicker Vibrator I got on sale for 50% off. I'm not super into the whole public thing, but I've been using it way more than my magic wand, that fucking tip is shaped perfectly. Plus it would make an excellent phaser prop.
Dang it, 4 replies down and I'm horny already
Plus it would make an excellent phaser prop.
Set to stun.
Fully functional
Plus it would make an excellent phaser prop
Well, I know what my Halloween costume will be
More than the magic wand, you say? That's quite the endorsement.
I can't not see this now
The old Pier 1 Imports back scratchers. They use to sell for 75¢.
I've 3D printed A LOT of similarly shaped scratchers and give them away randomly to people - they are wonderful to have. I even have some in my car and at my office lol. I slapped my name on them in the Slicer software so people remember where they got it!
It looks like it could even double as a poop knife!
My dad had a bunch of these when I was a kid. Super durable and great as back scratchers or just a stick to play with. I bought a few after finding them online and love having them.
I got some that were nicely finished bamboo but they didn’t have enough of a sharp edge at the business end to really give a good scratch like the ones from my youth. Fortunately that was easily rectified with a couple seconds on a belt sander.
Ha! I have one of these sitting next to me on my desk. It's multi-function, as it works great for reaching up and opening and closing my curtains too.
A nice pepper grinder! Makes every meal better
My pepper grinder was $35, got it from a woodworker at a local farmers market, definitely worth it.
The Unicorn has pepper output like I've never seen with any other grinder I've used. Got tired of breaking cheap ones every so often and tried spending 20 or 30 bucks once or twice randomly on better ones, but nothing worked half as well as after I found that one.
My Glucusent book light, I use it every night when I read before bed. It is the best book light I've ever had and I absolutely love it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09PR1BTM7
Ooh, thanks, I've been wondering about getting a book light, but I haven't used one since the '90s and they were kind of terrible then.
LEDs and rechargeable batteries have changed everything. Mine lasts for many hours before it needs to be recharged. And it only takes a little bit to recharge it.
This is my go-to reading light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GG42WXY
Oooohhhh that looks very nice. Although the battery is much smaller than the Glucosent.
Milk frother for my morning latte.
Rechargeable is key here. Amazon has them for under $10. There’s no going back.
Fantastic for protein shakes too
Just wanted to say thanks. I have a frother for my milk but for some reason I never thought about using it for my protein shakes. Will try it!
😲 I never thought of using it this "whey"! Protein shakes don't always mix easily...
USB hand warmers. I am very sensitive to the cold and its so nice to hold while walking around or keeping in your pockets
I got a set of these for my dad, he absolutely loves em
Thanks for the suggestion!
Breakaway charge cable for my phone! They act like those old MagSafe chargers for Mac, and when I'm clumsy, instead of a busted off charge port, no damage! I also have curious cats who can test gravity without wrecking my phone.
Switched to magnetic USB-c adaptors for the same reason, they're quick to put on/off and no risk of killing the port.
I got one from Prime Cables that not only has a magnetic attachment to the computer, it has different tips so you can use it for USB Micro, C or Lightning. The cable itself has little magnets so it coils up almost automatically.
Edit: https://www.primecables.ca/p-390676-cab-m10-mltc-g2-cab-m10-mltc-g2#sku415474 About USD $10
Well, I never thought I'd be jealous of someone's charging cable, but here I am
It coils itself? I'm getting one.
Slider style EDC utility knife. Small, lightweight, and because the blades are cheap and easily replaced you can abuse them - cut on concrete, pry stuff, if it breaks the blade, not a big deal.
https://a.co/d/gouJDKV typical example but there's lots of different ones.
Bonus - these blades are more expensive than most, but still cheap and last a lot longer than standard blades do https://a.co/d/bQj77Qz
I have & like this one https://a.co/d/fC2ISyq - $9.95
I have one of those floating around here too, the thing I didn't care for with that model was that the blade doesn't stick out very far. The one-handed action is nice tho. The one I carry every day is this one https://a.co/d/29pk73c but it's not currently available.
Don't know if you'll get something for as low as $20, but a small thermal printer. Functions as a label maker on steroids, there is no ink, or proprietary* paper. Some thermal paper rolls have built in stickers, some are transparent, some have special shapes and colors, etc.
I've used it to label plants, tools, cables, boxes, so-so-many gridfinity boxes. It takes 1-2 seconds from hitting print to having it ready.
* not entirely the case, in that some have set sizes, or markings to automatically feed and count. However, these are low tech, and there are third party vendors.
I have a cheap label maker and honestly it's a game changer for home storage
My brother label maker is over 20 years old, I've put batteries in it a handful of times.
The cartridges haven't been cheap until recently. Now they're like $4 each. I can live with that.
I just got a little phone printer and I'm using it everywhere! It's now in my work backpack. Adding my cell number to the back of my business cards for people i like. Labeling everything i set up for people. Printing an Amazon return label. Giving a kid a sticker of their face. One million uses!
Could you please share a link to it?
https://phomemo.com/products/m221-label-maker
Is the one I went for. I like the flexibility in being able to use different width rolls. I don't have a lot of suggestions other than that, since it depends a lot on which use case you have.
I think all of them use the same app (don't quote me on it), which had decent enough reviews: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.project.aimotech.printmaster
I'm sure there are other brands too.
My basic bitch wireless phone charger stand. Holds it at a good angle so I can see when someone sending me a Teams message while I'm pretending to work.
I saw someone going off about how wireless charging is a stupid gimmick and liking it just means you fell for the marketing hype.
So I guess you and I are suckers. I love my INIU wireless charging stands that I bought 2 of for $30 or whatever
I honestly felt wireless charging was stupid until I finally got a phone that happened to have that capability and a cheap charger gifted to me. It's so nice especially if you use your phone as a secondary screen. And on IOS with that new thing where it shows your calendar and the weather when "docked" on a wireless charger is just a *chefs kiss*
I love wireless charging. I don't know how it would be a gimmick, except that it's slower than using a cord (but I think the next generation is supposed to be really fast). They make DIY wireless chargers that you can wire up and put in things. I have two that I mounted under the little tray on top of my dash. I put my wireless charging earbuds case in the tray and it automatically charges while I'm driving. I have a flashlight that can charge there too. The tray is too small for a phone or else a phone could charge there. I've been thinking about putting one inside my nightstand at home https://a.co/d/gdghAWp
I also like magnetic phone holders with wireless charging. I made mine out of a different type of mount and charger but it's something like the link. I have one mounted to my dash where I can see the phone if I need nav or something, it holds it firmly and charges as I'm driving. Also mounted one on my desk next to the computer. https://a.co/d/7pauuzO
I hate the concept because it's just really wasteful of energy. If I recall correctly, only 30% of the power output of the charger goes into the device, versus 95+% for wired.
Moondrop Chu 2 earphones. I use expensive Hifi gear at home, but those are more than good enough on the go while also being cheap enough for me not to have to worry about them getting damaged or stolen.
Nice tip. Definitely worth trying out for 20 bucks.
Don’t forget to use a $100 cable with it!
Or your portable ground
Phone: Screen protector, protective case
30€ but still: raspberry pi (v4, 2 GB RAM)
If you already have a raspberry pi, there are some neat $20-$30 gadgets
- UPS board/battery
- powered USB hub
And with this comment, I need to find the energy to finish my pi-hole. I've got all the software installed and am at the point to set up the DNS server settings, but im just exhausted. I sit on the couch at the end of the day and pass out before I can even make it thru the opening credits on a movie/show
Heatit
