what are some of the best purchases you've made ?
what are some of the best purchases you've made ?
I bought cast iron pan which I think is the best ever purchase I made.
A bidet. $30, attaches under your toilet seat. Life changing.
+1 for bidet; got mine after recommendation from a friend and since then my folks and son-in-law have also upgraded
Which model did you buy?
The best purchase I've made this year has to be the tickets for the "Barbie" movie on opening day July 21st. As I watched the movie in theater (the best way to watch a movie), I was literally moved to tears by the performance of the lead actress, whom I might add, deserves an Oscar this year.
Fellow lemmings, I, for one, will definitely be buying "Barbie" on Blu-ray to have it in my collection.
Multiple copies, in fact.
I truly enjoy seeing you pop up all over Lemmy, especially with posts and comments like these! Rose gold effort!
Aw shucks, thanks.
Wait, no, now my cover is blown. 😭
Two questions for you!
1.) What is the most useful thing we in the Lemmy community can do to help you get that Oscar?
2.) I have a secret Santa this year coming up in a month that I am a part of with some friends. Would you be interested in leaving a comment for a friend of mine in response to this that I can show them a month from now for the secret santa?
“Hey Rome, this is Margot Robbie wishing you a merry Christmas and happy new year?”, or something like that?
Thanks for being cool either way and good luck getting nominated this year!
Good knives. Well worth it.
I wish I had more upvotes. Good knives make cooking easy and, more important, prevent injuries.
I've heard that, but I've only ever cut myself with the really sharp knives and yeah it's clean, but when the knife is dull it just kind of pokes my finger and that's it
I bought some knife set that cost like 1000 dollars. It was an impulsive buy when I won an award at work.
Damn I learned expensive knives are worth every penny. I’ve had them twenty years. Normally I’d buy a knife and have to throw it away after a couple of years because they couldn’t be sharpened as they were cheap.
I cook every day and it makes it so much easier.
My house. Even though we have to pay taxes and mortgage interest, it beats paying rent to a landlord. Also, we bought it in 2020 and it has appreciated it value significantly since then. However, that appreciation is kind of fictitious to me, because if we sold the house it's unlikely that we'd be able to buy a similar one in the same area for less. So, it's just a nice house.
Yeah housing gains do nothing for you if you want to stay in the same area.
Theoretically you'll have more equity so you can take out loans, but with high interest rates you'll likely avoid that.. and your property taxes will eventually go up since your home value has gone up.
Hate the fact that my house has gained so much.
At least property tax increases usually aren't as bad as rent increases, at least in my experience.
My apparently controversial take is that flat property taxes should be abolished and the imputed rent of a given property should be progressively taxed as income instead.
Whatever down payment you put into your house (+ whatever equity you build) appreciates at the rate of housing gains in your area. You protect that capital from devaluation due to inflation. Housing gains can do a hell of a lot for you if you want to trade up in your own neighborhood.
And insurance goes up now that it would be more expensive to replace.
Our air fryer. I thought it was all hype. I just didn't know. It's so convenient for so many things.
Along similar lines, our Instant Pot. So covenient for so many things. We cook rice in it, chili, stews, my dog's food, stock, etc.
Our bidet. I cringe at how dirty my asshole used to be. It's amazing.
Hell yeah. We got a 'Ninja' that is an air fryer and pressure cooker. We use it so much. We are also on team bidet. The worst thing about having a bidet is the feeling of disappointment you get whenever you take a shit somewhere else.
My wife and I have a big, fancy bidet. We love it, of course. We've been remodeling our house and living in air B&Bs over the last five weeks. Ugh. Missing our bidet so much!
I am the same with the bidet. Without water (or something wet) touching my chocolate starfish i feel kinda dirty as well. Crazy.
Steam Deck - I know I'm not supposed to promote a specific product (change SD to a handheld gaming device if you must), but after my son was born, moved to a different country and changed jobs my life was rather hectic. I had no time to play videogames at all, which was my go-to method to unwind since I was a little kid. As an almost 40 years old responsible adult I can now still enjoy gaming in bite sized bursts, in bed, instead of scrolling through social media or watching mindless videos. The best thing is I can be next to my SO while she does something else I can work through my backlog.
I bought a rice cooker, and it easily earns it's permanent space on the countertop. Having the ability to cook 5 (dry) cups of rice and have it stay warm for days is so convenient.
Warm for days? That's a mold incubator ...
Mold? Not likely. Bacteria? Yes.
Per the CDC: Bacteria can multiply rapidly if left at room temperature or in the “Danger Zone” between 40°F and 140°F. Never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if exposed to temperatures above 90°F).
It stays hot, nothing's gonna be growing.
With mine, the rice is still pretty good after about 48h on the keep warm setting. It's still edible after 72 but starts to get too dried out at that point.
An opposing viewpoint here, from a couple of rice snobs -- I've spent 30+ years (my entire life) with a rice cooker so I've never questioned not owning one.
Ours broke (the gasket did, after 10 years), and the company that made it no longer exists (Sanyo), so we tried just cooking rice on the stovetop for a year before we bought a new one. It's now been 2 years without a rice cooker, and we don't plan on buying one of those fancy Korean ones I've been eyeing.
We found the rice tastes better (a bit of burning at the bottom adds flavour), and we don't need another appliance taking up space. The only thing I miss is the keep warm functionality, but now we just freeze the leftover rice and microwave it (or make fried rice with it).
And now we have more counter and cupboard space to buy other gadgets, as we're cooking enthusiasts.
For large amounts of rice we luckily have a pressure cooker.
Thanks. I'll definitely try this.
This is one I thoroughly do not understand, maybe because I have not tried it, but cooking rice is already so easy, why would i need a separare appliance for it?
I have one and it's a little easier to prepare, keep warm, and clean. If you eat a lot of rice, it's worth it.
I thought the same thing for 20+ years. A nice rice cooker is great though. Ours has a yumcarb setting that my wife likes, which has a separate basket with holes in it. Most of the starch leaks out of the rice and pools below it.
I have a tiny kitchen so I appreciate being able to conveniently cook rice in the corner of one countertop, especially when I'm cooking with two pans on the stove.
Wait what? It doesn't dry out or go bad?
I'm guessing it's a "keep warm" mode.
I'm paranoid about it going bad or attracting pests...or even just using energy unnecessarily. But apparently it's not bad for any of those things!
Otp got it. I have some in it right now that I made two nights ago. Texture wise, if I press down on it, it slowly springs back up. If that gives you a good sense of how it's holding up. & it's a sealed unit water can't escape once it's done cooking (it vents steam during that process)
What brand and model? I'm curious to check it out.
I've got a tiger jbv-a10u. I'd imagine there's some other good competition in this space too though.
Lasik. Being able to wake up in the morning and just see things with zero effort was life changing.
I've gotta chime in here with an opposing viewpoint. I got all laser lasik and while it mostly corrected my myopia (went from -5 to -0.5 sph), it gave me really bad astigmatism, to the point where night driving is much more dangerous for me. Glasses were a pain in the ass but at least they made things crystal clear. Post surgery everything except bright sunlight now has an annoying halo. I'm 3 years post surgery btw, and went back under the laser twice to try to get it corrected.
That scares me. I also have family members who got it decades back and for the most part they all still have to use glasses.
I have ridiculously bad vision (-9.5 contact prescription) and bad astigmatism already, thankfully every optometrist ever has told me I'm a horrible candidate for it so I've never even had the possibility in my mind.
Damn thanks for the opposing experience. You're doing a good thing letting people know the possible tradeoffs
It was shocking just how simple of a procedure it was when I got it. The actual surgery was under 3 minutes, the doctor joked about it he could complete it before a song finished at the start. Then my eyes were only recovering for like 36hrs if you don't count eyedrops.
I had PRK operation, which is slightly different and takes longer for recovery, and I confirm. Best investment in my life.
Vasectomy. Before I got my vasectomy, I had a lot of anxiety that the condom might fail and an unwanted pregnancy would occur. That's not to say vasectomies can't fail, they can, even years afterwards, recanalization can happen so I get tested every year.
Annual failure rate of condom (average use) is 18%, and with perfect use it's 2%. This means that over a span of 20 years, even with perfect use, there is a 33% chance for a pregnancy which is too high for me. A vasectomy with annual testing of sperm count is as close to zero as possible.
Yeah, this isn't the usual holiday present thing... this is something you buy for yourself.
I agree with OP though on the cast iron though, these are super affordable and last forever. restoring a rusty cast iron skillet is pretty easy, so there is no reason to buy them new; from a bang for the buck perspective, this is really good.
This guy fucks
Yeah, I'm 5 years in and stopped getting tested.
It was a fantastic purchase though!!!
aye aye
This means that over a span of 20 years, even with perfect use, there is a 33% chance for a pregnancy
No this is completely inaccurate and wrong...there's a 33% risk of a condom failing. You'd still have to time it with ovulation of the person you're boinking for there to be a risk of pregnancy. And even then, having sex in the most optimal period isn't even a guarantee of pregnancy, far from it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3638209/
This is talking about the percentage of women with unintended pregnancies. They also compare it with no contraception which is 85% annually.
Off the top of my head no particular order:
- Proper mop bucket like heavy duty on wheels. Mopping takes minutes now, nothing has worn out in years, very little waste.
- Proper broom, not plastic. Got tired of all the waste from plastic ones wearing out so quickly. I got one of these and it is an amazing buy it for life kind of thing.
- Bidet
- An IDGAF pocket knife. All those times when I was young and just needed a vaguely knife-shaped piece of metal but dad was like "don't hammer that knife into that rock you'll damage the blade" or "don't hammer that knife into the can of beans" or "don't hammer that knife into the deer skull you found" well now IDGAF. Sturdy, cheap, doesn't matter it it holds an edge or stays clean.
- A Dremel. I don't have a lot of space and this thing is great for cutting random things I don't have real tools for.
- Respirator and impact goggles. Originally bought for going to protests but I've found they're just fantastic around the house. Don't want to breath in murder chemical while cleaning an oven? Or microplastics from sawing your latest art project in half? What about "This Dremel blade might explode if I use it like this and I don't want to lose my eyes"?
- Yak tracks, they work. I'm getting too old to fall on ice and walk it off.
- The right shoes for the job. Walking shoes, climbing shoes, hiking boots, brown leather heels for construction work, eight inch black leather stilletos for getting attention, blue suede boots for getting attention, six inch pink platform boots for getting attention, blue gogo boots for getting attention. They're all crucial to my day to day.
- Cats. They keep the sad away, works great.
- Jars everywhere. You can store spices, leftovers, paperclips, q tips, an array of rocks for making minis, paints, pepper ferments. They are so versatile and easy to clean I have maybe 150 or so of them currently.
- Air fryer. Didn't think I'd like it but I'm a convert now they're great.
- A growing collection of glues. I don't know why but the ability to properly fuse shit together unlocks so many possibilities. This is a new discovery for me.
- A growing collection of solvents. Like the reverse of glue the ability to clean things in specific ways is great.
- Metal wire shelves. They're versatile, sturdy, relatively cheap, easy to break down and transport if you've been averaging a move a year for ten years.
- A small sewing kit. Great for small repairs. I've added years to some of my dresses by catching weak points early and doing 10 minute fixes.
- Proper electric toothbrush. Even the fanciest ones are cheaper than dental work.
- Lastly, a bin of compost in your living room because you live in a city and don't have much access to dirt. Feed it very slowly so it doesn't rot. Keep roly polies in there, they're cute, and springtails to prevent mold, they're also cute. When you feel sad about living in a cement and steel environment just crack that thing open and pretend you're looking at a forest floor. Dig around a little see how the worms are doing. Bother your nesting partner by grabbing fistfuls of it and loudly exclaiming "dirt smells great today really earthy!"
Edit to add, how could I forget this? I just got home and in my entryway there is an 18 unit locker like the kind you would find during a Bed Bath going out of business sale and they're getting rid of everything including the employee lockers in back, you know the ones. I'm poly so each of my partners and my nesting partner's partners get to pick their own locker to keep overnight supplies in. There are unclaimed lockers for guests to store small things, and some that are effectively house mandatory junk drawers. Also serves as a lost and found when like partners leave phone chargers or whatever else behind. Great purchase.
You seems like an interesting Person!
I've been told I'm very me. I think mostly I have too much going on to give one hot fuck about what other people are thinking of me so I end up being a top tier goblin
Probably condoms.
Decent quality automatic cat feeders.
We have 3 cats, and I resisted getting autofeeders for 5 years because it felt silly to buy what amounts to three $75 food bowls.
They paid for themselves the first weekend I didn't have 3 razor sharp dickheads screaming at me to feed them at 5:15 AM. I should have bought them years ago.
Seriously. My cats are so relaxed because they get their food at the exact same times every day. I still hand feed the first and last meals (canned wet food), but it gives them something to look forward to during the day, even when we are at work.
They can also apparently tell time now because they get ready within five minutes of most feedings, I like to think that makes them feel more connected to their world and existence.
Avoiding 5am starvation yowls is exactly why I free feed, and I'm sure it's going to bite me in the ass when my two are older and stop maintaining their weight easily. But for now, they're active and healthy weight even with the free feeding. So we'll see
After watching a Jackson galaxy video on how to stop your cat from waking you up early, I followed the advice of never feeding immediately after getting up, and instead doing a certain activity first, like making coffee. After a month of taking a shower before feeding, my cat no longer makes any noise in the morning and only starts getting noisy when I step out of the shower. So thats a good tip for those who can't free feed. I also started collecting every toy and putting them in a secure box before bed since she has a tendency to chase toys around in the middle of the night and yelp with one in her mouth.
wish there was one that could open wet food cans and parse it out. my old gato is on soft foods only.
We use ice cube trays to freeze wet food, then put the cubes in the automatic feeder.
I bought a nice sandwich last week
real
it was
Nice, what was on it?
Turkey and swiss cheese :)
A robotic vacuum cleaner. I just have to clear the dust bin weekly and manually mob some spots that the robot couldn't clean
My roborock has been revolutionary for my apartments cleanliness. I've had it about 1.5 years and I've only emptied the dock's bag twice (I live in a small apartment). I have the water change kit so it auto refills the docks clean water tank from the laundry hookup and auto empties dirty mop water down the laundry room's drain. I only have to clean the sensors and rinse the drain screen every 2-3 weeks but otherwise it's on autopilot on a schedule and my floors are spotless and free of dust and cat fur.
I second this, i haven't hooked it up tho. But vacuum cleaning everyday because of cat hair got cumbersome. I also use it as an alarm, when it starts am i done for the day (work from home).
An extra vote for the roborock here.
I had an older one, for the best part of a decade. Upgraded to the S7 Max. The difference is impressive. Even with manual fill and empty of the water, it only needs doing once a week.
The build quality also seems on par with the older one. (It's now been relegated to the upstairs carpets).
How many people do you invite to mob the spots?
lol. My bad.
One of my favorite purchases in terms of usefulness, cost, and fun (relative) was these frigging ceiling fan pull chains. I saw them on some "things you didn't know you needed" list or something. But for less than $10, they have made my life infinitely easier and they do give me a little joy every time I pull on them.
Because they're labelled?
Right. I never pull the wrong one anymore because fan=fan and light=light. I know it's a stupid minor thing, but it's great.
Custom molded earplugs. As a musician and photographer who shoots bands, I can't imagine NOT having them.
That is some complex assassination backstory you have there. What do you even have against music?
Nothing, he's a musician. He's just got to free up some space in the spotlight for himself
Good musician's earplugs will make everything quieter so as not to damage your ears, but you can still hear and enjoy the music. Industrial type ones are more powerful and block out as much as possible
Edit: I finally understood the joke
I'll second this one, and I mostly only use mine for sleep. You can get some that you mold yourself, so there's less fear of losing them. I use Radians brand.
I bought a house back in 2009 for around $290,000, sold it in 2022 for $600,000, paid off my original loan and then bought another house outright with the proceeds. No house payment is a huge stress relief. I own this place and will as long as I pay my taxes.
My house. I am constantly stressed now, but it's something I can work on, improve, and builds equity.
The medicine cabinet in my bathroom. I know it sounds stupid, but of all the improvements in my house I've made in the last year, this one has had the most impact. It looks great and gives me tons more storage. And since I use it every single day, I can appreciate it every single day.
Yeah, my girlfriend and I were telling people, it's great. We can just put holes in walls and no one can stop us. We don't have to stress about a deposit or anything like that. It's so freeing.
Which medicine cabinet did you get?
I picked this one up. It matched the sink and vanity that came with the house perfectly and was built at a much higher quality than I expected.
Home Decorators Collection Home Decorators Collection 25 in. W x 25 in. H Rectangular Medicine Cabinet with Mirror https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-Home-Decorators-Collection-25-in-W-x-25-in-H-Rectangular-Medicine-Cabinet-with-Mirror-45410/302968021 SKU# 302968021
I also got one of those cabinets that goes over the toilet too, and while it looks alright, it felt cheap when I put it together.
Zenna Home 23.25 in. W x 71 in. H x 7.88 in. D Dark Brown Over-the-Toilet Storage with Glass Windows in Espresso https://www.homedepot.com/p/Zenna-Home-23-25-in-W-x-71-in-H-x-7-88-in-D-Dark-Brown-Over-the-Toilet-Storage-with-Glass-Windows-in-Espresso-E9850CH/320104339 SKU# 320104339
I hear you there. I love almost everything about my house, but the damn mortgage is not something I enjoy paying every month.
Thrift store cast iron pan for $2
Craigslist 2001 honda cr-v 4wd for $3100
Craigslist specialized s-works road bike for $150
My first house in 2019 for $400k, with a loan for $280k at 4% (refinanced later to 2.8%)
Harbor freight car ramps for $30 so I can do oil changes and stuff
Specialized S-Works bike for $150? Dude, that thing definitely has to have been stolen. They retail for like $4-15K.
I live in a town with tons of pro bikers, you can buy used Quintana Roo tri bikes here for less than $700, that’s my next purchase. They cost 10k+ new. Sponsored athletes get the bikes for nothing, then basically give them away when they upgrade every year.
The specialized was a 5 year old bike, ridden in two races (she trained on a different bike!) then it sat in a garage. So I got it for nothing. It was aluminum not carbon, so I guess people weren’t super excited about it, and it’s a model before they switched to disc brakes and electronic shifters. I swapped all the components to a Chinese carbon frame from aliexpress, it’s my comp bike now lol I’m not sponsored.
I recently bought an electric car and I'm loving it. I would recommend getting one. I charge it at night and it can go all over town. We recently took a long trip too. It definitely took more time than it would have in a gas car but we just ate while the car charged and that worked out awesome since we needed to eat anyways.
Especially for a pet lover or a parent.
My daughter fell asleep as we were reaching a destination. I could just leave the AC waiting for her to wake up on without causing any noise nor carbon dioxide.
My synology NAS. It’s great being able to have a central place for all my files that’s platform agnostic.
I have a Synology NAS too but YSK they’re an absolute shit company who only does well because they’re the only game in town. They used to be great but they’ve started doing some questionable things in recent years with “official” drives and their customer service is SO bad.
Also, they’re closed source.
Bidet, easy, second choice was an AMDGPU, fuck nvidia.
Why "fuck Nvidia" ?
I'm thinking about building a PC and am debating between the 7900 or a 4070 ti
https://drewdevault.com/2017/10/26/Fuck-you-nvidia.html
short version: everybody got together and agreed on some standards, nvidia refused to show up, said fuck that, made their own shitty standard that would've caused a massive duplication of everyones effort, all so that they could keep their driver proprietary more easily, and they only recently gave up on this.
There's a ton of other shit like this.
Electrical tape, anything I don't know how to otherwise fix, electrical tape fixes it in a pinch. Haven't tried it with relationship issues yet, though.
It's probably not ideal, but if there's consent...
This gave me a chuckle
Protip, electrical tape is very frequently used to make nipple pasties (though I recommend putting a nonstick square over the nipple)
My IKEA 100cm blahaj for 30€. Now I don't feel as lonely every night.
My dog. Easily the most value I've ever got for my money, no comparison.
Hard plastic pan scrapers, kinda like these.
A friend had a bunch in her kitchen when I was housesitting and I took one home. First started using it in my air fryer to get rid of gunk without scraping up the finish, but now I use a set all over my kitchen. For all I know they've been around 20 years and I never knew. Dirt cheap, too.
Soldering Iron, the amount of money you will save from fixing your own stuff is ridiculous.
How much will I save from burning my hand... again
But genuinely, that's rad, I'm happy it's working out for you lol. Stay safe :)
Ender 3 3d printer about 6 years ago. I bought it used for $100 on a whim with no knowledge on how to use one. Now it's the most useful tool in my house. Need a slightly bigger hollow wall anchor? You can print one. Custom desk organizer? Print one. Name plates for a dinner party. Stamp to impress into wax or leather. Fantasy scatter terrain.
There is certainly a learning curve but if you can get proficient you can make countless helpful things that would would not be able to buy.
I agree but having a more reliable printer you don’t have to fix is even better. It allowed me to start teaching myself CAD and now I spend time designing stuff around the house rather than fixing or upgrading the printer. I use Alibre Design, allows you to buy outright and no subscription if you don’t mind being on an older version.
Oh, I agree. I use a different printer now too for most things but I still have the original one. The technology has really advanced in the intervening years.
My 2nd monitor. It's some 24" curved 165Hz 1080p monitor that I bought from a guy at my university for $105. While not the best for gaming (noticable ghosting), it's been incredibly helpful for work as it gets more complicated in university. The extra screen real estate lets me fit so much more without needing to alt tab or click on another window.
You've started down a dangerous path.
I'm looking into how to squeeze in a 4th monitor now.
42" 1080p TV. Again, probably not the best for gaming, but I don't really game heavily. And for work - complete game changer.
When I get a bit more space to myself, I'm thinking of somehow wall mounting a 42"-50" 4K TV and using that as a work monitor. Or maybe I don't need a wall mount. I'd have what feels like acres of screen real estate.
stand mixer. i make bread like no ones business. and a warm coat (i bought one at a hardware store lol) and nice warm boots.
Multiple computer monitors
I love being able to have chats / reference materials up on one screen while working on another
Doom (1993). I bought it once and now all I need is the iWAD and I've got unlimited maps, mods, ports, and total conversions, to play forever and ever
Bidet
Solar Panels
VR headset (originally to socialized during covid but ended up completely renewing my interest in video games)
Electric Scooter (an adult sized one with suspension). Ended up selling my ICE car when I realized the scooter isn't just for fun.
Bidet is a total game changer. I understood its real value during covid when people where fighting for TP lol
What scooter? And are you in an urban area? I love my little taiwanese scooter, but there's no way it could replace my car.
They (I actually bought two) are some no-name chinese scooters off Amazon. I'd link them but they're no longer available.
Basically, wide deck, dual shocks for each tire, headlight, tail light, break lights, horn, twist throttle, 500W motor, folds down to easily fit in an RV storage compartment/trunk. Get around 12 miles on a charge at 20mph.
Perfect for small grocery runs, short trips, exploring areas where traffic/parking is shit.
Often times my gf and I will take the RV somewhere, use that as home base and travel the area on scooters. Great way to visit tourist traps without the hassle.
VR headset (originally to socialized during covid but ended up completely renewing my interest in video games)
Would love to hear more about this. And which headset you own.
Actually ended up meeting someone in vrchat. She moved to my state and we've been together since. Started with a Quest 2. Got a Pico 4 a year later. Looking to get a Pico 5 next year.
3d printer. I can make custom things that just can't be bought fairly easily.
My washing machine's motor went out while it was full of water. I designed and printed an adapter that let me manually run the pump that drains the washer off of a cordless drill and successfully drained the washer. (Actually, the adapter broke in the middle, but I had the foresight to print a few spares. It only took a couple to drain the whole washer.)
A lot of the other stuff I print is custom wall mounts for things. A Raspberry Pi NAS that hangs on the wall, a mount for a SAD lamp, a mount for my Nintendo Switch Joycon charging base, etc.
Where did you buy your 3d printer and how much does it generally cost to get one?
Prices can vary wildly depending on how simple or advanced you go. A classic, tried-and-true Ender 3 can be found for $100 in some places, and something like a Bambu X1 Carbon can go for $1,400.
If you're just starting out and don't want to invest most of your free time to tweaking and maintaining a bare ones printer, look into something like the Bambu P1P. Not top end, definitely not low end, and does a lot of the tedium for you so you can go right into enjoying 3D printing.
Atoro's answer is pretty much what my response would be, but I figured I'd add a little more here.
I have an Ender 3 Pro that IIRC I spent about $250 on and an Ender 3 V2 Neo for about $285 (both made by the company "Creality"). I'm a huge fan of both and would recommend Creality any time. Most of Creality printers are really solid performers but without a ton of upgradeability or bells and whistles. In other words, really good beginner printers but also with limited upgradeability. They're quite "plug and play" in the sense that you can unbox it, assemble it (the instructions are simple and straightforward), and and be printing in like 2 hours. You will for sure have to learn how to maintain your printer (replace a nozzle, configure the z-probe offset, etc), but there are so many resources for that and the processes aren't terribly complex.
If you want any fancy features (multiple extruders so you can print complex things with multiple colors, faster printing, support for harder-to-print materials like HDPE, really high resolution, etc), there are of course options out there.
In general, I'd say before getting a printer, definitely spend some time doing research first. If you haven't learned at least the basics, it's easy to end up with a printer that's hard to use or whatever.
I said I have two printers; I lied. I have three, but the third one is half-disassembled gathering dust on a shelf. I got my first printer second-hand and immediately fucked it over to the point of unrepairability. Lol. It wasn't all a loss. I did learn a ton trying to fix it. But I do wish I'd done more research before I bought one.
There are tons of videos on YouTube that are great primers on the basics of 3d printing. They'll have you salivating about all the cool things a 3d printer will let you do as well. And if you have issues with your printer, there are lots of communities to ask for help. And my experience has been that even maintenance info doesn't need to be learned before you get the printer. It'll chug along for quite a while before it starts needing maintenance.
Beyond that, the only thing I can think to say is that when I upgraded to a printer that had automatic bed leveling with a z-probe, I immediately decided I'd never mess with a printer that didn't have it. It seems at first blush like it's probably non-essential, but my experience has been that without a z-probe, you can't use but a small portion of your print bed, which limits what you can do with your printer quite a bit.
If you do decide to embark on 3d printing, all the luck to you! I've found it extremely rewarding!
I personally use and recommend a Prusa i3, which I bought the kit for directly from Prusa for for mine. It's a bit more expensive than something like an ender but strikes the best balance for price to performance and reliability - Not super cheap at $700 but but definitely worth it in my experience from the quality and lack of trouble alone
It's not cheap but if you Cook daily a control freak induction burner. The precision not only allows for super reliable results it allows you to focus on other steps while cooking.
Sweating onions at 110c without worrying they will burn if not watched. Or getting a nice sear on meat at 163c for 3:15 on repeat is such a game changer.
SAN SERO Vented Microwave Cover. I was just thinking about this the other day. I've owned this thing for over 9 years and use it nearly every day. At the time I think I paid like $20 for it (it's $34 now). And I thought that might be silly for what is basically a piece of plastic.
But holy crap, it's got to be my highest value-to-dollar ratio item EVER.
With it, I hardly ever have to clean my microwave. It keeps splatters to the cover itself, which is trivial to wash out.
And it helps with energy efficiency too, keeping heat close to the food, instead of it being lost as waste heat.
It comes with tiny vent holes at the top, so it won't steam up much or pop off.
And it has a nice handle built into the top middle of it, so most of the time you can grab that without burning yourself.
It also fits perfectly onto your typical round dinner plate. I mean perfectly.
This thing has been with me through four different homes/house moves, and hundreds of times of cooking or re-heating items on bowls and plates.
It's easily the best thing I've bought in my life.
Am I getting this right, you paid 20 USD for a plastic cover for plates in the microwave? I mean, yes, you should have one to avoid splatters, but I once upgraded from a 2 USD one to a 5 USD one due to better usability, I can't imagine paying 20 USD for it
My self emptying roomba i7. Complete game changer for my floors when you have 2 big dogs trekking around dirt everywhere.
Although I’m not thrilled about having this device connected to the cloud and a private company. I’ve heard that are certain robot vacs that can be hacked to use a local home automation controller or something of that nature. Need to research that more and will probably try to go with something like that as an option when this thing kicks the bucket.
All that aside, it’s been an amazing product so far about 2 years in.
A good quality utility knife for the kitchen
Purple bed. Super expensive but the most comfortable sleep I've ever had. Prior, I've spent way more on high-end pillow tops, but they eventually get lumpy. I've had a Purple 2 King matress for 6 years, and it's as good as day one. My #1 purchase ever, period. Sleeps cool and preasure perfectly. Makes me sad when friends ask for bed recommendations, and then they get the Costco bed in a box. Had a couple of them complain, and I just shrug. Might sound like an advertisement, but I 100% love this bed. But of a pain to change the protector since the King matress weighs over 200 pounds
I have some friends that love them and only have purple mattresses now. I slept on their bed and it was okay... I think if you prefer the floating on top feeling they're probably great, I prefer the tempurpedic style of sinking in
It takes a little getting used to but its q00% consistant and cool. Zero motion getting up in the middle of the jight for your partner. Tempurpedics get hotter than the surface of the sun, Purple is actually cool all the time forever.
I’ve been thinking of buying one. Did you try it before butting or just buy it? A good bed is worth the money
Just bought it after watching a ton of reviews. If you buy from Purple online you have a certain number of trial days where you can send it back. I tried the purple foam pillow which was awesome BUT it weighed 10 pounds and as a side sleeper it put my arm to sleep. I sent it back for a full refund. Really wished it worked out because I've yet to find a good pilloow.
Buy a stanley thermos. If you leave it on a train track, it would probably derail the train and you would still have hot/cold liquid in there.
In the last two years, its gotta be our air fryer/ convention oven. No preheating time for anything that needs to be cooked in the oven, exceptional heat distribution due to the convection and super consistent. If I cooked something at 400f for 15 minutes it will always come out the same way every time. I never use our big oven anymore. I love it.
We have the one that the Wirecutter recommends which is the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven TOB-260N1.
We just got our first one. Please share your best recipes !
25 years ago I bought an IKEA printer cart to hold a computer tower and a UPS and stuff. It was like a billy line, so it was particle-board (aka beaver chow) but at least 20-odd years ago it wasn't the hollow-core shit like so much of their stuff. I could screw in a mount for a switch and stuff.
Fast forward 25 years. I've moved-house 10 times, three of them coast-to-coast moves, and this thing is festooned with old cable-tie mounts, two switches (hp1810 and er-x) some test-rig APs for a project, a work laptop on top and its 4th APC unit (movers beat the hell out of them).
Good as new. I'm amazed that the beaver-chow actually held together, but I've kept it safe from its kryptonite: water. I've rolled it out and around to work on a tower on the top as a workbench l, and I've loaded server after server into it as they lifecycle out.
Barring calamity, I could bequeath this fucker.
Bedjet. I have constant nightmares which make me soaking in sweat. This thing keeps you and your sheets dry all night. Keeps me cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And the quality is something I have never seen before
Constant nightmares? Doesn't sounds fun... Have you tried sleep pills or weed? I sleep like a baby with CBD
Never tried. I have nightmares all my life, got used to it. When I was younger I was scared to fall a sleep, I tried to stay awake as long as I could. I am still sleep deprived though. Some weekends I sleep 15hrs straight.
I've been coming across these for months, so they're as good as their marketing makes them out to be?
Do you find you need to adjust it because it's too hot/cold at different points in the night?
Yes it is good, that's why I put it in this topic. But only if you don't bother a little breeze going over you. You can set the fan very low, you won't feel it but it still works.
I occasionally have to change the temp. But that is user error, when you're cold going to bed, you tend overcompensate to warm up and fall a sleep.
There are buttons with different built in timers. Max hot only runs for 10min at 45c. That's a good thing.
They are expensive, but I would buy again.
You can also make temperature curves when it automatically changes temp over a set period of time.
cold tile or even wood floors work, in a pinch. to cool off.
A bicycle with a full chain case. They're hard to find in the U.S. Bike mechanics say it's because they're a pain to work on, but the cool thing is that you hardly ever have to work on them. When riding in the winter, I'd have to clean the gears and chain every couple of weeks, and then replace the drivetrain almost every year. With the chain case, so far my maintenance has consisted of oiling the chain a handful of times in three years.
Idk how I did it, but I bought a house a week before the market went bonkers in 2022.
I bought a countertop dishwasher for my house and it is amazing.
Which dishwasher did you get?
So I can't find it on any site other than QVC at this point lol. I ordered it from Home Depot last year. Seems like the model got upgraded at some point between then and now
Same. My wife eventually wore me down about it and we even had to borrow money for a downpayment, but now our mortgage is cheaper than rent.
I don't feel great about luck being responsible for so much of my financial stability, but I am thankful
I've heard that countertop dishwasher are a real pain to maintain ?
I haven't had bad issues. I have to clean out the holes the water comes out in occasionally, but that isn't a problem. I just use a knife that was going in the dishwasher anyway lol
Pinecil soldering iron
Really?
I’ve heard some really mixed reviews on it.
Yes I love it!
I can use the same wall plug or portable battery for my laptop, phone, and soldering iron, and it has a bunch of nice qol features.
There's an accelerometer built-in so it can detect when you put down/pick up the iron for sleeping the heater and also for orienting the display. The new version also has Bluetooth so you can monitor/control the iron from your phone/PC.
The heating element is in the tip so you are less likely to burn your fingers and it's also far more efficient so it's able to heat up very quickly and handle large pads for its size.
It can draw up to 85W through a barrel jack or USB-PD.
I paid $25 for it and have gotten a ton of use out of it.
I put away my expensive soldering iron and use this one exclusively now because it's just more convenient to use.
I would definitely recommend it for new or experienced users, it's a great value for the price.
Doesn't help that the official one is on aliexpress with a bunch of knock offs. But the actual pinecil works really well with the same 60w charger I use with my pixel 4a.
Bought a cheap AU$40 pair of generic hiking poles. Use it for the entire Camino de Santiago. Friend borrowed for her Camino walk as well. I later used it for the first half of the Coast to Coasthike in UK. Earlier this year i used it for my Kumano Kodo hike. Still going strong.
Yeah hiking poles are game changers.
Bidget, I'm a pretty large man (450 pounds) and I always have trouble reaching under to wipe. I would go weeks without wiping and just let it build up like fondu on my ass while I sit in my gamer chair and argue with Redditors (my karma is over 10 mill btw). My hygiene got so bad my pants were decomposing because of all the caked shit. One day as I was moderating r/mademesmile I noticed an ask reddit thread that was talking about bidgets. They were saying how great they were for blasting your butthole clean and how much you save on toilet paper so I asked my mother for some money to buy an attachment for my toilet.
I ordered it off Amazon for like $100 and I got my mom's boyfriend to install it and oh boy was this thing a life changer. First time I used it it didn't do much because my ass was full of dried shit but eventually with the help of a paint scraper my butt was cleaner than the Shinano-gawa (that is a Japanese lake) but then I noticed that when the water hits a particular spot under my balls my uuuhhh yeah. So even though I can't really see anything because it's so small I could see the semen oozing down my leg. That's when I realised I can jerk myself off useing the bidget. I would bring my gaming setup into the bathroom and play Genshin impact while the bidget sprays water under me until I cummed. I eventually had to throw it away because it rusted from constant use but I am saving up for one of those Japanese smart toilets so I can install it in my bedroom.
A jannies greatest tool chuck from formally chucks sneed and feed doesn't want you to know about!
Have you used it when you eat tendies and guzzle chokkie milk?
Literally impossible to jack off while eating
The original Guild Wars released in 2005. Damn that was an awesome purchase. Insane number of hours for the money spent.
Noise cancelling headphones. My work requires a lot of air travel and I have trouble with loud noises in general. I bought a pair a year or so ago for just under $70 and it's as good or better than the more expensive one ($150 refurbished) I got in 2017. It also has a mode to let the external sound through if someone is trying to talk to you.
It really does eliminate some of the annoyance of air travel.
May I ask which model you got?
Soundcore Q30.
I'm like 85% certain mine are responsible for my tinnitus, so I'd have to rate mine as worst purchase of all time.
That's awful! I've heard that tinnitus is an absolute misery.
- Bidet
- Leatherman Micra pocketknife - all I need for most things
- Ebike with a front platform - helps transport
- Acoustic Bike with trunk bag - a trunk bag has a surprisingly large amount of space
- Ortlieb panniers - add to the bikes only on an as needed basis
- Instant Pot - it does miracles with legumes, meats, and a large variety of other dishes
- Instant brand Air fryer - we're working w/o a vent right now so we got this to provide an oven replacement
- IKEA wardrobe - configured and used as a pantry
- Large (40L) backpack with good suspension - great for all sorts of travel
I have a Crockpot. I don't use it much and I have ever prepared chicken/vegs(onions, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms etc.) in it. I just dump everything cut in small pieces and leave it for 4~5 hours and boom it is prepared. How do you prepare legumes, any tips?
Legumes are kind of like that in the Instant Pot in terms of ease, but much faster. They're usually done in under an hour. IP also has a Saute mode that allows you to develop the flavor and texture of ingredients like aromatics, spices, herbs, and tough vegetables. I don't work much with meat, but I've made al pastor that was absolutely amazing.
Prob my house.
without a ton of thought, and other than my current house:
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travel, in general. recently a trip to sail out of svalbard down to norway. it's another world up there
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an inexpensive handtruck is one of the most useful tools i have
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a 'prosumer' grade espresso machine and a grinder is used and loved every single day
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One of those nice traveling Bluetooth speakers about half the size of a brick. Whenever I travel I bring it and it is a huge improvement having music that sounds good everywhere.
It was more than I wanted to spend but it was money well spent these many years later.
I can't take credit for this, as I found it in a comment in a similar post and want to give that guy his props. It's a microwave sandwich grill press. It's inexpensive, and I use it all the time, especially when I want something, but I don't want anything big or heavy. I microwave grill a sandwich, and it's fantastic!
I was skeptical about how it would work, but it does. This is the Amazon link to it.
I feel like I could use that to make some interesting cannabis products
Proper leather boots. I got the red wing irons rangers. Took 3 months of to break them in but it was worth it. Now I have boots that will last me half my life if I take good care of them, plus they fit like a glove!
Satellite water pump.
Initial investment is huge bill, but it pays itself off than monthly water bill.
Also, the water is clean.
wait so do you get your water from a satellite connection?
Yeah, you just have to run along with a bucket as it flies overhead. Much more convenient than walking 10 miles to the nearest well.
I bought the Rockwell 6S razor a few years ago and it's one of the best purchases i've ever made.
This is a good one. I went with the AS-D2 for a year, then got the Phoenix copper DOC for something more aggressive and more beautiful. Been using that ever since. The Feather was great to learn on though and now my kid learned on it and uses it. I'll probably have to get another for the younger one when he's ready.
OMG! Yes, those razors are the best.
Kuru brand shoes. I'm on my feet for 12 hours shifts and I actually have zero foot pain, they're amazing. Also I have extremely high arches, and the Kuru Quantums are the first shoes I've ever owned in my entire life that I don't have to add orthotic arch supports.
I buy a new pair twice a year.
Thanks, I'll avoid them like the fuckin plague if they only last six months!
Do you routinely walk 3-4 miles a day on your feet for 12 hours in addition to full time wear outside work? I'm a nurse, dude. Yes, I replace my shoes long before they're threadbare. These feet pay my mortgage.
Nice. I'll look into it. I need a good pair myself. Thanks
Electrostatic capacitive rubber dome keyboard. …Such a pillowy, smooth travel compared to every mechanical keyboard. I wish there were higher demand so I could get an ergonomic one instead of basically being limited to what Topre or NiZ release.
High end PC I built. Players every game I'd wanna play super well and is far more reliable than any other PC I've owned
Small foldable bathtub. When I say small, I mean still big enough to drown myself if I wanted to.
Along with that I also bought a suction cup phone holder for cars that I put on the wall. Hands free YouTube videos while soaking in almost boiling water.
40 bucks total for a simple but nice comfort
Got myself a samaung galaxy active a couple months back for like 20$ off ebay. Its a nice reminder to keep my body moving and helps lose some of the weight I put up over the years. I do however keep it offline now and just manually record my info for privacy sake. Looking to get a casio royal as a more general watch for myself this christmas and keep my active as a workout watch instead
Best and worst, all in a bottle. Whatever. Just finished some cheap vodka, bout to go get some more 😵💫
Nothing really fancy here but:
- Clevo NV41MZ Laptop, a beast compared to my stupid T495 thinkpad and corebootable! Very hard to find.
- my roadbike, its very classy 2001 stuff, Campagnolo Daytona (this series doesnt even exist anymore) but its fast as hell and looks great. Just love racing through the streets
- that damn Jack&Jones Winter jacket I got 5 years ago. Already had a burn hole from fireworks, but apart from that I went through so much with it and its still like new.
Never heard of Clevo. Will check it out thanks
Look at novacustom if you live in the EU! configurelaptop.eu
Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X headphones. Love the sound profile on them.
These are some items which I have purchased. which I've gotten alot of practicality and enjoyment out of
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oculus quest 2
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alliexpress h61 lga 1155 motherboard
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aoc gm500 mouse
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stadia midnight blue controller
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i7 3770
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macbook air 2012 4gb
They've served me well especially that little old but still gold quadcore and the motherboard highly recommend it to anyone looking to build a gaming beast would combo well with 16gb,rx 570
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MSFT right when it dropped to $40 per share around . Too bad I wasn't making much and I couldn't afford too many shares back then.
All tools for work, but:
Siglent oscilloscope. STK500 AVR development board Huawei D15 laptop A corporation
my futon mattress. custom made to my specific requirements. worked well for the last 20 years.
Futons are incredible. Most people I've met don't understand that you have to sleep on it for a while to start feeling the benefits. If you've slept on one for a night and felt sore, that's normal. But that would be like stopping working out because you were sore the first time.
They are not, however, incredible for topping (like fucking). It's a lot more work without the bounce-back of a spring mattress
Been looking at getting one. Where did you buy yours from?
a futon store - I shopped around looking to see if anyone would do custom sizing & one place did. its very comfortable
adult bib.
Context?
Why not just a napkin
My kobo e-reader which has a dyslexic font. Love reading in bed and the night light is really gentle on it, way more convenient than my neck reading light I use for physical books. Plus you can put your own books on it so that's awesome for fanfiction. Easier to travel with than a large book. BUT... I still sometimes buy a physical book anyway just to keep on my shelf if I loved it
Koss porta-pro headphones. And some vanity color ear foams just for fun. EDC.
- Kettle barbecue
- Charcoal pit + rotisserie
- Air fryer
- Small benchtop induction cooker
The top two have resulted in some of the tastiest meat I've ever cooked. I chucked away my gas barbecue recently. The bottom two are just way more efficient (and environmentally friendly, with my solar) for small meals, rather than the natural gas hob and/or big electric oven.
Foodie alert! Haha but I love my little kettle barbeque
A motorbike for commuting.
Air Fryer. Got one for $30 on a black friday sale a couple of years ago and it paid for itself within a week for the amount of time, effort, and oil saved.
My house and my car were both excellent long term investments. I paid off the car a few years ago and it still runs very well and is reliable. The house still has many years of payments to go of course.
Also the Valve Index kit was the best thing I bought this year. It's an excellent whole VR system, and it feels like 2D video games are almost obsolete to me now.
I regret any money I spend unless it's for smth for someone I love.
Gotta learn to love yourself. Then you can spend all the money with no regrets.
