Ask Lemmy

I went 6 days a couple weeks ago without power due to a massive storm. After a few days I purchased a small solar panel that has a USB port in it you can plug in anything that needs a charge. Works really good! It’s only 10 watt so charges pretty slowly but when you’re fully cut off from the grid, it’s a life safer. Definitely my most worthy purchase in quite some time.

steam deck prob, works good as a tablet for watching movies and youtube, great for gaming, i can hook it up to a screen and keyboard to have a quick easy pc setup, etc

My Steam Deck. I regularly refer to it as the single greatest video gaming purchase I've ever made. I got spoiled for a while by a Switch so i stopped playing PC games because there was no handheld option I liked. The SD gave me convenient access to almost my entire Steam library.

My iPad Pro. I'm normally not an Apple person because I'm so rooted in the Android ecosystem but for my purposes, it's an excellent little toolbox for sketching up writing ideas and as a little music production machine.

Andaseat Kaiser 2. I spend all day working out of my chair and a considerable amount of my free time there, too. Really sturdy, large, comfortable chair. I'd estimate I've got at least 5-7 years before I start thinking about a replacement. The fake leather will probably start to go well before that but I don't care.

Battery backup for network equipment. Having your router stay on when the power drops for a few minutes is the best.

Lodge Cast Iron - Haven't replaced my skillets and pots just make sure you know how to clean them.

Vacuum Sealer and Sous Vide - Perfect steak every time.

Tea from a now-defunct tea store called Teavana. The woman who would become my wife was working the counter there and gave me her number.

Office chair - Steel case leap V2. Great back support, so many adjustment options. Bought one back in 2016 and it is still great.

Bidet - be civilized and keep your butthole clean.

All Clad pots and pans - if you are into cooking, invest in these. Amazing to cook with and will last a lifetime if you take care of em.

Espresso - Lelit Glenda. During the pandemic my wife and I decided to get an espresso machine. Feels good to make some decent coffee.

Zojirushi rice cooker - If you like to eat rice, get one. It makes amazing rice.

Nest pillow - I love these pillows from Nest. Extremely comfortable.

Nest bed

For me it was a generator. Moved in to a new neighborhood and discovered that the power goes out frequently here. Mostly because all the power lines are above ground and old trees keep falling on them. It was during covid and my kids were remote schooling through zoom. Went and bought a 3500 watt generator to keep the internet and refrigerator and freezers running. Its been the most handy thing I got since we moved in.

So when does Lemmy get its own HailCorporate?

• A cast iron pan and paraphernalia. Not cheap, but it's great to cook with.
• Books. Never regretted buying those.
• Purchase art from artists.

Not a physical item, but LASIK, I got it done a few months ago and oh boy I should have done it a lot sooner.

Otherwise a PS Vita with an SD2Vita, it has given me countless hours of on the go entertainment.

Homeowner's insurance, hands down.

I used to bitch every time I made a payment and then one day my house burned to the ground. The insurance payout for the house itself was twice what I paid for the house, and then they paid more to cover the contents of the house.

Yeah, I don't complain about paying that bill anymore :)

Can't believe I haven't seen "3D Printer" on here yet!

A serial hobbyist, with a lot of my interests waning in weeks to months after getting into them. But 3D Printing? I've been loving it for 10 years and there's no signs of that slowing down.

Sure there's goofy stuff you can make with it, but 95% of what I print are functional items. So often I need something for around the house and I can just print for cheaper and faster than ordering one online. Examples:

• vaccum hose adapter
• desk grommet
• custom clamp for a bike light
• small L-brackets for cupboard shelves

There's thousands of things out there you can just download and print, or you can get into designing your own. It's very rewarding to design a physical object and then upload it for others to use too!

Here's some examples of some things I've designed or remixed from other designs: https://www.printables.com/@Foreverwinter_223629

The two printers I recommend are the Prusa Mk4 (~$1,000USD) or the Creality Ender-3 V2 ($225USD). The Ender print quality is very good, it just doesn't come with several of the very nice features the Prusa has - if you can afford it get the Prusa! You won't regret it.

Rowing machine. I use it Monday-Friday before work. Puts me in a good headspace and makes my workday feel less stressful. I’ve lost a bunch of weight also. I like that I can workout hard multiple days in a row without risking injury.

A sewing machine, for sure. The amount of clothes I repaired, the amount of creativity I release after buying it makes it absolutely worth it.

most recent purchase was a resin 3d printer. Now i can make figurines for my bf and i have something to play with. win win

Bidet. Telescoping shoehorn.

1. My horses and dog have brought me so much happiness and fortune over the years. I’m so glad I got through having my horse when I was young and poor and didn’t wait until later to adopt one.

2. A vacation to Europe (specifically the southern Netherlands). It radically changed my outlook on life that I got out and lived with my internet friends for a few weeks. As an American who grew up being told how bad it was outside the country, it was mind blowing to see and meet people outside my bubble. I now want to move to the EU (have my eye on Marseille and Seville).

3. AirPods Pro 2 (specifically the 2nd gen because of the improvements): before having these, wired earbuds were a pain in the ass to use. Transparency and ANC have changed my life because I can pop on ANC while vacuuming and not be bothered to crank up a stereo to hear over the vacuum. Also for riding my horse: I got some accessory ear huggers that you slip on so they literally cannot fall out. I can ride for hours while listening to tunes.

4. A very bright ceiling light in the kitchen. Self explanatory.

5. A chef’s knife. I personally only spent 40$ and it’s been great so far.

6. A dog door. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to just let the dogs shit outside on their own and they come back in. No more worrying about leaving them home because of the anxiety induced when they don’t shit on the morning walk.

Alfred app for Mac. It is kind of a spotlight replacement for Mac but so much more. Think of it as turning your machine into productivity powerhouse where you are using the keyboard to access everything very quickly instead of wasting your time clicking around with the mouse. It is like a Swiss army knife where even just one of its features is a whole app for other people. I use it all day everyday for the past decade. And I keep adding to it new workflows or discovering new features. It is the app that is a million apps in one.