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20 computers. I canβt stop getting more computers I need help thereβs so many computers theyβre in every room and theyβre computing aaaaaaaa
You certainly won't regret buying 20 computers.
I had this same disorder. I cured it temporarily by giving them away to everyone I know. Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgiving, everyone's getting a computer, doesn't matter if you already have one.
They're starting to pile up again though and now I don't know what to do because all my friends and family won't talk to me because I keep giving them computers.
Wait, when did I leave this comment?
Does a bicycle count? Changed my life.
DNS filtering. I'm using NextDNS, because I can't be bothered to be my own server admin.
Why? It does a great job at filtering out ads, tracking the rest of internet cancer on mobile devices. Works no matter where you are. With pihole, you get the filtering only when you're at home, not when you're scrolling funny cat videos while waiting for the train.
DNS adblocking is awesome! The other day I found it blocks ads in some OTT apps too lol. I use Mullvad DNS btw. Only problem is the server goes down now and then. I keep switching between Mullvad and Adguard.
How do I use NextDNS? I use DNS over TLS since it doesn't require an app and can't find the addresses for NextDNS when I searched.
I know it's an annoying cliche answer at this point but I really do love my air fryer, it got me out of a cooking rut and made me more creative. I've had it for a year and a half an use it 3-4 times a week.
I am firmly of the belief that people with ADHD should be prescribed an air fryer.
It is such an incredible tool because it almost destroys the mental barrier that something like the oven has. I actually make myself food now!
Without having to fry. My executively dysfunctional ass has resorted to cooking (frying veg and tofu) the same meal every day so I don't have to think about ir
I just discovered the joys of the ninja double basket one. You can set the timer for both sides but then also set both sides to finish at the same thing. Crazy awesome.
Even just throwing tater tots into the air fryer makes 'em crispy on the outside with zero use of oil. About as healthy as you can eat potatoes and as easy as a microwave. Love it.
If you're reheating a pizza without an air fryer, you're just plain doing it wrong.
2-5 minutes, no preheat, and it tastes better than the night before.
A dedicated portable audio player with support for high-res files (that's NOT running Android).
You can't just doom scroll all day, no one can call you, you won't get any spam texts or emails on it. It's just you and your music.
Any recs?
I've bought a Hiby R3 Pro II a while back and it's amazing. The build quality is top notch, the battery lasts for 20+ hours and it has basically everything one could need; USB-C, Bluetooth with Apt-X and LDAC, a good screen and a balanced output with plenty of power.
Even rudimentary support for Tidal and Qobuz. The only downside is that there's no storage built-in, but you can use microSD cards up to 2TB.
You probably want to pick something supported by the Rockbox firmware, in case the native firmware is so-so.
I regret giving away my iPod Touch to my sister. I wish I still had it so I can take it on walks without all the notifications from my phone
If you can find anything which can play standard 16/48 FLAC files then that is all you need. https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
Robot vacuum. My floors are spotless except for some areas youβd never walk on and I only need to do some spot cleaning every month or two.
Dishwashers are awesome too, watch Technology Connectionsβ video on YouTube if you think your dishwasher doesnβt do a good job. Itβs likely just how youβre using it. Priming the hot water before running, using powder detergent instead of liquid or packs (booo), and using the pre-wash and rinse aid will have even the gnarliest dishes coming out spotless.
I was so excited when first got a roomba 5 or 6 years ago, but that faded so fast after it turned into an endless stream of notifications that it was caught under furniture, stuck on a cliff (the edge of a rug), full of dirt, couldn't find its base, or trapped under a maze of dining room table legs.
I love the idea, but man that was $500 wasted. I'm sure they are better now, but I cant bring myself to buy another one.
Love my robot vacuum! As someone who works 12+ hours a day, it's such a life saver. We have had our Roborock for 4 years now and it has 0 issues. Any issues I had were easy fixed by just opening the thing up and cleaning inside.
Absolutely love watching Technology Connections. Dude improved my dishwasher game by 400%
My first roborock met the fate of dog poop and an idiotic husband who thought he could just hose it π my second one is doing great.
My Roborock actually also went through doggy diarrhea, but I was able to open it up completely and clean it up with a lot of rubbing alcohol and paper towels. Never had an issue with it again
There's actually a pretty cool community sort of tangentially related to this! !buyitforlife@slrpnk.net
Anyway, my pick is definitely just a GOOD mp3 player. Whether that be an open hardware one you can crack open and repair, a proprietary one that can at least be Rockboxed, or bare minimum a proprietary one with a good iFixit rating.
Electric kettle. Fast at boiling water, especially if your stove heats slowly. Great for things like tea or instant noodles/lunches.
This is quite a strange comment to see as there isn't a single house in the UK that doesn't have an electric kettle in it.
Over here, you'll find a pot of water on the stove more common. Our regular outlets are 120v, but our stoves are typically 240v. A water kettle here would be about half as fast as our stoves (generally speaking). Over there, yeah, with 240 being the standard, a kettle makes a lot of sense.
At least here in Finland a decent amout of stoves are 400v. Still, even at 120 a kettle is faster than an electroc stove. An induction stove is a different story
Even with 120v the kettle is still faster. Pot on the stove has a wild amount of waste heat. Perhaps excepting an induction stovetop.
Are we both thinking the same kind of kettle or is it British/American English different? What I'm talking about is a pitcher with an electric heating unit in the bottom?
Yeah thatβs the one. Literally every household.
I think they would be more popular in the US if they worked as quickly here. I have one, but it takes about 4 minutes to heat 2 cups to boiling. It's still worth it to me, but it's not much faster than the stovetop for us. There's something about the electric service in the UK that allows electric kettles to heat much faster there.
240V vs 120V. For an equivalent amount of current, 240V supplies twice the amount of power to the heating element.
Is no one going to post the Technology Connections video???
Okay, then
Also https://youtu.be/RpoXFk-ixZc
And maybe channeling electro boom: https://youtu.be/INZybkX8tLI
I can confirm, pretty much every UK household has one of those, they're just one of those things you have in the kitchen.
Not a fan of microplastics or extra unnecessary gadgetry..
Seems like silly waste to be the next lemming without any substantial difference to the age old system of boiling water, same with rice cookers.
Unless I donβt hav a stovetop theyβre basically not needed, a waste of money and another point of plastic contamination.
They heat efficiently rather than transfer through the stove and the pot, etc. And so fast.
i was always totally with you on the rice cooker, then i got a tiny one from aldi for my partner who doesnt cook much. now i use it all the time. haha
Australia also. It's like owning knives and forks. It's a basic necessity
I think this must be an American thing, because I have actually never known anyone who doesn't own an electric kettle. It's just so much more efficient!
Just mentioned this in another thread, but the XTEInk X4 is one of the most focused and portable e-readers Iβve come across. Less than $100 and isnβt locked down so you can load custom firmware on it. For anyone like me who finds most e-readers go unused because they donβt go with you, Iβve yet to find a better option.
An analog watch. Nothing fancy, just a cheap Casio or Timex or whatever.
Ive had the same Timex for about 20 years now. Had to replace the strap a couple times and the battery, but the time keeping works like a charm and keeps perfect time. Mine is the leather strap with a white face and also shows day of the week and date. Not bad for a watch that cost me $20 a lifetime ago.
I do use a smart watch when im exercising though.
Stick blender! I delayed buying one because I thought the regular blender I had was enough, but this one is so convenient for sauces and soups.
e-reader: another item I delayed buying for too long because I believed paper books were better. I bought a Kobo and ended up reading more often.
Portable Bluetooth label maker. Not a necessity, but you can use it outside of typical application for lots of fun things!
Somebody park like an asshole? Leave a fun message for them!
Got something you want to personalize? Custom stickers of whatever you want!
Wanna leave memes around in public for people to find? You already have templates saved!
Want to advertise yourself or someone/something else? Boom, instant QR codes.
I've been having fun with the mini I originally got for work, about to buy one that prints larger labels.
Any particular model you can recommend?
I started with a Nelko one for $20-ish, but they have a free/paid system where you don't get all the stickers/fonts unless you pay a yearly fee. Next one I'm looking at is this one that specifically advertises no mtx.
Ultimately the main thing you want is a laser printer with thermal paper. Won't print in color, but it's much less hassle without ink carts and the only thing you'll need to replace is sticker rolls.
This is more of a tool, but I have a set of 4β knipex cobra pliers that are perfect for around the house. Just small enough to fit into about any space, super grippy, and you can easily make minute adjustments to the plier spacing. Iβve used them more than any other tool I own.
Oh, and noise-canceling headphones (ideally over-the-ear). Instant quality of life upgrade.
Pressure Cooker. I have one from Fissler and itβs my go to for so many dishes that normally would take ages to cook.
Itβs also so convenient to throw dried lentils in there and have them ready in half the time lol.
Digital bath thermometer. I love my baths and I can get to my exact desired temperature of 43.5 degrees c every time. Great 5 quid purchase.
Electronic countertop scale for the kitchen. Start cooking by mass rather than trying to decide if that's a half a cup packed or unpacked.
If you regularly store things in jars, a canning funnel. So much easier to pour sauces into jars without spillage.
Bone conduction headphones. Listen to music or talk on the phone hands-free while still leaving your ears open to what's going on around you.
If you've got sore muscles, a percussive massage gun. It looks like a horse vibrator, but it does wonders on a sore back.
A warhammer. Don't get a sword unless you are actually trained and know how to use and maintain it. A warhammer isn't going to get bent, chipped, or rusty, and even if it does, it's still a warhammer and will still smash things just fine. Don't smash melons or coconuts unless you're prepared for the biological mess that will get left behind; smash blocks of ice frozen inside of old yogurt tubs instead. Wear goggles.
Cordless drill. I was a die hard corded guy but then I tried a friend's one during a big move. Went out and bought one the next day.
I really don't like the proprietary batteries each company use for their cordless tools though. I don't want to be locked into 1 company and I don't want to buy 8 different batteries.
I wanted to punch someone when i realized my Bosch drill and Bosch electric saw use different batteries. They're identical in size, but the plug part on one is a mirror image of the other and so not interchangeable
While I agree that vendor lock in sucks, getting a universal standard open source tool battery is not likely to happen. I decided to go with the Milwaukee M18. They have a huge variety of tools available, and they all use the same interchangeable battery. I have a drill, an impact driver, a circular saw, and hedge trimmers.
Somewhat tempted to go with corded and a generator. Large battery could work but they cost a lot more if you want high watt output and realistically it's not going to be used super frequently outside of cable reach.I
The money saved by not buying a battery with every tool would be huge too. Some won't even let you buy without a battery...
They make some pretty low profile battery adapters now that will let the different systems interoperate.
To be fair, the early ones were pretty crappy compared to what they have now.
At the start, you really couldn't use it for real work. The convenience came at a huge cost.
These days all but the most extreme tasks can be done with cordless.
I also recommend a cordless impact driver. The amount of torque you can generate with a drill is limited by your ability to hold the drill. The amount of torque you can generate with an impact driver is magnitudes more. Great for driving screws, tightening nuts, I've even used it for drilling through wood with a spade bit.
I also agree, but to take it further, I decided I'd had enough of cables on my circular saw. Got a small, lightweight one, and omg, it's SO good.
If you're in car land, a good solid jump pack.
I recommend Napa .
I found gas struggles to do low temps too, minimum power in the smallest ring is still too hot for rice unless you want to keep stirring it. Induction I just get it to a boil then leave it on low and it won't burn without stirring and leave it for 15 mins.
Second the warm white Christmas lights.
They can quickly make a depressing apartment feel like a warm home.
I still suggest a plug-in induction burner, because they have temperature and autooff timer.
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