There’s 3 things that really stand out for me that I would say made a massive difference to my life:
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Cordless screw driver. Bought the day after building a flat pack bed with a crappy screw.driver that just shredded my hand. Thought it was frivolous at the time, but I’ve used it so much since. It’s light, small enough to fit in my pocket and good for 90% of DIY tasks.
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Tassimo coffee machine. Bought it 9 years ago, use it every day. Nice quick easy coffee. What’s not to like.
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My first DSLR camera. It was a Nikon D50 back in 2005/6 and it sparked my interest in photography to this day. It gave me a hobby I can take lots of places and do it alone or with others. I never loved the D50 camera itself, but I did get some really nice shots with it
leica m with a 35mm summilux v2
- Noise cancelling headphones and earbuds. By far the best quality of life improvement I have ever gotten from a single product.
- Whet stones for sharpening knives. It’s a fun process and my knives are in perfect condition.
- Mobile phones.
Like OP, my camera, phones don’t cut it and the pictures I’ve been able to get of my kid with it have made it invaluable. I got the Canon Powershot MKIII and it’s gotten some professional quality shots of him and captured a lot of precious moments.
My electric kettle, I drink a lot of tea and it’s so damn useful. I got one with an all metal interior and no visible heating element, it has a bad pour but I still would have a noticeable dip in my daily quality of life without it.
This one is random but a three foot tall solid wood Balinese dragon statue. I got it at an import shop that was closing, it had some damage and so had been marked down and marked down again. I paid less than 10% of the original price of an intact one. We didn’t have a car so my boyfriend at the time and I had to take it with us on the subway. It’s like 75lbs. On our ~mile walk back to our apartment someone asked directions to a local Asian art exhibition and we had to tell them we didn’t know where it was while holding this thing between us. It’s beautiful despite the damage and it makes me happy every time I see it. Plus, whenever someone comments on it I have a fun story to share.
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Full Ton pickup - I had an old half ton and was abusing it.
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Dump trailer - I can move so much more material, and dump so much faster.
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House
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Dyson vacuum cleaner
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Motorcycles
Although I do love my cordless drill as well. And my first cheap community college 2-year diploma which got my career goin, the jury is still out on whether the masters degree was worth it.
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My girlfriend and best friend tell me it’s the couch that I bought a couple years ago. I had a ratty old futon before that and they were not fans. I think it was from Room&Board, and wasn’t anything special. Couches are expensive, though.
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Herman Miller chair House My newest monitor. It’s got KVM support so no more swapping cords between my computers.
- A good coffee maker (moccamaster)
- Steam Deck OLED
- Battery powered lawn mower (eGo)
OLED in general is a game changer. Next time anyone is upgrading their monitor or TV, it’s worth the investment
Even the original LCD deck was easily eligible for this little list but the OLED went above and beyond in every way. I have a beefy PC for desktop gaming but I still prefer to play on the deck OLED because it’s just an amazing experience.
My first car, a 1988 Toyota Corolla hatchback, which ran for years and offered endless comedic value.
A doorknob cane (think planters peanut), which has been used from everything from altercations with racoons to building a fort with my kids.
My current house, which is located in a great school district and neighborhood.
- Dog.
- Dog.
- A really beautiful handmade necklace with a piece of glass salvaged from the waters of Charleston harbour. It’s gorgeous.
This sounds like something I’d enjoy. Do you have any pictures you want to share? I love jewelry and dogs!
Shit I’m getting error messages trying to post my necklace photo I just took, but I’ll try again later. In the meantime enjoy this video of my noisy boi and his perturbed brother.
Awww they are both lovely! I like how the darker one acts between startled and annoyed to the brother’s vocal abilities lol
Usually when the pug yells he gets excited and tries to yank the pug’s back leg off in joy, but this time he decided to act concerned.
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My Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019 and a Synology NAS (sorry they go together), no more dealing with ugly Smart TV or limited game consoles to stream, and it is also very easy to sail the seas with it!
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Android phone in 2020 (Poco F2 Pro) still rocking this device with the bootloader opened and a custom ROM, this was the first Android device for me, and even when MIUI was a letdown after a while, AOSP wasn’t, still I go back and forth MIUI and AOSP though, it still gives me 6-8 hrs of SOT depending on the environment and the ROM.
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Miyoo Mini V2, I just love to have pocket gaming on the go real quick, those annoying government formalities are not that bad nowadays.
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Mountain bike - on my second bike now, my favorite hobby and form of exercise, excuse to get in nature with my dog, explored a lot of my state because of it.
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Kobo e-reader. The night light is amazing, I used to use a neck light for night reading to not wake my wife but this is way better. Easier to travel. The dyslexic font helps my dyslexic ass like 10% too which makes a huge difference in me reading more.
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My first raspberry pi in Jr high led to a career in software. Still love pis, and have even more toys now
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I’m either at my desk studying/working for a good 4-6 hours or I’m on my feet 6-7 hours a day. Keeping that in mind:
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A really nice office chair. Perforated back, good adjustable lumbar support and head rest, quiet wheels, soft cushion.
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One of those fold out sofa/bed things. Folds out flat into a giant bed, folds up into a convenient couch thingy. Better than a mattress to sleep on.
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A good pair (or two) of shoes. Over the years it’s been anything from a cheap pair of skechers to some no name shoes of off amazon to Adidas ultraboosts. Always try in person. Should feel as comfortable as your most comfortable shoes now.
Bonus: a good coffee grinder + v60 pour over + paper filters. Great coffee for under a 100 quid.
Seconded good office chair.
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My horse, Lola. She’s an amazing 9yo grey quarter horse mare. “Retired” barrel racer, she’s the perfect trail/ranch horse. She’s got the best quirky and silly demeanor, she loves to hang out, and she’s playful, but never gets crazy under saddle.
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My guitar. 2012 PRS 513. I absolutely love that guitar, and it got me back into playing after almost 20 years off. It’s my “do everything” guitar, and the difference in sounds between pickup combinations makes it incredibly versatile.
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A good mattress. I spend a solid 1/3 of my life sleeping (or trying to) and a great mattress helps so much.
Oh do you have any Lola pictures?
Of course! 😁
Ill fight anyone who downvotes this! 🤪
Lolaaaa
Oh she’s a beauty! Nice tack too.
Thanks! That’s an old Bob Marshall. It’s been replaced by a new one at this point.
Nice guitar. I’d love one of them. I have an SE Custom 24 in bright pink that is fantastic. PRS just make so many wonderful guitars.
I also have a CU24 SE. It’s an incredible instrument! I’m down to 4 guitars these days, and two of them are PRS. 😁
I have 4 also, but 4 separate manufacturers. I’ve run out of wall space to hang them so I have to think quite carefully about my next move as one will have to go.
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