Ask Lemmy

A good pocket/utility knife and sharpening set. You don't need to spend hundreds, but my favorite is my Spyderco Para 3 Lightweight. It has a 3 inch blade, weighs 68 grams, and it's made of BD1N steel which keeps an edge very well.

The herman miller aeron is the best chair ever. other chairs I've tried all feel so much worse, and ventilate terribly. I recommend removing the back support to make them even more comfortable.

Also, Patagonia backpacks are really nice. I used one for 9 years of daily heavy use for school, but they also work well for laptops and travel if you get the right one.

Likely my school/training which did cost a bit but enabled me to create a career.

Purple mattress. Don't remember what I paid but it was discounted because it was open box. Best sleep I've ever had and no waking up to back pain. I even bought a Purple pillow and rarely have neck pain.

Raspberry Pi. I got one before prices shot up. If I didn't have one already I'd go with one of the cheapest alternatives. I haven't done anything super crazy like a doorbell cam or magic mirror but it's been a ton of fun.

Similarity to the Pi my favorite laptop purchase has gotta be my Acer Aspire One netbook. It's noticeably slower than any other device I have but I'll still use it because I just love the form factor. Super light and easy to use anywhere and unlike a tablet it's got a built-in keyboard, several ports, and runs Docker (seems like it's possible on Android but very laborious).

My first house. I got it for a song thirty years ago, bought it from a friend who had been renting me a room. It needed a lot of work and was in a city nobody wanted to live in. I rented a room to a friend, fixed it up and later my girlfriend/later wife moved in after he moved out. Yadda, yadda, yadda the neighborhood went upscale and now I rent it out. Now we live in the outer burbs in a house we got during the housing bubble bust fifteen years ago.

A shower chair. I find hot water soothing, but I dont have a tub that I cam sit in. The chair lets me just relax under the shower. It's a great place to brush my teeth, so my dental habits have improved.

My bike. Although that's with the caveat that it's only really effective because I use it all the time for all sorts of things.

Honestly, my current car. It's a tiny old rusty beat up car from 1990 that I got for around 650€ 3 years ago. It uses around 5L/100km and in total I've only spent around 200€ in parts for it and it just keeps going. It's old enough so that I only have to do inspection every 2 years (instead of every year on newer cars), don't have to pay road tax, and insurance is around 11€/month. It gets me where I need to go and is dirt cheap to own. Definitely a money saver for me.

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.

OXO ice cube trays. All my life ice cube trays have been annoying to deal with.

Saw these in some absolute random YouTube videos and I had to have them.

I cycle 3 trays all year round and have perfect to pop ice cubes anytime I want. Yeehaw.

I'd say probably a Kindle and an electric toothbrush:

1. Kindle Paperwhite (~130 USD) - Was addicted to social media for a while so I decided to get into a healthier hobby, and I'd wanted to get into reading for quite some time. Instead of a tablet or an actual physical book (I have nothing against it; I actually prefer it but I have storage issues), I opted for a Kindle cuz it has no intrusive notifications, and I can bring it anywhere, at different times and lighting situations.

2. Oral-B Electric Toothbrush (~25 USD) - One of the best purchases. I like brushing my teeth in general, but having an electric toothbrush feels even better cuz it makes my mouth feel cleaner than before without having to exude much effort, and the strokes are not inconsistent.

Hands down it has to be my prescription sunglasses. I need to wear glasses all the time and after years of messing around with clip ons that didn't feel quite right I decides to treat myself and bought a pair of Ray Bans and prescription lenses to go with them. I think it was around $350. 3 years later the frames were broken so I went and bought the same one and had my old lenses put in. I will be investing in a new set soon because the UV coating is all chipped and whatnot. But as a quality of life upgrade for a glasses wearer I struggle to think of anything that has been better.

Hands down a raspberry pi 4. It's a perfect example of why "maintain is more important than obtain" -- what is the point of buying something that I can't "really" use?

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless

I never owned "expensive" Headphones so buying these improved my enjoyment of listening to music so much.

K240 studio headphones and a Samson Meteor mic. Doesn't have to be these specifically, but switching from headsets to decent studio headphones and a decent mic is a gamechanger. Sound quality is way better and good build quality makes them last longer. The only thing breaking in years has been a cable (kind of my fault as well) and they can be easily replaced, unlike most headsets.

Dana Designs Arcflex Terraplane backpack purchased in 1994 at Teton Mountaineering in Jackson Wyoming for $400. I've since used it to travel the world and apart from having had to replace its foam back-liner and a buckle, it is still perfectly sound in every way.

Dana Designs doesn't exist anymore, but the guy and organization behind them is still alive and well and making handmade backpacks in Bozeman Montana under the name "Mystery Ranch."

You can get a Mystery Ranch Arcflex Terraplane that's basically the same thing as the original Dana Arcflex, only made with newer, better materials and technology.

Home, Education, Full 6" latex memory foam mattress, Quality sheets, Blackout Curtains, Thinkpad laptops (T series and X1 series; don't game), WD red drives, VPN access (port forwarding; needed for hosting), FIOS (1gb asynchronous; no data cap; they don't care), Brother laser printer/scanner, Email account on secure server (they take care of business)

My list is close to yours. Definitely a workout machine. Costco FTX inspire for $1200. Lot to drop but I feel better and as someone in his 40s, I have more money than time which is running out. I'm the youngest I'll ever be from here on out so today is a good day to take advantage of health and fitness.

A year ago we got a good mattress and it eliminated so many issues. Same with our couch

I have an erearder but use the library for it

I won't buy Sony stuff anymore but the steam deck has been an amazing purchase. Same with retro handhelds (RG35XX, RG353m)

• A good ergonomic office chair.
• A sit/stand desk.
• Heavy duty wire shelves from Costco.

And because I drink coffee and I'm a total klutz...

• Contigo Auto-seal travel mug. These things are practically bomb-proof and prevent spills!
• a stainless steel double-walled french press. Also bomb-proof and retain heat really well.

Le Creuset Dutch oven. Not sure what I paid for it because it's 20+ years old. After a few years, it developed a flaw on the interior finish. They replaced it with no hassle. I use it for so many things, soups, one pot meals, no knead bread, cobbler, and on and on.

$20 rice cooker back in 2020. It’s no longer made unfortunately. It makes rice perfectly every time. The best part is that I don’t have to worry about lining up the timing of other things I’m cooking. The rice cooker keeps the rice warm for 2 hours if necessary, so there’s plenty of wiggle room if I completely underestimate how long something else will take to prepare and cook.