About a year ago, I bought a new clock radio. It projects the time onto the ceiling and I still love it. It is more awesome than I expected. What have you bought over the years that you still love?
Open Post: Favorite Purchase
About The Author
Tulip
She is mythical.
Cast iron pan
Fidget toys for the desk
Hybrid car
High quality leaf blower
Every single gun that I own except one.
Oh, and a Bible with 4 different translations in it. I don’t use it as much due to the phone app, but I used it to the point that the binding started falling apart.
Every gun I’ve ever bought has been my favorite until the next one.
And my divorce, worth every penny
Amen on both counts.
Every gun except the Hi-point carbine. Every time I look at it, I regret being a cheapskate instead of getting the Beretta carbine.
Of my recent gun purchases, I’m most pleased with the 1940 Winchester Model 12 Black Diamond I snagged for a bit under a grand, which is pretty good for that gun.
Nearly any “capital” item I have bought in the last while (house, cars, guns, furniture), once I got to the point where I (a) understood that buying quality is the best value and (b) could afford it.
Yup.
Weirdly, the thing that snapped the whole “quality is value” thing into focus for me was Sam Vimes bemoaning his cheap boots in Pratchett’s Night Watch books.
Thinking about smaller items, I think the list would include:
The cast iron frying pan I got 40 years ago.
My carabiner keyring, which lets me hang my keys from my beltloops rather than in my pocket (I don’t like stuff in my pockets).
The wall-mounted pants press that I got years ago for my dress pants.
My WorkSharp knife sharpener.
The Technivorm coffeemaker.
My carabiner keyring
Yes sir. Only thing I haven’t figured out is how to make it quiet.
I’ll add my front pocket slim wallet to the list of “decluttering the pockets” wins.
I’ve got to say, I’m a big fan of my Tightwad money clip.
All the money clips I’ve used have resulted in everything being chewed up after a few months. I specifically shop for something that doesn’t expose any of my cards/whatever to my pocket.
Yeah, I still love my sofa.
I used to reuse the large plastic drink cups from restaurants (usually Panera) for a few days. Mrs. McGinty got fed up with me leaving them on the kitchen counter so she found some washable ones. They hold like 32 ounces or so. Really nice.
Also buying quality woodworking tools. I bought a better table saw last year and can make better, more precise cuts.
That’s what I’d like, a good table saw. Right now accurate cuts for finer work is definitely holding me back
“I used to reuse the large plastic drink cups from restaurants (usually Panera) for a few days.”
Good to know I’m not alone.
“it is a poor craftsman that blames his tools”
But boy is it easier to be a good craftsman with good tools.
A house in Alaska.
just give it till winter. You’ll be sorry. Also hopefully soon Alaska will ban guns.
We bought it in winter. I think we’re good.
but it is so cold. you would be much happier in California.
Been there, done that. No thanks.
but tacos are so much better in LA
People from LA should shut the fuck up.
The Massdrop version of the Sennheiser HD650 for $300.
Yes, there are most certainly better and more expensive headphones, but price/performance value here is high even at $300. I resisted and resisted, but they are provide reference level sound and they are widely used within industry as a benchmark.
Great googly-moogly! Where did you find such a smokin’ deal? Even B&H can’t touch that price.
Just wait for now, Drop, to put them on sale roughly once a quarter.
They contract for a batch so after that it will take another 30 to 60 days after you order.
I had this old Oldsmobile. I finally sold it, but I miss it terribly.
All the paper books I own. I only get paper when I have read a book (ebook or library) that I love. They are in storage right now and I miss looking at them.
I have these that I adore.
The KitchenAid stand mixer my husband won.
The art that I have made (hey, it requires purchase of materials!).
And my collection of knickknacks.
Let me come at this from a different angle. I love everything I buy or I don’t buy it, tools, cars, furniture, whatever, and I take care of them and keep them until they are worn out and then I might keep them long after that too.
I had this old Oldsmobile.
My college girlfriend had the same exact car. It was okay. Easy to get under the hood and screw around with, much like the owner. ?
Heh.
My old beat-up Dodge Ram. I feel like a bad-ass driving that thing.
Several over the years, but the parts for my main computer always serve me well and I get a lot of satisfaction out of it for work or play.
And probably oddly enough, my copies of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant — tough read for a lot of people, but the first trilogy (and The Wounded Land, less the other two and don’t talk about the final set) is always a good read to come back to, for fun or for thinking.
Your inclusion of books made me think of my Kindles.
I bought a second gen Kindle way back when because I had gotten some Amazon cash to spend. I didn’t have any real idea what to spend it on, so I decided to buy the Kindle. It was maybe $200+ at the time, but with the balance I think I paid $75 out of pocket. That was a price I could live with for something I wasn’t sure about.
It is like crack for me now. The last one that failed made me go to OfficeDepot to get one that hour because I couldn’t wait for the next day.
Yeah, that’s good one. I think I’m on my 4th one.
Add my Kindle to my list.
OMG I love my Paperwhite. That backlight is just the ticket.
I still keep my 2nd Gen keyboard one because it doesn’t have 3G. To get the books on it I have to hook up to the local wifi OR sideload the books myself. What this means is that I can still download the Kindle files directly to my computer for transfer over to the device. So THAT means that all the Kindle books I “buy” I actually do buy and can keep on my hard drive. They can’t go away. AND because of my business, it’s my business to know how to crack them open and convert them to other formats. No matter what, I can make a Kindle file into a text file and read it.
I can get the filess off my Paperwhite, too. There are ways to get the file off an Android device, but it’s a long and involved process.
Paperwhite is my favorite too. My wife loves it because it means no more reading lights being on when she wants to sleep. The only change would be to add mechanical buttons to go forward and back. Tapping the screen annoys me.
I use Calibre to manage all my ebooks. Even the stuff I buy on Amazon gets converted and saved locally.
Mine has little clicky things/areas on both sides for “turning pages”, but its a few years old and they may have done away with that.
I don’t care for Calibre, but I do have to use it occasionally in my work.
iOS Kindle app on my phone. Got into the habit when I had jury duty quite a while back and didn’t want to lug around anything extra, now that’s my primary reading.
But like Mojeaux mentions above, I still have dead tree format for favorites (and pre-Kindle purchases, I don’t get rid of books…).
I just switched from that back to my old Paperwhite after 3 or 4 years. It is a better experience plus I just (had to) get a new phone and I don’t want to be constantly draining the battery on another phone.
I went with B&N’s Nook just because at the time, e-books from the library weren’t Kindle-compatible. I adore my Nook and carry it to work every day, whether I have time to read or not.
I’m on my third one, a Glow Light.
When I used to fly all the time for work, I loved the Bose QuietComfort noise canceling headphones. If I was still flying, I would be buying Bose’s new noice canceling ear buds.
Alright, add our collection of Bose bluetooth speakers (we’re up to three now, with two of their noise cancelling headphones) to my list. Audiophiles may sneer, but the sound is plenty good enough for my deaf ass, and they are solid and don’t give me any crap, which is something for electronics.
And my bet is that someone here will say “Winston’s Mom”. 😉
You never buy her, you only rent.
I got nothing. I never spend enough on things to really like em… good stuff aint cheap
If I were to think… I like my cubitts glasses and my bar furniture of the material things I posses. Otherwise… nothing.
Christ, I think of all the things I’ve bought over the years and the thing that still brings me joy every day is my $29 Aeropress.
Weird.
My 1996 Fender Telecaster, brand new, first owner, I love that guitar enough, I ended up with 5
Do you know how yo play it?
Really? What a silly question
https://youtu.be/UzHW2ONJR-k
My band, I play all inatruments
for some reason I do not remember hearing your music. I assume you linked before but I missed it or just don’t remember. I blame the scotch.
I bought a Fender Strat Plus in 1987 that I still love.
Do you know how yo play it?
Of course. It would be kind of pointless otherwise.
Orange Rocker 32
Jackson Pro Soloist
This winter I bought a 13 year old Prius for my daughter with over 300,000 miles on it. I had never been in a Prius, but I have to admit it’s kinda an amazing little machine. Now I kinda want one for me.
https://youtu.be/2lMIOE5pQTo?t=10
Toyota got that one so right culturally they couldn’t move on to full electric vehicles.
It’s a great appliance vehicle.
I continue to enjoy Toyota’s public (and justified IMO) skepticism about all-electric vehicles. They may be the only major car company that isn’t throwing billions down that black hole.
EVs have a niche, and maybe not even a small niche, but they are at least a generation away from being a replacement even for personal autos. And that’s not counting the mind-blowing investment in the grid we would have to make to support an EV fleet of any size.
I would not own an EV as my only vehicle right now.
That said Euro emissions regs are going to make it near impossible to own anything else and relatively soon there.
Question is how long until CA and states that follow it jump on the same insane path.
They won’t. A few more bad blackouts and that foolishness will die a quick death.
You can make all the bullshit rules you want – it’s the enforcement that matters.
A few more bad blackouts and that foolishness will die a quick death.
I wish I shared your optimism. Water rationing has been going on for 30-40 years and they just accept it.
Ditto. NYC is gonna get slammed with blackouts thanks to Cuomo’s pie-in-the-sky energy idiocy.
And nothing else will happen.
I believe NY has “committed” to EV-only sometime in the next 15(?) years. It won’t happen, of course. I would think CA has probably done the same thing. This is all in “white papers” by various agencies/committes and not law (yet), but I think we know this place is run by agencies/committees and not legislatures anyway.
Yes, CA has done the same thing (2035).
Now, just how Newsom can do it by Executive Order to CARB [and for that matter, why he did given the rubber stamp that is the state legislature… I know, I know — just lets them not be on the hook for it] is a completely different story.
And again yes, given the current grid can’t keep up with A/C usage in the summer, I believe they’ve pushed as much rooftop solar as they can (over the last three years, that’s been the big drive) and they’re rumbling to start shutting down the gas plants that were their saviors only 5 years ago… something’s going to give one way or another.
Calling back a bit to the morning discussion — I really, really hope the WFH trend, especially in SF decentralizes the population and the power a bit, making it less likely they’ll just try to forcibly “rezone” everyone into the brutalist high-rise apartments where we can all take the bus you know they really want.
The technology to store rainy-day energy in batteries at the scale and timelines they’re fantasizing about doesn’t even exist yet.
We’ve gone all in on the hybrid train. I’m not a “car guy” in the sense of needing to own something that I can open up on country roads…. most of my driving is done on congested suburban parkway. The current hybrid broke even in 2019 (4 years in), so we’re now ahead of the curve.
The hybrid van that’ll get here next week breaks even from the start. We got a good deal on it by buying technically used (2021 model, 900 miles), and was several thousand dollars under what a new conventional engine one costs, all else being equal.
I’m willing to consider a hybrid if and when my existing car finally breaks beyond repair. But right now, it has the advantage of being fully paid for, and surprisingly reliable for a Chevrolet. 😉 I don’t drive it nearly as much as I used to since I stopped going into the office much before COVID and have only once since, so I honestly expect it to last until the EV stuff gets settled one way or another.
Battery replacement (I don’t know what to do with old UPS or laptop batteries, much less a car’s worth!) would be my biggest worry if I took the plunge. I assume they’re lithium ion based instead of a bank of the older/typical lead acid, so definitely special handling there. (Oh, and plus the fire issues in an accident always worry me).
But right now, it has the advantage of being fully paid for
Having no car payments is freaking awesome! That was the one stipulation when wife started advocating for the minivan. “Yes, but we’re paying cash. Let’s sure our expectations align with that.”
To her credit, she did really good at scrimping and saving to get us close enough to buy with minimal borrowing from other sinking funds.
Furniture is a good one. When we moved, we threw out our well used living room pieces and bought some cheaper Ashley furniture. It looked nice enough in the store, but I started to hate it over time. After a couple years of that, we got new leather pieces – powered reclining ones. I really like them.
I’m never going back to fabric covered pieces.
Ditto! In our case, it’s all Bob’s Discount Furniture because of their amazing Goof-Proof No Questions Replacement Policy. It adds either $50 or $100 to the purchase price but it gives you 5 years of repair or replacement for any damage. When you replace the piece, you are then offered another Goof-Proof policy for the same $50 or $100 charge and have another 5 years of coverage. With small kids and cats it has been a Godsend.
Haven’t had it long, but buying my first house last year was pretty cool. Simultaneously left NY for a decently better place and got to buck half of the millenial stereotypes by having a job and owning a house before I turned 27. Nice doing improvements on it and being able to gain value from them.
Simultaneously left NY for a decently better place – moved to New Jersey?
Good work! Cheers to millennials with careers and houses*! We’re few and far between, it seems.
*we are renting a house right now, but this was planned and temporary as we get our ducks in a row to move into a permanent house.
Cheers. Seems to be unfortunately rare. Here’s to hoping they’re the suckers, not us.
They’re the suckers, but we’ll be made the chumps if current trends continue.
Dolphin “nautilus” robotic pool cleaner. Has improved my quality of life by saving me hours of pool vacuuming time
pools are a symbol of the effete bourgeoisie and will be done with when the revolution comes
I’m jelly. I’ve spoken before about my deep-seated feeling that a swimming pool means you “made it”. Not a house. A swimming pool behind the house. Preferably a midcentury modern kidney pool with a little diving board.
No real room behind my house for an in-ground pool. One neighbor puts up a big inflatable above ground pool every summer for the kids (during the day) and the adults (during the night). Across the street from me, one of the really fancy houses has a big in ground pool behind the house.
Of course, you can only really use a pool here for a couple months of the year.
Same here.
Here, a swimming pool actually decreases a house’s value.
Everybody (with more than a postage stamp lot) has a pool here. It can be a liability if not properly maintained… the ground movement that causes foundation issues can just as easily cause pool issues if not proactively avoided. I know more than a couple people who have had to jackhammer out a pool and fill in the hole because it had become too much work to patch the leaks.
Yeah, when im in a better place financially my next big purchase will be a heating mechanism for my pool. That will help get another month of swimming in.
Im in Ling Island, have had the pool opened for over a month and the kids have been in only a handful of times.
I grew up in Brooklyn and my dream was to have a house in the burbs with an in ground pool.
My part of Brooklyn is unusual because there are huge apartment buildings on one block and giant mansions with in-ground pools a couple streets over. Those are holdovers from the robber-baron days when lots of those types lived on the bluffs overlooking the bay. A little out of my price range, though.
My brother was happy when they moved to a place without a pool – lots of maintenance and the kids barely used it.
We have a 10′ and a 15′ inflatable (HOA limit is 10′) that have a circulation pump and cover. I hate the maintenance required, particularly the constant chemical war against fungal growth; it gives me flashbacks to my late teen years and having to care for the real pool in the house our family was renting. The kids however, love it. We also have a thing called a Blobster; it’s a giant waterbed mattress with a slip-n-slide built into it. Hella fun!
They’re a lot of work and/or expense. You have to lurrrrve swimming.
Yep. But as Agent Sloper noted, there’s just something seductive about water.
I hate swimming.
My wallet thanks me.
Our short list when we were looking in Tucson included “no pool”. The agent thought we were crazy, and it really cut down on the inventory we would be interested in.
The value proposition (enjoyment minus expense and hassle) just wasn’t there for us.
I don’t want a pool, but I love my hot tub.
My wife and kids begged for a hot tub—i got one from Lowes that i couldnt really afford—now im the only one that ever uses the thing.
I want a 10 foot deep kidney pool with no water in it. I will use that quite a bit.
LOL… I wanted to show you the nice skate park NYC Parks built to replace the wooden community built park washed away by SuperDuperStorm Sandy. Here is a G-map link but the aerial photo shows the old park and the streetview shows the place before construction started.
Ah ha! Here is an article showing what we have now. It’s busy all the time with folk of all ages/skill levels. Cool stuff.
Neat. There is one near me too.
When you tell her you’ve got a big pool and she’s already told her girlfriends that she’s hit the jackpot, but come third date when you’ve taken her home for a little skinny dippin’ she realises you don’t even have a house. Nope. Just a pool. Well, you done went and made it. You got a big pool. Below ground, nice tiles, some little steps in and out, nice underwater lighting, pretty little shaded part with palms, a little bar to serve drinks in there. Yeah, you made it big. Shame you couldn’t afford the house to go with it but man you got the best pool on the block.
Hmm….
That I still own? Hmm… the Mustang is too new to rate. I’d say, and this is strange for me, but my Honda lawnmower. Far fewer problems than my previous lawnmower. Mowing the lawn is much easier with it.
Wife’s engagement ring
Overcoat
Definitely not the mandatory work training I’m going through now to complete it before the deadline…
But purchases I love are the new Ninja multi cooker (toaster oven) for quick meals. It has a thermometer plug in so you can drop a pork loin in, set it to an internal temp and just walk away. Then the Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Thing is beautiful, heavy, and easy to clean.
OK, put my Anova sous vide cooker on this list.
Bought it years ago and it worked so well even my wife has begun using it.
I got my sous vide stick as a gift… the two I mentioned were both purchases I made.
Same here.
I’ve only used my sous vide sticks twice, but I’m addicted. Even the reheated steak we had had other night was better than some first cook steaks I’ve made using other methods.
Easiest freaking herbed new potatoes. Dump olive oil, sprigs of thyme and rosemary, and potatoes from garden into ziploc. Water displace and seal. Put in 195* bath for an hour to 75 min. Eat.
Mrs. Dean does that. Try putting them on a cookie sheet under the broiler for a few minutes to put a little crust on them. Heaven!
*adds to mental checklist for next time*
That’s the only thing that was missing from those potatoes. Thank you!
Sous vide fresh asparagus is a relativity new discovery. Just awesome.
Sous vide shrimp straight from the freezer is fast and delicious when I forget to defrost some other protein for dinner.
Sausages are great too. Just a quick sear on the grill at the end.
I love my Anova
My anova has completely ruined restaurant steak for me.
My first monocle and tophat of course.
Nice.
*sheds single manly tear*
Poseur.
Real Glibs would have said orphanz
After thinking on it some more I’d have to include my Napoleon grill and the Slow N’ Sear accessory for my kettle grill.
Jerk wings are marinating as we speak!
jerk wings
Special sauce for the win? You aren’t a spring chicken anymore Tundra, how did you get so much sauce?
Good diet, lots of sleep, positive mental attitude.
The wok burner gracing our back patio. The NAD M10 I use in my lab for music.
The wok burner – I hope it is solar powered
As I recall he said it runs about the same temperature as the sun.
Close. 100,000 BTU, get the wok glowing red in seconds.
Korean wife says that is acceptable to wok the dog
I have a photo of a sign promoting the Korean Cultural Center. Displayed at a dachshund show.
My Toyota Tacoma Off-Road Dual Cab. Three years after driving off the lot, and it still makes me smile every time I hop in.
My Baratza Virtuoso+ coffee grinder.
My Enlightened Equipment backpacking quilts. Anything that keeps my ass warm (seriously, my ass is always the first thing that gets cold) out on the trail is worth the scratch.
My Swarovski Z6i and Nightforce ATACR rifle scopes. I’ve never once regretted maxing out the credit card on top-shelf optics.
My guitar. And my little Fender practice headphone amp, that thing is the beans!
The Mini Twin? I recorded the song above with one, great little guys!
Even smaller – the Mustang Micro that’s about the size of a jumbo pack of gum and has just enough ass to drive a set of headphones. It’s perfect for practicing in the apartment when the upstairs neighbors are home.
I’ve never once regretted maxing out the credit card on top-shelf optics.
*grinds teeth, goes back to shopping for new scope for the M1A*
I just can’t settle on what I want for it. And yes, I have rarely flinched from spending on optics, but holy balls, $2K?
Buying some for a 30-06 hunting rifle; My heart rate increases a bit when I hit $400. $2000? My actual taint puckered.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a Trijicon fanboi. This is on my shortlist for the M1A.
Pros: The 1-6X magnification is right in the wheelhouse for my use of this rifle. Trijicon – I’ve got several of their optics, and really like them.
Cons: Battery. I have an allergy to batteries on optics. The rifle’s buttstock (aftermarket, of course) does contain a handy spare battery compartment, though. And price (they are listed at several online retailers for around $2K; backordered because what isn’t these days).
Also, I hate zeroing rifles. But that ship sailed when I took the scope off and put it on Mrs. Dean’s Tavor.
Batteries are just a fact of life these days. I have batteries in my lights, my earpro, my radios, everything. The juice is worth the squeeze.
That said, you can do better than the VCOG for less money.
Let me know what you settle on. Also what mount you go with. Getting some glass on the M1A is on my long term goals list (for after I find an outdoor range to shoot it at more frequently… I hate shooting it at the indoor range).
Will do. This convo has got me thinking about the two perfectly good scopes in my safe. My use case for the M1A is CQB out to about 400 yards, so a hunting scope would be fine at the longer ranges, but not ideal at CQB range.
I expect I’ll flounder around for awhile, and drunk-order something at midnight.
Putrid – I just recalled, I have a spare Zeiss in the back of the safe that I don’t think I’ll ever use. I want to say 4 – 12 x 50? I could be off on the magnification. Its probably 20 years old, still in the box. It matches the one I got for the .300 WIn Mag.
Sorry.
(Not really.)
But if you’re looking for a reasonable quality scope that you can accurately dial corrections on? Take a look at the Vortex Viper PST II 3-15×44.
There’s two other things I like about the Trijicon:
.308 bullet drop reticle, and tuned pretty close to the bullet weight I like.
The reticle lights up. I’ve had to pass on the two biggest deer I’ve ever had in range because the light was too low for me to pick out regular cross-hairs through my scope, and that was with a 50mm Zeiss.
I’ll have to poke around the Viper site; I’ve seen that brand a lot.
Been poking around Vortex – if you watch MeatEater, can’t really avoid em – and they seem like a good company. But I believe they manufacture overseas whereas Leupold manufactures in the US. And even as much as the me from 10 years ago would have been like “just buy the best, get quality at low price and maybe help bring some freedom to another country” (queue Winston fires), that is actually something I pay more attention to these days. Vortex vs Leupold seem comparable in the lower end 3×9-40 sort of scopes price and quality wise anyway.
This is what I got for my M1A:
Leupold VX-3i 3.5x10x40mm Rifle Scope
Mine has the Boone and Crockett reticle.
I don’t have it mounted yet. It’s on my list of things to do. That a join an outdoor range and zero all of my rifles.
I think I may have one of those in the safe also. If not that one, a Leupold that is very similar. Hmmm . . . . .
Set the magnification at a certain point. Dial it in for 200 yards on the cross hairs. It then gives 300, 400, and 500 yards on bullet drop marks.
As others have already mentioned, most everything — that I grit my teeth and paid extra for the high-quality version of — has been something that I’ve repeatedly thought “What took me so long to get this?”
I’m constantly reminded that getting the higher-quality thing saves me time, labour or money, and I was too stupid to get it years (or in some cases decades) earlier than I did.
The most recent reminder was using my temp-controlled soldering station to do some finicky (for me!) surface-mount device soldering; my old “pencil” iron (or worse, my battle-axe Weller “gun”) would’ve resulted in abject failure as well as much cursing and possibly thrown objects.
*Sigh*, coming soon to a balkanized country near you: Fijian-Indians living in New Zealand want to be classified as Pasifika not Asian.
There’s a lot of derp in there. But also this telling point: “Naidu also said they were missing out on key support and opportunities in areas like education and health because they were classified as Asians and not Pacific Islanders in New Zealand. He said by not recognising Fijian-Indians as a Pacific community, the government was preventing them from sharing in any of the resources and support allocated to these communities.”
Also, something I found sad: “Community leaders warned Fijian-Indians were facing an identity crisis in Aotearoa.” Don’t let the government define you!
I went to a party hosted by Fiji Indians where they were grilling steak. My wife asked about whether that wasn’t sacrilege, they said, “We’re not Indians. We’re Fiji Indians. And besides, we’re Christian.”
I have a Panasonic HDTV that was purchased in 2006 (the technology was outdated even in 2006). Its size is decent, 52″, but it’s only 720P. I recall thinking around 2009 of giving it away for free if only the new owners would pick it up themselves. It survived 3 moves. One day in 2012 it suddenly lost the blue color (it became green) and I was certain that it was time to finally get rid of it. But then the next time I turned it on the picture quality was back to normal. Okay, we now have two more newer and better TVs around the house. And yet this ancient TV set is currently in my home office with a Euro quarterfinal on as the background entertainment.
If it’s plasma, it doubles as a heater too! Our living rooms tv is a Panasonic plasma. It’s still working fine so don’t need to replace it but boy oh boy is that radiating heat compared to the LED TVs.
I’ve got two Panasonic TVs from 2012 – one is LED and the other a plasma.
Panasonic made a great TV, and it’s a shame you can’t buy them anymore. I’m gonna be sad when I have to replace them.
The one plasma we have is far more pleasant to the eyes for some reason.
It’s actually a rear-projection LCD TV. A Panasonic plasma TV was our main TV set between 2011 and 2020, it’s moved to the bedroom now.
Big, recent purchase I love: Tesla model 3.
Smaller, old purchase I love: 3 stranded genuine pearl necklace. I feel like the Queen when I wear it.
Book purchase I love: 1000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra
Gift I love: 38 special from dad when I was 20.
Inherited thing I love: zebra skin. I have it stapled to the wall; I don’t want anyone to walk on it.
Smaller, old purchase I love: 3 stranded genuine pearl necklace. I feel like the Queen when I wear it. -typical libertarian. real pearls are exploitation
On the electric vehicle niche, in 2018 I bought and electric skateboard. I had been riding longboards since about 2007 and always thought it would be super cool if one could go uphill too. It’s a cheap Shenzhen special but has a decent 10s3p battery pack. On flat ground it’ll do 21 mph for about 10 miles, twice that riding more conservatively. I’ve ridden it for over a thousand miles, on bike paths, to get groceries, whatever. It’s a blast.
A few things were lacking in the cheapo board. To ride in traffic you really need better acceleration. The motors are directly in the hub of the rear wheels meaning you only have a quarter inch of urethane between you and the road, making you feel every bump. The ESC (electronic speed control) also would fail to brake and go on it’s own if the battery was overcharged. So I promised myself when I got a new job I would upgrade.
The upgrade fixes all the nitpicks. Belt motors means you can use any longboard wheel. Better ESC also acts as odometer/speedometer. 12s2p battery with larger cells means more oomph without losing range. Last ride I zipped by one of those radar detectors and it clocked in at 27mph, which feels pretty fast standing on a plank of wood. PEVs (personal electronic vehicles) are either too lame-looking or dangerous for most people. But the danger, she excites me. Since my life no longer lets me ski off cliffs 4 days a week playing in traffic is the best thing going. Between the motors, battery tech, and ESC none of this stuff existed 5 years ago and certainly not for under 700 bones. Is it useful? Nah, not really any more than a bike. But it is fun.
I put a metal roof on the house six years ago. Now, when my water oaks shed branches in a storm, instead of them poking holes in my roof like a giant lawn dart, they bounce off harmlessly into the yard, where they become fodder for the grill and smoker.
Last October we replaced all the carpet in the house with wood-appearance tile. Huge difference. Aside from looking better, the house is cooler, and cleaning up spills is a cinch.
I’ll second what RCD said upthread about quality being the best value.
And my big-boy toy brings a smile to my face daily.
That hyphen rivals the comma distinguishing “Let’s eat, children!” from “Let’s eat children!”….
2006 Nissan 350Z Coupe in Interlagos Fire
I picked mine up new in April 2006. I still love to drive it.
I’ve always liked the Z cars. And they are surprisingly affordable, for what they are.
The upcoming 400Z looks like a winner. I never much cared for the looks of the 370Z.
Nissan needs to capitalize on JDM love by offering a FairLadyZ badging option from the factory for the US market. Maybe a retro option too as a Datsun.
Mine has 106K miles and still runs flawlessly.
Guns, guitars, amplifiers, swords, knives. And my Weber grill.
My Jeep. 250K miles, runs like it is new and that beast gets me where I need to be.
Same with my truck. 200K, a million little things wrong with it, a dozen larger things that Ive fixed, and she always starts and moves.
Even with tires nearly as bald as Jugsy’s “mons pubis” it got me up the driveway this winter when the township plowed my drive shut with 18″ of snow.
I tell people I buy 4WD so I dont have to shovel snow.
My Z3. May it rest in pieces.
The IPod classic. I was a late adopter but I converted my cd collection to digital in 2009 and purchased a iPod classic in 2016 or so.
Since then I slowly converted or built home stereo equipment to use it.
I dislike streaming apps and services because I want to own and use my purchases when and where ever I want.
My first and every one since motorcycles. Therapy and transportation in one.
I got an iPod classic with 80 gig 6 months ago. Love it.
Lately I have been feeling oppressed by my attachment to physical things.
I have managed to sell some stuff off, which helps. Seeing the screen print equipment, unused for five (six?) years, go down the road to a new home was as therapeutic as the stack of hunnertdollurbills in my pocket.
More purging!
It’s the moving process. I’ve felt the exact same thing, even purging stuff a year ago would’ve been untouchable.
Simpler is better.
Right now, my cell phone is becoming my least favorite purchase as my office is calling me with drama to solve.
I’m on vacation dammit.
Sounds like time to set it to “Do Not Disturb”.
About 20 years ago I sprang for 2 Brooks Brothers suits. Never spent that much on clothes before or since. They still fit and still look good.
Among those lines, my slide belts are irreplaceable.
2002 Toyota Tundra
It will just not quit.
With all the foodie answers I’ll throw in my first real chef’s knife. It changed the way I cook. You know, from not really “cooking” to real cooking.
On the cooking front – our good Dutch oven.
My old Boston Acoustics Recepter clock radio is one of my favorite purchases. Been going strong since 2004, maybe?
I love that you set the alarm time with a dial – the faster you turn it, the faster the digits change. Makes it a snap to adjust. It’s built like a tank and sounds good too.
The Jabra Elite 75t ear buds I bought at the beginning of the pandemic grey used for his every day. They’re great.
*Calls upon the flashlight nerds*
Do I need (want) one of those newish LEP super long distance lights? If so, which one?
Yes, yes you need several. Of varying sizes and strengths. I’ve gotten a couple of O-Lights recently that I’ve been happy with.
Do the feds still carry heavy Maglites like Mulder and Scully so they can hit a suspect on the head with them when they spook them in the dark? Like, they have rechargeable lightweight lithium batteries and LEDs, but they just add ballast to the govt issue models so they are still weighty enough for cracking skulls?
Not much. Cops mostly carry Surefire and Streamlight lights. The radio is what you use to beat annoying suspects.
What I always referred to as the “Rodney King Light”
STOP RESISTING !
I got an LED upgrade for my 4-cell Maglite a couple years ago. Its decent.
Better than an Abner Louima flashlight.
Awesome thing: the steel table I built decades ago. Steel top, on casters. I weld on it, grind on it, I do (almost!) everything on it. I’ll cling to it ’til the day I die.
I was going to put casters on mine but it’s tuckered in semi-permanently where it is now. Glad I built it.
Beer? Lots of beer?
Shoes, usually. Man isn’t meant to go barefoot.
Music- a Sonic Impact t-amp. It’s a tiny little thing: on/off, volume. It will even run on batteries. Makes astonishingly good sound, at reasonable levels with decent speakers.
I’m listening to it now.
Shark IQ Robot Self-Empty XL RV101AE, Robotic Vacuum, IQ Navigation, Home Mapping, Self-Cleaning Brushroll, Wi-Fi Connected
After helping the AI to map my house correctly, it’s a dream. Contrast it to my old (and still in use in an easier part of the house) Roomba, the Shark is by far the better. It somehow keeps my Aussie’s long hair from wrapping around its roller. And it’s much quieter.
And along the same vein…
Dyson V7 Trigger Cord-Free Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
…for touching up before guests arrive.
Interesting! I had the first Roomba model years ago and learned it couldn’t deal with fringe on an oriental rug.
Now I have no fringed rugs, and I have a lot of tile floor.
Might need to look that up…
I’ve always been intrigued by the robotic vacuums. We had an earlyish Roomba, and had the same problem with fringes, but the bigger problem was that there was just too much floor for it to really handle.
Now, of course, it would be a chew toy for the Dean Beasts.
I got rid of the fringe, too, and ended up purging all runners. Added a bunch of tile, too, and some other hard floors. So clean!!!
Speaking of, I’d have to add this tile to the list of favorite purchases…
https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/elitetile-shale-13-x-13-ceramic-patterned-floor-use-tile-eml3162.html?&experiencetype=2&selectedvertical=3
Thanks to whoever posted the link to the armor yesterday. I ordered a set last night.
Glad someone was interested. It was a good price.
Bookmark this for the side panels that fit the carrier.
Should you decide you want them later.
I ordered a set that had front, back, and side plates.
Cool.
Hey 20% off. The more you send, the more you save!
Oh FFS. My work is jumping into the whitelist/blacklist ban.
Vaccine passport?
Did you also get rid of the “master” branch in your git repositories?
My group doesn’t use git, so no idea.
One of the other agents asked for clarification as the CLI command to allow a connection one one of the server types is…
whitelist
Master vs main in git branches, when there aren’t “slave” branches, always came across as cargo culting.
Our Agile masters changed our “grooming” meetings to “refinement” meetings because grooming means sex trafficking.
I wonder if the
stewardessesflight attendantsgate personnel at airports will now start to talk about their ground crews needing time togroomrefine their aircraft before passengers are allowed to board?I got an LED upgrade for my 4-cell Maglite a couple years ago. Its decent.
I still have a couple of little maglites. Every now and then I wonder if you can still get bulbs for them.
And- that stuff about led energy efficiency is a bunch of crap. my led flashlights/worklights go through batteries like crazy.
Streamlight. Hl/ds the best flashlight around.
Checking them out now. Can you recommend one of their headlamps?
I like Petzl Tikka for headlamps, but they fucked up the new headband. Went from an elastic cloth material to more rubbery one. Not as good.
Thanks. I’ll check em out.
I have an old iteration of their Scorpion model; takes 2 CR-2 batteries and chews through them like crazy. Fantastic light. Well, there was the time I had it in a nylon utility pouch on my pack and it bumped on and a nice lady on line at the bank had to tell me there was a bit of a wee fire on my shoulder strap.
Oh FFS. My work is jumping into the whitelist/blacklist ban.
Whiteboards are superior to blackboards. Everybody knows that.
Literally shaking, can’t even, etc.
Nah, Magnadoodle. Ask Joey and Chandler.
Otto Grill – use it all the time.
They released a “lite” version that is substantially cheaper. Very frustrating.
Sad sigh… My first car, a ’67 Ghia in Royal Blue. Purchased for $600 in 1986; it came with a second, non-running 1966, for parts. Dad was a heck of a negotiator and VW fan. I miss that ass-engined NAZI slot-car so much.
Offset smoker, capital investments into wife’s business like the trailer and the truck and probably our Le Creuset cookware
KitchenAid Stand Mixer – Takes most of the hard, time-consuming work out of bread making. I also got the pasta roller attachment and ventured into the delicious world of homemade pastas.
Roman workbench – Not really a “purchase” although I did purchase the materials and put it together. It’s amazing how many work-holding options there are with such a simple thing (literally just a bench). I’ve been refinishing some dressers, and working on the drawers would have been extremely difficult on my traditional “high” workbench.
Bissel Steam Cleaner – Only about 30 bucks on Amazon. It shoots a focused shot of steam, which loosens up grime and grease like nothing else. There was a sticky layer of grease on the windowsills in the kitchen, which I thought was going to require some harsh chemicals to remove… But I just sprayed it with that and wiped it right off.
https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2021/07/rent-assistance-backlog-could-have-devastating-consequences-as-state-eviction-moratorium-expires.html
Boo fucking hoo. The year of eviction moratoriums has and will have devastating consequences yet that continues to be handwaved away. Everyone in that story should be swinging from a lamppost, including the idiot writer.
I saw some interesting speculation the other day, which ties together some threads on the housing market.
The eviction/rent moratoriums.
The Biden plan for requiring multi-family housing in single-family neighborhoods.
The buying spree that various hedge funds and big money outfits are engaged in.
Here’s the theory: Small landlords are being driven from the market, and selling out. The big money is buying those properties (and a lot of others, including entire developments). The Biden plan (which is also being done more locally in some Deep Blue cities) allows the big money to put more profitable multi-family housing up. So, basically, its Money and power will always find each other, with the big money and the government working hand in glove to make the big money richer, make the middle class less independent, and make national and local power brokers more power brokery.
Sounds plausible. The end of the similar foreclosure moratorium will put SFH homes of various readiness and quality onto the market as well. Just as easy to level and rebuild those too.
Governments and government cronyist nonprofits have started buying motels and hotels, first to house covid patients, now for homeless. It’s the return of SROs, but with government sanction and horribly inflated costs per bed.
Homeless, and illegals. I’m seeing stories where they are becoming hotbeds for crime in Tucson and Phoenix.
Ghettoes are job-security for government agents. They create them when ever and where ever they can.
Weber gas grill, SNS kettle grill, lawnmower (Honda motor on Troybuilt deck, cranks on the first pull every time.), bedroom furniture (first nice furniture I’ve purchased.), My car is pretty good (fun and reliable), got some nice Vermont Lanterns / Dietz oil lamps/hurricane lantern that have come in handy, likewise for my Little Buddy heater (particularly during the power outage in the ice storm we got last winter.), other gadgets for emergencies as well.
Tire inflator / jump-starter.
Vacuum with cord retract.
Cordless headphones (Sennheiser $$ / MPOW $).
Panasonic phones with talking caller ID.
Wusthof knife.
How could I forget inverter microwave (also Panasonic)?!
Today’s mid day post sponsored by Panasonic.
The Inverter microwave is a Godsend. I utterly refuse to buy or recommend any other type either for myself or as gifts.
Big red Alaskan malamute.
OT – Glibfit update. I lost six pounds during the heat wave. In one week. I am now a walking, talking, typing piece of jerky.
Some of the best purchases I’ve ever made were experiences, not things.
I was just talking to my long-term lease (27 years next month), and we’ve done some interesting stuff.
Sometimes the reaction is an eyeroll (a bone-jarring six hour trip on a school bus in Denali to “view” a dozen bighorn sheep and see the foothills of a socked-in Mt. McKinley).
Sometimes it’s a bit comic — like the tour guide in Rome who promised that we’d see The Sixteen Chapels, but only took us to one.
Sometimes it’s romantic — a pair of sunset cruises in Key West and Lanai come to mind.
Sometimes it’s comic — we met a cockatoo at a Four Seasons, and still mimic his head bobs and “I love you” vocalizations.
And it’s not all far-flung, exotic travel. In the last few months, we’ve discovered a fantastic hole-in-the-wall Italian joint in a town we visit all the time.
Bottom line: I’ve done a lot of cool stuff with this woman, and I’ll have those memories with me when a lot of my now-prized possessions are in the landfill.
(I think I just provided fodder for another poll / post)
My elecric mountain bike. It’schanged my iife (and that’s not Hyperbole). Even with my 74-year-old legs and a heart pumping beta blockers, I can spend my days climbing the endless jeep tracks in the local mountains. The bike adds power to whatever you’re putting so I get just as much of a workout as on an acoustic bike, but I can go further and to places I could never go oherwise. It was stupid expensive but more than worth it.
Buying a 1913 bungalow in the historic district of town. It might be a pain in the ass at times, but I smile every time I look at it.
https://flic.kr/p/2hgyBrY
Very cute.
Suh-weet.
I love me some Arts and Crafts houses (and furniture).
Nice. And kinda familiar
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xufN3SLGC2NhfLWC9
Niiice.
Whoever put electric baseboard heat in should be shot. That is beautiful. Nice workbench.
On the plus side, it survived the fake Tuscan that swept the older houses in the early 2000’s.
I blame Frances Mayes.
Now that I have read the comments;
Best gift is the Browning High Power my dad handed to me in my early thrities.
Every hard back book I have been draggin along with me for decades.
But the best small purchase, non-gun, is my metal lathe.
On topic – Every time I have knuckled under and bought a quality tool rather than cheap knock offs.
As Click and clack used to say “it’s the cheap person that pays the most.”
I have a step-grandson with a 9th birthday coming up. We won’t be flying across country to see him.
What is a good gift for a 9 year old? NOT video games.
Thanks for your ideas.
Lionel train set.
So much this.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BX4G6FY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 maybe, if he’s at all interested in electricity (and most boys are…)?
Books.
I can’t believe you even have to ask.
I’d have killed for one of those fin alignment guides when I was a kid.
Yep. Can’t count how many rockets I managed to corkscrew into the atmosphere (or tear apart!) ’cause I couldn’t get the fins perfectly in line with the longitudinal axis of the rocket.
Completely parent-dependent, but a pellet gun sounds about right for that age.
Outdoor sports gear – soccer, football, basketball, whatever – would hopefully get some use.
And you can’t go wrong with a puppy!
Baseball glove, ball and bat.
BB gun.
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/western-classic-daisy-match-avanti-champion-499?m=2849
Bleeding heart liberal mother in Austin TX.
In that case, definitely a pellet gun. ?
Lego sets are always a winner.
Grandpa’s stash of 1970’s era Playboy magazines? *ducks*
Oh hellfire, that was meant as a reply to HE. I guess it stands on its own, though.
lolsnort