What is something really stupid you purchased that turned out far better than expected?
I bought a piece of 1.5 inch stiff foam to try to fix a sag in a bed. It didn’t work but having that thick piece of solid foam around has been a life saver.
Need something flat to put a laptop on? Throw it on the foam. Going to be doing something that requires you to be on your knees for a while? Get the foam!
It went from stupid purchase to something I’d gladly replace if it broke.
8 years ago, i got an EUC, aka Electric Unicycle, seamed difficult strange, i managed to learn how to ride it, everybody said i looked like an alien…
8 years later i ride a Veteran Sherman S (suspension model) and i freakngly still love to ride it!! Got a couple of friends hooked, now i’ve got a whole team in Greece! 😉
My wife got me a fitbit. I resisted a little bit because I didn’t want to have yet another device to monitor, charge, and maintain etc. I’ve been really surprised and impressed and how effective it has been in subtly encouraging me to make some small improvements in my habits. Not a bad deal for $100.
This one really shocked me, too! I got a Fitbit to monitor my heart rate because of a genetic condition, but fast forward a couple years and I’m running a mile and exercising multiple times a week.
Didn’t see that coming, but a nice result!
Tbh, I hate the Fitbit though. I hate that it’s owned by Google and they charge me to see my own data. I’d love to switch, but I can’t find alternatives that check all the boxes from a Charge 5…
Edit: if you’re looking to get a Fitbit and wanna save some money, thrift stores often have electronic sections full of em! My bf got his charge 5 for 50$ from a goodwill. Same one 100$ more in the target across the street.
They hide their in depth graphs and readings from you unless you pay for premium. You can get basic data going back years, but if you want to know how long it took you to enter REM sleep for example, your only option is trying to guess using their vague graph charts, or pay premium for the in depth graphs.
You get sleep data, but you get more sleep data with premium. If you don’t have premium, it completely hides the area from you where the new charts are and the only way to see them is to dig up your past premium data. But even then you can only see for months that you had access to premium, it doesn’t give you the data if you don’t pay, despite it constantly taking all the same readings as normal.
I suppose it’s not technically true they’re keeping your data from you. What they’re actually doing is refusing to crunch additional numbers for you and show you nice graphs for them if you don’t pay. Normally this wouldn’t bug me, but since it’s already taking all my data and and since I know crunching those numbers doesn’t cost 10$ a month when I already paid 150$ for it to do exactly what they’re trying to charge me more for it to do…well, now I’m just rambling 😄 it bugs me is all, and I’d gladly try another manufacturer if I could find something more competitive.
I’m already on my 4th Fitbit in 6 years from them breaking (one of them the screen separated from the device. Just peeled out), so I don’t exactly have confidence in their build quality anyways.
I haven’t checked if this works with all the premium features but I know for the sleep tracking ones you can get them by linking your Fitbit account to Google Fit and viewing it in the Google Fit app.
I’ll check that out! They might at the very least have more there.
They also give you a cute “animal” profile for your sleep style when you pay. It was meaningless, but fun. I always got the dolphin during my free trial because I apparently have no idea how to sleep for more than 3 and a half hours.
Tbh, I hate the Fitbit though. I hate that it’s owned by Google and they charge me to see my own data. I’d love to switch, but I can’t find alternatives that check all the boxes from a Charge 5…
That’s the issue that so far has kept me from buying a smart watch/fitness monitor.
I’ve had my eye on a PineTime for a while now, but I’m not sure if it’s ready for general consumer use or still an early-adopter kind of product. (Although I’m an engineer, I don’t necessarily want to buy a project in this particular instance.)
Albeit a bit more pricey I love the Garmin Forerunner Smartwatches. There is a very wide variety at many different price points, no subscription and access to all data, integrates well with other services. Not sure about the OLED versions but I love the non OLED ones. Touch display, color (although not as vibrant), smartphone connectivity (e.g. notifications) and even payment (credit card on the watch, no phone needed)… with all that the battery still lasts about 2 weeks.
Sorry for shilling. There was a time when I hated Garmin. But their watches have come a long way.
Appreciate the mention, haven’t heard of this brand and definitely going to consider them as soon as this Fitbit goes kaput in probably 6 months or so.
I’m loving that garmin battery life! Charging things is as much of a curse as sleep ☠️
I went from a Pebble Time to a Garmin Forerunner. Amazing battery life (2 weeks vs 5 days). But the software on the now defunct Pebble was massively superior. Sleep tracking on the Garmin sucks despite it having many more sensors. The Pebble pretty much always recognized short naps, and was pretty accurate with sleep/wake times.
The Garmin’s UI is also dogcrap. For example, if you get a text, it first pops up with the name of who’s texting you. You have to wait two seconds before the actual text shows up. If someone texts you again, the name pops up. You kinda have to wait for the other person to stop sending texts to be able to read anything.
I wish we could have Pebble’s software in the body of a Forerunner. Sadly Fitbit bought Pebble and subsequently threw it in the trash.
I used to think Garmin watches were way overpriced but then I got involved in wearable fitness monitor validation studies as part of my graduate degree lab and they were by and far the most reliable and accurate for everything we tested. I went from a Fitbit Versa to a Garmin Instinct and loved it so much that after it broke, I got their Fenix 7X. It’s literally everything you could ever want In a fitness tracking watch with smart features. A full charge lasts me nearly 20 days due to the solar charging.
I wrote a huge reply about Garmin watches and felt like a shill, too, but it got lost. I will just add on to your reply to say Garmin watches rock. They cost more upfront but it feels like I’m wearing a scientific instrument vs a watch, for all the info it gives. Battery life is amazing, as you said.
Pro tip from a fellow rambler: before submitting a lengthy, in-depth, top-tier comment. Highlight some text. Hit ‘Select All’. Copy. That way your shit isn’t lost & your time isn’t wasted. 🙂
The internet wants your honest, detailed opinions. That’s how we all learn! 😌
A cheap little green alien soft dog toy. My dog has destroyed every soft toy we’ve ever given her except that one. The head ripped a little at the seam, but we just re-sewed it. She hasn’t made a big hole to pull out the stuffing somehow. And she loves it.
I wanted to get a backup, but the company doesn’t make that toy anymore. I got an alternative from them and it got torn apart within a few days. I guess it was too good of a dog toy.
Compared to other particle board furniture I’ve had, I’d say IKEA produces affordable furniture rather than cheap. I don’t go for the bottom tier stuff (which tbf does look cheap), but the IKEA furniture I’ve used has lasted well so far, including through a move (some disassembled, some moved as is). It’s all still solid while I had an expectation that it would end up flimsier after a move.
I have a similar thing going on with a Barbapapa soft toy. Though we didn’t buy it, my dog found it when out on a walk. Initially I put it on an electric cabinet in case someone came back for it, but a week later he found it again under a bench and I figured we gave it a shot so we brought it home.
Thing is shockingly resilient. It has a few perforations, which I fixed, but all the dog toys we’ve had break one way or another and are almost impossible to mend. Even ones specifically advertised as sturdy. This one just keeps going. It doesn’t have a squeaker either!
My large dogs will tear up even the most ‘durable’ dog toys in a matter of minutes. Nylon? Kevlar? Doesn’t matter. But if I give them toys meant for really small dogs, they don’t tear them up at all. Go figure.
My neighbor bought a very good quality ebike. Their brand has good service and is highly praised. You can check it out through this link: [randridebikes.com](This is their website), they have Good warranty service.
Wireless headphones. The original goal was working out and I didn’t want to carry my cellphone on the hand. I never went to work out, but it turns out to be very convenient when my neighbors are being loud, since it has noise cancelling, and also for chores.
Also, some better clothes. For context, I’m FtM. My sister and mother are vain and buy chic clothes like every month, so I always had a surplus of hand-me-downs. I didn’t want to buy more clothes because I already have perfectly serviceable unisex clothes on my closet, but when I donated out all my feminine-cut clothes and shoes I found myself lacking clothes so, yeah, I went and bought the stupid clothes. I fucking love them and wear them on every opportunity I get. They make me feel so much better :)
Double Edge Razor. I used to shave with an electric shaver but now I can shave faster, better and cheaper. The razor gives a super smooth shave and the soap/aftershave is a kind of wellness routine now that I really enjoy. The blades are extremely cheap so I change them every second shave. There are tons of different types of razors and blades to try out and I really enjoy trying out the shaving soaps and varying them from shave to shave.
My tablet for school. I bought it because I was sick of shifting through stacks of handwritten notes while writing papers. Turns out it was the best purchase I made as a student. I haven’t bothered to write on paper since, and it’s saved me a ton of time and money (otherwise spent on printing supplies). I’ve started using it for work as well. I don’t know if I could function without one now.
Do you take notes by typing or by hand with a stylus. Or do you use one of those Samsung automated OCR handwriting? I want to try a tablet for my workflow but I hate typing on touch screens. It even infuriates me on my phone.
I just write on it with my Samsung pen. No conversion in normal text needed. That makes your tablet just like a big piece of paper where you can add unlimited more and can find everything you want very easily. Personally I use oneNote for my notes, because it syncs with my PC and everything is saved in the cloud. But the normal Samsung notes app is pretty good too.
I absolutely LOVE my tablet, but I use it for internet and reading. I sketch on it sometimes, but pencil and paper is where I sketch the most. I use mine way more than my phone when I am around the house. I don’t understand why they aren’t more popular.
I’m pretty much the opposite. I love tech solutions like todoist, kanban apps, ClickUp, etc. But the first thing I reach for is pen and paper. I need to write something before it becomes real.
I even started using Obsidian recently. But first I have to write stuff in a notepad before I’ll create the same thing in the app.
Seems wasteful but I’ve also found it good for memory retention when I’m having to do things twice.
I was making a lightsaber for my kid, and bought a length of clear PVC from Home Depot. (I know, they have bad politics, but Lowe’s didn’t carry clear PVC.) My local store didn’t have any clear PVC or clear accessories in stock, so I had to place an order for shipping, so I got a couple things “just in case” for the build. One of those was a pipe cap.
Didn’t end up using the pipe cap, because lightsabers don’t have that sort of end. It now sits at my desk as a teeny tiny trash can. Bits of thread from sewing, nail clippings, tags I clip off of shirts, a lot of things fit in the teeny tiny trash can. When it’s full, I empty it into the trash, but for a rather small pipe cap, it holds quite a bit of small trash.
Shower mirror. It has a base that suctions to the wall and a reservoir that you fill with hot water so that it doesn’t fog. I had no idea how much better it was than shaving at the sink. If I’m in a hurry I’ll sink shave but I love shower shaving and I love that mirror.
Edit: Here’s the one I use. No major complaints, just remove the mirror between uses and re-suction every once in a while.
People complain in the comments about it falling off and breaking the mirror. I can attest the base does pop off after maybe a month or two of daily use. If you remove the mirror when you aren’t using it and re-suction every once in a while it’s really not an issue. It’s a bit unrealistic to be asking for an infinite suction cup. Materials admittedly feel cheap but it’s only $20. Just don’t put the base above anything it would damage if it pops off on you.
A toy accordion I bought at a truck stop 30 years ago. I blew all of my $30 in vacation spending money on it and everyone said I’d regret it. It ended up kind of joke\prop instrument in all my bands and I still have it and it’s still fun to play.
Oh ya, those are great. If you really get into making homemade pizza, move to a pizza steel. A bit more expensive and a hell of a lot heavier, but better results.
Thanks for the tip but actually already done so 😄 The stone cracked the second time I used it (filling leaked through) and I got so frustrated that I bought a steel instead.
I liked the results so much I didn’t want to go back without stone/steel, and the risk of cracking a second stone pushed me over to steel 😂
I had one of those but didn’t get the best results and was unhappy with how hard it was to clean. However I got a baking steel a while later and that things been great. Really versatile
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