I’ve got 3 on my list.
- BT-PAN Access Point - Kinda ridiculous, but I’d like to have one. I’ve also found a few BT-PAN-enabled dial-up modems, but I’d have no way to connect those up. Some of those could even be connected to USB printers for wireless printing. Not particularly useful anymore, I just find those devices interesting.
- Dot matrix printer - This one isn’t even as ridiculous. I really love that sound and how the text they print looks. Sadly, if I am looking for new ones, a basic 9-pin Epson dot matrix is around €200. But the ribbons are cheap as chips. In fact, often even cheaper. Just imagine casually handing out a document printed on dot matrix to someone nowdays.
- Nano pocket drone - Something like FQ777-124. Maybe a toy like that is a bit childish, but it still can be fun. In fact I already tried to order this one. From 4 different sellers, twice on AliExpress, twice on Amazon. I never got it :(
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A 3D Printer, I think I’d enjoy making small “functional” things.
I thought that, too but I mostly make small non-functional things, which is also nice
I like the idea, but I fear that I would quickly run out of things to print that I actually need. After then I’d start looking for applications. And the one thing I don’t need in my life are more small (or large) plastic things.
Fixing and adapting things around the house is what I like most about having a 3d printer.
I’m pretty sure the first printer is now paid for itself by doing that. Just because of things I haven’t had to pay to replace. As of this summer I’m up to 3 printers and I can’t claim I’ve paid for all 3.
Can you give some examples of things you’ve replaced? I’m just curious
Sure.
I’m about to design a new ceiling lamp nut for our kitchen, because the original has gone missing after a light bulb change. I’ll use a spare metal nut then print a cover to go on it so it looks intentional.
That’s amazing, thanks!
I have a CNC router for work, but I do use it for random things around the house occasionally. Building shelves is suddenly a lot easier…
Me too until I had access to one through work. I’ve found PLA to be quite brittle and not very useful for anything other than items that sit on a shelf
A lot of it is just knowing how to design around the limitations. I 3D print practical parts all the time and usually don’t have any issues with them. If PLA doesn’t work for what you want to print PETG is pretty easy to print as well and is a bit more resilient.
Polymaker pla pro is a great pla. I have printed plenty of functional things with it and they all hold up really well. If you really need something more durable nylon 6 would be a good option to look at.
I want one too but I’m scared I won’t use it. I’m holding off until I meet someone with one and see it in person
somebody said try your local library (this is probably a US thing)
Do it! I recently purchased one and love it. Feel free to ask questions if you have any.
What are everyday uses for a 3D printer?
Great for fixing items around the house. Anything that is plastic or could be replaced with plastic can usually be printed. Also great for hardware and jigs. I’ve had mine for a bit over a month now and have been constantly running it. Check out printables or thingiverse to get an idea of what people are printing. Both are websites people upload models to.
it’s not a priority right now, maybe when I get extra money.
I’m looking forward to it though
Check your library. Mine has one available to use at many of the branches in my area. If I ever come up with something to print instead of buying one I’m going to try that out. Then if I decide to get really into it, I’ll have practical knowledge to know what I’d actually want to buy.
Instead, I’ve just never done any 3D printing, which is also fine.
is this a US thing? I don’t think we have these in our country.
I don’t think it’s necessarily universal in US libraries either. I’m not in a big city, but overall our library system is pretty good. They have a number of branches with “maker labs” so there are things like Cricuts, sewing machines, laser cutters, audio recording/production equipment and 3D printers you can rent. I’d recommend at least checking around.
A Flipper Zero. I probably have the components to make something functionally equivalent, but that form factor, all-in-one nature, and simple UI look nice.
I have no need for it, I just want to tinker.
Same. Also a lockpicking learning set. Just seems fun.
;)
Where do you live? I might have a kayak to sell.
They have folding kayaks if that would suffice. There’s also some types that break into pieces and slide into each other like cups taking a 12 foot kayak down to like 3 feet.
I’d avoid inflatables in most cases though.
Aren’t the folding ones like super expensive?
$500 for an Oru Lake
$280 for a Tucktec 10’
There are other models but those seem to be the most popular.
They can absolutely get crazy expensive and started that way but have come down in price a lot.
That’s unexpected, thx
Same, I’m also currently looking for a kayak and it surprised me as well since when I last looked there wasn’t one under 1k.
Now of course they are limited compared to a normal kayak but for someone in an apartment that has no other options it would at least get them something until their living arangement allowed them to get a proper one.
And if all you ever want to to is casually hang out on flat water it really doesn’t limit you at all.
I know a guy who has one with stabilising air pockets on the side so it can actually be used along the coast for fishing but that one is super expensive
So the thief climbed up to your balcony to steal your bike? What floor do you live on?
Yes. It’s the second floor. I was surprised and not sure how they managed to get down with it. It wasn’t a new or expensive bike by any means, actually an old used one I repaired with salvaged parts.
A cnc laser cutter with enough watts so it could cut thin metal but also acrylic and wood and stuff.
I would love to make rc airplanes, and medieval armor, and fun stuff like that
E-bike. I’m faster than most of them on a road bike, and the limited range would drive me nuts, but I would like to have one for running errands
A hardcore ~$10k Xeon workstation with an Nvidia A100 GPU for AI stuff
An electric bike.
Always wanted one. Will never, ever happen though. The thousands of dollars they cost will always be better spent on bills/food/meds/doctors appointments.
I felt the same, so I built one for around 5-600usd. If you have a bike, you can turn it into an e bike.
You can get kits to retro fit a standard push bike. I think you can do that for a few hundred.
every decent conversion kit I’ve seen has been around a grand, and still requires you to buy a decent bike to put it on, plus puts the onus on me to not fuck everything up.
saw a setup with a dewalt drill before
I said I didnt want to pay thousands. :p
Ah fair enough. I had second hand info from my partner who was looking into it. He already had a spare bike to convert and he didn’t think it was too expensive to do - favoured the option over buying an actual E bike that he wasn’t positive he’d use much.
A hidden shelf door, ie “Murphy Door”. No practical purpose for this other than maybe privacy/security for my master bedroom. I just think it’d look cool as hell to have a hidden door.
It might sound dumb, but I thought for a long time if it was worth to buy a tablet or not. Because I suspected I wouldn’t even use it if had it. Then I found a great sale that helped me confirm my suspicion.
I lounge around and browse Lemmy on mine.
If you don’t use it, maybe you could mount it in the kitchen to pull up recipes on. That’s what I would do, anyway
That and a music remote if you have some Bluetooth speakers about the place.
Thermal Camera.
They’re just so cool. Super useful for checking the effectiveness of stuff like insulation or heat sinks, and can be used to find hot spots you didn’t know existed.
I just have trouble justifying dropping $300 on something I would only get maybe an hour max of usefulness from before it sits in a box for years.
I did this but with an infrared thermometer gun. As far as everyday use goes, it’s super helpful for cooking.
I got to use a thermal cam for research out in the desert for a summer photographing rattlesnake ambush sites, it was awesome.
(From what we could tell the snakes in fact did not use thermal cues for their ambush sites, just their eyes. But I got to play with a thermal cam)
A small construction excavator. I hate having to move dirt and gravel around with a shovel by hand.
A trailer. Would also come in useful for the aforementioned item.
i bought myself a pink lava lamp. it arrives in 2 weeks. i am SO excited to stare mindlessly at it for hours.
lava lamps scare the shit out of me… every one I’ve had has blown up. No I didnt futz with them or use the wrong wattage light bulb or anything.
whoa what happened?
I’unno. They just blew up. I assume they got to hot some how, blew the stopper like a geyser and had hot wax and whatever liquid all over the ceiling and floor and wall and everything.
3 differnet lava lamps. one actual, legitimate lava lamp, two different knockoff ones.
As a retro computing enthusiast, I have a lot of systems with little practical value.
Fun level through the roof though.
A pasta roller attachment for my mixer. Pasta is crazy easy to make and I think I can do that more often with the right tools
A significant other. I’m 31. You’d think someone I’ve asked out in the past fifteen years would’ve said yes, but I’m just another loser.
I’ve given up and am no longer looking.
Don’t give up man_in_space. I had only dated 2 people by 31. I didn’t meet my SO until I turned 34.
My mental health can’t take it anymore.
This may not apply to you, but I was once in a similar situation. One day I finally realized that a relationship shouldn’t make me happy, it should make me happier.
I think that was quite a turning point and things got better from there for me. I started focusing on myself and finding things I enjoyed. Dates stopped becoming so daunting and I think people noticed that.
Anyway, good luck!
Resilience is sexy and perseverance is key. Go forth and flirt bro.
I’ve tried. On such occasions, I have either responded to signals that I misinterpreted, got ghosted, or never got a response at all.
You know that comic, “Know the Rules”, where the good-looking guy gets flirted back with while the nerd gets H.R. called on him? I’m not the good-looking guy. I have learned it’s better not to engage. I don’t even know what flirting is supposed to be and as a guy in his 30s it’s too late to start.
Perseverance leads to sorrow at best and a reputation of being a creep at worst. No means no; I will take them at their word. I am autistic. I’m not taking that chance.
“I’m sorry. I am autistic and might’ve misunderstood your signals. But would you possibly like to go out for a coffee some day?”
Then you’ve covered your ass. They know you’re shit at signals and further know to not speak cryptic to you. They also know that you’re interested and have a choice of just saying “No I’m sorry” without being cornered.
Invest in yourself and get your ass online.
There’s no excuse being single unless you’re putting in absolutely no effort that to make yourself attractive in any way possible for a SO.
You can be fugly and with a personality you will still pull.
You can be Brad Pitt with no personality and you will still pull.
Most importantly, shotgun blast your asking out girls and be used to rejection.
Replying to you again because your comment does not sit well with me.
Do you realize how anti-productive and cruel this remark is? I’ve tried. I have TRIED. And it implies that I am owed companionship. That is incel logic.
I’ve tried multiple online dating platforms, including:
I also attempted to use a matchmaking service, It’s Just Lunch.