Not enough room here to show all my impulse purchases.
I bought a used rusty school bus. Six years later, at least I know how to weld now. Sort of. I also learned how to survive hitting my head on a large steel C-clamp nine times without suffering any brain damage. Additionally, I learned how to survive hitting my head on a large steel C-clamp nine times without suffering any brain damage.
Six years later, at least I know how to weld now. Sort of.
The most important part of the Dunning Kruger curve! And welding is a fantastic example. You go from “this hot melty thing is scary” to “dang, I can make metal stick to itself!” to “that weld looks kinda professional” to “holy crap there’s a whole science and art to this I will never have the time to fully learn”.
Is your school bus now something usable? Would love to hear about a successful impulse buy!
My skoolie is semi-usable, basically just needs the utilities (electric, propane and water) hooked up. I bought a house two years ago and that has suspended work on the bus completely. Someday …
Espresso machine A nice double boiler one
I bought an entry level espresso machine and i thought that i want a really fancy one, if i keep using it and this one breaks. That was like 8 years ago and i use it almost daily and don’t really want another one.
Does a Hello Kitty bandsaw count?
No. That’s the coolest shit I’ve ever seen
I actually did the paint job myself. Bought an old saw that needed some new paint, so I decided to have some fun with it.
Are you actually a wood scientist, and, if so; can I pick your brain?
Nice saw, BTW!
I’m actually working on a PhD in the field. Whether that officially makes me a “scientist” I cannot say. But I have actually studied and done research in the field. Ask away!
Rock and Roll!
What cheap woods are the most impact resistant for splintering and splitting?
What is the best way to cure wood to prevent splitting without a kiln? Slap a heavy coat of latex paint on a log/burl/root and let it sit 6mo/year?
What are the most machinable hardwoods? (In particular as regards tearout, warping, and tolerance of thin sections)
In your opinion, what is an available underappreciated or interesting wood to work?
I’ve had a burl with the ends coated in truck box liner spray for almost a year. I’m cracking into it this winter to make a bathroom sink for my house. It hasn’t seemed to crack at all. It’s in a storage shed. Protected from the elements. It will be interesting to see what’s inside.
That fat PP looks a little on the short side.
This subject is dear to my heart, because I realized that part of my conservative upbringing taught me money is the important thing and that emotions are worthless and dumb. If you spend money on something that makes you happy but does not provide commensurate utility or return on investment, it is by definition a dumb purchase. Treating yourself is a waste of resources and therefore makes you a bad person. Maybe unless you are debt free and fully funding every retirement and college account you got. (note the unspoken implication that it’s cool for the rich to do whatever they want)
As I have spent decades reverse engineering the instructions for my brain, I have recently concluded that not only do I thrive when building and creating things, but having the perfect high-quality tool that is great at what it does right down to the sensory feedback can really enhance the experience for me.
I’ve spent a bunch of money expanding and upgrading my collection this year, and I haven’t regretted it once. But I’ve spent even more on the materials just in the months since!
That’s not a conservative upbringing/mentality… That’s a capitalist mentality.
The only thing I can really say about capitalists is that they’re some of the worst people I’ve ever known, and I’ve known a few of them.
Very religious people (usually conservatives) are generally quite kind and generous. If they follow their religious book, that tracks. Since most religions teach about tolerance, acceptance, and understanding. Like the legend Fred Rogers; May he rest in peace.
Usually very liberal people are about basic social services for everyone, and programmes that support DEI. They want everyone to be on an equal playing field and they want that playing field to be, at a minimum, allowing all people to independently be able to live, have reasonably good health, food to eat, and somewhere to live.
Meanwhile capitalists always focus on the money. Who is paying for all of this? They don’t want their money (via taxes) to go to people that are less than them. Anyone who makes less or has less is “losing”, and they’re “winning”. All capitalists want to be on top, and they don’t care who they have to trample to achieve that.
There are exceptions of course, on every one of these groups. For example, Bill Gates who donates a lot of money for good causes. He still has plenty of money, but honestly, he gives away a lot. By no means do I mean to imply that any billionaire is good; in this case Bill is just using the wealth he has to do good. He’s clearly someone that made a lot of money doing capitalism things, and yet he believes in helping others.
The capitalists I have met are some of the most argumentative, vocal, and toxic people I’ve ever met.
Good on you for getting away from that mentality and finding enjoyment.
Agreed, and your wording is excellent.
I really enjoy Ramit Sethi’s take on this; he encourages what he calls living a rich life. Yeah you should look to your financial future but you have to balance it with your life now. It’s sad when you’re limiting yourself out of fear. He’s an advocate for spending where it brings you value (and only you can decide that), and aggressively cutting out the things that don’t.
He’s an advocate for spending where it brings you value (and only you can decide that), and aggressively cutting out the things that don’t.
That’s an excellent way to put it! Sometimes I feel like a weirdo for actually pursuing the things that bring me happiness. Like that makes me the eccentric one. So many seem to be on a boring yet miserable autopilot, trying get the things they’ve been taught they SHOULD want.
So I might have gotten into Airsoft before my paycheck has arrived… Sorry wallet, you’ll feel better in a few days time.
How expensive is it? Isn’t it just air compressed plastic beads?
It’s not an expensive hobby to get into, I did my first game in about 10 years, enjoyed it so much that I got hyperfixated and went all in because I know I love this hobby.
£110 for Airsoft rifle
£180 on starter clothing (undershirt, shirt, trousers, imitation plate carrier, ammo pouches, pistol holster, gloves, mesh eye mask, and large bag to shove it all in)
£40 spent so far on BBs
£40 for first site session (outdoor woodland)
£20 for second site session (indoor CQB)
£40 for third site session (outdoor abandoned base)
£50 on a piccatiny rail mounted torch with pressure pad
Petrol costs travelling to sites, food, drink not included, I’ve so far spent £480.
Having said that, I have nothing else to buy right now so that’ll last me a good while.
Whilst I’m not in the shit financially from this spending spree, DON’T DO WHAT I DID, that was a bit reckless of me.
Come on man, if you tell us not to the the same, then at least share a picture of the rifle so I don’t have to buy it to look at it
I bought an old pachislo machine from a garage sale because … I’m not real sure, but I have one of those now.
Looks fun. How much was it?
$75, and it works. Well … worked, it’s being weird now, but I’m sure it’s mechanical, I just haven’t gotten to looking at it.
Damn I’ve always wanted something like this! Jelly
If you manage to find one, there’s a modification you can do to it so that it will also take US quarters. Mine seems to have already had that modification before I got it, so I can’t say how involved it is, but I don’t think it’s too hard.
I bought an old boat in Amsterdam (3000€), did some reparations (500€), replaced the engine (1500€), paid the local tax (600€ x 3years). I had fun with it. No regrets. Then I was moving back to my country, I couldn’t find a buyer… so I lowered the price to 1500€.
You were great, old boat. But not a great investment.
I once asked my dad if he’d ever buy a boat. He asked me why he would want to buy “a hole in the water to throw money into.”
I heard this 1000 times, together with “the two best moments in the life of a boat owner are the day you buy it, and the day you sell it”
AND don’t forget that B.O.A.T. is actually an acronym for ‘break out another thousand.’
Vehicles are notoriously not investments except for some incredibly exceptional cases. Glad you enjoyed your time with it. That’s the best you can hope for.
Ungodly ammounts of ultra high power flashlights with open source, customizable UI
A flashlight… User interface?
The diagram of the new (imho way better) Version is quite a bit more complex, but you should get the point.
How do you interact with the UI? Well, every flashlight has a button. This is your input. And you have the LEDs which you can use as an output/feedback. Yeah, it’s wild.
A switch 2. No regrets on that fat PP tho love that thing.
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Self-balancing electric vehicle gang! I have a VESC onewheel build and it’s the best waste of money ever.
those are so much money, I’m so jealous lol
I just got mine for 350 off Facebook marketplaceYou can do a vesc conversion on the cheap, there are kits out there. I spent two years amassing parts for my build and it made me feel like Tony Stark putting it together (and it worked).
salty licorice😈
A 10 inch 300W powered amp/subwoofer… I already have a soul-destroying stereo with 8 inch sub and studio monitor speakers… and live in a 1 BR… I do NOT need a sub so powerful it will rattle the gypsum out of the walls, and yet…
My Revel F208 speakers don’t really need a subwoofer for music but having a 12 inch 500 watt subwoofer to support them for movies does add to the dramatic impact. My apartment neighbors haven’t complained so I assume they are enjoying the music and movies too.
I feel like subs are way overrated for music. A good 10 or 12 in a quality speaker kicks. I mostly use mine to round out the sound, because I listen to a shitload of 50’s-70’s jazz where the recordings are shite.
I would disagree since getting a speaker with a “good” 10 or 12 inch driver is difficult or very expensive and impractical since those large drivers don’t do well with mids and upper mids. The Tannoy, Klipsch heritage line, and similar old school designs with large drivers all measure like crap.
Difficulty obtaining a good speaker doesn’t detract from my point though.
Also yes every Klipsch I’ve heard is shitty.
e And I said “overrated” not purposeless
