Asklemmy @lemmy.ml

u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org) @lemmy.sdf.org

2y ago

What are some (realistic) things you wanted to get for a while, just for fun?

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 :(

137 comments

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
  
  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.
- Same, but I would be picky and not want a small one. But still would end up as a decorative object, so...
- 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?
  
  it's not a priority right now, maybe when I get extra money.
  I'm looking forward to it though

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.

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

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.
- I bought a convertible Chromebook some time ago specifically to use as a sheet music reader, because the tablet I was using for that purpose was too small.

A bike. My last one was stolen off my apartment balcony
A kayak. Nowhere to put it though, and the balcony is out of the question thanks to 1.
- The best lock for bike and kayak.
  ;)
- Where do you live? I might have a kayak to sell.
- 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.
- 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?

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

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.

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.
- 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.
- 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.

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.

My list of tech that I plan to get eventually someday:
A dragon box pyra
A gpd micro pc
Pine phone pro
- If you work hard, I’ll bet you could have the Pyra in Two Months™️
  
  Thinking of getting the pine phone pro first since its the cheapest of the lot and it being shipped early is more certain than the pyra.

A stand mixer, I've always wanted one but don't have the space or the money.
A dreamcast, I foolishly sold the one I had and I miss it a lot.
An iPad just to try Procreate. I've seen videos that make it look like the bees knees and it really catches my attention.
- I have a stand mixer that I acutely never use. It’s decent and almost new.
  Maybe I can get it somehow to you.
  
  Thanks! I appreciate the intention but considering that I live in Mexico, probably with the shipping cost I could afford a new one, hahaha.
- I’m with you on the iPad for Procreate. I also just want something I can take to bed or outside so I can draw, and the drawing tablet I have only works on desktop/laptop with too many wires running across, so I usually only use it for graphic work or cleaning up sketches
  
  Indeed, having to carry only one screen to draw on sounds very tempting.
- I love my stand mixer! I don't have room either, but I still carry it back and forth to and from the kitchen to use it all the time. It's pretty difficult to carry for me but still less work than kneading for ten minutes.

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 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)
- I did this but with an infrared thermometer gun. As far as everyday use goes, it's super helpful for cooking.
- Seems like the kind of thing that could be rented out like those carpet/sofa cleaners. Except it's probably too costly of a gadget to trust a layman to handle with care?

Steamdeck. My laptop is outdated and having hardware issue; I also can't justify buying a decent PC tower. I have consoles but I miss a lot of the PC only games like the wargame series and HOI4.
- I've a deck and it's an amazing bit of kit. Valve hit it out of the park with it. I've found very little it can't run, and the controls are excellent. The fact it has a full Linux desktop available and lets you play around with things is just icing on the cake.

A cheap hot tub in the living room.

As a retro computing enthusiast, I have a lot of systems with little practical value.
Fun level through the roof though.

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.
- 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.
  There’s no excuse being single
  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:
  OKCupid
  Tinder
  Bumble
  Hiki
  Hinge
  No Longer Lonely
  Meet Metalheads (which was a scam, unfortunately)
  Coffee Meets Bagel
  Birdie
  Siren
  Facebook Dating
  I also attempted to use a matchmaking service, It’s Just Lunch.

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 (mechanical) typewriter. I have a cork board next to my desk and I've fancied replacing my handwritten cheat sheets and notes with typewritten ones. There's just something about typewritten stuff that makes it "official" to me.
A scooter/bike (electric would be fine). Never learned how to ride one, but I'd love to just take it for a ride up/down quiet mountain roads. Sure, I'd need to ride for a long time to reach somewhere quiet, but I feel that it'd be worth it.
- I've found myself wanting to get a typewriter for a while, but I wouldn't be able to justify it because I don't really have anywhere to put it, nor would I really have any use for it. And an electric bike would perhaps be nice as well, but I already have an acoustic bike that works perfectly well.
  
  Same deal with the typewriter, tbh. It's always been one of the things that I want to buy if I get to have "a large amount of money." I used to have a fairly small one way back then, and it's small and portable enough to be stowed into some corner of my room when not in use, but it's a bit finicky to use. It's also one of those cheap ones that came out in the mid-90's, back when electric typewriters (and computers) started eating away at its niche.
  As for the scooter, I think it'd be a lot more useful to me. I can use it for weekly errands (groceries and whatnot). For the leisure rides I really want it for though, I should probably want a beefier one (with more range etc.). Btw, what is an acoustic bike?
- One of my favorite things living rural is the peace and quiet everywhere all the time
  
  IKR!‌ If it were only more convenient (getting necessities without having to go very far, or just have them easily delivered), I'd probably love to live in a rural place.
  Right now though, I am way too used to living inside of a big city.

Ever since my father passed I've got his old motorcycle standing around. So first thing would be a driver's license for motorcycling. But I'm already taking classes so that's that. And the biggest lesson is what a money sink this hobby can be.
Then I'll need a motorcycle - either get the old thing working again or get a new one. Or why not both? Because the old one's 30 years old and doesn't have ABS.
And the third thing would be a Bambu Lab P1 3d printer. I don't need the speed but damn do they look good.
- May not be too hard depending on the age. Could just need the carb jets cleaned and some fresh fuel/battery. Check out bikes and beards on YouTube.
  
  It's a BMW K75 that's been standing around for about 10 years, an inline 3 with injection and shaft drive. I'm hoping it won't need much more than new tires, fluids and filters. But even if it turns out cheaper than a newer bike, I'm not sure if a resucitated old bike like that is the best choice starting out.

I suppose a newer supertelephoto lens for my camera. I don't use it enough to actively look for it, but if someone got me an RF 100-500 as a present I wouldn't say no. Or even a EF Tamron 150-600 G2.
A side by side ATV kind of thingy for going out on the trails in our woods.

There is someone selling a bucyrus cable hoe (think antique excavator) not far from me but the price they want is outrageous.

I've thought about a racing drone. I kept with the drone racing league for a while on YouTube and thought that would be a lot of fun.
I even priced out some options (not cheap), but haven't pulled the trigger.
- If you're new to FPV flying and unsure I can recommend getting the controller first and practicing in a simulator. it will save you a lot of money since your first crashes won't cost anything.
  
  Lol that's a good call. Would the headset/VR make sense too? I know nothing other than the Internet people make it look easy.
- Just start learning line-of-sight before you go fpv. You need that to land in tight space when you bring it in. Fpv is easier than line of sight.
  
  I'll look into that, thank you!

A mini pc for emulation. I've been following the emulation scene for years, particularly for Android over the last 5-6 years. I ride the bus to and from work, so it's always been nice to have them. For home, I have a Rasobery Pi 3B. It's nice. But it is a little outdated, and would like a boost in power. Thought about getting the RP5 if it ever comes out.
However, some companies are now starting to really go all in on mini PCs. For more modern PC gaming, it's not gonna get you the greatest experience. And I have a gaming PC right now. But I find that I prefer to run my emulators sitting on the couch. And now a lot of these minis are able to emulate up to PS3 and 360. Or at least as well as the emulators can work. However, for a model running the specs I want, I'm currently looking at anywhere from $700-900. So it might be a bit longer till I can afford one. Maybe with tax money if nothing else comes up.
- Steam Deck + Dock! Definitely consider it!
  
  That was one direction I considered going. On one hand, i have pretty much pretty much everything up to the PS2 and GameCube that can run on my phone, but it would be awesome to have the option for some PS3 games. However, it is a bit of a mixed bag. Some games it can handle perfectly fine. Some of them I would absolutely love to have mobile. But there's also a few others that it's not quite there for. I want to say someone tried on the ROG Ally, and it did test a little bit better, so that would be an option as well.
  But I also just don't know how often I would use it. Like I got a Switch when it came out, and I feel like I mostly use it docked at home. It's big, it's awkward trying to get it out of its case and get comfortable while on the bus. On the other hand it's a lot easier to just have a smaller controller I can slap on my phone.
  But I haven't written it off yet. Because like I said, some games would be awesome to have. And a lot of the ports I would like to take with my that they put on the Switch tend to be downgraded visually, so it would look better on a portable PC instead.

A lock picking set, just to play and see if I can do it
- 100% you can do it with some good instructional content and a smidge of patience!
  A standard lock is disturbingly easy to pick... We used to run a booth at a maker event where we taught members of the public passing by including, like, 5 year olds to pick padlocks.
  Unrelated, but BTW there are some jurisdictions if I'm not mistaken where having lock picking tools found on you is considered "criminal intent" or something, but on the other hand if you're already at the point where your bag is being searched you may already be boned...
- for 20-25 bucks you can get started and it's a really fun activity that maybe you get into a little bit more
- I ordered one from eBay for a couple of bucks. It was fun to play around with it but got bored with it rather quickly.

A Teletype
I just like the sound and the oldschool vibe of these machines.
But the 'realistic' aspect shrinks as they are hard to get.
- I have a non-functioning ASR-33, and an almost-functioning DECwriter III.

Yeah one of those little drones is definitely on my list. Also one of those big wide curvy computer monitors. I don't even know what I'd do with it, I just think they're neat lol
Edit: Oh yeah, also one of those giant Wacom tablets.
- Unless you're into a wide stroke gestural drawing, large Wacoms may be unnecessary for you. My illustrator wife just sold hers in favor of an iPad with Procreate and Astropad.
  Wacom pen displays have great screens and pens, but are unwieldy, loud (fans tend to break, too), finicky and run on weird drivers that may or may not just mess up your day.
  Really bad experience for a product costing multiple thousands of dollars.
  
  I have a little 13-inch one, but I literally just want to get a massive one because I think they're cool. But yeah probably super impractical, I don't think it'd even fit on my desk lol.

A tattoo on the inside of each forearm: On my left wrist, a wine key, all tools fanned out. On the right, a pocketknife, all tools fanned out. I'd specifically want my wine key and my (official BSA) pocketknife.

Right now, probably a Google tablet with a keyboard cover, but I'm broke and can't justify it when I have a perfectly good laptop.

A bunch of raspberry Pis to do cool stuff with. Like putting pihole/adguard home on one to set up a custom DNS server to block all ads, another one with some cool sensors, etc.

I bet you could find a Dot Matrix font for your injet or laser if you looked around.
As someone who lived through the dot matrix era, I'm just as glad that they are no longer with us. I've gotten spoiled by being able to read what I print without eyestrain. :-)
- Nah, font still won't have the real feel. Neither the sound. And if I want to print in high DPI with my printer (HP PSC1315), it takes 20 minutes per A4 page.

A Wii. I'm not super big into emulating it but I have a few games on dolphin. It's just the console I remember having the most fun with as a kid and I wanna experience that again. Every time I walk into a video game store the shelves are lined with Wii games so it shouldn't be hard to get into it compared to other older consoles like a GameCube or something

3D printer.
Cura Compatible.

Playdate (handheld console.)
I almost bought one, but I cancelled the order because my phone broke that evening.
- What do you think of the arduboy?
  
  Could be interesting in it's own right, I could certainly buy one right now if I wanted to, but also a huge reason Playdate interested me is because it's hardware is kinda anachronistic (Playdate's specs eclipse the original DS in a lot of ways, but it has a 1-bit monochrome screen) and because of an interest in radial controls (I've never had access to something like a Pong console or a 2600 with Paddle controllers.)
- Is this for retro gaming? I thought about buying the RG 300 for this.
  
  Nah. Retro-style gaming I guess, but it's new games (I don't see a good reason a retro gaming handheld would be Black and White.)

Perfect Grade RX-78-2 Gundam

I suppose a newer supertelephoto lens for my camera. I don't use it enough to actively look for it, but if someone got me an RF 100-500 as a present I wouldn't say no. Or even a EF Tamron 150-600 G2.
A side by side ATV kind of thingy for going out on the trails in our woods.

A projector with surround sound speakers for my living room.

Interesting question.
Top of the line electric motorcycle. I think this would be the best from Zero Motorcycles, but I'd have to research (SR/S, I think).
A metal 3D printer. I love the abilities of 3D printing, but I'm not very excited about putting a bunch more plastic in the world. Also, plastic is not very strong and I assume metal prints could be very strong and therefore much more useful. Print a new motor for my motorcycle? Yes, please! And so much more: my own hardware store (screws, etc.), furniture, jewelry, silverware, cooking utensils, grill parts, etc.
Top of the line PC. $5k PC. It would be interesting to see what the bleeding edge looks like. Be nice to keep this because it would probably age well.
- Tbh, the jump from upper mid tier to top of the line PC is present but not overwhelming.
- From what I can tell, Zero does that shit that Tesla and BMW do, where you have to pay to unlock features that your car/motorcycle already has. Which is a shame, because the idea of owning an electric motorcycle, particularly a highway-capable one, intrigues me.

A custom gaming pc built by Digital Storm to replace my HP Omen laptop. I've done quite a bit of research. I looked at Digital Storm, AVA Direct, Maingear, Falcon Northwest, and System 76. For a while I was eyeing Maingear, then Falcon Northwest, but Digital Storm has most of the options that I'd want.
An 85 inch 8k tv for enthusiast purposes.
A three set bookcase for my room so that I can replace my old bookcase and to better store the books that I have and more.
A Purple queen-sized mattress with an adjustable base to replace my old bed and twin-sized mattress and also my incline pillow.
- I'm curious, if you've done that much research into gaming PC prebuilts, what's keeping you from building your own?
  
  I'd rather leave the actual building to the experts.
  
  There are some pros to prebiilts. Having to deal with a single company for warranty instead of one for every component, for example.

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