I've gone my entire life owning at least one pair of skis at a time. Although it's a physical object, the sport of skiing brings me a lot of joy. Could be synonymous to computers, it's the activity of developing|coding|building something that brings me joy, not the "thing" itself.
I use it for commuting, transport, and leisure. A good bicycle ride, like a good ski, is magical and freeing, and the object is imbued with some of that.
It doesn't require much maintenance, but it's fun to maintain, as well.
That's the only tool from Snap-On that I've ever owned, and since they don't make them anymore, I'd just about fight to the death to protect this thing.
A friend of mine once made the comment that "Snap-On tools feel like sex". That might be a bit of hyperbole, but they are very nice. But crazy expensive. I think that driver handle cost me around $80.00 back in the 90's.
My 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck. It is rusting and makes a lot of noise when driving but it is the first car I paid for on my own. There are newer trucks with more bells and whistles but there is just something special about this truck.
Workshop vacuum cleaner. Does the same job as one designed for home usage,
but it's ergonomic, resistant to abuse, and requires so little effort in
maintenance (especially important with two cats worth of fur).
My electric guitar. Not that it has any sentimental value, but I have put in a lot of time practicing and I have some results to show. I wish I would have learned the discipline of frequent schedule practice earlier in life
Guitars are great, partly because for the most part they are still built to last forever so investing in a good one isn't such a transient thing. I feel the same about kitchen knives, and surprisingly, headphones.
It took two things. One, playing every single day. Two, having a continuous stream of new music to learn. I did this by joining a local church's band who needed someone to conquer some solo passages. It's a great way to learn music and give back.
Agreed. The moment I saw my first electric guitar under the Christmas tree is a moment I'll never forget. To me, it's so much more than just an instrument.
Playing the guitar (or any instrument, I suppose) brings a level of calmness and serenity I know of know other way to capture. The only thing that comes close is the sense of peace I feel after a serious workout.
I had a very good experience with my original Leatherman Wave pocketknife. I carried it every day and it seemed like at least once a week I used it for something or other -- opening a package, tightening a screw, trimming my fingernails, or whatever. The selection of tools seemed pretty ideal somehow, it was possible to apply quite a lot of force with the pliers, and it was extremely durable. I even used the saw a couple of times, though I can't remember for what purpose!
I still have a smaller Leatherman tool on my keyring and use it not infrequently, but it seems a lot less awesome somehow.
> I had a very good experience with my original Leatherman Wave pocketknife.
I feel the same way about my Leatherman Charge, the toolset is great, it's solid and it does many jobs well. I don't think I ever used the saw but I believe I've used every other tool on it, even the ruler graduations.
I don't feel attached to any particular thing I have bought. I can buy it again if anything happens. But really appreciate gifts and presents, I am really attached to one particular t-shirt that my brother gave me.
There are apparently traditional Yiddish, Arabic, and Irish sayings that are nearly the same, when someone acquires a prized new possession, to the effect of "May you wear it out" or "May you outlive it". I thought this was a cool sentiment.
> I don't feel attached to any particular thing I have bought. I can buy it again if anything happens.
I don't think the question was about attachment, though. You can think something is good, or useful, while still acknowledging it's a thing that can be replaced if necessary.
'Computer' is the obvious answer (though I'd have to pick one from my early childhood like Commodore 64 or Atari 800 since it gave me the programming bug early).
My most surprising bit of joy that I never would have thought of, though, is a towel warmer.
There is something wonderful about stepping out of a shower and into a warm, fluffy towel and you get to have that every single day.
These seem very popular in Europe and especially Germanic countries. Never had an apartment or hotel room without one, including hostels. Or maybe I'm just always using the bathroom radiator to dry/warm my towels.
I installed some the last time I had works in my bathroom (France). They are fantastic in a flat where you do not have the advantage of a garden to dry your towels.
I'm pretty fond of my black diamond sprinter headlamp [0]. It's great for running, and I used it the other day when soldering to get some extra light.
I'm also fond of the Bluetooth speaker I use on my bike for my commute, UE Roll 2. [1]. It works well, attaches quickly, is water proof and is plenty loud.
Feels consumerist and horrible to say it, but it's lasted me almost 2.5 years without any issues. The gigantic screen is a great companion while I've been on the road. The case makes it almost comically large, but I can now use my phone as a coaster and never worry about tossing it in a bag.
Every smartphone I owned prior to this one wound up with some combination of bugs, hardware issues, and degrading performance. This one feels as good as the day I got it, and I never expected that to be true of a cellphone.
My dogs, even though they probably own me more than I own them. No matter how stressful a day I have, we can go out back and goof off. They are eternally happy, and always want to hang out :)
If my house was burning down, I would rescue in order my wife, dogs, and a far third my computer. Everything else is replaceable. When I originally saw Fight Club in the theater I thought a lot about consumerism. I do buy/own things of because they bring some level of joy/fun/happiness, but I actively make sure their importance is where they should be - way below anything that really matters.
Have an up vote. It does feel insulting (awkward?) to say "own" when there's talk regarding pets since they're often family.
I responded to your post because one time there was smoke in my building and what I thought was a fire when alarms went off. I immediately ran to secure my pets before everything else without even thinking about it. I even had thoughts going through my head about how to jump off the balcony if necessary. The difficulty I had is that the loud alarms caused the pets to hide and it made it difficult to retrieve them efficiently in an emergency situation.
I forget where I read this... set off your fire alarms every now and then and give your pets treats. That way they come looking for you when the alarm legitimately goes off.
Dogs can be very easily trained to go to a specific spot when they hear a fire alarm if your fire alarm is an old school one that just beeps at you (and not part of a larger whole building system). Just scatter treats around the evacuation point, turn on the fire alarms manually, and guide the dogs to the pile of treats. Repeat until they get it.
I was going to say pets, but that feels like cheating ;-)
I had a "building burning down" scare a few years ago. Turned out to be stupid downstairs neighbors and there wasn't any real danger, but I woke up early in the morning and panicked. Once the pets and humans were out, I ended up making a second trip inside to grab my laptop (for a copy of my photo collection)+a folder that contained lots of important documents. The next morning I realized how stupid that trip would've been if there were real danger, and went out and bought a cloud storage account and a fireproof safe.
My dog is barking at the door right now, while I'm trying to work, he costs a fortune in vet and food bills, and takes up SO much time. But honestly I can't think of anything better that I could spend my money on.
Stereo set. I bought some HiFi equipment from the first money I ever made, 16 years ago. Still enjoy it every day, be it for music or movies... And the tech hardly ages, awesome.
A kitchen hand mixer from the time of the DDR inherited from my grandparents. Still works today, use it to make mashed potatoes, etc multiple times a week.
Pretty fond of my Roomba. Maybe it's not the best thing I've ever owned but it is one of the things I have been most surprised about how much it's changed my life for the better.
I don't own a lot of things, so it has to be my MacBook Air 2013. It's not a particularly powerful machine (with 4 GB of RAM I try to avoid using things like Slack), but it's been serving me well for the past 4 years. I've tried installing Arch Linux, Ubuntu, and now NixOS on it and all of those worked quite well for my needs. (Mostly Haskell and Rust stuff).
96 comments
[ 184 ms ] story [ 2100 ms ] threadI use it for commuting, transport, and leisure. A good bicycle ride, like a good ski, is magical and freeing, and the object is imbued with some of that.
It doesn't require much maintenance, but it's fun to maintain, as well.
https://store.snapon.com/Handled-Drivers-Square-Drive-Handle...
That's the only tool from Snap-On that I've ever owned, and since they don't make them anymore, I'd just about fight to the death to protect this thing.
A friend of mine once made the comment that "Snap-On tools feel like sex". That might be a bit of hyperbole, but they are very nice. But crazy expensive. I think that driver handle cost me around $80.00 back in the 90's.
I use them more than anything else.
Practice != play
Regularly == every day
Playing the guitar (or any instrument, I suppose) brings a level of calmness and serenity I know of know other way to capture. The only thing that comes close is the sense of peace I feel after a serious workout.
I still have a smaller Leatherman tool on my keyring and use it not infrequently, but it seems a lot less awesome somehow.
I feel the same way about my Leatherman Charge, the toolset is great, it's solid and it does many jobs well. I don't think I ever used the saw but I believe I've used every other tool on it, even the ruler graduations.
I don't think the question was about attachment, though. You can think something is good, or useful, while still acknowledging it's a thing that can be replaced if necessary.
My most surprising bit of joy that I never would have thought of, though, is a towel warmer.
There is something wonderful about stepping out of a shower and into a warm, fluffy towel and you get to have that every single day.
My wife bought it but I think it came from Bath and Body Works.
> There is something wonderful about stepping out of a shower and into a warm, fluffy towel and you get to have that every single day.
I "invented" a box with a heating pad in it, that I put my clean boxers in when I take a shower. That's a nice feeling.
I'm also fond of the Bluetooth speaker I use on my bike for my commute, UE Roll 2. [1]. It works well, attaches quickly, is water proof and is plenty loud.
0. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Diamond-Sprinter-Headlamp/dp/B0...
1. https://www.amazon.com/Volcano-Wireless-Portable-Bluetooth-W...
Feels consumerist and horrible to say it, but it's lasted me almost 2.5 years without any issues. The gigantic screen is a great companion while I've been on the road. The case makes it almost comically large, but I can now use my phone as a coaster and never worry about tossing it in a bag.
Every smartphone I owned prior to this one wound up with some combination of bugs, hardware issues, and degrading performance. This one feels as good as the day I got it, and I never expected that to be true of a cellphone.
If my house was burning down, I would rescue in order my wife, dogs, and a far third my computer. Everything else is replaceable. When I originally saw Fight Club in the theater I thought a lot about consumerism. I do buy/own things of because they bring some level of joy/fun/happiness, but I actively make sure their importance is where they should be - way below anything that really matters.
I responded to your post because one time there was smoke in my building and what I thought was a fire when alarms went off. I immediately ran to secure my pets before everything else without even thinking about it. I even had thoughts going through my head about how to jump off the balcony if necessary. The difficulty I had is that the loud alarms caused the pets to hide and it made it difficult to retrieve them efficiently in an emergency situation.
In a real fire animals are prey good at getting out. It's a tragedy for humans to die when they're looking for animals who've already escaped.
I had a "building burning down" scare a few years ago. Turned out to be stupid downstairs neighbors and there wasn't any real danger, but I woke up early in the morning and panicked. Once the pets and humans were out, I ended up making a second trip inside to grab my laptop (for a copy of my photo collection)+a folder that contained lots of important documents. The next morning I realized how stupid that trip would've been if there were real danger, and went out and bought a cloud storage account and a fireproof safe.