A bidet.
Japan has ruined toilets for me.
I can ruin toilets just fine myself, thank you.
Bidets are from Italy though.
They may have invented them but Japan perfected them.
Self hosting. I’m still a beginner on this but Nextcloud and plex made me way richer than before both economically and mentally
Wireless JBL earbuds. I mainly use them while doing housework or listening to something in a way that won’t bother other folks in the house.
Smart vacuum cleaner. You pay once for not needing to vacuum your house anymore - best deal ever.
If it’s so smart, why does it clean for you?
I passed an Intelligence check and outsmarted it.
Building and running my own server for self hosting multiple tools for my home.
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Bitwarden Password manager, now sharing logins/passwords for stuff my fiance and I both use is easy, and every single website we use has its own unique randomly generated password so when one site gets breached, our logins aren’t compromised anywhere else
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Plex, it’s like your own self hosted Netflix. My file copies of any movies/TV shows go on here and it parses em all, keeps it all grouped together, streams in 4k.
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Shinobi, for my security cameras. Self hosted free CRTV application, works with any open spec cameras. Has movement detection and tonnes of other open source options for plug-ins.
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Deluge, handy UI for downloading torrents onto my server. Conviently added presets to it that let me download to the very folders Plex scans… cough cough.
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Kavita, self hosted server for books/pdfs. Some e-readers can even connect to it. A couple popular manga reading apps also work with it. Can also just use its own browser web interface as an e-reader, it has multiple options for styles (infinite scroll, page swiping, left/right click, and even supports right to left mode for manga!)
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Nextcloud, pictures/document storage. Sort of like a selfhosted filesshare/file backup. Has a mobile app that can automatically backup every picture/video you take on your phone!
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Gogs, open source super lightweight git repo. Has only the bare minimum of features, basic web hook, authorization, permissions, simple web ui to edit. It does the job I need it to and that’s good enough.
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OpenVPN, self hosted VPN so I can securely access all the above stuff without exposing it to the internet.
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Also I host my own websites on it, publicly exposed. Blog, a writing project, nothing terribly fancy.
Eventually I plan to add some more stuff to it. Migrate my smart home dependencies over to Z wave and install Home Assistant, so I don’t have to rely on sending my info to google/amazon/etc to do basic smart home stuff.
Shinobi is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the suggestion
Plex
You should check out Jellyfin
Plex is getting shittier by the minute, and this is a good alternative.
I havent had any issues with Plex so far, so I continue to use it. Ive definitely looked into jellyfin and it doesnt seem painful to swap over, but at the moment there hasnt been a compelling reason to make the switch.
I put media in my folder, plex scans it by the time I sit on my couch, I click button, show plays. No issues to speak of so far.
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First place, aSmartwatch.
I all but stopped checking every fcking notification, my life has become peacefull and tranquil.
Second place, my 4yo daughter. Achieved the exact opposite.
How does a smartwatch get you to stop looking at notifications?
Before, I picked up my phone at every ping or vibrate.
When I wear the watch, all phone notifications are automatically muted and the watch is set to only notify a few apps (Whatsapp, phone calls, calendar). No emails, no kik, no games nothing.
A house. My mortgage is cheaper than rent, and now I get to actually address annoyances with my living conditions.
It’s almost 100 years old, and a bit of an fixer upper, but the important stuff is solid. Last summer I invested in proper drainage around the foundation so that I can start making the basement livable. This year I invested in a proper bathroom. Next year it’s a new kitchen. And if time allows I’ll start rebuilding the basement mainly for one extra bed room and an office.
God I wish my mortgage was cheaper than rent lol.
Bicycle. No gas expenses, no tabs, no loan, free parking. I understand how it works and can mostly fix it myself for very little money. I can take quiet side streets and arrive in a much better mood, plus my fat lazy ass gets some exercise.
I wish there was infrastructure for them where I live, I hate driving and I like cycling
I’ll add on and say upgrading to an ebike (and specifically a cargo ebike) really made the difference to me. One would think that it would reduce the exercise, but for me the fact that it allows me to use it in far far more situations meant that I actually get more exercise overall. I consider the faster acceleration to be a safety feature for when the bike lanes run out, and it makes red lights, heavy loads and steep hills less of a mood killer.
Absolutely life changing once you get one and go!
