Favorite Purchases of 2022?

Wall mounted toothbrush holder. Doesn’t hold gross water like the cup holders, protects the head from dust with inverted cups, can hold tooth paste and other accessories on top

1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09MFK9K4Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_...

I hesitate to go for such a stereotypical choice, but my Steam Deck has absolutely added value to my life. I found it hard to sit in front of a computer at a desk after doing that for 8+ hours at work, so I found myself just mindlessly scrolling more often than not. The Steam Deck was the right thing at the right time for me to spend those free hours in a more enjoyable way.

Ebike.

Bought a REI Cty 2.2 for my wife. Buying Yamaha CrossCore RC for myself next year.

Unless you are extremely fit, an ebike will literally change your life. It is so pleasant to just be able to bike for 30-40 miles at 20mph. I would recommend torque sensing mid drives without a throttle because you can still get some exercise.

I used to bike hard in teens. As I aged things got harder, I then had some mild nerve damage and my muscles now get tired quicker. Ebike makes me feel like I have teen legs again and it feels amazing.

A monitor with native USB-C support and a built-in USB hub. It's basically a docking station, except the wear piece (the cable) is easily and cheaply replaced when/if it fails, and the increasingly-universal support of USB-C means it'll work with a laptop/tablet/phone/Steam Deck/etc.

The only improvement I can think of is monitors with multiple USB-C ports and a built-in KVM, but I haven't seen anything like that on the market as of yet.

[Ed: Clarified multiple USB-C ports; there are monitors already on the market with a single USB-C port and KVM functionality]

Hands down the Supernote A6X by Ratta. After having used styluses on phones and Apple Pencils on iPads, I thought that writing on a digital device would always be a gimmick.

The writing experience on the Supernote though has been incredible - I've started (and kept up) a journaling habit every day after 10 years of trying. It's my go to when it comes to brainstorming. They update the software with major updates routinely.

Easily my favorite purchase of 2022. My fingers are crossed for an A4X some time in the future as that would be incredible for brainstorming.

A Boss RC-505. I've played synth for a few years with a punk-rock band. During lockdown, I tried to rehearse but without a bassist, a drummer and a guitarist, it was quite hard to practice. I recorded loops on a DAW and played over. I found out it was fun, so I went solo and did lot's of shows with live-loop-recording with my computer and my synth. More than unpractical, it sounded awful.

I wanted drop the laptop for live performances, so I bought a Boss RC-505. A cool loopstation where I could record my loops more freely with other functionnalities I couldn't think of before. It changed the way I played music and completely changed my identity as an artist.

I'll release a new tape in a month, I recorded two EPs, I started touring, fans are following me. It all stepped up when I decided to level my machines up.

Thermomix. It's a sous vide machine for my steaks. It cooks eggs perfectly. It makes bechamel without needing any babysitting. Asian food tends to be a little involved; a Thermomix handles all the tedious stirring and prep giving plenty of room to clean up or do other things. It also handles some dumb labor like making lemonade with just sliced lemons, or chopping the garlic. You also don't have to soak it before cleaning, there's a cleaning option.

It's a little like my GitHub for recipes dream - lots of little iterations. But it also plugs right into the recipe every step of the way.

It's a different kind of cooking skill. If the garlic is sautéed a little too brown, it's because I programmed it to cook too high or too long. It's one kind of fun to follow the instructions, and a different kind of fun composing and editing them. Some of the recipes turns garlic and ginger into paste, when the whole/crushed stuff is probably tastier.

Some reviews say it's a commitment, which is true. But if you're like me and do some very involved recipes, it's well worth it.

And considering the rising costs of food, it's actually saved money as I can cook something and pack it for work before sunrise.

A nintendo switch - countless hours have been put into this and it's still so enjoyable.

Jot coffee and alternate brands - pricier than brewing your own, but I'm back to drinking black coffee because of it, I've lost weight because I don't fill up the glass with creamer, and it's so much quicker/more portable.

My cats - technically adopted, but they've made my life a lot more entertaining.

One of those air pumps for my tires - my tires deflate often because of the very unpredictable weather (cold), and being able to fill'er up whenever/wherever has been very convenient.

Not a purchase, but a discovery: my Kindle (EDIT: Fire) 7 2017 can be rooted[0] and loaded with LineageOS[1]. Now, it's fast enough to be a pleasure to use. I read email newsletters with it, play music from my Funkwhale server, and watch some videos.

About 2 weeks ago, I re-flashed it without Google Play services. Last week, I put a slideshow app[2] on it to show pictures of Mom at her wake.

[0] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/unlock-root-twrp-unbrick-...

[1] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/discontinued-rom-unlocked...

[2] https://github.com/ScreamingHawk/android-slideshow

Some concrete bolts, drilled into my ceiling! Using those I can have olympic rings to exercise, and a good 3M climbing rope for similar purposes.

When they're not being used for that then being in a hammock-chair, gently swaying, is an awesome way to watch movies.

Bought a squat rack, a bench, a weight set, and a barbell. Has been awesome being able to just walk into my garage and workout. Makes it feasible to get a workout in before work. Super worth it.

Bidet attachment [1]. No more repeated wiping, irritation, etc., a folded piece of tissue and some patting are the only things I need.

[1]: https://luxebidet.com/

This fabric shaver [0] was an absolute life shaver (sorry for the pun). I have many jumpers that looked really ugly and now have a new life. My wife also uses it for her jumpers. Take it everywhere we go.

[0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E3862DE?th=1&linkCode=ll1&tag...

Black Diamond Hiking Headlamp. I use it all the time puttering around the garage and in the yard. I was just turning off my sprinkler's main valve with the headlamp on and spotted two baby grass snakes. Without the headlamp, I would never known they were there. Not that it matters, I left them alone.

A high-end PC, a childhood dream I waited a decade for(then another year for the GPU prices to drop).

I no longer have to:

- wait for minutes for the OS to load

- limit the number of chrome tabs open

- choose a lightweight code editor

- play games at minimum resolution

- trade dark mode explorer(Windows 10) for less resource usage(Windows 8.1)

My new (to me) desktop, an i7 with lots of cores and 32GB of RAM. I've hard-wired my internet, so I'm not on WiFi any more. 8)

The laptop got weird, and the HDMI output flaked out, so going though a USB based video card was laggy as heck.

A tiny 65W GaN (gallium nitride) USB charger. It is a fraction of the size of the MacBook's charger and can charge practically everything I own, even 2 or 3 (devices not laptops!) at a time.

Anker/Soundcore Motion+ bluetooth speaker, even though I use it at home as a soundbar for my computer. Sounds way better than others I have, like the much larger Sony SRS-XB43.

An actual linear tracking mouse and config. The ASUS/TUF M3 wired has the right size/symmetry for my hands. The config software can be used specifically for programming the DPIs and doesn't need to be installed.

Solar panels. Took about 6 months since starting the process and still need certificates before I can sell on a smart tariff but it's been fun seeing electricity generated even in December!

Really been happy with my convoy S2+ flashlight great deal for under 20$ and great light. So much so that I bought a S21E as well from them.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/S-series/1100591265_5...

Got some books written by Dr. James Stanier. They have been very enriching and were well worth the money.

PS5. Sold PS4 and Quest 2, so PS5 is essentially free. Wasn't using Quest 2 at all, so don't miss it.

I cannot tell difference between PS4 and PS5 graphics but PS5 loads faster and hasn't crashed at all.

The logitech MX ergo trackball mouse, a kinesis advantage keyboard, the asus rog x13 flow laptop, a PS5 and a spare controller.

Cheap smart bracelet https://a.co/d/i2Eugie

Water cooling

Now that it's perpetually cold, my Ryzen rarely exits its 5.8 GHz boost state and the result is that Pop!OS feels incredibly responsive.

Tushy bidet, amazing purchase for being under $100

A cashmere hoodie

earphone