Gadgets You Love

[LastThursday]

What gadgets, devices, things do you love that you own? I'm thinking usefulness, beauty, or sentimental attachment, and why? Here's my list:

Sony eReader PRS-505 - old and was gathering dust in a drawer until I ressurected recently. But I always liked the look and physical weight and feel of the thing, it's such a good design. The software is dated and slow, but the fact I can store bookcases full of books still blows my mind. Modern readers' design are not a patch on it.

Dell XPS15 laptop - seems corny because everyone has a laptop nowadays. Unfortunately the execution was dreadful, I've replaced its charging port, battery twice, and recently keyboard and the nice "soft touch" covering has disintegrated, and it's got Windows 10. And yet, despite all that it's so incredibly useful, carbon fibre, light, and got a powerful graphics card and processor. Everything is snappy and the aesthetic design is nice with it's aluminium casing. I love it and hate it.

Galaxy mobile phone - what can I say? Just for Google maps alone it's proved its worth, I will never be lost again. It is a double-edged sword, because I can be contacted at all times (I remember a time before mobile phones). But the idea that a futuristic looking slab of glass and plastic in my pocket can bring up anything I like, contact anyone I like and, take me wherever I like, will never get old.

Gold pocket watch - when I was a kid my dad had a simple pocket watch and I was always fascinated by it. I finally got my own one for my birthday from a now ex girlfriend a good 15 years ago or more. It's a thing of beauty with a gold cover with a small round window in it to see the time at a glance, and two clicks of the button first opens the front cover and then the back cover, like a butterfly, with the back side of the watch being completely see through, the cogs and wheels ticking and churning away. It's so incredibly anachronistic and I don't want to ever damage it, that I've had no excuse to ever wear it. If I ever do Victorian fancy dress, then I'll jump at the chance!

[bazera]

My MacBook, through which I earn my income and live independently.

My Garmin Smartwatch that has been with me through all the hard runs that I've done over the years and hopefully will still be with me for some considerable future, but battery life doesn't seem to agree with that.

Jabra Elite 8 earbuds, also very comfortable during all the runs, nothing beats listening to some good audiobooks while exercising.

My Ninja Air Fryer, let's me prepare some basic food very easily without much hastle, that helps me keep up with my diet and weight loss goals.

Ninja Creami ice cream maker, for making some healthy ice-creams in the summer 

As for some sentimental value, I have some stuff from my dad who passed away a year ago, like a baseball ball from his earlier days when he was a captain of a national USSR baseball team from my country (yeah that was a thing).

[Natasha Tori Maru]

X1 Carbon notebook - cops a smashing by me (ten thousand tabs, bluebeam, revit, autocad + unflattened architecture renders and still has headroom for more).

Garmin - I really enjoy tracking my vital stats and noting/observing patterns

Qingping Air Monitor - really assisted me working out why I was getting sleepy so often, what triggered my nasal congestion and eye irritation (NB our air is fairly fucked)

Samsung S26 - PHUK ifone >.< huehuehue - no, but in all seriousness it is a gadget/tool I use constantly. 

Pierce Chronograph second world war mechanical watch - from my Grandad, who was gifted it by his mother on his birthday. I've had it serviced to maintain it (mechanical watch servicing and collecting is NO JOKE upwards of $700). It is more a dude thing, mechanical watch collecting. I have a few but this is my favourite.

A set of lock picking mechanisms and a lock drill - I can break into many standard cylinders. It will take me 3-4 hours practice on a cylinder type to be able to repeat and get into that cylinder type. I love doing this - just knowing I am capable of it - even if I will never do it. Also a card swipe reader and replicator. Depending on what type of building it is I can crack a lot of security access controls. 

Sony WF1000XM5 - I love bass. These aren't the most articulate earbuds for breadth of sound but they scratch my musical ITCH

[ZenSwift]

Earplugs, I wear them around my neck and under my shirt 24/7.and whip them out if I want to focus, tune out the world, relax, or nap. Pair it with Shokz bone conduction headphones, and it's a deadly combo. I now use the Opencomm2 With the microphone attachment on it, as audio quality has been very important to me as I make a lot of calls. I can whisper and this headset will pick it up. It also picks up just my voice in a loud environment like a busy highway. 

A 15,000mAh portable battery, so my phone and tablet can last forever. 

A phone tether that I can wear around my wrist for increased dexterity and also makes me drop my phone less when I'm using it on the go, I tend to be clumsy with my phone. Plus it can clip onto your pants for extra security. Gives peace of mind. 

A side bag for men that allows me to carry a book, my battery, winter gloves, and a balaclava. It is incredible how much body heat can be preserved with one balaclava. A stopwatch to track the amount of time I read. 

A second phone with no SIM card. 

A Samsung A9 tablet with a hardy case with a carry strap. 

A Bluetooth keyboard: switches between my phone and my tablet seamlessly. I can run my client sessions with only my phone. Basically using my phone as a computer. 

A white belt to signify my reading progress. Imagine the BJJ system, but the belts and the stripes measure the hours of reading progress, and you basically got the system/progress bar I've created for myself with my reading and learning goals. I'm getting my yellow belt soon! 💛