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What's on your Christmas wish list?
I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet (for those in the US), but Christmas shopping season has already started.
What gifts would you enjoy receiving this year? Large, small, fun, functional, or anything in between. I also acknowledge that some people try not to request anything as part of a minimalist or reduced waste mindset. In that situation, what do you request- money, donations to specific charities on your behalf, something else?
Peace and tranquility. Unfortunately, years past I've gotten a lot of pieces, and not much tranquility.
Maybe you can get pieces and train quilts.
Can you afford to gift yourself tranquility?
That stuff is expensive. :(
And it's always worth it, no matter the cost.
An appartement, even if its just a humble one. The housing crisis in the Netherlands has been bad in particular. :/ the fact that I've finally started a career gives me hope though
Housing, and general economical safety. The best things to have if you ask me.
Hey, twins! Well, sort of.
It’s not much better here in sunny California. I keep looking at places to rent or buy in my area, and thinking to myself “this is what an engineering salary affords these days?”. I feel like every time I reach a new milestone in my life, housing prices shoot through the roof again. Like I’m a pig chasing a carrot on a stick.
Thankfully, I recently got promoted and I feel like I’m finally able to afford…something? So this holiday season, I’m also hoping for a humble apartment.
Funny you say all this. Because the issue really is a lack of supply its pretty much a zero sum game. Like you, I think I have a chance at climbing up the ladder after this to get a well payed job which would help. But for that, it would mean someone else can't afford it.
The reasons for this dynamic in the USA and NL are very different, yet the outcome is the same. I just hope it'll get solved by the end of this decade.
A couple of I-kinda-really-need-this: a good winter coat, gloves, boots.
And then the nice-to-haves: a couple of tech things, books, jewelry, make-up.
Any general makeup items you'd recommend? I'm always looking for something as a stocking stuffer for my partner but my inexperience with makeup leads me to basically throw a dart at one of those gift lists produced by a corporate-backed website.
Perhaps more things from brands they already love.
Eg, if they have 20 colours of this brand of nail polish, get a few more new colours. If they love this brand of eyeshadow, buy this year's palette. If they like this eyelash curler, buy the spare parts for it. If they have a daily skin care routine buy the miniature travel version of them. :)
Hmm I'm unfamiliar with what stocking stuffer is exactly. I guess it depends on your budget because most sub-$10 make-up can be very low quality unless it's tiny amounts. If it's weekly presents and/or a higher budget then I definitely second @chocobean's comment. Nail polish is a great idea and can be okay-to-fine on a budget. A friend gushed about Holo Taco and they also have some accessories. With a higher budget, I'd say get some single really nice items like that one mascara she wouldn't splurge on herself
We had a house fire this year and a lot of things I would want are generally for my new 'man-cave' that I will be getting in the basement. Things like pegboard for hanging up things on the wall, replacing retro controllers, a chromecast, etc. Maybe some posters or art for the wall. Things like that.
My MIL likes doing stocking stuffers and I have gotten into Pokemon cards (the thing I am hyper-fixating on post election), so things like booster packs and what not.
New socks/underwear/gloves/basic t-shirts are always good. The stuff you never think about getting that you need.
Honestly, while it is nice to get stuff I always feel kind of awkward, especially if I get really nice things. I'm not very well off and I find that I receive better than I give out. Which isn't the point, and I am blessed to have family that simply does not care about such things, but I always wish I could do more.
I'm glad you were not physically hurt by the house fire. I personally prefer to give gifts rather than receive. I have enough things that need a space in my home already. Maybe they feel the same way?
A stable identity I can trust upon, build upon and that I can love.
Like, my wishlist or my "wish I didn't have to pay for this" list?
My wishlist is full of odds and ends, ranging from videogames and RC cars to electronic components for projects and so on.
My other list is a long list of things around the house that need fixing or completing that I do not want to do. They're all much more expensive than my wishlist.
I'll probably get some clothes and a small board or card game.
As a fellow homeowner, I feel this so much. There's innumerable things around the house that need doing which I just don't want to do. I'll get to it, but if I could afford to pay someone else to do it I would.
My wife and I usually get each other smaller gifts (since we just normally get things we want/need throughout the year), but we like to do one bigger gift for the household every xmas (like a new tv or appliance or some yearly passes to things we both enjoy). This year we are thinking of upgrading our home server now that we are running out of space. We have a very simple setup (our main computer is running a Plex server on it and has two 2TB hard drives, but they're running out of space so I was thinking now would be a good time to get a separate, dedicated server and possibly another larger hdd.
Was planning on browsing through some previous discussions on Tildes for advice before checking out deals next week on black friday/cyber monday. I was previously thinking of converting some old macbooks into servers, but don't have the time right now to set up anything too involved/complicated. If anyone has any recommendations for a relatively simple-to-set-up system that doesn't break the bank, I'd be all ears.
For easy and not breaking the bank, you used to be able to get single drive plug and play network attached storage, stuff like the western digital mycloud line, but I cannot for the life of me find anything modern on that front, did that type of product entirely die out? You can still get up to like 20tb as a single external hard drive for pretty cheap, but not network attached? I guess one option is to get a large external hard drive and just connect it to an old laptop or something and set that as network attached storage.
One other option is setting up a 2 bay NAS. It's a little more involved and more expensive, but you'll end up with a more future proofed setup and you can set up the second drive as either a backup or just additional storage. I bought a Terramaster F2-423 recently. It did take me a weekend to get it set up to where I want it, but it works flawlessly as my home server and for plex. Terramaster doesn't have the best software, but Synology is another big name in the space and their software is better. Otherwise Unraid is typically the best and you can install it on any of these NAS bays, though you'd have to format a drive yourself, which is even further away from plug and play.
Yeah this is pretty much what I've been finding. At a very surface level, a server's just basically a computer that stays on and has some storage attached to it. So I could use an old laptop to achieve that, or I can get a ready-made solution like that Terramaster or a Synology product. I was thinking of trying Unraid first after seeing it highly recommended here on some other threads, and since I already have a couple of laptops laying around. But the next step would be one of these NAS bays, which is what I'm hoping to find a good deal on.
Could you expand a bit on that second part? I'm not super experienced with Linux systems but my understanding was that Unraid was more plug-and-play than most other options. I've formatted drives plenty of times on Windows before, but not sure if there is something I'm missing about doing it on Unraid/Linux.
Yeah, all I meant was that you’d have to either write over the OS in the boot drive of whatever nas bay you buy with an unraid installation or get a small m.2 SSD with the bay and put the OS on that and have it boot from that. It depends on the bay (like my terrmaster has you put in an SSD with whatever software you want to use if not their own), but it’s not really difficult, just extra steps. I haven’t used unraid, but I’ve heard it’s great. FWIW even though it’s more steps than just plugging an external hard drive into an old laptop, it’s well worth it. After the initial setup weekend, I haven’t really had to touch mine.
Ahh gotcha. Thanks for clarifying! Gonna try the extra laptop thing, but that terrramaster does look pretty good.
Haruki Murakami’s new book, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, is definitely on the top of my list!
I've heard it's similar to Hardboiled Wonderland and that would be awesome!
Potential spoilers from someone who hasn't read the book
Yeah! I believe it takes place in the second world in HardBoiled Wonderland which I absolutely love.
I read Sputnik Sweetheart last year and while I liked how digestible it was, I found it really creepy and odd*. Are his books generally similar to that or might I like some of his other ones?
cc @rosco
Haha yeah that’s definitely one of his tropes. He loves ears especially. A lot of his books will have really similar tropes. He has his own flavor of magical surrealism. A lot of cats. A lot of books split in half. A lot of classical music discussion. Lots of long stories being told in the book. And lots and lots of things underground.
I haven’t read Sputnik Sweetheart for over 15 years, I think it was good but it’s not one of his more popular books. I would try a few of his short stories. Or Kafka on the Shore or the Windup Bird Chronicle. Would not recommend 1Q84 until you are really into his stuff.
Dude, the details that Murikami focuses on when writing always has me feeling like a pervert. But his books are also like brain candy so I just devour them. Definitely an author I love but am embarrassed to chat about. Almost all of his books have weird internal monologues about specific body parts, and some on kids - particularly breasts - which feels the ookiest.
Honestly, few things are worse to me than when old male authors focus on that type of stuff with wording like "budding breasts" or similar. I instantly put those authors in the corner of shame.. yeah, I did like his prose but I just cannot with that
I'm going to be the bah humbug and say... I can buy what I want and need. Commercialism for Christmas is pure enshittification at its core.
I've asked family to donate to charities and local causes when they ask... so they quit asking and just now buy me Amazon gift cards. Which, that's nice and useful and all, but, I feel the whole "wishlist" thing has definitely changed from my childhood.
Murry Crimmus you filthy animals. :)
Yeah I come from a cash culture and gift cards are terrible. Just give me nothing or cash or donate please
Happy Socks. I always like having a pair of fun socks on my feet.
I'm kinda itchin' for a new backpack. I've been seeing a bunch of nice backpacks on r/onebag and r/manybaggers and it's got me wanting one. Something I can use for both travel and work. I haven't gotten a new backpack or messenger bag in about 5yrs. And the bag I use the most is about 14yrs old by now. I feel like it's time.
Only other thing I've been sorta looking at is a new headset for wireless for gaming. Though at the same time, my current pair is fine.
I'm single with no kids, so anything I want, I just buy myself. I imagine my family will just give me money or take me clothes shopping.
Two words:
Mystery. Ranch.
I got a new backpack for Christmas last year and absolutely love it! It's a very sleek looking one that easily fits my laptop and tons of other things. I would highly recommend it, except...
The bad news is that the company was bought by Samsonite and all but one of their products have been discontinued. (The company is eBags.)
Whaaat?! I have an eBags backpack! The Slim Jr Laptop Backpack. Bought it several years ago and it's one of my faves, though I don't use it much these days. Earlier this year, I bought various organizer bags from eBags.
I knew Samsonite had purchased them, but I didn't realize they were intending to shut down the brand. Their prices were decent and they had nice stuff. That's a shame.
Mystery Ranch is a great source for quality bags and also something like the Alpha One Niner Evade might be a good pick, too. I bought one earlier this year and it's been fantastic! Depending on how you travel, though, even though the bag is 25 L, I could see some people that pack a lot struggling to travel with it because of how the bag is divided up. Greenroom136 also makes some stellar bags. Oh, Aer is great, too. I'm a little into bags.
I've never heard of Mystery Ranch before you and @R3qn65 mentioned it. Just so happens my kid was gifted a Herschel last Christmas and the fake leather is already all falling apart -- kid probably flew with it twice.
I'm intrigued by Mystery Ranch - quite a steep jump from pricing but man, was not expecting the Herschel to be utter garbage -- I don't do a lot of shopping and I was fooled by the marketing and "everybody wearing one" and their nice airport stores. Were they always garbage or did quality somehow make a sharp dip?
side question: can you recommend a quality bag that has this feature -- an extra pocket that uses the same space as the "main" pocket, but accessed from a different location. That sounds weird I know -- i use the main pocket for large items, and I use the weird bottom pocket to stash an extra set of clothing if I have an emergency. Normally on the entire trip I won't need access to this, but it's somewhat bulky and I'd need to pull it out in a pinch. I saw this feature on a gifted very cheap backpack and I've been looking to replace with a good bag ever since. I don't know what this is called so I haven't been able to narrow down search by this feature.
crappy MS Paint diagram (for lolz if not helpful XD )
Old thread contribution: Don't buy fake leather'd stuff from Herschel.
Anyway thanks!
Yeah, fake leather is pretty much the worst. I can't ever recommend it.
That's actually a pretty common feature in backpacking bags, but it tends to only come in bags that are pretty large. Mystery ranch calls it the "speedzip", but if you're looking for Googleable terms for other manufacturers it's typically called the "sleeping bag compartment" or something similar.
You can get much the same effect in a smaller bag with their tri-zip system or similar from another manufacturer (I swear I don't get commissions from them). Basically, an access method that lets you open the bag the long way instead of just having the one hole in the top.
Regarding bags in general, yeah the initial pricing of something like Mystery Ranch, Alpha One Niner, GoRuck, or Aer is steep (probably too steep in some cases), but those things last forever, vs most popular bags just not being made with as good of materials and features. Most people won't end up needing something super high end, but for people that travel a lot or even just daily drive a bag, something higher quality basically pays for itself with how much it can be abused compared to lower end stuff.
Regarding the feature you're looking for, I don't see it a lot on the bags I typically look at, like R3qn65 said, I think it's mostly a feature for backpacking bags or larger bags? For travel sized stuff, a lot of bags like the aer travel pack and the city pack have a clamshell opening meaning you can set the bag down and open the entire main compartment to get access easily to whatever was at the bottom. One example: https://aersf.com/collections/backpacks/products/city-pack-pro?country=US
I recently just went all in and got the last backpack I plan to buy with a Saddleback Leather Backpack. Very expensive but the quality is really high and I really like it.
My joke answer: https://throwflame.com
My actual answer: My home server is nearing its storage capacity, 110 TB across 2x raidz2 pools of 6x 14 TB disks. Looking to pick up another 12 disks to fill out my remaining 12 drive bays and double my storage capacity up to 220 TB.
What do you mean joke answer I kind of want one now?! Are these for real?! Kind of terrifying as I can easily imagine a line of dog bots with throw flames deployed against protesting civilians...
The real terrifying thing is that because these technically don't fire a projectile, they're entirely unregulated by ATF. You can order one online right now, no background check needed, pay for expedited shipping, and have it delivered by UPS to your door before Thanksgiving.
What a time to be alive.
Going from 110 TB to 220?! Holy hell, what do you store?!!? I watch a lot of movies and TV, but have only used up about 1.5 TB of my 12 TB NAS. Do you rip your own blu rays or something?
Oh you know.. stuff
The majority of my content is 1080p HEVC, with TV media being my heaviest hitter at 57 TB.
Following is about 12 TB of 4K media, both TV and Movies.
But I also have a healthy amount of storage for other purposes. I use Veeam for backups, that ZFS pool is the primary backup target for the hosts' own OS (on a separate NVMe drive, not ZFS), my desktop, 2 laptops, and 4 raspberry pi's. It's also a backup mirror for my UniFi NVR, taking up 8 TB of space. Quarterly Google Takeout backups I keep for up to a year, Google Drive and OneDrive mirrors/archives. I also archive some content from Twitch, YouTube, and Soundcloud.
Oi vei. I just finished migrating from TrueNAS to unRAID and added something like 12 TB additional. The idea of thinking in terms of hundreds of terabytes, even if only just ...
Are you my future self?
🤣
My server chassis is an old 4U SuperMicro with a 24 drive SAS backplane. I'm running it on vanilla Debian, as that's what I've used since 2008-ish, and I'm pretty comfortable with it. I use ZFS to manage storage, on the recommendation of a friend of mine whose full time job is devops, and I couldn't be more pleased with his recommendation. After experiencing the many benefits and ease of use of ZFS, I'll never go back. Only real drawback is storage upgrades must be done in pools of identical disks, you can't mix and match or just do a disk here and there. But if you're ok with that, it's a far superior storage system than anything else available.
Yeah, I rocked ZFS on my TrueNAS system. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm experimenting now with unraid's btrfs. The supposed benefit other than the parity drive is the idea that when not reading or writing to a specific drive, it can be powered down, saving on electricity cost and lifespan over time.
It was definitely less smooth to set up than ZFS was. But, it's also supposed to be a bit more smooth to add drives over time.
If I continue to enjoy btrfs, I suspect I'll swap my backup server over to it, but I need to do some electricity cost comparison before I make that plunge.
I run it all on the grid of course, but I net meter solar, so I enjoy min/maxing my consumption/export throughout the year.
At the moment dread.
Mainly because my wife and I are semi-past the whole I-hope-they-like-this stage and just give each other lists of things we'd like to have and haven't bought for ourselves yet and I haven't updated the list yet to remove what I have purchased over the past year/decided I no longer need.
Mine is typically the less expensive specialty tools I'd like to have for when I do need them, but have not needed them yet/found at a steep discount and bought for myself.
Hers is typically cute stuff/outfits/accessories that is out of her works-for-a-nonprofit budget.
What type of specialty tools?
Having spent the last few hours cleaning up the list, it's mostly down to dimple dies, label makers that can do heat shrink tubing, and engine block mock-ups. I need to research and find a good multi-meter to add to the list (if anyone reading this knows of one, do chime in please).
Honestly, the main thing I really want is some of this prepainted terrain for this WW2 wargame I play, Bolt Action.
I do have some papercraft terrain I've built and it works well, but I made some mistakes with it and I'd like more variety. I could most certainly get some cheaper stuff that I'd have to build and paint, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't be bothered to paint terrain. I don't know why, given it makes a huge impact on a table, but I just find it very dull.
That is super cool! What material are they made of?
I believe MDF, so laser cut wood. I'm not sure they're then painted from there or if they have some manufacturing process that colors them.
Realistically, what I need to do is just build my own. I have some PVC foam and have several tutorials in the wargaming magazines I read, but I just haven't had motivation or time to tackle it yet.
I'll be buying myself a new tool cabinet and hopefully a cordless ratchet! I work on my cars as a hobby, but it's not dire right now because it's cold out anyways and I don't wanna do work, but hopefully I can snag some deals this holiday season to improve my garage situation for next year!
My family doesn't really do gifts anymore as we're all adults and none of us really need anything. Sometimes we'll give each other some candy or something and call it good, which is perfect for me. I'd rather spend my money on stuff I'll know that I'll use instead of guessing what people want and potentially buying something they won't use. And I'd rather spend time with my family over gifts anyways.
Update: I actually found the exact dewalt cordless ratchet I wanted with a battery and charger for $200 on Facebook today. It was even new in box (dude bought a big bundle and didn’t need this tool)! The tool by itself is $200 when it’s on sale, so I got a steal.
From others: Consumables like coffee, snacks, and/or giftcards. I have no room left in my tiny apartment and the thought of getting more "stuff" just stresses me out at this point. My mom and stepdad are fully in line with that way of thinking but my dad insists it isn't Christmas without big wrapped presents (we grew up poor and I think he enjoys being able to be more generous these days). Asking for nicer items like fancy coffee seems to appease him somewhat.
For myself: I plan on getting a new cell phone. I'm still fairly happy with my S20+ but the battery is definitely losing juice and I'm concerned that tariffs will drive phone prices up along with everything else next year.
Anyone have strong feelings about the Galaxy S24 line? Any other recommendations?
A job where I can learn and grow!
Or maybe a DS4246... and a P570F
I'm very easy to shop for: something cute
It could be a digital thing like a cute game, or a cute note book, or a cute stuffy
Legos and candy is always my go-to if people ask. Cant go wrong there. Maybe some nice liquor too.
I've had an M1 Macbook Air since ~2021 and I'm probably getting an M4 Mac Mini to go with it.
People who've upgraded from one M# mac to another, do you notice a difference? Particularly with IntelliJ, which is the most resource-intensive thing I run where latency matters. The M1 has been fine, but this is what I use for school/work, so if it makes me more productive it pays for itself.
Also, does the M4 pro have any real benefit over the M4? Because the base model is really cheap, but the pro model costs over 2x and to me it really doesn't seem worth it.
Honestly if you're doing fine with the M1 on your MacBook Air, the M4 is going to be more than enough for you. You're not going to notice enough of a difference from the M4 and M4 Pro if you're not already struggling on your M1.
What I would consider is looking at the certified refurbs and maybe going a generation behind for the Pro chipset if the discount brings it closer to reality. The extra memory is going to be nice, and power efficiency doesn't matter as much in a desktop since it'll always be connected to power anyway.
The certified refurbs direct from Apple also come with a year warranty, it's as good as new.
My Christmas list is just a list of recommended affordable things my wife and kids and get me like a new entry level record player (current one got damaged), a couple of books, maybe some decent long sleeve shirts since I am new to the great white north. Generally if I really, really want something I will plan and get it for myself, so I just want to be part of the experience and I don't really needs gifts.
If I get nothing and my kids get good stuff, that's honestly still fine. I just hope they don't get me disposable "junk" as a gift since I am trying to consume less in general.
Honestly? I'm good on most things, but I'd consider it a Christmas miracle if the 3rd referral to a psychologist went anywhere.
It's been a year and a half of calling the number provided, telling the automated system that yes, I do in fact want to receive a call back to schedule an appointment...
So my Christmas list idea has been for the past few years is to get quality upgrades of things I use consistently or good quality tools (that I know my FIL enjoys gifting tools, so I put the pricey options that I would not buy myself). An example would be going from a cheap membrane keyboard to a mechanical keyboard. However, I have went through and gotten most of those upgrades now, so am struggling with ideas. The things currently on my list are cheap cable connectors for me to solder new speaker cables, a Raspberry Pi for a project that I have been kicking around in my head for almost a year, a new watch strap since mine is wearing out, and the unrealistic gift idea of a very nice but expensive microphone as I do live audio jobs.
I hate making lists nowadays. Telling people the things I want feels personal in a different way than everything else. I guess because I feel bad for wanting things? So nothing for now. Maybe I'll put together a list of things that kind of interest me that I'll never really use or whatever.
Honestly, I'm not even sure what I'd want to receive anyway? I think the things that I want aren't even things that will really benefit me in any way to own? Like they're redundant in one way or another so they'll just be extra stuff lying around. Or they could be things that I would need to pick out on my own in person (for sizing reasons or whatever) and I honestly don't trust anyone to buy the right sizes even when I tell them the size and send them a link directly to the size I would need...so why ask for anything when it's not going to be quite right or I will probably just ignore it?
So I guess what I want it to spend time with friends.
I ended up buying a Christmas present for myself early since I have a trip coming up and wanted them for the trip, a pair of new headphones: the Focal Bathys.
For the last 3 years or so, I've been using a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4s. They have been great. They sound great, travel well, and the battery life is amazing. Only trouble for me is comfort. I have a big head and big ears and while they fit over my head just fine, they crush my ears. It's not too big of an issue but after buying a pair of Sennheiser HD6XXs that truly surround my ears and have enough depth to not touch my ears as I wear them, I wanted a replacement. I took a look at the more "reasonably" priced options closer to 300-500 dollars but they all had one or another compromise that I wasn't a fan of. The Bathys seemed to have it all (besides price) so I ended up buying it.
So far, my experience has just been okay, which is a bit disappointing given the price of these. The sound quality is amazing, definitely my favorite from a pair of bluetooth wireless earphones. The case is perfectly fine and they surround my ears just fine too. There are two things about these that do disappoint me though. First is ANC. I knew it would be hard to match the level of ANC of the Sony's but man, I feel like these have worse ANC than my AirPods Pros and those are just in-ear buds. The second, and more sad disappointment, is the size. While they surround my ears just fine, I feel like the headband is just a touch too small for my big head. The first time I wore it, it felt like the headphones were pulling up on my ears just to fit over my head. It's gotten better of the last week of me wearing it but its still not great.
I bought these on headphones.com so luckily they accept returns for 365 days. I'll give it a few more weeks, especially after I get back from my trip before I decide if I want to keep these. If I do end up returning them, I might go to the Apple store and try out the AirPods Max's again because they fit just fine the last time I tried them, they were just super heavy lol.
I try to focus on experiences as gifts, both giving and receiving, nowadays. Easier to store, better memories. :)
In a couple of weeks, some friends and I are taking a half-day watercolor class. Early next year, I'm going to be going back to the pottery studio for a few sessions. Stuff like that. I tell people who want to get me something that chipping in for some wheel time, or maybe a nice trim tool, anything where I can use the item and think warmly of them.
I started this approach years ago, after my Mother passed away. She left me a small amount of money to 'do something new and fun' with; she was a talented artist herself, so I used what she gave me to take glassblowing lessons, which I absolutely loved. I never would have spent the money on its own without the push, but I am so grateful that I did, and now I have some memories and objects that I can think of with warmth, one last happy moment with my Mom. Good times.
I wish I had parts to fix my cars suspension and either a trailer or lift assist roof racks for this fishing kayak I purchased over a year ago and have been slowly adding other parts to it.
Oh and having one or two really good quality friends that actually want to hang out would be nice.