What was something that you thought was overhyped that actually lived up to the hype?

The total eclipse. I was lucky enough to live in the path of last year's. I now understand why people are willing to travel across the world just to experience something that only lasts a few minutes.
- I think being in 100% totality would make all the difference. I was in like 60 or 70 percent totality and while it was neat, and I'm happy I got to experience it, it wasn't insanely awesome.
  
  It really is indescribable. Just to give you an idea, even five seconds before totality is boring. It's day, a little darker than usual. Then, five seconds later, it's totality, and it's like the entire universe had been replaced by a magical fairy tale land.
  
  Yes, being in totality is a completely different experience. Imagine looking up at the sky into a twilight, where a black hole ringed with ghostly white light hovers eerily where the sun once was. It's truly otherworldly
- Would you mind elaborating on your experience? Why was it exciting ? What came through your mind at the time ?
  I've seen a solar eclipse but I'm in elementary at the time and didn't care for it. Now I wonder if it must have been kinda terrifying the old human thought their God was mad.

I didn't think Portal could possibly live up to the hype and I slept on it for a a decade. It did. Superb game
- This was a triumph
  
  I'm making a note here: huge success.
- So looking forward to that piece of cake
  
  I've got some bad news, buddy...

Linux and open source software.
Tested out a dualboot of Linux Mint about 2 years ago on a Windows laptop. Wanted to see how far I could get on 100% open source and free software.
I got far enough that I never looked back.
- Same for me with Nobara Linux. Its been a year and a half and I'm so glad I migrated over.
  
  Alas, the one thing holding me back is that my wireless headset has no Linux support. Trying to vibe code drivers but it's not going well.
- I’ve tried switching multiple times, but so many programs I use for work are not supported on Linux. I essentially was having to run 2 systems so I relented and tried to de-Microsoft windows.

An air fryer. Holy cow that thing is versatile and an amazing addition to the kitchen!
- I ended up with one for free after years of not caring. What I found is that you cannot match their ability to turn the cheapest hot dogs into great hot dogs. That a kielbasa or smoked sausage becomes a work of art. Heat up a microwave burrito in the microwave and then crisp it in the air fryer. Perfect for egg rolls. Anything where that skin has to be crispy or have a bite to it is a great thing to throw into an air fryer.
- Agreed! I probably use mine 10x more than my oven now.

Crocs. I had avoided them for years until I went on a kayaking tour on Vancouver Island. Well, while they were ugly AF, they are one of most comfortable shoes I've tried that are just... Easy to slip on and off?
- I'm legit scared to try them on, and be overwhelmed by how comfortable they are that I don't care about their looks. But the fact they're the shoes from Idiocracy is keeping me from ever trying. IIRC they weren't even released to the public yet, and Mike Judge was like these are perfect, ain't no way anyone would ever be caught dead in these ugly ass shoes.
- I have a pair that I wear exclusively as house shoes. They are so comfortable. But yeah, I don't want to wear them in public.
- Same here. I don't even think they look ugly anymore. They're comfortably great.
- They make closed-toe versions which look far less ridiculous.

Coffee. My dad was in the navy in the 70s and you could tell by the tar he drank. Never got into it. Early 20s I got hired as a delivery boy for a coffee shop. A perk was that it came with free coffee drinks. Turns out I didn't hate coffee, I hated the swill my father brewed. Good coffee was quite good.
- I had a very similar experience when it came to beer.
- I'm not sure where you're from, but here in the UK almost everybody drinks instant coffee and that's how I feel about it. It's horrible, and the only reason people seem to think they like it is because they fill it with milk and sugar.
  
  The US. In my dad's time it was percolator brewed (the literal worst way to brew) or with low grade, super roasted. I drink medium roast or lighter and drip brew or pour over. Vast vast difference.
- The Persona series has even brought up the idea you’d praise coffee more for its mature flavor than just to wake up. In some places, they drink it at any time of day.
  
  I drink a lot of decaf because I like the flavor. Regular coffee being caffeinated is a nice perk (pun intended) for when I need to wake up.

I ended up with an air fryer. It's still just a convection oven, but I use it constantly.
- I love my adult E-Z-Bake oven, lol.
- What's with these? Do they heat up faster? More convection means more heat transfer? I don't get it
  
  Both. The fast-moving air really does have an almost frying effect, and mine takes like a minute or two to get up to temp (and fits a whole pizza).
  
  Yep, they are convection ovens on steroids when it comes to the amount of airflow.
  I was firmly on team "LOL it's a baby convection oven, big whoop" for years, but an actual purpose-made air fryer (not a toaster oven with air fry mode) cooks like an entirely different appliance.

Air-fryer
bone-conducting headphones
PSX
Firefly
Inis
Innovation
- bone-conducting headphones
  Very curious to try. I bought some surprisingly cheap ones to see if it would be worth spending more on them, but the ones I received said nothing about bone conduction so the ad was a flat out lie.
  Air-fryer
  Yes
  Firefly
  Yes
  
  If you turn them up to high volume, they distort, buzz, and tickle on your skin. So only quiet to mid volume. The sound quality is medium-high(I'm no audiophile). Being able to listen to media and be aware of surroundings is excellent. Previously achievable with in-earbuds, only by doing the one earpiece dangle. Sweat/water resistant. 8hr playtime. Pretty wild.
  
  I had the same bait and switch, but it's how I learned I really like open ear headphones vs the actual bone conduction ones I bought after.
  
  but the ones I received said nothing about bone conduction so the ad was a flat out lie
  I did the same thing, it wasn't a lie but the effect did not work properly because they did not fit properly. Not sure if more expensive ones have some better system for contact/positioning, but I don't want the cost especially as I want to keep it wired.
- So, I tried wearing earplugs with my Shokz. Disappointingly, the sound became very, very muffled. I don't think that it's true bone conduction, because if it was, then earplugs shouldn't have had a significant impact on the sound. They're still nice, just... Not as cool.
  Firefly is solidly decent. It's not great, it's not terrible. It had real potential, and then got cancelled after 12 (?) episodes. Babylon 5 was arguably a better show overall, but I can see why Firefly still has a solid fandom 20 years later.
  
  Interesting test. I just tried mine with my high fidelity ear plugs and it actually made it clearer when my music is at a lower volume. of course these aren't meant to block out all sounds though.
  With regular earplugs, its a little muffled, but I'm honestly quite impressed by how good it still sounds.
- +1 on the air fryer.
  
  +1 on Kaylee Frye
- Inis
  Innovation
  A man of culture.
  
  Honestly, the bent-spears-on-minis is the only issue across the two games. (c:
  
  Glad to see Innovation getting so much love after being on SUSD. It's really a great game.
  I've also enjoyed exploring Mottainai after everything in the rules finally clicked.
- I love my Shockz #ad
  Pretty much the only headset I’ve been using on the go for the last 3-4 years
  
  Same, I got mine about 6 months ago and they are a huge game changer. Bought them originally to use while riding my escooter so I could still hear traffic, etc. I ride in about an hour each way to work. They're incredible I can even still hear birds, but can hear my music totally clearly.
  Bonus is that I can wear them at work all the time now and still hear when people are trying to get my attention, and I'm not constantly removing them and losing them like I would with my earbuds.
  I also love the sound quality, which you'd expect would be awful, but it just sounds like there's music playing in the room you're in. Sometimes I forget that the music is just in my ears. Cannot recommend enough honestly.
- bone-conducting headphones
  Do you have a specific recommendation? I'm interested in trying one
  
  Not OP but I got Shokz OpenMove years ago, specifically because they use USB type-C to charge. . I use them daily at work and love them. Sound is good enough for me. I can hear music and stuff still going on at work. It's like sounds being pumped into your brain with your ears still working.

Induction range top. Quick on, fine degree of control, quick off, little heat radiation. Better than gas. Only adaptation was flat bottom wok which ~~makes the working world go round~~ is not quite the same experience.
- Keeping it clean with minimal effort compared to a gas range was unexpectedly my favorite part
  
  I find it even easier than a glass top electric (what the induction replaced) I think it is because only the area directly below the pan is heated, spills are easier to wipe up and don't get baked on.
- Absolutely this. An induction range was a game changer in terms of cooking and has paid for itself many times over. I lucked out and found a high end used one for $400 many years ago. When camping I use a portable one, and while not as good as a full range, it is still much better than any propane cooktop I've used.
- Yea I got a separate plug-in induction wok because I just couldn’t get the flat bottom one to work well.

Buckwheat pillow
Bidet
- Tell me more about this pillow of yours please
  
  Just a pillow that is filled with buckwheat. They're like $50 bucks. Kind of bean-baggy. If you get one, you'll put your head on it and think,"Damn, this is kind of hard", but then you'll adjust it to your head and have a great nights sleep. I kept hearing about them, then I needed to replace my pillow one day and figured,what the hell. Let's see what this is about. Totally worth it.

PC SSDs when they first came out, I saved $ and splurged for 256 GB over 128 GB. In the first week I was slightly upset I didn't save more $ and go for a big expensive 512 GB one. Immediately I was telling my other PC gaming friends it's going to revolutionize PCs in general, and to get one ASAP!
Edit: I can't remember shit for fuck, but the size I bought was probably quite smaller than 256 GB lol.
- I remember going from a 2 minute boot time to under 40s on windows. That was all the convincing I needed
- I don't think there were SSDs that large when they first came out in the late 2000's. I saved up for an 80GB one back around 2009, and it was an absolute piece of trash. It was fast when it wanted to be, but most of the time it would randomly stutter and just go unresponsive for several seconds causing the rest of the PC to hang up until it decided to start responding again. After fighting with it for too long, I replaced it with a traditional harddrive which at least behaved as it was supposed to.
  It was several years later before I tried another SSD, buying a relatively inexpensive 120GB drive that actually did live up to the hype.
  
  Hmmmm, I'm probably misremembering the size now that you mention it. I'm also practically incapable of remembering when something was, but it would have been around the late 2000s - early 2010s. I do remember it held Windows plus 1-2 games, and I juggled around the games I played most from SSD to HDD and back.

House on the Rock
When I moved to Wisconsin back in 2006, House on the Rock was one of the first things I heard about from my neighbors to go see. My wife and I looked at the website and said "we'll go see it someday." Well, that day was about a month ago as back then we started having kids and getting used to living in a new place. However, over the past 19 years I've had people tell me that "you've got to go see it."
Now.... I understand.
Is that place a monument to a man's ascent to brilliance?
Or his decent into madness.
There was stuff in that museum that I took DAYS to process and I still really am unable to understand what it was I was looking at. It took my family and I FOUR hours to walk through it. It could have been a LOT longer if we actually stopped to study more than what we did.
I'm 55 years old and I've seen and done a lot things in my life... None of it prepared me for the sheer onslaught that is House on the Rock. Walking out of it I told my wife that I rather chaffed at the entrance fee when I paid it... Now, I'm not sure if they charged enough.
If you're ever anywhere close to South Central Wisconsin... Take a day and go see it.
It doesn't just live up to the hype... It so far exceeds it that trying to explain the place will never do it justice.
- I just did a search on this place to pull up some pictures. It looks crazy (in a good way).
- Wow. I have never wanted to take my husband someplace, with no explanation beforehand, more.
- It's so cool to see this pop up here--i went there with my wife several years ago and we were absolutely stunned by it's magnificence and sheer scale. I plan on going back someday and spending an entire day there knowing what we're in store for. I had been given a recommendation to check it out by a local who ran a log cabin lodge that was about 1/2 hour or so from the House. That place really blew me away, glad to know other folks are out there appreciating it too!
  That carousel was insane, not to mention the amount of animated instruments and nickelodeons scattered about... The living quarters were so cool, if a little impractical. You could have the coolest parties ever in that place...

I didn't see any of the hype for the Barbie movie (apparently they painted streets in London pink?), but I just went in and saw it. Awesome film
Also: A laser tape measure. I always heard about people ranting about them, and often thought "I get it I get it you're a child who likes shiny things", but I finally got one and it is one of my most prized possessions. I can now find out the distance to things like THAT.
Didn't live up the hype: I caved in and got a mechanical keyboard. A nice one. Keychron something such. I now have a heavy clackety-clack keyboard. That's it. The usual plastic 15 quid keyboards I get are only every so slightly less good. Don't buy into this fad. It's for ASMR fanatics and their heavy wallets
- What do you use your keyboard/computer for and for how long if you don't mind my asking?
  
  I'm at my machine 12+ hours a day, coding, data analysis, grant writing, etc.
  I might play some online games too
- I agree and disagree with you. agree that it's overhyped by fanatics of the hobby. I disagree because I got it for not dealing with rubber membrane keyboards. those truly suck dirt.
  problem with getting in mkb now is the choice overload. it was a lot easier for me back 10 years ago. I'm not claiming it was better back then, objectively now is better because there's more choice for your own needs and wants.
- Mechanical keyboards are like guitars, you can play the same notes on a cheap one as you can on something custom made for you for thousands. Do they sound very different? Almost always, although the guitar needs someone who can actually play well, unlike the mechanical keyboard.
  However, if you really really care and you really really know what you want out of either you can tweak absolutely everything about both. You want ultra soft silent keyboard? Sure. You want the most clickty keyboard with tons of pressure? Sure. You want something thocky but still has lots of flex? Sure.
- Counterpoint on the mechanical keyboard. I type heavily (as in, I hit the keys hard) and my joints are terrible. After a day typing on a shitty membrane keyboard my hands will be aching. A mech lets me find the right switch/dampener combo so that doesn't happen
- Wait, how well you like a mechanical keyboard generally mainly hinges on what kind of mechanical switches you get, and there are like over a dozen varieties of switches with very different characteristics. Did you sample a variety of at least the most popular switches and pick your favorite?
  
  Yep, went with banana - purely for the clackety clack. I am a child
- I bought a mechanical keyboard back when this whole mechanical keyboard fad was in its infancy back in the mid-2000's. Honestly, the main reason I bought it was because I thought the key backlighting was cool. It's a nice keyboard, but I find a decent membrane keyboard (such as what I have at work) to work just as well for a fraction of the cost.
  I suppose I can't complain about the durability though, as it's lasted nearly 20 years now.
  Not too long ago I checked out the current state of what is out there, and it's just nuts with all the choices. Not to mention all the fanatics that seem to like to build dozens of keyboards.
  Interestingly, despite all the heavy customization of things like switches and keycaps, there seems to be very little ability to customize the layout. Many of the various compact keyboards out there make some interesting design choices (IMHO) about what keys they leave off, and where they distribute the keys that they decide to still include. I wouldn't mind taking a short at creating my own compact layout, but that doesn't seem to be what the hobby is about.
- I rather like how my mechanical keyboard feels, but it's just a Logitech. I never fell down the rabbit hole that some people do with them.
- I had always heard good things about Keycron as well but in all honestly…it’s the second worst mechanical keyboard I have. It’s plagued with the double key presses that apparently infect the Q series(I promise I’ve tried everything to fix it). What good is a keyboard that I have to constantly correct? The weight is great as it doesn’t move, ever. Maybe their other series are good but I’d avoid that one. You can google it, people are pretty unhappy with the Q boards. Some are flawless…others are not. I was unlucky I guess.
  I had a Corsair K95…total crap. They don’t even use stabilizers on the space key…or any key for that matter. Keys started failing. It went into the trash. Not worth it to fix.
  
  I had double-press issues a lot which were maddening, but I uodated the firmware and it went away

High quality audio equipment.
Yes, it's an area filled with more snake-oil and bullshit than any other technical realm I've experienced, but with some knowledge (unarguably required on the part of the user) you can actually figure stuff out and get some ROCKING audio gear for pennies on the dollar.
Last year I got into electronic fix/build/mashup as a hobby, and a project I had in mind for fun was to turn a $10 Sirius Boombox that needed 8xD batteries and a wired AUX input, into a wireless BT boombox. I did it and it was fun as hellllllll. But it was not for the audio, it was for the learning. I repurposed battery cells and a charging board from a Shark handheld vacuum, and grabbed a BT board out of a scrapped shower speaker - made that work by "bolting it" onto a disposable vape battery/charger which draws from the main battery pak.
Well anyways... getting a taste of that deep, rich, penetrating audio made me realize I'd been sold THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LIE by the speaker business. That moment of looking at my Bose SoundLink and realizing I've been a fool for so long. The stupid Sirius boombox isn't even that good now that I look back, but at the moment it was a HOLY SHIT moment for me. Running up to it thinking my music was distorting... but NO... it was actually musical details I'd never heard, and didn't know existed.
Now I have a soul-destroying audio setup (for a small 1BR apartment) that I shit you not, cost me a total of $23. RXV581 Receiver, YST-SW011 Subwoofer and two Polk MXT11 Monitor tower speakers. People either discarded, sold, or donated. I got the Yamaha Receiver/Sub set because... get this... ONE of the surround sound speakers was dropped and it's case cracked, so they threw it ALL away. The Polks were seen at thrift, first for $70 each, then reduced to $34 after a month... then one day muthafukkaaaaaaa $10 each plus tax.\
So yeah. Good audio. I had NO idea how satisfying it could be. I didn't know what I'd been missing.
- Same experience here with mid and high end audio collecting for both car and home.
  
  What was that "holy crap I didn't know what good audio was" moment for you?
- I've been a frugal audiophile for my entire life. I learned long ago that you can find gear with excellent specs, without spending thousands.
  These days, I'm mostly into guitars, and I've found the same thing to be true - there is no correlation between quality and price. I've seen great guitars that are dirt cheap, and I've seen expensive guitars that are mediocre. I put together an entire home studio, with 2 electrics, an acoustic, a bass, and a keyboard, a new computer, interface, mic, etc., all for less than $1500, and it all sounds amazing.
  
  You've done me proud, fellow frugal !

Bidet. $30 game changer. Don't ask questions, just hook it up (it's easy), and try it.
You're welcome.
- Ok, I guess I'll be that guy. Every time they are mentioned, it's always people proseltyzing. It made me consider one, but I never pulled the trigger. All of the arguments I heard felt kind of unconvincing, and I couldn't justify buying one without trying it first.
  Then I bought a house, and it came with two of them. I was excited to try them out and see what all of the fuss was about. The thing is... The ones I have suck. Now, one of them seems to have weak pressure, so it could just be a bad one. However, the other one feels like it's trying to clean the back of my teeth, and it still doesn't do anything I couldn't do with paper. Sure, it might get the job done slightly faster, but I still need to use paper to at least dry off after I'm done.
  Maybe a better one could change my mind, but for us, they sit there, mostly unused.
  
  I think its better to dry off with paper than to smear poo around with it, but that's a personal preference.
  
  You need the ones that have an "AI" aiming feature but the AI is actually a japanese man sitting in his cubical remote controlling it.
  
  I installed this for less then 20€ and can't live without it anymore. I use a few toilet papers to dry my butt, it's already absolutely clean 90% of the time. My whole family can't go back to just wipe.
  
  Maybe try a different model. I've got a simple one from Amazon that was only about $30. Now that yours is already installed on the tank, it should be easy to swap out a new one.
  
  Disgusting, i can't imagine not washing your ass after a shit when at home
  
  Yep, bidet people are suuuuuper-fucking-weird to the point of having some kind of anal fixation.
  
  it still doesn’t do anything I couldn’t do with paper
  You are supposed to use paper and then the bidet.
- Unless you live in a modular with fucked plumbing not making this easy
  
  It attaches to the float mechanism, so it's pretty easy to install. Only about 15 minutes, and the results are so worth it.
  It would be worth it even if you had to pay a plumber to install it. Now that I've lived with one, I'd pay $200 to have one installed.

Sonicare toothbrush.

Yosemite. People told me about it for years, along with how it was full of tourists, so I avoided it. Eventually I did go and wow, it's incredible. Seriously one of the most amazing places I've ever seen.
- I remember seeing Ansel Adam's pictures of Yosemite and thinking they were absolutely magical and he had to have spent months for each shot, they were so perfect and unique and marvelous.
  Then I went to Yosemite and realized that no, that place is perfect and unique and marvelous, and even I can take perfect and unique and marvelous pictures with my Xiaomi phone in Yosemite.
- Yellowstone, too.

I got an old ipod at a yard sale that still works. Its actually really good!
Miyoo Mini Plus - Its like a gameboy for emulators. Its really great playing my old games, but with save states.
Linux. not only learning the system gave me more knowledge, it helped me get a job and eventually a career!
A Dog - My dog gives me and my wife so much love its amazing. Hes a good boy.
- May I see a pic of said good boy?
  
  https://photos.chrisco.me/p/michaelc/847221546475060015
- +1 on the miyoo mini plus. I got one at Christmas last year and it's awesome. I also got a steam deck, but I think I like the miyoo more for retro emulation.
  
  Its a great combo! I also have a MMP+ with a steam deck.

High quality kitchen knives. I'm partial to hand-forged Japanese carbon steel. So sharp. Maintains an edge. Easy to sharpen. Being beautiful is just an added bonus.
- Dexter Russell carbon steel knives. Some of the patterns are 200 years old. Cheap compared to the high end stuff but they're easy to keep screaming sharp and work great.
  Stainless knives are good for pocket knives that are exposed to sweat, work knives that are in corrosive environments, serrated steak knives that go in the dishwasher. Anything else, pretty much, carbon is king.
- https://www.chefknivestogo.com/

Steam deck
- Dude, seriously. I'm on an extended family trip right now and we bought one right before we came. I wish we had bought two or three. I am so stoked for the future of Linux gaming.
  Also I bought the switch 2 before my steam deck. Had I gone the other way, I probably would've just skipped the switch 2. We didn't even bring it on our trip.
- I decided to spend a bit more and get at MSI Claw 8 for the extra processing grunt and Thunderbolt support, but I can't believe how much use I get out of it. I actually look forward to commuting.
  
  Cool little machine, looks a bit smaller and more comfortable than a deck
  Sadly it doesn't have the little touchpads, which are arguably one of the best features of the deck
- Nothing but problems from mine.
  
  How so? And regular or OLED version?
  
  ?
  Yeah, it's a bit too big but appart from that it's excellent
  
  Yeah, mine never reconnects the game audio to my Bluetooth if I ever lock it. I have to quit the game and restart it for it to play audio again. Really makes it frustrating to use on the go, which is all I use it for

Naps
- I was just trying to explain to my 26 year old son how a 30 minute power nap can buy you several hours at the end of your night. I discovered that about the same age, when I got a girlfriend who didn't get off work until midnite, while I had a normal 9-5. A post work power nap could keep me awake later to hang out with her.

“Hit the gym” is the default advice given to anyone looking to improve themselves or get over a tough time, but it has really made a difference in my mood and energy levels. For a long time, I also thought “what’s so special about avocado on toast?”, but it actually is a pleasant combination.
Oh, and I swear by those Laneige lip masks for lip care. I just use it anytime my lips are chapped and it doesn’t dry them up even more afterwards.
- +1 for the Laneige overnight lip mask. That stuff is like magic. Actually your whole list, and I will add yoga. Yoga does really help me to stay fit and supple.
- I haven't been able to work out due to a back injury and I am definitely noticing the mental effects
  
  I’m sorry to hear that and I wish you a quick recovery <3
  Are you able to walk? I find that even going for a walk outside improves my mood when I don’t feel well enough for a full workout.
  
  Have you tried working with a physical therapist to figure out a routine you can do? I have a few injuries (torn labrum in both shoulders and torn meniscus) and I've been able to modify things so I don't exasperate them.
- Agree with all three! Also the Laneige lasts forever, It's what, 25 bucks? But it'll last over a year.

I know I'm alone in this, but I loved and still love VR since htc vive
- There are dozens of us! Dozens!!
  I really hope Bigscreen manage to bring the cost down of their small headset because an affordable and comfy one might renew interest. It's still very much an underexplored medium!
- Maybe I'm missing years of video game discourse but I don't know what you're talking about being alone on this hill. I've been using VR since the Google Cardboard and as long as you temper your expectations it's been plenty fine since even all the way back then. The experiences on the Vive and Index are a bit clunky but otherwise I have fun with them every time I use them.
- I only have a Quest 2 and I still love it. I think we won't see mass adoption until it's slimmed down to just glasses.
  
  I don't think it can ever be that thin. There's too many constraints: needs to block other light, needs to be at a comfortable focal distance, needs power and a processor, not to mention the input and audio components...
  Augmented reality glasses, yeah I can see that.

The first Marvel Avengers movie. Skipped it in theaters because it sounded too much like fans being super happy they got their team up movie. So many similar movies had been hyped up over the years, and the description was similar.
Nope, it really was that good even with a sky beam and an enemy army that all died when the central ship was destroyed. The pacing, interteam conflicts, and clever use of Loki were all done extremely well and the movie holds up.
- I rewatched it a while ago and it's fascinating how it feels like a small-scale little team-up nowadays. Back then I was amazed how they managed to make a movie with so many heroes work while giving them all their moments.

Breaking Bad
- I'm not normally a fan of dramas but after Breaking Bad I became a person that will sit down and not leave the couch if Breaking Bad is on.
- Did you make it to Better Call Saul, yet? I think I liked it even more.
  
  Yes, I agree.

Cyberpunk but that’s after all the patches
- Honestly, They shot for the stars and only made it to Jupiter... it was still a FUCKING GREAT game, just less than was promised.
- Bought it at launch and just couldn't cope with the mechanics. Not a fun experience. But then I played it after 2.0 came out and now I have a favorite game. Never really had one before.

Internet connection for cel phones. When I saw that WAP thing I thought "Why on earth someone will need this?". Time will tell, but I start to think I might been wrong
- Or right for the wrong reason
- happy cake
- Out of context "When I saw that WAP thing I thought "Why on earth someone will need this?" " Is like, yeah, no one is gonna want wet ass pussy.

This isn't hyped by normal people I guess but when I was looking for a better pillow, these custom-sized memory foam pillows seemed like a crazy overhype and a grab for money by physiotherapists. $200 and a year later, still the best purchase I have made for my bed.
Also, peanut butter. I hated peanut butter growing up and never understood how people are so obsessed with it. Man did I miss out for years, that shit is so good and so versatile.
- Pro tip: crush roasted unsalted peanuts and have real peanut butter. You have no idea what you're missing. The peanut butter sold in most places is hydraulically fractured, then the peanut oil is reserved and replaced with inferior soybean. Crushed (not fractured) peanut butter does not separate, and it is breathtakingly versatile in cooking!
  
  This is commonly available most places afaik, just 100% peanut.
  
  How do you crush the peanuts? What tools do you use?
  
  And if you want a sweetener, use honey.

The band Opeth
- I moved past my metal era ages ago and still listen to him. He's always been fantastic. For as much hate the Heritage album got when it came out, it's also one of my favs.

Mechanical keyboards
Every keystroke feels and sounds like heaven!
- Next step. Ergo split with non qwerty layout. I put together a Lily58 keyboard and switched to Colemak-DH. Years of discomfort just vanished. The advantages were instant for me. Im a bigger dude and typing on even a full-sized keyboard meant my hands were at a 45 degree angle perpendicular to the keyboard at all times. I had to contort my wrists to type. Then my shoulders were cramped because I had to squeeze them together.
  The split instantly relaxed my shoulders. The ability to angle the keyboard meant no more contorting my wrists. Colemak has its own benefits and overall my fingers feel much better.
  The only drawback I have is I want a bigger thumb cluster. That's a personal preference you don't even realize until you get a split keyboard. Once you start doing motions to eliminate using your pinky as a hold finger even more comfort opens up for you.
  The best part is it's a super portable keyboard by default. So if I want to take it to work I can rubber band both halves together and shove it in my bag. Or better yet print out a foldable case. I got big honking full-sized switches and keys. You can go low profile and make it as discreet as possible.
  
  Colemak-DH Gang, rise up!
  
  Did you type home row style?
  
  Ergo split with non qwerty layout
  If only you could buy them at a reasonable price...
  
  This but do this as gradual steps, first get a split or a column staggered split keyboard, with regular querty layout and only when you are used to using one especially how the layers work, consider an alternative key layout if needed, frankly just having a split keyboard itself is an improvement in ergonomics, alternative layouts could help buy learning a new one will take time and you'll have to switch to querty at work anyway, unless you want to carry your custom keyboard everywhere
- Not to your work neighbours it doesn't!
  
  Brown caps gang
- My laptop has a mechanical and honestly I want my old membrane back. Mechanical is loud, membrane is not. The only benefit I get is that if I break a key I replace a key as opposed to the entire board being fucked.
  
  Only some mechanicals are loud (admittedly some of the most popular switches are the clicky type for some god-aweful reason). Some are made to be silent and are no louder than fingers/nails bumping the plastic around as per any other keyboard.

Instant pot. Mine has a sous-vide mode and I make the best steaks I've ever made. Whole shebang was only like 40 bucks and I can cook most things in it.

I got a Japanese sobakawa pillow that a ton of people recommended and it's incredible. I didn't know a hard pillow could be so comfortable.
- Which one did you get?
  
  The brand is USLixury, I couldn't tell you if it's better or worse than any other out there but I really like it.
  
  Would like to know this, too!
- Really? What do you like about it?
  
  At first it felt too hard, but I quickly realized I could mould it to whatever shape is most comfortable as I'm falling asleep. I often shape it to hold my neck in addition to my head.
  I was looking for a pillow that doesn't feel flat, I was using a memory foam pillow that would end up nearly flush with the bed by the time I woke up, which was really uncomfortable. The buckwheat in the pillow doesn't really compress, so it stays firm and keeps it's shape as long as you dont move too much.

friendslop video games. its fun to get into wacky little low budget games with people you like.
- "Lovers in a dangerous space time"
  Definitely not made for 4 semi drunk guys in their 30s but dayum we had a ton of fun
  
  Calling that game slop is criminal
- I kninda agree. But there are good ones and low effort ones. Even low effort ones can be fun, but eventually why not just play a better version? Peak is really good, why would you play a janky rage game version of it?

Pop sockets.
I saw so many people use them and hated the sight of them. They look weird and make your phone fit awkwardly in your pocket and you can just lean your phone against something heavy if you want to watch a video or whatever.
But I decided to try it and it is single-handedly the thing that allows me to use my Android phone pretty much one-handed. With gesture controls and the ability to shrink the keyboard to one side for one-hand typing, I'm able to use my 6" phone with one hand 90% of the time.
- Just get bigger hands, then it'll still fit in your pocket just fine.
  /s ...
- Pop sockets >>>> every other method of holding your phone (they lꝏk awkward for me)
  Needs stronger adhesive tho , bcus mine some times peels off . One time had to superglue one to my case , which I hope don't havta ever do again !
  
  I always buy cheap ones because they keep coming off

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, truly an amazing game
- I wish I could agree. I was so disappointed when I played it earlier this year.
  
  You need to turn on talkie mode

Win7

I wasn't disappointed with Infinity War and Endgame
- Infinity War was completely worth the hype. I wasn't quite as enthralled with Endgame, but it wasn't bad.
  
  Yeah Infinity War is probably my favourite in the turn your brain off genre of movies. It's absolute peak, a culmination of everything that happened in the decade before.
  The entire MCU was an absolute phenomenon and they executed it so damn well till the end of Thanos. I kinda miss the social aspect about talking with everyone about it. I know people got superhero fatigue because of it which never truly recovered but man it was fun.
  
  Endgame was absolute trash. Infinity war was almost a perfect action movie, but endgame was one of the worst letdowns ever.
- My good sir, how can you be so brave and so wrong at the same time?

World of Warcraft back in 2007-8
- Still playing.
- Why this time? Stopped playing 2006.
  
  That was when I started playing. Hype for the game was super high up to Cataclysm, I think
- Lok'tar! I remember not affording a subscription back them, so I would spam PvP at the lv 20 cap every day after school. I had multiple full sets of honor heirlooms on my trial account. Good times :)
  
  I couldn't pay for sub either, so I made do with private servers 😁

Dark Souls.
I didn't even check it out until DS3 was about to launch.
Now those kinds of games are basically all I play anymore.
- Same here. I think it's hilarious to when I see posts along the lines of "I don't have time to play souls like" or "I want to enjoy games when I play. " I can boot up a souls like and play for 15 minutes or hours. They're so relaxing to me.

As a long time regular player of jrpgs, I was pretty skeptical of all the people I know that don't play them talking up expedition 33, but yeah it is really that good.

Final Fantasy XIV story.
Ugh it’s an MMO. I’m going to guess anyone who’s slogged through that much content will praise the story.
I don’t necessarily think everyone would find it worth it getting through the less enjoyable content, especially if you’re not taking breaks, but getting up to the two star expansions, Shadowbringers and Endwalker, yes, those expansion endings have been some of my favorite memories in the entire RPG space. The music alone forms such perfectly defined leitmotifs for its best moments. I still wouldn’t blame anyone for walling it off in their mind given the time and financial commitment, but after years of hype, it did match it.
What’s a little sad is I’ve tried the demos for XV and XVI and just still feel thoroughly uninspired by them.
- Ff16 was one of the worst games I’ve ever played. I put way too many hours into thinking it would get better and it just got worse
  
  Oh nooooo. I don't want to believe that :(

Planar Magnetic headphones. Can't go back.
- Which ones? I got a set of Moondrop Para2s, and while I love the clarity on treble forward music I still go back to my MDR-CD770s for anything more bass heavy.
  
  I had a pair of HIFIMAN HE400se. I'd put them at the top of all the headphones I've ever owned. Even for supposedly cheap Planar Magnetic headphones, they sound really really alive.

Purple bed. Best purchase in my entire life.
- A good mattress is indeed one of the best purchases you can make! Online stores with a lot of marketing (Purple, Casper, etc) tend to be more expensive to make up for all the marketing though, and I've heard stories of off-gassing despite basically everyone claiming "our mattresses don't do that!". Did yours smell at all when you first got it?
  Not trying to shade your choice at all, I'm just mentioning because I read a lot of threads like this when I was looking for a new mattress. I've gotten my last three mattresses from https://comfortoption.com/ and they're more comfortable than anything else I've tried (including my old Serta memory foam block), and a few hundred bucks cheaper than the YouTube/influencer-marketed brands. My sister likes the one she got on my rec too.
  
  Ive tried many others springs or memory foam $2-3k a pop, and nothing compares to Purple. Memory foam is good but runs super hot. Purple is like memory foam but always cool. That looks like a knock off site for Purple which might be fine if you want to save a bit. There's no off gasing I've noticed owning 2 Purple mattresses (master bedroom, guest bedroom). Owning something like the Sterns and Foster Estate is comfortable but eventually the springs give and you get lumps. Ive had a Purple mattress for 7 years now with zero loss of comfort. Do need to rotate them every 6-12 months and the King weighing +200 pounds sucks.
  
  Why three mattresses? Wear or for other rooms or something?
- I dumped my purple because it was bad to fuck on
  
  I tried one in the store with my wife and we also determined it was going to be terrible for sex. The Beautyrest Silver BRS900 in extra firm we got has been the absolute best bed for sex I've ever been on.
  
  Nah, it's good for that. Temourpedic memory foam was the worst for that.
- Got the pillow, too cheap to go all out on a mattress.
  
  Treat yourself.
- Ugh. I'm the opposite. I hate mine. It's a middling mattress that can't hold its edge shape. Mine is now a slope. Also moving them is somehow worse than moving a spring mattress which is already terrible!
- I don't have one, but I commend them on commissioning the best commercials of all time:
  https://youtu.be/kaRUhhhXwuw

Bloodbourne, along with all Souls games made by From Software.

Roller coasters
- Oh, I had the opposite experience. Once I managed the courage to get on every single ride at Six Flags, I barely felt the last one I was on. It was fun, but the thrill of free-falling from 300 feet wasn't budging me by then.
  
  While skimping on the details (PII), let's say that I spent most of the 80-90s within a day's drive from one of the world's two parks known to compete back and forth every couple of years (pretty just against each other, at the top) to find out who could build a bigger, faster, crazier coaster. One of these parks is in Japan, and the other's in the US, and I spent entire days at the nearest one every. single. summer.
  There's just something so magical about the instinctual, mortal fear (completely justified, normal AF) and the learned behavior of blind trust that some intangible "system" is in place, surely. There can't not be, right? I dunno, after the last 10 years in this timeline, that latter bit's atomized; a fine, red ^white, ^{and blue} mist, as they say. I feel ya.
  Still. "There was a time...", right? 😅🤞🏼
  
  Right, the new ones are so overbuilt it takes a lot of the thrill out of them. Nobody else in my family will go on them, and they always try to talk me out of them, saying I'll have a heart attack. They don't understand that I don't get scared on them, at least not any more.
  In the old days, you had those wooden coasters, and while you were standing in line, you'd see it come around the curve, and it would creak and sway, and looked like it was going to come apart any second. THOSE were scary.

The Oodie. I would only see them on people walking down the street or in shops, and advertised in FB, but wow, what a saver on heating bills.
- I don't think I have even heard of an Oodie before. Is it just a super oversized sweater made out of some material commonly used for blankets?
  That might be something my wife would like as a Christmas present, but then I will never see her body shape ever again.
  
  I'm not sure if it's just an Aussie and NZ thing, but houses here are built so poorly that winters are horrible. My house is colder inside than it is outside.
  Oodies are next level. The label says 100% polyester. They're way oversized and really soft inside and out but that's what makes them so great and comfortable to lounge in. Pants optional because you can tuck your legs inside and curl up on the couch (I'm 175cm and can do this with room to spare). You start to feel the warmth as soon as you put it on.
  Oodie > blanket because you can walk around in them and not worry about it falling off your shoulders and getting cold, and there's no gaps anywhere like a blanket would have, like under your arms.
  Sometimes they will have sales like BOGO half off, or end of year sales. Got one for my partner who was dubious, but was sold when he saw I got him one with Rick and Morty on it. He loves that he can stick his hands in the front pouch and keep his hands warm playing the Play Station. I can't take it off him now.

Ted Lasso

transitioning

Game of Thrones, final season notwithstanding
South Park. I was around when it first came out, and I avoided it for about a decade because everyone I knew who loved it was an annoying cunt.
The Uncharted games, particularly 4
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt + DLCs
Things I was right to avoid and sorely wish I had continued avoiding:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jesus fuck.
- I'm trying to remind myself that there's really no reason for me to be mean to you just for liking south park more than LOTR, so uhh... have a nice day
- I was the same with South Park. So it's just kids that swear a lot? No thanks.
  Years later I caught an episode and was impressed. Then I went back and the first season is also good.

Gonna go for some controversial ones.
AI (generative), around chatgpt 2 i was hearing a ton of hype and I thought no way this ever gets good enough to be useful. Now today I can say yeah its there, in my opinion its the best way to search for answers. Google got popular because people could search with human style in puts like "how long do I cook rice for" but now we have AI that eliminates the step of skimming through the results.
Crypto. The hype was that it would replace currency and while it hasnt done that it does actually provide a replacement for fiat currency. I can send a transaction to an internet friend and maintain all my privacy with no 3rd party being involved its great. Its stable enough to hold and its even been trending up over time. Pretty cool stuff, Monero is my preferred currency but I do use bitcoin for a ton of stuff.
- It told me to put my hot tub temperature to 58C.
  You, and your precious chatgpt are idiots.
  
  You have to exercise some common sense and not just believe everything you read on the internet. I'm sorry that you burned yourself.
  Testing that just now it recommends 37-40. So like I said, they're improving rapidly and they will be the best way to search for information.
- Sometimes I use chatgpt for questions when I don't want to sift through garbage but I detest doing this. This only points out that search engines have got so shit they have to use other shit to get me decent results.
  For crypto, mostly it's cryptobros tryna make a quick buck with only some people using Monero on the dark web. I do hope one day we can use Monero to purchase things though.
  
  Yes there are cryptobros speculating on the currency but it doesnt change much IMO. You dont have to wait to buy things with crypto its already there in a lot of places.
- in my opinion its the best way to search for answers.
  I'm seriously concerned for when someone comes in contact with you and asks for your source when you're discussing something
  I can send a transaction to an internet friend and maintain all my privacy with no 3rd party being involved
  unless you run your own self-hosted blockchain then a third party is always involved, that's kind of the entire point of blockchains
  
  I’m seriously concerned for when someone comes in contact with you and asks for your source when you’re discussing something
  How often does someone ask for a source? I dont know any redditors IRL. At the moment AI is great for quickly finding the answers to common questions. In a few years it will likely be a realiable source for almost all questions.
  Also AI does list sources now. So if I ask then it can find the answer and link where that answer came from. If I really needed to double check its work.
  For blockchain stuff I shouldnt have said involved I should have said control. A 3rd party is involved in the transactions but no 3rd party controls it.

McDonald's Coke.
The water, the syrup, the mechanism, the ice, the cup, the straw - everything engineered and closely controlled to not only be great on it's own as a standalone drink/experience, but also SYNERGIZE PERFECTLY with their meals.
If you're going to McD's and not ordering Coke, you're doing yourself a disservice.
It's essentially a three star Michelin drink and meal, but priced at McDonald's prices and available and mass produced everywhere.
https://youtu.be/GA_OYUHYYMA
- How many Michelin starred restaurants have you eaten in to arrive at this comparison?
- essentially a three star Michelin drink and meal
  What the fuck are you talking about. It's sugar water and hot candy.

Believing in God.
- Which one?
  
  🙄
- Interesting answer. It was the opposite for me. No worries though, you do you.
  
  Religion and God are two different things. And thank you, lol. 👍
- Username checks out