In the car feature vein-
Self-darkening rear view mirrors. I didn’t know the car had them until after I bought it, but they’re pretty awesome.
Sirius/XM. It makes long trips more bearable.
Heated seats- mostly used to soothe my aching butt on the aforementioned long trips.
Adaptive cruise control- nicer than regular cruise control.
I tried Rain-X, thinking it couldn’t be as good as they claim on TV. It is! Awesome stuff. THE Shit!
I have ADHD and a fairly poor sense of time which is exacerbated when I’m focused on work. But I do notice it’s time to log off work for the day when the light in my office changes dramatically from white to blue as it’s scheduled to do 2 minutes after my workday ends.
Similarly, several people here said Invisible Glass is the bomb, the best interior car glass cleaner ever. But it’s $4, how good could it be? Very, very good turns out.
That’s awesome! It’s interesting to see what clever things people figure out to do with IOT devices. Sometimes you don’t even know what you’ll do til you do it.
Yes! A two-seater is perfect for those of us who realized during the past year how nice life is without other people.
“Oops, can’t take the neighbor’s in-laws to the airport.” “Sorry, can’t clear out your garage full of moldy junk and take it all to the dump.”… So sorry!
(And the last time I went to a conference, all the annoying dweebs “carpooled”, while I got to drive by myself and listen to a good book.)
Heh, one of my cow-orkers called it the Bitch Car. Don’t care.
It would if you set it up that way.
Can I set it up so it’ll only respond to Fiat Lux! when commanded with a Professor McGonigle voice?
(Ooh, and a flourish of the robes and a flick of the wand!)
Wouldn’t that be “Lumos”?
My Android phone would light the flashlight when I said that.
Campbell’s Slow Kettle French Onion soup. They use cheese crisps for the cheese on top and the result is very good. You get the cheese flavor and the crunch of toast (due to flavored croutons) and the broth is very good. I also love the convenience.
A second monitor. Now I’m having to teach online, it makes live so much easier. I always thought that being able to click on the icons on the bottom was easy enough, but when teaching then every little trick helps.
Salt Lake City is also very dry. The average precipitation in July and August are 0.59" and 0.71", respectively. Evaporation coolers are great for that weather.
Going waaay back…
I was a late adopter for cell phones. I just didn’t see the point. But, I had to get one for work so I could be reached on the road. I now can’t imagine not having one.
And again for smart phones. I’ve got a phone that’s a phone. Why do I need something else? And the iPad. I’ve got a laptop - why do I want a less powerful, more expensive portable computer? And, of course, now I freak out if there’s an issue with my smart phone, and I take my iPad Pro everywhere I go.
I’m with you! I thought texting was ridiculous and held out for a long time even after I had my first iPhone. (I never even tried texting with my first cell phones when you had to use the number pad to text.) Then I realized how much easier and quicker it was than making a phone call. I rarely call anyone now.
When I think of all those long drives across Texas in the early 70s and 80s with no phone-- even driving at night from San Antonio to Dallas (five-hour drive). My first husband and I used to do it almost every weekend to see his parents. We did break down one Christmas Eve in the middle of the night when there was hardly any traffic, and fortunately two guys who were on their way to go fishing spotted us, unhooked their boat, hooked us up, and towed us into town. Now I don’t go for a walk without my phone. (Of course, I’m an old lady now, too. Not as cocky.)
Ceramic knives. Got one for Christmas, didn’t think much of it, but it’s my favorite knife. Great for trimming meat. Easily outperforms any metallic knife I’ve ever owned.
Last weekend, I went on a camping trip and used a very inexpensive tent that I bought maybe 6 years ago. I needed something on short notice at the time and picked it up for, as I recall, $40 from Menards. I’ve probably spent at least 30 nights in that thing on about 10 different trips and it’s still just fine. I figured I’d get perhaps a couple uses out of it before something broke or tore or got lost. Nope, still kicking and keeping the rain out.
I regret to confess that I am slowly becoming a convert to WhatsApp. Not so slowly, actually. Having spent forever baiting Trep Jr over his fondness for it - WhatsCrap - it’s going to be an embarrassing confession. It’s like texting - but you can set up groups on it - and you can phone on it - and videophone - videoconference, even - and send photos and videos…
Sure, there will always be someone sending the group a photo of their dinner, but that’s people not apps. And in truth, apps in general are something I avoided for years - and now I frequent the app store. Sheesh.
Re: cars, I was a late (partial) adopter of SatNav - I mean, what’s wrong with maps?. Very rarely have we used it to tell us how to get from A to B; but as a view of surrounding streets, locating yourself on a live map, I wouldn’t be without it.
j
See, now THAT is a feature I had high expectations for. The new car has it and I’d had it on one or two rental cars as well. It does reduce the risk of accidentally barreling up some other car’s tailpipe - though it’s a bit disconcerting when someone pulls out in front of you and the car slams its own brakes on!
Add me to the “heated seats” chorus. I didn’t really want them or think I had any use for them, after all I live in California and it doesn’t get that cold here. But the car I was looking at happened to have them, and it had everything I did want, so I bought it. I really didn’t think I’d ever use them. But it’s a convertible, and I’ve found that the heated seats make driving with the top down tolerable when it’s a little chilly outside. But even when it’s too cold for that, the seat heaters keep me warm when the engine hasn’t warmed up enough to produce heat. I actually use them all the time during the winter.
Always wanted heated seats, but we have very, very long winters.
Never saw the point of texting, until I got it. When you are alone most of the day, a cell phone is important in case you fall, or whatever. I even keep my cell on me when I’m in my house. The stairs to my office loft are very steep. I’m very careful, but ya never know.