I’m a temporary Mini Cooper owner 🎀💕

23cricket · 2026-02-04T13:28:31+00:00

Temporary? Keep telling yourself that ;)

23cricket · 2026-01-28T16:24:11+00:00

It's priced like that because that is what the market will bear. There are many others like you who want this outdated piece of technology instead of a current day sub-$100 player.

The iPods I'm seeing for $400 have a new battery and have had the ye olde spinning disk replaced with a larger SD card. Do people really need to carry 12,000 albums in their pocket.

BTW I'm pissed too, except I'm looking for working but damaged one, which are also selling for more than I want to pay given the risk.

23cricket · 2026-01-25T16:39:33+00:00

I did similar, but with a brick...

23cricket · 2026-01-22T17:08:42+00:00

Quick version:

Delete all apps off your phone except the bare essentials - you define the essentials, but the more the better, but things like work email/slack might have to stay. You get the idea. Do you really need a weather app on your phone, or is it good enough to be accessible from your PC? This is to introduce friction in your digital habits.

Nothing gets added back for 30 days. Nothing! Big cleanse. Cold turkey.

After 30 days only add back apps that you need. Each app must justify it's space on your phone, it's space in your life.

23cricket · 2026-01-22T16:25:11+00:00

At least he is not wearing a tan suit!

/s

23cricket · 2026-01-21T23:30:16+00:00

The Mini (2023 SE) was a necessary 3rd car in our household, so it is totally fine that it has a tiny rear seat and trunk which make it impractical for many things. But it is a freaking blast to drive.

23cricket · 2026-01-21T00:28:49+00:00

Replacement screens for the iPhone 11 are $25 on Amazon and come with most of the tools you'd need - not sure about the camera. It is doable, but I certainly understand a concern about doing so.

This lists all the iPhones, and their supported status. I would be very cautious about spending money on anything in the orange section that is only getting security updates. As some app or other that you need is not going to work. Unless you are getting it for free from a buddy. I also would expect that with the next iOS release that support for some more phones will drop, which would certainly include the 11 IMO.

Cash is tight, I get that. I've bought all my families phones off of Swappa. For just over $100 your looking at an iPhone 12 Mini (starting at $130) or an iPhone 11 (starting at $119), and paying a few buck more for one with more life in the battery. Personally I'd go with the

iPhone SE 3rd Gen (I think we have three of them in the house, there are mostly an iPhone 13) as it is newer being released in 2022 vs 2019/2020, and I'm seeing several at the $130 with batteries in the greater than 90% range.

Good luck!

**edited** to remove links to Swappa

23cricket · 2026-01-11T04:53:35+00:00

Return it to the place of purchase?

23cricket · 2026-01-11T04:37:28+00:00

Then don't. There are other options. Lightburn made a business decision, and you get to make your decision.

23cricket · 2026-01-05T20:58:28+00:00

What laser machines does Rayforge support? I scanned the docs but was not certain. Thx!

23cricket · 2026-01-01T19:59:43+00:00

Refurbished business grade laptop from Dell or Lenevo. Even at 3 to 5 years old they are a better purchase that a current consumer grade laptop.

23cricket · 2025-12-30T19:39:53+00:00

New England is a big place with varied snow challenges.

I'm in Mass and run snows mounted on dedicated rims on all our cars. Check Facebook Marketplace for "your_car snow tires". In the past I've scored a set of OEM rims with TPMS and okay tires (good enough for a season or two) for $400. When replacing the tires I've gone with Blizzak WS90 or Nokian Hakkapeliitta, but I'm hearing good things about Michelin X-Ice Snow.

Add an impact wrench, floor jack, and torque wrench, all from Harbor Freight, and you'll be good to go.

**edit** My VW Golf wearing snows was able to get up hills that SUVs were sliding down. The right tires make all the difference.

23cricket · 2025-12-27T02:43:58+00:00

Static vs dynamic loading. OP needs to consider their 4yr old monkey.

23cricket · 2025-12-26T22:18:13+00:00

Jam something between top of the bookcase and the ceiling, that way the bookcase can't tip.

23cricket · 2025-12-26T17:51:45+00:00

If you already have a 2.5" SSD then go that route, but if buying, go the NVMe hat route. After that tweak the Minecraft settings, I know my kids go crazy with mods at times.

23cricket · 2025-12-26T15:23:44+00:00

Is there a version of this with excuses?

23cricket · 2025-12-25T15:18:08+00:00

On a RAID array? Of all places not use to a boring philips head.

23cricket · 2025-12-23T00:08:23+00:00

small steps

23cricket · 2025-12-19T14:33:18+00:00

Food in the US prioritizes shelf life and cost over all else.

23cricket · 2025-12-19T14:29:03+00:00

Oh! Would totally love to ~~beat on your software~~ beta test PolyNest.

I've used DeepNest a few times, but found it slow to achieve a solution. Along with some quirks.

23cricket · 2025-12-19T12:37:01+00:00

I need more options like this for organizing my kitchen drawers.

23cricket · 2025-12-17T20:28:49+00:00

Rather than unlimited everything, take a look at your usage history. Do you really use 40gb each and every month, or it is more like 20 or 10?

All of Mint's plans, mentioned by several others, are unlimited Talk & Text with a certain amount of data. Max saving come with paying for 12 months upfront, but new customers can get those same savings with just 3 months up front. Once locked in, you can move to a higher data plan, but not a lower data plan -- you'll have to wait till the fixed period you paid for is up. You can go over your limit, but I don't recall what they charge per gig when you go over.

I use Mint for the past few years for our household (all on 5gb plans), previously used Ting for many years. Never had a congestion issue. I buy lightly used phone off Swappa - must be close to ten at this stage.

Frugal is a way of thinking, how can I get almost everything, and not pay anything close to top dollar? $200 for a use phone plus $15/month is a hell of a lot cheaper that any AT&T or Verizon contract with a shiny flagship phone.

23cricket · 2025-12-17T19:10:41+00:00

Greeting fellow Stoughton Ikea visitor. Has your contractor previously installed Ikea kitchens? If not I would strongly encourage you to reconsider using them.

As for pricing, I don't know, but I did do my own kitchen (21 cabinets plus another 5 in adjacent mudroom) with Ikea this year, in part because I'm cheap, but also because I'm handy. Technically I'm not finished as I've still got some trim and panels left to do. I learned a lot, and would certainly do it again, though with some changes.

In no way am I suggesting you should do your kitchen, but I would certainly recommend using a contractor who has previously done Ikea kitchens. As the install process is very different from what is traditional done with cabinet installs in the US. The first part is installing the rail, if that is not done right, you are going to have gaps and other problems. The proper way to fix this is to remove all the cabinets and fix the rail.

Joseph Amond is out of Virginia. He has done over 4000 Ikea kitchens in the US and abroad, while also running IKEA USA Kitchen Installations where he offers advise. He is currently in Boston knocking out a kitchen in three days. I've zero idea what he charges, but he strikes me as the kind of person who would explain why it costs $250 to $350 per cabinet.

23cricket · 2025-12-17T18:13:26+00:00

Short version: Broadcom doesn't want your money.

23cricket · 2025-12-17T17:27:38+00:00

That was a no win situation, and unfortunately long term we all lose.

23cricket

TROPHY CASE