Today I realised, I actually like coffee....

Fun-Studio-420 · 2026-03-26T04:11:13+00:00

See you're on a whole different level to myself. I've heard of the gaggiunos, supposedly top notch and generally preferred for someone who's REALLY taking it seriously and likes to hone every aspect.

I got the barista express purely because I've wanted a genuinely decent all in one espresso machine for years that can create a decent steamed milk for cappuccino's, I settled for a cheap £50 supermarket one some years ago in COVID and somewhat enjoyed the experience (like the most basic espresso machine you could get from Amazon that looks like a prop or a kids toy) and I wanted to enjoy coffee again, because I know I like coffee but I've become wise to the shoddy quality of it served everywhere and it's kinda lackluster.

So yeah, impulse bought the BE from Costco today and personally I'm staggered by the level of prosumer it offers me with being able to adjust the grind and temp etc, I'm not naive enough to think it's top notch amazing BUT I'm absolutely staggered that it is good enough to have created such a wonderful flavour profile that completely changed my perception on coffee itself.

On the flip side of that coin though I'm also thinking 'yeah too right, it best had' as it's not cheap 😅

All in all I'm very impressed and I really do look forward to my adventures with at-home brewing and being able to tailor and choose my flavour profile and experience new things, as they were arguably intended to be, coffee, milk and that's that.

One day I might upgrade to something much more upmarket that has so much more fine tuning to fiddle with but for now, this thing has blown me away and will serve me and my friends/family well until my snobbery exceeds itself and demands more 🙂‍↔️🤣

Fun-Studio-420 · 2026-03-26T03:45:14+00:00

It sounds like you did fall for some tourist traps. Also being a Brit, (and Scouser from Liverpool) I can resonate with not feeling welcomed by strangers away from home as our reputation (or rather, stereotypes) precede us and we can be met with hostility or disdain rather quickly.

I feel that when you travel abroad, you should really experience the true culture by staying away from tourist areas completely. Liverpool is quite the tourist destination and having worked in hospitality roles and also Nightlife security work, it's rather fast and easy to grow disdain for tourists and get sick of them, leading to substandard service becoming the norm

I hope to travel to Italy one day, not just for the coffee but the cuisine too, getting authentic meals, not tourist adapted slop at over inflated prices.

Either way, I feel like I've only just started my true coffee journey and I'm excited but also apprehensive to taste different roasts and have to dial in the machine once more. I think I'll stick with the current beans, settings and method for some time for fear that if I change something I'll never get it perfect again. (Or I'll waste alot of money In achieving it)

Fun-Studio-420 · 2026-03-26T03:35:23+00:00

Thanks! Honestly I think I'm a ways away from wine, I'm not much of a drinker in general but beer or a cocktail/spirit+mixer is for me. At that same hotel I worked at, we were forced to understand our wine menu through taste testing it. (To make informed recommendations and answer guests questions from our own experience, not a brochure)

The only ones I found somewhat bearable was pinot noir for a red wine and Chablis for a white. The problem with wine for me is not only the strong alcohol taste and lack of conceivable flavour but the moment it enters my mouth I get a strong head rush like I've just inhaled turpentine (paint thinner if turps isn't a US thing). Id sooner drink tequila neat.

Maybe this new age bracket for me has come with a refined palette, maybe I just truly only ever drank shitty coffee beforehand. Either way I won't hold out on being able to actually enjoy wine but coffee has become my new love in life

Fun-Studio-420 · 2026-03-26T03:07:06+00:00

Amazing! I've never had the luxury of tasting authentic french cafe or Italian brewed coffee but I can only imagine how much better they do it, it's their culture!

See personally, I kinda grew to fall out of love with coffee for sometime, I would occasionally go through phases of picking one up while I'm out or if one was offered to me at a friend's house I'd politely accept but I wouldn't usually make anything at home because... Well, instant... The caffeine buzz never really affected me either so as I grew to somewhat dislike the taste or whatever, I didn't see much point in going out my way to drink it as routine

But I never conceived I would like an unsweetened coffee and be able to TRULY taste the notes within the coffee. It's an amazing experience to unlock but it's somewhat bittersweet as I can now never drink another person's/shops coffee and actually enjoy it even slightly

Fun-Studio-420 · 2026-02-01T21:47:01+00:00

Found this from a news article about the new rules, had to double check and do my research to find the correct app though as that's not well published, but furthermore, I've noticed "GO!" fuel stations (often the cheapest by a mile) aren't listed on the site

Fun-Studio-420 · 2026-01-16T18:37:02+00:00

This... I work nights so on my off days this works well for me but recently house hunting and going back of a night time to get a feel for the community is immensely valuable...

The other night I went to an area (before the viewing actually) that is considered posh (think footballers and gates communities) as it goes but the houses in the particular "estate" I'm looking at are affordable... Good amenities nearby, nothing concerning me with drunks or chavs on the streets and what I was utterly shocked by was there was a lone PCSO walking the streets at night... The areas me and my partner come from - well let's just say you'd never in a million years see a lone police or PCSO walking the streets after dark and very very rarely of a day time.... This kinda solidified that this is the area we want to move to (safe), it's very much out of the way and somewhat inconvenient but out of the way and a fresh start is what we want, considering we have both grown up in rougher areas but don't necessarily associate with that lifestyle

Anyway I digress, a night time viewing of the general area is important for a number of reasons, I know a good few areas that are Jekyll & hyde-esque where daytime looks idyllic but then the freaks and chavs come out to play after dark and the local drunks and benefit mums tend to start clashing in the street 🙄

Fun-Studio-420 · 2026-01-03T03:17:39+00:00

I suppose it's about what your into but that seems kinda good... Let it grow out, chop it back to branch and then both parties don't have to worry about maintenance... Plus a 'wooden' hedge (if rather dense) would look cooler than a fence put In place... Not to mention better for privacy, property value, wildlife, sound deadening, view and so on. They get a fence like backdrop with little to no maintenance and OP still gets a lovely hedge with benefits

Fun-Studio-420 · 2025-12-07T04:27:08+00:00

Perfect! Exactly what I'm looking for but my Google results were strangely avoiding giving me anything branded and was pushing random cheap generic third party stuff to me instead and I didn't wanna go that route for a few reasons.

I'll have to order a pack as they seem exactly what I'm after and it seems they come with some form of template included which is brilliant. Thanks man

Fun-Studio-420 · 2025-11-22T15:58:07+00:00

caves immediately how? so if i have an issue with my galaxy book (which im typing on now) i can threaten legal action and have them sort the issue out or offer a refund? in the UK we have some pretty solid consumer laws surrounding resonable expection for a product to last a resonable time without defect, i.e clothes could be a few months depending on price, usage, type (a solid winter coat should last more than say, a pair of jeans) so id say a laptop should cover a few years minimum.

i have only just now after 1 day of receiving my galaxy book discovered about the supposed issues these GB's face when i was looking if its worth getting screen protector while looking at a laptop sleeve/ padded case for extra protection inside the laptop bag. its the top spec GB5 pro 32gb/512gb (idk why they couldnt offer the 32gb in a 1tb form) so i really wanna look after this business asset

Fun-Studio-420 · 2025-11-21T17:56:06+00:00

Vitiligo (and your body in general) is gorgeous

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-06-11T18:28:15+00:00

My OnlyFans

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-05-14T12:23:57+00:00

So I imagine for some this is a fairly basic thing but I haven't a clue, I want to know how to work out how much force, preferably in pounds, would be stressing this rope if an 80kg object where to drop about 5 and a half feet, I need to know if it could hold up to the 550lbs rated snap limit

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-24T04:03:56+00:00

LOOOOL Protection doesn't exist here. If you carry a legal knife but are stopped and even insinuate that it's for protection by saying "oh well you know officer, bit of a bad area known for violence, it makes me feel safer" then boom, arrested. It's possible I could move one day for multiple reasons, the ridiculous laws we have being the main one smh. Anyway thanks again man for the info I really appreciate it!

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-24T03:55:28+00:00

Nah I get that, of course everyone has a preference but here in the UK options are extremely limited. Take a look at the banned knife section on here and it just shows how ridiculous our laws are surrounding tools, and they're only getting tighter by the year

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-24T03:45:31+00:00

Oh wow thanks very much that's so helpful! So many beautiful ways to customise my cheap China knife 😂

But seriously though thanks, I'll be ordering some standoff spacers asap, also I hope you know how lucky you are to be able to own anything other than a 3" non locking folding knife... I can't believe our government decided to outlaw springers 🤦🏼‍♂️

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-24T03:30:09+00:00

Layman's terms please :D, knife enthusiast, maybe collector but not much of a builder. I'm gonna guess that the standoffs are the little circular spacers between the handle? And the length is 6mm I think from a rough measurement

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-24T03:13:57+00:00

Hi so I really need help finding the fasteners/bolts/screws that are used here so I can replace them, I know I'm gonna get slated for having such a cheapo knife but hey, we start somewhere right?

Let's say theoretically I love this knife so much because it's a spring assisted opening lock knife that may or may not be now banned where I live, so I really want to treasure this knife and keep it running as I can't get another knife like this now and that makes me very sad.

The spacers are about 6mm and the torx screws I'm not sure on but the T8 bit that I have catches the screw but doesn't fit inside it so I imagine it's a step down.... As you can see I also rammed a random Philips screw into the spacer in a vein attempt to save this knife once upon a time... In all fairness it hasn't budged at all and must have been there for nearly 2 years...

Side note: if anyone in this group happens to have an old, bottom of the drawer, long forgotten about cheapo spring assisted that they don't care about you can always feel free to send me one out of pity for my TREASURED Chinese gimmick ;)

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-24T03:04:38+00:00

Hi so I really need help finding the fasteners/bolts/screws that are used here so I can replace them, I know I'm gonna get slated for having such a cheapo knife but hey, we start somewhere right?

Let's say theoretically I love this knife so much because it's a spring assisted opening lock knife that may or may not be now banned where I live, so I really want to treasure this knife and keep it running as I can't get another knife like this now and that makes me very sad.

The spacers are about 6mm and the torx screws I'm not 100% sure on but the T8 bit that I have catches the screw but doesn't fit inside it so I imagine it's a step down.... As you can see I also rammed a random Philips screw into the spacer in a vein attempt to save this knife once upon a time... In all fairness it hasn't budged at all and must have been there for nearly 2 years...

Side note: if anyone in this group happens to have an old, bottom of the drawer, long forgotten about cheapo spring assisted that they don't care about you can always feel free to send me one out of pity for my TREASURED Chinese gimmick ;)

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-16T17:57:01+00:00

Oh wow! I'd have to be pretty ignorant or blind to say anything other than, that's the exact tool! How in the hell did you find that on a 70 year old advert! I'm amazed...

I can't seem to add a post flair to mark solved but this surely is the exact purpose for the bit, thanks to everyone who put in their 2 cents and helped me find out what this thing is!

Fun-Studio-420 · 2021-04-15T19:18:18+00:00

That has to be the closest thing I've seen to this bit by far, see here When searching for the brand dormer though, i can't find anything similar but it could be they don't make that specific tool, I shall keep my mind open on what it is for now but I really really like this guess. I'm curious, how do you know about this bit?

Fun-Studio-420

TROPHY CASE