Polls: Shopping & Gifts

So I am looking at a combination pellet smoker/barbeque made by a reputable company at a reasonable price, and I am thinking of buying it. I really love the taste of smoked and barbequed foods.

However -

I cannot cook at all, and I am worried that if I buy it I will use it, at most, just once, and then never use it again. I have purchased other things for cooking and then never used them, like a slow cooker I bought three years ago and have never used - it is taking up cabinet space now and will never be used by me.

What should I do?

A microscope is needed to view the bag's design, with the tiny object measuring 657 x 222 x 700 micrometres.

"Narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle, this is a purse so small you'll need a microscope to see it," the art collective behind the bag said.

Art collective MSCHF, based in Brooklyn, is known for its controversial designs.

They include shoes that contain human blood, trainers with holy water in the soles, a cologne that smells like WD-40, and giant red rubber boots.

This time, the collective decided to take the trend of small handbags to the extreme.

"There are big handbags, normal handbags and small handbags, but this is the final word in bag miniaturisation," MSCHF said in a post about the bag.

The bag features luxury handbag designer Louis Vuitton branding, but has no connection to the brand.

It is made of photopolymer resin and was created using a 3D printing technology often used to make tiny mechanical models and structures.

While it was being created, some of the tiny bag samples sent to be reviewed by the brand were so small that they were lost by the MSCHF team, the Smithsonian magazine reports.

But loss of the item should be less of a worry for the new bag's owner, as a microscope with a digital display was included in the purchase.

Microscopes with digital displays can be bought from online retailers and can range in price from $60 to thousands of dollars.

The auction site did not list the price of the microscope separately from the bag. Bids for the item started at $15,000.

Speaking about the use of Louis Vuitton branding on the bag, MSCHF's chief creative officer, Kevin Wiesner, told the New York Times earlier this month that the group had not sought permission from the brand to use it. "We are big in the 'ask forgiveness, not permission' school," he said.

MSCHF settled a lawsuit with Nike in 2021 over its sale of modified trainers containing a drop of human blood. It is also appealing in a Vans trademark lawsuit.

I prefer to buy cars that are 2-3 years old because they have many useable years remaining and represent the best value. I am currently considering the VW Arteon or the Lincoln MKZ. I have previously owned several VWs, owned a Lincoln, and had good experience with both manufacturers. However, I an open to considering other options for similar style cars. What is your opinion?

I think it's a fair trade off. Fast makes sense in this day and age. Save time for life. I feel like there's very few times I'd rather go inside a store. Higher risk of getting sick, other humans all around you, running into old highschool lovers, assholes and other annoyances. Other than old people stuck to their routine scheduled multi-hour long shopping trips whats the difference. Plus you just get what you came for, not that one thing you came there for plus half the snack aile... isle... I'll... section... snack section.