Why Didn't I Do This Long Ago?

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Many times in my life, after doing some really useful task or acquiring a very useful device, I have realized how useful it is and think - why didn't I do/get this long ago?

Scripts to do repetitive tasks. After typing command lines over and over and using clumsy GUIs for my current 3D print project, I finally spent a half hour writing a script (OpenSCAD and Prusa Slicer both have command line interfaces). Having completed it, render and generate printer control code is one short command line. Faster, easier, less frustrating.

While I was thinking about the above script, I asked Perplexity.ai if I could set up a key to type in today's date. Yes - it took 5 minutes to do. Now when I want a date stamp on a file name I just use F10 instead of typing the date.

I recently did a house cleaning, and I wanted to get the limescale off of my faucets. I used a chemical calcium/lime/rust remover on my kitchen faucet, then realized - I just bathed my drinking water faucet in toxic chemicals. I've done this before and spent a lot of time running water before drinking. But this time I checked on Amazon and found new complete faucet aerators (including shell) for about $2 each. These installed easily, dramatically improved the flow due to the unclogged aerators, and of course look great.

My bread maker is another example. Just measure out the ingredients, let the bread maker turn it all into bread, and slice it. What's so great here is that I control the ingredients - for me whole wheat flour, olive oil, salt, yeast, gluten. And if you try this, you will soon learn the root of the idiom "the greatest thing since sliced bread".

Battery vacuum cleaner, string trimmer, leaf blower, drill, Dremel tool. It is so much easier to pick up a tool and use it instead of choosing a suitable electical outlet and perhaps extension cord, and working around the cord while doing the job.

Exchange Traded Funds started to compete with mutual funds around 2000, long after I had been investing via mutual funds. They have huge advantages over mutual funds - delayed capital gains taxes, mid day trading and tracking, low expense ratios. Why did I wait until retiring, 2016, to investigate and start using ETFs?

Gewa Strato violin case - light and space efficient. Mine is wearing out after many years. But it's been discontinued. I can't find anything similar on the market. Why didn't a get a spare?

After reading about how tea bags release microplastics into tea, I found everything that I needed to make tea from loose leaves. Specifically an infuser (stainless steel) and some loose leaf tea. I tastes about the same as using tea bags, but no plastics. This time I'm ahead of the curve!