Here are a couple of items that I wish that I had picked up earlier. They are not required, but they greatly simplified my life.

• headlamp: Trying to balance or prop up a flashlight while working used to result in so much frustration.
• tin sheers: I love these so much that they have replaced scissors in most day-to-day applications
• flexible drill bit extender: So many screws are in places inaccessible to a drill body. This inexpensive item solves that problem. Magnetic wristbands: Keep those screws and bits from getting lost.
• level that is at least 2ft long: I really appreciate having a level that can span two studs (16")
• precision / mini needle nose pliers: I don’t need them often, but when I do I am always happy that I have them
• painters tape: I am surpised how often I use painters tape for all sorts of applications

It’s easier and generally more acceptable to ask here than in the grocery store.

Maybe I want clear enough, so allow me to expand.

Some events, like the cited example of award shows, have their outcomes decided on before they are announced. If I gain this ability after that the decision is made but before the outcome is announced, then I could place a wager on it now without impacting anything in the past. This is where the “depending on the timing” qualifier comes into play and why I said “already decided but not yet announced”.

The ability would be see back to any year. I could just look back at any specific event within the year. I wouldn’t need to memorize anything if I can just observe it.

I already consider myself a fairly happy individual. I would be pursuing financial independence, not happiness. Besides, why would I assume that the acquisition of knowledge would have an impact on my emotional state.

So many questions:

• Is the soup hot or cold, in the hole?
• What type of soup is it?
• Is it gluten free?
• Is it vegetarian or vegan?
• Did they even taste the soup to know that it is, in fact, soup?

It is the lack of these type of details that make me suspect that this is not real.

This year. Having near omniscience about recent events would have so many useful applications.

My stock predictions would be crazy accurate if I could observe what decision makers were planning but had not yet implemented or were still in the process of implementing.

Depending on the timing of when this ability takes affect, I might be able to also place wagers on events, like awards shows, that have already been decided but not yet announced.

My ability to solve crimes by observing how they were committed and what happened to the evidence would propel me to Sherlock Holmesian level of noteriety.

I am also sure plenty of influencial people would be willing to do favors for me in exchange for my silence on some of their various recent activities.

Those aren’t even the imaginative ideas.

A few uneducated thoughts:

I feel like there should be a way to use tides to track the passage of time. Maybe by monitoring the shifting water at fixed points?

While a clepsydra may not work underwater, a inverse one that slowly releases air instead of water might. Similarly, any container that slowly releases sand, or other such substance, at a constant rate could be used. Either by adjusting a scale, releasing counterweights, or even tracking how much has been released into another container (like an hourglass).

Drink water.

So many odd physical conditions ended up being the result of dehydration and went away once I started drinking water throughout my day. I was in my 30s when I learned that one.