Until recently, I had some butter on a butter plate with a lid, and would take it to room temperature in advance of wanting to use it. Not the best method, but better than only having fridge temperature butter. A few weeks ago I got a French butter dish after being introduced to the concept. You can keep a good dose of butter in room temperature, with water making it airtight so the butter stays fresh. So far very much liking it.

One of the companies making GPS navigators for cars used to advertise lifetime map updates. Small print: lifetime of the device, two years after release