I think of the Pi as mostly a dust collector for many people who will find a use for it doing some mundane task like pihole or as a desktop replacement for moni

I think of the Pi as mostly a dust collector for many people who will find a use for it doing some mundane task like pihole or as a desktop replacement for monitor they don't use and setting it up but never using it. A practical use can be you temporarily use it for capablilities: it is never stable, still can collect dust most of the time, but it will be used for a specialized task you don't have the hardware for temporarily like flashing chips, or running some linux distro you want to try. I don't think that is a bad usage of it since it uses its strengths which is its flexibility, while it can be purposefully used semi-permanent temporarily unless you have a reason to upgrade. Without a purpose before an impulse purchase, its usually stuck in the limbo of the paradox of choice.