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Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

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Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#121

Post by iknowstuff »

LanceH wrote: post #45
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #22

Tesla Model 3. 'Measurably' is subjective, but I graduated from a BMW 328i, which I loved dearly. The Model 3 is more fun in almost every way, and costs far, far less in maintenance. No gas stations, diamond lane, cost to operate is far less.

I'm tall and my knees/back are getting older. I went from a prius to a pickup. Sliding sideways into the truck vs dropping down into the car seems like a luxury every time I get in, and it's been 2 years now. Bought a chef's knife. I had tons of kitchen items from parents/grandparents, but somehow never had a chef's knife. It gets used every day now. Fifteen years after having my house built, I installed a ceiling fa…

Hmmm Model Y then?

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#122

Post by voisin »

dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #94
voisin wrote: post #89

Spin Bike. Unbelievable how much my life has changed by being able to exercise while I take calls (at low speeds!), read, watch Netflix, etc.

Same for me. I found out at low speeds I can do creative work for 40 minutes, typing on my laptop. I need to take break then as I feel too tired (mentally and physically), but it feels great.

What’s your set up look like? Do you have a standing desk that somehow fits over top of the spin bike? I have a standing desk but it doesn’t go tall enough to fit over top.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#123

Post by ccleve »

nelsonic wrote: post #46

The best mattress you can afford is the single best investment you can make in your life. You spend 1/3 of your life asleep. Getting more high quality sleep has a direct impact on your mood, general health and personal productivity/effectiveness.

A few years ago I put a 4" memory foam mattress topper on the very firm mattress that I had. I love it. Back pain is gone. They're fairly cheap. Totally worth it.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#126

Post by ivalm »

voisin wrote: post #90
cosmotic wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an unsustainable way of life. Humans cannot feed all humans with only organic food.

Source?

I am not OP but this is a nice meta-study

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.0008...

Looking at yields only (which is a small part of the study; sustainability depends on many other factors) it looks like log response ratio for organic vs conventional is -0.4 (but depends on crop type, etc, see figs 5,6). This response ratio means organic yields were typically ~2/3rds of conventional across US, EU for most produce types.

I think a real path forward is reduction of pesticide/herbicide usage through highly targeted techniques, as well as greater embrace of biodiversity in the field (even at some cost to yield). However it is also not reasonable to switch to all organic right now, since we would then produce only 2/3rds the food we have now.

I think where move from conventional is most critical is for animal products. “Conventional” in the US comes with lots of cruelty. Even if we net eat less meat supporting meat sources that treat animals better is important, and will not likely cause net decrease in calories produced.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#127

Post by xiphias2 »

zuhsetaqi wrote: post #117
iconjack wrote: post #108

Youtube Premium for $10/month. No ads to break your focus.

Or just use uBlock origin which is free

It probably doesn't work on the youtube app for iPad Pro / my Android phone, so I also payed for it.

And sure, it feels bad that there are lots of in-video advertisements, but I deal with it

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#128

Post by stevekemp »

andrewljohnson wrote: post #55

Didn't accept a bad coffee mug. Kept looking for the perfect coffee mug. Bought a great coffee mug - size, materials, heft, stability, aesthetics. My preference is stoneware, 12 oz, square-flared bottom, with abstract natural imagery. Pre-warmed before use.

Interesting answer, and something I think that most people could use and probably don't consider.

I started attending pottery classes last year, and while my results are objectively terrible I have to say drinking coffee from a mug I made myself always tastes nicer!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDYo7FhjKkQ/

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#129

Post by rsync »

andrewljohnson wrote: post #55

Didn't accept a bad coffee mug. Kept looking for the perfect coffee mug. Bought a great coffee mug - size, materials, heft, stability, aesthetics. My preference is stoneware, 12 oz, square-flared bottom, with abstract natural imagery. Pre-warmed before use.

Brand ? Model ? I would like a properly insulated portable mug that is not made out of metal… There are plenty of double walled glass options available but they are not actually thermally broken so they don’t act like a proper thermos…

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#130

Post by sdoering »

cosmotic wrote: post #88
11235813213455 wrote: post #81

I improved considerably my life by stopping to purchase things and living with very few possessions, eating organic wild food as much as possible

That's an unsustainable way of life. Humans cannot feed all humans with only organic food.

Funny that you say that, because everything I have read on that in the last 10+ years indicates that that is not the case.

Being an empiricist I would love to see your sources to evaluate my current knowledge against new evidence.

Edit: Hopefully the sarcasm isn't too harsh. But knowing studies on reduced yields, on the mostly short timeframes and also the question of caloric/nutritional value per acre seems more promising.

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