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ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

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Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#131

Post by DamnInteresting »

JackMorgan wrote: post #114

- Split keyboard saved my wrists fifteen years ago, still do every day - Sleeping mask with eye padding so I can open my eyes without my lids touching anything and only see total darkness. Took some getting used to, but it's amazing for getting better sleep - standing desk setup with footstool and taller chair so I can just slide off to stand up. Makes it easy to switch so I do it more - quality earplugs with a keych…

Seconded on the bone conducting headphones. I have a little kid, so I need to reliably hear my environment, but it's nice to listen to podcasts or audiobooks once in a while.

Also the bidet. It is so strange that water washing a bum is the exception rather than the rule. In many ways we're still a primitive civilization.

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#132

Post by sdfzguf »

vidanay wrote: post #66
gms7777 wrote: post #59

I know HN skews largely male so this might not be interesting to many, but an Ethnotek crossbody purse. It's the most well-thought-through bag I've ever used, especially for travel. Everything has a place and is secure (so I don't worry about pickpockets), but is still easily accessible when needed. And it's expandable for a water bottle or jacket but rolls up small when empty.

Manbags/murses/satchels need to be normalized for men too. I hate carrying a wallet in my back pocket. Men have been carrying purses for a couple thousand years, IDK why we don't in modern society.

Why normalize it? People critizise stigmas, but I don't feel like this is the case (no pun intended) here. It may vary from where you're at, but in middle europe I'd argue, no one gives you a second look for wearing those (Edit: Or is that the problem? ;) ).

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#133

Post by DamnInteresting »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #83

A Trackball mouse. No seriously. I had awful wrist pains, its always commented on that us developers / people who use computers a lot run the risk of getting CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) and I was basically worried I was headed that way at 26, so I looked around at what my much more senior co-workers were using, and about half of them had trackballs. So I bought one, then I bought an ergonomic (Microsoft) keyboard. I…

Seconded on the trackball. I was a trackball user for years until Microsoft discontinued their trackball ca. 2005, and I was unable to find a suitable replacement. A couple of years ago I was feeling some wrist pain from my conventional mouse, and reexamined the trackball offerings. After a couple of missteps with mediocre Kensington models, I found the Elecom HUGE Trackball. It is excellent, I am tempted to buy some backups in case they stop making it.

For the Mac users: I find that it is quite handy to keep a Magic Trackpad on the side of my keyboard opposite the trackball. I use it to make quick gestures such as switching desktops, showing all windows, etc.

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#134

Post by dave333 »

Air fryer. I know this is only small as in "smaller than a suitcase" but anyone can fit one into the smallest studio. They are very convenient, easy to use, and produce great tasting food. We never cook any meat or fish in anything else any more. For vegetarians it's great for frying butternut squash or sweet potato or even regular fries.

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#135

Post by omoikane »

Nippers. I used to be mostly interested in the end product when building plastic models, but after getting a pair of GodHand nippers, the building experience itself became much more enjoyable. I think this generalizes to "better tools will make your life better".

I would also recommend getting a better camera since it will change how you see the world, although a decent camera might not qualify as a small thing.

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#136

Post by KomoD »

dudeinjapan wrote: post #52
PhaedrusV wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto 1password.

Amen. At my company we tried LastPass, BitWarden and there were revolts from either sales or tech sides of biz... nothing stuck until 1password, since then its been bliss.

> At my company we tried LastPass

Dodged a bullet there

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#137

Post by sdfzguf »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #40
HPsquared wrote: post #4

Noise cancelling headphones have been a revelation. I can now work in an open plan office without blasting music etc in my ears. I can drive my old cheap car on the highway without lots of annoying noise. Etc etc. The benefits are many.

Someone told me that noise cancellation gave them tinnitus, and some weeks later out of cheer curiosity I was looking into how people who lose some of their hearing can get it back, and it turns out, when you have hearing loss, your brain / ear tries to adapt as much as possible, and you essentially could get tinnitus, its your brain trying to fill in the quiet. So if you've got any sort of hearing loss, I would take…

This gave me chills for a second. I extensively have active noise cancelling on with no music playing. Several hours a day. After a quick search I couldn't find any good results on this topic. I feel like you should provide some links or anything on that topic? I'd be glad to look into this.

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#138

Post by jackstraw14 »

EForEndeavour wrote: post #117
giancarlostoro wrote: post #83

A Trackball mouse. No seriously. I had awful wrist pains, its always commented on that us developers / people who use computers a lot run the risk of getting CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) and I was basically worried I was headed that way at 26, so I looked around at what my much more senior co-workers were using, and about half of them had trackballs. So I bought one, then I bought an ergonomic (Microsoft) keyboard. I…

Which trackball mouse, and how did you choose?

Not OP, but you really need to try out a few styles yourself and see what fits best, for me that was the Logitech MX Ergo. The big square Kensington one was pretty nice too, but not as comfortable as the MX Ergo IMO. Still working great after 6 years or so.

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#139

Post by TheAngryCanuck »

ludsan wrote: post #14

The Thermapen One meat thermometer. First I had to get over the arrogance that I could 'feel' when meat was the right temperature, then I had to invest in a product that, while being wildly more expensive, actually encourages me to use it all the time. Pork, chicken, steak. I now have a sub-second answer to when the food is cooked.

Everyone who cooks meat should own at least one meat thermometer. I took a couple of introductory courses to professional cooking and first 2 classes of the semester were all spent on food safety. Proper handling of food, prep space cleaning, general kitchen cleaning. Now I have 3 meat thermometers so no matter who I'm cooking for their meat comes out at the proper temperature and there is no cross contamination.

Re: ASK HN: What’s a small thing you’ve purchased which has made your life better?

#140

Post by JohnBooty »

- Apple Airtags.

I've got about a dozen.

I spend so much less time looking for things now. The even bigger win is that I spend so much less time worrying about losing things. Especially when traveling.

- Label Maker

I don't often need it but when I do, I do.

- Stackable Plastic Shoeboxes (& the key to organization in general)

I have a lot of hobbies that involve a lot of little bits and pieces and tend to become clutter nightmares. Solution that I belatedly discovered: label 'em and stack 'em. I realize how stupidly obvious this sounds.

More generally, the key to staying organized is coming up with the most frictionless possible organization system. It doesn't have to be the "best" system. That was the real discovery.

- Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

Common choice here it seems. Literal life-changer for all of the obvious reasons. I have the Bose QC45 which have been flawless. Didn't really compare with the competition head to head, just always had good experiences w/ Bose headphones so I stuck with them.

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