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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?

#21

Post by OJFord »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #8

I can see the "be curious" vibe of HN here. However, I can't shake off the feeling that this is just a low effort carryover from bygone /r/askreddit discussions.

Voting will take care of it. It's a bit chicken/egg though: I could see myself voting for this if it had some nice comments. There are things I've bought after seeing them discussed/recommended on HN, and I've even used hn.algolia.com to find them again or even see if something in that category has been discussed/recommended here. (Green Bell nail clippers the most recent example, so the one I can remember. Ha.)

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

#23

Post by HPsquared »

crims0n wrote: post #10

AirPods Pro... I live in a lively household and the ability to activate noise cancelling so I can study/read/think is an amazing quality of life improvement.

Definitely. Avoiding noise used to be very expensive, now it's available to all.

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

#24

Post by zmmmmm »

this keyring USB connector:

https://www.amazon.com/inCharge-Six-One-Portable-Compatible/...

Amazing how often I end up whipping this thing out to charge something or connect data end points together. Being on my keyring means I pretty much always have it. The most clever thing is that it manages to combine an Apple lightning and micro-USB into the same connector.

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

#25

Post by dimva »

technol0gic wrote: post #19
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.

driving with headphones, especially noise-cancelling, is pretty concerning. you might be blocking an ambulance making lots of "annoying noise," (and yes, they do take the highway) so maybe invest in better seals for your doors and windows?

No, you won't be blocking the noise of an ambulance with noise-canceling headphones, that's not how noise-cancelling technology works. They only block persistent sounds, which an ambulance siren isn't as it changes pitch rapidly.

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

#26

Post by brianjking »

Kim_Bruning wrote: post #3

A tea-sieve specifically made to fit inside a thermos bottle. Lets you prepare loose-leaf teas and be able to drink them all day! Most useful thing ever!

David's Tea sells a nice thermos like this. It is almost too insulated though, stuff never cools down!

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

#27

Post by Ekaros »

Suction cup toilet paper holder... Allows me to place it to better place... I suppose I could just screw one in, but it works passably.

Second one is "dump" remote control plugs. Simple 3 piece set with simple 6 button remote. Works, no stupid IOT or network or anything.

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

#28

Post by kubanczyk »

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.

> I can drive my old cheap car on the highway without lots of annoying noise.

I admit I do this, but I'm conscious about using only a so-so noise canceling. Reducing even 30% of tire noise is a bliss and greatly reduces fatigue. With top-shelf Sony or Bose stuff it would be quite unsafe for everyone involved.

As a passenger (on the road and on flights), the full canceling is a game changer.

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

#29

Post by awiesenhofer »

GaN charger

I started with a 30w Anker Nano, now have a handful in strategic places like backpacks, at work, etc. They are just great. Small, light and powerful. They can charge anything, even my old thinkpads (with an adapter), no more heavy charging bricks or multiple chargers to lugg around. Bonus: a quality 180cm USB-C charging cable if you only have 90cm/3ft ones.

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