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Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

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Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#241

Post by kristianp »

Under $1000:

Air fryer, I use it for cooking sausages, tenders, salmon, mini pizzas for the kids. Quicker than the oven and doesn't make the kitchen hot.

Robot vacuum, I have a roborock, turns vacuuming into something thats done a couple of times a week, from once a month.

A good camera: a hobby of mine. I got a 10-year old Canon DSLR so it did get under 1000, but with extra lenses I've bought over time for different situations it's more than that.

Under 100:

Nasal rinse, I seem to constantly have sinus problems in the cooler months, this seems to help.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#242

Post by hairywalt »

hairywalt wrote: post #240
Scoundreller wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my area, they’re all labelled as “nasal syringes” because you’re not supposed to irrigate your ears randomly. The words of my pharmacist: “I don’t recommend you use this for your ears. I do it myself, but officially I don’t recommend it” Kinda how Q-Tips boxes mention all kinds of uses except jamming them into your ears for hygiene and pleasure.

Here's a UK study that concludes: "Advising patients with ears blocked by wax to try bulb syringing before irrigation is effective and acceptable, and could significantly reduce the use of NHS resources." So I feel they are a safe method of self treatment.

Forgot to add the link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2148238/

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#243

Post by jebarker »

Under 100:

Guitar lessons. I've played guitar for nearly 30 years, but one year of focused lessons has seen me improve more than the past 15 years combined.

Under 1000:

Shark Hydrovac. We have hard floors throughout our house, this makes keeping them clean so much easier than the manual alternatives.

Whole home humidifier attached to our furnace duct work - huge increase in comfort in winter.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#244

Post by Kiro »

syntheticnature wrote: post #224
Kiro wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not in the US. The pipe just goes straight into the toilet. When googling around seeing articles about installing Tushy when you have rigid pipes they are still much more flexible than mine, with separate parts you can disconnect and replace.

I was in the situation you describe when I got a bidet. It's possible to replace that pipe -- a little more work of course, but it's still turn off water, replace pipe with flexi-hose, connect bidet.

I posted a picture in my original comment. Was it in the same ballpark? The difference with mine is that there are no nuts on the pipes next to the wall. It's one solid construction going from the sink through the toilet to the shower.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#245

Post by jabroni_salad »

1. Air fryer. I no longer do oil fry at all at home. Oil/fat has so many calories in it, depending on your cooking style this switch can help you a lot. I do still use a bit for flavor, but thats it.

2. Zwift and a bluetooth bike trainer. I swear my fitness improves over winter and decreases over summer... inverse from what I was previously doing. Also, I live in Iowa (very flat and the only resistance comes from the everpresent wind) so it's a different style of riding.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#246

Post by sudosteph »

Under $100 - A portable neck cooling fan with semiconductor cooling pads on it

They sell these all over Amazon and similar places, but the best ones have both the moving air components and at least one little metal strip that rests on the back of your neck. That metal strip gets very chilly, so it makes hot weather so much more tolerable! Only downside is it's not great for long hair due to the fans potentially catching strands.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#247

Post by hairywalt »

askvictor wrote: post #166
hairywalt wrote: post #61

Under $100 - an ear bulb syringe I get blocked ears due to wax and it's really negatively impactful to conversation etc. Plus they would block when flying/swimming which ruined a few holidays. I used to go to my local (UK) GP which was very inconvenient due to appointment timings etc. Then somebody recommended buying a bulb syringe for self-treatment. Mine cost about £4 and has been totally game changing. I can sort…

A related trick is to put a few drops of (olive, or other cooking) oil in your ear canal. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Repeat on the other side, and do this for 3 days in a row. This softens up the hard wax in there. Then flush out with a syringe if you want. Obviously don't do either if you have a perforated ear drum.

Yep, a few days of olive oil is generally recommended by GPs... I used to do this but now I self treat I don't really bother. But I guess it I'd have even more success if I did.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#248

Post by jtwaleson »

jtwaleson wrote: post #215

Under $1000: an oscilloscope, 4 channel 100MHz for about 500 EUR. I've been wanting to learn more about electronics but I learn best by doing and getting a feedback loop. What didn't work was reading books, watching tutorials on Youtube etc. Seeing the actual voltage change on the screen helped me understand circuits much better than before. I've since debugged amplifiers, i2s protocols, IR transmitters. Every time I…

Oh and as this leaves me with ~ $500 of budget I'll include my active tip soldering iron (Aixun T3A T245, holy crap it's hot in 3 seconds), function generator (UNI-T UTG962E), a bunch of ESP32 dev boards and various PCBs I designed and ordered via JLCPCB.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#249

Post by blitzar »

keiferski wrote: post #221
wonger_ wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Electric toothbrush on the list? And possibly over $100? What benefits have you experienced? Just curious, asking as a lifelong boring toothbrush user.

Dentists pretty much universally recommend electronic toothbrushes, in my experience.

More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#250

Post by PotatoPancakes »

DarmokJalad1701 wrote: post #203

Under 1000: - Robot vacuum (with mapping+LIDAR): Major game changer. I should have bought this years ago! The tech is now good enough that it basically never gets stuck unless you leave cables lying on the floor. It costs about as much as it would to hire a cleaning crew for a day. And this will do clean your house every single day! - Bidet Seat (Heated) - Chest freezer: Unlike the anti-car people on Reddit, I don't…

I want to second the recommendation of MyNoise.net. It's phenomenal. Especially at work, it's perfect for getting in the zone. I pay for it even though I mostly stick to the free ones.

If you're working at a computer, I recommend opening multiple tabs at the same time. For example, one with some relaxing white noise, one with a music-adjacent one like Mr Rhodes or 88 Keys, and maybe also a crackling fire for cozy vibes.

- https://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php My favorites are: "Stormy Weather", "Fireplace", "Irish coast", "88 Keys", and "Mr. Rhodes"

You can also find myNoise sounds on YouTube and Spotify:

- https://www.youtube.com/@myNoiseDotNet/videos

- https://open.spotify.com/artist/1gRJBUyCeihBrgcCtDdEfv

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