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

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

#451

Post by eps » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 8:32 AM UTC

tzs wrote: post #394

m4tthumphrey wrote: post #136

This is a very good thread, I’ve already saved a few items on Amazon, a rice cooker being one! Under £100 - Electric toothbrush - this isn’t new, I’ve used one for 15 years or so but I couldn’t even imagine not using one - A decent water bottle - Creatine supplements I’m sure there’s more but can’t think right now. Under £1000 - Garmin Fenix watch, I’m sure this would apply to any watch that tracks calories, steps, s…

BTW, cooked rice can be frozen and used later without too much loss of quality which can make a larger capacity rice cooker quite useful even if you don't have a large family. The frozen rice should be fine for at least a month and still OK after a few months although with some loss of flavor and/or texture. I'm single but have a 14 cup rice cooker. It was a Wirecutter budget choice. They said it makes great white ri…

Quick PSA - cooked rice needs to be refrigirated in small portions within 2 hours of cooking to avoid bacterial growth. It looks like you are aware of this, but bears repeating just in case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_cereus#Pathogenesis

I'm subbed to /r/kitchenconfidential and improperly stored leftover rice is a well-known pitfall and a major concern during kitchen health inspections.

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

#452

Post by 6510 » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 8:35 AM UTC

shiroiushi wrote: post #390

caseyy wrote: post #94

Under $100: - A dumbphone. Even if I’m not using it anymore, it has shown me what life I could be living without distractions. My anxiety and stress levels went down from about the second day using it, I became much more aware of my emotional state and the environment around me, it was a noticeable shift. I no longer buy the arguments that we can control our smartphone addictions with will. The technology is too opti…

I really don't see the point of a dumbphone: it seems a lot like buying a ham radio and trying to use that for your daily life. Who am I going to talk to with a dumbphone? No one actually does "phone calls" any more using voice calling, at least in my corner of the world. (They do for work, but I'm not in a customer-facing job so I don't.)

There seems to be a hole in the market for a dumb phone that does sms well. Perhaps we can even get rid of phone calls entirely and just have an sms device with a camera.

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

#453

Post by pajamasam » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 8:53 AM UTC

riku_iki wrote: post #409

alumic wrote: post #4

Finally bought a rice cooker 6 months ago. No idea why I hadn’t done it sooner. Perfect rice every single time. I believe that qualifies. Edit: I also bought an emergency jumpstart battery for my car. Saved me twice when my battery suddenly started having issues. Went from feeling “stuck” to back on the road in under 2 minutes.

is instant pot much more versatile device?

I haven't been able to figure out how not to burn my rice in an Instant Pot.

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

#454

Post by eps » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 8:53 AM UTC

michael_michael wrote: post #82

Under $100: Not really a purchase, but a habit that involved several purchases. Making L. Reuteri "Yogurt" using half & half, biogaia tablets, mason jars, and a sous vide. Helped with gut issues. Under $1000: An Ooni pizza oven. It's a relatively low-stakes investment and you can produce some pretty phenomenal pizzas after you get over your first few "catastrophe calzones". Just a nice weekend dad hobby.

Ooni - not the Volt model though as it doesn't go high enough to do proper Neapolitanas.

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

#455

Post by fiftyacorn » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 9:00 AM UTC

Yo Yo Desk Bike - bought it second hand as a bit of fun. Figured if it was rubbish id sell it again

But its really good - I spend my first hour or two at work pedalling away while working

I dont class it as real exercise but its good fun

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

#456

Post by Isomer » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 9:06 AM UTC

istultus wrote: post #132

MrMcCall wrote: post #124

( Living in American public housing, we used our pandemic stimulus money to buy two RabbitAir MinusA2 HEPA air purifiers. At $600 each plus $95/yr (for filter change) they're utterly fantastic and the pre-HEPA stages are easily cleanable with a cheap air compressor and wet paper towels. The multi-stage filter system is quite quiet on level 3 (of 5) but will really blow at 5 and be nearly silent at 2. You can tell how…

How have they improved quality of life? Asthma?

I have allergies. I remember walking home from work one day thinking "Ah, my sinuses have cleared, the pollen must have finally gone." only to wake up the next morning all stuffed up again. Then it dawned upon me that work has HEPA filtered air, but my bedroom does not despite spending ~⅓ of my life there. Having an air purifier in my bedroom means I've avoided almost all symptoms of allergies for the last 5+ years without needing to resort to medication.

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

#457

Post by t0bia_s » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 9:22 AM UTC

1, $100: Fenix LED headlamp, 1200 lum, with red light, made from lightweight magnesium alloy with magnet, waterproof. I use it almost daily, for bike, for work, for reading (red light), camping...

2, $1000 E-reader (Onyx Boox). I never read that much before. Ability to highligh text, make notes by pen and have it in readable, indexable format is something that I miss on paper books.

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

#458

Post by laurieg » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 9:24 AM UTC

quard8 wrote: post #276

richardjs wrote: post #196

Under $1000: Voice lessons at the local community school of music. I'm a lifelong musician, but was an almost entirely solitary one. I taught myself different instruments, but I never felt like I could get to basic competency teaching myself to sing. I decided to spend ~$200 for a semester of weekly 30 minute lessons. (The community school cooperates with the local university to offer lessons taught by university stu…

If I have a horrible voice for singing, do you recommend voice lessons? Just for karaoke and fun.

I would temper your expectations. Singing lessons will improve your singing faster than practicing alone but it still may take years and years to develop.

I had always enjoyed singing and I started singing and piano lessons at the same time. With consistent practice you can improve at the piano, learn more complex pieces and see your progress. With singing the process is a lot more mysterious. You probably don't understand the things that are going on inside your body very well and the teacher can't just say "Try putting your first finger on this key and your middle finger on this key".

After three years I could play reasonably complicated pop songs on the piano and read chords. I'm still a few steps the average "someone who likes to sing level".

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

#459

Post by aswerty » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 10:16 AM UTC

wonger_ wrote: post #211

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…

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

I was always a bit put off by electric tooth brushes since the idea of having another "noisy" device was something I DID NOT WANT.

But after seeing so many recommendations from friends, family, dentists and online over the years. I felt buying one was worth a go.

And I am never going back. The quality of the clean and the massaging of the gums brought me from brushing my teeth as a chore to having a desire to brush my teeth (which I had never understood before).

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

#460

Post by camgunz » Fri, Nov 08, 2024, 10:18 AM UTC

aitchnyu wrote: post #433

foolz wrote: post #46

<$1000: I bought a digital piano to learn to play music. I feel that learning an instrument has had an enormous effect on my life. It's great for getting those synapses going, and find it very relaxing to play after a hard day.

Ill pay the nearly 3x markup in India just for its db meter. I enter the headphone impedance and sensitivity (dB/mW) and it shows the real time (estimated) volume. Also I converted the frequency response to V-shape so my open back headphones sounds good at lower volumnes. I moved from "25 hours a week" volume levels to "168 hours a week".

I would guess most people who listen to music while they work have the volume way too far up for that amount of exposure. Anyone on an iPhone should go into Sounds -> Headphone Safety and reduce loud audio to 75 dB. You'll probably be shocked by how quiet that is.