Car with level 2 autonomy, 2018 Volvo S90 with Pilot Assist. You still have to pay attention to the road when driving, but long highway drives (which I take a LOT of) are a hell of a lot less tiring. I've been able to do 6 hours in a single day and it's almost like riding a personal train except for when you get to jams, local roads, or merges/exits.
Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
481–490 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#482Tern GSD cargo ebike. This thing is the bike version of a minivan. Biking the kids to preschool every day is so much more healthy and fun than taking the car. We also visit a much bigger variety of parks on the weekend now.
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#483Cycling: cycling shoes and shorts. I just did not know cycling shorts had pads for your crotch and has made riding a lot more comfortable. Cycling shoes makes my stroke a lot more efficient. Also, a Hypervolt massage gun.
Music: SubPac. Has been a life-saver during COVID to the extent that I'm starting to think it's better than live music. I use it with Aiaiai TMA2 headphones.
Coffee: finally got an espresso machine. Went with the Lelit Anna + a good grinder and a beans subscription.
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#484Bose QC35 II noise-cancelling headphones.
Being able to decouple yourself from noise is worth so much more than what Bose is asking for these headphones.
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#485Airpods Pro. Not traditionally an apple guy so didn't expect to like them, but the guy talked us into them while we were upgrading my wife's phone. Wow. These things are just way better than any other earbuds and so much more convenient and comfortable than headphones. The Bluetooth just works even when switching between my Android and MacBook. The noise cancelling is great as well, way better than my Sennheisers.
Plus, they support "Hey Siri". I use that all the time while running with just my AirPods and watch: "Hey Siri, text $friend I'll be jogging past your house in 3 minutes" or "Hey Siri, remind me about this awesome idea I just had". Being able to do that stuff while on the move and without having to look at a phone is liberating.
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#486gravity water filter for camping and backpacking, which has proved useful for car trips and local water outages
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#487I'm a giant fan of robot vacuums. My Eufy Robovac died last year and decided to upgrade to a Roomba i3. We've got a dog and my girlfriend has very long hair that we would have to cut strands out of the rollers every couple of runs. The new Roomba models have these rubber rollers doesn't catch hair. I'm not entirely what about the design prevents that, but it is fantastic! The i3 is probably $100 more than you'd spend…
> The new Roomba models have these rubber rollers doesn't catch hair. I'm not entirely what about the design prevents that, but it is fantastic! Ha, I wish that was universally true. My girlfriend's hair is long and insanely strong. It wraps around the rollers and cuts right through them. Still love the Roomba, but often need to replace rollers. :)
What model do you have?
Perhaps I should have clarified that only the newer i3, i7 and s9 are the models that use the new brushroller design. Otherwise you'll still be cutting hair out of the rollers.
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#488Material Goods:
Shimano Saragosa 6000 Fishing Reel - Last summer I purchased a Saragosa 6000 class as my go to saltwater reel. It is a marvel of Japanese design and engineering without breaking the bank like a Van Staal. It is just a consistent workhorse and the drag technology makes it a joy to fish with. Needless to say, I fish enough where a reel makes my list of favorite purchases.
Prusa MK3S+ 3d printer - Excellent quality, it just works and was really fun to build the kit. I love being able to quickly think of and design anything I want in CAD (Onshape) and be able to print it the first try. I don't have to tinker around with the printer I can focus on building stuff.
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#489A pullup bar (door frame) and resistance bands. Exercising at home has kicked me off into being healthier.
Could you do pull-ups before you bought the bar? I’m always so tempted to get one because I so badly want to be able to do a pull-up. I’d be so pumped if I could just do one. But I have no upper body strength to speak of and getting to a pull-up seems nearly impossible so I never pull the trigger on buying the bar.
When I started with my trainer 5+ years ago, one of my goals was being able to do a pullup. We never really focused on them specifically, I got up to 6, or so. The two things that really got me there, and they go together, were learning to activate my lats (pullups are as much a back exercise as an arm one), and deadlifts. They definitely don't work the lats directly, but you'll engage them when your form is good, training that activation under heavy load.
Problem is if you're thinking about a pullup bar, you probably don't have the equipment for deadlifts. Band deadlits can work, though.
You can also try a lat pushdown with a band to train lat activation. With pullups, it's easy to turn it into an arm exercise. It's harder to skip this with a lat pushdown.
Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?
#490EGO 56V multihead tool (string trimmer, hedge clippers, and pole saw), and the EGO 18” chainsaw
I bought a rural property and it is so fantastic having powerful electric tools instead of two-cycle engines. Clean, quiet, easy, and they still get the job done.