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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)

#491

Post by Rediscover »

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…

This year I treated myself to a benchtop power supply for home use.

I've worked with electronics (mostly embedded hardware and lower-level software) for >3 decades professionally where bench supplies are everywhere. My hobby use saw me using various wall-warts, regulators, batteries, and hijacked/hacked-up desktop PSUs as I always thought owning a dedicated supply would be a waste. Purchasing other TE had higher priority.

Surprise!! Life is so much better, unbelievably, having my own benchtop power supply for idiot stuff that I would not have invested the time and effort to try previously. I was adding a fan to a project yesterday so I spent ~2 minutes testing candidates for audible noise when using 12V and 24V at various currents - not a necessary part of the selection process for the expected use but nice when it is low effort (turn on PSU, select output channel,dial in voltage, dial in current, done).

GW Instek GPP-4323

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

#492

Post by k4rli »

DarmokJalad1701 wrote: post #184
madamelic wrote: post #2

Under $100: - Ember mug - Why: lets me drink tea because I hate cold tea. Bleck. Under $1000: - 49" ultra-wide monitor to replace my dual monitor - Why: I use i3-wm. It works fantastically on it. - 5.1 Soundbar for computer - Why: I don't have to wear headphones constantly and also sound quality is so much better - Mount 50" TV above my desk - Why: Allows others to hang out in my office with me while I work / play ga…

> - EightSleep I would agree. Except that now they seem to make it so that it is pretty pointless without a subscription. Kind of sucks that you have to pay $15/month to actually use the product after paying close to $2000 for the product. I still use mine only because I was grandfathered in to be able to set temperature set-points without a subscription. If I were to need another one, I would look for an option with…

That's just insane. And it's not a subscription you can ever stop paying unless you get rid of the 5000EUR bed itself. Absolutely a dealbreaker.

What if they increase the fee to 30EUR a month? Or 50EUR a month? That's guaranteed to happen once main product sales start slowing down and investors still want their quarterly gains.

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

#493

Post by fellowniusmonk »

Edit: Oh I completely forgot my favorite piece of software rcmd paired with mapping my capslock to right command. Deterministic app switching is amazing. After years of changing up workflows to be grid, spaces, etc, based I finally have my perfect workflow that works on single and multi monitor setups.

DE razor.

Bidet.

Squatty potty.

Morning breakfast is now hulled barley (ground to powder) porridge, the beta glucan (more than in oatmeal) in it makes my entire digestive situation better I prefer it over cream of wheat or oatmeal (which I find disgusting). Barley and humans just really have a thing going, I just add water from my hot water tank, throw in a little sweetener and microwave for 1 min. It's and amazing whole grain hot breakfast.

A hot water tank in the kitchen.

Under 1k: Rollerblades, I'm nearing 40 and started to notice I'm slowing down some, picking up rollerblading is amazing for balance and flexibility, I have massively improved my cognition, balance and flexibility, it's a crazy core workout I find myself just tooling around for hours trying to do new moves at increasingly faster speeds.

free: permanently leaving my phone on do not disturb.

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

#494

Post by henning »

pyrophane wrote: post #81
henning wrote: post #25

Gym membership. Without changing my diet, I lost 30 lbs and became much stronger. With further diet changes and a little bit of walking, I am closing in on 50 lbs lost while continuing to gain strength in every major movement pattern. I.e., I am probably losing little or no muscle. Waterpik. Flossing for people who don't like to floss. 5k retina monitor. It made me fall in love with using a computer all over again.

What has been your workout routine?

I started doing full body three times a week. Then I went to a 4 day upper-lower split. Currently doing 6-day push/pull/legs. I might go to a 6-day upper-lower split in the future.

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

#495

Post by fellowniusmonk »

madamelic wrote: post #2

Under $100: - Ember mug - Why: lets me drink tea because I hate cold tea. Bleck. Under $1000: - 49" ultra-wide monitor to replace my dual monitor - Why: I use i3-wm. It works fantastically on it. - 5.1 Soundbar for computer - Why: I don't have to wear headphones constantly and also sound quality is so much better - Mount 50" TV above my desk - Why: Allows others to hang out in my office with me while I work / play ga…

I've purchased two ember mugs over the years and end up not using them, a thin double walled glass mug paired with an always on water boiler has been amazing. A kettle is great in Europe because they boil so fast but in the US a boiler is the way to go.

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

#496

Post by sincarne »

LVB wrote: post #77
madamelic wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It keeps the drink at a specific temperature indefinitely. With an insulated mug, you aren't putting more heat into the drink but just trying to keep it for longer. In my opinion, insulation works great for cold drinks (I use a giant insulated cup for my cold drinks) but not so much for warm drinks.

The old (maybe incorrect) advice I was always told was that continuing to heat the coffee fouled the taste, hence the recommendation to use an insulated mug/thermos as opposed to a Mr. Coffee style warmed carafe. What makes this gadget different/better?

Much of coffee's flavour comes from a balance of acids and oils. These, particularly the oils, are sensitive to temperature. But unless you're drinking your coffee all day, you're unlikely to notice it. Real spoiling sets in after several hours at the kinds of heat you're probably running your Ember mug at. Most drip brewers with heating elements for the pot keep the temperature too high (often just below boiling). A steady heat is much better for the flavour than reheating. (This is what I remember from working at a coffee shop way, WAY back when I was at university.)

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

#498

Post by sedawk »

PotatoPancakes wrote: post #250
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 vib…

I have recently discovered a combo of white-noise + music, but I must tell you crackling fire noise makes me too relaxed, making me feel I need a quick nap! Rainfall sound works better for me :-)

Haven't come across myNosie before, will check it out, thank you for sharing!

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

#499

Post by idontwantthis »

chrisweekly wrote: post #98
madamelic wrote: post #2

Under $100: - Ember mug - Why: lets me drink tea because I hate cold tea. Bleck. Under $1000: - 49" ultra-wide monitor to replace my dual monitor - Why: I use i3-wm. It works fantastically on it. - 5.1 Soundbar for computer - Why: I don't have to wear headphones constantly and also sound quality is so much better - Mount 50" TV above my desk - Why: Allows others to hang out in my office with me while I work / play ga…

(also breaking rules to concur) EightSleep mattress cover is a GAME-CHANGER. Precise control over preferred temp, and detailed/accurate logging of sleep metrics == way better sleep, and knowledge of its relative quality (metrics for which let me measure the impact of different variables).

How do they work thermodynamically? It should make the room hotter, but I guess you don’t notice because the surface you are touching gets colder? Is it a closed loop heat exchanger or is it evaporative?

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

#500

Post by idontwantthis »

covercash wrote: post #382
skizm wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there anything similar to 8sleep that doesn’t have all the bells and whistles and doesn’t require an app? I don’t care about any of the tracking or alarms or whatever else besides the temp control.

Yes, sleep.me. I had their Ooler and recently upgraded to the Dock Pro.

Was the upgrade worth it?
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