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Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

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Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#501

Post by Psychlist »

dusted wrote: post #422

In order of impact I noticed: 1. A condensing dryer (used to hang washed clothes on a line and have to take them down again when dry) 2. An extra car, old station-wagon with trailer hook + trailer. It's nice that it's old and crappy so I don't care when it's getting dirty, scratched or dented, it will be decommissioned when it breaks down (used to borrow car every time we needed to transport something larger than fit…

A small, flat-bottom, glass-wall kettle. That way people who always fill the thing completely aren't being as grossly wasteful as they might be. The glass wall helps other types see exactly how much water they need. The flat bottom means you can boil one small cup of water if that's what you need.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#502

Post by Psychlist »

znpy wrote: post #276

Two additional displays and a three-arms stand, to be able to use three displays with my company issued 13" dell latitude 7390 running GNU/Linux. They're all 24" @ 1929x1200. It's magical, I can keep so many things open at the same time with a reasonable window size. The integrated intel graphics can drive all three of them, but I wasn't able to also drive the laptop display, that would have been perfect.

Working from home was ugly until I bought a 4k monitor with a pair of smaller ones to go each side. I initially thought I could get by with the 2.5k monitor and a single secondary one but ... yeah, nah. 4k is surprisingly easier to read, and having two secondary monitors surprisingly useful. It means I can have all the distractions on one side (messaging, email, other messaging... why are there so many messaging apps?), the main monitor for the primary task, and the other secondary for reference. I still swap documents/tabs a lot, but having the main reference always right there makes it much easier.

Often that's the design document, with the IDE occupying the whole 4k monitor. Two code windows + helper windows, it's not just 500 character lines :)

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#503

Post by rkhassen9 »

D13Fd wrote: post #495
rkhassen9 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wondering what brand of reverse osmosis system you recommend? It’s hard to tell what is genuinely good. Also, what to do about replacing mineral content? Thanks in advance.

Missed this until just now. I didn't do extensive research on mine, I just looked at what the local well service company supports, because they come and swap out the consumables for a pretty reasonable fee (which keeps me from forgetting each year...). The main criteria for me was having a 3/8" line from the tank to the spout, so that water comes out quickly. I did supplement the stock 4 gallon tank with a 14 gallon…

Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind reply and will be researching APEC and Millennium. I really didn’t know where to start, so I really appreciate it!

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#504

Post by majewsky »

novaleaf wrote: post #491
majewsky wrote: post #387

I have a "BahnCard 100" [1], the German national public transit flatrate. My employer pays for it in lieu of a company car. I only have to pay income taxes on it, which comes out to about 170€ (200$) a month. For that price, I can use all trains across Germany as often as I want and also get free local transit (busses, subway etc.) in 120 cities, including the one where I live. 2020 is my first year with a BC100, so…

just taxes on it comes to $2400/yr? ouch

German income taxation is rather high. But to be fair, this figure includes income tax, health insurance, nursing care insurance, pension insurance and unemployment insurance. All those insurances are tied to income level in Germany, so when you have more income or pecuniary advantage, the insurance premiums scale up accordingly.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#505

Post by nunez »

smiley1437 wrote: post #411
nunez wrote: post #351

Easily the bidet. That coupled with reusable and washable cloth wipes drastically reduced our dependency on toilet paper.

Bidets are awesome, but what system did you come up with for dealing with the cloth wipes?

I just wash them by hand when I'm done using them and then toss them in the laundry basket for a deeper wash later in the week.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#506

Post by Djon »

ksaj wrote: post #336
Djon wrote: post #335

Herman Miller Embody chair, not just fixed my broken posture after sitting on crappy 40$ chair from Craigslist for 4 years, but improved my back, posture and develoepd good habit sitting with straight back.

I'm looking for a new office chair since Covid lockdown has done a number on my posture and lower back strength. This sounds just like what the doctor would order. Thanks for mentioning it.

Pro TIP: Emobdy on HM website was 1685$, but i ordered from the dealer i found o their website, ended-up ~560$ cheaper.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#507

Post by brokenmachine »

mleonhard wrote: post #463
brokenmachine wrote: post #460

A really nice mattress. We went to a few shops and laid on probably 30 different ones before deciding on the best one. It was "expensive" but feels like it was cheap and 100% worth it because of the pleasure of going to bed every night really comfortable and waking up well-rested. When you factor in how much time you spend in bed and how important it is to get a good night's sleep, it's totally worth it to buy the pe…

You can double or triple the lifespan of a mattress by covering it with an oil-proof cover. This also prevents dust mite infestation, a major source of allergens in homes and a major risk-factor for children developing asthma.

How comfortable is an oil-proof cover? I'm going to guess not very.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#508

Post by thirdsun »

mleonhard wrote: post #470
Nextgrid wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A good wardrobe. Started getting compliments on how I dress all the time. I never cared about this very much, and that made me unaware that other people did care. Any advice for someone that doesn’t care about this? I’m currently in this boat - I dress “fine” in the sense that it’s functional but is otherwise pretty plain and boring. Every time I try to improve on this I give up after being overwhelmed by the parad…

My friends say I dress nicely. Here's what I wear: Volcom, Men's Frickin Modern Fit Stretch Chino Pant, Charcoal Heather. They look dressy. They are 40% synthetic so sweat/rain dries quickly. They're a bit stretchy which is comfortable. I own 4 pairs and have washed each one about 75 times. The color has faded a bit, but evenly. There is little visible wear. TCO ~$0.75 per wear. Wear with a simple brown leather belt.…

I just want to emphasize how great and affordable Uniqlo's Merino range is. Merino wool is a fantastic, functional material and the value Uniqlo is offering here with their low prices but good quality is basically unmatched.

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#509

Post by dinkleberg »

mleonhard wrote: post #342
williamstein wrote: post #79

A bidet to save on toilet paper and improvement the quality of your life. I learned about bidets from a HN post a few years ago. Any bidet is pretty good compared to nothing and they are surprisingly easy to install.

Using a bidet dramatically reduces body odor. It enables naked sleeping. It enhances spontaneous adult activities. Getting used to a bidet takes about 2 days. After that, dry wiping will seem backward, like using leaves or corn cobs. Get a simple manual one. I use a Luxe brand bidet that I bought for $40, six years ago. It still works fine. https://www.amazon.com/Luxe-Bidet-Neo-110-Non-Electric/dp/B0... I use a porta…

Sleeping naked without a bidet is impossible?

Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

#510

Post by yodelinghambone »

mleonhard wrote: post #342
williamstein wrote: post #79

A bidet to save on toilet paper and improvement the quality of your life. I learned about bidets from a HN post a few years ago. Any bidet is pretty good compared to nothing and they are surprisingly easy to install.

Using a bidet dramatically reduces body odor. It enables naked sleeping. It enhances spontaneous adult activities. Getting used to a bidet takes about 2 days. After that, dry wiping will seem backward, like using leaves or corn cobs. Get a simple manual one. I use a Luxe brand bidet that I bought for $40, six years ago. It still works fine. https://www.amazon.com/Luxe-Bidet-Neo-110-Non-Electric/dp/B0... I use a porta…

"Using a bidet dramatically reduces body odor." Like, because your ass smells so intense that people can actually register it during regular activities?

Not trying to undermine your happiness about clean asses, I'm very fond of that myself but that line seems to be hyperbole.

I don't think I've ever registered someone smelling like ass save for a few bums and some very questionable types.

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