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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)

#511

Post by idontwantthis »

o11c wrote: post #435
idontwantthis wrote: post #162

Free thing that changed my life: Run the kitchen sink until it gets to its max temperature right before you turn on the dishwasher. Stop prewashing dishes in the sink. Put them straight into the dishwasher and you’re good.

> Stop prewashing dishes in the sink. Put them straight into the dishwasher and you’re good. In my experience ... no, you're not. Basically any kind of sauce or dessert will get baked on and become much harder to remove, as will anything from a day before the dishwasher actually gets full enough to be worth running.

That shouldn’t be happening. Do you fill both soap dispensers? Check out the video in a sibling comment.

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

#512

Post by alecsm »

scruple wrote: post #406

Under $100: Gymnastics rings and straps. A Lebert Equalizer. Under $1000: A squat rack, barbell, iron plates and bumper plates. Adjustable bench, adjustable dumbbells. A collection of kettlebells. I started taking my strength and body composition seriously in 2018. To that point, I had been a (ultra)marathoner for the previous decade. Prior to that, I was in the military and trained in a hybrid fashion. But I had got…

Gymnastics rings are one of the best things I've bought lately. I already had gym equipment at home but rings are something else.

Once you try them you realize you're not strong enough and you have a lot to do. And I also feel the workout is different because it's me training on the rings, not me lifting something heavy. They are very versatile, you can do many exercises anywhere you want.

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

#513

Post by scruple »

alecsm wrote: post #512
scruple wrote: post #406

Under $100: Gymnastics rings and straps. A Lebert Equalizer. Under $1000: A squat rack, barbell, iron plates and bumper plates. Adjustable bench, adjustable dumbbells. A collection of kettlebells. I started taking my strength and body composition seriously in 2018. To that point, I had been a (ultra)marathoner for the previous decade. Prior to that, I was in the military and trained in a hybrid fashion. But I had got…

Gymnastics rings are one of the best things I've bought lately. I already had gym equipment at home but rings are something else. Once you try them you realize you're not strong enough and you have a lot to do. And I also feel the workout is different because it's me training on the rings, not me lifting something heavy. They are very versatile, you can do many exercises anywhere you want.

My favorite piece of training equipment by far. I've spent 6-month training blocks with nothing but my gymnastics rings, a 24kg kettlebell and a 32kg kettlebell. At this point I honestly only ever go back to barbell training because I don't like pursuing any single modality for too long, but I firmly believe that if I had to I could live the rest of my life with just rings and a couple of kettlebells (and a pair of running shoes) and I would be perfectly content.

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

#514

Post by frenchman_in_ny »

Octplane wrote: post #252

(lovely thread!) Under $100 - Ember Mug, same as many folks here: 4 years of service, 2 use of their customer service, bought another one for my wife. 100% will reshop when my current mug stop working or is not replaced anymore by their amazing support. - A memory foam pillow: Had to iterate to find the right one, but once you've it, you know it. You sleep better, less pain in the back/neck/shoulder - A vasectomy: ju…

Just FYI on the Babboe line of bikes, be aware that there was a recall [0] on some them recently! (And I say this as a Babboe owner myself)

[0] https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2024/Cargo-Bicycles-Recalled-Du...

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

#515

Post by its_down_again »

newdee wrote: post #320
7373737373 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like Toto is failing with their marketing, since people are not really aware of their products outside of Japan. No good and cheap alternatives either

Duravit aren’t cheap, but are much cheaper than Toto (at least in the UK) whose pricing is kinda outrageous.

I’ve got a Duravit toilet here in the US, and I'm on the hunt for a compatible cold-water bidet seat under $300 on Amazon. I originally went for a Brondell, thinking it would match the shape and dimensions. But halfway through the install, I realized it wasn’t going to fit around the seat connectors. Duravit's own bidet seats are around $1,000-- I'm tempted, but they look like a lot of work to install. I’m starting to wonder if I should just upgrade the whole toilet to a model that comes with a bidet.

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

#516

Post by roland35 »

dyeje wrote: post #284
Kiro wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All bidets I've looked at including Tushy seem really complicated to install (basically having to redo the plumbing) and I don't understand how so many people can just buy and install one like it's nothing. Am I imagining things? Edit: Not in the US and the plumbing looks a bit like this, but without the nuts so you can't easily disconnect a part of it: https://static.byggahus.se/attachments/images/large/341/3416...

I ended up buying a travel bidet because I couldn’t install one at our house for various reasons. It’s basically just a squeeze bottle with an angled head. Works great!

Just don't get it mixed up with your water bottle!!

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

#517

Post by tra3 »

delecti wrote: post #478
tra3 wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t get it. Ear plugs that let you hold a conversation?

They're much more subtle than most earplugs, only about 10 dB of reduction, and it's a fairly level reduction across the frequency spectrum. So rather than the normal muffled effect you get from normal earplugs, they sound like you uniformly turned the volume down on everything. In overstimulating environments (noisy HVAC, meetings where the person controlling the dial-in has it too high, coworkers who aren't great a…

That’s amazing. I’d like to turn the sound down on the world many a times. Which model do you have?

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

#518

Post by al_borland »

jtwaleson wrote: post #223
miloignis wrote: post #29

Under $100: 1) A bidet! Got one in the pandemic when toilet paper was scarce and I wanted to be more efficient, but now I'll never go back. The Tushy ones are good. 2) A safety razor & accessories. I get a cheaper, closer, less irritating shave, and I get to customize every part of it. This can certainly be a rabbithole you spend a lot of money on, but you can get a solid customized starter kit for under $100 that wi…

My parents in law lived in the middle east for a long time, and we all got used to bidets over there. I've had a "mini shower head" version next to my toilet for the last 15 years or so. A bit afraid that it'll start leaking at some point, but so far it's holding up great. I would never go back to TP only.

Without meaning to get too personal, what is the technique for using those? When I took a work trip to India the office had what I think you’re talking about. In the US, it’s like a sprayer on a kitchen sink. I didn’t dare try it out, as I couldn’t think of a scenario where I tried it for the first time and didn’t soak my clothes. I didn’t want that to be my reputation at the office.

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

#519

Post by al_borland »

6510 wrote: post #452
shiroiushi wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Something like the Light Phone?

The iPhone has a mode, meant for older or less tech savvy people, but could also be used as a means to turn it into a dumber phone.

https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welc...

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

#520

Post by al_borland »

memset wrote: post #214
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 think about this a lot! How did you overcome the compulsion? I quickly revert when I try to ween off any tech. What do you do instead?

Delete the stuff you’re compulsively checking. Turn off notifications, so you need to make the intention to check things, rather than the phone calling for attention. Spend some time now trying to ween, but going told turkey. Go for a walk, leaving the phone at home. Leave it in another room when doing things around the house. Don’t take it with you into the bathroom. Get comfortable with boredom. Allow your mind to wander and see where it takes you.

Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism is pretty good for stressing the importance of spending time in thought without the influence of the internet, podcasts, audiobooks, or anything else. This used to be the norm for large sections of the day for people… now it’s rather rare.

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