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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)

#521

Post by dgunay »

m4tthumphrey wrote: post #121
hairywalt wrote: post #61

Under $100 - an ear bulb syringe I get blocked ears due to wax and it's really negatively impactful to conversation etc. Plus they would block when flying/swimming which ruined a few holidays. I used to go to my local (UK) GP which was very inconvenient due to appointment timings etc. Then somebody recommended buying a bulb syringe for self-treatment. Mine cost about £4 and has been totally game changing. I can sort…

Hey, I have just started to develop this problem and have been putting off going to the clinic. Can you link to the one you have please?

If self-treatment doesn't work out for you (I've suffered a few particularly stubborn cases over the years), I highly recommend going to an urgent care clinic. They have always been able to clear my ears out in less than 20 minutes, and it's very cheap with insurance.

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

#522

Post by roland35 »

tdeck wrote: post #483
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…

The ember mug is great; I got one as a swag item and thought it was silly, but ended up using it every day. Sadly the ember mug is now much more than $100, and the coaster on mine has broken twice, so I just gave up on it. One of these days I will solder on new pogo pins.

How long does it take you to normally drink a mug? I've been interested in it but I find that I tend to drink a coffee quickly before it gets too cold, and with tea I actually enjoy the change in taste as it cools

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

#523

Post by delecti »

tra3 wrote: post #517
delecti wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I got the "Engage 2 Plus". Though like I mentioned, they reduce sound by enough on their own that the included removable "Mute" wasn't worth the extra cost over the basic "Engage 2".

And one thing I forgot to mention is that they don't reduce the sounds of your own head. So your own voice sounds the same, and you still get that lip/tongue smacking effect that traditional earplugs have. Neither of those is really an issue, but I may have slightly oversold them with "level reduction across the frequency spectrum".

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

#524

Post by al_borland »

tdeck wrote: post #484
_boffin_ wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this comment funny. Go to your local grocery store and pick a rice cooker up for $15 and just add the rice and eyeball the water. …that much for a rice cooker—that’s nuts!

The thing they don't tell you about the expensive rice cookers is that they take 40 minutes to make rice, while the cheap ones make it in 20. To me it's not worth planning my day around having "perfect" rice, so I still use a cheap one every day :/.

I got a small and cheap one, thinking it would be good for 1 or 2 servings and better than getting the microwave rice. It took an hour, made a mess, and the rice was horrible. I should probably experiment more with it and try different types of rice, but it was such a bad experience I don’t want to use it again. I had a rice cooker a long time ago and it was fine, but it was really too big for my needs.

A few months ago I was looking at some of the more expensive ones people see to swear by to see if they could handle small portions and be more clean and reliable. If they are, I think it would be worth the cost.

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

#525

Post by 6510 »

Foyerr wrote: post #467
6510 wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I would suggest an eink phone if this is what you're looking for. I, for example have the Hisense A5. Can do everything a regular android phone can it's just less effective

Then you end up doing all kinds of android things. I don't want a toaster that is also a casino and a web browser. It needs to be a thoughtless process between the idea of having toast and eating it. "lets have toast", "ahh, nice toast"

These are a good example

https://www.tripsavvy.com/best-digital-translators-4154191

They just translate, no candy crush, no angry birds, no hero wars, no facebook, no push notifications how you've spend 123 minutes per day using your phone. You can take it to the pub and not end up playing hayday, doom scroll twiiter or hey, I can spend the night reading hn, and ohh is it closing time already? Did anyone else have a good time?

The assumption one can be strong enough to not do that isn't supported by the data.

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

#526

Post by al_borland »

Under $100:

Plug-in electric hair clippers. During the pandemic I got something cordless and it was serviceable, but seemed to take a long time, and as the batteries drained the performance dropped significantly. I picked up a set at the store while getting groceries that plugs into the wall and everything is so much faster and easier with full power all the time. I can’t believe I suffered with the little cordless one for 3 years.

I was about to start going back to the barber shop, but when I saw the prices were 2-3x what I remembered, the new clippers paid for themselves in 1 or 2 cuts.

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

#527

Post by jtwaleson »

al_borland wrote: post #518
jtwaleson wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You hold it relatively close to the area that needs cleaning. Adjust the pressure as needed using the control on the handle. Then use TP (just to dry), in my experience this is optional in warmer climates.

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

#528

Post by theFlamewithin »

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…

I am so glad you mentioned this. My son is intellectually challenged, and teaching him to wipe himself is . . . challenging. A bidet seems like an excellent game changer. Cheers!

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

#529

Post by fiatpandas »

syabro wrote: post #401
fiatpandas wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are aluminum and are recyclable. They even have a recycling program. Assuming you aren’t brewing a flavored one, it’s only roasted coffee inside. I was a bit of a coffee geek and went all out on grinding and brew methods, but then got real busy… nespresso makes good coffee and is super fast. The downside as you mention is you are stuck with their varieties and can’t geek out on trying different roasts / regions…

> The downside as you mention is you are stuck with their varieties and can’t geek out on trying different roasts / regions outside of what they offer. Not exactly. In Thailand there are a lot of local roasters thad produce a compatible pods with fresh coffee from different origins. Also there are washable pods you can fill by yourself with new stuff, use, wash repeat

The stainless steel reusable pods seem nice. I’ll have to get them a shot.

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

#530

Post by mattmanser »

benterix wrote: post #464
Const-me wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's no risk of the spout sitting in and siphoning dirty toilet water it back into your supply In many places in Europe tap water is safe to drink. However, hot tap water is not. The regulations mentioned by GP might protect safety of the cold tap water from intake of hot tap water. Which is easy to do unintentionally when mixing hot and cold water.

Oh so that's why the Brits all have this crazy setup with separate cold and hot taps! I was always wondering why - I'm from a country where you can mix water easily.

Nah, in the UK it's now fairly uncommon to still have a hot water tank. Most houses have mixer taps, and new fittings for bathrooms or kitchens will have mixer taps unless the home owner is masochist.

The separate taps thing is more because it costs to replace a sink. So even if you put a new boiler in an old houses lots of people aren't going to replace the fittings in the kitchens and bathrooms at the same time.

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