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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?

#91

Post by voisin »

chubot wrote: post #58

High quality floor standing speakers, although I would say the average person can get almost the same QOL improvement from $500 bookshelf speakers. I use them for music, movies/TV, watching videos on YouTube including technical ones, and even occasionally video conferencing. Wearing headphones for more than 30 minutes is fatiguing and uncomfortable for me. Listening to people's voices on tiny laptop or iPad speakers…

Which speakers did you buy and which would you recommend for someone that feels overwhelmed by the entire industry?

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

#94

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

voisin wrote: post #89

Spin Bike. Unbelievable how much my life has changed by being able to exercise while I take calls (at low speeds!), read, watch Netflix, etc.

Same for me. I found out at low speeds I can do creative work for 40 minutes, typing on my laptop. I need to take break then as I feel too tired (mentally and physically), but it feels great.

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

#95

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

11235813213455 wrote: post #81

I improved considerably my life by stopping to purchase things and living with very few possessions, eating organic wild food as much as possible

I'm not sure I could go that far but I agree I become much happier after I stopped buying tons of things (I have a closet full of microcontrollers, some of them I haven't even unpacked...). Now I think well about each purchase, sometimes postponing it for months to make sure it's something I really need. Works great.

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

#96

Post by amelius »

mg wrote: post #27

A flight ticket. The last one was to Madrid. But really every time I go on a journey, I am surprised how much it improves my life quality. Not only while I am traveling. But also afterwards, when I am back. The effect holds for quite a while.

How do you travel? Do you travel alone, do you meet people? To what part of the journey would you attribute the positive effect?

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

#97

Post by stevekemp »

kyriakos wrote: post #87
torvald wrote: post #28

A robot vacuum cleaner. «I» now vacuum every day, the the flat just looks overall better. There is barley any dust on the shelfs anymore either. https://us.roborock.com/pages/roborock-s5-max

Similar experience here. Also cause I have it on schedule it also indirectly forces me to keep things tidy so it can clean the floor without too many obstacles.

I'd say the first few years of owning a Roomba were magical, but recently a combination of too many children's toys on the floor, and working from home has meant that I don't use the daily-schedule any more.

I have to remember to turn it on when I head out for a beer, go shopping, or do something else outside the home. There were a few days I was working from home, on a video-call, when the robot started cleaning away.

Wonderfully useful tools, but not at all quiet!

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

#98

Post by joveian »

lupinglade wrote: post #85
nelsonic wrote: post #46

The best mattress you can afford is the single best investment you can make in your life. You spend 1/3 of your life asleep. Getting more high quality sleep has a direct impact on your mood, general health and personal productivity/effectiveness.

PS. Don't buy memory foam, it doesn't breathe well, makes you sweat and if its a thick layer of memory foam will make it impossible to turn on at night (you will sink into a stupid, sealed hole). A little layer of memory foam is bearable, but what would be the point then? The only reason they add it is marketing. A good breathable mattress is far better.

The good foam is called High Resiliance Foam. You can get it from foam stores that custom cut foam for reupholstery or custom upholstery. If you get it in 4" or less layers you can even roll it up or fold it if you need to transport it (although the layers do move independently and can be a bit of a pain, although two layers lets you get a harder bottom layer and softer top layer). It is expensive but less than the really expensive mattresses (e.g. 8" of king size via 2 twin XL size would be under $900 from where I purchased mine a couple of years ago, I'm not sure if they could do king or queen size as a single piece).

As someone who has trouble sleeping I've found what I sleep on seems to make surprisingly little difference as long as it isn't causing pain. Also, the breathable thing is likely a difference between cold sleepers and warm sleepers; as a cold sleeper I use a waterproofing layer and prefer that to a breathable mattress.

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

#99

Post by vijay_nair »

Supplements, especially L-DOPA (amazing mood improvement and libido boost), L-citrulline (libido and energy boost) and niacin.

There are other supplements¹ in my stack but these three stand out as the effects are near immediate, measured in mere minutes/hours.

¹zinc methionine, L-taurine, Ashwagandha, Boswellia serrata, fish oil, cod liver oil, vitamins B1, B2, B6, B9, B12, C , D, K, calcium, resveratrol.

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

#100

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

chubot wrote: post #58

High quality floor standing speakers, although I would say the average person can get almost the same QOL improvement from $500 bookshelf speakers. I use them for music, movies/TV, watching videos on YouTube including technical ones, and even occasionally video conferencing. Wearing headphones for more than 30 minutes is fatiguing and uncomfortable for me. Listening to people's voices on tiny laptop or iPad speakers…

Adding to that: a good amplifier that works well with the speakers. It took me a while to find one I liked (in my case it was an old Harman/Kardon PM645 Vxi, you can find it on ebay for under $200).
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