Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

news.ycombinator.com

921–930 of 1001 posts

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#921
post #912

* A Junghans Max Bill watch : its a bit noisy, but everytime I look at it it makes me happy. That sweeping hand, the dome crystal, the thin case.. Very solid (saphir version) as well, bumped it a few time, and nothing. * A WBS pedal steel, got into it recently, and it's a beautiful instrument. A bit finicky to tune, but that might be my novice ears and not the instrument itself. Wolfgang seems very nice. Lead time is…

Oh I really like that watch too! It is pricey though.

Got a good deal through a webshop named UhrInstinct. Was a little worried to not shop in a physical shop, but my experience was great, offical Junghans card and all. Not an endorsement, just my n=1 experience !

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#922
post #397
post #385

Got an Ooni pizza oven. Not quite as useful during lockdown as I might have hoped but it's given us something to do in the garden, and I can't wait to take it camping and to festivals. https://ooni.com/ I've really ended up liking my Moonlander keyboard. I wasn't initially sold onsplit keyboards at all, and it's taken me a while to end up with a layout I'm happy with, but I've just about caught up on typing speed and…

I have been interested in the Moonlander keyboard. What were some of the edge cases for you that made it more difficult to use than a traditional keyboard, and how long did it take you to get up to speed typing?

I've found that I only really use two of the four keys on each thumb cluster, I suppose that's one disappointment, but I've just not found any modifiers worth the lateral movement. The main issues I've had are mostly self-inflicted, by repeatedly tweaking things and breaking muscle memory. I have no fundamental complaints, the only hardship at this point is that I can't always remember what symbol is above which number key. My current layout isn't particularly wild, I'm not a big fan of using multiple layers in normal operation, for example:

https://configure.zsa.io/moonlander/layouts/l79Bz/latest/0

With the ortholinear layout I've found moving P to the second row really nice, and you'll note I've squeezed the number keys inwards a bit. The central keys where I've got -/= and DEL/Backspace are important choices and I'm happy where I've settled. I've found this layout very friendly to my wrists and pinkies, and I'm comfortably back up to 90-100WPM. Takes some tweaking having space and shift the same thumb key on the right and I don't _love_ pressing the same key twice in a row to separate sentences.

Obviously these things are quite personal - I was looking for something Emacs friendly that didn't require thumb contortions for Alt keys. I had tried the X-Bows previously and found it an absolute disaster (don't put Enter next to Backspace, I'm far too clumsy). I've also settled on the toughest, clickiest switches because I only rest my hands on the keyboard and found I was typing by accident on every other keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#923
post #248

Instant pot. This thing is magical, everything taste so fucking good in it. I bought a crockpot and never used it, but the instant pot was a game changer for me: ramen, couscous, stews, etc. The meat tastes so good when cooked there, vegetables are the same.

They are awesome for cooking rice too! Use the Bain Marie method so it doesn't stick to the bottom:

https://www.copymethat.com/r/xCCh2x0Bi/pip-pressure-cooker-s...

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#925

Tech: Dell U3219Q -- 4k 32" display, USB C power delivery, builtin KVM switch to go between HDMI/USB3 and USB C, running it at a 1x resolution for a 3800x2000 logical display. It's pricey, but I can do one monitor on this and be happy. Not Tech: Rene Herse Rat Trap Pass/Nachez Pass super supple wide tires for my tandem. Boosted the average speed by ~1+mph (~16mph to 17+ mph) (with the same stoker) over 2-3 hr rides,…

I bought the 34" curved Dell monitor (U3419W) with the KVM switch built in and I am very happy with it. Dell's Mac support is pretty bad but being able to hook 3 computers upto the monitor works very well. I use usb-c, HDMI and display port. I found a command line tool for mac that sends the correct command codes to the monitor to make it even easy to switch machines. My one laptop has the touchbar and it is easy to…

I've used Dell Ultrasharp monitors with Mac and Linux for more years than I care to remember, and I've never had any trouble with them. I'm not even clear what Mac support means in the case of a monitor.

(though, early on I had to configure modelines for the 20" widescreens on X. I think ubuntu 8.04 fixed that for good.)

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#926
post #913
post #322

OP-Z as well as a few other teenage engineering devices. Never ending musical fun. Learning curves such that you'll never get bored. Also an OB-4, lots of people say it's an over priced toy, it's not.. it. sounds. Incredible. Incredible! I love Teenage Engineering. Also my Wabi bike, if you're into bikes, get a Wabi (trust me). It's an extremely well thought about bike, the geometry is perfectly between track and roa…

A friend and I bought one and… it’s too limiting. We wish we had bought the op-1. We also got the pocket operators and these were fun.

Interesting, I have an OP-1 and an OP-Z and the OP-Z is for sure less limiting than the OP-1. That said they're not really the same device for the same thing, so I'd say it might not be that it's too limiting and more you bought the wrong thing for what you wanted to do?

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#927
post #17

- Noise-cancelling headphones (Sony 1000X-M3) are totally saving the rest of my productivity in home office. (The bluetooth does not work with my current Linux version, but I will not update that until my work is done just in case something else stops working. It does however work with my 10-year-old Nokia phone. But hey, there is an audio cable which also works fine. The next time I will probably buy Bose, but only…

For everyone working from home without a dedicated office I can only recommend getting some lamps/LED stripes etc. A great method to effectively change the whole atmosphere of a room and distinguish between working place and living room.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#928

A very basic but effective home gym: A barbell and 140kg of bumper plates, Squat/bench stands, bench, slam ball, dumbbells and a small range of kettlebells. The whole thing cost about the equivalent of a year's gym membership but have lasted two years so far and show no sign of wear. Being able to lift something heavy on a regular basis over the last year has been a massive boost for my mental and physical health. Yo…

The prices of weight plates in the UK have gone nuts. Now over £3/kg for second hand plates.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#930
post #783

A walking pad for under my (ikea adjustable height) desk. I try to walk a minimum of 30 minutes on it in the afternoon, and it surprisingly works really well with reading, typing and mouse movements. High concentration work is harder, but I don't have that anyway in the afternoon :D.

I've been interested in the idea of a treadmill to walk while at my standing desk as well. Can you share details on the one you have?

I bought a Flow Fitness DTM100i Walkingpad. Nice thing is that it can fold in half, and has wheels to easily place it under your desk and remove it again.

The app is really crappy, and I wasn't able to connect it to my phone. But the pad itself does its job so I'm happy about it.

I mostly do 3.5 km/h, you can go faster than that, but then it becomes more difficult to really get work done.

The following article really inspired me to take the step: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-prod...

Post reply on HN