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Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

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

#971
Nikon FE2. Wonderful little(-ish) SLR that still produces better images than my smartphone. This camera, and I suppose film photography in general, has led me to set down and eventually sell my DSLR out of disuse.

I ended up picking up a Sony A7III, which is technically a very excellent camera, but when I want to have a little more fun, I always reach back for the Nikon.

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

#972

Cold climate mini-split heat pumps * I live in northern New England and used to heat exclusively with wood in the winter time. Very cozy, but hard to maintain a consistent temp throughout the house. The new cold-climate models can operate at 100% capacity down to an ambient temp of -13F outdoors. One in each bedroom, the living area, and home office makes it easy to dial in the optimal temp for the space. No more loa…

Whole-house centralized variable speed heat-pump with zones is actually the most efficient way to heat/cool your home. Also better at circulating air, filtering, dehumidifying, etc. HVAC companies push multiple mini-splits these days because they're faster to install, and have better margins, even though they're technically not the best solution versus centralized air.

So if i already have duct work from an old AC I can use that duct work for something like this Mitsubishi Zuba?

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

#973
post #282

The AirPods Max have been incredible for music and Zoom calls. The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. The MacBook Air M1 really does live up to the hype. You can do all-day Zooms on this thing and still have battery to spare. This was impossible on my Intel MacBook Pro. The Air is also insanely fast. It's literally the perfect…

I’m in need of an electric car that has no touchscreens or any displays whatsoever. Just knobs, buttons, toggles, dials, gauges and levers. Why do electric cars have to look like something out of fricking Tron?

Ebike!

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

#974

Material goods: Ear plugs (silicone). Don't waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don't compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10. OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, the…

I dislike the ear plugs that I bought. I really like my noise cancelling heaphone and use it most of the day but unfortunately they are not ergonomic for sleep. 1- headphone plastic rubbing against cloth is noisy; 2- I sleep on my side and that puts unbearable pressure on the head.

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

#975

Airpods Pro. Not traditionally an apple guy so didn't expect to like them, but the guy talked us into them while we were upgrading my wife's phone. Wow. These things are just way better than any other earbuds and so much more convenient and comfortable than headphones. The Bluetooth just works even when switching between my Android and MacBook. The noise cancelling is great as well, way better than my Sennheisers.

Same, I've been android for 10 years but no other noise cancelling airbuds compare in size and performances.

All the android ones look massive in your ears.

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

#978

Material goods: Ear plugs (silicone). Don't waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don't compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10. OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, the…

Yeah I order 100pc boxes of Howard Leight’s for iirc $50 or so once a year. They are awesome.

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

#979

Unlikely to get upvoted here but a used Porsche Panamera with an extended bumper-to-bumper manufacturer warranty. As Doug Demuro says it's cheap, really cheap. There's not a single brand new car costing, say, 75 K EUR or less that I'd have rather than that because the quality simply ain't there. The ride comfort, soundsystem, sound insulation, interior quality, how it drives superbly (and can yet be used for some spi…

new Camrys cost 75k in Europe?

You joke but I’m with you. A solid Toyota does the A to B thing in reasonable comfort! Not sure why I need a Porsche.

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

#980

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…

I bought a squat rack, barbell, 280lbs in plates all from Titan Fitness. It's the perfect match between cost and premium. It has it's blemishes, but it's much cheaper than Rogue. I'm doing a PPL split for about 8 month and lost a lot of weight but also got a lot stronger.
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