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Ask HN: Your most useful purchase of under $100 in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Your most useful purchase of under $100 in 2018?

#32
post #18

A minimal laptop bag (Tomtoc). Switching from the big Swissgear backpack forced me to stop lugging multiple devices, dongles, keyboards, etc. Better for my back and better for my focus. A (under $50 refurb) Apple Magic Keyboard 2. I was always struggling with muscle memory on different keyboard layouts so having something that's 95% identical to my MBP keyboard helped a lot. Linode $5/month servers. Couldn't be happi…

Oh another - a Radtech "ScreenSavrz" - a screen-sized microfiber cloth that goes between my MacBook Pro's screen and keyboard when it goes in the bag. It looks ridiculous but it keeps those little key rub prints off the screen which I can't stop noticing whenever they're on the screen.

Oh another - a $100 iTunes gift card for $75 then splurged on a few pricier paid iPad apps, subscriptions, and IAPs that I wouldn't normally buy.

Re: Ask HN: Your most useful purchase of under $100 in 2018?

#33
post #23

$20 foam roller. As someone who lifts weights, runs long distance, but also sits at a desk for 8+ hours a day, my body gets so incredibly tight by the end of the day. As soon as I get home I spend 20-30 minutes working on mobility from my neck down to my ankles. The foam roller helps a lot with that. It's painful but I feel so much better after.

What mobility program (if any) do you follow? Definitely been feeling a lot of tightness lately, but not sure where to begin with the foam roller.

I recommend Limber 11 to get started: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/limber-11-the-only-lower-bo...

Eventually you'll need to fine tune the program according to your needs. Becoming A Supple Leopard is basically the encyclopedia for mobility programs/exercises: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-2nd-Performan...

Re: Ask HN: Your most useful purchase of under $100 in 2018?

#34

$85 cordless impact driver (Ryobi) has been my new favorite tool by far. It doesn't do everything a standard drill can do (i.e. drill...) but it is far superior for driving stubborn screws and bolts in and out, especially when they are beginning to strip! It is easier to hold since you do not need to counter the torque continuously like you do with a regular drill. Plus it makes a fun hammering noise which makes me f…

If you are primarily driving screws into dense material, such as framing lumber, without first drilling a pilot hole, than an impact driver is indispensable. It will save much frustration, screws and bits.

Re: Ask HN: Your most useful purchase of under $100 in 2018?

#37
post #11
post #8

$25 RTL-SDR dongle to sate intellectual curiosity about radio $5 / mo // $ 60 / yr digital ocean droplets for intellectual curiosity about web dev Not exactly within budget but ~$400 gym membership (from Costco.. so, factor in the amortized cost of that, too, I guess) for 24 hr fitness for 2 years - going to the gym has been a HUGE game-changer for me. Never really did it before with any discipline, and already withi…

Can you recommend any specific RTL-SDR dongle?

I bought the one that RTL-SDR.com sells with the dipole antenna kit (see: https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/). They make a good point about avoiding counterfeit dongles, plus I'd like to support them for making a useful centralized resource.
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