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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?

#531

Post by ryukafalz »

This is more a subscription than a purchase, but: signed up for my city's bikeshare program. I hadn't ridden a bike in years and had never commuted with one, so it's taking some time to get used to it, but one of the roads in my city has been shut down to cars since the beginning of the pandemic which has been a perfect place to practice.

Once all this is over and things start to open up more, I fully intend to start getting around the city by bike if I can't get there quickly by public transit. If I can find safe enough routes to take, that is.

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

#532

Post by spike021 »

Two trips to Japan.

Yeah, they aren't material purchases. But I made amazing memories, got incredible photos to put up in my home, and met several cool new friends (who I had to chat with using Google Translate!) that I've kept in touch with.

They were both fantastic opportunities for personal growth and learning.

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

#533

Post by vnorilo »

shireboy wrote: post #214
Jakobeha wrote: post #128

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…

Second cast iron. We use ours daily - and it's a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years. Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cleans easy. We just be sure to put a little oil on it after each use. Really the only skillet you need.

Same here. In addition I like the fact that if some of the materials get absorped in the food for some reason, it's just .. iron.

Contrast with fraying teflon (which you should immediately discard, of course) that we ought not ingest.

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

#534

Post by mattpratt »

Jakobeha wrote: post #128

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…

Aftershokz have transformed my relationship with cycling. I've always been hesitant to cycle with in ear headphones for safety reasons.

Aftershokz are perfect.

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

#535

Post by Kuinox »

tyrust wrote: post #315
nfoz wrote: post #219

Light Dims! http://www.lightdims.com/index.php Little sticky cellophane pieces, that you can put on the little LED lights on all modern electronics, so that you can still see them but they're not so bright. Because I hate being surrounded by blinkenlights that are a bit too bright and hurt my eyes in the dark.

Oh wow, this exists? Looks more efficient than my combination of duct tape, paper, and a black maker.

electrical tape is the way to go.

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

#536

Post by bredren »

shireboy wrote: post #214
Jakobeha wrote: post #128

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…

Second cast iron. We use ours daily - and it's a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years. Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cleans easy. We just be sure to put a little oil on it after each use. Really the only skillet you need.

We have a couple cast irons. When I was first introduced to them I was pretty turned off by the idea of not doing the same soap and water scrub process I do with everything else.

But handling them now is just part of the ritual.

The biggest change I’ve had since starting using them a couple years ago is moving from the ball scrubby disposable two a Chainmaile ringlet style scrubby.

Using the chain mail has a different feel it slides easier and it washes clean much easier.

I recommend checking out the chain mail style scrubbers for cast-iron.

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

#537

Post by ChrisKingWebDev »

ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #171
Jakobeha wrote: post #128

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…

What brand ear plugs do you recommend? I bought some just last week on amazon (some foam ones from Howard Leight) and it was a toss-up which were good and which were bad according to the reviews and descriptions.

I've tried just about every musician earplug on the market, including custom molded electric ones. For any amount of money, the best results I've had were with https://www.earasers.net/products/earasers. If I were to re-purchase these, I would consider the EU rated ones, which have a few extra DBs of protection.

If you aren't singing or don't need to hear your own voice as well, you can also get away with cheaper percussion earplugs like these: https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/vater-earplugs

I would say these are both good enough for the casual musicians / audience members. I would only upgrade back to electric ones if I were buying actual in ear monitors, but I doubt any of my bands will get to that point.

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

#538

Post by godfreyantonell »

glaugh wrote: post #467

Clavinova digital piano! I hated piano as a kid, largely bc of the lesson style (and plan on trying Suzuki method with my kids). I’ve played guitar (poorly) for years and I’m shocked with how (relatively) easy it is on piano to do fun improvisation or learn songs I love (Radiohead’s Videotape to start, now trying Piano Man) And digital means I can turn down the volume when kids are sleeping, use as a midi controller,…

Does it have weighted keys? Do you have a link to the model you purchased?

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

#540

Post by andrewzah »

ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #171
Jakobeha wrote: post #128

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…

What brand ear plugs do you recommend? I bought some just last week on amazon (some foam ones from Howard Leight) and it was a toss-up which were good and which were bad according to the reviews and descriptions.

I recommend etymotic research ones. They cut frequencies more uniformly. The typical foam ones are slightly better at noise reduction, but they make everything sound incredibly muffled. I haven't had issues with any particular brand of foam ones though, if just cutting out noise is your goal.

The best would be custom molded earplugs, but those are fairly expensive.

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