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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?

#721

Post by hawski »

adamredwoods wrote: post #682
hawski wrote: post #601

Disclaimer: I'm generally cheap. Pilot G2 pen - I bought it after someone recommended it and it is indeed a pleasure to write with it. Ryzen 5 2400G - it has a good enough GPU to play some nice games with Steam Proton. In future I would like to make a Mini-ITX build for it. Canon EOS M100 with pan cake lens - it's almost as small as a compact, but has big APS-C sensor. I bought a used body. I noticed lately how my ol…

Nice. Years ago I bought an old Sony Rx-100 Gen 1 because I wanted a good camera that I didn't mind if it got stolen or broken, and it was a great purchase. The Rx-100 had a nice large 1-inch cmos that could pick up great dynamic variations. I'm ready to move up now, was looking at the Sony a6000 but I will look at this one, too.

I can add that I'm not much of a photographer, but it started to interest me with possibilities. It has very nice interface with a touchscreen - it is very intuitive (i.e. touch to focus on specific part, pinch to zoom in the gallery). But I think that most things can still be done via buttons. One thing that I don't like in the UI/UX department is that after I've done an update of the firmware I no longer see names of various modes. At least you can see the name of the current mode when you turn it on. But after a while you get used to it.

I plan to buy a telephoto lens to it some day, but I'm good as it is.

I liked this review of the body+lens combo I have: https://www.dpreview.com/opinion/0877988578/traveling-light-...

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

#722

Post by fshee »

I've purchased three Helix PCBs from Little Keyboards. Incredibly friendly people, easy to get ahold of whether is on Discord or through email. No issue with putting the keyboards together that wasn't user error. QMK has been a joy to use.

Keyboard for home, work, girlfriend's place. Colemak support everywhere.

https://www.littlekeyboards.com/collections/helix-pcb-kits

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

#724

Post by codemac »

dageshi wrote: post #312

Futon, for sleeping on. Used to wake up in the middle of the night with agonising cramp in my back, it reduced it by maybe 95%. Granted a new good bed might have achieved the same but I don't think I'd ever go back to a bed at this point.

What futon?

I found the same effect just by giving up spring beds. I now sleep on latex, but did the foam thing for a while (T&N used to have an 8" bed I loved).

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

#725

Post by oezi »

fred92 wrote: post #678

Finally caved and bought myself a light down jacket ( https://www.rei.com/product/154226/rei-co-op-650-down-jacket... ) initially for hiking but as it turns out there is a reason you see so many people wearing these in the bay area. It is perfect for cool/windy bay-area/SF evenings. Have been wearing it almost every day for the past year. Also a robot vacuum. I didn't think it would work for me but I started forming…

I can second the down jacket (without arms). I bought one 10 years ago in Ireland and my kids refer to it as my Lord Sir jacket even though it is really a jacket for farmers working in a light drizzle. Definitely +1

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

#726

Post by real-dino »

Yamaha Reface CP: I can't believe how pleasurable this whole package is to play. Synth snobs look down, there are more versatile alternatives, and it as it looks like a toy, but the keys are amazing, the sound is amazing, and it runs off batteries through built in speakers. No setup required. It's one of the first bits of music tech I got that actually helps write music. Looking at a Little Martin next as if the gear snobs were wrong about 88 key hammer action, maybe they are wrong about solid top jumbo acoustic guitars.

M1 MacBook Air: The hype is real. I've only managed to get this thing hot to the touch once, battery life for days, and living off grid, my 12V battery never runs dry. My work Intel MacBook, the most expensive one they do on the other hand, crashes constantly, drains over 90W of juice, and does so even more when connected to an external display.

Dr Bronner's Magic Soap: Dissolve the liquid in a foaming hand dispenser, or use the bar soap and it lasts for months!

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

#727

Post by nwsm »

sharken wrote: post #701

The Samsung HW-Q950T soundbar with it's 9.1.4 channels of awesome sound. https://www.samsung.com/dk/audio-devices/soundbar/9-1-4-ch-s... It's far from a perfect product, eARC is broken on many TVs, rear speakers sometime turn off on their own. But when it works it sounds fantastic. I should also mention the Avforums where owners discuss this rather complex piece of hardware and how to get the most from it, that has b…

These systems look great, and I'm casually in the market. Wireless aux speakers + bluetooth connection for phones is basically what I'm looking for (on top of great sound obviously).

Right now I have an older Vizio set which has served me well, and I've been checking out Sonos lately.

Would the A be worth the extra $500? I'll use it for TV/movies via HDMI Arc, music via bluetooth (yes I know I shouldn't use BT), and vinyl via RCA/aux.

edit: It actually looks like there is no RCA/aux. I could use optical I guess.

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

#728

Post by penguin_booze »

tomtheelder wrote: post #566
shireboy wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I would like to throw in a strong rec for carbon steel. I was (and to a degree still am) a big cast iron guy, but I find that these days I use my carbon steel pans much, much more frequently. They share many of the benefits of cast iron in terms of durability, oven safety, high temp cooking, natural non-stick, etc. However they can be much, much lighter and their heating properties make them superior for many, and I…

I'm a recent member of the carbon steel club, and I like it so far. I'm really loving the carmelization on my cheese omlette!

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

#729

Post by gaws »

spike021 wrote: post #532

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.

> Two trips to Japan.

What are some good recommendations for a first-time visit to Tokyo?

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

#730

Post by nlh »

Electronics:

We moved into a free-standing house (in SF) from an apartment and for the first time in my adult life, security became something I had to think about.

I bought 3x Arlo cameras -- a doorbell cam and 2x 4K cams to cover our patio & driveway, and I have to say, it's one of the best hardware purchases I've ever made. I never thought myself to be a "worried about home security" guy, but it's REALLY been great to have these.

First, I get to watch the raccoons come by at night and wander through our yard, which is funny and fascinating :)

Second, I get instant notifications when a delivery person is approaching so I can go greet them and they don't even have to ring the doorbell, and

Third, it provides actual security. A homeless dude parked himself in front our garage a few weeks ago and settled in with his crack pipe (Welcome to SF everyone!), and I quickly and politely got on the remote audio (from overseas!), said "Please leave the area" in my most authoritative and polite voice, and he got up, waved in the universal "sorry, didn't think anyone would notice" way, and all was fine.

Non-electronics:

I've rediscovered my love for numismatics lately and I just bought an 1883 Morgan dollar, toned in proof 63 and man oh man does that bring me joy.

If you're a coin nerd, you know what that all means. If not, it's a gorgeous colorful piece of handheld art in form of a silver dollar that the US mint produced in 1883 specifically for collectors, and it's stunningly beautiful (and was entirely out of reach for me when I was a 10 y/o and first got into coins).

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