Eye Mask - I sleep so much better and longer with one on. I recommend one that doesn't sit on your eyes directly (has a bit of concavity).
May I ask why you don't manage to make your room completely dark instead of wearing a mask?
Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
101–110 of 428 posts
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#102Two things: 1. Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 Bluetooth speaker. Compact and very loud, also has good battery life. Handy on hikes and similar. The waterproofing is excellent and I use it in the shower to listen to podcasts, etc. 2. Sony WH1000MX4 Bluetooth headphones. I was skeptical in getting a full set of headphones as I always preferred earphones. These things have amazing sound quality and noise cancelation which m…
My big gripe with Sony headphones is the touch interface. It's just not very good, triggers accidentally and is awkward to use intentionally (and gloves are out). I wish I'd bought the equivalent Bose headset (they cost the same) with physical controls. Sound and NC wise they're great though, I've never slept better on a flight.
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#10320$ nokia 105 that replaced my smartphone.
Why did you choose this particular model?
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#104- A sneaker cleaner kit, to keep my sneakers clean with no effort.
- A 15000 lux day lamp, because my apartment is pretty dark, why causes some sort of depressing feelings over time
- A Brita Water Filter Pitcher, which replaces all the bottles of water I needed to buy and carry.
- Magnet app (mac OS) to organize windows quickly with keyboard shortcuts.
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#105A webcam I bought for a girl who had no money to spare and lived abroad, so that we could see eachother regularly. We eventually became a couple and moved together.
I have a similar story about buying a parking space in a garage near my place when I lived downtown because my then girlfriend was always bothered by trying to find parking. It worked pretty well, now she's my wife.
Best $40 / month I ever spent.
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#106A white noise machine -- our bedroom overlooks a busy street, so there's constantly random noises in the middle of the night. Big improvement in sleep quality!
We got a Dohm Classic, but you can just get an app for your phone if you like.
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#107For voice recordings - Izotope RX8 elements. Found it for $9 right now. Aggravating mouth noises be gone. Magnetic charging cables. Some can't take advantage of the higher speed charging (only connecting V+ and ground), but it's unreasonably nice to have cables throughout the house that can support all of your devices. A comfortable mouse with enough buttons. A comfortable keyboard that just works, even if you don't…
Any good mice you could recommend? I used to use a Razer Naga during my MMO days and I've really missed the side button array, but I found myself replacing them way too often (they'd wear out and start double clicking in just 6 months on average).
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#108What a great question! * A very long USB-C cable from an Apple store. I get jealous looks when I break it out to charge my phone. * Scented candles from Aldi. It's such a quality of life boost to have the place smelling nice. They last ages and cost nothing. * A creme brulee hand blowtorch. Surprisingly useful! Excellent for lighting aforementioned candles instantly, without burning your knuckles. * A real P3 respira…
Often a real P3 respirator has a valve to prevent fogging with doesn't filter what you exhale though so you're not helping the pandemic.
It's not ideal of course, but I don't think it's fair to say I'm not helping. Almost nobody wears a mask that truly filters what they exhale - their main functions are to trap moisture and stop you projecting droplets with your voice. My mask does capture a lot of moisture, as evidenced by the condensation inside, and the valve redirects my exhalation sideways, so I think that's likely at least as good as the cheapy surgical-style masks which are common.
Also, I tend to take the view that the best tool available to me to not spread Covid is to not catch Covid. It's apparent to me that relying on the people around me to wear masks and be sensible is not a viable strategy for avoiding transmission events. When the prevailing attitude is that the pandemic is over, I do not feel it is selfish to protect myself to the best of my ability.
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#109A vacuum insulated water bottle. It reminds me to drink more water and it stays cold the entire day.
I was chronically dehydrated for much of my life because I can't tell when I'm thirsty - my mouth doesn't send me the right signals. About 8 years years ago I bought a 48-oz Nalgene bottle which I fill up in the morning. It's big so I have a constant visual reminder right there on my desk in front of me, and I have no problems finishing it off and often refilling it in the early evening. It's absolutely improved my health.
Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?
#110An electric toothbrush and floss. Brushing with a regular toothbrush doesn’t give me the clean/fresh feeling my electric toothbrush does. The model I have was maybe $25 or $30. Using the electric toothbrush and flossing before bed every night, I feel like in my morning my mouth actually still feels fine. Of course I would never start my day without brushing, but my mouth doesn’t feel icky when I wake up in the mornin…
Brushing after breakfast, rather than before, is recommended for maximum cleanness.
If you only brush once a day, brush last thing before bed.