Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?

178 pointslllllll0519 comments

An obvious one might be a new car (e.g., Tesla), or a house that you improved your quality of life.

What other purchases might be worth considering?

Automated cat infrastructure: automatic USB water fountain[0], food dispenser[1], Litter Robot 3[2] (as of recently, with a homebrew controller[3]).

These allow me a good four days of absence from the house - for camping or whatever else. Doesn't happen often that both the wife and I are MIA, but when it does, these things are indespensable.

[0]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WGLYV22/

[1]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIXRB6O/

[2]: https://www.litter-robot.com/litter-robot-3.html

[3]: https://litter-controller.smaslennikov.com/

I second this. It’s an incredible time saver. I don’t do the powered water fountain anymore though. The last two filled with a disgusting bio film in the pump that was nearly impossible to clean and is unhealthy for the cat. I had to dump both. You need to clean them super regularly. Easier to just use a bowl and swap it out every few days. Or a large bowl when we go on a trip.

The problem with bowls is that cats love love love running water. Stale water is super gross for them, so they’ll only drink out of it if there is no other option. Our cat refuses to drink from anything but her fountain.

So you automated your cat! This reminds the automaticon nanny from the Ted Chiang's book.

The litter robot looks good but for 500 dollars I think I'll stick to manual scooping the litter

I was considering getting the robot until my wife got these sifting litter box trays. They come in three layers, with one being for filtration. To recycle litter, you dump the old litter into the filtration tray. This filters litter through while leading solids behind. Throw the solids away into a garbage bag. Done.

No scooping. Takes 30 seconds. $15/set.

I wonder if you've noticed any change in your cats behaviour towards you as a result of this? People often claim that cats only like their humans because they're the ones who feed them etc

Now I know why my girlfriend's cat was such a little prick, swiping me in the face and drawing blood. She had an automatic feeder.

Cats are easier to deal with thanks to our auto feeder

Those claims are false. Cats are very affectionate creatures. They are not dogs and you shouldn't expect them to behave like dogs. They are not all the same and not all of them are cuddly (especially if they are not taught to share affection via touch since a young age) but if someone says that cats only like people who feed them, then I have to disagree based on my experience raising more cats than _most_ people.

However, I do concede that sharing food is an easy way to form a bond with an animal (including our very own species).

Litter robot 3 owner here... take note, the company's tech support ain't at all as it should be. My partner got the device, I'm responsible for its running.

Had issues and tried to interface with their tech support. Unless you email with the person's email that bought it - nothing. Then when you email them with that person's email - nothing.

There are a number of systemic issues that I think can be fixed either in firmware (which I guess they don't believe in updating) and/or a hardware upgrade kit (which I'm willing to buy - if I felt that they understood the issues.)

In this day and age, not allowing easy community access to root out issues is just not excusable. They need to spend more on updating their site for honest feedback and less on the advertising that they have been up to of late.

High quality floor standing speakers, although I would say the average person can get almost the same QOL improvement from $500 bookshelf speakers.

I use them for music, movies/TV, watching videos on YouTube including technical ones, and even occasionally video conferencing.

Wearing headphones for more than 30 minutes is fatiguing and uncomfortable for me. Listening to people's voices on tiny laptop or iPad speakers is even more annoying.

Hearing the bass and midrange in people's voices makes them more intelligible, particularly if they have an accent. It's just 100% more pleasant all around.

And this is purely an aesthetic thing, but it's crazy to me that people seem to listen to music through their phone speaker, let alone their laptop speaker... to me it's unrecognizable.

----

Most people seem to be using the bluetooth speakers these days, which ~10 years ago were extremely bad IMO. Admittedly I found one that is pretty good recently.

But I still think it's very much worth it to have real speakers with drivers, speaker wire, and an amplifier in your home. (Or a powered speaker, although your options are more limited there, and it's more expensive.)

For traveling the right bluetooth speaker can be alright (there are many bad ones), but after a week of traveling my ears are "relieved" when I get to hear real audio again.

----

Also: a single kettlebell for ~$45, which I almost think of as a stretching/circulation device, and a bicycle used for 10+ years.

Which speakers did you buy and which would you recommend for someone that feels overwhelmed by the entire industry?

Not the GP, but I really like the Polk LSiM 707 I picked up during clearance a year ago.

Yeah that's a good question, because it is incredibly hard to wade through all the BS in the industry. The average consumer definitely pays more for "style" and "prestige", and the companies respond in kind with a lot of BS.

I've owned a pair of Ohm Walsh 1000 speakers since 2014, and used them basically every day, and couldn't be happier. Along with a Marantz receiver with an integrated amp.

https://ohmspeaker.com/

This company basically makes one kind of speaker (omnipolar) and has been refining the design for ~50 years:

https://lobste.rs/s/nt9kfo/writing_software_last_50_years#c_... (comment by me, 9 months ago)

If you have the space for floor standing speakers, I wholeheartedly recommend them. The sellers are very honest and will recommend the right size for your room. I did buy them without hearing them, so I get why people are reluctant to buy speakers. (They have a generous money back guarantee.) I've visited many audio stores in person, and it's not a great alternative. There are too many variables and I don't like to engage too much with salesmen.

I bought them mainly for music, but they reproduce voices better than anything I've heard, which is good not only for music, but for lectures and even video conferencing! A lot of speakers and headphones lack midrange, and that is where a lot of the information in human voices is. It's just more comfortable to listen to.

Also, you can turn them up really loud, and it doesn't hurt you ears. The speakers which have a lot of flashy treble and bass sound good in the store, but you get fatigued over 30 or 60 minutes, and you have to turn them down. These speakers can be turned up comfortably.

----

If you want something smaller, there are also lots of good deals for bookshelf speakers -- you shouldn't need to spend more than $300 to $600. The amp is sometimes a problem but I've used some tiny $100 amps to good effect too.

But yes unfortunately there is a ton of BS to wade through. I got this recommendation from Don Lindich, a newspaper columnist for consumer audio. He also recommended me Mirage speakers way back in the day, which I loved as well. These are all omnipolar speakers -- they have an open sound that brings to life the information in stereo recordings. I listen to rock / metal / pop / hip-hop on them, and they're very good for jazz / classical (perhaps a more typical use, but they're not limited to that).

Adding to that: a good amplifier that works well with the speakers. It took me a while to find one I liked (in my case it was an old Harman/Kardon PM645 Vxi, you can find it on ebay for under $200).

I've got second Soundcore Motion+ and going to sell my bookshelf (Kef Q15) speakers. The sound is amazingly good and I don't have much space for bookshelves ATM.

My parents wanted to buy me a special gift for my 21st birthday (more than they would usually spend). I didn't want a watch, so I asked for speakers.

I think we spent about £300, including an amplifier, 14 years ago, at the local hifi shop.

Re headphones: is it possible you haven’t found a pair that fits well?

I’ve tried many many (highly rated) cans over the years and most hurt my years after some time. But now I have Bose QC and the way they fit around my ears without touching them is awesome. I wear them constantly even without audio playing. It’s almost a comfort object now lol.

Well the physical comfort isn't really the main issue, but yeah I guess I don't like having something resting on my ears for more than say 30-60 minutes at a time.

I would flip it on its head: Why headphones? To me the only advantages of headphones are (1) not disturbing people near you and (2) traveling. For everything else I would use speakers!

The other things I don't like are:

- the cable following me around, especially if I'm mobile (and that applies to ear buds too).

- the feeling of being cut off from sounds around me.

- Admittedly a niche complaint, but for music: I don't like the stereo imaging of headphones. Compared to good speakers, it's an unnatural stereo field -- although I realize not everyone is sensitive to that. Depends what you listen to as well.

the problem with speakers - which I love - is that they don't live well with a microphone as two separate peripherals.

How did you solve this?

Good point, that's another reason to use headphones -- if you're also using a microphone!

There's no way to really solve this! I think there are some hacks, but the music and TV pro solution is to use in-ear monitors.

Good thread where someone suggests using monitors to reduce fatigue on video conference:

https://twitter.com/samuelmehr/status/1309672535190102016

I haven't tried it, but it makes a lot of sense. Knowing how loud your own voice relative to others' is seems like a key benefit.

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I use speakers to listen to lectures and podcasts, and it's 100% a win IMO, but yeah they don't work well if your voice also has to be recorded unfortunately ...

Try comfy over ear half open cans like the DT880 i linked in my reply to GP

My friend has those. I haven’t tried them for extended periods, but I remember the material being soft to touch. The thing that gets me about the Bose, I think, is the cups are ovular which matches the war better. But maybe that’s corrélation not causation.

As an owner of two pair (3-way & 5-way) of Backes & Müller active speakers with Dynamic-Membrane-Control (https://www.backesmueller.de/en/b-m-technology.html). I urge you to try a pair of good half-open Headphones. I use these: https://global.beyerdynamic.com/dt-880-edition.html

Their half-open build improves mid and bass reproduction, compared to fully open cans.

A revelation for me, can wear them all day, no cutoff from outside. Gave them to my mother to test them, she was amazed too. All parts replaceable. Made in Germany. There are is even a low resistance version, if you want to save battery on the go: https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-Premium-32-Over-Ear-Ster...

I have a power speaker that goes on a big tripod, but I only use it for Karaoke or when I need to crank loud music outside.

The JBL Flip 4 I have used for just casual music in the garden.

I'm using same JBL bluetooth speaker for my laptop for everything, I use it all the time, now when on Linux BL sometimes stops working automagically, I can't believe that I was using laptop builtin speakers, before I've got that JBL speaker.

If you object to headphones, and don't want the expense of floor standing speakers, the Jabra Speak 510 has been handy for me when WFH. Great audio and mic.

https://www.jabra.co.uk/business/speakerphones/jabra-speak-s...

1. Apple Watch Series 5 w/GPS:

- Surprisingly, my iPhone Xs battery lasts longer because I'm checking it less.

- Counter-intuitively, I'm spending less time on my phone because I'm less likely to get sucked into my Watch than my phone. Now I just read non-urgent messages and Dismiss them.

- I use the compass all the time now that I'm travelling[^1] in the UK and I use the compass all the time to learn the city layout. Apple Maps is still crappy on the Watch compared to Google Maps on iPhone, but because my Watch vibrates before every important turn, I have less navigation anxiety.

- I feel safer walking in the city because I don't have to hold my phone in my hand.

2. Macbook Pro 16":

It was f*cking expensive, but:

- Rust compile times have come down 10x compared to my mid-2015 MBP15.

- Screen is 200% better.

- Sound is 500% better.

- Keyboard is 200% better.

- Track Pad is way better.

...hate the Touch Bar, though :).

- [^1] If you are a professional dev in London, hit me up for a beer, esp. if you write Clojure for a living.

(PS. @dang please can we have list formatting support?)

My mbp 2012 is very slow when used to compile stuff these days, and struggles to build react projects and docker images. So I built a small server out of secondhand parts to offload those tasks away from my old laptop.

Using vscode's remote development support (which lets you mount a remote machine in the editor as well as doing port forwarding), there is almost no change to my usual development routine but massive improvement to build time and battery life, for ~$300 in parts. I guess I will postpone upgrading my laptop again.

This setup also works outside of my home network because I use zerotier on both the laptop and the local server, though I also configured my router to expose the server's ssh port in case I can't use zerotier for some reason. I also configured autossh to connect to my small vps server and port-forward the local server's ssh port there as an additional fallback because my isp sometime doesn't assign a public ip when the modem is restarted.

Did you open it up to clear the fans from dust?

Macbooks accumulate a lot of dust during their life, and they're not really servicing-friendly. But many people reported lower temperatures die to better cooling.

This also means longer lasting batteries and faster CPUs (because of less thermal throttling).

It won't completely resurrect your MacBook, but it might give a significant performance boost (and lower the operating temperatures).

I agree on this. Re-pasting the cooler + clearing up the dust boosts the performance quite significantly. But beware that you need to pay attention to the rubber gasket and how it seals to the body. On the rMBP 2015 the camera cable needs to be clipped into the gasket carefully to maintain the seal.

I did opened the macbook several times to replace the disk, ram and the battery and I always clean the dust from the fan surface, but I never considered opening the fan and reapply the thermal paste. Maybe I'll do that later when I have some extended downtime.

Yeah it's bettes to plan it. Get some good paste like Arctic or something like that.

Seconded. Bought the new MacBook Pro and paired with Better Touch Tools using it is straight ecstasy. I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve learned a good dev environment helps so much with enjoying side projects. Does slowly make me hate my Windows 10 work PC though.

Kindle - had one or another model for many years, but in terms of utility to price ratio, it's still one of the highest.

Youtube Premium - I realized I was spending a ton of time on Youtube, both for education, entertainment and podcasts. Removing the annoyance of ads and not being able to just listen to a video while out walking is worth it to me.

Got FireHD 10" for (Kindle) books and comics, it's quite nice.

I agree 101% on Kindle. Bought mine (Oasis 2) 3 years ago and since then the amount of books I read skyrocketed. Absolutely worth every penny.

For those who don't want to fund youtube, Youtube Vanced is a hacked version of the official client that provides all the features for free (no root required), and there are also various open source clients available.

I am completely seriously asking and 100% ignorant - isn't there a risk of getting your account banned? I assume Google can detect this, and also know who you are (since it's on Android)?

Isn't youtube without ads exactly the business model we should be encouraging?

People are really vocal about being perfectly ok with paying for ad-free products and not pirating, until the exact moment they actually have to fork out money.

I was a youtube premium subscriber. They kept banning political youtubers, which is out of line with my values, so I quit being a subscriber.

I absolutely agree with the paying for no ads model, as I really, really like that model. The premium subscription was totally worth it, and the app with ads can be truly unbearable in comparison (but not so unbearable that I'm going to start paying them again).

YouTube Premium still requires you to create a Google account and accept their ToS & privacy policy and provide them with validated personal & billing information.

I am personally not comfortable with this and would rather have absolutely no business relationship with such a company. I’m using an Invidious (https://github.com/iv-org/invidious) instance instead.

Would you be willing to pay extra for privacy? Seems like that could be a business model.

I wonder if the VPPA applies to Youtube?

I'm absolutely in favour of paying extra for privacy. However, it has to come from a company that I am willing to trust.

Google is an advertising company at its core and its bottom line relies on knowing as much about people as possible so that they can target better ads, thus I do not want to have any kind of business relationship with them. Their efforts to force users to opt into tracking (like dark patterns and the recent not-GDPR-compliant consent prompt) suggest me to steer well clear.

If they spin off YouTube as its own company, with its own account system (independent from Google) and ToS (that do not include anything regarding tracking - as it stands to sign up for YouTube Premium you do still need to agree to Google's ToS and privacy policy) I will definitely reconsider, but as it stands it is a hard no.

I'd pay for YouTube Premium if it was just ad-free, and didn't bundle Red and Music. I'd easily pay 5$CAD/month for it, but at 15$CAD, it's a fairly steep price, and still doesn't remove all pop-ups and such.

Vanced provides the YouTube I want, I'd pay it that was available.

I would encourage creators to run their own in-video ads (avoiding unethical tracking) and collect funds directly from viewers (i.e. Patreon). This seems to be a much more stable way of collecting income, and doesn't expose them to the whims of YouTube's demonetization system.

God bless you

I also use Youtube on Chromecast, and my phone. It's just easier to pay than to try to hack all different devices.

This, even assuming only your own devices. Now throw the technology unsavvy family's devices into the mix and then YouTube Premium becomes a no brainer.

I would very much like to set up a pi-hole but the moment something goes wrong pitchforks will be pointed at me.

Related: i really like the "Enhancer for youtube" extension for Firefox, which also removes ads...

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/enhancer-for-...

Totally agree on both. If you're going to get a Kindle, I recommend the Oasis--it's so much better than the other ones and worth the money if you read a decent amount. The yellow backlight is much easier on the eyes than the blue one.

Really? I'm surprised that you think the Oasis is worth the higher price considering just how much higher that price is.

What other reasons would you recommend it for?

It’s water resistant which is very useful for me. I also like the physical buttons for changing the page— I often disable the touch screen so I don’t accidentally change the page and appreciate having the physical control, which the Paperwhite doesn’t have. Also the screen is higher resolution so everything looks nicer.

I have had a Paperwhite for years, probably close to 10. I recently upgraded to an Oasis for my 30th birthday. It was an incredible improvement. The noticeably bigger screen is crisp and incredibly responsive. I and my wife had just gotten used to the delay of everything on the PW.

Additionally the brightness is much more fine grained in your control: there a many more brightness settings, and you can adjust it on a scale of harsh blue-white like the PW or a soft orange glow depending if you’re reading in the middle of the day or to try to abate your insomnia like I do.

I liked it so much, and my wife mentioned that she’d like one for Christmas so many times, that I just bought her one.

Slightly more friendly for sideloading books out the box; Kobo Glo HD

Its my favorite gadget.

Pretty sure kindle are better value though, and can still be hacked/sideloaded onto.

E-Ink is marvel in itself and it is disgustingly uncommon. I hope more products emerge that use them.

> Pretty sure kindle are better value though, and can still be hacked/sideloaded onto.

unfortunately toying with kindles not trivial, at least not with the latest models. last time I checked, you needed to do some hardware bypassing

Pocketbook inkpad 3 gives you more screen area and control over content while using the same screen panel

These are among my top favorite purchases too. I love my Kindle, along with QC35 headphones, I can find oasis anywhere.

And YouTube Premium is awesome, it actually makes watching YouTube a pleasant experience and it comes with YT Music.

A bidet to save on toilet paper and improvement the quality of your life. I learned about bidets from a HN post a few years ago. Any bidet is pretty good compared to nothing and they are surprisingly easy to install.

It's more hygienic

Also, buying and carrying toilet paper is not really practical.

Embarrassed to say but I use a normal toilet and sometimes I try to flush skid marks away using the shower head (from my bath-tub) in strong jet mode. However, this is often quite difficult, which makes me believe that the bidet isn't all that hygienic ...

Interesting, my bidet has much more power than my showerhead and if I'm not careful and pull the trigger to much I hurt myself.

Ok. I think hygiene depends on municipal water pressure then, unless one uses a bidet with built-in compressor.

probably.

I used to wipe the first times I used my bidet, because I didn't trust it.

Now, I don't trust toilet paper anymore.

Do note that some of those "jets" are meant for cleaning the toilet and not for hygiene. When buying one, make sure you are getting the right one. The difference is indeed in the intensity with which the jet of water is ejected from the device.

Not to be too nosy but I’ve noticed that tends to happen if you don’t have a very healthy or balanced diet. Since I’ve started eating better and making sure I’m getting enough greens and fiber it’s rarely been an issue, unless I have a few too many drinks.

Yes I appreciate your concern. I'm aware of potential causes, and I believe these issues are quite normal really, if they are not frequent.

This comment section took an unexpected turn.

My diet is terrible sometimes. I use my bidet (retrofitted toilet seat adapter) and then a quick wipe to ensure cleanliness and to partially dry my bum.

+1 for bidet.

Before you use the toilet, put in some toilet paper and everything just flushes out.

The "poo canoe".

Did you get a stand alone bidet installed in your house or is it something installed in your toilet?

Using a bidet dramatically reduces body odor. It enables naked sleeping. It enhances spontaneous adult activities.

Getting used to a bidet takes about 2 days. After that, dry wiping will seem backward, like using leaves or corn cobs.

Get a simple manual one. I use a Luxe brand bidet that I bought for $40, six years ago. It still works fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Luxe-Bidet-Neo-110-Non-Electric/dp/B0...

I use a portable bidet when I travel. It's just a squeeze bottle with a long nozzle. The nozzle stores away inside the bottle.

https://www.amazon.com/Brondell-GS-70-Portable-Convenient-Ca...

Sleeping naked without a bidet is impossible?

No, but some would say it's a bit funky spending 8 hours in a bed with a shitty ass.

"Using a bidet dramatically reduces body odor." Like, because your ass smells so intense that people can actually register it during regular activities?

Not trying to undermine your happiness about clean asses, I'm very fond of that myself but that line seems to be hyperbole.

I don't think I've ever registered someone smelling like ass save for a few bums and some very questionable types.

The seat attachment types are excellent. I installed a $50 Luxe model in one of our office bathrooms, it really was a breeze to put in, and works just great.

For reference, I have high-end Japanese units at home, and here's what an extra $1,200 buys you:

- Remote control (slower than manual)

- Heated seat (I don't care)

- Heated water ($55 models have hot connection, if you care)

- Dryer (useless, as you will wipe anyway)

- Remote-controlled jet positioning (easier to move your ass by half an inch)

- Disinfecting UV light, purified water, etc. (marketing BS)

- Nightlight (...)

Not sure if that's exactly what you mean by a bidet, but the Japanese toilets with water cleaning are the best I've encountered in that space.

The best part is rarely mentioned: this [1] is a thing of the past

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGCIGEUB32M

Ever heard of "Muslim Shower"?

This is very easy for me, I bought a Boosted Rev electric scooter last year. It cut my commute time nearly in half compared to biking to work (before covid), I don't arrive hot and sweaty in summer and in winter a helmet with a visor keeps me totally warm. It is powerful and sturdy enough that my wife and I can ride together, now that's how we get around Manhattan. All the benefits of a car + bike in a smaller package that can fold down to fit in the back of a taxi or be carried on the subway.

I've said this here before I think, but the Segway inventor was claiming cities would be designed around it and everyone was laughing, but with an electric scooter I can totally see this happening.

+1 for electric scooter: life changing for me in Paris, France => spend more time outside, travel times as fast as subway but more enjoyable, a (very little) bit of phyiscal activity, ...

I'd recommend one with removable/swappable batteries: it's very nice to be able to have 2 of them for a long day.

"IIHS researchers found that e-scooter riders sustained more injuries per mile than bicyclists and were twice as likely to be injured because of potholes, pavement cracks, lampposts, and signposts, although bicyclists were three times as likely to be hit by a motor vehicle."

https://www.consumerreports.org/electric-scooters/safety-ris...

Boosted Rev has both regenerative and mechanical disc brakes.

"The typical 15 mph stopping distance for mechanical systems is 20 feet, with the absolute best stopping power being under 10 feet."

https://electric-scooter.guide/guides/electric-scooter-brake...

If you put two people on a scooter, the stopping distance increases.

I searched online and found no data on the risk of double-riding an electric scooter. Intuitively, I expect double-riders to be 10 times more likely to get injured than single-riders. I worry for you and your wife and the people I see double-riding in SF.

Someday, US cities may be safe for scooter riding. I doubt they will ever be safe for double-riding.

> I've said this here before I think, but the Segway inventor was claiming cities would be designed around it and everyone was laughing, but with an electric scooter I can totally see this happening.

Powered (both electric and gas) scooters in the same form factor as is now becoming more popular were around before Segway; Segway’s innovation was a new form factor tied to a balance-based control system (sure, the brand later got applied to traditional-layour scooters, but that wasn't what Kamen was hyping when made his bold predictions.) The key enabling developments from the scooters before Segway to the modern electric scooters were battery improvements; the original Segway was mostly a distraction. (There are balance-based devices which owe something to it, but basically-traditional-layout scooters like Boosted Rev aren't among them.)

My wife and I both work, but our lifestyle does not require two incomes. So we've tried to find trustworthy charities to entrust my salary to. It's harder than it sounds, and we're only about 60% of the way there, but it has measurably improved the quality of life of many people - not just us.

I also "purchased" a 4-day work week, which has had a substantial impact on my own quality of life.

While not technically a "purchase", I also must say that this year, no single product even came close to the donations I made to those who protect the environment and fight climate change.

Now, every time I consider a purchase I ask myself: "do I really need this?" and if the answer is no, I forgo the purchase and donate the same amount of money instead.

This "negative consumption" turns my feelings of gloom and helplessness into a sense of purpose and power.

I can only imagine how awesome it must be to be able to donate almost a whole salary!

Can you please share some of the charities you've found to be trustworthy?

Our main causes are environment, poverty and homelessness, and disability. Most of our charities are local, such as each of the major homeless shelters in our city. Medicins Sans Frontières and Sierra Club are our two international-level charities, but I hesitate to offer endorsements. Due diligence is important when donating larger sums.

GiveWell has a really great guide for picking charities. It helped me narrow down where to direct my giving.

https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities/main

to be fair it didn't improve your quality of life MEASURABLY

The 4-day week made for 20% less work, I would say. ;)

Why not? If you'd rate your happiness or peace of mind on a scale of 1 to 10 every day, and after a donation the rating goes up, that's an empirically measurable improvement to your quality of life, much more so than a product that may make your life more convenient but you're still stressed and unhappy.

"I also "purchased" a 4-day work week, which has had a substantial impact on my own quality of life."

Can you tell me more about this? What was your strategy for bringing this up with your workplace, did you take 20% salary cut, any other adjustments?

I took a 20% salary cut. All other benefits remained the same. It's not a formal policy at my company, but I was able to negotiate a reduced schedule during my annual salary review.

I don't know that I did anything clever in the negotiation, I just raised it with my manager and we brought it to HR. Everyone was positive about the idea but unsure of how it would work in the broader scheme, including if other people would see my schedule and want to get on the 32-hour week train too. (I hope so, but I avoided saying that.)

When I say all benefits remained the same, I mean all of them. It's probably an oversight, but I continue to accrue vacation days at a rate of 20/yr - except for me, that's 5 work weeks, not 4. I've avoided pointing that out.

I did the exact same thing at my work with the same concerns of hr and the hope that all my coworkers follow my path. But everyone is much more greedy than I expected!

Having 3 days of weekends every week is just amazing on top of my regular vacations

This is such a wonderful thing to do.

Have you looked into Effective Altruism, The life you can save foundation, and/or GiveWell? They are all initiatives to make sure resources are used as effectively as possible when it comes to doing good.

Are you serious? We need more people like you. Crazy proposition. I'm the best trader out there for options. There are services which allow others to mirror my account, I am planning to set one of those up.

If you are interested, I'd let you follow my account for free, if you are willing to donate 100% of the profits it makes and pay your own fees for the required brokerages.

I have a "BahnCard 100" [1], the German national public transit flatrate. My employer pays for it in lieu of a company car. I only have to pay income taxes on it, which comes out to about 170€ (200$) a month. For that price, I can use all trains across Germany as often as I want and also get free local transit (busses, subway etc.) in 120 cities, including the one where I live.

2020 is my first year with a BC100, so due to Corona I couldn't use it that much yet, but it's kind of mind-blowing to go to a train station and just be able to hop on any train [2] whenever I feel like it, no questions asked. When Corona has blown over, I will definitely make a habit of just exploring Germany every other weekend.

[1] https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/bahncard/bahncard_100-co...

[2] There are some rare exceptions, e.g. night trains require a reservation.

A BC 100 is a pet dream of mine :D Unfortunately, as a student, the price tag is still quite a bit beyond me...

When you graduate and get a job, try asking for a BC100 in the salary negotiation. Roughly 4000€ per year is not that big of a price tag for the company, esp. since they don't have to pay Sozialversicherungsarbeitgeberanteile on it. And you only get to pay the taxes.

In Switzerland we have the equivalent called "Generalabonnament" (GA), which is quite a common thing for people to have. It's steep in price, but often time it evens out pretty quickly if you travel by train often - I have my GA since my apprenticeship about ten years ago. I looooove it, just a bit sad that during Covid train travels weren't possible as much.

One time train tickets were hideously expensive last time I was in Switzerland so this makes total sense if you live in the area.

just taxes on it comes to $2400/yr? ouch

German income taxation is rather high. But to be fair, this figure includes income tax, health insurance, nursing care insurance, pension insurance and unemployment insurance. All those insurances are tied to income level in Germany, so when you have more income or pecuniary advantage, the insurance premiums scale up accordingly.

A mountain bike. Every measure of my health has improved and I've never traveling all over to hit bike parks and trails. I've spent more time outdoors this summer than I have the last 5 years.

This. It's surprising how much it helps with job stress and depression. I can leave the house, get on the bike, come up with a solution in my head while enjoying the wind then come back repaired.

What brand? I recently got a road bike but honestly don't love it. I think I would prefer a mountain bike.

So that's the exact same story for me! I started off with a road hybrid and discovered that I liked riding in the woods much more than I did on concrete. There is a lot of skill involved in mountain biking and it's fun to learn each technique: lifts, rolls, drops, jumps, rock gardens, climbing, and turning (I didn't even know there was a specific technique to turning on dirt but it's really important).

Expect to spend about three grand for a good full squish mountain bike. I have a Rocky Mountain and I would highly recommend the brand. They are one of the best values in terms of features, weight, and quality. There are even some really good direct-to-consumer brands now like YT. For mountain biking you definitely want disc brakes, a dropper post, and around 120mm-130mm of front travel with a total weight less then 28lbs. Global Mountain biking network on YouTube is a great resource as well as local riding clubs and bike shops. Good luck!

GMBN has a couple of great videos on buying a mountain bike [0][1], but I can really recommend a direct to consumer brand such as Canyon or YT — especially if you’re not sure whether you’ll commit to the sport. You get a lot more bike for your money compared to the store brands, and you’ll have an easier time getting into the sport the better your first bike is.

The major choice to make, irrespective of brand, is what type of bike — which is dictated by the terrain you have available and would like to ride. There are subcategories, but a useful rough split would be: a cross-country (XC) bike for good pedaling performance both uphill and on the flat, but not so capable going downhill and in the rough stuff; an enduro if you want to ride rougher downhill terrain (roots, rock gardens, etc.), but still have a bike that pedals well enough up technical climbs and fire roads; and a downhill bike if you want to ride the roughest, most technical terrain, with the steepest descents, and you have access to lift-served mountains (not recommended to start with ;).

FWIW, I’ve had a such a great time riding the Canyon Torque this summer. It’s a long-travel enduro, really capable on the descents, and perfectly fine to get back to the top.

As for motivation, I would echo the sibling comment. Time in nature, good exercise, a ton of techniques to learn and master, a really sociable scene, such a rush riding tough and steep stuff. You won’t regret it.

[0]: https://youtu.be/EX1Kb6TEyn8 [1]: https://youtu.be/Y_xiq2mczX4A

I'd actually recommend buying from a local shop for your first bike, if there's a good one close by. The warranty service, plus discounts on gear and free tune ups, will be worth about as much as the discount on a DTC bike.

Giant is a good value brand. They make a lot of components in house, so you get cheaper, "good enough" handlebars etc.

In that brand, I'd recommend a used trance 29 or a new trance x 29, depending on your budget. I'm happy to talk about bikes for days!

Trek, Norco, Rocky mountain are also good value. Just about any modern trail bike is excellent.

Also consider a gravel bike. Currently, it's my favourite type of bike. You do not have to stick to paved roads, which are infested with unattentive/aggressive drivers. A gravel bike with wide enough tires is a good compromise between off-road capabilities and speed. If I had decent mtb trails near my doorstep maybe I would use the mtb more often. My road bike does not see much use anymore.

In a similar fashion: I purchased a helmet + bikeshare membership

I live in an urban environment, so I don't want to store a bike (or worry about getting it stolen). It's 1) vastly increased my footprint and appetite for checking out new areas and 2) helped me get some more exercise into my days.

Hate to say it, but iPad: I have a non-internet cell phone (still have a small data plan, just pretend I don’t) so during the day, it’s just calls and text messages (SMS or iMessage) and useful stuff like camera, music (offline) and calculator. I will turn on location data for maps if I’m traveling (so not much, especially recently)—otherwise those stay off. At night, I have an hour or 2 with the iPad, airdrop and post a few photos to social media, catch up on local news, watch a few select YouTube channels. All my internet and social media happens on the iPad that never leaves the house, and my phone is locked down and disabled as much as possible. Benefits are no tracking, no distractions, no notifications, and all my social media and video is on the larger iPad.

The tool I use the most at home: bench-mounted vise. I’ve owned a home for 15 years and try to fix everything I can myself, so I had lots of other tools (cordless everything) but never a vise until getting one as a gift. Now I clamp (almost) everything for cutting, drilling, sanding, whatever, and I don’t know how I managed before (I remember straining to hold things and getting upset when they slipped—or even injured).

CPAP machine. If you think you may have sleep apnea then get it checked out.

In-line water filter. Reduce the barrier-of-entry to drinking water however you can. Started with one of those gravity filters but having to refill it all the time was a barrier. One that's tied into mains pressure just works.

Ceiling fans. We have an evaporative cooling system which is good, but adding ceiling fans in the bedrooms and office really allow good air circulation on those hot days.

12mm flashing red LED and a magnetic switch. Stuck the magnetic switch on the garage door and the LED in the ceiling by the front door. Can now easily see if the garage door was left open.

Re Sleep: a sleep mask that is cupped as to not touch the eyes. Has been big improvement to my sleep.

If you're interested in sleep, we're building a headband that monitors sleep and alters sleep state using sound.

Here's a chart showing the effect over 8 consecutive nights (4 without, 4 with). https://imgur.com/z4vqS3w We're preparing for a larger study.

If you're keen to find our more, or get on the waitlist at https://soundmind.co

Can I beta test? I’ve tested many sleep gadgets already :)

We've got a pretty good list going already. I'd be keen to hear what you've tried in the past, what you've liked, and what you didn't. I can be reached at pete[at]soundmind.co

Would you have a recommendation for such a mask? I have been looking for such a mask and haven't found a good option so far.

This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Contoured-Adjustable-Comfort... Have used for 1.5 years now.

Thank you, I'll check it out.

was just going to comment CPAP machine! Hands down most life-changing thing I have acquired.

I improved considerably my life by stopping to purchase things and living with very few possessions, eating organic wild food as much as possible

That's an unsustainable way of life. Humans cannot feed all humans with only organic food.

Source?

I am not OP but this is a nice meta-study

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.0008...

Looking at yields only (which is a small part of the study; sustainability depends on many other factors) it looks like log response ratio for organic vs conventional is -0.4 (but depends on crop type, etc, see figs 5,6). This response ratio means organic yields were typically ~2/3rds of conventional across US, EU for most produce types.

I think a real path forward is reduction of pesticide/herbicide usage through highly targeted techniques, as well as greater embrace of biodiversity in the field (even at some cost to yield). However it is also not reasonable to switch to all organic right now, since we would then produce only 2/3rds the food we have now.

I think where move from conventional is most critical is for animal products. “Conventional” in the US comes with lots of cruelty. Even if we net eat less meat supporting meat sources that treat animals better is important, and will not likely cause net decrease in calories produced.

Considering much food is thrown out and wasted, perhaps lower yields would make us find better ways to reduce waste.

The problem is that we currently have starvation due to poor distribution of food. Rich people can afford higher prices and will continue to waste (in fact, lots of rich people already eat organic), while the poor will feel the squeeze.

I read years ago that the starvation wasn’t necessarily distribution, but rather corruption that prevented the distribution. Is that incorrect?

Ignoring that it's not always a good idea to distill a complicated system to a single factor like distribution or scarcity, I believe the calorie numbers frequently stated often do not discount for the fact that roughly a third of crop yield is fed to livestock, nor are typically the variety used for human consumption.

I recommend the studies from the Royale Institute.

They looked at yields on a longer term and discovered, that after a transition phase of around 5 years the numbers were comparable, but with organic agriculture realizing better yields in times of draught.

Additionally they looked at caloric yields per acre. I just grabbed an explanatory blog post from said institute:

https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/can-organic-feed-the-world/

Rodale compares their own experimental farm, not organic yields on real commercial organic farms (many of which are run for more than 5 years). Their conventional yield is also on their farm, not real conventional farms.

Edit: Looking a bit further rodale has rest years that they don’t count for their organic fields. 25% of the years they literally don’t grow anything on a given plot, but they only compare the growth years.

It is a scientific institute. So it isn't an organic farm either. So I am not sure if this argument applies in any direction.

It I am totally aware of studies like Verena Seufert et al. showing reduced yields between 5 to 39% depending on the context and used methodologies.

Edit: Regarding rest years. At least were I live both, organic or non organic farmers do that. Not sure how it is in other parts of the world.

Funny that you say that, because everything I have read on that in the last 10+ years indicates that that is not the case.

Being an empiricist I would love to see your sources to evaluate my current knowledge against new evidence.

Edit: Hopefully the sarcasm isn't too harsh. But knowing studies on reduced yields, on the mostly short timeframes and also the question of caloric/nutritional value per acre seems more promising.

I'm not sure I could go that far but I agree I become much happier after I stopped buying tons of things (I have a closet full of microcontrollers, some of them I haven't even unpacked...). Now I think well about each purchase, sometimes postponing it for months to make sure it's something I really need. Works great.

I had that closet too, I ended up giving them away and stopping buying those things for a good long while. I liked buying them and looking at them, but never ended up building very much

"Everything you own end up owning you!"

A robot vacuum cleaner. «I» now vacuum every day, the the flat just looks overall better. There is barley any dust on the shelfs anymore either.

https://us.roborock.com/pages/roborock-s5-max

Similar experience here. Also cause I have it on schedule it also indirectly forces me to keep things tidy so it can clean the floor without too many obstacles.

I'd say the first few years of owning a Roomba were magical, but recently a combination of too many children's toys on the floor, and working from home has meant that I don't use the daily-schedule any more.

I have to remember to turn it on when I head out for a beer, go shopping, or do something else outside the home. There were a few days I was working from home, on a video-call, when the robot started cleaning away.

Wonderfully useful tools, but not at all quiet!

I agree about the children, Lego pieces on the floor are a big issue. Working from home the only issue is the noise it makes but because its constant my noise cancelling headphones filter it out completely.

So it decreases dust levels in the entire house, even far above the floor?

That would suggest a major source of dust on counters / shelves is the floor. Seems counterintuitive!

A dust particle in the middle of the room takes many hours to settle on the floor or other horizontal surface. During that air time, it frequently changes direction and rises and falls many times. Every time someone walks on a dusty floor, lots of dust is put into the air. Most will eventually settle on the floor again, but some ends up on other horizontal surfaces. But the dust that ends up on the fllor again is likely to put in the again by people walking.

I have a complete different experience. Went from cheap robot to high end dyson standing vacuum cleaner, and the latter performs much better. Robot was getting stuck everywhere, after some time the mechanism broke due to dust getting inside the gears. Now i just spent 10 minutes every two days for a quick vacuuming around the house and lo and behold - the dust is no more.

It might just be that the robots aren't best suited for small flats.

We actually just bought this exact model, the S5 Max, and it was a near-instant quality of life improvement.

We can now walk around the apartment with bare feet without any dirt or kitty litter-dust getting on the soles of our feet. The kitchen floor is now always clean, it's really incredible.

Roomba 614 (Wirecutter pick) is only $135 used from Amazon Warehouse.

https://www.amazon.com/iRobot-Cleaner-Self-Charging-Carpets-...

Noise-canceling headphones. I recommend Bose QC35 IIs. You don’t realize how loud the world normally is until you take them off.

Could I use them to cut off external noise that keeps me awake when I am trying to sleep?

Yup I sometimes accidentally fall asleep with mine on. The noise cancelling works even while not playing anything. Just make sure you don’t sleep on side and crush them but you should be fine as they’re pretty resilient to damage (except water).

Yes. Probably depends on the exact noise. I've used them to good effect on planes and when sleeping beside a snoring person.

best trick i know for this is to have another source of noise that you can tolerate (e.g. a fan). noise cancelling headphones are useful if you sleep on your back...

I would recommend a white noise machine for that, I haven't been able to live without mine for many years now: https://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Classic-White-Noise-Machine/dp...

There are also a million white noise apps on the play store. I like Noice, its in the f-droid repository.

Mynoise.net is also a wonderful resource.

YMMV, I would struggle to sleep in mine. Noise makers are better for drowning out noises, IMHO

You might be interested in these: https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/wellness/noise_masking_s...

AirPods Pro work way better for sleep due to low profile (mostly just using single one tho), but I've used big cans too. They do get damaged rather quickly (pads compress, drivers crackly all the time) and not comfy.

The kinds of noises that often keep people awake at home aren't really the strong suit for active noise cancellation technology, but it works well enough that there's a whole market for noise cancelling sleep aids. You're probably better off looking there than the Bose QC; ordinary headphones and pillows often don't agree.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise-cancelling_headphones#As...

So true. Most bang for the buck i know.

I own the Sony version of them, the wh-1000xm2. They have xm3 and I think xm4 now and they are all highly praised. I bring them with me basically everywhere. They're especially incredible when flying.

I upgraded to the 1000xm3 from a QC15. It was much better. Im pretty satisfied.

Thanks, bookmarked. I so much wish I went for these. I bought the Beats headphones that were a little cheaper. I don't find anything good about them either in comfort or functionality.

Social media influence!

I have worn the Bose QC35 II on a 19 hour flight. It greatly reduced the terrible hum of the airplane and the battery lasted all the way through (bluetooth and sound were on maybe 6 to 8 hours). They are that comfortable.

I have Airpod Pros, and I found myself wearing them without playing anything, just to tune out the noise.

I got QC35, one of my favorite thing ever. I can listen music at really low volume and still hear all different notes. And I can sit outside in my patio next to a running A/C unit and not hear it at all.

Sceptre 27" 4K monitor for $200 on Amazon. It's the cheapest 4K monitor I've found so far.

I wasn't even looking for a 4K monitor when I bought it, and didn't think it would make a big difference, but I was very wrong. It's made a huge difference in my day-to-day computing experience.

Reading ebooks and papers on screen is actually bearable now; previously I'd prefer to print documents out or purchase/borrow physical books for reading.

I can also now use antialiased vector fonts for programming, though I still use Terminus in the terminal emulator.

https://tonsky.me/blog/monitors/

Agree with large monitor - game changer. But Amazon shows only 3/5 stars for Sceptre 27" 4K monitor.

I've found that monitors are a good item to buy used, because they're usually a lot cheaper and 100% as functional...and I like to get used electronics when I can, for environmental/climate reasons.

I bought a 27" LG 4k monitor for $200 on Craigslist, which would have been ~$500 new, and I love it.

I just recently got a Dell S3220DGF. 32", 1440p, 165hz and hdr10.

It is really good, I highly recommend it.

Apple Airpod Pros -- long battery life, near instant bluetooth tethering. Even other expensive headphones/earbuds (Bose) for instance could not compete with the ease of use, noise cancellation, and comfort.

I don't think about headphones anymore, they just work the way they're supposed to.

I do love them, but the noise cancellation does bad things to bass and for my real low end stuff, produces a rattle? I turn it off when i want it full volume

The rattle is a defect. Apple will replace them.

I got a pair months ago, after using gen-1 AirPods for a couple years. Soon the left AirPod Pro started rattling at certain frequencies. It got worse. I complained to Apple and they sent me a new left ‘Pod.

Soon the right one exhibited the same behavior. This time, I could hear the rattle if I tapped gently on it. Clearly something was physically loose inside it. Apple replace that one, too.

I had to argue a little, but less than with most tech support. Now I have two AirPod Pros that work perfectly.

I had noticeable distortion on mine. Used chat to talk to Apple tech support and they had me reset them and that made the distortion go away.

I do get a squeal when pushing them into my ear canals which is a known problem with having noise cancellation on.

I find the Airpods Pro stay in my ears much better than the Airpods. And they seem pretty water resistant - the left one survived a bath in the dog's water bowl when I was filling it.

I’ve got rattle in both in less than a year. It rattles even without any sounds, just walking around is enough to trigger it. So must be something physical.

I’m in Vietnam right now. There are no Apple Stores, but there are official authorized repair shops. Unfortunately they have to order parts from Singapore.

I’m now without the headphones for two weeks waiting for repair or replacement and I really miss them! My daily walks are just not the same without the podcasts.

this same exact thing happened to me, in the same order even. Now, about 6 mo later, I'm getting the rattle again on the left...

I have heard these stories, i don’t doubt them, but maybe rattle wasn’t the right word in my case, the fact it happens only on noise cancellation makes me think it’s a software issue. It’s very few tracks, not a general issue, 99% of tracks sound great, just some tracks with real low loud bass and it triggers on the bass drum. I’m no sound engineer, but it sounded a bit like a glitch that spunds like a rattle of a speaker that can’t handle it. Maybe the bass gets boosted on noise cancellation? Like i say, turning off the cancellation stops it, and the bass come through just fine

Anyone would have a recommendation for a good choice of wireless earbuds (with a mic) for a Pixel phone?

I use Airpods on my Samsung Phone. You don't need an iPhone to enjoy the best aspects of airpods.

I have the first gen samsung buds, they work great with all my devices so far and for me sit way better than airpods. But the new "bean" buds seem to have better sound and noise canceling

I got Samsung Galaxy buds when I switched from iPhone to Pixel 3a, and I can definitely recommend them. I like them much more than airpods (I had gen 1). Being able to rewind and fast forward by tapping on the buds is great.

Check this blog out: https://www.scarbir.com/

You all might want to read about long term irreversible health effects (read: hearing loss) of in-ear speakers (irrespective of which company makes/markets them).

Do you have any research that talks about in-ear speakers in particular? With my very lazy Goolge search I only found articles about loud volume being bad

I think that's incorrect. All the research discussed in-ear headphones that are not noise-cancelling, which lead people to turn up the volume to drown out background noise, which leads to hearing damage.

This is relevant to regular Airpods, but not Airpod Pros which are noise-cancelling. These sort of headphones are actually safer for you hearing, as you can keep the volume lower and still hear well.

Supplements, especially L-DOPA (amazing mood improvement and libido boost), L-citrulline (libido and energy boost) and niacin.

There are other supplements¹ in my stack but these three stand out as the effects are near immediate, measured in mere minutes/hours.

¹zinc methionine, L-taurine, Ashwagandha, Boswellia serrata, fish oil, cod liver oil, vitamins B1, B2, B6, B9, B12, C , D, K, calcium, resveratrol.

L-DOPA as well as L-Citrulline are Rx only, so you're either outside of US/EU or you suffer from some condition that requires that medication.

What does Rx mean?

"Prescription"

Prescription. As in, prescribed by a physician.

Prescription-only

L-citrulline is on the GRAS list. There are dozens of supplements for sale on Amazon.

No condition and no medical diagnosis. For the past few years I've been afflicted by periods of existential crisis and L-DOPA short circuits this. Much better mood, focus and most importantly — drive (which is what helps most with the EC). Feels almost as good as how I felt when in my teens¹.

As others have mentioned I simply buy them off of Amazon.

¹completed my 37th trip around the sun yesterday, the 17th.

If citrulline were Rx-only in the US, then I doubt Doctor's Best would make it and I doubt Walmart would sell it:

https://www.walmart.com/ip//150061958

How long have you been on the exact same stack?

Vitamins (B-K) + calcium + fish and cod liver oil: several years.

L-citrulline, zinc: 2+ years.

Ashwagandha, Boswellia: slightly more than a year.

L-DOPA, niacin, L-taurine: a few months.

Do you just eat a plate of supplements? That seems like a lot to take every day.

Only some of them are on a daily schedule so actual pill count/day is low. Niacin (vitamin B3) for example leads to diabetes and liver damage when taken upwards of 4g/day. So I take 0.5 mg (nearly a tenth of the therapeutic dose, that too on alternate days, to reduce the potential for side effects even further). High dose vitamin B6 (>20mg/day, I take 3mg once every 5 days for 30x reduction compared to therapeutic dose) can lead to lung cancer in men. So the b-complex pill¹ is taken once every 5 days. Vitamin D overdose can lead to hypercalcemia so that's taken once a week (60000 IU) and some months I stay off it entirely as fat-soluble vitamins like vit. D tend to build up in the system. There are similar rules for other supplements as well.

¹The B-vitamins (1 to 12) + zinc + calcium are a single pill called "Recobex-Z". These are generally called "b-complex", it's a combination drug.

Essentially the daily pill count is 2 in the morning + 1 in the afternoon + 2 at night, so 5 pills/day. I also do supplement fasting days with no pills taken on that day.

How long have you been on L-DOPA? It's well-known to build up a strong tolerance with Parkinson's patients after around 5 years, so I'd be careful with it.

It's been a few months now. L-DOPA tolerance is dose-dependant, term-dependent as well as drug-dependant. After looking for ways to work around this, I found L-DOPA from Mucuna pruriens does not have the two major side-effects I was concerned about:

1. LID (Levodopa induced dyskinesia) - ironically the "cure" for Parkinson's disease (abbreviated to PD from here on) induces PD like side effects!

2. tolerance built up over chronic use.

We're not sure why Mucuna is able to do this but regarding LID one hypothesis advanced in a paper I read was that it might have something to do with pure L-DOPA being co-administered with Carbidopa in order to prevent peripheral metabolism of L-DOPA so that a greater amount reaches the brain. In the paper they show Carbidopa worsens LID and patients on pure L-DOPA alone took longer to get LID. Mucuna group didn't see any LID symptoms for the duration of the study.

Regarding tolerance, there are a few papers that compared Mucuna with other common PD drugs and found trial participants remained responsive throughout the study to a greater degree while on Mucuna compared to the other drugs. Here's one such paper: "Mucuna pruriens in Parkinson’s disease: a double blind clinical and pharmacological study", https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/jnnp/75/12/1672.full.pdf

Tolerance also seems to depend on the dosage and delivery regimen, the key thing to watch out being the prevention of dopamine peaks and to maintain a smooth steady level through continuous administration via IV — "Does Tolerance Develop to Levodopa? Comparison of 2- and 21-H Levodopa Infusions ", https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8474479/

Having done all this work, I'm still highly wary of continuing Mucuna for years. I keep a watchful eye on any behavioral (hallucinations, insomnia) and physiological (tachycardia) abnormalities in myself, just in case. Also because I don't have PD, I can stick to a relatively low dosage (PD patients are given 45g of Mucuna/day equivalent to 1.5g of L-DOPA; I take 2.4g/day, roughly a twentieth of the therapeutic dose) which seems to be highly correlated with LID (what I'm most anxious about).

What gave me the confidence to move forward was knowing that Mucuna has been used in traditional Ayurvedic and Siddha medicinal systems here in India for thousands of years and is still actively in use as treatment for mood disorders¹. Something that lasts long and is also backed by science can't be wrong. Even so, I won't deny that L-DOPA via Mucuna is a minefield I'm gingerly stepping across.

¹https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyxVCPgUVMI (sorry, the video is in Tamil, "poonaikali" is vernacular here for Mucuna pruriens)

What about L-arginine?

If you’re up for it I’d love hear about each of these and your decision process.

If not, could at least comment on niacin? I’ve been hearing more about it.

Bang for the buck, my best purchase ever has been a jackhammer.

Soil around here is very hard. For years I struggled to dig even the shallowest of holes for planting things, laying pipes, etc. Holes that would take me months to dig, one painful weekend at a time, I can now get done in 10 minutes. Weirdest tool I've bought, but it has saved me literally years of effort at this point.

I guess the generalized message is just buy the best and most specific tool up front. The time saved by proper tools is totally worth it.

> I guess the generalized message is just buy the best and most specific tool up front. The time saved by proper tools is totally worth it.

This is very true IF you know it’s the tool you’re after.

I usually preface buying something expensive with something entry-level. In Sweden, this means Biltema - I can get a fully functional 400W impact drill for ~35€. I then ride that thing like I stole it and when it eventually burns up I’ll know the use-cases I need to consider when splurging on a Hilti.

But overall, yeah, buying (or renting) professional-grade equipment making any work easier and much more pleasant.

Is it dry there? While a jackhammer is probably even more effective I find if I wait for rain or soak down soil its much easier to dig where I live (Brisbane/clay soil).

Extra device chargers. Now wherever I sit around the house I have a cable nearby, I don't have to be lugging them around everywhere. So worth.

A power tower. Simple, doesn't take up much space, but lets me do a variety of upper body exercises on-demand without having to set anything up. A great way to fit exercise into the day without friction.

A good rice cooker. Makes the rice perfectly every time without me having to think about timing.

A good wardrobe. Started getting compliments on how I dress all the time. I never cared about this very much, and that made me unaware that other people did care.

> A good wardrobe. Started getting compliments on how I dress all the time. I never cared about this very much, and that made me unaware that other people did care.

Any advice for someone that doesn’t care about this? I’m currently in this boat - I dress “fine” in the sense that it’s functional but is otherwise pretty plain and boring. Every time I try to improve on this I give up after being overwhelmed by the paradox of choice.

Yeah, absolutely! Let's see.

I experienced the same thing with paradox of choice. Unfortunately the solution was just to spend a lot of time on it, trying different things and researching options by asking people and doing internet searches and browsing malls and outlets. Going from "no good clothes" to "all good clothes" took me a full year of off-and-on effort.

Most important thing is finding things that fit. I didn't used to know what this looks like, but by trial and error and feedback from others I learned. Personally I aim for things that fit snugly without being too tight. I think a good mental rule of thumb (at least as a straight man) is to think about what looks attractive on a woman-- things that tastefully emphasize her figure. I realized the same goes for men. You want clothes that show your body's lines. This means jeans that aren't baggy, but which show off your legs and gluts. It means shirts that bring out your chest and shoulders or which simply mesh with the lines of your figure.

A really important thing is feedback. Women friends are best for this because usually they're much more aware of style than men are (just how it is). DO NOT ask parents or older relatives; do not ask male friends unless they have notably good style. In general you want feedback from women who you know well enough to trust them to be honest with you.

The /r/malefashionadvice subreddit can be very useful, it's a mine of recommendations, discussions, and guides.

Lastly, a general outline of what I went with, just to give starting ideas:

-I wanted a collection of well-fitting t-shirts. I ended up mostly going with v-necks from Uniqlo, personally-- they're cheap but fit me well. There's a million options for simple t-shirts, from Target to Banana Republic to Tom Ford. Frankly you can go cheap here and be fine.

-I wanted an assortment of well-fitting jeans. I ended up with Everlane, tailored Levis, and Diesel, in different shades of blue and black. I'm still looking for chino pants that work for me.

-I wanted a wide array of button-up shirts. This is important because it's just the cornerstone of modern male fashion. Nothing gets noticed faster than when someone switches to wearing these, imo. I get these from all over: Macy's, Banana Republic, Express, Armani Exchange, Club Monaco, and Levis. Make sure they're not baggy! Wear them over a t-shirt and roll your sleeves up, it's a great look. Leave the top two buttons open.

-I wanted a wide array of shoes. I literally wore white New Balance sneakers for 27 years until moving to NYC and being shamed into diversifying. I found that boots come in many varieties and look fantastic with jeans. I have a pair of Timberlands, some cheap black leather Polar Fox ones from amazon, some suede Steve Madden boots (cadwyn), and some Rockport tennis shoes.

I also got some sweaters and better-fitting sweatshirts. I'm still working on finding a winter coat that looks nice. Scarves are great!

Apparently you live in London, so you're in one of the best places in the world to buy clothing (along with NYC and Paris). You can find anything there.

All in all I think I've spent around $2500 on the full wardrobe, but you could get away with less.

A TL;DR of OPs post: start simple. Visit /r/malefashionadvise and follow the basic starter guide, i.e. chinos, white oxford shirt, and leather shoes.

You DO NOT need to spend 2.5k to look good: aim for 100-200 from ASOS.com and you'll look fabulous! You can order multiple sizes of the same product and return those that don't fit. Fit is key!

Check eBay for good quality shoes if cost is an issue (e.g. Meermin, etc) as imho that's generally the large cost in the wardrobe.

I think a lot of that $2500 for me came from mistakes, especially with jeans. It took so long to figure out the jeans.

That amount is what I spent, but in the end now that I know what works I could burn it all and repurchase for probably $1200.

Asking for feedback is crucial. Before I did that, I performed many iterations of buying some items I think look good on me, wearing them a few times, and getting rid of the ones that don't get any compliments (most of them).

Get the Lululemon ABC pants in a couple colors (e.g., grey and dark blue). They are the best pants I've had and they work in the office and for sports. I also recommend dress shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt and casual shirts from Uniqlo.

My friends say I dress nicely. Here's what I wear:

Volcom, Men's Frickin Modern Fit Stretch Chino Pant, Charcoal Heather. They look dressy. They are 40% synthetic so sweat/rain dries quickly. They're a bit stretchy which is comfortable. I own 4 pairs and have washed each one about 75 times. The color has faded a bit, but evenly. There is little visible wear. TCO ~$0.75 per wear. Wear with a simple brown leather belt.

https://www.amazon.com/Volcom-Frickin-Modern-Stretch-Chino/d...

Banana Republic Factory, Standard Fit Non-Iron Shirt, Sky Blue. This is a standard Banana Republic shirt, but made with more durable cloth. I own 4 of them and have washed each one about 75 times. They all still look great. TCO is <$0.50/wear. Check with 2 fashionable friends before going with a non-sky-blue color. I usually wear a thick dark gray merino long-sleeved "base layer" undershirt or a thin cream-colored merino undershirt.

https://bananarepublicfactory.gapfactory.com/browse/product....

Uniqlo, Extra Fine Merino Crew Neck Long-sleeve Sweater, Dark Gray. I own 4 of these sweaters, purchased over 2.5-1 year ago. I can't tell which ones are newer or older because they all look great. They are warm, soft, extremely durable, dry quickly, and don't hold any body odors. I wear each one about 10 times between washes. I wash them in a front-loading washer on delicate warm cycle with standard fragrance-free detergent and hang on a normal hangar to dry. TCO is <$0.25/wear.

https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/men-extra-fine-merino-crew-neck...

Uniqlo, Cashmere Crew Neck Long-sleeve Sweater, Dark Grey. Compared to the merino one, this sweater is also durable, twice as warm, twice as soft, three times the price, and a bit shorter in the waist. Uniqlo's product is special in the industry. It's a $200 sweater for $100. $100 cashmere sweaters from other companies will pill after 5 wears and look terrible. Uniqlo's is durable. I've worn mine about 30 times, washed it twice, and it still looks new.

https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/men-cashmere-crew-neck-long-sle...

Patagonia, Men's Torrentshell 3L Jacket, Andes Blue. This is good for wind and light rain. It rolls up into about 1L of volume. I've worn it nearly every day for 3 years, walking about 1 hour a day and riding in carshare. The waist tension cord channel fabric has worn through in the back. The jacket still looks fine and functions well. TCO ~$0.20/wear.

https://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-torrentshell-3l-rain-...

Crazy Cool, Men's Seamless Boxer Briefs Underwear, Camouflage. Underwear can be fashionable. These have no interior seams to rub against male equipment. If you have a belly crease, the wasteband will start to roll after 5 wears, but it's not too tight. They can smell if you sweat repeatedly. They dry quickly. The legs ride up. I expect final TCO to be ~$0.20/wear or lower.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crazy-Cool-Men-s-Camouflage-Seaml...

Woolly Clothing, Merino Wool Long Drop Boxer Brief, Everyday Weight, Charcoal. Extremely expensive and extremely comfortable. Wearing these and using a bidet will solve all body odor issues below the belt. The "long drop" version doesn't ride up your legs. The company had fabric durability problems but solved them. These wear out by getting holes on the seat after about 50 wears. If you have a belly crease, the waistband will get a crease after 15 wears and can roll and become tight and uncomfortable. TCO ~$0.55/wear.

https://www.amazon.com/Woolly-Clothing-Merino-Boxer-Brief/dp...

Columbia, Men's Newton Ridge Plus Ii Waterproof Hiking Boot Shoe, Cordovan/Squash. These are roomy in the toes and flat inside (no "arch support"). The interior fabric and tread wear out after about 750 miles of walking. TCO ~$0.10/mile. If they wear out within a year, ship them to Columbia and they send you a $96 gift card.

https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Newton-Waterproof-Hiking-Cor...

Nike, Men's Revolution 4 Running Shoe, Black/White/Anthracite. These are flat inside (no "arch support"). I put these in the washer every 6 months to whiten them up. To wash, remove the laces and inserts, put the shoes and everything into a mesh bag, and wash them on a delicate warm cycle. The tread lasts a long time. The inserts and interior fabric fail around 750 miles. TCO ~$0.10/mile.

https://www.amazon.com/NIKE-Revolution-Running-White-Anthrac...

Darn Tough, Vermont Men's Merino Wool Boot Full Cushion Sock (Style 1405), Charcoal. These are the best warm socks. I wear them all day every day, even at home. I walk 1,000 miles a year and go through about 6 pairs a year. TCO ~$0.13/mile. Darn Tough makes many variations of socks so be sure to get the full cushion version.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ENQYZIE

O'Neill, Loaded 2.0 Hybrid Shorts, Heather Black. Comfortable and quick-drying. With a collared shirt tucked in and a belt, you'll look "loaded".

https://www.amazon.com/ONeill-Loaded-Hybrid-Shorts-Heather/d...

Minus33, Merino Wool 703 Algonquin Men's Lightweight Short Sleeve Crew, Dark Gray Heather. Super-quick drying, nearly eliminating body odor. Extremely durable fabric and stitching. They keep their shape. They don't fade. I own four, purchased 4-6 years ago. I have probably worn the oldest one 100 times. I cannot tell which one is the oldest. They all look fine. TCO ~$0.50/wear.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R7E1LU

Tortuga, Outbreaker Daypack. Chest strap. Understated logo. Comfortable even when full and heavy (2L drinks, 13" Macbook Pro, charger, headphones, sweater, jacket, lunch, snacks, & workout clothes. Water-resistant zipper stops being water resistant after about 1,000 zip/unzip cycles. Stitching around top handle fails after about 1,000 miles. TCO ~$0.10/mile.

https://www.tortugabackpacks.com/products/outbreaker-travel-...

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I wash my clothes in a front-loading washer on a delicate warm cycle and dry on delicate warm. I take them out immediately after the dry cycle finishes and hang them up. I never iron. All wool skips the dryer, going straight from washer to a hanger or clothes-pin rack.

https://www.mamaslaundrytalk.com/the-proper-way-to-hang-dres...

For drying socks and underwear on the bathroom door:

https://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-Clip-Drip-Hanger-Hanging/dp/B...

https://www.amazon.com/Over-Fitting-Sized-Doors-Unjumbly/dp/...

For drying sweaters and shirts:

https://www.amazon.com/JEFEE-Garment-Clothes-Storage-Fashion...

If you use a top-loading washer with an "agitator", double or triple the TCO numbers. Such washers destroy clothes.

Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed looking through all your links. Amazed you found amazon links for all of it.

I just want to emphasize how great and affordable Uniqlo's Merino range is. Merino wool is a fantastic, functional material and the value Uniqlo is offering here with their low prices but good quality is basically unmatched.

Buy a week or maybe two worth of "outfits" and hang them in sets. That way you can wear something slightly different every day without having to think about it. This is especially so for women, but even for guys those subtle signs that you change your clothes regularly are useful.

I purchased 6 sets of cheap headphones so I could keep them in all my backpacks/bags/around the house. Anytime I forget to bring headphones to listen to my iPod, I know I have an extra set in my backpack.

I purchased 10 USB chargers that attach magnetically. I keep 2 at the office, 1 in my gaming console, 1 in my computer, 2 in my car, 1 in the wall with an adapter next to my bed and have the other 3 set aside. The metal connectors wear out after a year or two of constant use. I recommend getting the 360 degree ones. I also bought two 3m USB extenders so I can plug in my console peripherals from where I sit while gaming. One for now, one for later just in case. Overall cost of this was ~$60 but it's some of the best money I've ever spent. The convenience is incredible and since all the adapters are the same, they work with all my devices as long as they're not being connected for data transfer reasons.

The best thing I've ever bought that has improved my life, has been an "extra" of anything I find myself using frequently.

Rice cooker is hard to overstate for me. Aside from the obvious use in sterilising covid masks, I eat a lot of rice and use it as a slow cooker as well. Used with a mechanical timer I can set it to soak rice for a few hours and have it cooked just when I need it.

What make the difference was buying a proper one with a stainless steel bowl. It was $200 but it's been used about every second day for nearly 10 years now. The non-stick aluminium ones die after less than a year and are flaking delicious fluorocarbon chunks into your food the whole time.

A Wacom tablet, years ago, when I was working in the graphic arts.

Compared to a mouse, the change in my daily ergonomics was astounding, because using a mouse would hurt my entire arm. When I switching to a tablet (using a custom mouse mode), the mouse click was replaced by tapping the tablet which saved my entire career. Although, fast-forward 10 years, now I do full-stack programming, so I don't use it anymore.

Similar to my case. I have an old Wacom Intuos, and have slowly been doing less Python/Java and spending more of spare time re-learning how to use the tablet. Might even buy a new one, although looks like other brands caught up and their hardware/drivers work as well as Wacom's.

+1 for wacom tablets. Been using them for around 10 years instead of mice, for the ergonomic benefit. Portable, and cheap (bamboo series 2nd hand). Last several years each, too. Also native Linux support.

Would be interested to learn more about you're experience. I'm suffering from some RSI, so I'm thinking a pen tablet could help - I've already tried every type of mouse out there.

Two questions: 1. How do you scroll ?! 2. What Wacom tablet do you recommend?

Not the person you're replying to, but I have a bit of experience with tablets. Scrolling is usually handled by 'grabbing' the page, usually by pressing a button on the pen. I bought the Wacom Bamboo, and it can double as a large, medium quality trackpad. Might be enough variety for your RSI.

FYI-- The Wacom's are highly customizable. Even for the right-mouse-click I prefer hold and tap on the stylus than the default hover-and-tap. I would also get rubber stylus add-ons to make the stylus itself thicker to hold more easily.

Some Wacom's come with a scroll wheel. Some double as touchpad, so it can quickly be used as a touchpad.

I was using the medium, non-pro Wacom's (Bamboo) and these were just as good as the pro versions. Also, it is a great entry point than jumping full-in to the higher-priced models.

Squat cage, good bar, 220kg weights, bench press, farmer walk bar. 12 years ago. Best $2,500 I've ever spent.

Came here to reply with exactly this. I think I've had my set over 15 years now. For awhile I was going to the gym just for fun and to mix it up, but now with the pandemic, I just reverted back to my home equipment with no service interruption. I've probably paid for the equipment 6x over vs. yearly gym fees, and I never have to wait for a squat rack to be open (because I'm the only one in the gym)!

Where do you keep it?

I've been thinking about getting a squat rack into my garage, but it's gonna be a very tight fit, and I'm not sure I'll be comfortable having 45 lbs plates around my Tesla.

If you have a yard you could potentially keep it outside. It's can be a bit invigorating during the winter though.

A flight ticket.

The last one was to Madrid. But really every time I go on a journey, I am surprised how much it improves my life quality.

Not only while I am traveling. But also afterwards, when I am back. The effect holds for quite a while.

How do you travel? Do you travel alone, do you meet people? To what part of the journey would you attribute the positive effect?

Of course the pleasurable experiences are part of it. But the lasting changes are from exposing your brain to the new unknown landscape, meeting new people, trying new things. It gets you out of the same mental rut. Routine is a healthy part of life, but so is travel/new pathways.

Going solo is going to let you do this the best. No link to your normal life.

I hadn’t realized how travel played a valuable role in my life until that was severely restricted this year…

Buy the best bed for your needs as soon as possible. Best bang for the buck IMO.

I would agree with this. I had bad sleep and therefore bad everything else until I decided to get a better bed. Good sleep makes everything better.

Any advice (or links to advice) for something like this?

I have been sick a lot lately and I feel like it's due to bad sleep, and I hate my bed, but buying a mattress is such a scam.

You probably don't need a base, but spending money on a good mattress is definitely worth it.

I would recommend getting it locally though, if this is possible for you right now.

Having lived in a shoebox in London for a couple of years, I am now a convert to a divan base that lifts up to provide loads of storage space.

We ended up buying an organic mattress online (e.g., Avocado, My Green Mattress). It’s made a huge difference.

After doing about a month of research (The Mattress Underground is a good forum) I bought a latex mattress from SleepEZ. Had it for a couple of years and been very happy with it.

One consideration to keep in mind is that if you sleep in the middle of your bed you won't want to get the split layers. They make assembly easier and allow for more granular customization, but a friend of mine who got the same mattress feels the crack between them where the layers separate slightly.

After the birth of our daughter my wife and I got the Beautyrest Black. The improvements to our sleep and general well-being have been amazing! https://www.beautyrest.com/black/k-class-ultra-plush-pillow-...

A latex mattress topper works great, in my (& a relative's) experience, upon a good old mattress. 3", medium-firm, pretty reasonable cost, just lay it on top. I like using enough layers of sheets so as not to feel the dimples/holes. Natural latex foam, it's surprisingly cool and solid to the touch, like a chilled custard.

Tesla Model 3. 'Measurably' is subjective, but I graduated from a BMW 328i, which I loved dearly. The Model 3 is more fun in almost every way, and costs far, far less in maintenance. No gas stations, diamond lane, cost to operate is far less.

> The M3 ...

this confused me because I thought you meant the 328i is the BMW M3...

Sry, corrected it, thanks.

I'm tall and my knees/back are getting older. I went from a prius to a pickup. Sliding sideways into the truck vs dropping down into the car seems like a luxury every time I get in, and it's been 2 years now.

Bought a chef's knife. I had tons of kitchen items from parents/grandparents, but somehow never had a chef's knife. It gets used every day now.

Fifteen years after having my house built, I installed a ceiling fan in the bedroom and that has been wonderful.

Hmmm Model Y then?

Tell us how you built your house.

Same here. So fast it's more of how fast do I want to go, where do I want to be instead of working the clutch, shifter, and trying to plan ahead in a much slower car. I quite enjoy waking up each day with 300 miles of range instead of trying to figure out when/where to add a gas station to my errands. My Subaru was quite needy, oil changes, checking the oil, head gasket problems, gas filling, brake pads, engine maintenance, warming up before pushing it, taking it easy before you turn it off (because of the turbo) etc. I'm at 14,000 miles on the Tesla, and I'd have done 4 oil changes, 56 gas fill ups, and I suspect a few other scheduled maintenance trips already.

I moved to a new city and a nice big map has been a great way to visit a city and the being able to speak my music selections, destinations, etc has been a pleasure. I now regularly visit 3 nearby cities (all within 30 minutes) for entertainment, tasty food, and hiking. I look forward to time in my model 3, I wish everything worked as well. I'm surprised at how primitive other nav systems are, is it really that hard to match top of the line Android/IOS touch screens and graceful handling of things like pinch to zoom?

My own car. I had a driving license all my life but never bothered to buy one because public transport in switzerland is cheap and good enough for a single person. The situation changed now: I am not alone anymore and Corona happened. I do not plan to use public transport on regular basis in my life anymore. It is unimaginable to me how we did groceries before. Also we can save some money by buying more in bulk. It's something simple, many people have it and it's just insanely useful. I hope this will be my first and last ICE. I hope the next one in 3-7 years will be a (self driving?) compact(?) Tesla.

Just beware: owning a car is linked to less physical activity and weight gain ...

Yup, ideally commute on bike (or e-bike), and use cars for bigger errands/trips.

FWIW, I also live in CH in a smaller town (not Zürich or Lausanne sized). I don’t own a car. Doing groceries with the bus was a MAJOR pain. And took for ever because I had to wait around for two buses and then climb a significant hill back to my place with all the groceries. So much fun.

I built myself an ebike (just a regular bicycle with a TSDZ2 engine (runs open source software) and a 52V battery. I added Ortlieb paniers so I don’t need a backpack when running errand (well worth it especially in the summer). And I bought a Burley trailer. That trailer can haul around 40kg worth of stuff and with two big crates strapped on it I can do the weekly groceries easily. The ebike takes care of the extra weight and hill climbing.

This setup has saved me SO much money!! Owning a car would cost me over 100.- per month just for parking whether I use it or not. Plus maintenance, gas, insurance, the occasional ticket... the ebike saves me around 200.- or 300.- a month because it also replaces taking the bus. And you can park for free easily and virtually anywhere you’re going, right in front of the door. The bike cost less than 1600.- to build (including the tools and the actual bicycle) and is virtually free to use (a charge is less than 1.- and I can go around 75–100km on a charge, maintenance is not that hard and done by myself for free) The trailer cost me around 230.- And the lock for the bike was less than 100.- (I used to live in North America so I was a bit paranoid about lock quality and locking the bike). The rain gear (overpants and shell) cost around 200.- from Patagonia.

I also occasionally use the trailer to bring back ikea flat pack furniture, it’s fine.

Plus I get free exercise.

And when i absolutely need a car I can use Mobility or a similar service. But I haven’t needed one for over a year so I canceled my membership.

Cabeau sleeping mask (unsure, but Amazon might be selling fakes or second one I've bought from it is just smaller).

Long USB-C and Lightning charging cables (get braided ones for longevity).

Fastest charger in your car. 15 minute drive and your phone is ready for rest of the day.

Merino (Icebreaker) underwear and hoodies. You'll never want to wear anything else.

I should really get a good sleeping mask, the ones I'm using are from air travel and they aren't very confortable in the long run

Breville BOV800XL toaster oven. The apartment I had didn't come with any kind of oven. That was 10 years ago. I still use it everyday and it's almost flawless. I use it over any oven I get with rentals I live in now. It keeps temperature way better and heats up incredibly fast compared to any gas or electric oven I've used. I don't even have to wait for it to warm up, I just throw stuff in and it works out.

Double-walled cups/glasses/containers. I really like Bodum's double walled glasses and so does my partner. They really transform the way you drink things - allowing you to go much slower. I also use double-walled cups that have a top to them like those 30oz RTIC Tumblers and with a straw. This allows for carbonated beverages to last way longer than in an open container and they stay cool for a really long time. It's not uncommon for me to come back after 8+ hours and there still be a lot of ice in the cup. We also have other double-walled containers like Hydroflasks and what not too.

High performance cordless drills/impacts. I know it seems a bit obvious but get the best set you can and it'll do you wonders for speed. I use powered ratchets and everything and jobs just go so much quicker now. I used to only use hand tools for everything and now everything is a joke. Rusted old exhaust bolts don't need penetrating oil or anything - everything just flies off. It's just incredible. They're not a full replacement for hand tools but a great supplement.

High(er) quality headphones. I started with Sennheiser HD555s some years back and they were great. In fact, I'd say that level of jump is all you really need. Everything after has incredible diminishing returns. Comfort is really key - as I had headphones that physically would hurt after 30 minutes to an hour. So, get ones that fit you well or you can put different earpads on that will help. Whatever you need.

Better fitting and looking clothes. I used a resource like Ashley Weston for guidance. You'll have to figure out who has guidance that best fits your own taste but she worked for me a bit.

Breville electric kettle for the tea drinker

This sunlight alarm [1] has made a big difference in my sleep quality. I am a heavy sleeper and have a hard time waking up sometimes even if I get the right amount of sleep. I have been using this now for over five months and it's brought great stability to my sleep. I workout in the morning and now I can consistently wake up.

A set amount of time before the alarm is to go off, the alarm simulates a sunrise and can play FM radio, a repeating sound (ocean waves, Nepal bells, etc.) and at the alarm time can do your typical loud alarm. I have this set for 20 minutes before I wake up to start the sunrise. By the time I am ready to wake up, its full brightness and I am ready to get up.

There is also a sunset feature for going to bed.

I also never thought that having an alarm being controlled by my smartphone would be such a great convenience feature but with this type of device it's a perfect match. I don't know how someone could use this device to it's full potential without the app.

This model is the most expensive but I have seen baser models with the core features. I do see a model now at Costco. I would recommend trying it out if you're struggling with bringing consistency to your sleep.

I used to feel these types of devices were a gimmick but for me it's been worthwhile.

[1] https://www.philips.ca/c-p/HF3670_60/smartsleep-connected-sl...

In order of impact I noticed:

1. A condensing dryer (used to hang washed clothes on a line and have to take them down again when dry)

2. An extra car, old station-wagon with trailer hook + trailer. It's nice that it's old and crappy so I don't care when it's getting dirty, scratched or dented, it will be decommissioned when it breaks down (used to borrow car every time we needed to transport something larger than fit in the small main car, or when we had to use trailer.)

3. A toaster (used to toast my bread in the oven which is both slow and energy efficient)

4. An electric kettle (used to boil water in a pot when we lived a place where gas was practically free)

5. A standalone freezer (used to have only a small one builtin to the fridge, with room for maybe 5 frozen pizzas)

6. Good powered studio monitors along with a XLR usb dac, I use them for general-purpose listening, love them. (Used to use headphones)

7. Coffee maker (used to either boil water and do slow pour-over or use instant which is expensive and not as yummy as an espresso)

9. USB Switch, for switching between the computers under my table, along with a monitor with multiple inputs, (used to switch cables around)

10. The long IKEA USB-C charging cables + 3 outlet chargers. (used to move smaller chargers+cables around the house, now there's charging spots in bedroom and in the livingroom, and the cables are long enough that we can sit comfortably and use our phones while charging).

These are all simple and very practical things. I might look into getting some of these

I second the standalone freezer. I got once back in March. It is so much easier to store food now. The cost to run it is insanely small.

A small, flat-bottom, glass-wall kettle. That way people who always fill the thing completely aren't being as grossly wasteful as they might be. The glass wall helps other types see exactly how much water they need. The flat bottom means you can boil one small cup of water if that's what you need.

I like a lot of things I own, but the possession that rise to the level of _measurably_ improving my quality of life almost all have to do with being a parent.

Happiest Baby SNOO - because you only sleep when they sleep. Measured as, "no longer too sleep-deprived to conceptualize measuring this."

Arlo Baby connected monitor - I get a push notification when my baby cries, so I don't have to stay within earshot. Measure in allowable distance from sleeping child, allowable headphone volume.

Thule Chariot Lite double jogging stroller - The fitness advantage is obvious. Less obvious is the advantage for wrangling two young kids in airports, giving one at a time an enclosed, dark place to nap on layovers. Even better, we did a weeklong hiking trip (Sitka, AK) just renting bikes and towing the kids around to hiking trails. We left the carseats (which they detest) at home.

And, take with a grain of salt because I work in this industry, but: transferrable point credit cards (Chase, Amex) have saved me more than once. Last Christmas, circumstances forced us to book late. Ticket prices to get the family home were in the $700+ per seat range, just for a little domestic hop. Measured benefit: my Amex points were worth about 5 cents each for that one. You have to learn a bit about how to use them, but you can see the world... or just see your family.

Free, but a good ad blocker makes a huge difference.

Wireless chargers, and favor devices that support it. Being able to simply set down headphones, earbuds, phones, and have them charge without looking for the right cable is great.

Robot vacuum.

Electric screwdriver, makes repairs and furniture setup much quicker.

Know any effective and simple ad blocker for Safari? Mainly for Mac but wouldn't mind for iOS as well.

AdGuard is what I’d recommend; it supports the default uBlock Origin lists such as EasyList, Fanboy’s lists, etc.

I’ve tried other blockers before (including paid ones) and I found that most come with their own lists (typically derived from the aforementioned ones) and those are not always kept up to date.

I just checked it and it turns out AdGuard is open source. Interesting. I always had an impression (assumption) AdGuard would be closed source. It's also free (that's even more surprising). So, it's more like uBlock Origin, isn't it?

There's another famous OSS ad blocker - AdBlock Plus and it's quite shady as it goes. AdGuard isn't like that, is it?

All free software that we make is open source. Paid - closed source (save for AdGuard for iOS, it's open source despite having some premium features).

For iOS I use nextdns. It’s great and works across all apps, not only safari. The free plan is more than enough for a single user but the paid plan isn’t very expensive either. Nextdns also curbs my “smart” TV’s enthusiasm about data sharing.

Books. A few handfuls of them, combined, made a magnitude of a difference in my quality of life.

An incredible amount of similar content is available now in video and text form for free, but I think that the same ideas non-book form wouldn't have had the same impact on me.

Examples, suggestions?

I've never created a reading list, so this was a fun exercise.

Programming:

* Analyzing Computer System Performance with Perl::PDQ - Gunther

* The Mythical Man Month - Brooks

Philosophy:

* A Journey Around my Room - de Maistre

* Anger, Mercy, and Revenge - Seneca

* Schrödinger - What is Life?

* Man's Search for Meaning - Frankl

* Essays - Montaigne

* Ethical Intuitionism - Huemer

* The Consolations of Philosophy - de Botton

* A Manual for Living - Epictetus

* Meditations - Aurelius

Psychology / Meaning / Purpose / Science:

* Purpose and Meaning in the Workplace - Dik, Byrne & Steger

* The Case Against Education - Caplan

* Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids - Caplan

* Dawkins - The Selfish Gene

* A Confession - Tolstoy

* Enlightenment Now - Pinker

* The Better Angels of our Nature - Pinker

* The Improving State of the World - Goklany

* The Skeptical Environmentalist - Lomborg

* Religion for Atheists - de Botton

* Ending Aging - de Grey

* Gut Feelings - Gigirenzer

Fiction:

* Heart of Darkness - Conrad

* Candide - Voltaire

* Brave New World - Huxley

* Selected Works - Goethe

* 1984 & Animal Farm - Orwell

Politics:

* Obedience to Authority - Milgram

* The Problem of Political Authority - Huemer

* The Communist Manifesto - Marx

* Socialism - von Mises

* Just One Child - Greenhalgh

* The God That Failed - Crossman

* Death by Government - Rummel

Thought-provoking:

* Free to Learn - Gray

* The Beautiful Tree - Tooley

* Education and the State - West

* The Machinery of Freedom - Friedman

* Against Intellectual Monopoly - Boldrine & Levine

* From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State - Beito

* The Not So Wild, Wild West - Hill

* More Guns, Less Crime - Lott

* Race & Economics - Williams

* Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men - Hummel

What books would you recommend one must read?

My variation on that is realizing that I know have enough money to buy the expensive, specialized, books I want to read without having to debate it with myself.

Getting one or two book I love every month fills me with both joy and knowledge.

My variation on that is realizing that I can now buy the more or less expensive books that I downloaded illegally when I was a teenager.

Most people in the publishing industry don't realise that I probably wouldn't have got into the industry or wouldn't have reached my current level without some pirated books.

I can now afford without many problems to spend 60+ euros on a book and I'm doing it. Not often, but I'm doing it (books take time to read :) ).

My last purchase was advanced programming in the Unix environment (~65 euros), about one month ago, I'm currently at about page 200 out of ~970.

O'Reilly is going to get so much money from me in the next years... They kinda deserve them lol.

A motorcycle. Traffic is a non-issue now, in addition to the loads of fun I get from it.

and it saves you a lot for the long run by shortening your life expectancy !

Cutting traffic means that you are taking risks, in some parts of Europe motorcycles are expected to drive like a car hence they are not saving you in traffic.

I haven't seen evidence that lane splitting is more dangerous when done with a reasonable speed difference, plus it saves you from getting rear-ended when staying directly in lane. And yes, motorcycles are dangerous, as with many other fun things in life. I accept that.

Do you have a proper muffler? If not, your noise diminishes quality of life for everyone around you every day.

Yes, left it stock, I hate loud bikes too!

Bravo!

A dynamo hub for my bicycle. I don't have to worry anymore about charging battery packs. I always have the lights on, no matter what. I just don't think about it now, I know it's on. Decent quality wet trousers, overshoes and jacket are also a great addition. I don't mind leaving home or work when it's raining and I know I will be dry enough at the end ; apart for face and hands. Which makes me think that a proper pair of gloves should be next.

Wet stones to sharpen my knives. Although I probably don't sharpen them often enough, I do enjoy the process and having razor sharp blades afterwards is very pleasing.

Would you please share the names of the wet trousers, overshoes, and jacket that you use?

Sure:

Wet trousers: Endura Hummvee Waterproof https://www.endurasport.com/c/Hummvee-Waterproof-Trouser/p/E...

Overshoes: Vaude Bike Gaiter short https://www.vaude.com/en-INT/Activity/Commuter/310/Bike-Gait...

Jacket: Decathlon/Simond ALPINISM LIGHT Orange https://www.decathlon.com/collections/mountaineering-clothin...

Two additional displays and a three-arms stand, to be able to use three displays with my company issued 13" dell latitude 7390 running GNU/Linux.

They're all 24" @ 1929x1200.

It's magical, I can keep so many things open at the same time with a reasonable window size.

The integrated intel graphics can drive all three of them, but I wasn't able to also drive the laptop display, that would have been perfect.

Prior to Covid I noticed that our in-house purchasing guide had Dell WQHD 34" monitors so I purchased one each for my interns and they were a big hit. Turned out to be hugely useful both at their desks from the screen real estate (3440x1440) and using them for mid-year and year-end demos.

When my interns rolled off me and my employees naturally repurposed the monitors and within a couple of months everyone had gotten so used to them we had to have one at home for remote work days.

My desk is an old english game table that is 36" wide so two 20+" monitors is a little crowded. But one 34" monitor is perfect for me. Same idea: lots of screen real estate. The fact that everyone on the team has one with the same resolution at home makes screen sharing between us perfect. The other team members still have multi-monitor setups, so they can always screen share off of their second monitors when presenting to people with lower resolution displays. I have to scooch my browser to the far left and blow up to 150% before people can read anything. Minor downside, but still worth it.

16:10 FTW. That golden ratio.

Working from home was ugly until I bought a 4k monitor with a pair of smaller ones to go each side. I initially thought I could get by with the 2.5k monitor and a single secondary one but ... yeah, nah. 4k is surprisingly easier to read, and having two secondary monitors surprisingly useful. It means I can have all the distractions on one side (messaging, email, other messaging... why are there so many messaging apps?), the main monitor for the primary task, and the other secondary for reference. I still swap documents/tabs a lot, but having the main reference always right there makes it much easier.

Often that's the design document, with the IDE occupying the whole 4k monitor. Two code windows + helper windows, it's not just 500 character lines :)

- Almost all the train journey tickets I've bought

- A queen size bed and memory foam mattress along with two (small) memory foam pillows

- Memory foam work chair back/lumbar support

- The large wide wooden desk I bought at the start of lockdown

- Osprey Farpoint 40

- A very small and light daypack bag from Decathlon (~10-15L)

- (More of a lifestyle change) Fitting boxers (not the very loose/flailing ones) instead of boxer-briefs

- UV + Anti glare/reflective + Blue light coating photo-chromatic glasses.

- Asics Nimbus for running

- Buying a smaller phone (older SE)

- A small easily clippable book light

- Buying an analog alarm clock (I do not feel like interacting with my phone when going to sleep or waking up)

- Moving to my own domain and paid email host - I really get less spam, I have better ways to control spam (though I am still looking for one that provides even better control) and I do not live in the fear of getting blocked out of Google a/c (happened once I didn't even bother to find a Googler in my network; I used it only for forums etc)

- A VPS that works as my seedbox and VPN

- Tarsnap, backblaze b2, rsync.net, Dropbox (with Cryptomator). I am relieved about my personal data and I also feel in control of it.

A pack of 12 towels to use as bath towels. Now I use a clean towel after every shower.

https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Towels-Absorbent-Multi-Purpose...

I use a different color as hand towels and for cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. Using paper towels seems so wasteful now. I can clean anything by scrubbing it lightly with a soapy brush wand, wiping away the soap with a towel, and tossing the towel in the laundry. This even works for the bathroom mirror. I no longer spray glass cleaner which releases toxic VOCs (ammonia) into my home. I no longer use sponges, which are unhygienic and wasteful. Every home needs a tall stack of towels and a couple of brush wands.

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-3203200-SteeL-Bottle-Brush/dp/B00...

A dishwasher.

I spent the last 7 years doing dishes by hand due to lack of space in my Appartments. Then recently I found out there are things called "countertop" dishwashers which are half the size of normal ones and fit neatly onto your washing machine.

No longer having to spend 3-4 hours every week on doing the dishes really makes a big difference for me.

I own a dishwasher but I never use it.. I happen to share Bill Gates' opinion about the virtues of manual dishwashing: https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/30/why-bill-gates-loves-doing-t...

As a counter to that the issue people have with doing dishes is postponing it. Try only having 1-2 plates 1-2 sets of ustencils 1 pan etc. You have to clean it every time you use it which makes it more viable and natural than taking a chunk of your day to do last week's dishes. Plus you stop wasting plates and learn to reuse things.

Jesus Christ I passionately hate dishwashers.

My roommate uses our full height dishwasher all the time. Except he just throws stuff into it and I regularly pull dirty silverware out of it. Sometimes dirty dishes too.

The thing is, you're supposed to at least brush dishes, silverware and pans with a bit of water before putting them into a dishwasher. If anything, not to clog the dishwasher drain with small bits of food (it happens, I know because guess what? It f--ing happened).

But once you get your hands wet to brush the dishes... You might as well do them.

Ah yes, the dirty "but it was dishwashed!" utensils with yesterweek's meal still attached.

One thing I do not miss about working in an office!

All the water saving mandates with appliances have made dishwashers nearly useless these days.

I run every wash with extra rinse, extra heat, pots and pans mode. Makes a big difference.

I appreciate wanting to save the environment, but some regulations have gotten so tough that machines barely do what they're designed for

I came to find out that it has a lot to do with 1) the dishwasher itself and 2) the detergent or tablets that you use.

We now have a higher(ish) end Bosch machine and the manual specifically tells you to put the dishes with up to "moderately dried food remains". The machine has a sensor that looks at how dirty the water going out is and increases power

That with some Finish Quantum tablets does the job perfectly every time

Electric toothbrush: gets the job done quicker and results in less awkward conversations with my dentist (we talk about travel stories instead).

My dentist recommended SonicCare several years ago. It's a total game changer. No cavities since.

I'd say getting into wet-shaving has saved me a lot of money, and led to a more luxurious shave.

The cost of safety-razor blades vs cartridge blades alone should makes it worth looking into.

Agree 100%. A while back I decided one of the best ways I could improve my quality of life was to look at every object I use every day and slowly replace them all with the premium/BIFL versions.

It has been a success, and my two safety blade razors are standout exemplars.

Another random one: a nice but basic digital kitchen timer. I no longer yell at Siri at 6:30 in the morning when it doesn’t understand my timer request!

Totally agree. My parents got me a Merkur Solingen Futur as a gift about a decade ago, which I'd never have considered buying on my own. I haven't looked back since.

I went from from shaving cream can to shaving brush and soap. It made shaving so much more enjoyable. I highly recommended.

Did it for years - cause of cost. Gave up on it and went back to regular razors. The difference in cost is maybe $20/yr for me but the time difference makes it not worth the trouble. Back when I was living off a $700/month, safety razors made sense (cause $10 for 100 blades)... But now I'm living off more than 10x that and it doesn't make sense.

Been there done that.

I got an electric razor from Philips, for ~40€ (it was on sale).

It has already lasted a year and shows no sign of wearing.

I can clean shave without cutting myself in any way. It used to happen from time to time with both the safety razor and throwaway razors.

I was very happy switching to a double edged safety razor, a decade ago.

18 months ago or so I upgraded to good battery powered clippers/trimmers. The trimmers are just the start of the investment. Lube & 5-in-1 cleaner are both consumables that are ongoing but not bad. But wow, the clippers are all fixed size, not adjustable, & buying a set was about as much as the clippers themselves. Very pricey. But wow, my ability to trim & maintain myself has gone way way up. I used to use an Oster and sometimes scissors+comb, and I got by, but this is so much more consistent & even & easy & fun to do.

Home powercage + Olympic weights. Having it myself basically removed all friction between me and exercise; no gym hour restriction, no need to share. It's there whenever I want it.

A good Bluetooth collar, or earbuds. I did find the collar an upgrade, quality matters (battery, and how much ambient noise it picks up), and they're so much easier to not lose than wired earbuds. (haven't tried wireless earbuds)

1. A book holder. I noticed I got back pain from studying in recent years. This was entirely attributable to my neck position and buying a book holder stopped this. This, in turn, decreases the resistance to keeping a regular study routine.

2. A box of a 100 wax ear-plugs. Unwanted noise stresses me, and now I can reduce its intensity by 80%.

3. An electric moped. Allows me to zip between cars and avoid traffic, effectively cutting travel time by 1/3.

4. A collection of decent, second-hand suits. Most people underestimate the signaling value in dressing smartly. I've noticed that strangers are far more likely to strike up conversations with me when I dress like a gentleman - you seem much less threatening, more like a "civilian".

Mesh Wifi.

I used to have 3 base stations scattered around the house with different names and it was a hassle just connecting to the closest wifi point all the time and also switching between wifi points when I move around the house would result in a connection interruption.

Didn't accept a bad coffee mug. Kept looking for the perfect coffee mug. Bought a great coffee mug - size, materials, heft, stability, aesthetics.

My preference is stoneware, 12 oz, square-flared bottom, with abstract natural imagery. Pre-warmed before use.

Interesting answer, and something I think that most people could use and probably don't consider.

I started attending pottery classes last year, and while my results are objectively terrible I have to say drinking coffee from a mug I made myself always tastes nicer!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDYo7FhjKkQ/

Brand ? Model ? I would like a properly insulated portable mug that is not made out of metal… There are plenty of double walled glass options available but they are not actually thermally broken so they don’t act like a proper thermos…

I prefer a giant Sports Direct mug

A portfolio of investments! It was was the reason I felt no financial or job worries during COVID. It's also given me the financial confidence to sublet my apartment in an increasingly unstable downtown environment at a loss and finally buy my dream home and car during a pandemic year. And somehow my net worth is still continuing to go up despite all that.

I bought a cheap Mi Band (fitness tracker watch) that is partially supported by Gadgetbridge. For $40 it does most of the things a real smartwatch does, with great battery life and niftyness. I was in need of a watch and it is cheaper than a traditional or "smart" one and yet extremely functional and pretty neutral/stylish.

Herman Miller Embody chair, not just fixed my broken posture after sitting on crappy 40$ chair from Craigslist for 4 years, but improved my back, posture and develoepd good habit sitting with straight back.

I'm looking for a new office chair since Covid lockdown has done a number on my posture and lower back strength.

This sounds just like what the doctor would order. Thanks for mentioning it.

Pro TIP: Emobdy on HM website was 1685$, but i ordered from the dealer i found o their website, ended-up ~560$ cheaper.

I agree with You so much, got a Herman Miller right before the pandemic and I can sit for 12 hours in it without discomfort

Youtube Premium for $10/month. No ads to break your focus.

An ad-blocker does the same for free. And both methods don't get rid of sponsor ads within the video.

The extension "SponsorBlock" works well for desktop browsers, it accepts user contributed segments to cut out sponsorships.

Or just use uBlock origin which is free

It probably doesn't work on the youtube app for iPad Pro / my Android phone, so I also payed for it.

And sure, it feels bad that there are lots of in-video advertisements, but I deal with it

NewPipe or Youtube Vanced for android.

Last time I saw an ad on youtube was months ago on someone elses device.

Every time YouTube premium comes up, somebody mentions ublock origin failing to realize that a lot of people use devices other than a personal computer to watch videos (chrome cast, smart tv, phone, etc).

You could also set up something like Pi-Hole.

doesn't work well on youtube ads

Doesn’t work with the YT ads. Their apps bypass your dns and you can’t tell the ad traffic apart to block it. uBO only works well in the browser.

Pro tip: compare prices for online services across countries. Netflix, YT, etc are 1/10th of the price in places like Argentina, turkey, etc. And the savings are just one vpn connection away to signup (you don’t usually need a vpn afterwards to use it)

It's $12, not 10.

An electric blanket. I have sensitive lungs with asthma and heated air in the winter makes it difficult for me to breath. Also it is much more efficient than heating the whole house if you live alone.

A split keyboard. Way, way better ergonomics. I got the Ergodox EZ one but just about any should do the trick. Made my back pain go away.

Lunch at my favorite diner 3 times a week, during my bike ride. I'm familiar with all the staff (students at the college) and owners, I'm current on their families and situations. They make special food for me; they try out ideas on me and talk food.

The best mattress you can afford is the single best investment you can make in your life. You spend 1/3 of your life asleep. Getting more high quality sleep has a direct impact on your mood, general health and personal productivity/effectiveness.

A $5000 mattress for someone that can afford it really won't make a big difference compared to a $500 one. What mattress you sleep on doesn't really matter as long as you sleep well.

Yes, diminishing returns eventually. But you don't want a very cheap one either.

It depends. I can only get a good night sleep on a hard like a rock 100$ mattress that has zero frills. I'm also in my mid 40s and I have zero back issues which I suspect has something to do with the fact that I never got to sleep on a plush, soft mattress.

I think y'all are being taken for a ride by the mattress industry and are paying for it not just with your dollars but also with your back health.

Yeah, $500 seems to be the sweet spot. Obviously you can spend a lot more on a Savoire bespoke mattress, but for most people a high quality multi-material (with memory foam top) mattress is a good choice.

I find this very difficult. Every time I buy a mattress I buy one that I think is perfect, I sleep great on it, and then 10 months later I can't seem to sleep on it without back pain.

PS. Don't buy memory foam, it doesn't breathe well, makes you sweat and if its a thick layer of memory foam will make it impossible to turn on at night (you will sink into a stupid, sealed hole). A little layer of memory foam is bearable, but what would be the point then? The only reason they add it is marketing. A good breathable mattress is far better.

The good foam is called High Resiliance Foam. You can get it from foam stores that custom cut foam for reupholstery or custom upholstery. If you get it in 4" or less layers you can even roll it up or fold it if you need to transport it (although the layers do move independently and can be a bit of a pain, although two layers lets you get a harder bottom layer and softer top layer). It is expensive but less than the really expensive mattresses (e.g. 8" of king size via 2 twin XL size would be under $900 from where I purchased mine a couple of years ago, I'm not sure if they could do king or queen size as a single piece).

As someone who has trouble sleeping I've found what I sleep on seems to make surprisingly little difference as long as it isn't causing pain. Also, the breathable thing is likely a difference between cold sleepers and warm sleepers; as a cold sleeper I use a waterproofing layer and prefer that to a breathable mattress.

Your mileage may vary. I have a memory foam mattress and it works fine for me. I never noticed a particular sweating problem, haven't noticed any problems turning over. But, then, I just try to pick a position and go to sleep. I don't look for a comfortable position, per se, more of "I've conditioned myself to go to sleep when my body goes to this position".

I like modal sheets which run very high in absorption, so perhaps covering with extremely breathable bed materials makes a difference.

>Don't buy memory foam, it doesn't breathe well, makes you sweat and if its a thick layer of memory foam will make it impossible to turn on at night (you will sink into a stupid, sealed hole)

I bought a high-quality memory foam mattress from a major brand and don't have these issues. There is some "tech" associated with mattress construction to counter these potential problems. One of the best purchases I've made.

A few years ago I put a 4" memory foam mattress topper on the very firm mattress that I had. I love it. Back pain is gone. They're fairly cheap. Totally worth it.

Interestingly, my favorite mattress so far has been a cheap Tuft & Needle.

This is a very successful marketing gimmick. Mattress industry in the US is a scam. Yes, you should invest in a good mattress. But a good mattress doesn't need to cost $8000. Just get a simple, relatively firm mattress. Mine is a simple $120 spring mattress from Amazon, and those are the best I've had. (Also reviews from other people who slept on it and used more expensive ones).

Whiteboard in kitchen...seems dumb but after putting it up I realized how many todos and ideas come to me in the kitchen

Shave your dry and oily (unwashed) face with an electric shaver.

I have sensitive skin. I used disposable razors for years and had got painful and disgusting blisters on my neck. I switched to a $40 Philips 3-head shaver and the blisters reduced. Then someone told me the secret to irritation-free shaving: shave dry, before washing. The oils on the skin protect it from damage by the shaver. I started to shave before my shower and my neck blisters mostly went away. Switching to a high quality foil shaver (Braun 7 Series) helped reduce the blisters even more.

The Braun 7 series is expensive, but the it lasts a long time. The heads last a long time and are inexpensive. I bought the shaver for $160 three years ago. I replace the shaver head once a year, for $35. So over three years, I've spent ($160 + 3 x $35)/3year = $230/3year = $77/year. Two gripes: 1) the battery is too big so it's a little heavy for travel, and 2) the charging port is not USB so I have to bring the charger when I travel. The base station with "cleaning cartridges" is a scam, just throw it in the recycling bin. When my Braun 7 series shaver breaks, I will buy another one immediately.

Old school wetshaving with a brush, shaving soap, and a DE razor have worked wonders for my skin.

It varies for each person. For years I shaved using a Philips 3-head shaver and had my skin red from irritation. It's much better since using wet (soap) shaving with a disposable cartridge razor.

I tried DE razors, which didn't create irritation but even after years I couldn't consistently shave without cuts. I just use Mach 3 cartridges now.

Thanks for sharing this. I never imagined someone would have the opposite experience from me. :)

I used Mach 3 & 4 and got terrible irritation. I think you have better shaving technique than me.

If I could have learned better technique 20 years ago, it would have saved me from years of body insecurity. My family members and various physicians never informed me that unsightly shaving rashes are avoidable. I imagine the popularity of beards is partially due to insufficient shaving technique education.

Would you care to post a video of yourself shaving? It could help others.

A 16 kg kettlebell and a speed rope. I got a MTB two years ago and managed to stay in shape during warm season but I was lacking something for the cold wet weather. When you combine a speed jump rope, a kettlebell and some body weight exercises you pretty much have it covered. I'm actually in better shape in the winter now but still the bike is super fun when the wood roads are dry.

We installed screens on the double doors on our “sun room” so that we could keep them open all summer. It was an inexpensive change that really improved our quality of life, as we’re at home much more.

A slow cooker. Add meat and vegies in the morning and come home tired to a house filled with the smells of a great dinner waiting.

Instant pot. It's a preasure cooker you can program

Robo vaccum. Many hours saved

Bose noise canceling. Especially useful on the plane or in a busy office

Dishwasher. Many hours saved

Adidas Bluetooth headset. Really got addicted to it. Has a joystick with 4 directions and great battery life and sound

Products that should have improved my life by barely did:

Nest thermostat. For the price, disappointing. Didn't seem to learned my preferences

What is the difference between Adidas and Bose headphones?

My Bose headphones are wired and much bulkier and heavy. They are good if you do not move around.

The Adidas are much lighter. They are designed to be worn while you are active. You can even disassemble and wash them.

I know Bose has a wireless version but I don't own it.

A nice umbrella.

I have the gustbuster classic [1]. It's tested in a wind tunnel and can withstand winds up to 55 mph. It's got good coverage and won't turn inside out even when it's windy. It's got a curved handle which makes it easy to use it as a walking stick when it's not raining.

It's pricey but worth it to me. Now if I feel like going on a spontaneous walk, I'm not deterred by the weather forecast or the sky being a little cloudy. I can even do silly things like riding a bike while holding an umbrella.

I also have some waterproof doc martens on the way. The most annoying thing about being out in the rain is your feet getting soaked through canvas shoes. Hopefully this will solve that issue.

[1] https://gustbuster.com/products/gustbuster-classic-48-inch-a...

About a year ago I finally allowed myself to get into photography as a hobby by buying a Nikon Z50 two lens kit. I've had so much fun with it while trying to get better at composition that it's well worth the price. It's given me a creative hobby that I can practice away from the screen and away from my house.

Considering the HN audience I recommend Canon cameras with Magic Lantern

a Dishwasher.

Before buying it I would spend 45 minutes every night doing dishes.

Now I load the dishwasher in 10 minutes tops and go to bed half an hour earlier!

More sleep => better humor in the morning => happier family

A friend of mine bought a tabletop dishwasher even though he has a perfectly good, standard-sized one in his spacious kitchen. He says that cleaning baby bottles and things every night was tiring him out. Now he loads it every night and turns on the Baby Steam mode that sterilizes the stuff after cleaning. Apparently, the dishwasher needs no connection to the faucet. Pour in water from the top and allow the dirty water to run into a bucket.

For me, having a workshop in which I can do any automotive, house, electronics build or repair and keep all of my stuff working and remove costs for replacing items which can easily be repaired. Same goes for car repairs and house repairs/remodels - having all of the tools available is worth the up front investment. I've never once been to a car mechanic (15 years of car ownership), have the same laptop I got in university (12 years old at this point), and have done mostly all of my own repairs on my house - with one structural issue that I didn't trust myself with...Also have a sewing machine (which I'm not that good on, I mostly leave it to my GF) to repair clothes and make adjustments. Ah and one more thing: a fully stocked kitchen with all of the tools you need to cook.

A proper office chair for working at home. You have no idea.

A Xiaomi Mi Pocket Magic Massager which I use almost daily. Because of decades of bad posture, I often have crippling tension in my neck muscles. After I discovered acupuncture, I realized that this small tens unit could provide a similar effect more conveniently.

What muscles do you use it on? My forearms have been super tight recently.

My forearms get tight when I'm stressed or sleep deprived. I have one of those large "thumper" massagers (like the "Hangsun Handheld Neck Back Massager" on Amazon). When you use them, find the sore spot in your muscle very close to your elbow. Work that out with the massager.

Does it ever lead to tingling sensations in your hands? I was dealing with what I thought was cubical tunnel and noticed my forearms are always so tight

All sorts of vibrating things will make your hands go tingly after a while. But if you're talking about your hand on the arm receiving the massage, you should probably see a doctor about that before you cause yourself nerve damage.

I use it for my upper trapezoid. More recently I bought a fancier unit with independent electrodes, but I keep coming back to this unit because it's so much more convenient.

Recommended way (if any) to buy in the US?

So far I bought 3 from Aliexpress (eventually you'll get tire of your partner stealing yours and it's a great gift idea)

I've had neck muscle tension that was due to emotional distress. I went to the free 10-day Vipassana meditation course (the Goenka one) and learned how to relax my neck muscles and process the emotions so my neck stays relaxed. After learning to deal with the root cause, my quality of life has improved. Therapy also helped.

Most neck tension, migraines, headaches, and lower back pain are from emotions. If your neck tension is due to emotions, I hope you can learn to deal with them and find long-lasting relief.

Once I started working from home full time (a couple years B.C. - Before Covid) buying a house within walking distance of my children's school and our church. A twenty minute walk is worlds better than a similar drive.

Cordless vacuum

Seconded. The stick kind with a variety of heads, including a head for hardwood floors. Game changer, at least since having a kid.

I prefer the joy of using a great lightweight cordless vacuum over having a robot vacuum. Vacuuming has been one of the household chores that was delegated to me as a kid growing up, and the difference compared to extremely heavy corded vacuums makes the experience feel like house magic.

Seconded. A while ago we had a bit of a windfall in the form of a Lowe’s gift card and so we splurged on a Dyson. It felt extravagant at the time but now we use it daily and it’s been well worth the investment.

Yes. Bosch makes good ones, which allow you to switch the battery (and even exchange them with the batteries in their power tools).

I can't overstate how much more pleasant those are, compared to a regular vacuum. It takes the pain out of the process.

To be very honest, a diary. I’ve always viewed diaries as pointless items until I was enticed by one simply due to its aesthetic and ended up making a purchase. It’s quite convenient to have something available to just scribble ideas in and declutter your mind. Of course, I don’t use it in the traditional sense for reflecting everyday, however once in a while, I jot down goals and future plans, as well as accomplishments. And this offers a peace of mind, increasing daily efficiency, which is great for my startup.

- Squat rack, barbell, weights and a bench (garage gym)

- Premium (home) office chair

- Electric toothbrush

- Smart lighting with Apple Home support

This year I upgraded my tool shed in the garden with the help of my brother and brother-in-law so I now have a fully insulated 3m2 office with painted plaster walls, wooden floor, my desk, a bookshelf and a filing cabinet.

It makes such a huge difference now that I am not allowed to commute to work and have to work from home.

Other than that:

- my house

- basic tooling (hammer, saw, a set of common bits/wrenches/etc, caliper tools for the car, battery drill) that I have bough over the last 13 years.

A bicycle.

A really nice mattress.

We went to a few shops and laid on probably 30 different ones before deciding on the best one.

It was "expensive" but feels like it was cheap and 100% worth it because of the pleasure of going to bed every night really comfortable and waking up well-rested.

When you factor in how much time you spend in bed and how important it is to get a good night's sleep, it's totally worth it to buy the perfect mattress.

You can double or triple the lifespan of a mattress by covering it with an oil-proof cover. This also prevents dust mite infestation, a major source of allergens in homes and a major risk-factor for children developing asthma.

How comfortable is an oil-proof cover? I'm going to guess not very.

A phone cover with a pocket for cards. No more wallets!

Ditto, I discovered this a few years ago, and 90% of the time I don’t need my wallet. I just take my driver’s license (ID in the US), ATM card, transit card, and a $20 bill.

During Covid: an espresso machine (and quality grinder)

If you're more into coffee and are on more of a budget, the Ninja 12-cup makes an excellent cup of coffee. Combine that with Eight-oclock whole bean Columbian Coffee and any cheap grinder. I prefer this to any coffee-shop coffee.

Coffee-shop coffees these days are dark-roasted (i.e. bitter) espresso for adding flavour to an otherwise milky (or your milk alternative) sugary hot or cold concoction.

Filter coffee made from a lightly roasted regional with fruity / tea-like characteristics is a world apart from a watered down Espresso. And really all you need is some filter paper and a pour-over filter holder, if you order your coffee pre-ground.

Don't trust automated coffee machines for filtered coffee. Buy a V60 (ceramic), use your normal kettle and start making poor over coffee.

This way you will get the best out of any coffee, you might need to research a bit and practice somedays until you get the right recipe but after that you will get the same result everytime.

I had a Chemex for years. The Ninja gets very close to it in terms of flavor.

A dedicated high-end under-counter ice machine.

Most of my family members and I tend to drink water all day long.

We have a reverse-osmosis water filter setup, which is great. For years we used it to fill up bottles that we stored in the refrigerator so we could have cold water through the day. But we had to constantly clean and refill the bottles, and it takes some time for them to get cold.

With a good ice machine, we just get some ice in a cup or thermos mug and we can instantly have as much cold water as we want. The high-end machine makes nice clear ice that does not taste any different than normal water when it melts. It's just like store bought ice.

The fact that it is under the counter means it's super easy to open it up, scoop some ice, and then fill the cup up with water from the reverse osmosis spout right behind it.

You end up with really great tasting cold water, instantly, and as much as you want. The thing apparently makes 35 lbs of ice per day.

It's also nice for visitors, if they want pop or something and we didn't think to put it in the refrigerator beforehand.

Unlike refrigerator ice, it never has a smell or taste to it. It's just ice.

Wondering what brand of reverse osmosis system you recommend? It’s hard to tell what is genuinely good.

Also, what to do about replacing mineral content?

Thanks in advance.

Missed this until just now. I didn't do extensive research on mine, I just looked at what the local well service company supports, because they come and swap out the consumables for a pretty reasonable fee (which keeps me from forgetting each year...).

The main criteria for me was having a 3/8" line from the tank to the spout, so that water comes out quickly.

I did supplement the stock 4 gallon tank with a 14 gallon tank (which barely fit under my sink). That allows the water to run for about 7 minutes, which seems to be plenty for both heavy use and to supply the ice machine.

So far I've had good luck with APEC brand RO stuff from Amazon. The original RO equipment is Millenium brand from Hellenbrand.

I use an inline remineralizer for the water to the ice machine. That is apparently helpful to preserve the pump. I also use a carbon filter for taste.

Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind reply and will be researching APEC and Millennium. I really didn’t know where to start, so I really appreciate it!

For me,

QC35 - I had cheaper 100$ noise cancelling headphones but Bose is another level. Way more noise cancelling and 10x more comfortable.

Kindle PW - I said this in another thread with QC35 and Kindle, I can find oasis anywhere.

Nest Thermostats - I resisted these but they really made life easier. So much easier to ask Alexa to make it cooler than waiting until I get one more thing done before I get up to change thermostat.

NVMe drives. I put them everywhere I can.

Pickup truck. I bought one 4 years ago. Not having to rely on delivery services has been a game changer. When my dishwasher broke and delivery was 3 weeks out I just went to the warehouse and picked it up that day. When my hot water heater died and the plumber was a no show 3 days in a row (for which I had to take time off work each day) I finally just bought one myself at the hardware store and with the help of YouTube installed it myself for probably $1000 less anyway. I never thought I needed a pickup but I find it helpful once a month for some task: Hauling a server rack that was donated to a non-profit, dump runs, building a tree house for the kids, towing a tractor, etc. As an added bonus the higher ground clearance means I can get out before the snow plow comes.

So much this. Especially if you're a dad, I end up hauling all sorts of things for the kids, sporting equipment, furniture etc and then when they outgrow it, haul it back out. Not sure how I ever lived w/o a truck.

The automatic feeder is a dream. I’m no longer aggressively stalked by my cat for food.

I also have several Wyze cams around the home. When I go away, I’m able to have “kitty conferences” to check in how she’s doing and chat with her.

Did you respond to the wrong thread?

An Acer chromebook from Staples. I paid less than $200. It is new, it has 15 inch tocscreen and a celeron CPU, passmark score of which blows almost all other chromebook computers that I have seen advertising in the price range double the price of mine.

I use it to work with my company provided Amazon Workspaces windows virtual desktop. It has a client for chromebook. It is sitting next to my Core-i7 dell laptop and I only use the dell for video conferencing as the voice and video doesn't translate well over virtual desktops. It is the best computer investment I made, in the sense of bang for the buck. By the way, when work is slow, I can minimize the AWS client and do my daily surfing reading HN etc on the same computer.

A water bottle with per-hour markers. This tells me at a glance if I didn’t drink enough water through the day (which is invariably the case) and I can catch up. Extremely low-tech, but made all the difference when trying to lose weight (and not get it back).

Air Fryer

Instant Pot

Noise Cancelling Headphones

Pi-Hole

Custom Bed

Air Purifiers

Walking Treadmill (that turns my automated desk into a treadmill desk)

2-in-1 Shower Splitter

Instant Pot have an Air Fryer adapter now called the Duo Crisp: https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/duo-crisp/

Things that freed up time.

Not any one thing in particular, but if I could save money by, say, picking up my food from a restaurant vs having it delivered, I would. Now I gladly pay the fee for saving me 20 min.

PRK eye surgery. Why did I wait so long?

Good, sturdy luggage.

A nice printer. Color laser with duplexing.

Instacart has been a life changer. No longer go to any stores for anything. Amazing, how much less stress and more time there is in the week. When grocery shopping is eliminated.

Remarkable Tablet and noise cancelling headphones. best for writing and calming down a little from news fatigue.

Kinesis advantage keyboard, now feeling a lot more comfortable while typing whole day.

Used power cables for my Thinkpad from a computer recycler. Have them all over house and dedicated one for my bag so I never think twice about packing or forgetting it somewhere

A bed that has multi positions, like a hospital bed, raise the feet, raise the head. I objected when my wife said it would be good for us. I have sinus issues so I could not argue too much. We purchased 2 twins since I knew we would never want the same setting, at the same time. OMG I change the setting at least once a day, usually twice. We use the kind with a motor. When I get a sinus issue, it is so easy to prop my chest and head up. Expensive but well worth it.

a hammock chair. a zero gravity chair. a patio umbrella. hanging outside is nice. a velcro'ed up bugscreen for my patio. natural anti-mosquito incense. hats for the sun.

a zojurushi thermos or two. tea is always hot. i can brew it in the thermos & enjoy whenever. matcha & the bamboo kit for it.

ergonomic devices. split keyboard. an adjustable height laptop tray (sit laptop on it to raise screen & let bt keyboard go underneath). a gooseneck tablet arm. lenovo bluetooth trackpoint keyboard. gas spring monitor arms.

a Rode Go wireless mic & lavalier for discrete audio recording. a steel series arctis pro wireless for walking around on a call or zoom. good battery powered lights, for video, vidchat, as a work light, & an evening outdoor light. a gooseneck clamp to camera mount.

collapsible water bottles. a soda stream. shelving. good usb-pd battery packs. plants. a kobo e-reader. a moonman m2 fountain pen got me journaling on paper again. lots & lots of packing cubes, to organize my stuff (& sometimes pack it). a metcal soldering iron. chromecast audio devices aplenty. command hooks.

decent skin care products. electric tooth brush, does a better job. dental floss picks, much easier to use than floss, always tensioned. good battery trimmers, the blade kit, blade lube & cleaner. vibrating foam roller.

3D printer. I've had one for a few months, and in that time I've made at least half a dozen replacement parts for things around the house, not to mention a lot of other things I've printed just for fun.

Example: grommets for the hanger wire on a bird feeder. The old ones were worn out, and it kept falling down and spilling the seed.

It was a very simple thing to CAD up and print, but meant that I didn't have to buy a whole new bird feeder.

Leatherman ($50). It always sits in my pocket and I have a knife for cutting boxes, a phillips head for that random drawer knob that’s loose, a decent pair of scissors for a loose thread unraveling my shirt, and a dedicated tool designed for easily opening those annoying plastic bubble packs. Oh, and a great pair of pliers, of course. It’s not a big purchase, but it’s $50 that I continually find myself glad that I spent.

Spin Bike. Unbelievable how much my life has changed by being able to exercise while I take calls (at low speeds!), read, watch Netflix, etc.

Same for me. I found out at low speeds I can do creative work for 40 minutes, typing on my laptop. I need to take break then as I feel too tired (mentally and physically), but it feels great.

What’s your set up look like? Do you have a standing desk that somehow fits over top of the spin bike? I have a standing desk but it doesn’t go tall enough to fit over top.

I have to admit it's a bit clunky. I chose a model with a tablet holder that happens to be stable enough for my laptop and the handle bar tall enough for me to pedal while sitting straight. So far it's good enough.

Which one did you get? I just want a barebones one for exactly what you're saying.

I bought a Schwann IC4 (Same as IC8 in Europe) which has the build quality of the Peloton and I use my iPhone combined with Kinetic app in the background to get all the stats I want. It was on sale at Best Buy recently. By all means there are less expensive ones and if this hadn’t been on sale I would’ve probably gone for one cheaper. It was $999 Canadian. Good luck!

http://www.skytech.lt/fc330-microlab-fc330-stereo-koloneles-... Thesa are amazing, almost everything from microlab ROCKS for its price, you dont need to spend more than 100€ on a decent set of speakers

A kindle. I finished 26 books in this year so far and more inclined towards ebooks. I was reading on android Kindle app and then decided to buy a kindle.

It makes a huge difference, I wasn't aware what I was missing until I read on the kindle screen, It is very much like paper. I love it and sending articles and other stuff too to kindle and reading them there.

Full suite of good battery powered cordless tools. Can fix/build pretty much whatever I need around the house whenever I need.

How often do you need to fix things?

I use my Ixo roughly once a week somewhere in the house. I'm not sure what more of a "suite" I could use.

Not OP but I fix / improve things surprisingly often since I have five kids in my house.

Any investment made into sporting gear (cycling, running) and services (personal trainer, Strava) has improved my life in a measureable way. Weight is down, depression mostly gone, physical fitness is up. And the fitness part is precisely measureable via FTP and VO2 figures. Got to do stuff with the gear, of course, but that feels awesome, too

Vacuums in general. Eufy robot vacuum, Eufy stick vacuum, and an inherited Kirby. The robot vacuum does a great job, and the stick vacuum is so versatile for both spot-cleans and doing entire floors. The Kirby is the heavy-duty one. Does a great job on carpet, and it had a carpet shampooing attachment that is great to do for spring cleaning.

ifixit screwdriver kit. Never stuck without the right bit ever again.

Yes, this is a nice set.

The second we bought a house I started hunting for a trailer for our car. It’s a sub-€2000-investment but I’d wager it saves us on the order of 75-100 hours per year, every year. It also works as a temporary waste buffer meaning a lot of clutter is out of sight and out of mind until the next trip to Goodwill/waste disposal.

Seconded. It’s not as common in the US to have a trailer with a car (as opposed to a pickup truck), but you can do so much (and replace an expensive truck with a cheap car). Dump runs, green waste, buying appliances or bulky items, cleanups, helping friends, etc.

I’m not even sure my car is rated for towing (the hitch is for a bike rack that I also use) but as long as the load is small (under 1000 lbs) and the road is flat, it’s fine (I do have the lights harness and safety chains). I can’t tow a boat or a horse trailer over the Rockies, but I could take a jet ski to the local lake.

Easily the bidet. That coupled with reusable and washable cloth wipes drastically reduced our dependency on toilet paper.

Bidets are awesome, but what system did you come up with for dealing with the cloth wipes?

I just wash them by hand when I'm done using them and then toss them in the laundry basket for a deeper wash later in the week.

1. An electric pressure cooker. A total game changer when it comes to meal prep (I purchased the Breville version)

2. Replacing the TV with a projector

3. Adjustable weights (makes all the difference while sheltering in place in an apartment)

4. Better food storage tools (a vacuum sealer, weck jars, glass Tupperware etc). Makes all the difference when it comes to food wastage.

Anyone suffering from Dry Eyes: https://www.amazon.com/Tranquileyes-Travel-Sleep-Nighttime-R.... Expensive but worth the price compared to cheaper warm compress masks.

-switched from regular disposable razors to a Merkur straight safety razor. Its become enjoyable to shave.

-Staples ARC system for taking meeting notes it lets me reorder pages and comes with some really nice templates.

-Pilot G2 pens

-Pentel Graphgear 1000 mechanical pencil

-Things3 app for doing GTD on the phone and keeping notes on personal projects

-Pocket Casts app for listening to podcasts

Adguard.

https://i.imgur.com/CCLHQTT.png

I use uBlock Origin and PrivacyBadger (which are both free). Does Adguard work better/differently to justify the cost?

Don't use both. Use uBlock Origin. Never, ever use 2 ad blockers in a single layer (here, browser).

Privacy Badger also changed how it works. Making it just another adblocker. So stick with uBO

I’m curious, why should you not use 2? I use Privacy Badger and ublock and haven’t had any problems that I know of.

Not original poster but I recommend Adguard for your DNS: https://adguard.com/en/adguard-dns/overview.html I changed the router settings for the house six months ago and have had no complaints. We've got 3 teenagers doing online high school or university and no issues.

Once in a great while I get a message from a site that says "we've detected you're using an adblocker" but really no issues.

There's no control over what is blocked or not blocked. That worried me but has turned out to work just fine. There are other solutions that do allow you to maintain a list but charge an annual fee.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=adblocking+dns shows a lot more options than there were six months ago.

>Does Adguard work better/differently to justify the cost?

I can't comment on better as I haven't used either of those products in anger or recently, but Adguard installs itself as a system app, not a browser plugin, and it just works. It's become a standard install on new computers when I set them up. The only side effect I see of an average day is some pages taking a second or two longer before the first paint, presumably due to the quantity of ads removed.

For where I am, the cost of an evergreen licence for a single seat is less than an hour of work, it looks after itself, and I only see ads in Tor. Well worth the $.

I have a very minimalist lifestyle, lining by myself in a 30sqm one-room apartment.

However:

Water filter (Amazon Basics) Dimmable remote controlled light bulbs Good 2.1 speaker set

I was especially surprised about the water filter. Living in Germany I am used to drinking tap and not having to clean the leftovers of lime from the kettle is a nice thing.

AirPods Pro and Sony WH-1000XM3 for some great sound and (more important) some peace and quiet as a city apartment dweller. Sometimes I just keep them in/on without music.

Other than that, proper rain apparel and a Fender Vintera 60’s Modified Stratocaster / Boss Katana 100 combination.

Postpartum night doula - the best decision for my mental health and the well-being of my growing family.

Definitely have to say a pair of blue light glasses. I have a terrible habit of reading articles or watching videos on my phone before bed. Not to mention the fact that I'm looking at screens all day anyways.

These glasses have dramatically reduced strain on my eyes and improved my sleep.

- Instant Pot

- THE CONTROL °FREAK® temperature controlled stove

These devices make home cooking faster and more predictable. No more burnt pots to to scrub. Much easier to try new recipes and repeat previous successes.

Lowering the effort of home cooking has enabled me to eat healthier and spend less on takeout.

Does anyone have experience with an IR camera keeping an eye on the stove from above, like this one?

https://newatlas.com/panperfect-infrared-cooking/56305/

An Instapot. You can practically cook anything on it. Being more at home and time being split between working and child care, the Instapot has been a lifesaver.

Toaster/Air Fryer. An all in one that we can fry food without the mess of oil, or toast bread and bagels.

I bought a battery powered yellow light table lamp. Turning off the main room lamps in the night and using this a few hours before my bedtime, allows me to get asleep faster, while still being able to do minor tasks like reading books, office work etc.

Agreed. Battery-powered LED booklamps are incredible nowadays. We get around 20 hours out of a dimmable USB-chargeable booklamp we got for around 12 EUR and it helps us a lot as a nightlight for new parents.

Noise cancelling headphones, my most valuable earthly possession (I have 3 small children).

This Kohler showerhead: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-shower-h...

An ergonomic chair (namely, the Steelcase Leap). I haven't had back pain since.

I sleep better with sleep masks and earplugs. I like the sleep masks so much I just buy them like 4 or 5 at a time. I like them puffy so they don't touch my eyes/eyelashes, but they can get a bit flattened over time.

A futon.

I used to regularly get cramps in my back when I slept, bought a futon, never had one since.

MyFitnessPal and Fitbit (inspire and scale) I lost 100+ lbs using them.

Amazon Alexa wiring for the home. The use of alarms, timers, ambient music, and room-to-room conversation with the family has all been more transformative than I could have expected.

Thermapen food thermometer. Best purchase I've made since 2015. Cooking is less stressful, pour over coffee comes out perfectly, less food waste and/or dissatisfaction.

Recumbent trike. Between balance issues following brain surgery & shoulders ruined by arthritis I could no longer bicycle. Getting back on the road was life changing.

Massage Gun

Had pretty bad RSI that was making it hard to work, and shoulder spacing that gave me shoulder aches.

I got a massage gun and that alleviated it enough to get me functional again.

My house.

Our dog: forces you to go outside several times a day, the kids have someone to play with and they learn to care for someone.

An automated pet door. My dog loves to go in and out of the house every five minutes and whines annoyingly if he doesn't.

link?

I've got electric-acoustic guitar Fender + KRK rokit 8,

Laundry with dryer included is the second thing which improved my quality of life

A hammock , installed on my apartments balcony

Bicycle. With tires that are knobby enough for light trail use. Can't imagine covid life without it.

More cables to load various devices at different places without carrying the cable: Work, home, car.

A pair of walking shoes.

Been walking between an hour and three hours every day. Feel and sleep much better.

Bedrock Sandals for me. I can walk forever in them. Feet can breathe and toes can spread.

Awesome. I do wear barefoot shoes daily, but I feel I am feeling better with some support for my arches, for the long walks.

Power rack, to be able to do squats and all sorts of other exercises at home.

So true. At my squat rack right now, which is 3 mt from my bedroom.

Mine is directly next to my workstation.

A real fireplace in a cold climate.

A siamese cat.

A Zojirushi water boiler.

A Nespresso machine (Not Keurig!).

A boat & a fishing rod.

Rewind to 2013: MacBook Air.

More recently, a thermostat with a remote room sensor.

Leaf razor... overall my favorite purchase in the past 2-3 years.

Washing machine and dryer

Dishwasher

Ice-cube machine

Cordless and bagless vacuum

FireTV stick

Power cage and weights

Good city bike

2TB SSD in my laptop.

A large, expensive comfortable bed, mattress combo...

an old campervan. a few months before Covid. Now we travel when we want, where we want. Wake up next to the ocean, changed our lives.

Reasonably non-slow Internet they call the NBN.

Which was installed just in time for covid! Without it wfh would be dire

A dishwasher

Smart watch.

I bought an Amazfit Bip for every person in the family, it is very light, has an always-on translucent display and does not leak your data on the internet if you use Gadgetbridge.

How long does the battery last?

A couple weeks?

So happy to read this. Keeping our activity data private is essential. Next update will have couple of cool new features , get ready!

Why?

Initially it was about the step count.

Now, the small screen is useful for alerts and such.

I've even used the "find my phone" feature a couple times.

- Bouncing hammock for the baby. The baby would flap his legs when he was a bit upset, and then the flapping would wake him up. But with the bouncing hammock - a cloth hammock spread open with a piece of wood and suspended from a spring - he just causes the hammock to bounce up and down, which lulls him back to sleep again. After a while he learned to do it deliberately with a hip thrust, as a form of mechanical self-soothing. Even better, with a door clamp mount, you can bring it on trips abroad and as long as the place you're staying at has a door frame, he sleeps in the same bed he always has.

- Projector and 100 inch projector screen. Made watching TV an event and you really appreciate good cinematography on a big screen. With a Fire TV stick, we have a remote that can control the volume and turn the projector on and off, which is all you need, when the TV stick does the rest with apps.

- American-style fridge with integrated ice maker. Not typical in UK homes, but ice on demand is a great luxury during the summer.

- Air conditioner for the home office. Again, not typical in UK homes, but a lifesaver this summer in particular. Shared cost with my partner, who worked from home more often than I did.

- Dishwasher. Once we bought a house, we had enough space to buy one. We knew it would improve our lives, getting rid of the drudgery of washing up, but underestimated how much.

- Integrated filter for kitchen tap. Mains water has a noticeable taste - not deeply unpleasant, but noticeable - where I live. This filter means the cold tap lever that is normally fed directly from the mains in the kitchen goes in two different directions: forward for unfiltered mains, backward for filtered, which has a slower flow rate.

- Cat enclosure that our back door opens out onto. We have indoor pedigree cats, and being able to keep the door open again has been great, again in summer especially. And of course the two cats themselves. But the enclosure also has a waterproof tarpaulin that I added a bit of tenting to so that water runs off it, and now it adds privacy to our terraced house back garden, and keeps the direct sun off when you want to be outside.

- Alexa and Hue lighting. To a first approximation, the only thing Alexa is used for in our house is to turn the lights off, or turn them up or down. Customized voice commands to turn the lights down low to avoid waking up the baby too much when changing him in the middle of the night. Oh and a couple of wifi plugs for 50W LED lights that bounce off the ceiling, for indirect lighting in the office.

- BMW S1000R. The most capable motorcycle I've ever owned. Honourable mention to SH300, the best scooter I've ever ridden in London. Unfortunately I put mine out of commission due to being chased, twice (!), by thugs who wanted to steal it. The thugs are also aware of how good it is, alas.

- A house with a garage. If you're into bikes, then a garage is essential, if only to keep the weather off. It's a place to keep all my tools, and where I can work on my bikes away from the rain, and not have to pack everything up as the light fades. It's rare to have a house with a garage in London, those that do are often townhouses that have had the garage converted into an extra habitable room.

Could you please share a link for the hammock? Thank you.

https://www.nonomo.de/en/babyhammock

There are a lot of them on the market. I can't speak to the pros and cons of other makers. The Nonomo was recommended to us by a friend.

The Nonomo has the mattress in an insert into the cloth hammock, so there's no risk of the baby getting wedged between the mattress and the hammock - that was the cause of a US recall of one make of baby hammock.

Nonomo are also good about getting additional parts, practically everything is individually purchasable for e.g. having multiple ceiling mounts - https://www.nonomo.de/en/store/accessories

Is this ok to sleep? My understanding babies need to always sleep flat - that's why they only recommend to use car capsule 1-2hrs max.

The baby in the hammock is not in a seated position like in a normal car seat, and with a baby inside there's not much curvature. (We have two car seats, one lie-flat and one normal, since we expected to travel more with the baby, we're well aware of the issues. Of course COVID put a stop to that plan. The hammock worked well on a whistlestop tour of Germany and Ireland visiting our respective relatives, during the summer COVID lull.)

We got the hammock after he would continuously wake up in a bedside cot.

Do your own research, of course. I'm just saying what worked for us. I'm not invested in selling the product.

What is the lie-flat seat? Never heard of it.

We've got 360 seat with is one of the best purchase we've got for bubs (and probably the only item we've got brand new).

Here's an example:

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/child-car-seats/maxicosi-jad...

A newborn can lie flat in it while being driven around.

I'm finding your questions a little bit aggressive, so I'm going to bow out now.

Thank you!

I love my projector too. I think what I really like about it is that it's a bit of an event to watch something on it with handling three remotes and closing the blinds/turning off lights, not something you can just turn on whenever you're bored or even watch at all during the day. It makes it more special.

Eufy robot vacuum cleaner

Masamoto VG chef’s knife

for me it's simply the water bottle

Multicooker

A farm.

Room to roam, largely self-supporting due to our own forest for heating and building, own water well, own waste water facilities, no building permit needed for farm buildings, own land to grow whatever we please. My children get to grow up in the countryside, where city-dwellers have empty syringes and crack heads on their doorstep we have elk, deer and wolves. Where they hear police sirens at night we hear owls and foxes. Meanwhile we have a gigabit glassfiber connection feeding into a rack I built which houses enough cpu and storage to be mostly self-reliant on that front as well - no external cloudy services for me, thanks.

The more independent we get, the less money we need. I just built a new 230m² barn which will be used partly as a new stables, partly as a veterinary clinic (my wife is a horse vet). On top of that barn I'll put enough solar panels to make us mostly electricity-neutral through overproduction in summer (which will be fed into the grid) which will be another step towards self-reliance.

If you're mechanically-inclined, have two left hands (I'm left-handed, get it?), not afraid of some honest blood & sweat and able and willing to take up such a project you won't regret moving to the countryside and taking up farming, part-time or more.

How do you deal with lack of social life and having to drive everywhere - especially for children?

My partner hates the idea - she likes to take stroller out and walking around area, going to coffee groups, etc. Living in a farm means at least 10 minute drive and not being able to safely walk anywhere but your farm.

Social life changes but it does not disappear. Those coffee groups make way for meetings with friends and neighbours (which might become equivalent, when there are fewer neighbours you tend to get to know them better). We live 3 km outside of a small village where our youngest goes to school so we can cycle (or ski in winter) there, she can also take the school bus. Our children can walk and cycle to their friends, they won't have to cycle more than ~4km which is perfectly doable. They often meet halfway in the woods to go either to our or some friends place. I think moving to the country is actually one of the best things you can do for your children since they can get so much more real freedom than in some congested car-studded crime-ridden city or a suburb which can only be escaped by car.

The bit about only being able to walk safely on the farm is strange to me, we can walk far more safely on the more or less traffic-free roads around here than we would in any city. Maybe things are different in rectangular-plot-straight-road USA farm country but here in Sweden rural roads meander through the landscape. We walked with stroller (not anymore since our youngest is 9), dog, cat and horses, toboggan (which is called 'pulka' here) or cross-country skis in winter, etc.

We live in NZ. Suburbs here are not like in US. There's usually a corner shop about 20 minutes walk max away, some connecting bus not too far away. Cars move OK - not too fast to be annoying.

However I found the houses tiny (compared to a farm we've lived in recently), backyards minimal and just so claustrophobic.

Country roads here mean people driving past you at 70-90 kmh - you can bike and walk relatively safely, but it's going to be too far to get anywhere unless it's just for a hike. Also not super pleasant to have cars rushing past you where as traffic in suburbs is much slower and you've got a sidewalk.

The cost in country is also much higher, especially in areas that are not too far from city. Of course you get 10x more land that's going to appreciate like crazy in future, but you also shelve out at least 2x initial cost + more on maintenance.

Owning my own home has improved my life in every way imaginable.

How so?

I moved in my familly house (me, my wife and 5 months child) and ever since I am investing more time in the house and garden that any other non work activity. Its great that I won't have to move again from rented houses but I think i would prefer a great rented house than this slavery.

An engagement ring.

Surprised that nobody said iPhone yet, given the amount of commotion that exists at every new release.

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