My venerable "Mr. Coffee" drip coffee maker. This thing is 15 or more years old now and still produces coffee for me like a boss. When it finally dies I will be heart-broken.
I would enjoy one of those, except my wife doesn't drink coffee, so I can't justify making an entire pot at a time. At home I use a Clever Dripper instead, which I like, but I find myself missing lousy office coffee.
My equivalent object would probably be my parents' old 70s-era Crock Pot, earth tones and all. I've heard that the newer ones don't conduct heat as evenly.
In a world of Americanos, Flat Whites, and Espressos, I often pine for a cup of "plain old coffee", something having likely stewed for hours, to hit that spot.
The ability to drink it by the mug, not too strong etc..
Airplane coffee falls into that bucket for me. Back when I was traveling a lot for work, there was something about getting on a plane from Chicago back to Raleigh, late at night on a Friday night after a long week of work, and getting that first cup of coffee on the plane after takeoff.
Ohm Walsh speakers, for music, but also watching anything like lectures, random videos, and movies.
This company has been making the same omnidirectional / omnipolar speaker since 1971! Refining the same design!
It's a little frustrating because they have a great product, but not much advertising. It takes about 3 months to get them, since they are made to order. And it's mail order only, with a home trial of 90 days I believe.
But they are cheap as far as floor standing speakers -- $1000 each, which is less than you pay at Best Buy for similar products.
It seems like this is for audiophiles, but everyone who's visited my apartment has been able to tell the difference. Their eyes light up: "wow". You hear more things in songs you've listened to for years; they can be turned up loud without hurting your ears; vocal quality/timbre is unmatched IMO. (downside: they do reveal that some recordings are much better than others)
Anecdotally it feels like less effort to watch a long lecture on these speakers because the human voice is so clear; all frequencies are reproduced. IME listening to lectures on small tinny speakers produces a mild strain because your brain has to fill in the gaps of "missing words" (which it's very good at, but takes effort).
If you have the room in your house, are patient, and have $2K, these are a no-brainer! It's a tremendous value. I use them every day, and put in an order for a second pair recently. I wrote this comment a year ago: https://lobste.rs/s/nt9kfo/writing_software_last_50_years#c_...
History: https://ohmspeaker.com/about/#history (again their advertising and web presence leaves something to be desired; they put all the effort into the product)
My Glerups slippers are the absolute best item I own. Extremely warm and comfortable, good-looking, and the wool never smells despite using it every day with bare feet.
I live my material life out of a single piece of carry-on luggage, so I guess I am well disposed to answer this question. I am always making tiny tweaks to what I carry to reach that one-bag global maxima. I'll excluded the electronics, which are all vastly more useful than just about anything that's ever existed before and are all 1-10 of my top ten items. Otherwise, I'll cheat and list 3:
1. A nice sleep mask. Light is terrible for good sleep and popping one of these on can help me get good rest no matter where I am. Currently: whatever I found at the last CVS I visited.
2. Wool socks. They don't smell and stay warm and comfortable no matter the weather. Currently: point6 merino lightweight ankle.
3. A wind and water resistant jacket that packs into an Avacado-sized pocket. Currently UNIQLO Pocketable Parka.
Do you find the wool socks to be too warm in the summer? Or do you switch to sandals for the summer?
What causes you to live out of a suitcase? Constant travel, or more just a minimalist lifestyle? Do you exclude all the kitchen and bathroom and cleaning things that normally come in an AirBNB?
Everything in an Airbnb or furnished rental is excluded. I do tend to wear sandals when it's hot, but think wool socks can still be comfortable in the heat if you get the light or ultralight versions. I am a minimalist and travel a lot from 2 home bases.
Try Cabeau Midnight Magic Sleep Mask. Bought it randomly 7-8 years ago and never looked back. Very comfortable and soft, very different from what you get on planes or random shops.
Yes, I loved the new one. I am heavy close to 100kgs and 5 11.. I feel comfortable. Then my wife tried. she also feels comfortable with it. So we are planning on getting new one. In the meanwhile I got HAG capisco but have love hate relationship with it
My Canyon Commuter 7 bike which is my primary mode of transportation to work, shopping and short trips. It has a belt drive with built in lights. Very low maintenance unless there is a flat. It saves me a lot of time and keeps me fit.
1. Woolpower Zip Turtleneck, 200 g/m^2 version. Merino wool but unlike others it is made using a circular knit, which makes it light and stretchy. Great in the house in the early morning. Canadian Outdoor Equipment is a great source if you're in North America. Made in Sweden I think.
2. Pentel P205 0.5 mm mechanical pencil in green.
3. Letts Icon 5 year diary. Made in England. They invented the diary.
4. 9x12 dry erase whiteboard lapboards. You can write on them like a regular whiteboard, but I use them as little lap desks. 3 for $10 at Amazon.
5. My one inch tungsten cube from Midwest Tungsten (via Etsy). What can I say -- it's an objet d'art that is always a pleasure to pick up.
DeLonghi bean-to-cup coffee maker with auto start.
Stumble into kitchen. Place mug. Press button. Massage beans*. Wait a few seconds. Consume perfect coffee (in my case, black and strong).
*Massage? The machine’s only flaw: the shallow hopper is too gently sloped, the opening to the grinder too small, so some massaging is necessary. But even I can handle that first thing.
Bought at CostCo on sale, pricey but worth every penny. Gets a lot of us, still going strong four years later.
1. Knipex 12 40 200 automatic wire strippers. They strip 30 gauge stranded wrapping wire without cutting the strands. And 18 gauge speaker wire. And everything in between (in theory they can strip from 32 to 7 gauge (0.03 - 10mm^2) but I don't have any wire that big to try.)
2. Knipex 86 03 180 pliers wrench. Basically replaces a full set of inch & metric wrenches for anything below about 30mm (a bit over 1").
3. Bus Pirate. It's a little 2-way USB-Whatever serial protocol you want device. UART serial? It does it. I2C? Got that. SPI? Sure. OneWire? Of course. Etc, etc.
A bit of a weird one, but I got a set of collapsible silicone funnels and found that they are excellent fidget toys. Gives me something to do with my hands so I don't touch my face, etc.
40 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 96.1 ms ] threadMy equivalent object would probably be my parents' old 70s-era Crock Pot, earth tones and all. I've heard that the newer ones don't conduct heat as evenly.
What do you miss about it? It sounds very contradictory :)
In a world of Americanos, Flat Whites, and Espressos, I often pine for a cup of "plain old coffee", something having likely stewed for hours, to hit that spot.
The ability to drink it by the mug, not too strong etc..
This company has been making the same omnidirectional / omnipolar speaker since 1971! Refining the same design!
It's a little frustrating because they have a great product, but not much advertising. It takes about 3 months to get them, since they are made to order. And it's mail order only, with a home trial of 90 days I believe.
But they are cheap as far as floor standing speakers -- $1000 each, which is less than you pay at Best Buy for similar products.
It seems like this is for audiophiles, but everyone who's visited my apartment has been able to tell the difference. Their eyes light up: "wow". You hear more things in songs you've listened to for years; they can be turned up loud without hurting your ears; vocal quality/timbre is unmatched IMO. (downside: they do reveal that some recordings are much better than others)
Anecdotally it feels like less effort to watch a long lecture on these speakers because the human voice is so clear; all frequencies are reproduced. IME listening to lectures on small tinny speakers produces a mild strain because your brain has to fill in the gaps of "missing words" (which it's very good at, but takes effort).
https://ohmspeaker.com/
I heard about them through Don Lindich, who previously recommended Mirage Speakers (now owned by Klipsch I believe):
http://soundadvicenews.com/2015/12/20/week-11-2015-the-incre...
Review reprinted on their website: https://ohmspeaker.com/reviews/walsh-3000-don-lindichs-sound...
If you have the room in your house, are patient, and have $2K, these are a no-brainer! It's a tremendous value. I use them every day, and put in an order for a second pair recently. I wrote this comment a year ago: https://lobste.rs/s/nt9kfo/writing_software_last_50_years#c_...
History: https://ohmspeaker.com/about/#history (again their advertising and web presence leaves something to be desired; they put all the effort into the product)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Walsh
1. A nice sleep mask. Light is terrible for good sleep and popping one of these on can help me get good rest no matter where I am. Currently: whatever I found at the last CVS I visited.
2. Wool socks. They don't smell and stay warm and comfortable no matter the weather. Currently: point6 merino lightweight ankle.
3. A wind and water resistant jacket that packs into an Avacado-sized pocket. Currently UNIQLO Pocketable Parka.
What causes you to live out of a suitcase? Constant travel, or more just a minimalist lifestyle? Do you exclude all the kitchen and bathroom and cleaning things that normally come in an AirBNB?
Try Cabeau Midnight Magic Sleep Mask. Bought it randomly 7-8 years ago and never looked back. Very comfortable and soft, very different from what you get on planes or random shops.
Has been using one for 8 years now. Planning to buy another one for the secondary office.
Anyone tried their new lineup JÄRVFJÄLLET?
I have a hard time picking just one. When I was working in the office regularly I would’ve said my AirPods Pro or Sony noise cancelling headphones.
More recently a new mattress has made a huge difference in my sleep quality and I can’t believe I waited so long.
Here are mine:
1. Woolpower Zip Turtleneck, 200 g/m^2 version. Merino wool but unlike others it is made using a circular knit, which makes it light and stretchy. Great in the house in the early morning. Canadian Outdoor Equipment is a great source if you're in North America. Made in Sweden I think.
2. Pentel P205 0.5 mm mechanical pencil in green.
3. Letts Icon 5 year diary. Made in England. They invented the diary.
4. 9x12 dry erase whiteboard lapboards. You can write on them like a regular whiteboard, but I use them as little lap desks. 3 for $10 at Amazon.
5. My one inch tungsten cube from Midwest Tungsten (via Etsy). What can I say -- it's an objet d'art that is always a pleasure to pick up.
Stumble into kitchen. Place mug. Press button. Massage beans*. Wait a few seconds. Consume perfect coffee (in my case, black and strong).
*Massage? The machine’s only flaw: the shallow hopper is too gently sloped, the opening to the grinder too small, so some massaging is necessary. But even I can handle that first thing.
Bought at CostCo on sale, pricey but worth every penny. Gets a lot of us, still going strong four years later.
I've had it for about 20 years, and (modulo occasional sharpening of the large blade) it's still as good as new.
Cabeau Midnight Magic Sleep Mask
Merino underwear and hoodies (Icebreaker)
Airpods Pro
Sony wh-1000xm3
10ft braided usb-c and lightning cables
2. Knipex 86 03 180 pliers wrench. Basically replaces a full set of inch & metric wrenches for anything below about 30mm (a bit over 1").
3. Bus Pirate. It's a little 2-way USB-Whatever serial protocol you want device. UART serial? It does it. I2C? Got that. SPI? Sure. OneWire? Of course. Etc, etc.
Fjall Raven KANKEN LAPTOP Backpack - Minimal laptop backpack that is comfortable and multifunctional
Apple iPhone Wallet - who needs cash anymore?
Hydroflask Bottle - which fits nicely in the backpack