In the same vein two of my favorite compact tools:
- Victorinox Cybertool (mostly to work on PC buils when I'm on the go and can't take lots of tools with me)
And for everyday use a keyring pocket knife:
- Victorinox Midnite Manager@work (somehow makes me feel safer to have a backup of my encrypted passwords on me on that USB stick, and I often use the small LED light at night or in dark corners of PC builds too)
A tea-sieve specifically made to fit inside a thermos bottle. Lets you prepare loose-leaf teas and be able to drink them all day! Most useful thing ever!
Can you share which make/type? I’ve found the Oxo tea ball to be the simplest tea brewing device - very easy to clean and easy to travel with:
https://www.oxo.com/twisting-tea-ball.html
Arcopal Volcan, late '70s/early 80's. Quality, beautiful design & craftmanship. I don't know any modern product that comes near. Almost as old as I am, used daily, but looks new. Weren't expensive either. Just hard to find.
Each time I pick it up, sip my coffee, or hold it in sunlight, my day is a little more joyful vs. using regular store-bought mug.
Manufacturer taking pride in their skills & doing what they can to fabricate the best product possible, vs. today's race-to-the bottom cheap crap where enduser opinion doesn't matter as long as a profit can be made.
Noise cancelling headphones have been a revelation. I can now work in an open plan office without blasting music etc in my ears. I can drive my old cheap car on the highway without lots of annoying noise. Etc etc. The benefits are many.
driving with headphones, especially noise-cancelling, is pretty concerning. you might be blocking an ambulance making lots of "annoying noise," (and yes, they do take the highway) so maybe invest in better seals for your doors and windows?
No, you won't be blocking the noise of an ambulance with noise-canceling headphones, that's not how noise-cancelling technology works. They only block persistent sounds, which an ambulance siren isn't as it changes pitch rapidly.
It's illegal to drive with headphones on let alone noise cancelling ones in many states. Some have exceptions for one earbud being in for phone calls. One notable state with no exceptions at all is of course California. See also Ohio, Maryland, Louisiana and more.
edit: this makes me wonder about deaf drivers... what is the intent of the law here?
I fully understand that noise canceling DSP algos lend themselves fully to inverting and muxing repetitive background noise like airplane noise, not sirens, but the callous, selfish effort to muffle the outside world when you're operating a multiple ton machine, often in close vicinity of other said machines, just because you don't like the sound, is problematic.
It's basically like driving a luxury car with lots of noise insulation and double glazing.
Everything is reduced by about 30 dB, especially low-frequency road and engine noise. Sirens etc are still perfectly audible as there is less background noise.
> I can drive my old cheap car on the highway without lots of annoying noise.
I admit I do this, but I'm conscious about using only a so-so noise canceling. Reducing even 30% of tire noise is a bliss and greatly reduces fatigue. With top-shelf Sony or Bose stuff it would be quite unsafe for everyone involved.
As a passenger (on the road and on flights), the full canceling is a game changer.
I had this same problem... both the AirPods Pro and Max gave me a "pressurized" feeling I wasn't comfortable with. I found the 2nd Gen Pros to be significantly more comfortable, not sure why - your milage may vary.
I love my Samsung Buds Live for that. They are shaped like beans and dont go into your ear but into the "fold" in front of it. Naturally they dont block as much noise as normal buds or headphones but the noise canceling is still good and they feel so much better especially when you are using them for long stretches ie. on long flights or similar. I guess its mostly about letting the inner ear breathe.
Someone told me that noise cancellation gave them tinnitus, and some weeks later out of cheer curiosity I was looking into how people who lose some of their hearing can get it back, and it turns out, when you have hearing loss, your brain / ear tries to adapt as much as possible, and you essentially could get tinnitus, its your brain trying to fill in the quiet. So if you've got any sort of hearing loss, I would take that into consideration when trying out noise cancellation. This is of course anecdotal as heck and a conclusion I drew on my own, but it made too much sense to me.
Either way, just posting this as a potential warning, if you use any noise cancellation, its not the technologies fault, its your brain trying to fill in the weirdly quiet bits its not hearing. Thankfully a lot of these noise cancelling headsets you can just not turn on the feature and they're just as good.
This gave me chills for a second. I extensively have active noise cancelling on with no music playing. Several hours a day. After a quick search I couldn't find any good results on this topic. I feel like you should provide some links or anything on that topic? I'd be glad to look into this.
As a counterproduct, I recently discovered noise-cancelling earplugs for musicians. They work like headphones except that they don't generate sound, only reduce some frequencies. Great for people with sensitive hearing.
I can second that, love mine. No more tinnitus-like noises from fatigued ears after concerts or the cinema. And they even help with acoustics somewhat when they arent ideal at the venue, like at festivals or Nolan movies ;)
I love my XM5s. I mow with them on, I row with them on, I take Zoom calls and phone calls with them on, they work great. I love the pass thru mode to hear ambient noises too.
No, sorry, I just bought some generic brand on Amazon that was a good deal. I just like Merino Wool due to it's properties and it just feels very nice on the skin (no rashes, irritations, anything like that; just a nice, soft feeling)
Love this one! It's such a crap shoot with synthetic wear, some stink as soon as you put them on while other are actually end up almost as good as wool.
I can see the "be curious" vibe of HN here. However, I can't shake off the feeling that this is just a low effort carryover from bygone /r/askreddit discussions.
Voting will take care of it. It's a bit chicken/egg though: I could see myself voting for this if it had some nice comments. There are things I've bought after seeing them discussed/recommended on HN, and I've even used hn.algolia.com to find them again or even see if something in that category has been discussed/recommended here. (Green Bell nail clippers the most recent example, so the one I can remember. Ha.)
Nah, there have been lots of similar threads over the years on HN. There is also at least one "whats the best thing you bought this year?"-post around the holidays almost every year. So I'd say this is totally within HN tradition.
I have a walking pad which I sometimes walk slowly on in front of my adjustable desk which is certainly healthier than just sitting down, although my feet look a bit ugly if I walk too much it's good for thinking more alertly as well
AirPods Pro... I live in a lively household and the ability to activate noise cancelling so I can study/read/think is an amazing quality of life improvement.
An HRV monitor (whoop, oura, garmin watch) that let me see how much stress I was putting my body when eating unwell / drinking. Has changed me to a much cleaner diet
I'd single out Garmin especially for the HN crowd.
While other watches seem to go in the "consumers like their data in simple colored blobs and are scared of numbers", Garmin goes hard on "chart and graph everything"
Big fan of my Forerunner 945 and use to wear it nearly 24/7, but its been giving me bad rashes on my wrist, so only wear it when running/hiking/swimming. Superior to the Apple watch for health data.
How does Apple Watch perform here? I have a Whoop 4.0 which I don't really like that much and was thinking about getting an Apple Watch as soon as they release a new one this fall. I assume it'd have superior data and Apple health integration but haven't used one since the original series.
Amen. At my company we tried LastPass, BitWarden and there were revolts from either sales or tech sides of biz... nothing stuck until 1password, since then its been bliss.
10 packs of USB c chargers. I'm the kind of person that will limp along chargers and my phones always dying. Not anymore because I have usb chargers and more usb chargers.
Same for toilet paper. Only subscription I have. Comes 2x a year in a giant boz
The Thermapen One meat thermometer. First I had to get over the arrogance that I could 'feel' when meat was the right temperature, then I had to invest in a product that, while being wildly more expensive, actually encourages me to use it all the time.
Pork, chicken, steak. I now have a sub-second answer to when the food is cooked.
Everyone who cooks meat should own at least one meat thermometer. I took a couple of introductory courses to professional cooking and first 2 classes of the semester were all spent on food safety. Proper handling of food, prep space cleaning, general kitchen cleaning. Now I have 3 meat thermometers so no matter who I'm cooking for their meat comes out at the proper temperature and there is no cross contamination.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend the parent posts answer (thermopen) - whilst I do own one and it's fantastic, I'd not that particularly brand loyal.
However.... would totally recommend getting an actual instant read one at a similar price point instead of a crappy $10 version (not that you were suggesting a cheap one here! just raising it for anyone who was thinking that might be an option)
I had a few iterations of cheap ones, and moving to an actual instant read thermometer was a game changer for cooking. You can quickly eg check 20 different chicken wings for doneness instead of spending 20 seconds or so checking one and wondering if the thermometer has actually come up to temp before moving on to the next
Wolfcraft folding trolley (sack cart). It has a solid axle so it can still take heavier loads, unlike cheaper folding models. Good when your parking spot is a long from from your front door, such as in an apartment block.
What does it change from normal/cheaper keyboards? I've never made the jump because I'm always scared that the additional noise will bother people around me who might sleep at times when I am working.
The thing that makes mechanical keyboards interesting is their customizability. For example, they can be as quiet or as loud as you like - linear or tactile switches are quieter than clicky switches, and can be quieter than a cheap rattly membrane keyboard.
The Tushy bidet. It completely changed my morning routine. By cleaning my backside, I now flipped my wprkout + shower schedule to evening before bed, which is far more efficient and I, overall, feel more hygienic, and it's gotten me to workout far more regularly and do much less useless web browsing and procrastinating nonsense in the evening. In the mornings, now, I get straight to the things I want to get done in the day.
I still maintain that the F91W solved the "watch problem" for just about everyone in the world. Ten USD, keeps date and time, has an alarm, illuminates, water resistant, and will last 7 years on battery. The value is insane.
i kinda agree, however... i had one, worked beautifully, but the strap broke and the replacement costed more than the watch.
i opted for another watch, still from casio (W-735H-1AVDF, 20€ from amazon) and while this is again a great value... the strap broke again. on this last one i got an unofficial strap that's working okay, but i don't know for how long.
Amazing how often I end up whipping this thing out to charge something or connect data end points together. Being on my keyring means I pretty much always have it. The most clever thing is that it manages to combine an Apple lightning and micro-USB into the same connector.
I started with a 30w Anker Nano, now have a handful in strategic places like backpacks, at work, etc. They are just great. Small, light and powerful. They can charge anything, even my old thinkpads (with an adapter), no more heavy charging bricks or multiple chargers to lugg around. Bonus: a quality 180cm USB-C charging cable if you only have 90cm/3ft ones.
That's exactly what I wrote on a prior round of small life tips thread. I got a 65W charger with 2 USB-C and 1 USB-A. When using two it splits 45W + 18W, and splits again 45+10+10 when using all 3. It charges practically everything I own up to a MacBook Pro (Intel) 16".
I have a few retractable multi-cables (micro USB, usb-c, lightning) and they bring me joy every time I use them. No hunting for or switching out different cables. No dongles. No long cords cluttering the space. I think everyone I know that has seen mine has gone on to buy their own
These are not "small things", but things people generally don't pay attention and just use a cheap version. Using good quality ones really makes life better:
A mechanical keyboard. Retina displays. Comfortable shoes. Prescription sunglasses. Good coffee.
Shaves well dry (which I do when camping) but is also water resistant for the shower. Recharge once a week at most. Used to dread shaving my head each morning, but having an excuse to stand around in the shower longer suits me just fine.
Does it get a decently close shave? I use a razor every other day because I haven't found anything electric that gets that "clean shaven" look. Definitely open to not having to do that.
I think so. I don't like using a razor or the feel of it afterwards, so my standards of "clean shaven" might be different, but I upgraded from a previous, non-waterproof Pitbull (bought in 2018) and remember thinking that it felt like the new one (mid-2022) was shaving far closer.
I actually bookmarked that several years ago in preparation for if/when the hairline marches back far enough I look in the mirror and go, "yeah, nuh," and it's at the point I'll look better off with nothing on top.
185 comments
[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 271 ms ] thread- Victorinox Cybertool (mostly to work on PC buils when I'm on the go and can't take lots of tools with me)
And for everyday use a keyring pocket knife:
- Victorinox Midnite Manager@work (somehow makes me feel safer to have a backup of my encrypted passwords on me on that USB stick, and I often use the small LED light at night or in dark corners of PC builds too)
Arcopal Volcan, late '70s/early 80's. Quality, beautiful design & craftmanship. I don't know any modern product that comes near. Almost as old as I am, used daily, but looks new. Weren't expensive either. Just hard to find.
Each time I pick it up, sip my coffee, or hold it in sunlight, my day is a little more joyful vs. using regular store-bought mug.
Manufacturer taking pride in their skills & doing what they can to fabricate the best product possible, vs. today's race-to-the bottom cheap crap where enduser opinion doesn't matter as long as a profit can be made.
edit: this makes me wonder about deaf drivers... what is the intent of the law here?
Everything is reduced by about 30 dB, especially low-frequency road and engine noise. Sirens etc are still perfectly audible as there is less background noise.
I admit I do this, but I'm conscious about using only a so-so noise canceling. Reducing even 30% of tire noise is a bliss and greatly reduces fatigue. With top-shelf Sony or Bose stuff it would be quite unsafe for everyone involved.
As a passenger (on the road and on flights), the full canceling is a game changer.
Either way, just posting this as a potential warning, if you use any noise cancellation, its not the technologies fault, its your brain trying to fill in the weirdly quiet bits its not hearing. Thankfully a lot of these noise cancelling headsets you can just not turn on the feature and they're just as good.
I prefer the Sony personally I feel like their ANC is a bit better.
i'll be getting at least one when october comes and want to see if that really helps when dealing with low temperatures and thermal body regulation.
is there a particular brand you'd recommend?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/comments/15b3wld/what_can_you_b...
https://www.reddit.com/r/LivingAlone/comments/14x2vka/what_a...
Because they aren't quiet at all - maybe they never were, but they certainly aren't now.
While other watches seem to go in the "consumers like their data in simple colored blobs and are scared of numbers", Garmin goes hard on "chart and graph everything"
Dodged a bullet there
Same for toilet paper. Only subscription I have. Comes 2x a year in a giant boz
Pork, chicken, steak. I now have a sub-second answer to when the food is cooked.
However.... would totally recommend getting an actual instant read one at a similar price point instead of a crappy $10 version (not that you were suggesting a cheap one here! just raising it for anyone who was thinking that might be an option)
I had a few iterations of cheap ones, and moving to an actual instant read thermometer was a game changer for cooking. You can quickly eg check 20 different chicken wings for doneness instead of spending 20 seconds or so checking one and wondering if the thermometer has actually come up to temp before moving on to the next
i opted for another watch, still from casio (W-735H-1AVDF, 20€ from amazon) and while this is again a great value... the strap broke again. on this last one i got an unofficial strap that's working okay, but i don't know for how long.
https://www.amazon.com/inCharge-Six-One-Portable-Compatible/...
Amazing how often I end up whipping this thing out to charge something or connect data end points together. Being on my keyring means I pretty much always have it. The most clever thing is that it manages to combine an Apple lightning and micro-USB into the same connector.
Second one is "dump" remote control plugs. Simple 3 piece set with simple 6 button remote. Works, no stupid IOT or network or anything.
I started with a 30w Anker Nano, now have a handful in strategic places like backpacks, at work, etc. They are just great. Small, light and powerful. They can charge anything, even my old thinkpads (with an adapter), no more heavy charging bricks or multiple chargers to lugg around. Bonus: a quality 180cm USB-C charging cable if you only have 90cm/3ft ones.
Seeds are small, and they grow into things edible/pretty.
A backpack that's also a bike pannier (Ortlieb Vario PS). This is great for shopping.
Bicycle gloves, for colder days. The Decathlon midrange model is good.
Lots of appliances now come with annoyingly short cables, too.
A mechanical keyboard. Retina displays. Comfortable shoes. Prescription sunglasses. Good coffee.
Shaves well dry (which I do when camping) but is also water resistant for the shower. Recharge once a week at most. Used to dread shaving my head each morning, but having an excuse to stand around in the shower longer suits me just fine.