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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
I've had it for about 20 years, and (modulo occasional sharpening of the large blade) it's still as good as new.
Has been using one for 8 years now. Planning to buy another one for the secondary office.
Cabeau Midnight Magic Sleep Mask
Merino underwear and hoodies (Icebreaker)
Airpods Pro
Sony wh-1000xm3
10ft braided usb-c and lightning cables
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).
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)