The list is long and varied.
Can’t afford: New floors and AC in my house (~$20K)
Can’t justify: a XGIMI Aura 3 Max 4K 120Hz UST Projector ($2K)
Can’t afford: A camper van (~$60K)
Can’t justify: A new PC (~$3500)
One thing I did justify recently was $2K on a new bed. My old bed was over 20 years old.
Mitigations:
Use a range hood that vents outside, every time
This is the single biggest lever. A range hood vented to the outdoors at high fan speed captures 80–90% of NO₂ before it disperses into the rest of the home. Run it before you start the burner, leave it on the entire time you’re cooking, and run it for 5–10 minutes after you finish.
If your “range hood” recirculates (charcoal filter, no exterior duct), it does nothing meaningful for NO₂. Many over-the-range microwaves are recirculating-only — check the back of yours. Replacement with a true vented hood is the highest-value indoor-air upgrade most kitchens can make. [Editor’s note: replacing with an outdoor vent is expensive to very expensive, depending on where in the house the vent needs to be. Better to learn this when choosing a house to buy, local laws do not always require outdoor vented hoods over gas stoves.]
Open windows during and after cooking
If you don’t have a vented hood, the next-best move is cross-ventilation: open a window in the kitchen and another window or door across the home to drive airflow. This is less effective than a range hood (slower exchange) but still drops NO₂ by 50%+ during cooking compared to closed-house operation.
Powered doesn’t mean the vent exits outside.
Vents that vent to the outside over gas hoods need to be required by law, otherwise, it may, or may not.
When I bought my house, I’d never seen a range vent that didn’t vent to the outside, so I didn’t know such things existed. I didn’t check, and mine doesn’t. It’d be at least $8K to have a hole cut in my roof for the vent to run to the outside.
For which I shall gladly pay you on Tuesday.
Clearly, the one, right choice.
Top marks.
Some of the opposite for me.
I thought I would be lonely. I am mostly alone now, but don’t feel lonely.
I expected to have worse back pain, but since my 40’s it’s gotten better, and I almost never have back pain now.
Two cups of caffeinated coffee a day reduces the risk of dementia: https://youtu.be/gy0FW6xj21o
I have two cups of caffeinated in the morning, and then switch to decaf the rest of the day. Maybe that would work for you.
I have a tablet next to my bed. I suppose a phone would world, too. Usually, when I wake up around 3, I can get back to sleep, but sometimes, not. Then, I pick an article on https://aeon.co/ and start reading. They’re long articles about things I mostly don’t care about. That has me yawning in no time, and clears my mind.
Usually works, not always.
Upvote for alliteration.
A quick search brings up a lot of references, and a company that makes them.
I suppose it might be one big ruse, but I’m leaning toward believing they’re real.
Twenty minutes to download a 1MB image.
Yes, really. 9600 baud modem.
ASCII art was popular then, and before: https://www.asciiart.eu/