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Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#151

Post by jolmg »

wenc wrote: post #112
bkanber wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out Bullet journaling. It's a simple checklist plus one or two other "tick types" that's quite helpful.

I tried adopting the standard Bujo symbols, but they weren't intuitive to me. i.e. ⋅ = task, ⊙ = in-progress, × = completed. I replaced them with my own, which to me made more sense. ◯ = task, ◐ = in-progress, ● = completed.

The ones I use are:

  [ ] - task
  [/] - in progress
  [x] - completed
  [-] - canceled
  [|] - moved to next day / another time
This is all with pen and paper, of course, with the [ ] being boxes. Once something is marked in-progress, I can still mark it completed, canceled, or moved by just adding another line.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#152

Post by [deleted] »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #37

I guess a French Press would be an example of "low tech" I've embraced to make an awesome cup of coffee every morning. But being a perfectionist tech geek, I had to ruin it by investing in an expensive Barzata conical burr grinder, so I guess it's not low tech anymore. Does it still count if I switch to a manual burr hand-grinder? :P

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#153

Post by anotherevan »

rchaud wrote: post #26

It's not as low-tech as some of the examples here, but I'll say that an e-reader with Pocket sync functionality has dramatically improved my life. Reading long form articles on an offline device with no incoming notifications, no games, no podcasts etc has been a great boon to my ability to focus and really dig into what I'm reading. Plus these days, getting any kind of screen-off time is valuable.

I've been using Kobo ereaders for years, and a big attraction is the Pocket sync functionality. (Mind you, I think overall Instapaper does a better job than Pocket, if and ereader integrated with them I would jump.)

Currently using the 7" Libra H20. Had considered the 8" Forma, but the power button is very mushy, and it is bordering on too big.

> Reading long form articles on an offline device with no incoming notifications, no games, no podcasts etc has been a great boon

The biggest boon for me is the e-ink display. No light being emitted directly from my reading device into my eyes. I don't think I could ever read a full length book off an iPad or similar.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#155

Post by egypturnash »

navyad wrote: post #127
egypturnash wrote: post #116

I recently got my first multitool and it has sort of changed something fundamental about how I view the world to have a small, basic toolkit in the bottom of my bag at all times. I live a life where cycling everywhere is very feasible. My bike is cheap, I get exercise. I made a sunscreen for my laptop out of illustration board, drafting tape, and some magnets. When the weather's nice (and I live somewhere where it's…

"sitting quietly in one place for a while". One of the hard thing to do in today's times. I am also planning to do same every morning :)

It’s well worth the effort IMHO.

If you need more detail on technique I have found The Mind Illuminated to be a super good book on the subject.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#157

Post by unhashable »

jangstrom wrote: post #144
unhashable wrote: post #73

Low-tech wellness. Apple Cider Vinegar instead of acid reducers (Tums, Zantac, Prilosec) for heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion. Water Fasting instead of caloric restriction, weight loss pills, and diet fads for curing metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, mid-section fat buildup, inflammation, diabetes). Kettlebell, mace, stretching, and sprinting instead of a gym membership with classes and steady state card…

> Water Fasting instead of caloric restriction... Water fasting, by definition, is a type of caloric restriction.

I thought that at first too, until I went deep into the literature.

Dieting through caloric restriction is closer to starving than water fasting. When you reduce calories, the body adapts by reducing your metabolism and producing hunger hormone. This explains why we stop losing weight, and then rebound hard with eventual binge eating. Our bodies are aware that food is around because we continue to eat. It signals through cravings and hunger to seek out highly glycemic calories (sugar).

Water fasting is different. After day 2, autophagy is induced through prolonged ketosis. At this point glycogen stores from the liver is depleted, and the body switches to ketone bodies (fat) as fuel instead of glucose (carbs). The metabolism is actually increased, which makes breaking through fat plateaus seem effortless.

This mechanism produces growth hormone which preserves muscle mass and increases the metabolism. The average person tends to consume about one pound of body fat off the body a day.

Water fasting produces stem cells. You can literally give yourself stem cell treatment.

Fat is fuel, and water fasting is not the same starving. I can go on, but instead I suggest consuming the available studies yourself and forming your own opinion.

Source: I’ve gone deep into the fasting rabbit hole and am convinced Americans need to know about it. I’ve fasted many times, including 20 days on water alone (no calories). A few years ago I felt like hell and even looking at a cheeseburger put the pounds on. Now I can eat a whole pizza in one sitting again like when I was a kid. Am ripped.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#158

Post by unhashable »

fyfy18 wrote: post #113
unhashable wrote: post #73

Low-tech wellness. Apple Cider Vinegar instead of acid reducers (Tums, Zantac, Prilosec) for heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion. Water Fasting instead of caloric restriction, weight loss pills, and diet fads for curing metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, mid-section fat buildup, inflammation, diabetes). Kettlebell, mace, stretching, and sprinting instead of a gym membership with classes and steady state card…

> Cast iron and glass for cooking/storing instead of Teflon and plastic. How do the "mineral stone" [0] pans compare? Is it just a Teflon equivalent with a new name? [0] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FXPXSC6/

I wouldn’t bother.

If you’re after non-stick, learn how to use a carbon steel. One will last forever, and they’ve been used in France to cook delicate food like eggs and crepe for ages.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#159

Post by unhashable »

neuroticfish wrote: post #150
unhashable wrote: post #73

Low-tech wellness. Apple Cider Vinegar instead of acid reducers (Tums, Zantac, Prilosec) for heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion. Water Fasting instead of caloric restriction, weight loss pills, and diet fads for curing metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, mid-section fat buildup, inflammation, diabetes). Kettlebell, mace, stretching, and sprinting instead of a gym membership with classes and steady state card…

>A whole food, conservative, omnivorous diet of your ancestors instead of becoming vegan or carnivore. Not sure how that's low tech or ancestral. Veganism is quite sustainable and many peoples of the past have practiced it.

It’s true that I find the data to be compelling that our species is, when you consider the entire known history of homo sapiens eating habits, omnivores. That makes sense to me: eating what was generally available is pragmatic, and our bodies have opportunistically evolved to leverage proteins, fats, and amino acids available in animals, as well as nutrients from plants.

And that’s how I live: eat and respect animals that led natural lives, eat whole veg void of pesticides, drink mineral water. Fast by default (never snack) and don’t drink your calories. Think intermittent eating instead of intermittent fasting.

All this being said: I have lots of carnivore and vegan friends. Even if I do find those diets to be dogmatic and unnecessarily politicized, I say ‘you do you’ and embrace them all the same. Variety of viewpoints is what it is to be human.

Our bodies are incredibly adaptive, I’ve seen peeps geek out on veganism successfully and it’s quite impressive. Seen people go years on carnivorism with seemingly no problems.

Re: Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life?

#160

Post by wenc »

jolmg wrote: post #151
wenc wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried adopting the standard Bujo symbols, but they weren't intuitive to me. i.e. ⋅ = task, ⊙ = in-progress, × = completed. I replaced them with my own, which to me made more sense. ◯ = task, ◐ = in-progress, ● = completed.

The ones I use are: [ ] - task [/] - in progress [x] - completed [-] - canceled [|] - moved to next day / another time This is all with pen and paper, of course, with the [ ] being boxes. Once something is marked in-progress, I can still mark it completed, canceled, or moved by just adding another line.

This makes much more sense. How do you move from in-progress to canceled or moved though? If you do a horizontal/vertical strikethrough, doesn't that create a new symbol which look like completed upon glancing?

With the standard Bujo symbols, you can't really move from in-progress to completed without a making a completely new mark. Also, I need more visual differentiation than just tiny dots so I can scan a page of bullets quickly.

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