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Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

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Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#321

Post by maverwa »

tiagod wrote: post #242
gtf21 wrote: post #87

Putting a teaspoon handle-down into a bottle of champagne when putting it in the fridge in order to "retain the fizziness" which I did unquestionably as something we just "did", until I had to tell someone else to do it a few months ago and realised that there was no reason this should work and, lo and behold, it makes no difference whatsoever.

I imagine that could actually make it worse, as it would provide more nucleation sites for the bubbles to form.

I dont think the spoon handle is actually supposed to touch the liquid. That would be hard to achive in a classic bottle of champagne, even if its full, I guess. Teaspoon handles are not that long.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#322

Post by bruce343434 »

mooreds wrote: post #300

I used to always cut open packages in the kitchen with a sharp knife (typically a steak knife). When I got married, my SO was a big fan of kitchen shears, so I was introduced to them. Using shears is a far better experience, and they're useful for pizza too.

An actual pizza knife (sharp wheel thingy) will be undoubtedly better.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#323

Post by Dave3of5 »

Care about what the company I'm working with is making. If I'm not heavily in equity and it's just a job then I shouldn't be giving a dam about they are making. I should only be interesting in what they are paying me and the benefits I get from working at the company.

I used to get real upset when the codebase I working on was shit and even left companies due to this. In reality what was more important was those companies where paying a shit wage that was why their codebase stank.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#324

Post by linsomniac »

prometheus76 wrote: post #43

Chef knives are designed to be held by pinching the blade between the forefinger and the thumb, and wrapping the rest of your fingers around the handle. I used to wrap all my fingers around the handle, until Jacques Pepin showed me how to do it properly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMA2SqaDgG8

Absolutely. And just work on your knife skills a little bit every time you cook. "The claw" for slicing things makes it so much faster and safer. And keep those tools sharp, a few months ago I finally got a whetstone set and stopped using a diamond steel to half-ass it, and it's a game changer.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#325

Post by [deleted] »

iamwpj wrote: post #127
mtlynch wrote: post #33

Staying warm. In the winter, I used to stay warm by turning up the thermostat. Then I discovered (via HN) the Low-Tech Magazine article, "Insulation: first the body, then the home." [0] The article argued that it's much more efficient to focus on heating yourself rather than your whole living space. I invested in high-quality wool clothes that I wear in layers and warm slippers. Now, I keep my home about 5 degrees F…

I live in the midwest and cold is normal for a chunk of the year, but one thing always worse than cold: wind. After college at some point I splurged on a North Face jacket with the wind protection bit and it was eye popping how much more tolerable being outside became. I always go for a nicer coat/jacket now -- the value brands at the department stores don't always have the right technology. Good outdoor gear is spen…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#326

Post by bmelton »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #60
mabbo wrote: post #35

My father said to me: "I like a shower better than a bath, but ugh, that first blast of cold water when you turn it on is always a bit shocking." Me: "Why don't you turn on the shower, wait for it to get warm, then get in?" Him, realizing he'd been using a shower wrong for over 6 decades: "... huh."

Related: you can buy "hot water recirculation systems" to keep the water hot in your shower. When the water in your hot water pipes gets cold, it dumps it into your cold water pipes. Therefore the water isn't wasted. This can save a lot of water if you're the type to let your shower run until it is warm. So some jurisdictions encourage their installation.

Not quite as effective, but even easier is that you can get a back-flow preventer valve (approximately $10 worth of metal) that allows the hot water to push into your cold water (but not the reverse)

As I understand it (and I am NOT a plumber) -- when you turn on the hot water, it pushes hot water up the line. Turn off the water, and that water will cool. But, if you add a one-way valve that allows flow from hot to cold, it will allow the higher pressure hot water line to flow into the cold water line so that it keeps hot water to the tap so that you don't have to wait (in my case) 5 minutes to flush out the cold water that has accumulated before getting to the hot water.

A plumber friend suggested this to me when I complained about my master bathroom (the furthest in the house away from the heater) taking SO LONG to warm up. Then he came out and installed it in about 15 minutes (which would probably amount to a one hour minimum charge for a plumber not doing it for free) plus a $10 part he had us buy on Amazon.

TLDR, now instead of taking 5 minutes to heat up from ice cold to warm to eventually hot, the hot water is warm from the second I open it, and hot within about 15-20 seconds.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#327

Post by godshatter »

mabbo wrote: post #35

My father said to me: "I like a shower better than a bath, but ugh, that first blast of cold water when you turn it on is always a bit shocking." Me: "Why don't you turn on the shower, wait for it to get warm, then get in?" Him, realizing he'd been using a shower wrong for over 6 decades: "... huh."

Huh. I just block the stream with my hand until it warms up.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#328

Post by ThinkingGuy »

aaronax wrote: post #252
leet_thow wrote: post #68

Taking a number two without the use of a footstool to get into a more natural squatting position. I look forward to the ritual every morning and usually achieve 'poophoria'.

Wouldn't leaning forward accomplish the same thing?

I started leaning forward a few years ago. I'll just say it seems to help.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#329

Post by adastra22 »

I apparently hold chopsticks incorrectly. I am a white guy so it’s not like this is my culture—I just started holding them the way I do as a kid in sushi restaurants and no one ever corrected me. I found out when I married my wife, who is from Taiwan.

Here’s the kicker though: I’m more dexterous with chopsticks than even she is. I can pick and place a single grain of rice, or hold the most slippery noodles with ease. So she just laughed about it and told me to keep doing whatever the heck I do.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#330

Post by jarek83 »

Frost1x wrote: post #132
yamtaddle wrote: post #79

Not using an electric toothbrush. First time I used one it felt like I'd had a proper dental cleaning. An extremely half-assed effort with that kind of brush beats a thorough one with a manual brush. I thought they were a gimmick, but no, they're amazing.

On a similar dental hygiene note, I was told I should brush before having breakfast, coffee etc. It always stood to reason to me that it makes more sense to just eat my first meal and drink, then brush, to keep a cleaner state of my teeth for longer but supposedly according to a few dentists I spoke with, the protection you get from the first brush is more significant than removing those first food particles. Chances…

Funny, all my dentists always urged me to do morning brush after breakfast. It seemed to correlate to "brush after each meal" thing.
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