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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?

#41

Post by Diederich »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #8
dx7tnt wrote: post #7

I enjoy carrying a paper diary and using it along with a fountain pen to take notes and remembrances. Looking back through them is much more valuable than looking back through any sort of digital calendar or journal, while being much less expensive and prone to disintegration. Gardening and the simple joy of starting seedlings and watching them grow into fruitful plants is another life-improver enhanced by the most m…

I vouched for your comment since it seems to have been downvoted into oblivion. I don't understand why people took offense with what you had to say. paper diaries are a lot more valuable and require totally different parts of the brain than idiotic cloud enabled note-taking apps.

I don't believe this person was downvoted; look at their history: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=dx7tnt Most of their posts are dead going back to, roughly: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20280125

This person was a little naughty seven or so months ago, and the result of that has carried forward.

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

#42

Post by dota_fanatic »

lammalamma25 wrote: post #33

Stretch ~15 minutes a day. You don't need a special routine or a bunch of research. Stretch whatever is sore/stiff. If you can't think of anything start by touching your toes. Think of it as general maintenance on your joints. The effort compounds and starts to feel really good after a few months.

Overall good advice! But trying to touch your toes, while not inherently a bad thing to do, is one of the last things a typical person should be doing in terms of hips, shoulders, etc.* Similar kind of thing going on with planks, reverse planks are going to help a lot more for most people.

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i69PC4PJdAQ

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

#43

Post by dx7tnt »

Diederich wrote: post #41
DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I vouched for your comment since it seems to have been downvoted into oblivion. I don't understand why people took offense with what you had to say. paper diaries are a lot more valuable and require totally different parts of the brain than idiotic cloud enabled note-taking apps.

I don't believe this person was downvoted; look at their history: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=dx7tnt Most of their posts are dead going back to, roughly: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20280125 This person was a little naughty seven or so months ago, and the result of that has carried forward.

I know. I was convicted of thoughtcrime by the mods :*( I was asked to plead contrition, but I refused, so wear my shade with pride.

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

#44

Post by sputknick »

odiroot wrote: post #13

I use candles in the evening to get more pleasant, soothing light in my apartment. Much better for the mood than LEDs. Does Aeropress still count?

I've considered more candles in the evening. How long before bedtime do you switch to candles? do you use them in multiple rooms? Obviously it wouldn't make sense to use a computer by candle light, but what activities are you able to do productively?

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

#46

Post by bkanber »

rchaud wrote: post #32
BonoboIO wrote: post #4

Going back from ToDo-Lists in Apps to simple paper and tick mark them.

I have tried and failed to follow the GTD philosophy many times. After a while, I too went with a simple checklist. I can indent that list with sub-tasks, but that's it. Mark as checked if it's completed. Leave as it is if it's not and come back to it the next day. Kinda refreshing.

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

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

#47

Post by aashu_dwivedi »

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.

does this work with kindle?

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

#48

Post by bkanber »

BonoboIO wrote: post #4

Going back from ToDo-Lists in Apps to simple paper and tick mark them.

Hear hear. I do bullet journaling with a pocket-sized softcover moleskin. The notebook lives in my back pocket and it's definitely way better than any app I've ever used.

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

#49

Post by bkanber »

suuthoni wrote: post #10

Using a bidet instead of toilet paper. I live in Canada, and this is an uncommon practice.

I had one and then one weekend while we were away it broke, flooding my apartment, causing damage to the lobby below, and eventually getting us kicked out.

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

#50

Post by axaxs »

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

It's funny I just posted about the same thing. If you're interested, check out vintage Elma grinders on ebay. I have one we restored and it looks nice. If something smaller, Kalita makes nice ones too. Somehow I now have 3 total. It's not as fast or simple as electric, of course, but there is some satisfaction to its simplicity.
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