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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?

#451

Post by dakial1 »

thyrox wrote: post #83

Worrying and arguing about things in the future. I wasted so much time and energy on this but as I get older I've realised there is so little of what we can actually control vs what we think we can do. Most of the time just saying Yes and waiting for things to actually happen is so much easier. A lot of time what you worry about never happens and if it does it isn't always as bad as you make things out to be in your…

You should read about stoicism and the Dichotomy of control. I was pretty much very rational on things that I worry about, mainly asking myself "is this something I can do something about?" If not, I wouldn't worry about it anymore. After some years I learned how aligned I was to stoicism.

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

#452

Post by sllabres »

muzani wrote: post #29

Pasta and sauce are not meant to be separate. Once you cook the pasta, drain it, and immediately toss with the sauce. This is part of the reason it was meant to be al dente, to absorb and deliver the flavor of the sauce better. Unlike rice, it's fine to "soak" pasta in the sauce; it expands when freshly cooked but not when cool. Also most sauce recipes are probably overcomplicated. Most need less than 5 ingredients.…

Heat your plates (e.g. with the cooking water) and rub dry to prevent your your delicious meal get cold too soon. This is of course not only good for pasta.

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

#453

Post by ugjka »

tyincdyon wrote: post #434

Using cannabis recreationally, regularly. I've voted twice to (successfully) repeal prohibition laws in states I've lived in, and would do it again. Cannabis dependency is real however, and it's the "safe" drug compared to, say, heroin; but I'd recommend taking breaks, or consider stopping.

How bad are Cannabis withdrawals compared to tobacco?

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

#454

Post by e40 »

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.

Try using a water flosser after regular floss. You will be genuinely surprised how much crap comes out. Since I started that routine, my hygienist has become extra friendly and chatty and say she loves working on my teeth.

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

#455

Post by moffkalast »

aszantu wrote: post #243
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.

I recently learned, that you can use crushed eggshells to replenish calcium in teeth, just add them to the toothe paste. (I use a canine supplement) If you're teeth-grinder at night, a few tiny pieces of eggshells help keep the grinding at bay, because you can grind on a piece of eggshell without danger and then relax again.

Jesse, what the hell are you talking about?

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

#456

Post by everyone »

rjmill wrote: post #152

When my then-gf/now-wife and I first moved in together, I got really mad at her because she kept "hiding" my stuff when I left it out for more than a day. I couldn't find anything! At some point, I yelled, "It's like you don't even want to see any of my things when I'm not using them!" Then I stopped for a second. For the first time in my life, it made sense. The whole point of putting things away is to hide them! No…

I totally disagree. If you use something fairly regularly then leave it out in the spot where it is used all the time.. What harm does something merely being visible do? .. Hiding it away does harm as 1. You will waste time putting it away and retrieving it every time you use it 2. there's the extra mental load of remembering where it goes 3. you may forget where it is.

This reminds me of the difference between 'tidy' and 'organised' .. They are independent properties and an area may be very tidy while being very disorganized and vice versa.. Eg. typical thing where if there is a pile of random crap on a table someone will dump it all into a drawer. The area is now more 'tidy' but also more disorganized.

Tidiness is superficial, whereas being organized has practical benefits.

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

#457

Post by locallost »

rjmill wrote: post #152

When my then-gf/now-wife and I first moved in together, I got really mad at her because she kept "hiding" my stuff when I left it out for more than a day. I couldn't find anything! At some point, I yelled, "It's like you don't even want to see any of my things when I'm not using them!" Then I stopped for a second. For the first time in my life, it made sense. The whole point of putting things away is to hide them! No…

I don't think it's about not wanting to look at things - my wife once moved something from me from the bathroom above the sink to a shelf, and I got pissed I couldn't find it. She said it was too much stuff there. I then went there and counted 17 things that belonged to her, and 2 that belonged to me, 1 of which was apparently too much.

In my experience women do this a lot. I don't know if it's some kind of an evolutionary thing. On the one hand that it was something women traditionally did and can't let go, on the other that it is/was a way to make themselves more important. You become very important when somebody needs you all the time to tell them where things are.

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

#458

Post by thih9 »

redblacktree wrote: post #218
thyrox wrote: post #83

Worrying and arguing about things in the future. I wasted so much time and energy on this but as I get older I've realised there is so little of what we can actually control vs what we think we can do. Most of the time just saying Yes and waiting for things to actually happen is so much easier. A lot of time what you worry about never happens and if it does it isn't always as bad as you make things out to be in your…

Here's a pithy little saying for you on the topic: "Worry is interest paid in advance on a debt you may never owe."

So, insurance?

What I want to say is that there is time and place for worrying. And sure, worrying about everything is counter productive.

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

#459

Post by sergiosgc »

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.

This, but for water jet flossing. Why did I muck around for decades with strings in my mouth? A water jet is a lot less effort and much much more efficient/effective.

P.S. If you never tried these gizmos, get a portable, battery powered one, so you can use it over the bathtub (or in the bathtub). They tend to soak everything around you.

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

#460

Post by moffkalast »

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…

Plus your houseplants will thank you... when you die and meet them in the afterlife.
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