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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?

#541

Post by rjh29 »

FujiApple wrote: post #230
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…

You know you’re in a long term relationship when your better half starts throwing away your stuff without asking.

It wouldn't be acceptable to me in any length of relationship. Different strokes for different folks.

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

#543

Post by rjh29 »

watwut wrote: post #421
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…

Tho, I do not mind seeing partners stuff and like to have mine own in sight. It makes me more active - seeing that stuff make me want to interact with it. When I put books and crafting things somewhere I do not see, that project effectively died.

Absolutely, that's basic human psychology. If you want to practice guitar, put the guitar on a stand near your desk/couch where you can see it. Hiding it away just for the sake of 'tidiness' defeats the point.

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

#544

Post by bokchoi »

throwawaysalome wrote: post #214

Monopoly. If the player elects not to buy the property he lands on, it gets auctioned to the other players. This oft unfollowed rule makes the game 100x more fun when followed.

NPR recently aired a story on the history of monopoly which was fascinating!

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/1151367036/story-monopoly-ame...

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

#545

Post by rjh29 »

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've tried both water jets and electric toothbrushes and they do nothing for me. In particular the tiny circular brush just didn't feel as good as the full-sized bristles on a normal brush. I didn't feel as clean afterwards.

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

#546

Post by pkulak »

Waterluvian wrote: post #376
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…

My wife and I have a rule, "everything needs to have a home." Because if it doesn't have a home, it becomes clutter, and after enough clutter, it finds a home... usually a sub-optimal one, like a junk drawer. The kids (4 and 5) have adapted to this wonderfully. It really helps them. It makes cleanup a trivial task because everything is known to belong somewhere specific. Related to this: the recognition that everythi…

I just bought a used laptop on impulse last week, and it still has no home. It's driving me nuts. It's sitting next to me right now. And because it's pre-usb-c, the charger needs a home too. I have about 30 large bins in the garage for things without homes, and that may be its fate, unfortunately.

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

#547

Post by ChadNYC »

rpdillon wrote: post #482
KVFinn wrote: post #2

You aren't supposed to rinse your mouth with water after brushing your teeth. You're supposed to spit excess, but leave the toothpaste on to absorb.

Ahh, mine is an interesting counterpoint to this! I had canker sores for my entire life, well into my late 20s. I tried everything: changing toothpastes (more on this in a second), changing brushes, using mouthwash, being told my mouth was "dirty" and I need to brush more, etc. Turns out (at least for me) the sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) used as a foaming agent in (almost) every single toothpaste causes canker sores.…

Interesting. I suffered from canker sores into my early 20's. Finally talked to a Dr, who sent me to a nutritionist. The problem for me was orange juice. I've never been sure what exactly it is in OJ that caused the problem. But I do know that if I drink a glass of processed orange juice today, I'll wake up with a bad canker sore in 2-3 days. If I drink a glass of fresh orange juice for a few days in a row, I'll get the canker sores.

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

#548

Post by toss1 »

jws wrote: post #422

If when you coil a long cable or hose you find yourself fighting a twist as you coil… then you should learn to coil in an alternating overhand/underhand style. Google a video. Basically when grabbing the next hunk of cable you alternate between your thumb pointing away from you down the cable and your thumb point back up the cable to you and things just sort of happen right. When you uncoil the cable it will be layin…

Yes! And it is absolutely critical in using climbing ropes to NOT coil by loop+twist, but double-loops without twisting (to the point where it is a firing offense in climbing schools to coil w/loop+twist method); it is critical that you can uncoil a rope instantly with minimal risk of tangling.

This also works better for air hoses, water hoses, etc. If the thing isn't on a winding/unwinding reel, use the double-loop method; everything will last longer and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble.

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

#549

Post by Mordisquitos »

Arkanosis wrote: post #419

Shoe lacing. Then I found out Ian's fantastic website: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm Small, but life-changing discovery.

After years and years on my mental backlog, having first seen it ages ago, I finally started using the Ian Knot (World's Fastest Shoelace Knot) to tie my shoes and similar bow knots: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm

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

#550

Post by sublinear »

Waterluvian wrote: post #376
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…

My wife and I have a rule, "everything needs to have a home." Because if it doesn't have a home, it becomes clutter, and after enough clutter, it finds a home... usually a sub-optimal one, like a junk drawer. The kids (4 and 5) have adapted to this wonderfully. It really helps them. It makes cleanup a trivial task because everything is known to belong somewhere specific. Related to this: the recognition that everythi…

> Note that this could all easily sound super hardcore but it's not. It's just a general guide we have. We aren't forcing our kids to throw excess toys away and we're not writing a book about it. A flexible tool to guide behaviour, not enforce it.

I was having a hard time thinking about what I'm doing wrong, but I think this is close enough. I'm so inspired to steal some variant of this disclaimer especially this part: "We aren't forcing x to do y and we're not writing a book about it."

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