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Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

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Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

#391

Post by tenfourwookie »

giardini wrote: post #360
TrevorJ wrote: post #175

Opinel #8 pocketknife. Inexpensive. Timeless design that was last tweaked circa 1960's. Entry-level hardtail mountain bike. I understand more of my geographic area than ever before, and am in moderately better shape, to boot. Old comfy secondhand leather chair. Have my personal PC hooked up to a cheap old flatpanel TV. I've had many productive weekend hours working on personal projects in comfort. There's something a…

TrevorJ says>" Opinel #8 pocketknife. Inexpensive. Timeless design that was last tweaked circa 1960's. " It shows! The Opinel has a lousy locking mechanism, is clumsy to open (especially if you're left-handed) and the wood swells if wet making it stiffer to open/close. This is a knife worth passing up unless you want to cut yourself.

And it looks like a butter knife.

Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

#392

Post by tenfourwookie »

kypro wrote: post #380

For me it’s been a carbon steel wok. I cook fried rice a few times a week so recently I decided to upgrade my non-stick wok with one made from carbon steel as I’ve heard good things about them and the non-stick coating of my wok had started to wear away. I’ve been really impressed with how much better it is to cook with and honestly given how often I cook rice I couldn’t live without it anymore. I’ve found it has far…

I use an outdoor propane stove with massive BTUs from Camp Chef for my wok. You need big heat for a wok. Makes all the difference, you just have to get used to cooking really fast under really high heat.

https://www.campchef.com/cooking-systems/14-cooking-systems/...

This stove is only about half as powerful as one in a Chinese restaurant. Those things are rocket engines.

Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

#394

Post by giardini »

tenfourwookie wrote: post #391
giardini wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TrevorJ says>" Opinel #8 pocketknife. Inexpensive. Timeless design that was last tweaked circa 1960's. " It shows! The Opinel has a lousy locking mechanism, is clumsy to open (especially if you're left-handed) and the wood swells if wet making it stiffer to open/close. This is a knife worth passing up unless you want to cut yourself.

And it looks like a butter knife.

No, it has a pointed tip unlike that of a butter knife, which usually has a dull and rounded point.

An Opinel knife appears in the movie "Paris, Je t'aime". In the segment ("Place des Fetes") an unnamed assailant draws his knife, clumsily unlocks it and turns away from the camera to stab his victim.

Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

#395

Post by mettamage »

mdp2021 wrote: post #331
mettamage wrote: post #53

Some that come to mind. __Health__ Melatonin. There is no other way for me to go to bed and this knocks me right out (I use 0.2 - 0.4 milligrams). Sleep mask (no more waking up because a stray light hits my eye) I'd say sleep earplugs but I have a sound in my ear, but otherwise earplugs Mosquito repellent scent (for sleep as well). Silicon earplugs when going out, I never thought I'd get ear/hearing damage because I…

> sleep earplugs Not the best practice to insert stuff inside the ear. Instead, there exist pretty flat and efficient earmuffs, e.g. from 3M, comfortable for bedtime.

Couldn't find comfortable ones for bedtime (The Netherlands doesn't have a lot of earmuffs offerings I feel), but I bought some 3M earmuffs anyway because I didn't really know about them.

Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

#397

Post by reinhardt1053 »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #188

This is kind of a combo... a wallet case for my iPhone plus coded door locks on my house. Now when I go out, I don't have any reason to carry anything beyond my phone and I never have to worry about keys. If I forget something at home, I can send the neighbor a temporary code to get into the house.

which model do you use?

Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

#399

Post by [deleted] »

giardini wrote: post #394
tenfourwookie wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it looks like a butter knife.

No, it has a pointed tip unlike that of a butter knife, which usually has a dull and rounded point. An Opinel knife appears in the movie "Paris, Je t'aime". In the segment ("Place des Fetes") an unnamed assailant draws his knife, clumsily unlocks it and turns away from the camera to stab his victim.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

#400

Post by tenfourwookie »

tenfourwookie wrote: post #336
jdporter wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently not 100% of National Forest is freely usable. I learned this lesson painfully not long ago. I planned my overnight campout "carefully"... but there were still things I didn't know, even after reading everything I could find online. Namely: there are "pay to stay" campgrounds. You are not allowed to camp within the perimeter without a temporary permit. And even if you try to simply drive through, you might…

I keep it really simple. I look for a national forest on Google Maps and drive there, adapting as needed. I'm generally looking for one sign: Welcome to X National Forest, and then I'm woo hoo! Home sweet home. I don't drive deep into the forest (couple miles max), as cell service drops precipitously the further you are from main roads. I do follow the signage. I want to sleep without worry, and rangers will not hesi…

Logging roads in the national forest are usually fair game, unless otherwise restricted.

Those intimidating signs that say “Logging Permit Required” are meant for loggers, so try not to get caught with an industrial chainsaw in your van.

Loggers wake up too damn early. Prepare for (what sounds like) a military invasion at 4 AM when the equipment shows up to turn beautiful, innocent trees into money.

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