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I use cheap notebooks

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Re: I use cheap notebooks

#231

Post by s5300 »

I went thru something similar in my MechE bachelors…

Around my sophomore year I finally found green engineering pads. I believe they were TOPS brand. At $4-$5 a piece, they were definitely much more than my k-12 $0.10 on-sale spiral notebooks & stolen printer paper. I filled up dozens of them & love them to this day.

I also bought high(ish) quality laminated folders & further reinforced them with Gorilla tape. This also came after using fairly janky ones most of my life, & not being able to find anything that satisfied me once I went for something new. I still use many I made in 2017.

https://imgur.com/a/e08rdBQ

Got a fair amount of questions about them throughout school.

The Pentel Graphgear 1000’s are an amazing writing tool, as are their Hi-Polymer block erasers. I’ve found nothing able to come close to the Pentel block erasers, and I’m surprised that Staedtler’s have not been completely laughed off the market by this point.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#232

Post by fencepost »

criddell wrote: post #211
fencepost wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The minimalismart.com softcovers that GP linked to have a B5 (10x7.6) size as well, including dot grid option.

True, but it isn't landscape and it doesn't look like the pages are designed to tear out cleanly and easily.

If you haven't looked at them before, the Rhodia dotPad or Top Wirebound Notepad might be a fit for you and usable in either orientation. Rhodia's "pad" products seem to all have perforated pages (they tear nicely) where the "book" products are non-perforated.

Edit: the wirebound has an A4 size page option, the dotPad has an A4 and a longer-than-A4 option. ~$10-16 depending on color and where you order, Amazon is not the cheapest option out there.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#233

Post by backtoyoujim »

I use a fair different number types of notebooks depending on the depending on.

I have spiral top ones for notes of me thinking/remembering/wanting to reenforce for later type notepad with a constant pen that go lots of places with me. And graph paper-y notepads/notebooks to help me work on my penmanship and handwriting my thoughts. And rough papered oversized ones that I like to doodle on with sloppy pens.

I think cheap ones can be great. But cheap doesn't need to be everything.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#234

Post by eternityforest »

Symbiote wrote: post #141
bluGill wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US A4 is hard to find. Not impossible, but it is special order while letter is available anywhere. A4 and US letter are very close to the same size, if you don't have a ruler you can't tell by looking.

Do you not notice the ratio is off? I spot US letter-sized paper because it looks fatter/shorter than I'm used to. Possibly it's easier to spot this outside North America, since the 1:√2 ratio is so widespread.

The ratio is definitely off, but it's within 10% so it's just a minor annoyance, and there's not much of an alternative. Next time I buy paper I'll probably order real A4 but that might be in like, 10 years before I go through a ream.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#235

Post by stefanu »

bmitc wrote: post #222

The best notebooks I have found that meet both constraints of being cheap but good quality so as to not become frustrating are Muji's notebooks. They have several options in size and also styles between blank, lined, and graph lined and looseleaf or notebooks. They even have these tiny passport sized notebooks that I am trying to get into the habit of keeping with me to write down whatever I need in the moment. The p…

Can confirm, MUJI notebooks are of a decent quality and they can handle fountain pens as well.

In addition to that, I gradually switched to their 0.38 pens of different colors. With fountain pen it was more stylish but impractical for multiple semantic(*) colours. With cheap, light, yet nice quality pens of different colours I can not only carry multiple ones, but have the same set at multiple places.

(Dark blue is body text/drawing, light blue is comment/secondary annotation, orange is action/process/message passing, green is data/metadata flow, …)

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#236

Post by vuln »

deepspace wrote: post #226
vuln wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They replaced it with another defective battery that only lasted ~28 cycles before it expanded. Apple refuses to do anything about it. Edit: Screenshot I submitted to Apple. https://ibb.co/jwRN1MH

I had the exact same experience, and ended up replacing the battery myself. Not a difficult job, but extremely tedious.

I would replace the battery if that was the only part affected. Unfortunately when it expanded just like the last time it bends/warps the top case and keyboard, the metal around the trackpad and the bottom case. I can't just replace the battery and leave everything else bent/warped, the laptop won't sit level, the screen will not close completely. It's really not a cheap or easy task. Not to mention the risk involved in removing a battery that is expanded and could rupture.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#237

Post by eternityforest »

unwind wrote: post #12
eternityforest wrote: post #3

I almost exclusively (On the rare occasion I use paper, mostly as a prop to look professional or not mess up a low tech ambiance, or some other specific use case) use an A5 6 ring binder. I especially like how you can print 2 pages on a US Letter, cut it in half, punch it(If you don't have a 6 hole punch, use an existing 6 hole sheet as a stencil and punch the marks), and it's close enough to A5 to work. It's great f…

I think your comment would be easier to understand if you stated your geographical location. In Europe, I would expect A6 paper to be decently easy to find (although I don't think I've ever bought any, so salt away if you feel like it). A few seconds on the local Amazon surfaced [1], which is 2,000 sheets for SEK 218 (€19 or US $20) which I would not call hard to find nor expensive ... Edit: forgot the link! :) [1]:…

A6 paper is easy to find even here(I'm in the US), the problem is finding an true A6 binder for less than $30.

Filofax personal and A5 are in the $10 to $15 range, which is about right for something that's only getting used a few times a month.

Plus I like how A5 is big enough for RPG character sheets, scripts, and the like, so I can kind of standardize and use A5 for almost everything

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#238

Post by jsz0 »

One of my greatest thrift store finds ever was banker boxes full of unused vintage (80s?) grid paper engineering/architectural design notebooks and sealed packages of sheet grid paper including legal paper sized sheets. At my current burn rate they should last me until retirement.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#239

Post by miguelazo »

12345hn6789 wrote: post #188
JadeNB wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And if you own a prius in the midwest, it's not a matter of IF someone will key it in the parking lot of home depot, it's a matter of WHEN. I live in Texas, where I'd expect such behavior before I saw it in the midwest; parking lots are awash in Priuses, and no-one seems to bat an eye at it. Maybe it's that I live in a city. Where in the midwest would you expect this?

Anywhere >1 hour away from a city

Damn, people need to get a life.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#240

Post by yurishimo »

galangalalgol wrote: post #129
rr808 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could never ever be able to own a new car, I always buy 5+ years for this reason.

I'm really bad at spotting decent used cars. It has always bitten me. I overpay once for a new car and then drive it into the ground. Never had a new car last me less than 10yrs.

It's all about the brand and previous owners. Personally, I only buy used from Honda and Toyota. They have a reputation to uphold for reliability. Buy a carfax. $20 well spent to know the history of ownership. It's not foolproof, but generally good enough. Check with your friend group and extended relationships to see if they are selling cars. If they know you, even through a friend, hopefully they have enough shame to not try and screw you on a lemon.
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