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How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

blog.alexwendland.com

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Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#271

Post by olyjohn »

jon-wood wrote: post #143
ghaff wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. You can't do it with everything but, for example, I tend to have a stocked travel kit that I don't need to raid (for the most part) for everyday charging gear. My laptops live where they live and I'll bring their chargers with them; they basically don't move unless I'm traveling. My office has some tools and my garage has some tools. I may need to raid one or the other but not for routine stuff. I certainly don…

USB-C has been a game changer for charging. I'm now able to keep a charger that will work for almost everything I own everywhere I might need one. One at my desk, one in my bag, one by the TV, one by the bed. Next step is strapping a set of adapters to each of those cables.

USB-C is the best. When I had to trade my Intel MacBook pro back into IT for a new M1 with a MagSafe connector, I told them I wanted to keep the USB-C charger. I didn't want another damn charger to carry around with me. They thought it was super weird that I would prefer USB-C, but it charges everything I carry with me.

Also I replaced a few receptacles in my house with ones that have USB-C ports on them. Then I never have to worry about them walking off...

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#272

Post by devilbunny »

powersnail wrote: post #225
graposaymaname wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More intrigued about the socks part, how did you solve it? I’ve lost enough to understand that there’s something clearly wrong about the way I deal with them.

It always boggles my mind that losing socks in the laundry is such a common phenomenon. A socket is either collected, or left in the machine. There's nowhere else it could go. It's not like a tape measure or a pen that carried around house and could be put somewhere without you consciously registering it. Maybe some washing machines have really strange geometry that is prone to conceal socks?

Dogs are a big factor here. Cats less so.

I have, however, just settled on a uniform for work: same underwear, white or black socks, grey t-shirt under my scrubs (oh, the joys of wearing pajamas at work). Darn Tough socks aren’t cheap, but they are guaranteed for life, and they’re great for preventing smelly feet if you’re prone to them.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#273

Post by powersnail »

devilbunny wrote: post #272
powersnail wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It always boggles my mind that losing socks in the laundry is such a common phenomenon. A socket is either collected, or left in the machine. There's nowhere else it could go. It's not like a tape measure or a pen that carried around house and could be put somewhere without you consciously registering it. Maybe some washing machines have really strange geometry that is prone to conceal socks?

Dogs are a big factor here. Cats less so. I have, however, just settled on a uniform for work: same underwear, white or black socks, grey t-shirt under my scrubs (oh, the joys of wearing pajamas at work). Darn Tough socks aren’t cheap, but they are guaranteed for life, and they’re great for preventing smelly feet if you’re prone to them.

Now that you mentioned pets, it makes perfect sense to me.

My cat has indeed never been interested in socks. However, he'll move almost everything else. I still remember the day I had to wear sun glasses to classes, because he hid my normal glasses, later discovered to be behind the bookcase.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#274

Post by Lanzaa »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #262
Tagbert wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a skill that you can develop to maintain a basic awareness of what you are doing that you can break yourself out of autopilot to do the small things that you need to do.

How do you go about developing it? Should I schedule time to put myself consciously in this situation where I do it every day for 30 minutes? Because otherwise it's a paradox. For me to be able to train it, I would have to be able to come out of autopilot at that specific time in the first place.

The skill is called mindfulness[0] and is usually cultivated through meditation.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#275

Post by [deleted] »

madamelic wrote: post #183
xattt wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few thoughts on keys: I am consciously trying to whittle down my keychain to reduce the chance of temporary losing access to things. I have a keypad door lock so I’be been able to get rid of my front door key. However, I found that decreasing the use of something can increase the chance of losing it, because you’re not “touching” it all the time and not aware of its location. I have an Airtag, but wish that it coul…

This reason is precisely why I got an implanted RFID chip. When I lived in apartments, I would _constantly_ lose my door fob. It's much more difficult to lose the chip if it is part of you ;) (I wouldn't recommend embedding an Airtag though, ha)

[deleted]

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#276

Post by xattt »

ghaff wrote: post #199
xattt wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few thoughts on keys: I am consciously trying to whittle down my keychain to reduce the chance of temporary losing access to things. I have a keypad door lock so I’be been able to get rid of my front door key. However, I found that decreasing the use of something can increase the chance of losing it, because you’re not “touching” it all the time and not aware of its location. I have an Airtag, but wish that it coul…

Probably I'm just old but I'm very aware of an electronic device being a single point of failure. (I realize the car's keyfob is that--and have been meaning to investigate the practicality of keeping a spare key in the car in a faraday bag.) I do keep a physical door key on my keyring even with a keypad door lock and have one somewhere on my property as well.

Most cars have a physical key tucked in the fob, and will do some form of passive RFID “auth” when the fob is brought close to the start button or equivalent. It is not too different from engine immobilizer keys.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#277

Post by somastoma »

I have had several accounts in the past, just for fun. I'm a complete newbie, but enjoyed many articles and commented on them. I was constantly downvoted (or whatever term is used) and I was many times just innocently asking honest questions. I feel that most of the people here ARE childish and can't relate, and therefore impose their 'powers' of banning and downvoting. After a year of all that childish behavior on here, I just closed my accounts and left. I am just a very curious (and I think I am intelligent) retired senior aerospace engineer. I was just so rudely treated here that I couldn't fathom the reasons for it. I am just too ignorant of this 'new' culture, I guess...

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#278

Post by rrnechmech »

somastoma wrote: post #277

I have had several accounts in the past, just for fun. I'm a complete newbie, but enjoyed many articles and commented on them. I was constantly downvoted (or whatever term is used) and I was many times just innocently asking honest questions. I feel that most of the people here ARE childish and can't relate, and therefore impose their 'powers' of banning and downvoting. After a year of all that childish behavior on h…

> retired senior aerospace engineer

Kudos, sir, and all due respect.

An admirable industry, and one that could nowadays use much of the values, approaches, and skills of your generation of engineers

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#279

Post by ghaff »

xattt wrote: post #276
ghaff wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably I'm just old but I'm very aware of an electronic device being a single point of failure. (I realize the car's keyfob is that--and have been meaning to investigate the practicality of keeping a spare key in the car in a faraday bag.) I do keep a physical door key on my keyring even with a keypad door lock and have one somewhere on my property as well.

Most cars have a physical key tucked in the fob, and will do some form of passive RFID “auth” when the fob is brought close to the start button or equivalent. It is not too different from engine immobilizer keys.

I'm aware of the key in the fob. I Wasn't aware that there were other capabilities if the fob itself wasn't working. Was just experimenting the other day about the capabilities and limitations of the keyfob under different conditions.

It seems as if you can't lock the key in the car but I'm not sure how much I trust that experiment.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#280

Post by iggldiggl »

digging wrote: post #236
BurningFrog wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One take-off point I've used is putting things in/on top of my shoes. That way I can't leave the house without dealing with them

A related pro-tip I learned from catering, which I now use often for leftovers, potlucks, gifts, etc. If you have things in the fridge you need to take with you when you leave your current location, put your keys in the fridge with them!

Good idea. I know that problem myself, too, though unfortunately this solution only works with a set of vehicle keys, doesn't it?

So unfortunately not much use if you're commuting on public transport…

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