I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here?
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Oh, another one: a jar of binder clips in the kitchen. Don’t bother with ties or big “chip clips” or whatever, just fold the bag over and put the clip on it, cheap and easy.
@mhoye This is one of my favorites. Binder clips are handy in so many situations. Another is having a pad of post-it notes in a pocket of every coat and jacket. Never be without a way to jot something down.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye I immediately install a frame lock on every bicycle I own. Locking it takes almost no effort or time, and is enough in low-risk situations. Most types can be combined with a chain that plugs into the lock when you need to attach the bicycle to something.
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multiple sets of measuring spoons / measuring cups so that you (almost) always have one the size you need
a back scratcher
a bottle brush to clean the inside of jars and bottles instead of faffing around trying to squeeze your hand in
a good garden knife
a cheap LED flashlight for your grab bag of tools
a seam ripper
plunger caps for bottles of vinegar and olive oil to slow/control the pouring speed
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
Depends on your living situation, but I replaced the exterior door locks with digital combination locks.
Not, repeat, not, networked in any way.
My kids have codes. My best friend has a code. The neighbor across the street who we trust has a code. Now none of them need to have a key. And best of all, I am never locked out of the house because I forgot my keys.
And should one of them prove untrustworthy, that code can be deleted.
9V battery lasts 2-3 years. If your door has the right holes already, takes 30 minutes and no special tools to install.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye A small, non-tactical flashlight lives in my front pocket. Immensely handy a few times a week.
A 12 pack of a good gel pen, distributed about the house, along with a 5 pack of reading glasses and a few caches of index cards.
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@carolannie @landley @gvwilson Explain.
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@mhoye I can't use jar wrenches due to arthritis, so I learned to use the flat head of a screw driver by inserting it in a lid and prying. People sometimes use knife tips, but screw driver doesn't bend or break as easily
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@londondreamtime@mastodonapp.uk @mhoye@cosocial.ca downside: alarm
@amy @londondreamtime @mhoye have the phone on the nightstand as an alarm, but in flight mode.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
I keep my jewelry in a big screw drawer chest I got at Harbor Freight. Not only is it cheaper than a jewelry box, but it holds more, keeps my necklaces from getting tangled, and makes it easier to find things.
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@mhoye
1. A daily pill case, which sounds stupid because they're already so ubiquitous, but I tried for years to make a pill reminder app on my phone be a thing, and there's no contest. Spend $4 on the daily pill container. Do not try to use technology.2. The BIG eyeglasses cleaning cloths. The tiny ones they give you at the optometrist suck. Get the dinner-plate sized ones and never accidentally touch your lenses ever again.
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Some of my answers to this include:
- A canning funnel. Cheap, and spill-free pouring stuff into containers is a lot easier.
- Oil all the hinges in the house.
- Get a slow-settling toilet seat, so it never slams down.
@mhoye I want to endorse the toilet seat 100%; but I can only endorse it 95%, because after you get them in your living space, you forget that people you're visiting don't have them, and now you're at ground-0 for a slamming seat/lid 😝
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Oh, another one: a jar of binder clips in the kitchen. Don’t bother with ties or big “chip clips” or whatever, just fold the bag over and put the clip on it, cheap and easy.
I use wooden clothespins for that.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
I use toilet paper rolls to hold the power cords of small appliances like hairdryers, irons.
Fold the cord in half, in half again, maybe once more, then stuff it into the roll. Much neater and more compact than leaving it out.
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@mhoye eating some food with a spoon, an I'm not talking about soups, but more like stews and small pasta. If it's already bite sized, spoon.
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@slothrop Ah, this is a strong entry. Affordable, too.
@mhoye @slothrop They're also good for stopping most gnat and other small bugs in eye incidents. Ask me how I know!
(I even had a pair with me, I skipped wearing them for reasons and bang, right as I was biking up a semi-busy street. These days glasses instead of contacts make the issue moot at the cost of other issues.)
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undefined oblomov@sociale.network shared this topic on
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@mathewi or a marketing stint
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@mray Encryption is being explored by a FEP
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Ma #TeleMonteCarlo e i suoi #giochi interattivi in #TV ?
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@katzenberger Fair enough, I'm not arguing against that. It's just that encryption isn't easy and will take a long time. I'm using this as a 'research foil' to understand why people use Signal vs encrypted Mastodon PMs.
I totally get that people just want safety baked into everything, I'm not against that in any way. But it is very hard to do well.
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@scottjenson Don't really need encryption just for the DM edge-case. I only need to know where/for who exactly my message will pop up automatically, though.
Suggesting "encryption" exists in mastodon, how can one make sure it is interoperable with ActivityPub AND nobody gets it wrong and falsely assumes encryption is omnipresent, when it is absolutely not.
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@mapache Yes, I know! ;-) I'm not saying no I'm exploring when (as encryption will take longer than UX improvements
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@scottjenson My take (which seems to fly in the face of the zeitgeist) is that Mastodon is not meant foremost as a private messaging app. It is at its core, an *open, social* microposting platform. There are apps that are radically better suited for private and safe comms, and I am a huge proponent of letting things be true to themselves. When you try to shoehorn stuff into a system not intended to do that stuff, it ends poorly.
So, sure, DMs out of the timeline, but no Signal-like hardening.
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@scottjenson I think, given today's climate, encryption should be a priority over UX changes. My thought is not whether microblogging DMs should be encrypted or not, but simply if *any* kind of messaging exists that is not public, on any service, it should be encrypted. It's the sad world we live in now where services can't be trusted. Non-public messaging that isn't encrypted shouldn't exist. Should microblogging services be Signal? Not at all. But DMs already exist, so now it has to be dealt with. Simply telling users "it's not for private discussions" isn't enough.
