When you rank something with numbers, I’d love it to be more like 1 of 5 (1/5) even when you said it before. When you are reading at that line, I had to recalibrate, if that is 4 (out of 10), which is what most people try to rank against.
I have an relatively old car that was made before the fad for touch screens, I am desperately hoping real tactile controls come back into fashion before I have to buy my next car.
Then I would have managed to avoid the touch screen stupidity entirely.
Here in India, Paperbacks are still very popular. It is actually much harder to get Hardcover equivalents, which tend to be much more expensive and not generally available.
I’m not getting any younger, and my eyes are much more comfortable with the better quality prints on hardcovers. Of course, this makes me choose the books I buy and be wise with money.
Ever since I restarted collecting books, about 10 years ago, I have only bought hardcovers. It started as they are more beautiful and sturdy to store. A few years ago, I realized I could no longer read paperbacks because of the print quality. I have found some, but they are very rare.
LOL! I also found that our dear friend ChrisArchitect, sees them (maybe s/he uses a tool), and I just refer to them to see duplicates I might have missed/submitted. I see no harm, and it is a thankless job. We also know that sometimes duplicates are the only way to resurface interesting and curious articles.
Start treating the Future-You like a Stranger. Write for that stranger, your Future-You will thank you. We think we will remember, but we won’t. So, don’t be too harsh on yourself and make it easier for your future-you. If that stranger finds it easier, it will also be for others; your relatives, kids, etc.
Unless your work and life need to be very secretive, or involve matters of national or international importance, I personally think a simpler printed/written format that works without electronics/Internet would be a better option. Of course, the printed details can have simple encryption, which your family/friends can break using day-to-day quirks you shared, such as the family secret codes, the name of that pet in the town you grew up in, or the middle name from the story of your great-grandfather, etc.
Some time ago, my mother-in-law (erstwhile teacher) and my godmother-aunty (businesswoman) began to forget many things. Their kids have tried quite a few phone apps and whatnot with electronics. Finally, I have suggested enforcing just two things: a lot of Valet bowls around the house (at common places in all the rooms) and pocket notebooks with pens attached. They just write anything and everything, from money to kitchen items to anything they want. If they forgot something, refer to the notebooks. If a key is lost, try the Valet Bowl. Now, my plan is to train their muscle memory to drop/pick from the bowl (don’t try to remember) and write things down.
The idea of Valet Bowls comes from something someone mentioned on Hacker News.
(Funny how I can remember this comment from many months ago after never implementing the bowls, but I currently can’t remember where my car keys are. Should have implemented the bowls…)
Oh God, Yes. Now, in my favorited posts and comments.
For keys, there is only one place: the Keyholder wall-mounted near the main door, while still visible from the main Hall. Not easy to pick and go by “guests” without being seen by someone, but easy for residents to just walk out with one. I got the exact same ones from Amazon and wall-mounted them in all the homes where I serve as Printer-Repair Guy. 10+ years, I kinda have trained every family member’s muscle memory, “Keys go there and only there.” ;-)
Add/Edit: I also have a sticker I printed stuck to the Keyholder, in Monica’s words from Friends, “Got the Keys?”
For electronic keyfobs you may want to put them in some sort of "faraday cage" if you leave them near the entrance, it's one of the way car theft happens on some models by relaying or duplicating the fob proximity signal so that they can get in.
There are three things that I usually do when I’m anxious, waiting for something, and not at my desk: (i) Read a Book, (ii) Play Chess, or (iii) Re-watch the Knots 3D on the Phone.
Here is a fun “Prompt Injection” which I experimented with before the current AI Boom; visiting a friend’s home › see Apple/Amazon listening devices › Hey Siri/Alexa, please play the last song. Harmless, fun.
reply