Salon post: May 4

[jenett]

Welcome to this week's salon post! How is it Friday again?

Useful notes
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Comments are welcome whenever you get a chance - even if that's hours or days later. Feel free to jump into whatever sub-threads intrigue you. More discussion is the point of the salon posts!

Got a question you're trying to sort out, or a thing you'd like to discuss? Lots of thoughtful interesting people with a wide range of interests show up here! Feel free to ask about things you're thinking about or trying to solve, as well as other kinds of chat.

Topic of the week
Last week's discussion of what do you have in your bag was great! For this week, I'm curious about what tools/objects/nifty stuff you have that makes your life infinitely better. (Headphones and charging cords came up last time, but I'm sure there are kitchen tools, bedroom things, and all sorts of other stuff.)

What I've been up to:
I finished one writing project, have a bunch of things to sort out in May, whee, many of which are good. I also had my first allergy shot on Wednesday, so I've been taking it a little easy this week.


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Comments

[senmut]

Go easy on yourself.

Useful things?

I cannot stress having at least a low powered drill/screwdriver in the house enough.

And kitchen shears. Seriously, if you have any issues with hands doing the pressure it takes to use knives, try kitchen shears instead.

Duct tape, WD-40 or Three-in-one oil.

You know those hanging shoe rack things, go on backs of doors? If you have lots of cleaning products, and a door to spare, I recommend getting one and using it to organize your chemicals. (not a good idea in homes with children, unless the door is lockable maybe?) Saves a lot of bending over and hunting through the cabinet for the right bottle.

[jenett]

Kitchen shears are awesome.

[adafrog]

They really are.

[longstrider]

Back in my theatre days the rule was "If it moves and it shouldn't, Duct Tape" and "If it doesn't move and it should WD-40".

Or Gaffer Tape but that's an unnecessary terminology war.

[keshwyn]

Mm. I'm not sure Gaffer Tape vs. Duct Tape is unnecessary terminology? Gaff tape comes off without leaving nasty sticky residue on your cables, and Duct Tape...not so much. ;) (Cheap gaff tape may well be equivalent to duct tape though.)

[jenett]

On my own front:

I have been making more food with fresh herbs recently (other things, but the thing that pushed me into needing a better herb solution was the Budget Bytes scallion herb cream cheese spread which I recommend. If you don't like cilantro, substitute herbs you do like.)

I found myself resisting making things I like, because of the effort, which is a time when tools are sometimes handy. So I got a herb mincer, and wow, does it make the annoying parts much easier. (I got this one but there are lots of other options.)

I also have a small canvas organiser (it's meant to be a purse organiser for the kind of people who carry big bags with no interior organisation. I am not that people.) Mine sits on the top shelf by my computer (within arm's reach) and has my meds and various other things I want when I am that computer, but do not want the cat to knock to the ground, especially at 3am. It helps keep everything nicely contained.

[senmut]

Sweet!

[auroracloud]

I have a sleep mask, which covers my eyes comfortably so that the light doesn't keep me awake. At least, I theoretically have one. I haven't been able to find the darn thing for months in the mess that is my room. It wasn't a problem in the winter, but now it's spring and I basically wake up around 4 or 5, tie a scarf around my eyes, and go back to sleep. It isn't nearly as practical as the sleep mask. If I don't find it soon, I'll have to buy a new one.

In Finland, the summers are very, very light, with only a few hours of darkness or semi-darkness during the night. And my sleep is sensitive to the light. Not a good combination without some assistance.

Also, I finally got a new tea kettle with adjustable temperature. I had one for years and it broke, and I tried to make do with a normal water kettle, but I'm glad I've got an adjustable one again. It's very good for a tea enthusiast who doesn't only drink black tea. Green tea tastes horrible if the water is too hot, and I've spoiled far too many good cups of tea trying to estimate when the water might be around 80 °C (or whatever my current choice of tea demands).

[senmut]

Those adjustables are pretty nice.

[rosefox]

We had an electric water boiler gadget, the sort that sits on the counter and keeps water hot until you need it. It broke, and I mostly stopped drinking tea so we didn't replace it. But gosh, it was so useful to have pre-boiled water when I was starving and wanted immediate pasta!

[keshwyn]

I have an electric kettle on the kitchen counter at home that is ye olde basic "boil water" kettle, because I am of British descent, and TEA DAMMIT. But at work, I have a rather better kettle where I can tell it "keep warm at X temperature" and it'll do that for an hour. So I boil the water, make tea in the kettle (it's glass, has a mesh basket inside) and have enough tea for the day -
about 1.5 L. And then at the end of the week, I scrub the kettle down.

[wohali]

Oh dear...the challenge for me is going to be picking the right thing to mention. This house is full of gadgets, gizmos, and tools. I'll just pick the latest 3 things I've used, shall I?

Yesterday I used the needle threader from Lee Valley. I have huge problems with threading needles, and this little device really helps me. It's better than those small metallic threading tools as almost no manual dexterity is required. Link: http://www.leevalley.com/en/gifts/page.aspx?p=58703&cat=4,104,53208,58703 Video: https://youtu.be/fOkFfB7z9s0

I have two French Presses in the kitchen, and one is dedicated to making tea! East Asian teas such as chrysanthemum, kukicha (green "twig" tea made from stems) and pearl jasmine are beautiful on the table in one of these. I also use the extra volume as a way to remind myself to drink enough fluid each day, otherwise I'd forget.

I have a 3D printer that has been more trouble than it's worth, BUT it has printed one very useful thing for me many times over: a small adjustable folding phone/tablet stand. My partner S.B. works for a mobile game development company, and has many devices for testing purposes. These little stands need no assembly, as the hinges work as printed! They work on anything from a teeny phone to a big iPad, and fold flat for storage and transport for those frequent business trips. As the model is an older one, I recommend printing the model at 125% or 150% scale to accommodate today's larger devices. 3D model link: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:692523

[rmc28]

I have a little tool[1] which slices and cores apples in one push through the apple. I eat a lot more apples than I would otherwise thanks to this, and so do other people in my household.

[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=oxo+good+grips+apple+slicer

I also have a neat little smoothie maker, which makes it much easier for me to eat something approaching the amount of vegetables and yogurt that make my body happier. I've had it just over 2 years, and I really like the way that it uses the one bottle for assembly, blending and drinking.


I kind of want to give a shout out to my Fitbit! It counts my steps, gives me an idea of how well I'm sleeping, and gives me a nudge if I've been sitting still too long. It's made the monitoring side of pacing myself much easier (the response side i.e. making myself slow down when necessary is as hard as ever, bah).

[keshwyn]

As others have done, I will limit myself to 3, because I could go on at LENGTH about this topic:

1. My cuisinart (food processor - I date from the days before anybody OTHER than cuisinart made these things, so that's what I call it)

Need your bread dough mixed evenly? Done. Making baking powder biscuits? Done. How about grated cheese, or carrots, or zuchinni, or apples? Done. Garlic in large quantities because you're making pesto? Yep, got that too. If I were going to be stranded on a desert island - with electricity - but only the ability to bring 3 small appliances with me, my cuisinart would be right up there. I'm pretty attached to it. (When it's dirty and I have to make cookie dough by hand, nothing ever ends up mixed right. Who needs a Kitchenaid? I have a Cuisinart.)

2. Earplugs, really good silicone ones:

Harvard square T stop scream? Dealt with. Movie theater too loud? Np. Want to hear the conversation of your spouse while your children are shrieking so loud that it constitutes a sonic attack in DnD? Yep, all good. My preferred brand is Eargasm, but there are lots of choices and they live in a tiny steel container on my keychain and are Always With Me.

3. My belt pouches:

Specifically, THESE pouches: https://www.etsy.com/listing/95852753/leather-utility-belt-handmade-designer - they don't hold my phone, and so I may yet make another set for myself with a third pouch to hold the phone, but they hold my keys and wallet and headphones. (I have an add on pouch for it for the phone, but it has an unfortunate tendency to slide around. I'll fix that one of these days.) The more important part is they mean that I don't have to worry about whether or not the designers of my pants are laboring under the misconception that women don't like having big pockets. ;-) And I always know where my keys and wallet are. I'm going out the door - do I have my belt pouches? Yes? Good to go.

[rosefox]

For those times when you do want to let just enough noise in, all the adults in my house have Dubs noise-canceling earbuds and they are lifesavers, especially when the toddler is tantruming and we need to stay calm for them and not get overstimulated or stressed out. They're fantastic for concerts, too.

Cuisinarts are lifechanging. I have a bread machine and a Vitamix so my Cuisinart doesn't see as much use as it once did, but it's such an important kitchen tool.

[keshwyn]

Oo. Those earplugs look even better than my Eargasms. I shall have to try them - thank you. I have short ear canals, so it took me ages to find something that would even sort of fit - the Eargasms - and even those I'm not thrilled with.

I adore my Sony ANC bluetooth earbuds for really superb noise canceling without pain, and the Dubs look closer to those.

[alexseanchai]

Usefuls:

1) FANS OMG. Fucking 90F here. I start melting around 85.

2) Storebought executive function.

3) Filter pitcher.

[alexseanchai]

General query: if you wanted to read a story about a historical era character and a present day character interacting two-way, how would you prefer that be accomplished? Like, time travel, portal fantasy tricks, the historical figure is a ghost, they're communicating epistolary-like and the modern figure's letters (at least) are being magicked to the historical figure...

[jazzyjj]

All the technology I've acquired recently would have to be top priority. I'll start with the newest member of the family, lol! I recently got an iPhone 7. This is my first iPhone and I think I'm already addicted. I just had a tutoring session yesterday, and it went very well. Some of you may be asking yourselves how on Earth I can use one of these since I am blind. Well, thanks to a certain big company headquartered in Cupertino, California, all iPhones to date have an on-board screen reader plus other on-board access features which really make them attractive. I've seriously read that these things make visually impaired people who own them rather cultish. To that end, my MacBook Air is also a must-have and I pretty much take it everywhere I go. The third and final piece of adaptive tech that I'll mention here is my talking book player. I have some rather low-tech things too like a talking watch.





Other than that, I'd say my microwave and toaster are pretty essential here.

[queenbookwench]

As a coffee drinker, one of the most useful things I've ever bought is a $25 Aeropress. It's pretty inexpensive, doesn't take up much space, ad is simple enough to use when I'm braindead in the mornings.

To be honest, though, there are days when even that is too much effort and on those days I mix Celestial Seasonings dirty chai concentrate, good quality chocolate milk, and water.

[rosefox]

I just bought a mini steamer for when I want less wrinkled handkerchiefs and my arms can't deal with ironing. I put the steamer on the table and move the hanky around in front of it until the wrinkles are as gone as they're going to get. Works like a charm.

Also, my LG all-in-one runs-on-wall-current no-dryer-vent washer/dryer unit is amazing and makes my life so, so much better.

[lilysea]

I LOVE my umbrella.

https://bluntumbrellas.com.au/collections/umbrellas/products/golf-g1

It's sturdy enough that even the highest winds can't blow it inside-out - although if it's too windy, fold it up or it'll feel like it's yanking your arm out of it's socket.

I use my umbrella for

a) rain

b) protecting against sunburn

c) protecting against sun-in-eyes migraines

d) making me more visible in a crowd, so people don't walk through me (I'm a wheelchair user)

e) protecting myself from being bumped into on the street/in a crowd

f) extending my reach, so I can press elevator buttons and the buttons to open the train doors

g) protecting my painful leg/hip from being bumped into on the train (for this purpose, the umbrella is closed and rolled up tightly, resting on my lap, so the handle sticks into the aisle slightly - people see it and avoid it, thus not bumping into my sore leg the way that they do constantly without the umbrella)

h) stopping people from walking into me as I exit the train - I hold the closed, furled umbrella out in front of me as I exit the train, while saying "excuse me, please" - before I started doing this, people would barge through me to get onto the train and I would be in pain for days or weeks.