Totally. Maybe 2/3 of the book is useless unless you're really into prepping or something, but the other 1/3 is worth the price by itself. It walks you through all the programming options, gives you a list of all the standard walkie talkie and general communications frequencies, explains how to build an antenna, and how to make a repeater out of 2 radios.

Well in that case, grab a Baofeng UV-5R for $25 off amazon, and start calling in to your local nets. You can also pick up a copy of The Guerrillas Guide to the Baofeng Radio. (AKA how to have a lot of fun with a cheap radio)

Google cardboard recycling. Most cities have at least a few cardboard collection sites that have dumpsters you can raid. Amazon boxes are okay, Chewy boxes are fantastic. Get a few rolls of fiber reinforced kraft paper tape <link> and a sponge (this stuff is water activated). If you put one strip along the seam, and one down the center of each bottom flap, even a flimsy cardboard box is unlikely to fall apart. Total cost: $10, and maybe a minute of work to reassemble/reinforce each box.

This is probably beyond what you want to do, but if you have a soldering pencil and some very basic knowledge of electronics it is pretty easy to add external antenna connections to a portable radio. There's lots of info on amateur radio sites about this, but it is usually just a matter of identifying the antenna connections on the circuit board, disconnecting the stock antenna, and soldering in the new one.

Antenna length is a function of wavelength. TL;DR, an ideal antenna is half the wavelength of whatever frequency you're listening to, which works out to about 1.5m for FM, and 100m for AM. Most inexpensive portable radios use 1/4 wavelength for FM (or less), and some clever stuff with wire coils for AM.

Most chip based receivers (even the cheap ones) are pretty reliable these days. If you're not getting good reception, take a look at the antenna.

Small BIFL items are highly dependent on the individual. I own a couple nice pens that I have had since I was a kid. I never use them just because I rarely need a pen and therefore don't carry one with me. If you almost never use a pen, a disposable Bic is BIFL (I've got one or two that are well over 10 years old and still going)

For me, that item is a Lever card multi tool (TSA safe wallet card). I mostly use it as an emergency screwdriver, staple remover, and size reference when taking pictures of things.

The key is that it has to be something they need on a daily basis, and the BIFL version needs to perform better and more reliably than the disposable version (lighters come to mind here; a disposable that that has been sitting in a drawer for 2 years will still work just fine, but a Zippo will be bone dry)

If you're willing to throw a little bit more money at it ($80), something like the Tecsun PL368 will let you listen to just about anything (AM/FM, Amateur radio, worldband). It has a built in rechargable battery that can be replaced. The weak point in the design is the slightly flimsy antenna, but this is true of most transistor radios.

Edit: I'm assuming by "transistor radio" you mean something small and portable, not an actual vintage transistor radio because those are hard to find and have significantly lower sound quality than modern chip-based radios.

Your best option for dexterity is probably neoprene fishing gloves. They aren't waterproof in the sense that your hands will stay dry, but they will keep the cold water off your fingers.

The other thing that works in moderate temperatures is a wool or synthetic knit glove (non waterproof) and a heavy coating of lanolin based hand cream (or even straight lanolin) rubbed into your hands before you put them on. I like the nitrile coated cut-resistant gloves for this because the rubber coating prevents your hands from getting chilled through evaporation, and you dry the outside of your gloves off and stick them in your pockets without soaking your clothes.

I had job once that required me to handle nuts and bolts in freezing wet conditions for hours on end. My solution was the lanolin + coated kevlar gloves, and I got a quarterback's hand pouch and microfiber towel to wear on my belt. When my hands got too cold I'd dry the outside of the gloves off as best I could, and tuck my hands into the pouch with a chemical handwarmer for a minute or two. It worked great.

Just gonna weigh on the "buy induction because it is better" argument. Yes, it's true, it's also not an option in a lot of US homes built in the mid 20th century with gas appliances unless you can afford to have an electrician run a 220v circuit to the kitchen, and possibly upgrade your electrical service too.

If you're remodeling your kitchen you should 100% go induction (or mixed fuel if you really need gas for certain things). If you have to stick with gas, any modern range/oven with electronic ignition is probably fine. If you go with a less expensive model you can put the money you save towards an Alen 75i air filter to take care of the particulates created by burning gas.

Or you can just put a box fan in the window blowing out, which is what I will continue to do until I get around to remodeling the kitchen. (On days when the Clairton Coke Works is trying to suffocate the city it's better to keep the windows closed and enjoy those sweet, sweet natural gas fumes.)

You'll always get more life and comfort out of a shoe with a hard sole and replaceable insoles than a foam rubber sole like on most walking/running shoes. This isn't the fault of running shoes, they're just optimized for minimal weight and maximum shock absorption. If you're mostly standing and walking short distances (like factory and warehouse work), support and cushioning are what really matters.

I used to have a job that involved a lot of standing on concrete for 10-12 hours a day. I'd go through a pair of boots about every 2 years, and insoles about every 6-12 months. That said, the insoles I used were about $50 on their own, so on average I was spending about $175 a year on footwear (1 pair of $200 boots and 3 pairs of $50 insoles every 2 years).

If you're not in an environment that destroys footwear, a good leather work shoe like redwing should last a very long time, and you can probably get about a year out of insoles.

Yeah, I think that happened in the early 70's?

There's a difference to having a single nylon worm gear, and having the entire drive train made of plastic.

Here's a page with some info about serial numbers <link>

My suggestion would be to look for something circa 1980 that appears lightly used. My rule of thumb is "If a boomer received it as a wedding present and never used it, it's probably worth buying." That seems to be the sweet spot for these sorts of appliances--lots of high quality items were being produced and sold, so they're easy to find in good condition, and relatively easy to find parts for.

With appliances in general I look for indications that it is user serviceable (housings held together with screws are a good sign). This isn't a guarantee of quality, but it's a good start. "Good" depends on what you want to use it for. Even a mint condition kitchenaid from the 70's might not stand up to daily use making stiff bread dough.

If you're willing to stalk Craigslist and yard/estate sales there are a lot of vintage kitchen aid mixers out there since they were a standard wedding gift for about half a century. Honestly, any stand mixer (regardless of brand) that looks like it came out of your grandmother's kitchen will probably be superior to most consumer mixers sold today.

Sunbeam, Frigidaire, and Kitchenaid all made really good mixers before about 1980.

Clean my thermos? Clearly you overestimate me.

But yeah, it's a complicated equation based on how hot you need your coffee stay, how likely you are to use a thermos, and how much you want to spend.

Note: when the press/thermos gets to the point of being embarrassingly dirty, Astonish: Clean and Revive gets rid of all the scum with no effort. It's overpriced so I don't use it very often, but that stuff is incredible when it comes to cleaning old coffee/tea residue.

My first pair of "real" hiking boots were Sundowner hand-me-downs from the late 80's or early 90's. When they finally failed after 30+ years of use I made the switch to lightweight trail shoes and sandals. There just isn't anything like the old school sundowners on the market (at least not that I can afford). With newer ultralight hiking/backpacking gear I've found that I can get away with Teva sandals in most cases, or trail shoes if weather and trail conditions are particularly bad. I do miss those boots though.

At night our house is usually 78F in the summer, and 55F in the winter. Our solution is a lightweight down comforter for the summer, and heavier "all season" down comforter for the winter. Sometimes the summer comforter gets layered on as well for particularly cold nights. Unfortunately I don't remember the brand of our lightweight comforter because the tag wore off long ago, but Brooklinen's lightweight comforter consistently gets high marks. It is 650 fill power, which is about the lowest I've seen from luxury brands. You may even want something in 500-600 range, which is generally considered more of a budget comforter.

Key things to look for are a very high thread count, all cotton shell (low thread counts leak feathers), and goose down fill. Also be sure to keep a cover on the comforter since cleaning down is a pain in the butt.

One other thing to consider is getting a wool mattress topper or pad. A lot of people don't realize that moisture regulation is just as important as insulation when it comes to maintaining a comfortable sleeping temperature. Foam mattresses and synthetic fill blankets tend to trap moisture, making it harder for your body to thermoregulate through perspiration. You wake up hot and sweaty in the summer even though you only have a thin blanket over you.

Wool is hands down the best at regulating moisture, but wool blankets tend to be heavy, and if you have enough wool to make a fluffy comforter you're going to roast. You can get the best of both worlds by putting a wool topper under you and a down comforter on top. The wool acts as a buffer, soaking up moisture when the humidity gets too high, and releasing it over time. The down comforter is breathable enough to let moisture out so it doesn't build beyond what the wool topper can handle.

My final bit of advice is don't make your bed in the morning. Fold the comforter and top sheet down to the foot of the bed and brush all the hair, skin flakes, and other bits of human off the bed. Leave the all the bedding exposed to light and air for the entire day. This will give the wool topper a chance to completely dry out, extend the life of your bedding, keep the sheets cleaner and less stinky for longer, and help with allergies if you have them (dust mites need darkness and moisture to survive).

You're probably better off getting a separate thermos and transferring the coffee to that as soon as it's brewed. I have a 16oz stainless vacuum flask that is just about the perfect size. One cup of coffee goes in me, the rest goes in the thermos.

I'd imagine that a vacuum press would lose heat a lot faster because of the wider top (more metal to conduct heat up out of the vacuum chamber), and also through evaporative losses (steam escaping from the pour spout). The press + thermos solution is also cheaper.

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing, but I did have a problem at one point with the plunger and filter assembly getting overtightened. Since the top knob and filter screen are both threaded onto the rod, every time I tried to remove the screen I unscrewed the knob instead.

A little bit of red loctite (the permanent stuff) on the top knob will put an end to that problem,

These aren't vacuum flasks, or at least mine isn't, so you could just drill a small drain hole in the bottom. I once had a car with an unfixable tail light gasket that would slowly fill up the spare tire well with water over the course of several weeks of rain. Five minutes with a drill fixed that problem. As long as water out = water in you're good.

JOMO makes one that is nearly identical in construction and design. I had the same experience of getting fed up with broken glass presses. If yours is like mine, it has the added benefit that it is heavy enough to use to defend your home against intruders, and have a piping hot cup of coffee ready for them when they eventually regain consciousness!

(Seriously, DO NOT drop this thing on your foot when you are stumbling around the kitchen in the morning. The carafe won't break, your toes might not be so lucky)

If you can find linen/silk blend garments they are awesome and 100% natural. I once found such a shirt in a thrift store and it lasted me for years. But there's a reason I only ever owned that one shirt, and as you might guess the reason is the price. A decent quality linen/silk shirt can easily cost several hundred dollars. At a guess, I'd estimate that the same quality shirt in linen/rayon would be less than 1/3 the cost.

If cost is not an obstacle, linen/silk is fantastic. If you're not independently wealthy, stick with linen/rayon. Pure linen is hard to find for reason--it's not as good as the blends.

You're doing the right thing. Maintaining that much leather by hand is going to be one hell of a chore.

The tradeoff with leather protectants is that things that penetrates (oils) are easier to apply, last longer, and offer better protection. But, they almost always change the texture and color to some degree. Waxes are harder to apply and wear off over time, but don't change the color/texture. I think there may be some new synthetic compounds that try to give you the best of both worlds, but my experience using those on other materials (wood, stone, fabric, etc.) is that once you use them, the natural protectants will never work correctly again.

We struggled with a similar problem and settled on a wool topper over latex. Wool is superior to cotton in terms of moisture and temperature regulation, and it is resistant to dust mites and bacteria. The wool topper has a cotton cover, so there's no direct contact with the wool (plus there's the mattress pad and bottom sheet on top of it).

It's the best of both worlds--the support and resilience of latex, with none of the temperature or moisture problems. The best way to describe it is that it feels like a brand new futon mattress (before they get compressed and rock hard) every time you lie down on it. Hands down the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on.

Edit: Almost forgot, you can dial in the support in this setup by starting with a relatively thin, extra firm latex mattress and wool topper. If that is too hard, add a softer latex topper between the wool and the mattress.

Exactly what they said. An ideal mattress is something that has increasing density and support the deeper you sink. Inexpensive futons, of which I have owned several, completely compress almost as soon as you lie down on them and you spend the night grinding your bones against the floor. Sleeping on just a topper has similar problems (done that too).

For me the minimum seems to be about 2-4 inches of total foam in two different densities as described. For packing into a car it also means you can take the mattress apart and stuff the pieces wherever they'll fit, and it's way lighter than a futon.

Exped Megamat 10. As I'm writing this, there is one up on REI used for $155. Two of the singles side by side are the same as full size mattress. The only downside is that seams can fail, and they can be hard to patch.

Your other option is to get a 3x6 folding exercise mat and a twin size memory foam or egg crate topper. It is way more comfortable than you would expect, and you can get both items for under $100.

The inflatable option is the easiest to transport, but the mat + topper will likely hold up better under daily use and is significantly cheaper.

Grab a pair of Stanley 99e utility knives, a pack of heavy duty straight blades, and a pack of heavy duty hook blades. Color code the knives with paint, and mark one of them with something that can be felt even through work gloves. Plumbers epoxy putty works well for this. Rough up the finish with sandpaper and put a glob of it somewhere that is easy to feel without interfering with usage.

I've tried every kind of utility knife and keep coming back to the 99e because it just works. You can easily carry two of them in your back pocket, open/close them one handed, and identify the blade type by touch (with a little modification).