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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: October 8th, 2023

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  • I remember having a stabilo worker as a kid, one with the orange rubberised barrel. I thought it looked so cool - like an orange sci-fi submarine!

    Haven’t seen one in ages but then again the pen selection at the stores in my area have really atrophied.

    The Uniballs are some of the best feeling pens to write with imo! Have you tried refilling them? What kind of ink did you use?

    The Schneider is another new one for me!














  • It’s harder for me too to get out the door on those days. I do however, end up enjoying it more than running in “good weather”. I don’t know about your situation but there’s a chance you might end up liking it too!

    I think what I like about it most, is seeing other runners on the otherwise empty streets. These people are also here. They also made the choice to brave the weather. There’s an unspoken sense of community there which I find uplifting.

    One simple, tangible thing that I’ve tried to do this past winter is to take a selfie everytime I went running. My goal was to add them to an album on my phone or make a small collage of them to act as a reminder that yes, in fact I am the sort of person who goes running whatever the conditions may be. Sadly this hasn’t worked out for me all that well. I always forget to take the picture, hah! (Luckily, despite failing to take a picture I’ve still remained true to my running plan.) Perhaps this or something similar could help you? Visual reminders and progress tracking can be a great help!

    As for gear, others have pointed out the cleated shoes and face mask. I run in cleated shoes when it’s icy and during spring with all the dust around I put on a mask. Depending on how much ice, snow you get where you’re from you could manage with regular running shoes too. It’s easier to stay upright when running vs. walking. Even here where 15 to 0 F is the norm for winter time, I don’t see all that many cleated shoes. If winter was shorter I would just use my asics but since it’s quite long I feel more comfortable with cleated shoes. What surprised me this year was that even my Hoka Mach 5’s fared well during the first days of ice and snow even though they have a foam outsole (no rubber).

    Clothes-wise I wear a cheap polyester base layer with a regular running jacket, tights and socks. My core doesn’t need much extra but when it gets to -4 fahrenheit I do need to cover my extremities quite well. This means covering my ears and adding wool mittens over my windbreaker style gloves. I have a freebie tube scarf I got from someplace that has been quite useful when worn commando style during colder days. It’s not the temperature that gets you, it’s the wind haha!

    In short, you can do it, I believe in you!

    Hope this helps 👍


  • It doesn’t make sense to try to sell a quality product when the demand is based on a fad.

    Trendy = bad for the consumer as a principle but it’s not as if we have time to constantly second guess everything (without going crazy).

    Birkenstock, DocMartens, Red Wing, Church’s Kitchenaid, every “luxury” brand you can think of and most products listed on BIFL threads… (Also crocs but I feel they sell at such a low price point to begin with that it doesn’t warrant cheaping out. Fake crocs are cheaper and just as durable though.)

    All these brands get ultra-popular because one product goes viral which they start producing cheaply and use to grow their business and later, if succesful bring out a “heritage”, “pro” or “classic” line for a higher price than the model was going for originally.



  • If left in the french press, the coffee will continue to interact with the grounds even when they’re pressed down. This is not great in my opinion but others might not feel strongly about it. To prevent this, the coffee should be transferred to a separate server to eliminate contact with the grounds completely. A french press doubling as a thermos wouldn’t work for me for this reason.

    A v60/kalita style pour over is a bit more versatile (compared to say a chemex or the french press) because you can brew straight to a cup/thermos/server depending on how much coffee you need and whether you need to keep it hot for longer. It’s also quick to clean if you decide you need more coffee than you originally thought.

    Other things to consider:

    Some people find french presses annoying to clean.

    The filter mesh in a french press is usually bit finicky and will let grounds past it in some scenarios (quite often, might depend on build quality though). The edges can also start to fray over time which makes this worse.

    A pour over requires your undivided attention for the whole duration of the brew which can be a plus if it, as you say, feels therapeutic but a minus whe you’re in a hurry.

    A pour over has a lot more paraphernalia (timer scales, gooseneck kettles) which a lot of people will recommend getting. These are not must-haves for adequate brewing but if you have a budget in mind maybe take these into account too.

    Did you have links to specific products?