# Things you prefer to do the hard way... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 12, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607 "2016-05-12T14:55:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/21 "2016-05-12T18:44:50Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I often use paper maps (or at least Google Maps printouts) rather than my GPS when driving. Any moron can reach their destination using GPS. I do it because I’m too cheap to buy a car GPS (or a smartphone data plan for that matter.) I also don’t want to be one of those distracted drivers who is checking their GPS rather than looking at the road, and while I admit I do look at maps occasionally while driving, their cumbersomeness means I do it far less often and only when there’s no one else on the road. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/22 "2016-05-12T18:46:55Z")
I take minutes for a monthly meeting by hand, and then type them up later. I’m a decent typist I just feel like I can be more loose using pen and paper. There was an old guy who did the minutes for a short while. He brought in his ancient laptop and plugged it in, then took horrible notes because he was a horrible typist. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/23 "2016-05-12T18:47:44Z")
I have a 1/3 acre yard. All the neighbors give me crap because they have riding mowers, while I use a push mower. I do it for the exercise. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/24 "2016-05-12T19:05:57Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > I have a 1/3 acre yard. All the neighbors give me crap because they have riding mowers, while I use a push mower. I do it for the exercise. This - but my neighbors don’t even have riding mowers, they pay for a lawn-mowing service. Mower has an engine to spin the blade, but the wheels are undriven. Good exercise. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/25 "2016-05-12T19:12:05Z")
Electric guitars are known for being easy to play, with lighter gauge strings and a faster, low-to-the-neck action. I play mine with a string gauge just below what Stevie Ray Vaughn used, i.e., bridge cables (I play with .12’s, he legendarily used .13’s), which I keep a bit higher off the neck so my fingertips can grab the strings for bends, and so I can whomp on the strings in general. It sounds better and is more fun, even if my fingers feel it! ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/26 "2016-05-12T19:16:23Z")
I knit my own socks. I love how they fit and I love being able to have wild colors and patterns. And I love to knit. Win win win. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/27 "2016-05-12T19:28:10Z")
I like driving mainframes via native command lines. We have web-based tools that help simplify most regular tasks and they have “guardrails” to help prevent disasters, but they have a funny way of misbehaving now and then, and causing minor disasters. Knowing that goofing a native command could bring down a production system keeps you on your toes! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/28 "2016-05-12T20:46:30Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I like driving mainframes via native command lines. We have web-based tools that help simplify most regular tasks and they have “guardrails” to help prevent disasters, but they have a funny way of misbehaving now and then, and causing minor disasters. > > Knowing that goofing a native command could bring down a production system keeps you on your toes! There’s no finer experience than typing: rm junk \* when you meant: rm junk.\* Then you get to ask the sysadmin to dredge up the latest back-up tapes (from the off-site storage vault across town) to restore everything. Better still if you are the sysadmin yourself. Even better still if you happened to include the -r option and you were working in the root directory. (ETA: As super-user, of course.) Been known to happen. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/29 "2016-05-12T21:27:47Z")
I hate using the microwave for anything other than boiling a cup of water or popcorn. Even if I’m eating something supposedly microwavable I’ll still use the stove. > [@Senegoid](#): > > There’s no finer experience than typing: rm junk \* > when you meant: rm junk.\* > > Then you get to ask the sysadmin to dredge up the latest back-up tapes (from the off-site storage vault across town) to restore everything. Better still if you are the sysadmin yourself. Even better still if you happened to include the -r option and you were working in the root directory. (ETA: As super-user, of course.) > > Been known to happen. Iron Mountain sends us a christmas card every year 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/30 "2016-05-12T21:36:23Z")
I split wood for my fireplace using an ax and a wedge. It is both satisfying and good exercise. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/31 "2016-05-12T22:16:02Z")
I pay my bills by check, and then mail them in. The only bills I pay electronically are the onesthat don’t allow it any other way. I also do my own taxes, on paper. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/32 "2016-05-12T22:22:08Z")
I spell out entire words when texting. I h8 txt spk! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/33 "2016-05-12T22:31:21Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I spell out entire words when texting. I h8 txt spk! I do, too, but for me it’s because spelling the words out is the easy way. I’ve actually tried typing in txtspk on occasion, and I can’t wrap my brain around it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/34 "2016-05-12T22:34:14Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I pay my bills by check, and then mail them in. The only bills I pay electronically are the onesthat don’t allow it any other way. > > I also do my own taxes, on paper. Same here, mostly (I get extra points for paying the cellphone bill by card, so I do it that way). Manual transmission. (Can we say “tranny” in this context?) ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/35 "2016-05-12T22:47:23Z")
Baking. I like to bake and prefer to make cakes, cornbread, pancakes, waffles, biscuits, cookies and brownies from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/36 "2016-05-13T01:17:45Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > I don’t know why, but I hate dishwashers so I always wash and dry everything by hand. I’ve owned a dishwasher at 3 of my previous residences and never once used it. I don’t even use dish soap. I rinse my dishes under hot running water until they feel clean, using a nylon net pad if necessary. Dry them in the drainer. My dishes haven’t been washed with soap in years. My apartment is furnished with a dishwasher, I store plastic bags and tubs in there. To me, it’s doing thins the easy way. I also walk a kilometer each way to the supermarket, and buy only what I can carry, and go as often as I need to. It’s nice to not have to carry home dish soap. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/37 "2016-05-13T02:03:43Z")
> [@](#): > > I have a 1/3 acre yard. All the neighbors give me crap because they have riding mowers, while I use a push mower. I do it for the exercise. Lazy sod. My dad mows his lawn with a pair of scissors. ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/38 "2016-05-13T02:08:06Z")
I roast my own coffee beans. I shave like grand-dad, with a double edge razor and shaving cream applied with a brush. I make chicken stock from scratch…sometimes, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/39 "2016-05-13T02:22:35Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > Baking. I like to bake and prefer to make cakes, cornbread, pancakes, waffles, biscuits, cookies and brownies from scratch. this, especially for pancakes and waffles. Well, pancakes from a box mix are usually acceptable, but I usually make my own dry-ingredients mix. Waffles made from a box mix are just \<_vile_\> pancakes that somebody sat on and it always amazes me that people act like it’s so much work to make them from scratch. > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **VunderBob** > > I have a 1/3 acre yard. All the neighbors give me crap because they have riding mowers, while I use a push mower. I do it for the exercise. does the 1/3 acre include the area occupied by your house, or is that 1/3 acre in addition to the area occupied by you house? Either way, if your neighbor’s lots are comparable in size, what a bunch of lazy sluffs for having a riding mower for such a small lot. I have just under a 1/4 acre and I sensibly pay the Fosterling and occasionally the eldest Guestling to push a mower around it. I do the edge-trimming though, otherwise it comes out looking _too_ much like a haircut from the barber college ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607/40 "2016-05-13T02:23:39Z")
I push my lawn mower. I had a reel mower until last year, when my son won a competitive apprenticeship with the local Briggs and Stratton plant. .We bought a cheap power mower then, but that wasn’t too long after we moved from a quarter acre rental to the current 1.25 acre lawn. I make bread from scratch most of the year. Summer in South Georgia? I’ll buy it. But my basic “do it the hard way” is still yard work. I’m a terrible gardener. But I enjoy it. So I spend hours babying plants, because that’s how I gauge my success versus Mother Nature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-prefer-to-do-the-hard-way/754607.md?page=3)