Life hack: 
Consistently appreciate 'basic' technologies

"Wait, so you're saying I just have to turn this handle, and a targeted stream of hot water will rain down upon me, cleanse me, relax me, then go into this hole without damaging the house?"

Plumbing is GOAT tech. 

What basics do you regularly appreciate?

Pragmatism (Security) at OP Labs.
Prev: ConsenSys & Coinbase.

Attribs: Friendly, curious, introverted, mid-witted.
Chans: /eth-security /maurelian /stoicism




Steel as a building and manufacturing material. It’s like a platonic ideal 

Electricity, esp. electric light 

Pneumatic tires (basically no cars or bikes without them)

Also soap, fermentation, and printing

Also stainless steel when used in tools, and _especially_ on good knife. 
Amazing that you can just leave it soaking in water without it rusting.

Right? What did people do about rust? Oil their knives multiple times per day?

It’s worth buying $10 carbon steel caidao just to build appreciation for stainless steel knives. 

Also the crescent wrench, ratchet, vice grip pliers, etc. all would have been more or less infeasible without stainless

Man, even my stainless versions of the enumerated tools are fussy and prone to seizing up if not pampered.  I definitely would not be able to keep carbon steel versions in working order.

But as a mechanic I'm a filthy casual with bad ride-it-hard-and-put-it-away-wet habits  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well I do think those things were feasible and commonly made with just carbon steel. 

They probably did oil them frequently, as well as clean and dry them immediately after use.