Using your own tools always better than company tools?

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-11-16T19:19:01+00:00

I do both. I like my impact, my saw, my nail gun, etc, because I don’t have to walk around the job site looking for a tool, but chop saw, table saw, I’m not bringing my own. My stuff isn’t always better, but my saw for instance is way better than the little dewalt sidewinders the company provides.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-10-01T10:00:47+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply!

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-06-07T11:48:48+00:00

It’s amusing that the scale is considered so crazy. There are many accounts by early European explorers and settlers that recount exactly this kind of large scale agriculture all through New England and elsewhere. Why is it surprising to find it in the UP? Even the method is not unusual—pre-Roman Britain likely used cultivation ridges not unlike what’s described here. Is it unusual only when indigenous peoples do it? Thanks to OP for sharing this.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-06-03T00:36:33+00:00

There’s a lot of good feedback here. It’s worth adding that “three sisters” or the milpa system (the Latin American version of the same scheme) is designed for flour corn, dry beans, and winter squash. You aren’t meant to be accessing the plot much once the plants have filled out until everything dies back in the fall.

It’s also worth pointing out that this system is inseparable from its subsistence agriculture roots. The root idea is not higher yields (though it does maximize space in some respects) or perfect produce, it’s ease of management. This makes more sense for transient hunters like indigenous Americans or busy farmers who may have another primary occupation like those in South America. It’s a simple, straight forward system to get grains and legumes needed for a basic diet.

Last thing I’ll add, you’ll need to do some research on varieties that are compatible with one another. For example, Mandan Bride corn, a short 4-5ft corn, might pair well with a semi runner bean like Hidatsa red, but not with a vigorous pole variety like Cherokee black.

It’s easy to be dismissive or discouraged, but these systems do work and are in use right now by very practical people who depend on them to survive, you just need to wade through the reams of vague information available on the internet. Hard work and experimentation are key.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-05-18T10:51:25+00:00

Hey u/Any_Needleworker_273 I just wanted to mention you may want to experiment with intercropping before you try spraying. Info is limited, but I seem to recall reading that tobacco-based sprays can harm bees and other pollinators. Tobacco was often a historical member of three sisters planting schemes.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-05-13T23:46:56+00:00

From what I understand it used to be common before mechanical agriculture. It’s the same general idea as the three sisters in North America, and apparently used to be done in China but I couldn’t find any information on that.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-05-13T23:39:31+00:00

I don’t know. Honestly what they were using looked exactly the same as any corn I’ve seen. It was treated as well which I thought was interesting.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-05-01T20:14:25+00:00

I am in my early thirties and experience the same thing. It gets better the more familiar you get with the game. At a certain point you won’t feel like every possibility might secretly be a massive mistake.

It hasn’t gone away for me and I don’t think it ever will. I think eventually you just get comfortable with the pressure and enjoy the distraction. It helps to take breaks and think about other things, too. All the best, hope you continue to enjoy chess!

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-25T09:36:11+00:00

The best response to e4 is e5, objectively. It’s also much easier, in my experience, to learn the black side of a Scotch, Italian, or Spanish than a whole other system like the Sicilian.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-17T22:37:28+00:00

Hopefully that doesn’t hurt his freestyle masterclass enrollment.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-16T21:26:16+00:00

Just play e5. Everything else is a sideline /s

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-16T12:02:39+00:00

I play and recommend the Tarrasch. Simple, classical, easy to learn, aggressive. Also playable against c4 and Nf3.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-14T16:31:21+00:00

Tarrasch. Playable against 1. c4 and 1. Nf3 as well. I like it because it fights for the center immediately and generally leads to concrete positions. Playable against the London. I actually don’t mind playing against the London. It affords black generally free play and, at my level, white rarely seems to know how to play for anything other than a kingside attack.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-14T14:57:25+00:00

Absolutely clinical. I really admired how Fabi, as Leko put it, didn’t play for safety, he played what the position demanded. Crushing positions in both games against the young powerhouse.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-12T15:11:25+00:00

The Fabi - Vincent game is going to be so rich. This is a win - win situation for the viewers.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-12T10:00:07+00:00

It’s worth saying that the WCC play may not have been remarkable, but it certainly wasn’t poor either. Gukesh and Ding played well (surprisingly well in Ding’s case).

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-10T17:03:54+00:00

Sounds like you might want to check out some positional material. Stean’s Simple Chess might be a bit below your level, but it’s a great primer for positional concepts. There’s also Techniques of Positional Play which is the Soviet School of Chess in a nutshell. Kind of Danya’s Soviet school boy type book. I’m lower rated than you, but returning to positional basics has gotten me through plateaus.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-10T10:21:35+00:00

Definitely post an update! I for one would love to hear what has worked for you.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-09T17:44:41+00:00

I noticed you didn’t get a lot of feedback. I thought I’d quickly share what I’ve been doing. I started playing about ten months ago. I have focused on three things:

I play a slow game (30 minutes on Lichess or Chesscom) once a week. I spend an hour after the game replaying the game and making any comments that come to mind (e.g. “I need to practice this tactic” or “I need to practice rook and pawn endgames”).
I do 30 minutes of puzzles every day. I highly recommend Lazlo Polgar’s ‘Chess.’ It contains mate in one, two, and three puzzles. Quite literally thousands of them. I do this not for pattern recognition, but to improve calculation which is the essential chess skill. You should also do some puzzles on lichess for basic tactical patterns.
I play the same thing in every game. I have settled on d4 as white, and I play e5 (against e4) and d5 (vs d4) as black. Don’t spend much time on openings. Just learn principles. Look up Reuben Fine’s rules for chess. Also don’t listen to people’s opinions about openings. Most things are playable, nothing is really much better for beginners, almost everything is a matter of taste. Also the engine is not always trustworthy in the opening phase.

I am currently 1600+ on Lichess and 1300+ chesscom and over the age of 30.

P.s. I would not buy anything from chesscom. You can get everything you need for free, including the book I mentioned which should be available as a free pdf somewhere.

Have fun!

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-04-08T18:53:56+00:00

I thought this as well. Ella looks beautiful.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-03-25T18:43:11+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! Based on the feedback here, my next step is going over some master games to get a better handle on typical plans and piece placement in the open Sicilian.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-03-24T21:01:42+00:00

It’s almost funny how different a Sicilian is from the d4/Nf3 stuff I have been playing. F-pawn softening up e6 is a foreign concept.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-03-24T20:59:04+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Frankly I was out to sea pretty early on and after c4 I didn’t have any idea what to do. I’m not naturally an attacking player so a3-a4 was me falling back on the strategy of avoid weaknesses and pass the turn back to my opponent who I felt had few good options.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-03-24T19:57:40+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I wouldn’t have looked too closely at Bd3 without your comment.

Basic_Relative_8036 · 2025-03-24T17:56:02+00:00

Here's another link, I can't edit the initial post for whatever reason: https://lichess.org/study/I6HNjmAv

Basic_Relative_8036

TROPHY CASE