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Overkill objects for everyday life

neil.computer

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Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#81

Post by thequux »

wyager wrote: post #46
mrzool wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you happen to know about a mcmaster equivalent for the EU?

RS components is good - I used them in HK and I think they serve EU as well. Not quite the same but pretty solid.

RS doesn't deign to even talk to people who don't have VAT IDs here :-(

It's a shame; as far as I can tell, the only reasonably-priced source for bulk machine screws that I've been able to find was Aliexpress/Alibaba (depending on quantities), and even that has gone to shit with the new import tax rules. (I'm not opposed to paying import taxes. I am opposed to paying a €20 processing fee in addition to €0.30 tax for €1.50 worth of stuff)

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#82

Post by swader999 »

vdnkh wrote: post #57
swader999 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah this is true. With a K-bar though you might leave your axe behind depending on your trip.

It’s double edged so maybe not. I think if I needed to split wood I’d want a hatchet. With the hiking I like to do, I hike all day, boil water for food with a canister stove, and pass out. So I optimize for weight - less weight = more miles (and is much more comfortable).

Yeah I really like that style too. Sometimes we hike to a nice spot and just stay there a couple of days. I'll pack differently for that. It's so much fun with little kids that don't have as much range. You could still baton through wood with the k bar but there are better options.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#83

Post by curtis3389 »

geofft wrote: post #70
ListeningPie wrote: post #50

The recommendation for a commercial panel which avoids built smart TV functions is one I'm taking seriously. We have an Apple TV connected and use nothing else. Does anyone have experience or recommendations? Here is a link to NEC's commercial displays https://www.sharpnecdisplays.us/products/displays#2

The commercial displays are also awfully expensive. https://frame.work/blog/in-defense-of-dumb-tvs was posted here recently ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26273169 ) and concluded that Sceptre, an inexpensive brand sold at Wal-Mart, was worth a shot.

I bought a Sceptre based on a HN discussion a few months ago. Happy with it so far. It's just a regular TV.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#84

Post by wyager »

bitexploder wrote: post #52
wyager wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a knife all the time while hiking - good luck cutting a salami with scissors. That said, the ka-bar is not worth the weight. I really like my benchmade hidden canyon.

I’ve always got by with a simple folding spyderco knife. Small. Lasts forever. Does 90% of jobs when backpacking or around the house, etc. a ka-bar is a fine car camping knife though. Meant to take abuse and be a multi purpose heavy duty tool. We mostly overland and car camp these days. Different tools for different purposes and all that.

Problem with folding knives for camping is they get gunk in them.

Ka-bars are kind of a meme. They are made fairly cheaply. You won’t find knife enthusiasts (eg USN) recommending ka-bars.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#85

Post by abeppu »

> The average consumer wants this stuff. It sells. They want pizzaz over functionality and durability.

What is functionality though? What is pizzaz? When are they the same and when are they different?

E.g. the famous Emeco 1006 chair, which won a contract to supply the US Navy by being thrown out a window and not breaking. It became a design classic, and now sells for $600 each. It gained a kind of following, which is in part based on this history. But is that durability especially functional for your home or restaurant environment which isn't on a warship? Do you think you're going to use your chair as a hammer some days? Or is fetishizing something used by the military and extreme durability its own form of pizzaz?

https://www.dwr.com/kitchen-dining-chairs-benches/1006-navy-... https://www.emeco.net/variants/emeco-1006-navy-chair-brushed... https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/77-steps/

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#87

Post by swader999 »

an_opabinia wrote: post #67
ListeningPie wrote: post #50

The recommendation for a commercial panel which avoids built smart TV functions is one I'm taking seriously. We have an Apple TV connected and use nothing else. Does anyone have experience or recommendations? Here is a link to NEC's commercial displays https://www.sharpnecdisplays.us/products/displays#2

I don't know. If you don't connect the TV to the Internet, really, what is it going to do.

Connect your media pc to it and fully control your tv software.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#90

Post by killjoywashere »

enchiridion wrote: post #55
dkdbejwi383 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Military grade = the cheapest product that meets the spec.

That's always the line. The left out part is how rigorous the spec is.

Problem with the spec is often that the military "needs a car". But the specification process forces them to design all the parameters, and they end up with a very rigorous spec for "Toyota Camry, no A/C, coyote brown, steel wheels" which adds up to 800 pages and a product that even Toyota can't produce for less than $250k/unit. Meanwhile, by the time they've written the spec, the CyberTruck has been designed, marketed, produced, and iterated, and exceeds the spec in every meaningful dimension. The military has required an entirely US-based supply chain that will sustain their vehicle for the next 30 years, but accepts that it's entirely reasonable, in that circumstance, that each washer (Type 304 stainless, O.D. +/- 0.00001 inch) is $47.82/unit.
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