Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Overkill objects for everyday life

neil.computer

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 732 posts

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#251

Post by yojo »

user3939382 wrote: post #110
dan-robertson wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dishwashers are another example. You could buy a commercial one but it will come with no roll-out trays (you load up different plastic racks for different things and you can load a rack while the dishwasher is running) and it’s designed for an environment with lots of ventilation (you just open it when it is done and let the steam get ventilated away) which people are unlikely to have in their own kitchens. Other ite…

Tangentially related: if you do want an amazing electric coffee grinder, feel free to piggy back on my countless hours of research and go with this: Baratza Virtuoso+ It is excellent.

I have a Vario, that has struggled with a fine espresso grind. The burrs are ceramic but the carriage is plastic and it affects the tolerance. I gave up repairing/troubleshooting it and bought a beat to hell SuperJolly off EBay for $170.

Dropped in a new set of burrs and have an unstoppable overkill grinder with a huge motor and all metal parts

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#252

Post by Grustaf »

jlkuester7 wrote: post #227

I am a huge fan of highly durable equipment, but one thing to watch out for is that comfort/ergonimics are often sacrificed for the sake of simplicity and duribility. Ask anyone who has spent time in a military vehicle. Those things can take a beating and are made to be repaired quickly and sent back out for more. But a quite comfortable ride they are not.... Sometimes that no-compromise toughness is exactly what you…

For me that's one of the selling points. Modern life is so ridiculously over engineered to be comfortable, we can all use some rough edges.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#253

Post by ValentineC »

MonaroVXR wrote: post #158
dan-robertson wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dishwashers are another example. You could buy a commercial one but it will come with no roll-out trays (you load up different plastic racks for different things and you can load a rack while the dishwasher is running) and it’s designed for an environment with lots of ventilation (you just open it when it is done and let the steam get ventilated away) which people are unlikely to have in their own kitchens. Other ite…

This is the same for laptops, but most of the people (I assume?) buy Macbooks for programming which is... kinda weird, since it's difficult to repair. Than business laptops like the Z-book, ThinkPad or insert Dell business laptop eg; Latitude 7000 series (Dell XPS isn't a business laptop from my perspective.)

> This is the same for laptops, but most of the people (I assume?) buy Macbooks for programming which is... kinda weird, since it's difficult to repair.

Personally, I don't think I've found anything that beats Apple's laptop trackpads, and I think that my UX matters more than repairability.

Then again, I'm still using a 2013 MacBook Pro with an upgraded NVMe SSD.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#254

Post by karaterobot »

Is that picture the 20-quart Hobart mixer, or just the 12 quart? Both are good for making a few hundred cookies at a time, and very convenient if you also have a commercial oven.

Now, that's the countertop model, so it only weights 189 pounds, and it's a steal at $6000. Sounds expensive, but it'll last forever, unlike my shitty Kitchenaid mixer that's only worked flawlessly for 30 years, and that I can store in a cupboard and put on the counter without a forklift.

My advice: save a few bucks by learning small appliance repair and buying a banged up mixer from a defunct restaurant a couple towns over! Bring a couple friends and some tie-down straps.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#255

Post by lucb1e »

This started off as a fun article about "what's the most overkill way I can get this?" and then looking for second-hand fighter jet seats just for the shits and giggles.

I like that.

But then it goes south from there, the author seems to believe that anything that isn't from the USA military must be crap:

> Made in the USA from military grade [...] preferably a military supplier [...] This is the real thing, used by the US military. [...]

> Consumer goods suck. You keep buying them. [emphasis theirs]

> The average consumer is an idiot, so the bean counters keep milking them.

So we're idiots for buying a regular knife instead of some military variant that makes you look like, well, someone who would carry a gun as well? Or regular napkins rather than some special cleanroom rated upgrade? I think I'm good, thanks.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#256

Post by mcguire »

abeppu wrote: post #85

> 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 i…

I can't speak to the 1006, but my office chair is a mid-century Steelcase because I got tired of others breaking or losing wheels.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#257

Post by goatinaboat »

lucb1e wrote: post #255

This started off as a fun article about "what's the most overkill way I can get this?" and then looking for second-hand fighter jet seats just for the shits and giggles. I like that. But then it goes south from there, the author seems to believe that anything that isn't from the USA military must be crap: > Made in the USA from military grade [...] preferably a military supplier [...] This is the real thing, used by…

“Military grade” means “made by the lowest bidder” in reality

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#258

Post by Grustaf »

1996 wrote: post #232
tschwimmer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed 1000x. There is rarely a single best in all categories good for something. Instead, you have to pay attention to what you’re optimizing for. The industrial/commercial cookware he lists is definitely durable but also it’s huge, may consume a ton of energy and will not match the decor of the rest of your kitchen.

> The industrial/commercial cookware he lists is definitely durable No, it is plain wrong. He recommends borosilicate beakers for beer. I think he never worked in a lab: borosilicate beakers break. Their thermal expansion tolerance is a non feature for cold beer: when did one of your beer mug broke because you served yourself boiling beer? > Does your glassware meet ASTM Specification E960, Type II requirements? Is i…

I think you're missing the point. Nobody cares what ASTM Specification E960 is, it just sounds cool. Some people like industrial/military stuff for its own sake.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#259

Post by drstewart »

pengaru wrote: post #168
vdnkh wrote: post #16

Using a ka-bar for hiking is a terrible idea. At 0.7lbs it weighs as much as a quality sleeping bag/tent/pack. Also, you likely don’t need a knife. Scissors are much more useful, and micro scissors weigh less than an ounce. Ultralight hiking adds an interesting forcing function to gear - correctly “built” (as in not overbuilt or under built). Bring the gear which matches the need. In essence, the complete opposite se…

You seem to be conflating hiking with backpacking.

You don't need a knife backpacking either. I did 200 miles on the PCT without even bringing a knife.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#260

Post by verst »

jlkuester7 wrote: post #192
MonaroVXR wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the same for laptops, but most of the people (I assume?) buy Macbooks for programming which is... kinda weird, since it's difficult to repair. Than business laptops like the Z-book, ThinkPad or insert Dell business laptop eg; Latitude 7000 series (Dell XPS isn't a business laptop from my perspective.)

I agree that the Dell XPS line does not reaaly fit the "business" look-and-feel like a Latitude or Thinkpad. But after several years of doing heavy sofware dev on one, it is has earned my respect. It is nice to have a machine with a non-brick-like form that still does not compromise in performance (and you can bring to a businesses meeting and not look too RBG....). IMHO the XPS line is designed to compete with MBPs…

Except my $3500 XPS 9500 (64GB RAM 2TB, 8 core CPU, Nvidia 1650Ti, 4K Touch Display) that thermal throttles so much that a 3 years older MBP gives much much better performance and I continued using that machine for work. Fortunately by switching teams at work I was then able to get a new Mac and I'm thrilled with my M1!

I spoke with a very nice person from Dell via Twitter who out of personal interest went above and beyond to help me calibrate that XPS, but no luck. Booting Windows is enough for fans to reach max speeds and thermal throttling to begin.

Post reply on HN