Overkill objects for everyday life • Hacker News Board

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#391

Post by [deleted] » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:00 PM UTC

Grustaf wrote: post #303

ketzo wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's one of those things that sounds super fun when you're opting into it on a weekend. Much less so on a Tuesday night after a stressful day and your goddamn window won't close even though it's raining and you can't play music because the stereo only takes cassettes and you're not gonna listen to that one fucking Hall and Oates tape again and there's no heat and your neck is sore because the headrest is made of pl…

Well, I lived my entire 20s like that. Moved to Russia, lived in a Soviet era dorm, travelled to Vladivostok in a 4th class carriage etc. So it’s not theoretical…

[deleted]

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#392

Post by jiofih » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:04 PM UTC

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #386

IgorPartola wrote: post #341

I will postulate an opposing view to TFA: Quality consumer goods are better in two key areas. First, they are replaceable. I don’t want a military grade mixer in my kitchen if getting a broken whisk or motor on it is going to require me hunting all over eBay for the specific part hoping it’s available. I was very excited at one point about the idea of getting a commercial dishwasher that can run a load of dishes in l…

You're spot on. I've dated several chefs, and the reality is that "professional grade" in consumer kitchen devices is basically all a fantasy/farce. Real commercial equipment is generally a huge PITA. It's quite capable stuff, but you don't need those capabilities at home, and everything else about them makes them a net negative, in nearly every case. The other obnoxious thing is most of what's marketed as "professio…

> "professional grade" in consumer kitchen devices is basically all a fantasy/farce

That is not what the article is about though. He buys actual commercial / industrial stuff that is indeed more rugged.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#393

Post by Grustaf » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:04 PM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #341

I will postulate an opposing view to TFA: Quality consumer goods are better in two key areas. First, they are replaceable. I don’t want a military grade mixer in my kitchen if getting a broken whisk or motor on it is going to require me hunting all over eBay for the specific part hoping it’s available. I was very excited at one point about the idea of getting a commercial dishwasher that can run a load of dishes in l…

Is this a joke or are you missing the point? The guy doesn't actually think that a fighter jet seat is better than a normal office chair in any practical sense. He just thinks these things are cool. Often, part of the charm is how incredibly impractical they are.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#394

Post by robocat » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:05 PM UTC

verst wrote: post #260

jlkuester7 wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

My friend had a Toshiba Satellite that was running the fans at 100% all the time. The fins on the radiator we’re blocked with dust. Easy to fix - unscrew the bottom plate and unscrew the fan and make the airflow path clean again. Low risk fix as they were about to throw it out it was so annoying. Sometimes it is unobvious how to remove the bottom plate - usually there will be a video on YouTube for the model.

Yeah, the Dell is not that problem, but just saying for others that other brand/model laptops with the same symptom might be easy to fix.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#395

Post by yumraj » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:05 PM UTC

elil17 wrote: post #217

Restaurant supply stores are a great place to get kitchenware. Some of it doesn’t work in a home kitchen (for instance, you probably don’t want your smallest Tupperware to be a quart). Some of it, though, is perfect. My favorite purchase has been a huge cutting board with rubber grip material on one side and rulers printed on the other. It’s thick plastic so it’s never warped despite repeatedly putting it in the dish…

Costco Business center is a good and accessible alternate if you have one near to you.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#396

Post by Daishiman » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:06 PM UTC

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #302

Daishiman wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair... there was _a lot_ of heavy-duty crap back that was badly designed, poisonous/polluting or novely. It's just that you don't see it now because it's all rusted away or lives in junkyards.

At the same time, there is other stuff that is good quality but that could never be produced today because of liability concerns, but if you're in a home without small children running around you're probably good. I'm the proud owner of a La Peppina espresso machine (image: https://www.home-barista.com/levers/my-first-lever-la-peppin... ). It makes great espresso, but it also keeps a kettle of boiling water suspended…

I'm not really seeing the point here. Lever espresso machines exist and continue to be manufactured. La Pavoni and Olympia continue to make lever espresso machines that work just fine.

A lot of the reliability concerns from tools of the past are frankly quite well justified, and to this date we continue to sell and produce tools that are dangerous if not properly operated.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#397

Post by Philip-J-Fry » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:06 PM UTC

zamalek wrote: post #225

rsuttongee wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, pretty sure the author doesn’t expect anyone to take this post entirely seriously.

I'm considering this very seriously: > The entire consumer market is rotten. TV? It's going to come with smart apps. Get one from NEC that's meant for commercial use. A TV has the potential to be a lifetime purchase, but the software on it can render it obsolete. I can always plug my streaming device of choice into the back of a "dumb TV."

Do any commercial TVs have HDR though?

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#398

Post by jasonwatkinspdx » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:09 PM UTC

jiofih wrote: post #392

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're spot on. I've dated several chefs, and the reality is that "professional grade" in consumer kitchen devices is basically all a fantasy/farce. Real commercial equipment is generally a huge PITA. It's quite capable stuff, but you don't need those capabilities at home, and everything else about them makes them a net negative, in nearly every case. The other obnoxious thing is most of what's marketed as "professio…

> "professional grade" in consumer kitchen devices is basically all a fantasy/farce That is not what the article is about though. He buys actual commercial / industrial stuff that is indeed more rugged.

I understand that, I was talking about a parallel aspect.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#399

Post by BurningFrog » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:14 PM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #341

I will postulate an opposing view to TFA: Quality consumer goods are better in two key areas. First, they are replaceable. I don’t want a military grade mixer in my kitchen if getting a broken whisk or motor on it is going to require me hunting all over eBay for the specific part hoping it’s available. I was very excited at one point about the idea of getting a commercial dishwasher that can run a load of dishes in l…

Often the hobbyist and professional tool is just as good, except that the pro tool will last 10x longer.

Re: Overkill objects for everyday life

#400

Post by Grustaf » Sun, May 30, 2021, 10:14 PM UTC

systemvoltage wrote: post #321

cf100clunk wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, this concept that "military grade" quality is superior to consumer grade is mythological in many cases. It is all about the relative worthiness of the specification(s) to which the product is built, meaning that crappy specs yield crappy results, whether military or commercial. Also the amount of rework sometimes required on "military grade" gear to make it actually do its job is seldom publicized except in o…

Totally disagree. I’ve bought all kinds of items from surplus stores and Swiss military gear. Usually, better by a large margin. The only thing it suffers is aesthetics if you care about such things. These are all better in most cases: Medical grade Military grade Industrial grade Cleanroom grade (for some items) Marine grade Try looking into it.

I use a Swiss "weapons bag" made in the 40s out of 8mm thick leather for my laptop, I love the aesthetics! Any links to places where I can get more Swiss military gear?