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On Having Enough Socks (2019)

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Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#41

Post by Traubenfuchs »

Jedd wrote: post #18

There's a few comments - seemingly from our American friends - that seem to suggest that left / right socks are a thing. I'm hoping I'm parsing those comments poorly, but ever since the revelation that Americans don't have kettles , I'm prepared for the worst. I got fed up with poor socks a few years ago and embarked on a project to try to find the best, or at least consistently decent, work socks. That's work in the…

I have left and right socks in Austria. If I accidentally end up with two left ones or two right ones (I can only tell by the L and R emblems) and notice it after having left the house it completely ruins my day. As in, I will generally get up and leave wherever I am, go home and wait for the feeling to reset by going to sleep in the evening.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#42

Post by TeMPOraL »

FredPret wrote: post #36
amelius wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You still have to match pairs based on type.

No what I mean is you buy 30-50 identical socks per type. You get one box per type. Then you stuff the 50 identical socks into the same box. Replenish when at 50% capacity.

How do you do wear-leveling? The socks may start as 20 identical pairs, but in a few weeks to few months, they will be all shades of grey.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#43

Post by michaelt »

Epa095 wrote: post #14
SamoyedFurFluff wrote: post #11

I’m not sure, I think people might be over complicating socks. I have an O(n) pairing process that is about the same complexity as if I had the same socks all the time. If I encounter a sock I haven’t paired, it’s laid flat somewhere clean. Then when I pick up a sock I can do a visual o(1) lookup to find a pair, otherwise it’s laid flat where the others are. Eventually the unpaired socks are first examined if I didn’…

I use the same, but for me it's definitely n^2, because the visual lookup is not constant. Some of the problem might be that I am old, stupid, and slow, but also because I (stupidly) have a lot of socks that look quite similar, but are not the same. Sometimes I even have to lift them up and feel them to notice that they are different!

I hear a lot of people saying "buy all identical socks" to simplify pairing, but I use the opposite strategy.

Buy colourful, distinctively patterned socks like [1] and pairing them up is trivial.

[1] https://www.johnlewis.com/happy-socks-classic-pattern-print-...

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#44

Post by FredPret »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #42
FredPret wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No what I mean is you buy 30-50 identical socks per type. You get one box per type. Then you stuff the 50 identical socks into the same box. Replenish when at 50% capacity.

How do you do wear-leveling? The socks may start as 20 identical pairs, but in a few weeks to few months, they will be all shades of grey.

That’s oddly not much of a problem for my socks, but as soon as it fades visibly, out it goes

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#45

Post by amelius »

FredPret wrote: post #44
TeMPOraL wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you do wear-leveling? The socks may start as 20 identical pairs, but in a few weeks to few months, they will be all shades of grey.

That’s oddly not much of a problem for my socks, but as soon as it fades visibly, out it goes

Yeah, with all the vendor lock in it's not possible to repair even your own socks these days ...

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#46

Post by aaron695 »

bugmen0t wrote: post #9

So, what's the solution to pairing socks? Buying many pairs from the same. Sure. That makes sense. But what happens when half of them are lost or damaged and you can't buy the same kind? Do you end up as someone pairing socks again or do you throw away half of your socks?

[dead]

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#48

Post by codr7 » 

    (define-solver yak-solver ()
      (wax-car (car-needs-waxing have-hose)
        (car-waxed)
        (car-needs-waxing))
      (get-new-hose (have-ez-pass)
        (have-hose))
      (borrow-ez-pass (return-mooshi-pillow)
        (have-ez-pass))
      (fix-mooshi-pillow (have-yak)
        (return-mooshi-pillow))
      (visit-zoo ()
        (have-yak)))

    (multiple-value-bind (ok? actions)
        (yak-solver '(car-needs-waxing) '(car-waxed))
      (assert ok?)
      (assert (equal actions
                     '(VISIT-ZOO
                       FIX-MOOSHI-PILLOW
                       BORROW-EZ-PASS
                       GET-NEW-HOSE
                       WAX-CAR)))))

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#49

Post by fmajid »

I buy Falke socks en masse whenever on sale and have ample stock of unused socks available (at the moment about a dozen pairs) for use whenever I have to retire a pair because it is worn out or lost its mate. Small things, but like shoes or mattresses, comfortable socks make a huge difference to your quality of life given how much of your life you spend in them.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#50

Post by ilyt »

willcipriano wrote: post #31
FredPret wrote: post #28

How to solve socks: 1. For each type of sock you need, find only one you like best, perhaps on Amazon or at Costco 2. Get a container for each kind - I have the soft shell travel zipup kind. 3. Buy en masse and stuff each container. 4. Don’t let anyone in your house discover your sock nirvana You never have to match pairs again

My version. Buy these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09SP4GGWJ?psc=1 End of list.

Pretty much. Even if you somehow run out, in the absolute worst case of "you need to buy another batch and they are different" then

* you only need to pull 3 socks to have at least 2 of them match

* they are black anyway, not like someone will notice. And if they do, tell them to keep their feet fetish in check

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