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A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

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Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#121

Post by alias_neo »

scarface_74 wrote: post #101

On top of all of the other criticisms, this isn’t functionally what I want. I still would end up looking down to see the laptop. I guess it’s better for people who only work on laptops and don’t want to have separate keyboards and pointing devices. I travel a lot and I use a Roost laptop stand https://www.therooststand.com/ A standard Apple keyboard and mouse, and a portable USB powered monitor that gets power and vi…

I got a roost when they launched, still have it, practical and durable, I imagine I'll always have it.

The problem with this paper one is that the paper will wear within a couple of years, and if you spill your coffee on it or anything like that or put it down on a coffee-ring stain, it's straight in the bin.

I fail to see the value in something made from recyclable that is essentially disposable rather than a roost which can be made from recycled plastic and last forever.

The roost also only cost about double to triple this to buy.

EDIT: I see the roost is quite a bit more expensive now, but longevity and ergonomics wise I'd say still well worth it.

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#122

Post by redundantly »

toast0 wrote: post #81
cle wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use whatever's lying around. Some more ideas: - A shoebox - An old binder - A food container - Some coasters - Egg carton - Jenga blocks - Cereal box - Legos - Picture frame - Tennis ball (cut it in half) - Door stoppers - Cake pan - A screwdriver box - A few junk mailer magazines - Crumple up a couple newspaper pages Or better yet, order one of these and make 3 more with the shipping box it came in. That'll help onc…

Not sure how many cereal boxes can hold a laptop... unless you're stacking them flattened, and then you need to eat a lot of cereal, but you can adjust height very precisely. :)

A cereal box is likely thicker than the material used in the product this article talks about. It wouldn't take very many folds to prop up a notebook.

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#123

Post by snailmailstare »

snowfarthing wrote: post #117
bko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often see "recycled" or similar as a signal for more expensive. My favorite was when I saw a jam that touted "upcycled" strawberries. When I looked into it, it basically meant that it was made from beat up ugly strawberries that would have been used for animal feed. Surely there would be cost savings in using reject fruit, right? No, an 8oz jar retails for over $8 compared to about half that to an organic no sugar…

I find this particular notion to be rather weird. I cannot see how it's a "waste" if something's fed to animals instead of humans!

It is a horrible waste to produce any strawberries from an environmental perspective compared to the least sensitive feed crops so feeding them to animals is more of a better than nothing while getting someone out of the market for the grades of strawberries that drive production is not. But any mediocre quality strawberry jam probably does that.

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#124

Post by nozzlegear »

nordsieck wrote: post #104
nozzlegear wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're going to buy a laptop stand anyway and you have the choice between A) a plastic stand or B) this recycled stand, does it make more or less sense, in terms of environmental impact, to buy the plastic stand over this one? > ignoring the fact that this was likely air shipped from Korea and then delivered by multiple trucks to you. This presupposes the economies of scale. One plane is not leaving South Korea la…

> If you're going to buy a laptop stand anyway and you have the choice between A) a plastic stand or B) this recycled stand, does it make more or less sense, in terms of environmental impact, to buy the plastic stand over this one? I mean, if you expect the cardboard one not to last very long, then yes. Yes it does "make more or less sense".

If I expected that, then I wouldn't order one in the first place; much the same as I wouldn't order cheap plastic junk from Amazon with the expectation that it's just going to break or I'm not even going to get what was pictured in the listing. So at the very least we need to have faith that both are decent quality if we want to have a debate over it.

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#125

Post by fragmede »

bko wrote: post #96
yoavm wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes it's a marketing stunt, but often recycling is more expensive. I mean, recycling a plastic bag is probably more expensive than making one. The unfortunate reality of our financial system is that it often rewards people for doing the wrong thing.

If recycling is more expensive, isn't recycling the wrong thing? The price isn't some random number attached to an activity. It captures the various costs associated with it and is helpful in directing behaviors for this very reason. Recycling is more expensive, it likely means that there are associated costs (e.g. transportation, sorting, cleaning, processing, etc) that make it less economical than just throwing it…

If stealing from a factory and selling their products makes you more money than owning the factory and making the product, then doesn't it mean that stealing is the right thing?

The price isn't some random number attached to an activity. It captures the various costs associated with it and is helpful in directing behaviors for this very reason.

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#126

Post by [deleted] »

jdietrich wrote: post #108
bko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often see "recycled" or similar as a signal for more expensive. My favorite was when I saw a jam that touted "upcycled" strawberries. When I looked into it, it basically meant that it was made from beat up ugly strawberries that would have been used for animal feed. Surely there would be cost savings in using reject fruit, right? No, an 8oz jar retails for over $8 compared to about half that to an organic no sugar…

>When I looked into it, it basically meant that it was made from beat up ugly strawberries That's true for basically all processed food that contains fruit or vegetables, for obvious economic reasons. The stuff that looks good goes to the supermarkets who care very much about shelf appeal, the rest goes to the processors who absolutely don't.

[deleted]

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#127

Post by nosioptar »

jdietrich wrote: post #108
bko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often see "recycled" or similar as a signal for more expensive. My favorite was when I saw a jam that touted "upcycled" strawberries. When I looked into it, it basically meant that it was made from beat up ugly strawberries that would have been used for animal feed. Surely there would be cost savings in using reject fruit, right? No, an 8oz jar retails for over $8 compared to about half that to an organic no sugar…

>When I looked into it, it basically meant that it was made from beat up ugly strawberries That's true for basically all processed food that contains fruit or vegetables, for obvious economic reasons. The stuff that looks good goes to the supermarkets who care very much about shelf appeal, the rest goes to the processors who absolutely don't.

Stuff like Pringles are made from the nastiest rotting potatoes in the planet. It's been 20 years since the last time I set foot in a potato plant, I can still smell it.

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#128

Post by HPsquared »

rvense wrote: post #115
bko wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If recycling is more expensive, isn't recycling the wrong thing? The price isn't some random number attached to an activity. It captures the various costs associated with it and is helpful in directing behaviors for this very reason. Recycling is more expensive, it likely means that there are associated costs (e.g. transportation, sorting, cleaning, processing, etc) that make it less economical than just throwing it…

Most of the toothbrushes we've owned in our lives still exist. What is the cost of having them around still? I don't know, but I know it wasn't factored in at all when we bought them.

Really it depends where they end up. If you drop them on the street, that incurs a greater cost than landfill, which probably is less economic than incineration (plastic contains a lot of energy).

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#129

Post by HPsquared »

snowfarthing wrote: post #117
bko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often see "recycled" or similar as a signal for more expensive. My favorite was when I saw a jam that touted "upcycled" strawberries. When I looked into it, it basically meant that it was made from beat up ugly strawberries that would have been used for animal feed. Surely there would be cost savings in using reject fruit, right? No, an 8oz jar retails for over $8 compared to about half that to an organic no sugar…

I find this particular notion to be rather weird. I cannot see how it's a "waste" if something's fed to animals instead of humans!

Opportunity cost, mostly.

Re: A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper

#130

Post by latexr »

snowfarthing wrote: post #117
bko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often see "recycled" or similar as a signal for more expensive. My favorite was when I saw a jam that touted "upcycled" strawberries. When I looked into it, it basically meant that it was made from beat up ugly strawberries that would have been used for animal feed. Surely there would be cost savings in using reject fruit, right? No, an 8oz jar retails for over $8 compared to about half that to an organic no sugar…

I find this particular notion to be rather weird. I cannot see how it's a "waste" if something's fed to animals instead of humans!

Despite the quotes, the person you’re replying to didn’t use the word “waste” nor have they claimed using that fruit to feed animals would be bad. In short, they didn’t make the argument you’re against.

However, in the interest of good faith discussion, I’ll offer a rebuttal to the argument you are making. The logic applies when (and this is very important) that food goes to farm animals which will be slaughtered of humans to eat.

“Waste” isn’t really the right word, more like “inefficient”, in the sense that the amount of food which takes for an animal to mature is orders of magnitude greater than what you take from it. In other words, you could feed significantly more people if they ate what you’re feeding the animal.

When you couple that with the environmental impact of raising animals as food, including deforestation and land use, which in turn affects us as well, it becomes a major issue.

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