Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money • Hacker News Board

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#101

Post by stoltzmann » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:15 PM UTC

swayvil wrote: post #91

stoltzmann wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate what you consider the problem to be?

Seriously? It's white, optimized for showing dirt. It's closest to the ground, optimized for getting dirty. And (In the case of your typical sneaker) It's a special weird porous rubber that is difficult to get clean, optimized for quickly looking like crap. And when your shoes look like crap it's time to buy new shoes. Thus we have shoes optimized for short lifespan. But this is dead obvious.

From anecdotal evidence, I've got the same pair of sneakers for... 4 years now I think? I'm using them daily and yeah, they've got dirty on the bottom, but I wouldn't consider throwing them out just due to that. I'll replace them once the sole is damaged to the point the shoes stop performing their function.

At that point, it doesn't make a difference whether it's white or black for the sole.

You could have made your point two replies earlier and it would be more clear what you consider the issue with white rubber to be.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#102

Post by sizzzzlerz » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:15 PM UTC

I own a variety of pans bought over the years but I've found that I am almost exclusively using a 10" cast iron pan my grandmother used to use and a 12" pan I bought for maybe $30 or $40 some decades ago as well as a 5-quart cast iron dutch oven. They're both seasoned and so are basically non-stick. They heat evenly and retain that heat for a long time. The only downside is that they're heavy so you do not want to drop them on your foot.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#103

Post by kstenerud » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:16 PM UTC

jchw wrote: post #88

kstenerud wrote: post #49

Yes, modern razors are a scam; they have AMAZING marketing teams. You still can buy old-style razors and blades cheap from Amazon because there's still a healthy demand. As for the rest of the article: > Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. They also seem to be poisonous. No, no,…

> Their lifespan is unchanged. You can continue to use them as "dumb" screens using HDMI input and plug in an external device. You can also buy a smart TV and never connect it to the internet. That does not mean that the smart features will not work tirelessly against your attempt to use the device as a dumb display. Menus you don’t want, EULA prompts that cover almost the entire UI, and weird spottiness in the CEC s…

I once bought a TV that tried to work against me (Samsung). I returned it after a few days and bought one that didn't (Sharp). This one's great! It has all the IO ports, starts quickly, and reopens the last input you selected (my Android TV box). I can even control the whole shebang from just my old Amazon Fire TV controller (it's a mix of bluetooth and IR).

Take the time to test your devices, and return them if they don't meet your needs. I've also had CRTs in the past that disappointed and I had to return. Fortunately, these modern TVs are light enough for one person to move.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#104

Post by [deleted] » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:17 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#105

Post by CydeWeys » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

tempest_ wrote: post #80

CoastalCoder wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3? I go through Mach 3 cartridges pretty slowly, so price isn't a big concern. And I don't notice anything deficient about the quality of my shaves. But one thing I really like about safety razors is that there's zero risk of serious injury.

Aha you can totally cut yourself with a safety razor (unless you mean the Mach 3 and not what this article is calling a double edged razor which has historically been called a "Safety razor" )

You can cut yourself with a multi-blade razor too. The point is, little of the blade is actually exposed, so it won't be a serious injury.

A straight edged razor, by contrast, is just a knife, that you actually can kill yourself with by slicing deep enough into your neck to take out a major artery. You can't do that with a safety/multi-edge razor.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#106

Post by methodin » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

eckesicle wrote: post #75

My dad never taught me how to shave, and for the longest time I just used these disposable Gillette style blades, and got terrible results. Missed spots, cuts and skin infections. At some point I decided to do some research and settled on double edge disposable blades. I've never been happier, and feel much better about my skin too. These are the products I use: * A wooden synthetic shaving brush (I felt bad about th…

Was also never taught to shave and have similar setup. I really wish I would have discovered styptic pencils sooner - would have saved me the embarrassment of going to work with pieces of tissue paper all over my face lol.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#107

Post by denton-scratch » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

That two-bladed razor is the same style as the one my father gave me when I was 16. In those days it was called a "safety razor". Nowadays I use a straight razor ("cutthroat") for the first over, and a Mach III for a second over, "against the grain". I've been using cutthroats for 15 years, but I still don't have the confidence to use one against the grain.

No electric razor has ever "cut the mustard" for me. If I can't have a wet shave then I'll stay with the beard, thanks.

A cutthroat of course has no replaceables; but you do need a strop and a stone. I have a belgian stone, which I pass the razors over every 6 months or so.

No pressurised cans of foam for me; I use a cream from The Body Shop, but I could just use a puck of soap like everyone else. Anyway, that means I need a brush: I use a silverpoint badger brush.

So two cutthroats: call it £100 each. One badger brush: about £50. Belgian stone: £120. Total: £370 one-off cost (brushes do wear out, but if you dry them properly they should last 20 years). The Mach III blades are good for about a dozen shaves each, and give a pretty good "baby's bottom" finish. I use a bay rum cologne as an aftershave lotion.

Truth is, I happen to like sharp blades. So I use the belgian stone on my carbon-steel chef's knife and my Buck pocket knife.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#108

Post by ch_s » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:19 PM UTC

Try wet shaving with a double edge blade and old fashioned security razor. You will find that your costs will go down significantly, your shave may improve and you will be using quality products too

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#109

Post by 2-718-281-828 » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:19 PM UTC

ascar wrote: post #74

CoastalCoder wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3? I go through Mach 3 cartridges pretty slowly, so price isn't a big concern. And I don't notice anything deficient about the quality of my shaves. But one thing I really like about safety razors is that there's zero risk of serious injury.

Safety razors are much better at making a neckline, if you only shave clean partially and trim the remaining beard. Personally I also get less skin irritation from the safety razor compared to the Mach3 I used before. Given I use it correctly. If you move "against" the hair instead of "with" the hair it caused a lot of irritation for me. But that was essentially user error. In total I would never go back to a Mach3.…

> I also get less skin irritation from the safety razor compared to the Mach3

Isnt't Mach3 a safety razor?

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#110

Post by jchw » Sat, May 07, 2022, 2:19 PM UTC

kstenerud wrote: post #103

jchw wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their lifespan is unchanged. You can continue to use them as "dumb" screens using HDMI input and plug in an external device. You can also buy a smart TV and never connect it to the internet. That does not mean that the smart features will not work tirelessly against your attempt to use the device as a dumb display. Menus you don’t want, EULA prompts that cover almost the entire UI, and weird spottiness in the CEC s…

I once bought a TV that tried to work against me (Samsung). I returned it after a few days and bought one that didn't (Sharp). This one's great! It has all the IO ports, starts quickly, and reopens the last input you selected (my Android TV box). I can even control the whole shebang from just my old Amazon Fire TV controller (it's a mix of bluetooth and IR). Take the time to test your devices, and return them if they…

No CRT has tried to work against me; they just, at worst, suck. I do have a trinitron in my basement that has Zero of these problems, of course!

Now of course I can return my Samsung TVs, but I do test my devices somewhat, and Samsung seems to have the best overall TVs, looking at aspects like value, panel quality, latency in game mode, etc. Other models I’ve tried (Vizeo, whatever the hell Best Buy sells generically) have been very disappointing. Sony screens are probably much better, but cost an absolute FORTUNE.