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Toothpaste Null-Terminator

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Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#41

Post by ralferoo »

RedNifre wrote: post #14

Neat, but I prefer my own method: 1. Have two toothpastes (actually two of everything) 2. When one gets used up, remove the checkmark from my shopping list (just a simple checkmark list on my phone in Google notes) 3. When in the store, buy everything that's not checked on the shopping list Works all the time, except during the CoVID toilet paper crisis, which made me increase my prepper level to 3 of everything.

My toilet paper routine, which started even before covid, is to buy about 400 rolls of toilet paper from Costco, and then I never even think about buying toilet paper ever again for a couple of years. And then one day it runs out and I realise the infinite toilet paper stash was in fact finite after all. As if that isn't bad enough on its own, I then discover that while inflation has been running at 9% a year for everything else, it was more like 100% a year for toilet roll.

A different class of problem with this technique is when I bought 150 old-style lightbulbs just before they got banned in the UK. At the time, I really hated LED lights because they flickered, and so I could use them in areas I just passed through, but nowhere I sat and spent any time. I still have about 120 of them left because, of course, LED bulb tech has got better and I now only have 2 lights in the house that still use the old bulbs. They don't get much use, one is in the loft and one is in a cupboard.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#43

Post by cybervegan »

This wouldn't work in a situation where not everyone agrees to abide by the arbitrary rule of using toothpaste (or whatever) in as specific order. In a computer's memory, or storage media, the ordering is intrinsic, but in your bathroom cupboard it is not, and would have to be enforced by convention or some other contrivance. If someone decided they wanted to open the "special" one because they prefer it, or don't care about your weird toothpaste order kink, it all breaks down.

Not all things we do on computers translate well to meatspace.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#45

Post by theamk »

cybervegan wrote: post #43

This wouldn't work in a situation where not everyone agrees to abide by the arbitrary rule of using toothpaste (or whatever) in as specific order. In a computer's memory, or storage media, the ordering is intrinsic, but in your bathroom cupboard it is not, and would have to be enforced by convention or some other contrivance. If someone decided they wanted to open the "special" one because they prefer it, or don't ca…

"Playing well with others" is very common in computers, and it translates well to meatspace too.

There are lots of programming languages that are built on coventions (for example in Python, private variables are not actually protected in any way). We rely on other programmers to know the rules and respect them. Same goes with toothpaste management system, or with deciding what should happen even you finish communal ketchup bottle.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#46

Post by dangsux »

mrob wrote: post #29

I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water. Evidence suggests that brushing with toothpaste (called "dentifrice" in scientific papers) does not remove any more plaque than brushing without it. Here's a systematic review from 2016: >Does dentifrice use help to remove plaque? A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27513809/ "The cumulative e…

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Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#47

Post by twic »

morsch wrote: post #34
mrob wrote: post #29

I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water. Evidence suggests that brushing with toothpaste (called "dentifrice" in scientific papers) does not remove any more plaque than brushing without it. Here's a systematic review from 2016: >Does dentifrice use help to remove plaque? A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27513809/ "The cumulative e…

Huh, interesting. Not exactly conclusive, though. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3841993/

More precisely, there's nothing in that review that even speculates that drinking tea might be an adequate substitute for using a fluoride toothpaste, let alone demonstrates it.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#48

Post by [deleted] »

alexchamberlain wrote: post #26
Retr0id wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume OP's solution has thread-safety requirements. The toothpaste may be retrieved from long-term storage by another thread, and that thread may not be configured to check for termination conditions.

Children act more like separate processes than threads - it would be a miracle if we could read their minds or put them to sleep for a bit.

[deleted]

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#49

Post by mrob »

twic wrote: post #47
morsch wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, interesting. Not exactly conclusive, though. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3841993/

More precisely, there's nothing in that review that even speculates that drinking tea might be an adequate substitute for using a fluoride toothpaste, let alone demonstrates it.

I don't mean to imply it is, I'm simply explaining the reasoning behind my own decision. Fluoride might influence your choice even if you do drink tea.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#50

Post by TacticalCoder »

mrob wrote: post #29

I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water. Evidence suggests that brushing with toothpaste (called "dentifrice" in scientific papers) does not remove any more plaque than brushing without it. Here's a systematic review from 2016: >Does dentifrice use help to remove plaque? A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27513809/ "The cumulative e…

> I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water

Breath though. Wouldn't fly with my wife. I not only brush with toothpaste, I then use some Hexetidine. And then I take a little Fisherman's Friend or something similar.

I like the feeling of freshness. I don't care much about the actual effect: I just care about feeling fresh.

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