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Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

johnwhiles.com

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

#771

Post by saxonww »

mgraczyk wrote: post #696
drakonka wrote: post #693

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For some reason I always thought that for most cooking you want the pan to be at the desired final temperature before throwing in the ingredients anyway to get the optimum taste and texture.

Thinner pans heat up faster

They also cool faster and depending on material, don't transfer heat at the same rate.

Cast iron pans are actually not great at heat transfer, which is why you see pans like all clad where there's aluminum or copper clad in steel. They are really good at holding heat though, so when you put something cool into them they don't immediately get cold.

Most people really don't care about this though. If you're a foodie, you're probably not going to be satisfied with the $5 wal mart nonstick pan, because it's a thing you care about. For everyone else who doesn't care, they either have a completely different definition of what 'good performance' is (and buy accordingly) or they don't cook anyway.

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

#772

Post by neuralRiot »

mgraczyk wrote: post #680

I appreciate the writing style, but this article is shockingly naive to me. Convenient consumer products tend to sell better than less convenient ones, even if the product is worse. That's the entire story. People have finite time, so when they receive more income they will tend to spend it to reduce the time they spend doing things that they don't care about. I for one hate spending time doing all the things that th…

I wonder what you do with all the 20 minutes total you save a year. Still I don’t blame you but I’m a person who enjoys doing things the “hard” way, that lets you enjoy the results and contemplate things in a different way.

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

#773

Post by mark-r »

na85 wrote: post #260
dhzhzjsbevs wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stainless is hands down the best fried eggs I've ever had. It and maybe carbon steel is the only thing that gets hot enough to make it crispy. You just need to let the pan heat up, drop a teaspoon of oil or butter, let if soak in a second then blast it and drop your egg. More butter more better but that's flavour at that point. For figuring out if your plans at the right heat, a spalsg of water should bead and float…

I do pancakes on cast iron and love it.

Given how long pancakes have been a thing, I suspect they were invented on cast iron.

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

#774

Post by staindk »

mikestew wrote: post #702
karmakaze wrote: post #668

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny that I used to buy 'sensitive' shaving gel, and one day I thought what makes me think I have more than average sensitive skin? I then found out that soap works well enough.

I always assumed that the sensitive skin isn’t on your face. Soap is, indeed, “good enough”. But for a minimal investment you can buy the shaving soap cakes, cup, and a shaving brush. Way cheaper than the stuff in a can, a little more luxurious than hand soap.

I just use a face wash that lathers up nicely.

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

#775

Post by LorenPechtel »

jabamodern wrote: post #96

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Electric-ES8103S-Nanotech-F... is a solid product that I've been using over 15 years

I've got a later version of the same thing. They work very well, but the blades do eventually need replacement--and it's the same game of the blades being unduly expensive.

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

#776

Post by jjfoooo4 »

mgraczyk wrote: post #716
hn_version_0023 wrote: post #712

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cook with cast iron constantly, and I don’t recall sitting around and waiting for the pan to heat. I do other related cooking tasks while the pans heat. There’s really never a point where I’m doing nothing waiting on the pan. Mise en place helps immensely!

This is also exactly what I'm pointing out. You enjoy cooking, you have other "cooking related tasks", you gather your ingredients before cooking. You have skill and a plan. I just want to eat and I want to get that out of the way as quickly as possible. For a nice meal, I'll go to a restaurant. I'm not interested in learning how to prepare my own food better, and all of these comments and the OP seems to forget that…

But what are you cooking where there’s no other related prep? If you’re using a pan and not a microwave surely there’s a minute or two of work to do.

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

#777

Post by LorenPechtel »

dragonwriter wrote: post #68
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. No, even aside from the smart thing, modern panels don't last nearly as long as CRTs. They are so much better in every other way, though.

I'm reading this on a panel that's at a *minimum* 17 years old. I think it's older than that.

The newer panels are nicer but since this is a 19" and they don't make nice 19" panels anymore I can't upgrade them. (I also have a 27" Dell Ultrasharp--it's superior, but it doesn't come in 19" and 19" has the largest pixels--nice for older eyes.)

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

#778

Post by seanwilson »

Pulcinella wrote: post #230
seanwilson wrote: post #59

> 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. I fell for this marketing thinking non-stick was the best out of everything always and kept having to buy new pans and trays when the teflon would eventually flake off thinking it was my fault. Stainless steel is fine: works without a lot of…

What the heck are y’all doing that you are flaking off the non-stick coating? We have a nice set we got for our wedding, and even after using them nearly every day for a decade they look brand new and the coating is still flawless.

I've had the same with an expensive set as well as cheaper sets. I know to avoid exposing them to very high heat or metal but they end up flaking anyway. At least with materials like stainless steel you'd have to do something extreme to damage them so it's not likely to happen accidentally.

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

#779

Post by yabones »

jokethrowaway wrote: post #736
PaulKeeble wrote: post #648

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Greta Thunberg the way she travels to the conferences is admirable, she genuinely lives what she is talking about and it is a stark contrast to every single politician that turns up to a climate change conference with a giant team in a plane and lives extravagant lives. Its not about the complete abolition of everything its about the hypocrisy of being one of the biggest polluters in a country let alone the world whi…

Not sure if it's sarcasm? Greta's travels are famous for looking eco friendly while not being so: https://oilprice.com/The-Environment/Global-Warming/Greta-Th...

That is a laughably bad source.

  Who Visits OilPrice.com?

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

#780

Post by aksss »

tasuki wrote: post #737
mgraczyk wrote: post #680

I appreciate the writing style, but this article is shockingly naive to me. Convenient consumer products tend to sell better than less convenient ones, even if the product is worse. That's the entire story. People have finite time, so when they receive more income they will tend to spend it to reduce the time they spend doing things that they don't care about. I for one hate spending time doing all the things that th…

> I don't like filling bags with tea, so I buy tea bags that are pre-filled Uh, that's not how loose leaf tea is used... Usually one would use a strainer or a gaiwan. Your point still stands, tea bags are less hassle, you just won't get to drink fine oolong or puerh. I don't mind cleaning the gaiwan - taking out the leaves takes a couple seconds.

Loose leaf for real is just dumping tea in a cup and pouring water over. All but a few leaves will settle, signifying it's ready to drink. You develop skill to not let the few floaters get in the way of drinking it. Whack and rinse cup to get leaves out, don't let it sit long. Easily done on the trail when weight and trash are important to minimize.

I prefer tea bags because it's still easier to clean up, even though taking a dripping wet bag out of the cup is a messier process and is trash. A gaiwan or even teapot is rarely compatible with my normal in-the-moment tea drinking style. I aspire for it to be some day.

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