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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

#851
post #834

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…

Modern trackball,flexing, etc. multi-blade razors are expensive, but idiot proof. You can copy one of the Gillette commercials and just mash the thing to your face and make one long stroke through the chemical foam. Bam. Done. If you're happy with this, be happy. Read no further. What this article isn't telling you is that DE razors can be almost as fast, but there's a learning curve. They don't flex, bend, or rotate…

Agree on the soaps + badger hair brush (or even synthetic for those who care).

I shave thrice a week (head and face) and the Proraso brand has been a lifesaver.

Have never managed to learn to use the DE razors :/

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

#852

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I watched this video and was very excited to try out the powder, since I’ve just been using the pods they sell at Costco for my entire adult life. But there are Problems. 1. You can’t find powder anywhere. Not a single grocery store near me sells it. Gel, sure. Pods, sure. Powder, not even Wal-mart had it, and they have everything. I finally found a faded and dented box at an Ace Hardware, where I wasn’t even looking…

Not sure how hard you looked but: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Automatic-Dishwasher-... https://www.target.com/p/lemon-scented-dish-detergent-powder... Maybe you were looking during peak shortages?

Definitely possible there was a powder shortage. Pods and gel were always available though.

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

#853
post #590

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a Merker safety razor with feather blades too. Definitely recommend not just for the shave, but for the value.

Same, but usually with cheapo blades. Shark/Lord mostly (from Egypt). You can get cheap Gillette, but they're from Russia so you may wish to wait.

If you have thick hair then it's probably better to get cheap Derby/Shark/Lord blades and just use them for one shave. Gives a great shave every time & is still very cheap.

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

#854
post #538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His video about dish washer pods explain they also work significantly worse since your dishwasher was designed with a pre-rinse area to use soap twice during a cleaning cycle. A pod will not be able to be used twice and leaves dishes dirtier.

I don't understand, the pod goes into the same spot as the powder though? It shouldn't matter if its wrapped in a little membrane since a the end of the day you are putting in the same amount of powder into the same spot. The cascade pods at least are just powder aliquoted out for you.

Look at where your powder goes, there is typically a second tray for pre-wash.

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

#855
post #834

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…

Modern trackball,flexing, etc. multi-blade razors are expensive, but idiot proof. You can copy one of the Gillette commercials and just mash the thing to your face and make one long stroke through the chemical foam. Bam. Done. If you're happy with this, be happy. Read no further. What this article isn't telling you is that DE razors can be almost as fast, but there's a learning curve. They don't flex, bend, or rotate…

another option is to avoid th problem all together, I plan on getting laser hair removal on my face because I just hate shaving that much

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

#856
post #855
post #834

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern trackball,flexing, etc. multi-blade razors are expensive, but idiot proof. You can copy one of the Gillette commercials and just mash the thing to your face and make one long stroke through the chemical foam. Bam. Done. If you're happy with this, be happy. Read no further. What this article isn't telling you is that DE razors can be almost as fast, but there's a learning curve. They don't flex, bend, or rotate…

another option is to avoid th problem all together, I plan on getting laser hair removal on my face because I just hate shaving that much

Alternately just keep a beard and trim it with a 20 dollar buzzer occasionally.

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

#857

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they end up in a landfill forever with no environmental harm Can you please explain to me how a landfill doesn't cause environmental harm?

Chemicals can leech out of landfills into water tables and waterways. Landfills can also emit greenhouse gasses. None of these happen as a result of burying shaving cartridges. It's no different than the sand that's already below ground. It essentially just sits there. The production and transportation of the cartridge could harm the environment though, but that's a more complicated story.

Any landfill made in the last 50yr has a sump and the liquid nastiness gets its own direct line to the local water treatment plant.

Likewise they capture or flare the methane.

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

#858

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they end up in a landfill forever with no environmental harm Can you please explain to me how a landfill doesn't cause environmental harm?

Chemicals can leech out of landfills into water tables and waterways. Landfills can also emit greenhouse gasses. None of these happen as a result of burying shaving cartridges. It's no different than the sand that's already below ground. It essentially just sits there. The production and transportation of the cartridge could harm the environment though, but that's a more complicated story.

Shaving cartridges are mostly plastic, which does leech chemicals, including hormone mimics, into groundwater.

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

#859

Semi-serious cyclist chiming in about this part of the article: "Well understood mechanical bike shifting transitions to electronic shifting which requires you to pay more and charge your pedal bike (Not sure about this example, as in theory a bike derailleur needs not be a repeated purchased)" One of my bikes has a Shimano electronic shifter. The others are a mix between mechanical SRAM and Shimano components. The e…

Came here to say similar! Di2, when it works, has serious advantages over a mechanical system IMO. What era Di2 did you have that failed?

> What era Di2 did you have that failed?

Whatever Trek was shipping on their Domane line in 2017.

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

#860
post #839

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carbon from animals? That carbon was already part of the carbon cycle (name?), unlike carbon from petroleum sources. Am I misunderstanding you?

Is that cycle natural? More people means more for-food animals, more petroleum on growing and logistics, doesn’t it. Everything depends on everything, there is no clear end of chain. Humans don’t naturally starve at scale anymore except in few fucked up regions.

More people means more of that carbon locked up in biomass, in the form of humans as well as animal and plant food.
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