At this point, I don’t generally give trust to brands but products. Too many companies that used to be a name to trust have decided to monetize that trust (or get acquired by another company that doesn’t see the value in maintaining that trust), but they might still have good quality products in their lineup along with the cheap ones.
Though I’ve also done well with the “just buy one to see how important it is to have quality in this particular thing”. I just sold my old cordless drill after owning it for about a decade. It was weak but I didn’t even really notice that until I wanted to drill a hole through a stone counter top. A bought another cheap corded drill for that, but have since also bought a quality cordless drill set that might even allow me to sell the corded drill.
And if you need quality, look for stuff marketed to professionals. People who use their drill every single day aren’t going to be using the ones that can’t hold a charge or break after 20 hours of usage. Booster Juice doesn’t have shitty blenders where the connection between the motor and blade wears down with each use such that the motor spins but the blades do not before 3 digit uses, or even 4.
That gives me an idea for an invention. Hollow chopsticks so you can pump ketchup onto your sushi as you eat it. You could even stab it into it and do a ketchup injection!
I am so anti-diamond that if a partner insisted on a diamond ring, I would have to think very hard about the whole relationship. Especially because it’s one of the less interesting stones, even ignoring all the scam and ethical issues.
That style of censorship always struck me as ridiculous, too. It didn’t really avoid the word it’s trying to avoid at all. It just avoids saying it outright while still making clear that the word is “fucked”. It’s like someone wants to be edgy but is afraid of getting in trouble for it.
Also Canadian, I’ve had horizontal sliding, single hung, and casement with that turning mechanism to open/close them. And I remember seeing windows that were hinged at the top and pushed outwards in high school. Not sure what held them open though.