His advice is fantastic but I have to mention 1 thing… HP is TERRIBLE. I’m a repair technician and we get so many of these damn things, it’s like 10% to 20% of our business, and we repair iPhones, androids, iPads, Mac’s, PC desktops, laptops, gaming PCs and even vintage computers.
This is because of how HP laptops are designed. All of the components and hinge assembly are attached to this thin flimsy plastic palm rest, it has the rigidity of a wet newspaper. During use, opening and closing, the plastic flexes constantly and over time the plastic gives, snaps and the laptop can no longer stay open.
Not only do they break frequently but the repair is expensive. Since everything is attached to the palm rest a technician needs to gut, then reinstall every component onto a new palm rest. Around 1-2 hours. Troubleshooting and testing afterwards also takes longer, as every component has been “fooled around with” there’s a high likelihood for mistakes.
It stings when I have to tell customers that the repair for their $500 laptop is like 250 or 300$.
Apple. They make some decent stuff but it has repeatedly become more expensive to own and maintain because repair is nearly impossible. And because of the monopoly they are building it is guaranteed to get much worse.
Additionally everything they do has a ripple effect across the industry. The average flagship phone is now over $1000. The average phone doesn’t have a headphone jack or micro SD expansion, or replaceable battery, and are all impossible to repair. Computers impossible to upgrade. Extra ram and SSD capacity being prohibitively expensive (8gb of ddr5 is 40$, apple charges 200$, similar scheme with their proprietary SSD’s)
It’s apparent that with Apple’s continued success the rest of all of our electronics have continued to get worse and predatory to squeeze more money out of us.
We reap what we sow and if we sow a company that is hellbent on enshittifiying all of our everyday devices and gouge us for our money, we aren’t going to have any other companies left (or at least those that won’t participate in this practice)
I work in computer repair and I have witnessed first hand how hostile aAple is to the consumer. Serialized components that are impossible to replace, to perforated cables that tear more easily during disassembly. It is dumbfounding that a company with such little respect for their customers is so successful.
To me it’s who’s trying to kill who. Hamas (the group) wants to destroy Israel, Israel in turn wants to destroy Hamas, not Gaza (this part is actually very subjective)
Floss picks. Flossing is actually more important than brushing and it’s really nice to have a pack of floss picks at your desk so you can floss absent mindedly while watching a video or even in bed.
Gambling. Everyone knows the house always wins and the exact probability of winning any specific lottery but people can’t grasp this. I don’t know how people look at these massive luxurious casinos and think they win against this company with an unfathomably profitable business model by taking money from people who think they can win.
Speed queen washers and dryers. LGs and Samsung’s drop like flies in comparison. They are expensive but they are made in the United States and last donkeys years. I’ve heard of people moving out after 10 years, and taking their speed queen dryer with them.
Also, in general, hand made Japanese knives. Any knife will keep cutting if sharpened but most of “sharpness” is thinness of the blade. That’s why we don’t use meat cleavers for daily prep. Japanese knives are made to be thinned and polished, as the edge will become thicker with repeated sharpenings. Other knives will get thicker and thicker and become complete carrot crunchers. These can be thinned too but it’s much more difficult with only sharpening stones.
Additionally the handles are easily replaceable by anyone, western style handles require destructive disassembly of the existing scales and rivets.
Honestly this is why I never pay any attention to “uplifting news” communities as it ultimately gets your hopes up for nothing. The bi monthly “revolutionary cure” for cancer is getting pretty damn old too.
I know that Georgia is very lenient on maximum stay, 364 days a year and any day outside of the country the days are reset. You’re essentially a citizen that has to take mandatory annual vacations.
Tblisi is pretty well developed from what I have heard and it’s a very safe and peaceful place (ignoring 2008 >:( ). It’s still pretty poor compared to developed countries, so despite that human development is decent, you won’t be able to afford as many foreign products (especially tech).
The MOST important tool that everybody doesn’t know or forgets about in wood working is wax/oil/paste wax. This is because you use this to lubricate the faces of your tools, what slides and presses against the wood. Just by applying this to the sole of your plane makes it 2x easier to push and is a game changer.
You can add this to your saws as well and they will glide through their cuts with ease. You can put it on a shooting board too, anything that your tools rub up against.
Another good one is saw setting pliers. These exist to easily adjust the “set” of a saw. The saw’s teeth taper out slightly to make the width of the cut wider than the saw plate, to prevent binding in the cut.
Cheaply made saws often have a poorly made set, often far too thick which makes a very wide cut (the saw is now more likely to wander off cut) and slows you down significantly. If the set is 30% wider than it needs to be, the saw is now by extension 30% slower (you are removing more material than necessary).
Now to the point (no pun intended). The biggest difference in performance from a cheap saw and expensive saw IS the set, and with these pliers and a triangular file you can make every cheap crappy saw cut like a dream and just as well as any expensive saw. Only thing other than that is the handle, which you can carve down yourself as most are too large.
Haha as well. I’ve been called chauvinist, fascist and other words associated with the super far right, even though I’m center left on the compass. It’s impressive how utterly extinct nuance is in social media and traditional news.
I definitely agree with the hobby bit. I’ve talked to plenty of people that don’t have any hobbies or any passion for anything and they are just so soul draining to be around. I find with these folks you cannot have a good conversation with, either they don’t know about the topic, or any topic or they only answer in one or two word responses. They are just a black hole of any excitement or energy.