frunch

This is something i think about a lot, though I've had a hard time putting it to words exactly.

We live in a largely fake world. Objects and pictures representing things have increasingly replaced the genuine articles. We are expected to be continually wow'd by images on our screens as though they're as good or engaging as reality. So many stores like Homegoods carry all kinds of items that serve strictly aesthetic value. So much of advertising is convincing the target that the item will improve their lives in extraordinary ways when the reality so often proves itself lesser-than-expected. We even have amounts of money in circulation that can't feasibly exist. The US national debt is an absolutely staggering number -- it's an irrational amount of money/value. Does that much value actually exist in the world? There are so many things that exist in theoretical space but make impact in reality--it feels fake. Don't even get me started on AI/deepfakes etc.

I still don't know if I've gotten my thinking straight on this yet, it's just this nagging thought in the back of my mind i can't seem to shake.

A Charlie Kirk for the modern day!

The 70s/80s is the sweet spot

If you say so. We never used to have to replace a wiring harness on a washer, but I'm not a wire expert so i suppose i could be wrong

That's what i tell my customers. The best advice is to keep it simple. Even then there's still loads of awful choices out there

Are there any temp controls for the drawer? Sometimes there are sliders/adjustments for a specific drawer/zone. Otherwise I'd try turning the main control down a bit--might not be a noticeable difference for most of the refrig, while keeping the veggies from freezing.

Far from it. As a technician there are way more service calls on newer appliances and much shorter life cycles for them. Certain fairly universal parts are clearly being made at a lower standard now as well. For instance, a very common repair is gas oven ignitors. Many different manufacturers use the exact same style of hot surface ignitors. The ones i see these days burn out in ½ the time or less than they ever used to, even though the design of them hasn't changed one iota.

There is a clear and obvious lack of quality in today's appliances. An old Maytag washer could last 25 years with minimal repairs/maintenance. A newer Maytag doing the same work over the same duration would be lucky to get ½ that mileage before it got shit-canned, though it's likely it would happen even sooner than that. The comparison in design is night and day. The old one was simple, field-tested design made for reliability and relative ease of service...the other is a hodgepodge of electronics and sensors connected by Angel-Hair spaghetti-thin wiring that will have something break in less than 10 years with regular use, and likely less than 5 with heavy use. Sure, a few of the old Maytag's didn't go the distance and a few of the newer ones managed to squeak out more mileage than expected...but anyone with real experience with those 2 machines would take the old one over the new one every single time. It's almost unfair to compare an old Maytag washer to a new one because the most important metric is reliability and there's simply no comparison there.

Do people genuinely think modern tech is that durable/reliable?

Are we great again yet, though? That's what he told us he was gonna do 🤔

We're gonna see medical care for the middle/lower class take some real tumbles in quality and outcomes. The whole thing has been built for profit and they're about to gut a whole lot more with AI. They're penalizing nurses for spending more than 15 minutes with a patient on the phone and analyzing their voices with AI to make sure they're empathetic/caring enough. So, they're supposed to care genuinely--but can't stay on the phone for too long because it will somehow cut into some dickheads profits. Interesting line they're making them walk 😒

A searing takedown of what was a fairly in-depth article! I don't know how you summon so much meaning from a single word, but color me "impressed"

I'm sure the greatest-of-all-times will understand

Bankrupt morally and financially 🤷‍♂️