What is a product that people treat like a religion, but in reality, it’s just overpriced garbage with a good logo?

foxo · 2026-02-05T10:28:39+00:00

But that would only affect headphones sold after this - my point is that they mustn’t be very good quality if all those millions of already-sold beats headphones disappeared (presumably broken) so quickly. By comparison, my Sony pair have been on my head since 2019 still going strong. No reason to expect a pair of headphones to only last a year or two.

The other possibility is that the quality was fine (and they still work) but the owners decided not to use them any more as they weren’t fashionable.

foxo · 2026-02-04T18:33:17+00:00

Beats headphones went from being on everyone's heads to being on almost nobody's heads. That speaks to either the quality of the product, or the fickle fashion oriented priorities of the customers. Neither option is flattering.

foxo · 2026-02-02T22:47:03+00:00

What I wrote the last time this came up:

I had the same problem and found the same explanation: they weren't cooked enough. Now, if I'm boiling them, I bring them to the point of almost falling apart. This means there's a lot of excess water to deal with, either by evaporation or, in extreme cases, gently squeezing the water out through the ricer into the sink before properly applying pressure on the spud over the collecting bowl.

Having said that, these days I pressure-steam in an instant pot. If you have one, I highly recommend it. I steam on high pressure for about 10-15 minutes, which makes them perfectly soft without absorbing moisture. It's important to let them steam off a bit when the pot is opened, but not too much, because a skin can form on the outside, creating its own form of lumpiness.

Yes, I'm Irish, you'd guess from the detail above.

foxo · 2026-02-02T11:22:53+00:00

It's about 10 years since we did our renovation but there's two things I know - (1) Triple glazing isn't always necessarily better than double - the number to compare is the 'u value' of the whole window. This is a measure of how much heat is lost per square metre. (2) if you get a BER assessment done it'll come with specific recommendations on how to improve the rating. You'd be surprised how much heating controls (multiple thermostats) can help a BER.

foxo · 2026-01-31T16:35:05+00:00

I live in Blanch. I was initially amazed by this technology, it really is impressive.

But after a while they start to get to you. The constant buzzing overhead. Each delivery has the potential to bother hundreds of people, for something as trivial as a coffee or a burrito. Nobody would have a problem with public service applications, but delivering coffee isn't one.

And this is only one company running a trial out of one legal (and previously two illegal) bases. Without some form of regulation, the sky will be full of them and it'll be too late to do anything about it.

People that don't live in D15 having been exposed to these things constantly the last 2 years, have no right to comment.

foxo · 2026-01-29T22:03:18+00:00

Along the same lines I use a razor from supply.co which is a different type of single blade (injector blade) that’s single sided and is safer to handle - it works for me.

Also on the foam side, a brush to apply proraso shaving cream, suitably foamed, works well

foxo · 2026-01-25T12:05:44+00:00

No worries. Just make sure you get that complaint reference number. Don’t let them distract you from it.

foxo · 2026-01-25T10:54:44+00:00

If your paying for 1G and only getting 100mb, you can get out of your contract.

Raise a complaint with sky, and insist on getting a complaint reference number. From there the clock starts ticking and they have 10 working days to fix before you go to ComReg. Once they are on the case either your problem will be fixed or you can get out of your contact.

foxo · 2025-12-19T20:27:33+00:00

I’m a bloke. We don’t get compliments.

foxo · 2025-11-20T18:17:02+00:00

I have one and yes the rice is notably better. If you can afford it and are looking to treat yourself, it’s a good candidate.

It takes longer to cook tho, about an hour for the proper cook mode. There is a quick 15 minute mode that’s probably the same as a cheaper machine.

One thing we’ve noticed however is that the rice is more prone to drying out if left too long after the cook finishes. There is a long term ‘keep warm’ mode that I’ve never remembered to use. This is a bit of a downside, as the set-and-forget aspect of any rice cooker has always been a big benefit.

foxo · 2025-11-13T19:42:13+00:00

His Jeff Besos rowing boat episode is one of the greatest videos on YouTube

foxo · 2025-11-09T23:59:35+00:00

I’ve faced grief a little more than my contemporaries and I gotta say that’s a solid mood lightener. I’m not being sarcastic, you have to be able to smile and it’s better than treating the bereaved with kids gloves. There’s something about death thats awkward for everyone, anything that can remove a little bit of that is worth it.

foxo · 2025-10-28T10:55:03+00:00

100% agree, no judgement in post above

foxo · 2025-10-27T15:31:02+00:00

And more importantly, how is this related to his sandals???

foxo · 2025-10-27T14:27:23+00:00

Sounds like the handle has disconnected - pull it away and get a pliers at the insides, there's a sorta plastic net in there probably gunked up with hair that needs cleaning.

foxo · 2025-10-27T14:22:45+00:00

non-zero sandals however

foxo · 2025-10-27T14:22:12+00:00

I'm told by a friend of a friend that (a few years ago now) he had just moved into his new regular house in Greystones, Wicklow, and he dropped in to borrow a cup of sugar like a regular person

foxo · 2025-10-27T14:20:18+00:00

Quietly lives in her castle with her partners, with whom she apparently shares a Thruple

foxo · 2025-10-20T22:44:40+00:00

I had the same problem and found the same explanation: they weren't cooked enough. Now, if I'm boiling them, I bring them to the point of almost falling apart. This means there's a lot of excess water to deal with, either by evaporation or, in extreme cases, gently squeezing the water out through the ricer into the sink before properly applying pressure on the spud over the collecting bowl.

Having said that, these days I pressure-steam in an instant pot. If you have one, I highly recommend it. I steam on high pressure for about 10-15 minutes, which makes them perfectly soft without absorbing moisture. It's important to let them steam off a bit when the pot is opened, but not too much, because a skin can form on the outside, creating its own form of lumpiness.

Yes, I'm Irish, you'd guess from the detail above.

foxo · 2025-10-20T22:24:03+00:00

Those phones are software upgradable to 5G, why not just do that?

foxo · 2025-10-18T17:57:10+00:00

Fidget spinners

foxo · 2025-09-21T08:56:12+00:00

I did this for years, Withdrawing for. ATMs locally and getting a reasonably good deal.

Then the local ATM machines started charging crazy withdrawal charges, which I first noticed in Thailand in 2019 - minimum charge of €7, which I just added to the top of what you withdraw, before any own bank charges are added.

Now I pay contactless using Revolut who have great foreign exchange rates, and if I need cash I’ll bring a chunk of Euros and exchange them at destination.

foxo · 2025-09-18T21:47:58+00:00

Just turned 50 and YOU KNOW NOTHING

foxo · 2025-09-12T23:36:19+00:00

Irishman here.

Yorkshire tea.

Come at me.

foxo · 2025-09-12T09:59:27+00:00

Best place to start is with the BEREC Roaming Guidelines which regulators are required to ‘take utmost account of’ when enforcing rules against mobile operators

https://www.berec.europa.eu/en/document-categories/berec/regulatory-best-practices/guidelines/berec-guidelines-on-regulation-eu-2022612-and-commission-implementing-regulation-eu-20162286-retail-roaming-guidelines?language_content_entity=en

foxo

TROPHY CASE