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Cheese. I don’t necessarily buy the cheapest cheese, but it’s usually down near the bottom end, an inexpensive mature or extra mature or occasional red leicester or orkney. Got more budget? Purchase more cheese. Some cheese can be a little bit nicer than the ones I buy but more cheese is nicer than less cheese
you have never had good cheese. Treat yourself to some really good stuff or at least different varieties and if you want to know more read this. <br /><br />One of our lockdown life-is-short resolutions was to not eat any more shit cheese. Good stuff, even if less. There are a few exceptions - lidl Gruyère and Gouda. Supermarket feta and halloumi. Lidl’s best crunchy cheddar is ok for sandwiches or cooking. And m&S have some lovely things. But most supermarket mass produced cheese is crap
As for working on a train; how sad is that? Being a corporate drown beholden to your employers to the extent you have to work every minute possible.
If I'm going to be sat around, I may as well be paid by my employee for it. Working whilst on the move is a really efficient use of time, and allows me to spend more time riding my bike
There are a few exceptions – lidl Gruyère and Gouda.
Their comte, posh brie and roquefort is pretty good too IMO
If I’m going to be sat around, I may as well be paid by my employee for it. Working whilst on the move is a really efficient use of time, and allows me to spend more time riding my bike
That's great. You and the other poster can sit together in '1st class' and work and not talk to each other. And subsidise my much cheaper fare. Whilst I relax and watch a film/listen to music/have a nice chat with a fellow passenger. 😉
Actually, unwittingly, you've both made me realise the true value of 1st class rail travel. Not only does it subsidise our fares, it also keeps all the drones away so the rest of us can enjoy the journey in peace. Thanks.
You can reserve a table/window/etc seat in cattle class if you book early enough.
Correct. But the person sat in the seat you reserved is under no obligation to move, nor is the train company to move them when you get on the train.
I travel during work time, seems reasonable that I do work if possible. And a lot of folk don’t work for an employer.
Ringfencing a unicorn
Not heard that for a while, where’d you hear that?
Cheese cannot be described as 'really expensive stuff' so it has no place in this thread.
But the person sat in the seat you reserved is under no obligation to move, nor is the train company to move them when you get on the train.
According to the Conditions Of Travel, if they don't have a reservation and you do, then they're not entitled to a seat.
Nowt wrong with 1st Class rail travel if someone else is paying for it or you get a cheap seat upgrade, particularly on mainline trains.
Bigger more comfortable seat and quieter.
Wouldn't dream of paying for it at full fare price, it's crazy expensive.
WRT first class being worth your own money:
A few years back, I had cause to travel to London (from Lancashire) every couple of weeks. Virgin did a weekend offer where you could upgrade to First Class for something meagre like £5. One time I hopped into the empty carriage, helped myself to a complimentary biscuit and waited for the conductor.
"Tickets please." Certainly my good man, and I'd like to purchase an upgrade. "That will be £149 please, sir."
blinks Pardon?
As it turns out, Friday evening is not in fact considered part of the weekend. Whoops. Erm, I'll just... take my leave then shall I? "But you've had the biscuits!" he exclaimed. I suggested, Really Expensive Stuff that is Definitely NOT Worth the Money: a two-pack of British Rail garibaldi.
Who’s going to move them?
One of the upside/downsides to 1st class travel is the number of folks that serve drinks/food...and check tickets.
Deffo fancy cables, like that £12K SPDIF one. Hilarious that people buy that shit
The £4200 fuse is my favourite
Someone mentioned dogs
So I will say Children
The £4200 fuse is my favourite
a fuse is at least a chain in the analogue space, so could theoretically make a difference (I doubt it does). An spdif cable transfers a digital signal so its impossible to make a difference
b33k34
Full Memberyou have never had good cheese.
I've had some fantastic cheese, and it always ended and then I had no cheese and if I'd got less good but cheaper cheese I'd still have cheese.
An spdif cable transfers a digital signal so its impossible to make a difference
I think there are ways to screw it up, if the plugs used on a cable (not optical) are RCA and not BNC then there can be problems as not many RCA plugs are not the required 75 ohm impedance, something to do with the geometry of the plug I think, and then there can be unwanted reflections caused that mess with the signal. It's not just 0 and 1s simple.
But you still don't need that expense on cables, mine weren't bargain store cheap but have plugs at the correct impedance.
In defence of hooli I'll agree on the expensive restaurant thing.
I have been to several over the years and only one stands out as a great experience.
The most outstanding meals I've eaten have been in cheap spit and sawdust places (and not just because they were cheap either)
I'm not saying they're always bad value...but on the whole they generally are in my experience.
It’s not just 0 and 1s simple.
Sure it is. A digital signal works within tolerance of error correction or it fails. It's simply not possible to get a good or a bad "1." Compare FM vs DAB+ in the car - FM gets increasingly nasty as you run out of reception, DAB+ is perfect right up until it goes squelch and stops.
The scenario you describe is totally plausible. But you wouldn't get a poor reproduction, you'd get dropouts and/or no reproduction. In the analogue world, fidelity of interconnects was paramount; it the digital realm, it works or it doesn't and any premium you're paying is either for cables that don't fall to bits or snake oil. The notion that a BNC connector is better than an RCA connector beyond "it won't fall out of the socket" is the domain of hi-fi retailers still desperately trying to rinse consumers of their money by applying analogue logic onto a digital era.
I've spent the GDP of a smaller African nation on cabling over the years. Today, Amazon Basics FTW. Decent build quality and will reliably carry all the signals it claims to carry.
good cheese is expensive - sometimes very much so but its so worth it as a treat now and then As are nice restaurants. "man does not live by bread alone"
in spite of ‘quiet carriage’ signs, and the constant tappity tap of laptop keyboards. Give me cattle class any time. You might even get to have a chat with someone interesting.
Ah, you're one of those people. Comes into the quiet carriage for a nice chat whilst everyone else is trying to get some peace to work/sleep/read/whatever.
I've no time for folk on phones either but laptops? Quiet, not silent.
Anyway, if it's a choice of a desk in the office or a desk with an interesting view that gets me to where I need to be at the end of the day I'll take the latter. It makes bugger all difference to my life if it's on the company time anyway.
What a sad little post.
Tattoos. They feed tame sort of preening vanity as posh watches or fancy clothes, but with added permanence and regret.
Chicks dig tattoos.
I haven't got any myself but the general consensus from the female population seems to err on the side of a bloke being much hotter if he has tattoos
Really Expensive Stuff that is Definitely NOT Worth the Money: a two-pack of British Rail garibaldi.
But at least they use real dead flies!
Tattoos. They feed tame sort of preening vanity as posh watches or fancy clothes, but with added permanence and regret.
Horses for courses. I know loads of people with tattoos and I don't know one of them who regret it. In fact it most of them have gone back for more. For a lot of people it's a personal thing, nothing to do with showing off or vanity.
Tattoos. They feed tame sort of preening vanity as posh watches or fancy clothes, but with added permanence and regret.
Presumably you live in a house with bare plaster walls? Wallpaper, artwork, ornaments, all pure preening vanity. Gruel again for tea is it dear? Lovely.
I don't have any tattoos, but it seems to me to be a weird thing to hate. It's long since past that they were the domain of sailors, prisoners and punks. Teenage girls have them.
I’m sorry if I’ve missed it reading through the full thread but, the elephant in the room, bicycles over £500, bicycle tyres, brake pads, and safety equipment such as helmets. All VERY, VERY over priced compared with items from the automotive and motorcycle industry. How do companies go bust with the mark up available??
bicycle tyres, brake pads, and safety equipment such as helmets. All VERY, VERY over priced compared with items from the automotive and motorcycle industry.
At the cheap end of the market cycle stuff in all those categories are way way cheaper than those from motoring. At the high end of the market, cycle stuff is way way cheaper than those from motoring. Not sure of your point? High end bike stuff appears poor value compared to low end car stuff?
At the cheap end of the market cycle stuff in all those categories are way way cheaper than those from motoring. At the high end of the market, cycle stuff is way way cheaper than those from motoring. Not sure of your point? High end bike stuff appears poor value compared to low end car stuff?
I think you're stretching it a bit.
Bikes costing more than motorbikes
A bike tyre costing as much as a car tyre, regardless of which end of the market it's at.
Bike stuff IS overpriced
A bike tyre costing as much as a car tyre, regardless of which end of the market it’s at.
Why shouldn't it cost the same? It's the same sort of thing, and the volume of bike tyres produced will be a lot lower than cars, so no economies of scale.
Are smaller shoes cheaper than bigger shoes?
Sure it is. A digital signal works within tolerance of error correction or it fails. It’s simply not possible to get a good or a bad “1.”
You know how UDP works, right? Try streaming some games, you will see how it can 'work' but the quality can vary depending on network conditions.
Those conditions wouldn't be improved by 10k of marketing blurb cables though would they.
Why shouldn’t it cost the same?
You think upwards of £70 isn't overpriced for a pushbike tyre?
Ok, we'll agree to disagree
That said, looking around, prices so seem to have settled down a bit
Bikes costing more than motorbikes
A bike tyre costing as much as a car tyre, regardless of which end of the market it’s at.
Bike stuff IS overpriced
My car tyres cost multiple times more than my bike tyres... and the car tyres are cheap ones and the bike tyres aren't.
Why does this idea persist that bikes have to cost more than cars or motorbikes, when any fool can see you can buy a new bike for less than any new car or motorbike? Same goes for spares and accessories.
You think upwards of £70 isn’t overpriced for a pushbike tyre?
Buy a different tyre. I think you're just saying that the most expensive options aren't worth it for you. They're not for me either. Other people will feel differently. That's true of everything though, there's nothing special about bikes in that regard. There are car tyres that cost thousands of pounds. Now that's properly expensive. That doesn't mean car tyres in general aren't worth the money... mine keep my car off the ground and rolling all year around for a few hundred quid.
You think upwards of £70 isn’t overpriced for a pushbike tyre?
There's a difference between 'a lot of money' and 'overpriced'.
Why exactly do you think a top end tyre is overpriced? What knowledge do you have of the design and manufacturing process that goes into such an item? I mean, you appreciate that a £70 tyre is better than a £5 one, right? Why do you think that is the case?
Yes, yes it can.
Most pastimes you can spend stupid amounts of money if you want and those things you buy could be classed as expensive and not worth the money. Absolutely no need to do this for bicycles but you can if you want
£127 for a set of darts?
For a lot of people it’s a personal thing, nothing to do with showing off or vanity.
Especially the back tattoos that they can't even see themselves 😉
Deffo fancy cables, like that £12K SPDIF one. Hilarious that people buy that shit
I don't know who's worse; the chancers who produce such crap, or the gullible idiots with more money than sense, who buy it.
It’s not just 0 and 1s simple.
Sure it is. A digital signal works within tolerance of error correction or it fails. It’s simply not possible to get a good or a bad “1.” Compare FM vs DAB+ in the car – FM gets increasingly nasty as you run out of reception, DAB+ is perfect right up until it goes squelch and stops.
This reminds me of a visit to Currys, where a salesperson tried upselling me an expensive HDMI lead. Had a little chat with him, he was unaware of the actual science behind it all, and told me that their sales training encouraged them to upsell wherever possible (ok, fine, it's a business). But those without knowledge may well be taken in by such BS, and that's immoral.
Tattoos. They feed tame sort of preening vanity as posh watches or fancy clothes, but with added permanence and regret.
Many things we buy are to do with the need to assert our status in society, amongst our peers etc. The earliest humans chose shiny stones and other pretty objets to embellish their furs and animal skins. Embellishment became a symbol of status, and now here we are with our Rolexes and Balenciagas. Tattoos are just a part of that. It's just a different way of asserting yourself I suppose. Not all tattoos are normally visible of course. And different cultures have different views on adorning the skin. But there's an awful lot of history and meaning behind tattoos, so dismissing them in this way is a bit unfair and blinkered. It's really quite a human thing to do, and generally quite harmless (to others, at least). Although I did once meet a man with a Swastika tattooed on his neck, a regrettable yet somewhat permanent reminder of his previous poor life choices. He was undergoing expensive procedures to have it removed, however, which was encouraging.
This reminds me of a visit to Currys, where a salesperson tried upselling me an expensive HDMI lead. Had a little chat with him, he was unaware of the actual science behind it all, and told me that their sales training encouraged them to upsell wherever possible (ok, fine, it’s a business). But those without knowledge may well be taken in by such BS, and that’s immoral.
The quality of HDMI cables does make a difference. For a short run between a TV and DVD player or whatever then probably not but on longer runs you need a good cable. The signal degrades and you may struggle to get 4k, while 1080 works. Less of an issue these days as there better standards but I've had problems with cheap HDMI cables many times.
Balenciagas
Huh?
I just googled it. I doubt I'd recognise it in the street but if I did it would just scream "I have literally no idea what to do with my money"
Huh?
Trust me; ignorance is bliss.
We use amazon basic HDMI leads at work, fine at 1080 over 10 meters but we also have HDMI cables that are a few hundred, expensive yes but they do work at 50m
Rolexes and Balenciagas
...it's all a load of balenciagas. (Actually their socks are a steal - less than half the price of prada socks as mentioned earlier.
Bottled water. The plastic bottle it comes in costs more to produce than all the filtration etc. Plus there's the environmental impact.
The quality of HDMI cables does make a difference
I vaguely recall seeing some research where someone tested a whole load of HDMI cables, and there was lots of variation but the cheapest was also the best.
Hdmi either works for your resolution or doesn't. A faulty cable may not work, but it won't slowly downgrade quality, it'll just be garbage all over the screen
I’ve had problems with cheap HDMI cables many times.
Did you have the source and display ends plugged in the right way around?
Some very valid points raised about tattoos to counter what was a fairly knee jerk post from me (family member going through the process of trying to undo things they did to "fit in" in their youth), so yes chucking out a blanket "no tats" was ott.
The quality of HDMI cables does make a difference. For a short run between a TV and DVD player or whatever then probably not but on longer runs you need a good cable. The signal degrades and you may struggle to get 4k, while 1080 works. Less of an issue these days as there better standards but I’ve had problems with cheap HDMI cables many times.
As you allude to, there is a certification programme. Any certified cable should work within spec regardless of whether it cost a fiver or a grand. For HDMI 2.1 (8k, or 4k at high refresh rates) certification is mandatory. Ie, you cannot buy an "ultra high speed" HDMI cable that won't work unless it's counterfeit.
As you allude to, there is a certification programme. Any certified cable should work within spec regardless of whether it cost a fiver or a grand. For HDMI 2.1 (8k, or 4k at high refresh rates) certification is mandatory. Ie, you cannot buy an “ultra high speed” HDMI cable that won’t work unless it’s counterfeit.
Yup.. I bought this, it's a little pricey but it's longer than normal at 4 meters, and it had to support 4k @120hz & all the new fangled audio formats to plug my pc into my fancy TV..
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09PN2F81C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
You know how UDP works, right? Try streaming some games, you will see how it can ‘work’ but the quality can vary depending on network conditions.
Do you? Packet loss over the internet is completely different to data loss over a single link connecting 2 devices.
And the key word there is "loss." Data is there or it isn't, you don't sit there expecting a 1 or a zero and receive "half."* This will obviously be more noticeable where latency is critical. You talk of "quality" but it's not really, dropped UDP packets are missing data. The game might compensate for this by dropping the frame rate, resolution, draw distance etc so that less data is required so it appears to have dropped in quality.
More data available = better potential fidelity, so as above you might be restricted to 1080p with a cheap HDMI cable say, but it doesn't work the other way around. Hooking up your DVD player with a gold-plated HDMI 2.1 ultra mega directional cable isn't going to look any better than using an Amazon Basics one.
(* - This technically isn't exactly true, the copy protection on Dungeon Master used 'fuzzy bits' on the disk which could be either/or on a given read; a disk consistently returning the same value was deemed to be as a copy. But this was something of an outlier...)
£320 ethernet cable, anyone? 😉
Wow, there's some belters on there.
3m HDMI cable? A snip at four grand. Or you can get the 0.6m version for just £2k.
https://www.hifix.co.uk/audioquest-dragon-48-hdmi-cable
But really, this was the whole point. Ethernet, HDMI, digital transmission is either in spec or it isn't. In the analogue world it was worth spending a bit of money because you're trying to minimise degradation, noise, interference etc. With digital, what goes in comes out, or it doesn't.
“not worth the money” is not the same as “expensive” which is not the same as “more than you want to or can afford to spend”
bensales thinks £340 is sensible money for a t-shirt
3m HDMI cable? A snip at four grand. Or you can get the 0.6m version for just £2k.
https://www.hifix.co.uk/audioquest-dragon-48-hdmi-cable
/blockquote>
Looking at the spec it doesn't mention if it's a certified cable or not!! epic fail!
Almost all eating out. Why pay a premium for something that takes a while to arrive and isn’t as good as you get at home?
because the cook there is better than I am. It will definitely taste better, probably take less time than it would at home and I don’t have to wash up.
because the cook there is better than I am. It will definitely taste better, probably take less time than it would at home and I don’t have to wash up.
It's also a nice social experience, a meal out with a few drinks and some friends, or date night with the Mrs.. no prep, no clean up, no stressing that you might ruin the dish.
Balenciaga is a social experiment to see how stupid rich people are.
Balenciaga is a social experiment to see how stupid rich people are.
There's an IG account that gets owners to showcase their outfits, many wear that shit. Absolutely hideous outfits.
Balenciaga is a social experiment to see how stupid rich people are.
What the ****ing **** did I just ****ing look at?
I just did a copy/paste and saw what appeared to be the offspring of ladies boots that have had sex with a lime green plasterer’s bucket for two thousand odd pounds.
I think they actually sourced their designer from the backrooms. Either that or ran up some ideas using Bing Copilot.
This thread is going to break all STW Inverse Snobbery records.
Agreed!
Why is everyone saying "expensive watches"? I've had my Seamaster since 2007, worn it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since then, and it's worth 2-3 times what I paid for it. That feels with the money.
For me, it's often not the most expensive version of something that isn't worth it, it's the mid-level that doesn't deliver value for money..... "second cheapest bottle of wine" syndrome.
Watches are a great example of this also: 20 quid Casio, brilliant..... and most expensive watches actually go up in value, it's the shit in the middle that delivers the least value: fashion brand watches which cost about 500 quid, but are worth nothing second hand in a few years,
Why is everyone saying “expensive watches”? I’ve had my Seamaster since 2007, worn it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since then, and it’s worth 2-3 times what I paid for it. That feels with the money.<br /><br /><br />
Because it doesn’t tell the time any better. Back in the 80s my Dad accidentally left the Swiss watch his dad got him for his 18th birthday (shortly before passing) on the roof of his car. He bought a replacement 99p digital watch from a petrol station. It lasted for ages. It told the time too.
Because it doesn’t tell the time any better
If that’s the yardstick for “value” then anything other that the cheapest (which works) is going to fail.
have you considered a career at Chrysler?
Just researching a holiday in Canada and liked the look of the Rocky Mountaineer train from Jasper to Vancouver, but at £3k for the two of us I think I'll pass and you don't even get to sleep on the train. Via Rail do the same route at a fraction of the cost so going with them.
Why pay a premium for something that takes a while to arrive and isn’t as good as you get at home?
Must be quite lucrative for you, to be a top level chef who can rustle up top restaurant quality food, at literally a moments notice, at home?
If not, why aren’t you sharing this gift?
Or is it just that expensive restaurants don’t serve chicken nuggets?