What's your latest [non-technology] purchase?

[calvinhobbes]

I may have located the problem.

 

[Matt2000]

Yes that's definitely your problem. I'm not sure what they're supposed to have them but that one certainly isn't doing any damping. Also, are you trapped in a basement or liminal space? It looks very empty there.

I've had to, very reluctantly, order a replacement part to fit my old 40" Samsung TV to its stand now I have the 42" LG OLED in place. The box sat around for some time until being evicted to the garage, during that time the stand was moved up into the attic. The box ended up being thrown out in 2020 when I was rearraging the garage. Anyway, it turns out there are two parts to put the TV on its stand and one is completely missing. I've looked in most of the places it could be and don't recall ever seeing it in the last four years, the TV went straight onto the wall bracket I have so it's unlikely I would've given it a second glance.

A replacement is only £16 so I decided it isn't worth wasting any more time looking for it. Of course, I'll find it as soon as the new one arrives. I don't have screws either but I should be able to cover that with my assorted spare screws. I could've 3D printed a replacement but it's quite big and the TV is quite heavy, I don't trust the PLA to not break or go soft in the summer, having a TV screen slowly droop forward on a hot day would be quite a spectacle.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Yes that's definitely your problem. I'm not sure what they're supposed to have them but that one certainly isn't doing any damping.

It’s got two 120N dampers at the bottom left and right of the tub and springs at the top. A fairly simple and robust construction, but after some twenty years in service, it’s no wonder the dampers were ruined.

I’ve replaced them now, with genuine parts even. I figured that if I‘m saving 100% on fees, I might as well spend on parts. If this goes well and I can find it online, I might just go nuts and replace the door lock that’s been out of commission for years. At least I‘ve finally had access to it and its part number.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Also, are you trapped in a basement or liminal space? It looks very empty there.

Basement yes, trapped no. It’s a laundry room, which is the main reason why I haven’t yet bothered with replacing the door lock. If something leaks, all I have to do is shift it towards the floor drain.

 

[Eye-Q]

Numberplates for my MX-5. I'm quite surprised HH-MX 504 was still available...

 

[Matt2000]

I'm quite surprised HH-MX 504 was still available...

Somewhere in Hamburg, a Peugeot 504 owner curses at the sky. Actually that seems unlikely with the number of possible combinations.

 

[Eye-Q]

Yeah, you can have way better numberplates for a Peugeot 504, for example HH-PO 504, HH-PU 504 or HH-PX 504, all of which are still available.

Fun fact: here in Hamburg you can reserve a numberplate which is still available for either 14 days or 104 days (which is a really weird number since it's neither something like half a year nor even a certain amount of full weeks ) for 2,60 Euros or 12,60 Euros respectively, plus you have to pay the 10,20 Euros for a certain numberplate on top. You could say "I don't care about the combination", that doesn't cost extra. I just looked up the possible combinations of HH-MX 5xx yesterday and found out that 504 is still available so I (rightfully) hoped no one would reserve that combination between me checking and registering the car. Yes, I am that cheap that I'd rather forego having a fitting combination than paying 2,60 Euros for reserving it for 14 days...

 

[CraigB]

Wouldn't 104 days be approximately 3.5 months (30 days being the round number for a month, plus 2 weeks)?

 

[eizbaer]

“Approximately“ is not valid in German bureaucracy
weird number still…

 

[93Flareside]

“Approximately“ is not valid in German bureaucracy
weird number still…

I mean, when I was told 1-2 weeks for my residency paperwork to come back and it’s actually been 2.5 months is a great description of being ok with approximations, but only if it suits them and not you.

 

[Eye-Q]

What @eizbaer wrote - we in Germany don't do "approximately", especially when dealing with bureaucracy...

 

[eizbaer]

What @eizbaer wrote - we in Germany don't do "approximately", especially when dealing with bureaucracy...

Yeah we mich rather think in very sensible and strict deadlines (often times unrealistic or already passed once you get the letter) that are only applicable to the plebs (see @93Flareside example above).

 

[GRtak]

Wouldn't 104 days be approximately 3.5 months (30 days being the round number for a month, plus 2 weeks)?

More like 3.75.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Yeah we mich rather think in very sensible and strict deadlines (often times unrealistic or already passed once you get the letter) that are only applicable to the plebs (see @93Flareside example above).

Basically, the system fails to acknowledge that mistakes happen and if by some miracle, one does occur, it is certainly not the fault of the bureaucrat.

 

[Eye-Q]

Another item for the car: a smartphone holder for a steep (*cough*) 8 Euros. I need navigation for ringmeet, but obviously I don't want to prop the smartphone somewhere where it can fall off in the twisties of the Eifel. So I went off to ebay classifieds, found a holder within 3 km, wrote one message and picked it up within an hour after my first search. For such a thing I don't need to order something at some web shop or search for a shop somewhere around me which sells those, ebay classifieds is perfect for that.

 

[Eye-Q]

Loosely speaking it's an accessory for the car as well: new sunglasses. Since I usually cycle everywhere I have cycling sunglasses, but I concede that those do look silly, especially when they are red and the reflective coating is red as well. Slightly oval sunglasses with a thin metal frame look so much better...

 

[eizbaer]

I bought some trainers. Sneakers. Shoes. Whatever!

A few years back I found some that fit me very nicely, with a rather slim some, reasonably priced and that even came in some „not horrible“ color scheme (read: All black). Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 - yes yes a retro shoe or whatever.
Anyway, since my first pair prices have crept up significantly and Availability has gone down. Current average seems to be about double what I paid for my first pair and the all black aren’t available at all.
Anyway, bit the bullet … off-white it is.

 

[Cowboy]

One of those 'post-op' hard bottomed sandal like shoes to help stabilise my foot.......it doesn't work, I feel old, infirm and weak.

 

[DanRoM]

A new office chair. The previous attempt - a sub-€200 chair from Staples did not prove sufficient for long-term usage, and a while ago the lock of the tilting mechanism broke, so I couldn't set it to a static position anymore. So, a new one from Interstuhl came today. So far (one day of working done on it) I love it.

 

[NecroJoe]

A new office chair. The previous attempt - a sub-€200 chair from Staples did not prove sufficient for long-term usage, and a while ago the lock of the tilting mechanism broke, so I couldn't set it to a static position anymore. So, a new one from Interstuhl came today. So far (one day of working done on it) I love it.

I used to sells boat loads of Interstuhl chairs to Zynga for their conference rooms and exec offices all over the world. Not sure if they carry the two models anymore (the Xantos and Campos). Simple, but good-feeling stuff. Which one did you get? I've always wanted a VINTAGEis5 32V4, but can't live with non-adjustable, non-padded loop arms and that's what looks the best.

I had one executive customer order a Silver chair for their home office. The high-back. You need to be a certain type of asshole to want this chair in your office, and he was exactly that sort of asshole. If I remember right, the list price (in the specific black leather be wanted) was something like $6k.