Money to blow
Woke up yesterday morning to 27° and no heater. Don't know when exactly it went out, but the inside of the house was still in the 50s, so fairly latent.
Thankfully, we have a airtight fireplace to fire up, and a couple of cords of maple firewood I've been saving just for this predicament.
Got our HVAC guy coming to diagnose and hopefully fix without too much expense.
It's a 14 year old geothermal system that has worked flawlessly, until now. Hope parts are still available.
I know that sounds cynical, but crapification (h/t Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism) is infesting all of American industry and services.
Of the three working mechanics in the family, all three advised against buying any car or truck newer than 2014 as they are poorly made lemons that are prone to leaving one by the road. And the replacement parts, whether dealer or local auto parts stores, are all Chinese and of low quality.
One gave up his repair business because replacement parts are so substandard and overpriced that customers were bringing cars back because the new parts failed. And they expected him to replace the parts for free, even with the same substandard parts.
Eventually, he got caught up in a vicious cycle of repairing the same cars with the same bad parts and no options left.
My son tells the same story with parts for his work installing and repairing coffee and juice machines regionwide.
Boeing is a classic example of crapification.
The cheapening of build and maintainence of not only commercial aircraft, but even government funded projects.
They still have stranded boeingnauts up in orbit.
Then comes the government study that the active ingredient phenylephrine in over the counter cold symptom relief products are not so active. In fact, it doesn't work at all.
The former ingredient pseudophedrine, was being so abused by meth cooks that the FDA ruled it to be moved behind the counter, stifling sales.
The corporate remedy? Substitute a placebo ingredient and put the name brands back out on the shelves.
Piss on the stupid cold sufferers.
Oh yeah, slap a "New improved formula" label on it and jack up the price to cover all their troubles.
So all the big national drug store chains are pulling the phenylephrine products from their shelves and customers are frantically searching for their cold remedy products that don't work and having meltdowns over the debacle.
I want to say Only in America, but it's a worldwide phenomenon fraud.
Feel free to chime in studentofearth, you're the pro here.
Thread is open.
Update: HVAC guy says it's just the blower motor that quit working, can have another one in a week, maybe.
Oh, and it's going to be $1200.
Whoopee.
Comments
resonant of the new reality
the failure of parts is indicative
of the corporate model of increased sales
push junk and when it fails, sell more.
used to be called planned obsolescence
now codified in government structure
what a mess. glad you have a back-up
thanks for the OT!
Yeah
Good morning, QMS.
Looks like it has morphed into the medical market. Just keep us sick so we have to spend more on medical needs.
It's as though all the different facets of business and industry are battling eash other for our last scraps of
wealthsustenance.Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
see this a lot in my industry
.
parts discontinued, cheaper to replace, &tc
problem is the local guys that could fix things
have gone out of business due to this formula
when it comes to human health there are
fewer alternatives. the health care industry
literally have us over a barrel ~
thanks insurance - greedy bastids
Parts discontinued
is a big problem with my 38 year old Mazda pickup. I'm fortunate that I got the motor and front end rebuilt when I did.
One of the two new shocks is getting sloppy though.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Now I know why "older people" keep their old cars
Can't afford even a newer used model. New cars cost about 2 years of a state college tuition, etc. on the inexpensive end. So us older people have no choice but to keep repairing older model cars. Might be relatively expense, but have no real choice if on a tight budget. And parts will take up to a month, but at least the larger makers have them in stock somewhere.
We recently hit the auto lottery when a Acura mechanic was selling his 2005 SUV which he got way back in the day for his daughter and which he personally maintained for the last 20 or so years. His recommendation is to NOT buy any American made cars. (We have known him for about 22 years.)
Oh and our electric range's oven does not work, along with two burners. Getting a newer model would require electrical work as outlets have changed since we got it. No problema. Got on sale a toaster oven big enough to handle the needs of just two people. Very nice-- has digital controls and timers with all sorts of baking modes.
Same with dryer...reintroduced ourselves to childhood drying methods using a clothes line....
Buying new
and repairing what you got is becoming a wash if you're not at all handy with a wrench.
High parts prices and labor costs (even they have to keep up with inflation) are growing.
For even light to moderate collision damage, insurance companies are choosing to total out your car rather than fix it.
They just write the loss off as a cost of doing business, which we are unable to do.
Fortunately, I know what an openend/boxed end wrench is and able to navigate my way around under the hood.
But my bones are creaking as much as my pickup.
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Crapification basics. There are products such that the owner
only needs one at a time, maybe two, a good one and a back-up. If they last a real long time, the makers and sellers need an endless supply of new customers, which is iffy, hence planned obsolescence. Fine, but another gimmick also came into play sometime around the late fifties or sixties. Black and Decker, in the forties made really good power tools. By the sixties, hrdware stores were full of them and they were mediocre at best. What happened was the household market. More and more people began using various tools , gadgets and equipment at home in a non-professional capacity. Study after study showed that for any given homeowner item, there was only a relatively limited annual usage. Say tool was generally used at most 50 hours per year. They could design and build a cheapo unit that would only last 300 hours, slap a % year warranty on it, sell it for significantly less than a pro model and yet well above cost and never have to make good on those warranties.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Yeah
Black & Decker used to be referred to as "homeowner tools", not to be used on the jobsite as they would break or perform poorly.
They have upped their quality some over the years as I have a leaf blower that I've used often for a decade or more.
A lot depends on where the product was made, whether China, S. Korea, Japan, or Mexico can impact the quality.
I read some where that "Crapification" made the word of the year.
It's also known as shitification.
Thanks for stopping by, EL.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Enshitification
(love that word!) writ large.
I have a big tool chest full of essentially the entire line of Proto hand tools, that I inherited from my father upon his passing. For years, back when he was still alive, I'd buy him more pieces for his birthdays, Father's Day, and Christmas. That may represent the best investment I've ever made. They truly do last forever, whereas the consumer-grade tools like Craftsman die with depressing regularity. They were in the garage, and survived the fire- one of the few things that did.
I have determined that my next car (if any) will have no electronics more complicated than the diodes in the alternator and the condenser in the Kettering points/condenser ignition, and will feature a good old vacuum carburetor. It'll be illegal by then, of course, but I won't give a shit.
I have a creeper, a good (~50-year-old) floor jack, and a set of jackstands, and I'm ready and willing to use them. I no longer consent to being forced to purchase a new vehicle with a shark-fin antenna that can receive a kill signal from The Powers That Be.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Proto, Thorsen, and pre 1955 Craftsman ( which were
made by either Proto or Thorsen). Yeah. Always kept a handful of Grand Auto specials in the vehicle for the thieves to take.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I think that this was the plan from day one. LOL
Lol
No one.
Name fits the persona.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Enshitification is a real word
.
It details lots of the same things crapification, but worse. We can thank NAFTA and our government servants for the state of America today. The banks ordered more profits and to move manufacturing offshore and congress obeyed.
Now the dumb fcks in government have to import most of its war machine parts from 3rd world countries and defense companies are having a hard time making things work. Ukraine ditched the javelins for old Soviet ones. Israel mothballed the Patriot missiles because they couldn’t shoot down squat and our once admired space program has been privatized. And yet America thinks it can win wars against Russia and China even though we import mucho stuff for war from them?
I don’t know how old my furnace is. At least 20-40 years I’d guess. It’s a huge monstrosity, but still works fine. Plus I have great insulation with plaster insulation so it never gets below 60 even in the coldest conditions.
But hey we aren’t like Germany and closing down our oldest factories like VW…oh wait…we offshored ours decades ago….nevermind.
Greenwald and Stoller on Trump tariffs.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
when the billionaires are in charge
.
.
parts and industries are small change
jobs, housing, food, health care and such
are little more than lint in their pockets
why bother with real goods when
only money matters?
I can see
a forever down hill trajectory for our former country. And we will never get it back.
If we ever do somehow get it back, it will be a wasteland of broken people and worthless infrastructure to be sold off in pieces.
Just as Netanyahu predicted.
Thanks for the video.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Good afternoon, e1.
Just today, I was using a plastic brush from a dust pan to brush leaves out of a bird bath. The handle broke in two. I wonder how much the cheap shit costs at Family Dollar now. This one lasted about 4 years, virtually no use. A few times a year at most.
Hope I can find a parking place, since it is the busiest store in town. We be po' around here.
Good luck on the repair work. Hope someone has parts and that they aren't backlogged for 6 weeks. FWIW, even new stuff, such as kitchen appliances, and building materials, such as doors and windows, might be weeks away.
Thanks for the OT, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I just hope
the new blower isn't a Chinese knockoff that will give out in 3 or four years.
Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I hope so, too.
As I age, I calculate about something lasting, if it will make it as I check out of this world, or how many times it will likely be replaced before said check out.
This aging shit is weird, fer shure!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
hearing this from customers as well
the proposed solution:
will it last until I die?
people didn't used to think
like that
I know, I know!
If I paint my house, will I need to do it again? Will this truck last me? On, and on.
My parents lived into their 90s. I take that into consideration on every single major purchase or repair I make. Do I want to be 85 talking to a mechanic or contractor? They wouldn't take advantage of me...heh.
We are all perpetual consumers at someone's mercy 'til we die, friend.
Sucks.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
To our surprise here in La France, things made of plastic
are often more expensive than those things made of metal or wood. There are still many rural small manufacturers throughout France especially for household finishings like doors, awnings, metal railings of all kinds, handles, hinges, window and door shutters (volets), fencing both residential and agricultural, gates, auto gate openers, local batch plants and quarries, mills (we got our self designed new stair stringers from the mill three miles away), small nureries for plants, gardens and crops, of course Peugeot, Citroen, Renault and other transport-related stuff.
As we have driven around France we've been constantly surprised by the number of factories and plants we see tucked away here and there.
We're not sure if the cost of metal objects is planned as a way to get consumers to buy better than quicly brittle plastic or not.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
much of the stuff I repair
are the cheap vinyl and plastic
trim and casings originally installed in
windows and doors which have dissolved
try to refit with wood or metal wherever possible
good you still have local manufacturing
maintains skills
My favorite pharmacology professor considered cold medicines
the perfect medicinal product. Colds generally last 7 to 10 days and most people do not seek a drug solution until symptoms are starting to peak at day 3 to 4. Nearly any drug recommended will receive the credit for curing the cold. If the symptoms are not relieved immediately just tell the customer to give it another day or two. Still having symptom problems - time to explore possibility of a different condition, secondary infection, side effect of another drug or an environmental irritant.
Shotgun type drugs like Nyquil with multiple ingredients are popular and when used for short periods most individuals do not notice their adverse reactions. Also good example of marketing, using a familiar name for multiple formulations - read the ingredient list when buying. It takes more thoughtfulness to use a single ingredient or create a customized combination to treat symptoms of the current condition. It can be a less expensive and more effective treatment approach.
I do not consider myself an Herbalist, not enough depth of knowledge to provide much info. Some of the replies in various diaries lends to my suspicion there are Herbalists who participate on C99.
Disclaimer: I have not practiced what would be considered traditional retail, compounding or hospital pharmacy since 1998. In 2009 closed my clinical practice and quit designing/maintaining clinical drug databases in use around the country.
My basic philosophy is use lowest dose possible for shortest time possible with clear, measurable clinical goals. Apply same philosophy to both pharmaceutical drugs and herbs. Chronic conditions do happen, but appropriate dose of medication varies over time.
expectorant - thins mucus, which can reduce cough and runny nose.: Guaifenesin found in plain Robitussin and Mucinex (multiple formulations so read the ingredient list). I generally use mullein leaf tea, easier to harvest than flowers and grows on the property. Drink fluids to assist these meds.
decongestant - shrinks congested nasal tissue. Oral pseudoephedrine bit of a bother to buy and I prefer to keep 30 mg tab vs 60 mg in the medicine cabinet. The herb ephedra is a primary plant source. Phenylephrine was taught as clinically weak and a higher side effect profile than other drugs in the class when I was taking courses in the early 80's. If use spray type nasal decongestants must limit to 3 days or less. Rebound congestion is not a fun condition to experience.
antihistamine - reduces histamine activity - runny nose, congestion, headache: Vitamin C has some activity and reduces congestion. (my personal choice for a cold). Not my favorite class of drugs due to significant adverse effects on multiple body systems. Have seen problems with dementia falls and urinary retention disappear when removed from regular medication regimens. If antihistamines are providing significant relief for frequent "colds" start looking for an allergen vs a cold. Exception if it is being used to help get a better nights rest. They are included in OTC (over the counter) formulations of sleep meds because they work. As we age risk for side effects increase.
analgesic - whatever works best for you. Children should be given a formulation designed for them, not adults.
cough suppressant - dextromethorphan or codeine (legal in some states to be sold without a prescription) - a mild cough can help expel junk from collecting in the lungs. Expectorants thin the mucus making it easier to cough up. Sometimes needs suppressed to rest, prevent muscle or rib damage and prevent awkward moments at work or social situations.
----
A couple of article reviews supporting the opinion Vitamin C is beneficial for colds. Provides some dosing information. Adjusting dose depending on severity of cold and person's tolerance is not an uncommon practice.
Vitamin C as a Supplementary Therapy in Relieving Symptoms of the Common Cold: A Meta-Analysis of 10 Randomized Controlled Trials
Biomed Res Int Oct 9, 2020
Vitamin C reduces the severity of common colds: a meta-analysis BMC Public Health December 11, 2023
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Fabulous!
Thanks!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
very good overview
.
.
will print this out and add it to my pharm database
there are so many vagaries involved with this science
thank you for sharing your knowledge SOE!