What Are You Buying Right Now? (non-OT version)

Botch

sumoconnell said:
First thing I did was separately bag the contents of my wife’s purse. I thought she’d notice, but with remote car keys she didn’t notice until she was dropping the car off for trade in later that day. I think that makes the story even better, but she disagrees. 

That there's funny!  

Eoin

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Ozzie_Isaac

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Is that THE East India Trading company?

Eoin

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Is that THE East India Trading company?

East End. Anyway, who cares, it's cheap (£4 for 400g of corriander seeds).

Ozzie_Isaac

Eoin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Is that THE East India Trading company?

East End. Anyway, who cares, it's cheap (£4 for 400g of corriander seeds).

We have a similar situation hear.  Grocery stores charge an arm and a leg for small bottles of spices.  Go to en Ethnic Market, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, etc and you get big bags of fresher spices for much cheaper.

Acn

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Eoin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Is that THE East India Trading company?

East End. Anyway, who cares, it's cheap (£4 for 400g of corriander seeds).

We have a similar situation hear.  Grocery stores charge an arm and a leg for small bottles of spices.  Go to en Ethnic Market, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, etc and you get big bags of fresher spices for much cheaper.

Even in our regular grocery store brand and aisle can make a huge difference.  For example cumin, the McCormick’s in the spice aisle is $2.99 for a 1.5 oz bottle; but Laxmi Brand in the international aisle is $3.99 for a 7 oz bag, and is better too.

jazimmerman

Just got back from Dizzy Pig. Picked up some Rockwood, Frutia Post Oak, new band assembly, warranty base replacement and a couple rubs.

Can’t say enough about Chris and his team. After failed attempts with my original dealer to replace my base, I chatted with Chris on here and called his team and with 3 weeks (shipping from BGE), I had my new base. 

Great customer service!

Thanks Chris!

Canugghead

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Guess you didn't need cumin seeds this time 
A story to share...we stopped buying pre ground garam masala. Tried a commercial pack of garam masala whole spices and liked it, so I unashamedly reverse engineered it  Even with 1 or 2 missing ingredients it's close enough. We now roast and grind small batches as needed.

kl8ton

Canugghead said:

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Guess you didn't need cumin seeds this time 
A story to share...we stopped buying pre ground garam masala. Tried a commercial pack of garam masala whole spices and liked it, so I unashamedly reverse engineered it  Even with 1 or 2 missing ingredients it's close enough. We now roast and grind small batches as needed.

What are you using for a grinder?  AND is it easy to clean?

Eoin

Canugghead said:

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Guess you didn't need cumin seeds this time 
A story to share...we stopped buying pre ground garam masala. Tried a commercial pack of garam masala whole spices and liked it, so I unashamedly reverse engineered it  Even with 1 or 2 missing ingredients it's close enough. We now roast and grind small batches as needed.

We already have 1 mix we use a lot that we make up in batches and keep in a sealed Kilner jar. The Garam Masala here is actually to incorporate into another mix as it works well - this stuff is mostly to get a batch of that made up.

Eoin

kl8ton said:

Canugghead said:

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Guess you didn't need cumin seeds this time 
A story to share...we stopped buying pre ground garam masala. Tried a commercial pack of garam masala whole spices and liked it, so I unashamedly reverse engineered it  Even with 1 or 2 missing ingredients it's close enough. We now roast and grind small batches as needed.

What are you using for a grinder?  AND is it easy to clean?

I just use a small blade type spice / coffee grinder.  For a coarse grind, I use a pestle and mortar.

Canugghead

Eoin said:

kl8ton said:

Canugghead said:

Eoin said:

Some spices from the Indian shop in Lincoln. The tiny packs in the supermarket are double useless - too small and too expensive.

Guess you didn't need cumin seeds this time 
A story to share...we stopped buying pre ground garam masala. Tried a commercial pack of garam masala whole spices and liked it, so I unashamedly reverse engineered it  Even with 1 or 2 missing ingredients it's close enough. We now roast and grind small batches as needed.

What are you using for a grinder?  AND is it easy to clean?

I just use a small blade type spice / coffee grinder.  For a coarse grind, I use a pestle and mortar.

Same here. Got a heavy CI p+m set from thrift store, beats the fancy granite or marble set.
Use a dry unused natural hair paint brush to clean, it’s an old coffee grinder now reserved for spices only.

SonVolt

Delta shipped my new faucet under warranty for my 17 year old kitchen faucet they no longer make.  It's very heavy duty, thick stainless... except for the sprayer. It's flimsy plastic. Why they would cheap out on the only part you actually touch when using is a big let down. 

https://www.deltafaucet.com/kitchen/product/9690-AR-DST.html

Kayak

SonVolt said:

Delta shipped my new faucet under warranty for my 17 year old kitchen faucet they no longer make.  It's very heavy duty, thick stainless... except for the sprayer. It's flimsy plastic. Why they would cheap out on the only part you actually touch when using is a big let down. 

https://www.deltafaucet.com/kitchen/product/9690-AR-DST.html

We have a Brizo, which is supposedly Delta's fancy line, and I can't really see a big difference in construction. I've even replaced the very part you mention. Which was shipped free to me. Our bathroom fixtures are all Moen, and they have a lot of chrome-plated plastic too. Which I've had to fix/replace. Again, lifetime warranty which is nice.

Botch

SonVolt said:

Why they would cheap out on the only part you actually touch when using is a big let down. 

If you run a lot of hot water through the sprayer, plastic will insulate your fingers better than metal would.  
Just spitballing here.  

SonVolt

Botch said:

SonVolt said:

Why they would cheap out on the only part you actually touch when using is a big let down. 

If you run a lot of hot water through the sprayer, plastic will insulate your fingers better than metal would.  
Just spitballing here.  

They could have used a true stainless veneer over the plastic internals for this part. The cheaper Kohler faucets I checked out at Home Depot were designed this way. It's just a minor quibble, but disappointing nonetheless. 

fishlessman

SonVolt said:

Botch said:

SonVolt said:

Why they would cheap out on the only part you actually touch when using is a big let down. 

If you run a lot of hot water through the sprayer, plastic will insulate your fingers better than metal would.  
Just spitballing here.  

They could have used a true stainless veneer over the plastic internals for this part. The cheaper Kohler faucets I checked out at Home Depot were designed this way. It's just a minor quibble, but disappointing nonetheless. 

even the german grohe faucets i put in the bathroom have a plastic chromed shower head. i think they designed the set to be upgraded at some point and yes its disappointing at these price points

nolaegghead

Plastics were a high-end novelty back in the 50s.  Synthetic materials range in properties and quality across the spectrum.   I could argue that they can be  superior to metal based on the application and quality/selection of polymer. 

"Plastic" has become a derogatory term in consumer goods.  Point is, much of the hatred of plastic parts is simply a cultural response, not an engineering one.

Ozzie_Isaac

nolaegghead said:

Plastics were a high-end novelty back in the 50s.  Synthetic materials range in properties and quality across the spectrum.   I could argue that they can be  superior to metal based on the application and quality/selection of polymer. 

"Plastic" has become a derogatory term in consumer goods.  Point is, much of the hatred of plastic parts is simply a cultural response, not an engineering one.

Was just going to say basically the same thing, but you wrote it so well, I will just agree.

Kayak

nolaegghead said:

Plastics were a high-end novelty back in the 50s.  Synthetic materials range in properties and quality across the spectrum.   I could argue that they can be  superior to metal based on the application and quality/selection of polymer. 

"Plastic" has become a derogatory term in consumer goods.  Point is, much of the hatred of plastic parts is simply a cultural response, not an engineering one.

What should my cultural response be to this six year old item?

Ozzie_Isaac

Kayak said:

nolaegghead said:

Plastics were a high-end novelty back in the 50s.  Synthetic materials range in properties and quality across the spectrum.   I could argue that they can be  superior to metal based on the application and quality/selection of polymer. 

"Plastic" has become a derogatory term in consumer goods.  Point is, much of the hatred of plastic parts is simply a cultural response, not an engineering one.

What should my cultural response be to this six year old item?

Plastic is not always the best choice either.  My automatic gate rams had plastic mount points.  They eventually deteriorated due to UV exposure.  The replacements were metal.

Trade-off: longevity, cost, manufacturability, weight, etc.

Also, tell the kids towel racks are not jungle gyms.

nolaegghead

Maybe don't bang your wife in the shower?

fishlessman

nolaegghead said:

Plastics were a high-end novelty back in the 50s.  Synthetic materials range in properties and quality across the spectrum.   I could argue that they can be  superior to metal based on the application and quality/selection of polymer. 

"Plastic" has become a derogatory term in consumer goods.  Point is, much of the hatred of plastic parts is simply a cultural response, not an engineering one.

  i would prefer a machined and polished brass shower head dripping with chrome and the spray point nozzles made of a soft rubber silicone. way easier to clean built up minerals in the  nozzles with the rubber material.

Kayak

nolaegghead said:

Maybe don't bang your wife in the shower?

Hey now! We're 55 but we're not dead yet.  Point is, plastic isn't good in some locations. This is the hand-spray hanger, which wasn't abused and in my mind for what we paid, should be metal. Holds the plastic hand-spray which I've replaced 3 times (darn horny wife).

SonVolt

nolaegghead said:

Plastics were a high-end novelty back in the 50s.  Synthetic materials range in properties and quality across the spectrum.   I could argue that they can be  superior to metal based on the application and quality/selection of polymer. 

"Plastic" has become a derogatory term in consumer goods.  Point is, much of the hatred of plastic parts is simply a cultural response, not an engineering one.

Aesthetics and tactile feel are equally important to me as the engineering that went into it, especially at this price range*. That said, I have no problem with plastic. It's the abrupt transition in materials & weight from heavy duty steel to light weight plastic that irks me.  They could have at least weighted the spray nozzle to give it heft so it feels more inline with the rest of the faucet. Maybe this will change once water is flowing through it.  This is also some type of counterweight that slides onto the hose under the sink that pulls the spray nozzle up and back into its housing, that may also help with the feel. 

*I did not pay for this faucet

fishlessman

Kayak said:

nolaegghead said:

Maybe don't bang your wife in the shower?

Hey now! We're 55 but we're not dead yet.  Point is, plastic isn't good in some locations. This is the hand-spray hangar, which wasn't abused and in my mind for what we paid, should be metal. Holds the plastic hand-spray which I've replaced 3 times.

mine was plastic as well, no way was i going to drill holes in the granite tiles to mount it. its just wrong

nolaegghead

Hey, I'd rather have metal hardware for fixtures too.  It's just in my nature to challenge conventional wisdom and swim against the current.

The plastic they use for that stuff generally sucks balls anyway. 

They're making some amazing stuff with plastic nowadays.  I don't get why they would use it in a 700 dollar faucet tho, as the material costs are insignificant in that case.  Bronze and brass are around 5 bucks a pound.

nolaegghead

Kayak said:

nolaegghead said:

Maybe don't bang your wife in the shower?

Hey now! We're 55 but we're not dead yet.  Point is, plastic isn't good in some locations. This is the hand-spray hanger, which wasn't abused and in my mind for what we paid, should be metal. Holds the plastic hand-spray which I've replaced 3 times (darn horny wife).

No offense (rather the opposite) meant.  My spousal unit enjoys a good spray head too.

nolaegghead

JohnInCarolina

We put a standby generator in for the house today.  It's hooked up to our natural gas line, powers the whole house in case of a power outage.  

The wife was motivated to get one in no small part due to all of the meat I have in the garage freezer #winning