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One time I had an ex ask me for some obscure cable that I happened to have. We went over to my cable drawer and as I pulled it out she said “Why do you have this drawer of random cables?”
FOR THIS EXACT PURPOSE BECCA YOU BITCH
Think about the apocalypse BECCA
I was a Scout as a teen. Taught me the value of being prepared and the use of good tools. Basically, I still carry things like a Swiss Army Knife, flashlight, that sort of thing. I also just like to have things in case I need them, like a charge cable or bicycle pump.
You wouldn’t believe how often I’ve had interactions that go like this:
“Does anyone have a knife? I need to cut this”
“Here, use mine”
“Why do you have a knife??? Who are you going to stab???”
Same thing with other tools. People need one, you’re someone who carries it, now you’re somehow weird for being the only person prepared…
I’ve had to guide people out of buildings during blackouts while using my flashlight (this was before phones had them). Number one comment while doing that? “Why do you have a flashlight???”
MOTHERFUCKER, WHY DON’T YOU? On this planet, it gets predictably dark for, you know, almost half the day. So it might just be handy to carry some light with you. Tool use is what sets us humans apart from most animals, so can you at least try and not embarrass your species?
“Why do you have a knife??? Who are you going to stab???”
I’ve gotten this one too. I’ve had a knife on me almost every day for the last 15 years or so and I’ve managed not to stab anyone except maybe myself a little bit.
Tool use is what sets us humans apart from most animals, so can you at least try and not embarrass your species?
I’m stealing this.
I always have a knife and I get asked a lot to use it. Never had anyone ask me why I have one after, I just get told “thanks”
The Problem is, being unprepared worked out for them because they always had someone around who was prepared. It’s the same people who say afterwards: “You see, wasn’t that bad, all worked out fine”. Yes, it worked out fine because someone else was prepared and saved your ass. The worst of those people then also somehow turn it into their own achievement, which makes them think like that: “Why would someone carry around $thing$, I never do that and yet I still manage to save the day.”
Unfortunately, being such a person seems to be a requirement to get hired for middle management.
Step 1: Say “I have it for situations like this.”
Step 2: Adamantly refuse to let them use it. If it’s something that has to get done tell them to get the fuck out of the way and do it yourself.
It’s so annoying. I stopped carrying a knife regularly not because I stopped thinking it was a useful tool to always have but because while the law here does allow carried knives to be defined as tools, if you bring them in to certain places, they automatically get considered weapons and carrying any weapon is illegal (in most circumstances). So if I happen to go to a bar and have my knife in my pocket, it could result in a possession of an illegal weapon charge.
I hate laws that assume intents based on triggers that aren’t necessarily associated with those assumed intents, like “carrying a weapon implies intent to hurt/kill someone”, “having possession of your keys anywhere near your car while drunk implies intent to drive drunk (even if you’re sleeping in the back seat)”, or “carrying more than some arbitrary amount of drugs implies intent to sell”, like anyone who shops at Costco intends to open up their own store. Lazy fucking laws.
Don’t get me started on how stupid knife laws are in general.
Here in the Netherlands, thankfully there aren’t many restrictions. You can basically carry 95 percent of common knives on you. Locking folders, fixed blades, generally legal unless expressly probhibited.
We can’t own or carry certain types like gravity knives and butterfly knives. Why? “Because… well, fuck you, because we say so.”
If I hop across the border to Germany, knife laws are more restrictive. Can’t have any form of locking knife, so that takes out most folders you’d want to carry. And if I went to other countries, they too have different laws. In France, you can own an OTF for example. And in the US, laws vary from state to state.
Now, what does all that tell us? That knife laws are inherently made up bullshit by politicians and lawmakers who have NO FUCKING CLUE what they’re doing. Because if knife laws made sense, we’d have a fairly consistent set of them. And they tend to ignore that most actual knife crime happens with cheapo kitchen or utility knives. Nobody’s getting stabbed with a 500 euro safe queen.
The knife is one of mankind’s oldest tools. It should be legal to carry everywhere and every form. Knives don’t stab people, people stab people.
Yeah, the way I see it is those easy to deploy knives are most useful if you’re being ambushed. If you’re planning an ambush or attack, you’ll have plenty of time to get your weapon ready. Also, if you’re planning an attack, you’re probably not concerned with following the laws at all. You know, the whole “if you outlaw x, only outlaws will have x”.
I’m curious what the line of thought behind no locking blades at all in Germany is. Also curious if they banned carrying fighting whips/crops in the century since Hitler did that as a hobby (which I’d consider almost purely an offensive weapon since they are more likely to just piss off an attacker if used defensively, unless they are one of those bullies that flees at the first sign of resistance).
With regards to locking knives: most people would say that a locking blade is ‘safer’ to use and more capable of stabbing someone than say, a Swiss army knife, which would fold on your hand if you tried stabbing with it. But in regards to the actual laws that countries write and enforce, there’s usually not even a reason listed for such a prohibition in places that have such bans.
For Germany, section 42A of the Weapons Act applies. That basically states (official english translation):
It shall be prohibited to carry (…) knives with a blade which can be fixed with one hand (one-hand knives) or fixed knives with a blade length of over 12 cm.
The original German for ‘blade which can be fixed’ (feststellbarer Klinge) is what we would refer to as a locking blade. It doesn’t even attempt to give a reason as to why.
In the UK, where a knife with a locking mechanism is illegal as well, the Lancashire Police says only this:
A lock knife is not a folding pocket knife and therefore it is an offence to carry around such a knife regardless of the length of the blade, if you do not have good reason. A lock knife has blades that can be locked and refolded only by pressing a button. A lock knife has a mechanism which locks the blade in position when fully extended, the blade cannot be closed without that mechanism being released. A lock knife is not an offensive weapon per se, as these knives were made with a specific purpose in mind were not intended as a weapon. However, possession of a lock knife in a public place without good reason is an offence.
So this has a lot of contradictions in it. That first sentence makes no sense: ‘a lock knife is not a folding pocket knife’, when clearly there are knives, with locks, that fold. ‘A lock knife has blades that can be locked and refolded only by pressing a button’. OK, so a button lock is illegal. Which means a liner lock is OK, right? But no. ‘A lock knife has a mechanism which locks the blade in position when fully extended’. So now we’ve abandoned that button, and have moved on to mechanism… And then we get some form of argument as to why this all is banned: ‘A lock knife is not an offensive weapon per se, as these knives were made with a specific purpose in mind were not intended as a weapon. However, possession of a lock knife in a public place without good reason is an offence.’
So there’s a ‘not offensive weapon per se’, but also ‘posession with no good reason is an offence’
Basically, the only thing you can reasonably have on you is a non-locking small Swiss army knife. Anything that even hints at a lock? That’s a crime. Why? Fuck you, because we say so.
Yeah knife crime, like gun crime, isn’t an engineering issue. Shit like butterfly knives or spring-loaded switchblades are illegal because that’s what the bad guys had in some movie.
Being a stagehand made all of these things mandatory to carry & be proficient with. I can’t say I see a downside (other than belt weight. Makes me miss having an ass to hold my pants up)
I always carry a 5.11 backpack. So thankfully I don’t need to carry everything on my belt. The only stuff on my person are my wallet, keys and phone. Keys have a Victorinox Super Tinker on them.
The rest of it is in the backpack. I always carry that thing anyway for shopping, to carry a camera, holds my rain jacket that sort of thing. And it’s a TARDIS / magic box in terms of whatever else might be in there.
Some think it’s weird to carry an actual backpack, but I love it. Literally feel naked without it.
For this exact purpose. To impress your ex? Sounds fair enough.
You never know where you’ll be when you need a mini-B usb to 30 pin apple sync cable.
I actually needed a 30pin the other day. I’m glad I still had one
Landline telephones will soon be popular enough to need all these extenders and splitters.
You mean my serial console cables?
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Those got cut to make console cables.
I can always make them into regular phone cables later.
I have two of those in my hoard… One new in box still…
There’s a tool sharing program in my neighborhood. You pay like $20 a year for access, and come by, borrow a tool/leave a tool. It’s great as people leave lots of big tools sitting around doing nothing.
I want that for computer parts and wires.
Lets pool our ps/2 keyboard adapters and VGA cords together!
You’ve already got a decent business name for it (minus the “@slrpnk.net” part)!
Neighbourtools. But with fewer vowles
Nghbrtls
Less, not none. The U has to stay to appease the UK regulatory boards.
Fewer
Nghbrtlsy
It needs a catchy theme song. Something like:
Neeeighbour tools…
Everybody needs good neeeighbour toolsand then I don’t know, a saxaphone or something
There is a long running tv drama called Neighbours in Australia. Should just re use that one.
I used to watch that show everyday after school. I still vividly remember the theme song.
Neighbours in Australia, yeah!
Coming at ya like a man on fire
Libby and Harold and all the rest
Come and get it all of your chest, yeah!That’s not the one I remember, but I may be getting it mixed up with home and away. It has been almost 15 years since I have seen the show.
I’ve heard home and away has gone to shit recently but I don’t actually watch it because it doesn’t interest me
Home and Away also had a kickass theme:
We’ve never been that long together
You and Fred, and Eva, and Heather
No matter who you are
You’re not shy you starAnd the very first moment I sold you
I never felt such a motion
I’m walll-kiiiiing oh nair
Just a gnome (just a gnome)
You were deeaaad (you were deeaad)
Australian here, too many words
It’ll sound of from what I remember the song sounding like but I don’t actually watch it and have only heard it a few times on TV
Neighbourhood Tools
I refactor the box every year because there are usually some new cables.
Some simple empirical rules:
- keep the shorter cables
- maximum of 3 cables of the same type: for donating, for lending, for spare
- USB cables that can transfer data > USB cables that don’t transfer data
- no damaged cables
- store long cables as coils (tied up tight)
- store short cables in bunches (tied up tight)
- should be sorted and grouped into categories
- box should be sealed, but aired out once in a while (outgassing)
Wait, there are USB cables that don’t transfer data? What do they do then, charge only?
Yup. Notorious with usb c cables. Lots of battery powered tools give you a cable that only works for charging, and looks the exact same. I guess you could test the cable and mark them as charge only, but it’s a hassle
I’ve got a USB-c cable that can charge and transfer data at high speeds… But ask it to transfer display data to a screen and it won’t do a thing.
The USB-c standard is a nightmare… While having the same port for everything sounds like a decent idea to reduce waste, not every product requires the full spec. Maybe mandatory labeling (like some companies are doing already) would be a solution, but it’s rather late to start with that now.
4 will solve some of this, and bring it up to a minimum usable standard generally, hopefuly we can use the numbers arms race to eliminate some of the bullshit being pulled
USB A to C maybe, but C to C cannot work without data. To me MicroUSB was notorious for that. At this point all my micro USB cables that I have left don’t do data because I’ve given away, or worn out/broke all the ones that did data.
Now I just have a bunch of USB C to ___ adapters. Right now on my desk I have a USB C to Micro, Micro to USB C (just in case) and a USB C to lightning adapter all stuck together.
Yep. Very annoying in some cases.
Just be sure to not damage cables with plastic zip ties or other things that crimp the wires inside.
Wait why does the box need to be closed?
To avoid the collection of cables growing?
So, don’t leave male and female cables alone in a dark box!
To avoid dust.
To not ever let them escape
Less degradation of the plastic maybe? Idk
I think so. Keeps the insulation from dry rotting.
Keeping it closed also means that you don’t have to breathe it in (and prevents dust from getting in).
but what if I like the smell like a steam deck vent
Get your hormone levels checked once in a while.
hormones? Yeah he do :)
So that the cables don’t get covered in humid air and dust which sticks to them and forms a grime (with bonus added chemicals from the plastics).
I bundle my cables and put them in ziplock bags by type. I bought a whole spool of twist tie wire with it’s own built in cutter. I also keep a bag with damaged cables because sometimes I make my own custom cables or just need some scrap wire.
My wife had her finger nail grinder break and it turned out to be the power adapter. It was an obscure 9.6V. guess who had it in my box.
She still complains about my box, but that night she complained a little less.
What’s a finger nail grinder?
It’s like a grinder, but for fingernails
Do you wear eye protection when using it?
Bro… full hazmat!
You can save on that by just using pre-ground!
She uses this demenel looking grinding tool to remove gel nail. She likes doing pedicures herself.
Voltage fluctuates. You could put 9v into it and it will be just fine. Hell you can probably put 12v into it and it will be fine. I have a switch at work that only exists to split one ethernet cable into two, and it’s rated for either 5 or 9v, but I’m using a 12v power supply on it and it’s just fine because it’s power conversion is rated for well over that (I think 16v max).
Disclaimer: don’t blindly put higher voltage into a device rated for a much lower voltage. 9v devices will usually tolerate 12v, but not all.
Ya, I run 18V for for my kid’s 12V power wheel and he can drift with it now.
Vindication of the box is better than cocaine.
Amen brothuh
Been there, done that…tossed the hd with crypto…
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On a hard drive? I remember a bunch of people messing around with bitcoin when it was new, relatively unknown and considered a niche nerd thing. There were online competitions with money prizes where the “last winner” (eg. third place) would win like one bitcoin.
Fast forward 15 years and the stuff you mined for fun in high school and forgot about on some dusty old computer is worth thousands of dollars.
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Honestly, I kind of wish crypto hadn’t gone to shit with the whole speculation thing… It was just this fun thing where obscure websites would let you buy random shit for laughs sometimes. Then suddenly investors had to try making money off something with no inherent value and ruined it :/
If anyone here has that problem I can solve it for you
Last move, I collected all cables in a one HUGE box.
After the majority of the unpacking (like I’ll ever finish that) was completed, I sat down with the box and sorted out all the cables.
I kept a sane amount of each cable, at least one and trashed the rest.
I now have half a dozen labeled sterelite dollar store organizers with the cables in them.
add it to your bucket list…
I organized all my cables into like types and put them in gallon sized plastic bags to prevent all that intertangling, at least nominally. I still hardly go into that box though. It’s still a pain in the ass, just less of one.
LPT: intertangeling only happens when cables are looped. Just put them together linke you would crumble a piece of paper and put them in your bottles. No more intertangeling
Same, except I kept all of each kind that have potential use, and set aside any that are technologically obsolete by over two decades so I could throw them out.
That box is still on the shelf as well …
I did this last time I was unemployed. Garage is super organized now
I store all mine in a closet door shoe keeper. Each pocket is 1 type. And I keep as many as will fit in that pocket except for a few special things I keep a ton of. PC power cables, Current USB, HDMI/DP
No one f’ing dare touch my box of obscure cables and stupid converters I’ll probably never use !
Thanks, J. Walter Weatherman!
Bro I literally just used 2 of my cables from the cable box today. Never giving that up.
Microcenter is the answer. But never ever give up the box. One day you may need to daisychain VGA to DVI to HDMI through a series of adapters.
Only a very lucky few live near a Microcenter.
The rest are a 8-16 hour drive away from one.
I miss Radioshack. Old radioshack, not the “Come in and buy a smart phone and toys” radioshack.
As a hobbyist in the 80s, RadioShack was a tinkerer’s play space. I miss those days.
They opened up a MC by me about a year ago.
I was returning an item last weekend and the employee made a comment on how many times I’ve been there haha.
Microcenters cables and adapters are outrageously expensive, and at least the one near me has the least useful supply of shit.
This is natures way of punishing you for defiling and disrespecting the box.
The Box should always be kept, and respected, lest it bring ruin to your household.
So, so true. And yet my wife questions the merits of my vast attic collection. I shall tell her later how I discovered that the Internet agrees with me.
Work at retirement home doing tech. My drawer has grown to a closet of old cords.
It pays off weekly. Too many people with too many different generations of tech. Never know what you’ll run into.
Old Person (on deathbed): “This disk contains my entire life’s work, I want you to take it.”
many years later, playing in park
“Daddy, where did you get this weird frisbee?”
“Dunno. Some old guy wanted me to have it.”The magnavox tv on the shelf makes it not that far off lmao
Umph.
Gut shot.
I guess I hadn’t had a bad enough Dad joke this week.
Starting to speak in tongues, give thanks unto Jesus my brethren
A few months ago I FINALLY organized my cluttered box of miscellaneous technology and cables into one of those plastic bin drawers with wheels. I now know what I have and can keep it all fairly organized. Found some stuff I could’ve thrown out, but this post just told me not to. So thanks!
I still have my 5 1/4 inch floppy drive in a box. At some point someone or some company will need it desperately and I can fund my retirement
Look for aviation maintenance businesses, you might get a good price. Testing equipment never gets upgraded, just replaced. intel 386 32MHz with a 5 1/4 floppy and Windows 3.1 is pure gold.
OMG! I was just about to throw away a box of “cables” I’ve been accruing since college. My wife has been complaining about these cables that never get used. I think I’m going to have to hold off now. Thanks for the warning!
