The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

re: The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Gabe — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:29:45 GMT

Brian_EE: I'll let you fight it out with my wife.

She uses a ladle because you can leave it in the batter without the handle getting covered. Every pancake she makes is a different size and batter drips all over the stove.

As for the chicken coop, I'm sure she'd love to see your BOM for one of a similar size and quality that costs less than $200.

Additionally, you seem to be unaware of the concept of "opportunity cost". Even if I have the skills to do something doesn't mean I have the time or wherewithall. It's quite likely that I'd rather spend my time playing with my children or tending my chickens than sourcing lumber and sawing it.

And even if I have the skills, time, and wherewithall, I may not have the tools or experience to be able to do it nearly as well. That's why even people who know how to cook still go to restaurants, and people who know how to program still use premade software.

re: The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Brian_EE — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:33:06 GMT

@Gabe: It is as ridiculous as it sounds. The reason is that you already dirtied the measuring cups to measure the ingredients in the batter. You just use the correct one that puts in the right amount for your waffle iron (and you figure this out after the first time you use it, having that knowledge forever more). Cheap and one less thing to wash.

Also, people who would pay $600 for a chicken coop are the ones who will be first to die off when the apocalypse happens, as they apparently don't have the skills to build something for themselves out of next-to-nothing, costing next-to-nothing. You should be able to build a coop of that size (from new materials no-less) for less than $200.

re: The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

GWO — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:53:44 GMT

@Neil: That was my thought too... And by the standards of some "luxury" Christmas crackers, $30 for a dozen is nowhere near the top end. <a href="www.harrods.com/.../000000000002794100 have a set at £599 for a half-dozen</a>.

(Personally, we go for the £2 a dozen Asda-own-brand, because we really want paper hats that tear too easily, plastic mini-bowling sets and fish that tell us our emotional state)

re: The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Gabe — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:17:53 GMT

As ridiculous as it sounds, not every item is as ridiculous as it sounds. For example, the waffle batter dispenser is probably quite useful for making uniformly sized pancakes (and you'd probably use the same batter). And $600 for a chicken coop is almost downright cheap.

[I'm pretty sure the waffle batter dispenser is really a pancake batter dispenser incorrectly marketed. It's pretty pointless as a waffle batter dispenser, because the waffle iron does the shaping and portion control for you. And portion control is actually counter-productive because you will just underfill or overfill the waffle iron. -Raymond]

re: The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Neil — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 12:20:18 GMT

Do you guys not normally have Christmas crackers?

re: The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

AsmGuru62 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:36:09 GMT

Oh, My! I so-o-o needed a break from tracing a multithreaded bug.

Good laugh.

re: The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Robin Williams — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:48:57 GMT

Brilliant! Thanks for the chuckle, Raymond.

I'm thinking of changing my surname now, for disassociation purposes.