Seemingly trivial things that elicit an emotional response of some kind

[AuroraSaab]

Is the reason that tablets can't be in paper blister packs just to do with shelf life? ie moisture resistance. Or is it so you can see the tablet through the plastic and are therefore less likely to take the wrong meds? It does seem like something where the recycling could be improved in a practical sense but maybe the downsides aren't worth it.

 

[laurentian]

I wish local pharmacies could offer the same (mine doesn't - I asked). I'd be interested in the actual costs/advantages (if any) of recycling a messy mixture of plastic and metal, or whether it's more of a marketing gimmick (given that it's Boots-specific).

I think it would be better if they minimised materials in the first place.

It's not "Boots specific" - there's a recycling point for this in the village where I live and I believe they are also at some supermarkets

 

[First Aspect]

I am getting increasingly annoyed with technology. I snapped up a smart trainer about a week before lockdown in 2020, and therefore about a week before they tripled in price.

In my brain, this is recent. The trainer now won't work with Zwift or MyWhoosh because they updated their physics engines in 2024 and the trainer can't react fast enough. I think I used it for two maybe three winters, not that much.

Together with the new (to me) laptop I needed to even run the software with anything more than Money for Nothing standard graphics, I might as well have joined a gym.

These are arguably first world issues.

 

[First Aspect]

And I should add that I'm doing this to avoid basically spending the entire winter with wet clothes from the day before, and churning though chains, cassettes and bottom brackets in my efforts to avoid A-roads. However, I still need to replace at least three chains, two cassettes and a bottom bracket because I'm such a lazy bastard when it comes to bike maintenance.

AND one or my shifters had a failure that nearly killed me by jamming the brake lever. So I had to replace those as well.

So far, I've spent in one month about the cost of 1/5th of a new bike, whereas cycling should be free.

 

[First Aspect]

And a much abused winter wheelset needed replacing because the freewheel broke, but not before stranding me. That only lasted about 10 years, which is a disgrace.

Did I mention my MOT yet?

Or that I dropped my phone?

 

[PurplePenguin]

People always say that by cycling to work I am saving money, but I don't think they appreciate my charge out rate to myself for bike repairs.

 

[briantrumpet]

It's not "Boots specific" - there's a recycling point for this in the village where I live and I believe they are also at some supermarkets

I suspect it's barely worth it, if at all, and so the minimisation of materials is the most useful mitigation. I think it's probably one of those things that is mostly aimed at an emotional warm feeling of thinking one's doing something meaningful to reduce waste, whereas in fact the net effect is minimal, if looked at in the round (a bit like paper/plastic bags).

 

[C R]

Is the reason that tablets can't be in paper blister packs just to do with shelf life? ie moisture resistance. Or is it so you can see the tablet through the plastic and are therefore less likely to take the wrong meds? It does seem like something where the recycling could be improved in a practical sense but maybe the downsides aren't worth it.

Protection from the environment. Both paper and polymers are gas permeable. Tablet and capsule blisters are tend to have a metallic coating to reduce gas ingress. Transparency is not a requirement, not all blister packs are transparent, and in cases where the tablet or capsule contains photosensitive materials the blister pack will be fully opaque.

 

[briantrumpet]

So far, I've spent in one month about the cost of 1/5th of a new bike, whereas cycling should be free.

Is that what the mean by 'freecycle'?

 

[farfromtheland]

My Thinkpad A31p with Corel Draw does graphics!

 

[First Aspect]

My Thinkpad A31p with Corel Draw does graphics!

I suspect that the antivirus on that isn't fully supported any more.

 

[farfromtheland]

I suspect that the antivirus on that isn't fully supported any more.

It is. Great XP community out there.
I also have WiseVectorStopX off a Computer World mag cd BTW.

 

[First Aspect]

It is! Great XP community out there.
I also have WiseVectorStopX off a Computer World mag cd BTW.

I still have the laptop I wrote my PhD on, which I bought in 2000 (optimistically early, it turns out). And several we've had since then. I daren't turn them on in case a Russian spy crawls out of the screen.

 

[farfromtheland]

I still have the laptop I wrote my PhD on, which I bought in 2000 (optimistically early, it turns out). And several we've had since then. I daren't turn them on in case a Russian spy crawls out of the screen.

Sadly, I sold my Mackintosh Powerbook OS 7.5 that ran Photoshop 3, but to a sound worker to hook up with their AKAI sampler, so that's ok.

 

[First Aspect]

Sadly, I sold my Mackintosh Powerbook OS 7.5 that ran Photoshop 3, but to a sound worker to hook up with their AKAI sampler, so that's ok.

Do you still own one of these? -