Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the
bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
Wow !
Memory chip production redirection surely
plays its part - but beyond even that ...
A 2-Zero is SUPPOSED to be the next thing
to electronic NOTHING. What the fuck has
happened ???
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just theI bought a Pi Zero (non-W) for -u7.58 + tax + p&p = -u13.60 the other
bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
Wow !
Memory chip production redirection surely plays its part - but beyond
even that ...
A 2-Zero is SUPPOSED to be the next thing to electronic NOTHING. What
the fuck has happened ???
c186282 wrote:
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
https://www.amazon.com/SANOOV-Raspberry-Aluminum-Heatsink-HDMI-USB/dp/ B0FX3SCP5F
$78 with a heat sink and a couple of adapters. The price history graph
isn't the greatest but it looks like about $30 in March. Then it took off, gaining $14 in the last 30 days.
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the
bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
Wow !
Memory chip production redirection surely
plays its part - but beyond even that ...
A 2-Zero is SUPPOSED to be the next thing
to electronic NOTHING. What the fuck has
happened ???
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the
bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
Wow !
Memory chip production redirection surely
plays its part - but beyond even that ...
A 2-Zero is SUPPOSED to be the next thing
to electronic NOTHING. What the fuck has
happened ???
[added comp.sys.raspberry-pi]
Still 16,93 euro at this Dutch shop <https://www.kiwi-electronics.com/nl/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-10770?search=pi%20zero%202w>According to <https://rpilocator.com> they had stock yesterday, or are
But...
1. not available atm
rbowman wrote:
c186282 wrote:
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
https://www.amazon.com/SANOOV-Raspberry-Aluminum-Heatsink-HDMI-USB/dp/
B0FX3SCP5F
$78 with a heat sink and a couple of adapters. The price history graph
isn't the greatest but it looks like about $30 in March. Then it took
off,
gaining $14 in the last 30 days.
Find a better place to buy? I see them from $15 at digikey in the USA
<https://rpilocator.com/?country=US&cat=PIZERO2>
Someone is gouging because of the shortage
Andy Burns wrote:
Find a better place to buy? I see them from $15 at digikey in the USA
<https://rpilocator.com/?country=US&cat=PIZERO2>
If you go to DigiKey's site you'll find there are 0 in stock. There is a 'check lead time' option that says they will be available 6/7/2027.
I've seen this in the early '80s when lead times were a year or more.
Before starting a design you researched what you could buy. Motorola was particularly bad as they responded to increased demand in the automotive industry as cars became more sophisticated.
The Amazon pricing probably reflects a vendor who has stock on hand and is gouging for all they're worth, or should I say responding to the law of supply and demand.
The problem is if Part B is designed in because of temporary shortage of
Part A, there is little future incentive to go back to Part A.
c186282 wrote:
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just theI bought a Pi Zero (non-W) for -u7.58 + tax + p&p = -u13.60 the other
bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
week, from a distributor.-a They have the Zero 2W for -u11.37 + tax + p&p
On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 00:53:21 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
Wow !
Memory chip production redirection surely plays its part - but beyond
even that ...
A 2-Zero is SUPPOSED to be the next thing to electronic NOTHING. What
the fuck has happened ???
https://www.howtogeek.com/the-raspberry-pis-reign-is-quietly-ending/
The Canakit link shows the bare board as sold out.
https://www.amazon.com/SANOOV-Raspberry-Aluminum-Heatsink-HDMI-USB/dp/ B0FX3SCP5F
$78 with a heat sink and a couple of adapters. The price history graph
isn't the greatest but it looks like about $30 in March. Then it took off, gaining $14 in the last 30 days.
[added comp.sys.raspberry-pi]
On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 00:53:21 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the
bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
Wow !
Memory chip production redirection surely
plays its part - but beyond even that ...
A 2-Zero is SUPPOSED to be the next thing
to electronic NOTHING. What the fuck has
happened ???
Still 16,93 euro at this Dutch shop <https://www.kiwi-electronics.com/nl/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-10770?search=pi%20zero%202w>
These prices will alienate US customers rather badly - 300 million of
them. PIs are no longer an 'affordable' path to anything.
On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 08:45:04 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:ust
rbowman wrote:
c186282 wrote:
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just the bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
https://www.amazon.com/SANOOV-Raspberry-Aluminum-Heatsink-HDMI-USB/dp/
B0FX3SCP5F
$78 with a heat sink and a couple of adapters. The price history graph
isn't the greatest but it looks like about $30 in March. Then it took
off,
gaining $14 in the last 30 days.
Find a better place to buy? I see them from $15 at digikey in the USA
<https://rpilocator.com/?country=US&cat=PIZERO2>
If you go to DigiKey's site you'll find there are 0 in stock. There is a 'check lead time' option that says they will be available 6/7/2027.
On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 11:24:47 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Someone is gouging because of the shortage
Capitalism, old boy.
problem. Nixon tried wage and price controls after the oil embargo
disrupted the economy. Poor old Jimmy got handed the bag'o'shit when the controls were removed. The Dems really should have handed the mess to Ford and played a long game.
rbowman wrote:
Andy Burns wrote:
Find a better place to buy?-a I see them from $15 at digikey in the USA
<https://rpilocator.com/?country=US&cat=PIZERO2>
If you go to DigiKey's site you'll find there are 0 in stock. There is a
'check lead time' option that says they will be available 6/7/2027.
I did, but the locator site said they had stock yesterday, not sure if
they actually did or not?-a I did manage to buy a zero a couple of weeks
ago within the UK (both non-W and 2W were available at that time, I specifically didn't want a 2W)
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:47:56 -0400, c186282 wrote:
These prices will alienate US customers rather badly - 300 million of
them. PIs are no longer an 'affordable' path to anything.
I have no idea how many Pi users aren't doing anything with the GPIO capabilities and are using the Pi as a cheap board for PiHole, a NAS
server, or other things that only need a Linux box. As the article I
posted points out when you can buy a cheap mini that will do the job and comes with a case, heat sink, fan, and standard HDMI/USB connections the
Pi loses it's shine.
I am using the Pi to read a DHT11 sensor but I could certainly use one of
the Linux boxes with a Pico hung off a USB port.
It's interesting the Arduino Uno Q formalizes that architecture with the
MCU soldered to the bottom and a Cortex-A MPU on top.
-a As you're quoting BRIT currency ...
-a But once the units are offered in USA and
-a maybe others ... MASSIVE price increase.
-a DID try an "Orange PI" ... it was NOT really
-a "compatible" though. Could FORCE it to kind-
-a of work ... but ......
The problem is if Part B is designed in because of temporary shortage of
Part A, there is little future incentive to go back to Part A.
On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 11:24:47 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Someone is gouging because of the shortage
Capitalism, old boy. Whatever the market will bear. It is rather a
problem. Nixon tried wage and price controls after the oil embargo
disrupted the economy. Poor old Jimmy got handed the bag'o'shit when the controls were removed. The Dems really should have handed the mess to Ford and played a long game.
rbowman wrote:
Andy Burns wrote:
Find a better place to buy?-a I see them from $15 at digikey in the USA
<https://rpilocator.com/?country=US&cat=PIZERO2>
If you go to DigiKey's site you'll find there are 0 in stock. There is a
'check lead time' option that says they will be available 6/7/2027.
I did, but the locator site said they had stock yesterday, not sure if
they actually did or not?-a I did manage to buy a zero a couple of weeks
ago within the UK (both non-W and 2W were available at that time, I specifically didn't want a 2W)
I've seen this in the early '80s when lead times were a year or more.
Before starting a design you researched what you could buy. Motorola was
particularly bad as they responded to increased demand in the automotive
industry as cars became more sophisticated.
The Amazon pricing probably reflects a vendor who has stock on hand
and is
gouging for all they're worth, or should I say responding to the law of
supply and demand.
If you look at the feedback of the marketplace supplier, there 1 star reviews from people calling them cunts, so I'd probably avoid ...
The problem is if Part B is designed in because of temporary shortage of
Part A, there is little future incentive to go back to Part A.
As someone mentioned maybe Ukraine and/or Russia are buying them up?
My hope is that big-AI realises it's not making profits and gives up, no doubt a second wave would step-in thinking they could do better ...
On 8/4/26 02:52, Andy Burns wrote:
c186282 wrote:
Just checked. $79 USD on Amazon. Just theI bought a Pi Zero (non-W) for -u7.58 + tax + p&p = -u13.60 the other
bare board, no accessories.
Weren't these things supposed to be under $10 ???
week, from a distributor.-a They have the Zero 2W for -u11.37 + tax + p&p
-a As you're quoting BRIT currency ...
-a But once the units are offered in USA and
-a maybe others ... MASSIVE price increase.
-a This is not sustainable. Not gonna buy ANY
-a PIs again anytime soon. This is 300 million
-a or more customers GONE.
c186282 wrote:
-a-a As you're quoting BRIT currency ...
-a-a But once the units are offered in USA and
-a-a maybe others ... MASSIVE price increase.
Nothing stopping you from buying from a UK seller (if they have stock)
what tariffs get applied at your end, who knows?
What I saw was BARE BOARD - no 'accessories'.
-a These prices will alienate US customers rather
-a badly - 300 million of them. PIs are no longer
-a an 'affordable' path to anything.
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 00:47:56 -0400, c186282 wrote:
These prices will alienate US customers rather badly - 300 million of
them. PIs are no longer an 'affordable' path to anything.
I have no idea how many Pi users aren't doing anything with the GPIO capabilities and are using the Pi as a cheap board for PiHole, a NAS
server, or other things that only need a Linux box. As the article I
posted points out when you can buy a cheap mini that will do the job and comes with a case, heat sink, fan, and standard HDMI/USB connections the
Pi loses it's shine.
I am using the Pi to read a DHT11 sensor but I could certainly use one of
the Linux boxes with a Pico hung off a USB port.
It's interesting the Arduino Uno Q formalizes that architecture with the
MCU soldered to the bottom and a Cortex-A MPU on top.
c186282 wrote:
-a-a DID try an "Orange PI" ... it was NOT really
-a-a "compatible" though. Could FORCE it to kind-
-a-a of work ... but ......
All the banana/orange pis are at a disadvantage they just don't have the level of support that raspberry have behind them.
Blame King Donald's import taxes.
And its isolationist stance.
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier. The transport, import duty, VAT and handling charges doubled that.
'Shipping & Handling' has always been a killer on small orders. Amazon quietly factors them in for Prime orders but it's still better than
DigiKey for example.
afaik Trump has not control over UK's import duty or VAT. Talk to Burnham
or the PM of the moment.
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 12:04:41 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Blame King Donald's import taxes.
And its isolationist stance.
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier. The
transport, import duty, VAT and handling charges doubled that.
'Shipping & Handling' has always been a killer on small orders. Amazon quietly factors them in for Prime orders but it's still better than
DigiKey for example.
afaik Trump has not control over UK's import duty or VAT. Talk to Burnham
or the PM of the moment.
On 8/4/26 09:04, s|b wrote:
Still 16,93 euro at this Dutch shop <https://www.kiwi-electronics.com/nl/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-10770?search=pi%20zero%202w>
Only interested in US prices.
rbowman wrote:
'Shipping & Handling' has always been a killer on small orders. Amazon
quietly factors them in for Prime orders but it's still better than
DigiKey for example.
afaik Trump has not control over UK's import duty or VAT. Talk to Burnham
or the PM of the moment.
I think import duty on electronic components (like a Pi) is 0%, it'll attract VAT at 20% but that's the same as if I bought one from a local shop.-a If the total value is over -u135 the post office (or equivalent)
is likely to charge a fee for collecting any vat+duty ...
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 01:53:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
On 8/4/26 09:04, s|b wrote:
Still 16,93 euro at this Dutch shop
<https://www.kiwi-electronics.com/nl/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-10770?search=pi%20zero%202w>
Only interested in US prices.
They do international shipping and you can change the language on the
website to English. But hey, if you want to stick with Amazon and make
Bezos even richer than he already is...
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 01:53:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
On 8/4/26 09:04, s|b wrote:
Still 16,93 euro at this Dutch shop
<https://www.kiwi-electronics.com/nl/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-10770?search=pi%20zero%202w>
Only interested in US prices.
They do international shipping and you can change the language on the
website to English. But hey, if you want to stick with Amazon and make
Bezos even richer than he already is...
On 05/08/2026 18:47, s|b wrote:
re4 13,99 ex VAT
And out of stock
The point is almost NO one has Pi zeros AT ALL right now. The price is irrelevant
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 18:57:11 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/08/2026 18:47, s|b wrote:
re4 13,99 ex VAT
That's what the site says, but the price you pay would be VAT included.
AFAIK only business owners can buy ex VAT (in a Dutch shop).
And out of stock
That's what I said. They expect to have new ones by Oct 2026, but who
knows? (There's a button to get a notification when they're available
again.)
The point is almost NO one has Pi zeros AT ALL right now. The price is
irrelevant
The OP is about the price, so I tend to disagree. I did however forgot 2 things: tariffs and the power supply. That would have to be bought in
the US. I have no clue what effect tariffs would have since Drumpf
changes his mind like every 5 minutes on this.
That's what I said. They expect to have new ones by Oct 2026, but who
knows? (There's a button to get a notification when they're available
again.)
On 05/08/2026 05:45, c186282 wrote:
As you're quoting BRIT currency ...
But once the units are offered in USA and
maybe others ... MASSIVE price increase.
Blame King Donald's import taxes.
And its isolationist stance.
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier.
The transport, import duty, VAT and handling charges doubled that.
I can import small stuff from china with none of that.
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 18:57:11 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/08/2026 18:47, s|b wrote:
re4 13,99 ex VAT
That's what the site says, but the price you pay would be VAT included.
AFAIK only business owners can buy ex VAT (in a Dutch shop).
And out of stock
That's what I said. They expect to have new ones by Oct 2026, but who
knows? (There's a button to get a notification when they're available
again.)
The point is almost NO one has Pi zeros AT ALL right now. The price is
irrelevant
The OP is about the price, so I tend to disagree. I did however forgot 2 things: tariffs and the power supply. That would have to be bought in
the US. I have no clue what effect tariffs would have since Drumpf
changes his mind like every 5 minutes on this.
On Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:14:34 +0200, s|b wrote:
That's what I said. They expect to have new ones by Oct 2026, but who knows? (There's a button to get a notification when they're available again.)
DigiKey isn't that optimistic. They're saying sometime next year.
PSUs are generic
But Pi zeros are unobtanium right now, except at silly money
I can wait. I think I have a spare one somewhere
Hey, was JUST SAYIN' ... the ridiculous price
was what I saw on US Amazon the other day.
Pi0s were supposed to be DIRT CHEAP - now
they're "exotic", EXPENSIVE, tech. This is
not all 'tariffs' either. Pi stuff was always
way over-priced if you bought it in the USA.
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 02:22:11 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Hey, was JUST SAYIN' ... the ridiculous price
was what I saw on US Amazon the other day.
Pi0s were supposed to be DIRT CHEAP - now
they're "exotic", EXPENSIVE, tech. This is
not all 'tariffs' either. Pi stuff was always
way over-priced if you bought it in the USA.
Point taken.
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 19:49:58 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
PSUs are generic
But Pi zeros are unobtanium right now, except at silly money
I can wait. I think I have a spare one somewhere
'unobtanium', I love it when I learn a new word/expression. If I could
only remember it, so I can use it myself some day. (-:
I did a quick search yesterday and found 2 Dutch and 2 Belgian stores
that still had them in stock for under 20 euro. But those were Zero W,
not Zero 2 W. I didn't check if they shipped internationally, probably
not, so they're of no use to many people here.
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 05/08/2026 05:45, c186282 wrote:
As you're quoting BRIT currency ...
But once the units are offered in USA and
maybe others ... MASSIVE price increase.
Blame King Donald's import taxes.
And its isolationist stance.
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier.
The transport, import duty, VAT and handling charges doubled that.
I can import small stuff from china with none of that.
I guess you actually believe the postage quotes on sites like
AliExpress then?
In that case I'll bet some Chinese seller there
has a RPi Zero for something like $10, but with $60 for delivery,
while another has one for $60 and $10 delivery. Pick the deal that
looks best to you!
True most companies in the USA do want at least twice as much to
send things to me in Australia as it costs me to send things to the
USA. But it's not half as bad as the UK where the costs often start
at over $100 to send anything to Aus these days. Though I guess
because many UK/USA companies insist on only sending international
orders by courier for some reason. Courier services can be
expensive from China as well. Most couriers now just hand over to
the local postal service once the parcel reaches Aus so I still
have to drive to town to pick the thing up from the post office
myself anyway.
On the up side, thanks to the Aus government's weak attempt at
taxing imports you often skip having to pay GST (though AliExpress,
and sometimes Ebay, charge it). The UK used to be almost as weak on
that too, but like the EU they're copying the USA now and
tightening up on it. Trump has shown the world how to tax imports
more effectively (after a massive amount of initial disruption), if
that's something to be proud of...
Ummmm ... NEVER buy from Ali ...
On 8/5/26 14:14, s|b wrote:
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 18:57:11 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/08/2026 18:47, s|b wrote:
re4 13,99 ex VAT
That's what the site says, but the price you pay would be VAT included.
AFAIK only business owners can buy ex VAT (in a Dutch shop).
And out of stock
That's what I said. They expect to have new ones by Oct 2026, but who
knows? (There's a button to get a notification when they're available
again.)
The point is almost NO one has Pi zeros AT ALL right now. The price is
irrelevant
The OP is about the price, so I tend to disagree. I did however forgot 2
things: tariffs and the power supply. That would have to be bought in
the US. I have no clue what effect tariffs would have since Drumpf
changes his mind like every 5 minutes on this.
-a Hey, was JUST SAYIN' ... the ridiculous price
-a was what I saw on US Amazon the other day.
-a Pi0s were supposed to be DIRT CHEAP - now
-a they're "exotic", EXPENSIVE, tech.
This is
-a not all 'tariffs' either. Pi stuff was always
-a way over-priced if you bought it in the USA.
On 05/08/2026 14:56, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 12:04:41 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Blame King Donald's import taxes.
And its isolationist stance.
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier. The
transport, import duty, VAT-a and handling charges doubled that.
'Shipping & Handling' has always been a killer on small orders. Amazon
quietly factors them in for Prime orders but it's still better than
DigiKey for example.
afaik Trump has not control over UK's import duty or VAT. Talk to Burnham
or the PM of the moment.
Well in a way it has. China has an (unspoken?) arrangement that as long
as VAT is paid - and Aliexpress does that - stuff get posted over really cheap on massive shipments that get split up and reposted in the
destination country and there are no 'big beautiful tariffs' on it at all.
China wants to export. USA does not. USA does not want to import either. *shrug* you voted for it.
On 06/08/2026 07:22, c186282 wrote:
-a Hey, was JUST SAYIN' ... the ridiculous price
-a was what I saw on US Amazon the other day.
-a Pi0s were supposed to be DIRT CHEAP - now
-a they're "exotic", EXPENSIVE, tech.
No. They are just in very short supply
This is
-a not all 'tariffs' either. Pi stuff was always
-a way over-priced if you bought it in the USA.
Then buy it direct from the UK!
On 2026-08-05 19:46, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Well in a way it has. China has an (unspoken?) arrangement that as
long as VAT is paid - and Aliexpress does that - stuff get posted over
really cheap on massive shipments that get split up and reposted in
the destination country and there are no 'big beautiful tariffs' on it
at all.
There is a new tariff on import of small Chinese items here.
To be fair, 'merkins do have tariffs and import fees and whatnot to worry about these days. It's not as simple for them as it is for us.
On 06/08/2026 14:14, Theo wrote:
To be fair, 'merkins do have tariffs and import fees and whatnot to worry
about these days.-a It's not as simple for them as it is for us.
I wonder what would happen if (once available again) you bought 1000 Pi zeros in the UK, put them in a suitcase and flew home with them, and
then sold them on Ebay...
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 19:49:58 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
PSUs are generic But Pi zeros are unobtanium right now, except at silly
money
I can wait. I think I have a spare one somewhere
'unobtanium', I love it when I learn a new word/expression. If I could
only remember it, so I can use it myself some day. (-:
On 06/08/2026 13:34, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2026-08-05 19:46, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Well in a way it has. China has an (unspoken?) arrangement that as
long as VAT is paid - and Aliexpress does that - stuff get posted over
really cheap on massive shipments that get split up and reposted in
the destination country and there are no 'big beautiful tariffs' on it
at all.
There is a new tariff on import of small Chinese items here.
So glad to be out of the EU and into the free trade area of 'the rest of
the world'
Food from Africa, South America, components from China. White goods and electronics from SE Asia...
On 5 Aug 2026 22:03:21 GMT, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:14:34 +0200, s|b wrote:
That's what I said. They expect to have new ones by Oct 2026, but who
knows? (There's a button to get a notification when they're available
again.)
DigiKey isn't that optimistic. They're saying sometime next year.
Yesterday, I did a quick search for Raspberry Pi Zero and found 2 Dutch
and 2 Belgian stores who still had them in stock and sold them under 20
euro. Just saying...
I was in Boston on business a short time after my house got burgled and
my CD collection stolen. I filled my suitcase with replacement CDs at
2/3rd the price of the UK...
On 06/08/2026 14:14, Theo wrote:
To be fair, 'merkins do have tariffs and import fees and whatnot to
worry about these days. It's not as simple for them as it is for us.
I wonder what would happen if (once available again) you bought 1000 Pi
zeros in the UK, put them in a suitcase and flew home with them, and
then sold them on Ebay...
On 06/08/2026 13:34, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2026-08-05 19:46, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
So glad to be out of the EU and into the free trade area of 'the rest ofWell in a way it has. China has an (unspoken?) arrangement that as
long as VAT is paid - and Aliexpress does that - stuff get posted over
really cheap on massive shipments that get split up and reposted in
the destination country and there are no 'big beautiful tariffs' on it
at all.
There is a new tariff on import of small Chinese items here.
the world'
Food from Africa, South America, components from China. White goods and electronics from SE Asia...
On 06/08/2026 07:25, c186282 wrote:
Ummmm ... NEVER buy from Ali ...
ALWAYS buy from Ali. Just never again discrete semiconductors or
obsolete chips....
Trump still thinks that isolation is possible or even desirable in the
21st century
'Unobtanium' is a device that exists but you can't buy at the present
time. The Zero is a current example. In the early '80s vendors were
quoting similar lead times of over a year on commodity chips. That, in
part, impacted IBM's PC design.
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 12:57:46 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
I was in Boston on business a short time after my house got burgled and
my CD collection stolen. I filled my suitcase with replacement CDs at
2/3rd the price of the UK...
The tax man must have missed your collection. I returned from a Canadian
site where I'd been setting up a system and had my toolbox, including a
few octal relays in case I had to replace any. The relays were Japanese
and I did not have proof that they had been purchased in the US so they charged me the import duty.
The customs officers were being pricks. US and Canadian relations have
been mixed far before Trump. When the countries are in a pissing contest citizens crossing the borer bear the brunt. I was next to a guy clearing
the Canadian side. He was a shoe salesman with his sample case. They
nailed him for the duty even though he pointed out they were all left foot shoes.
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 14:16:37 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 13:34, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2026-08-05 19:46, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Well in a way it has. China has an (unspoken?) arrangement that as
long as VAT is paid - and Aliexpress does that - stuff get posted over >>>> really cheap on massive shipments that get split up and reposted in
the destination country and there are no 'big beautiful tariffs' on it >>>> at all.
There is a new tariff on import of small Chinese items here.
So glad to be out of the EU and into the free trade area of 'the rest of
the world'
In Belgium it's 3 euro per item. If you're buying 100 t-shirts, it's 3
euro. If you're buying 100 t-shirts and 50 phone cases, it's 3+3 euro.
If you buy 1 t-shirt and 1 phone case, it's 3+3 euro.
Food from Africa, South America, components from China. White goods and
electronics from SE Asia...
No tariffs?
Meanwhile the EC has fined AliExpress for peddling counterfeit, unsafe, or illegal products. AliExpress replied with 'Unfair to us upstanding Chinese merchants!'.
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 12:55:36 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 07:25, c186282 wrote:
Ummmm ... NEVER buy from Ali ...
ALWAYS buy from Ali. Just never again discrete semiconductors or
obsolete chips....
Your money, your choice. The word on the STM forums is you might as well participate in back alley crap games if you expect your AliExpress Black
or Blue Pill to be other than a pill bug.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidiidae
My family always called them 'cellar bugs'. I don't know if it was the
German influence like calling chives 'Schnittlauch' or because they lived
in the cellar.
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 12:53:46 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:Trump doesn't believe anything really. He is also beyond caring. He just
Trump still thinks that isolation is possible or even desirable in the
21st century
He obviously doesn't believe that or he wouldn't be screwing around in
West Asia.
On 05/08/2026 23:59, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier.
The transport, import duty, VAT and handling charges doubled that.
I can import small stuff from china with none of that.
I guess you actually believe the postage quotes on sites like
AliExpress then?
No need. They have proved to be 100% accurate
In that case I'll bet some Chinese seller thereNope. Ive bought a ton of stuff from Aliexpress. The more usual 'scam'
has a RPi Zero for something like $10, but with $60 for delivery,
while another has one for $60 and $10 delivery. Pick the deal that
looks best to you!
is to advertise say a Pi zero for 80c, but when you go to the page
that's just the plastic case...if you want a PCB and chips with that its
$20 :-)
Another one was for an excavator for $1500 - that turned out to be the deposit on one to be delivered later at a total cost of
$12000...depending on options
True most companies in the USA do want at least twice as much toToo many vendors got their fingers burned sending by international post. Parcels just 'disappeared'
send things to me in Australia as it costs me to send things to the
USA. But it's not half as bad as the UK where the costs often start
at over $100 to send anything to Aus these days. Though I guess
because many UK/USA companies insist on only sending international
orders by courier for some reason. Courier services can be
expensive from China as well. Most couriers now just hand over to
the local postal service once the parcel reaches Aus so I still
have to drive to town to pick the thing up from the post office
myself anyway.
I couriered some documents to my niece in South Africa for just ?20 took
tow days only!
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 14:16:37 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 13:34, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2026-08-05 19:46, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Well in a way it has. China has an (unspoken?) arrangement that as
long as VAT is paid - and Aliexpress does that - stuff get posted over >> >> really cheap on massive shipments that get split up and reposted in
the destination country and there are no 'big beautiful tariffs' on it >> >> at all.
There is a new tariff on import of small Chinese items here.
So glad to be out of the EU and into the free trade area of 'the rest of
the world'
In Belgium it's 3 euro per item. If you're buying 100 t-shirts, it's 3
euro. If you're buying 100 t-shirts and 50 phone cases, it's 3+3 euro.
If you buy 1 t-shirt and 1 phone case, it's 3+3 euro.
On 06/08/2026 19:42, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 12:57:46 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:But you live in the land of 'Big Bootiful Tariffs'
I was in Boston on business a short time after my house got burgled
and my CD collection stolen. I filled my suitcase with replacement CDs
at 2/3rd the price of the UK...
The tax man must have missed your collection. I returned from a
Canadian site where I'd been setting up a system and had my toolbox,
including a few octal relays in case I had to replace any. The relays
were Japanese and I did not have proof that they had been purchased in
the US so they charged me the import duty.
The nation that thinks the rest of the world does not exist, or is a
third world shit hole
On 06/08/2026 19:22, rbowman wrote:
'Unobtanium' is a device that exists but you can't buy at the present
time. The Zero is a current example. In the early '80s vendors were
quoting similar lead times of over a year on commodity chips. That, in
part, impacted IBM's PC design.
No. Unobtanium is a substance that does NOT exist. But would solve
massive problems if it did.
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 19:49:58 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
PSUs are generic
But Pi zeros are unobtanium right now, except at silly money
I can wait. I think I have a spare one somewhere
'unobtanium', I love it when I learn a new word/expression. If I could
only remember it, so I can use it myself some day. (-:
I did a quick search yesterday and found 2 Dutch and 2 Belgian stores
that still had them in stock for under 20 euro. But those were Zero W,
not Zero 2 W. I didn't check if they shipped internationally, probably
not, so they're of no use to many people here.
On 06/08/2026 21:13, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 12:53:46 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:Trump doesn't believe anything really. He is also beyond caring. He just
Trump still thinks that isolation is possible or even desirable in the
21st century
He obviously doesn't believe that or he wouldn't be screwing around in
West Asia.
says whatever floats into his mind from the last person he talked to.
He has no plan. He just does stuff until the ratings go down, or someone stops paying him, then stops doing it...
On 06/08/2026 21:03, rbowman wrote:
Meanwhile the EC has fined AliExpress for peddling counterfeit, unsafe,
or illegal products. AliExpress replied with 'Unfair to us upstanding
Chinese merchants!'.
Anyone who takes a CE sticker from China seriously hasn't watched Big
Clive enough.
I particularly liked the mannequin who had a firecracker up her
snatch...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcDgOGC5Lcc
In this case it was also really obvious in
spite of the different listing images that the two sellers were
really the same person/company, because both listings had the same
typo in the title!
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 21:39:43 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:Once again, I speak universal usage.
On 06/08/2026 19:22, rbowman wrote:
'Unobtanium' is a device that exists but you can't buy at the present
time. The Zero is a current example. In the early '80s vendors were
quoting similar lead times of over a year on commodity chips. That, in
part, impacted IBM's PC design.
No. Unobtanium is a substance that does NOT exist. But would solve
massive problems if it did.
Once again, I speak American.
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 05/08/2026 23:59, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier.
The transport, import duty, VAT and handling charges doubled that.
I can import small stuff from china with none of that.
I guess you actually believe the postage quotes on sites like
AliExpress then?
No need. They have proved to be 100% accurate
"Accurate"? Well if you mean they charge you the same as what's
shown then yes. If you mean it's always what they actually pay
to send your item then you're being fooled.
In that case I'll bet some Chinese seller thereNope. Ive bought a ton of stuff from Aliexpress. The more usual 'scam'
has a RPi Zero for something like $10, but with $60 for delivery,
while another has one for $60 and $10 delivery. Pick the deal that
looks best to you!
is to advertise say a Pi zero for 80c, but when you go to the page
that's just the plastic case...if you want a PCB and chips with that its
$20 :-)
Yes, seen plenty of that, but I find the fake postage charges are
more common. The thing off AliExpress that's waiting at the post
office for me today is a prime example, where the same item is
listed by two sellers on AliExpress, one appearing cheaper than the
other on the search page. But the postage on the cheap one was
significantly more than the other, so the higher-priced one was
really much cheaper. In this case it was also really obvious in
spite of the different listing images that the two sellers were
really the same person/company, because both listings had the same
typo in the title!
As well as the seller, AliExpress themselves tried to scam me again
this time by offering a coupon discount for ordering more than a
certain total amount at once. Add the coupon, go through PayPal
(not credit card) for payment, _then_ up comes a pop-up (actually
along with another meaningless error pop-up, but that's typical
because their website is as terriby made as half of the junk
that's sold there), to say that the coupon has expired, and raises
the price. Obviously you're expected to have added extra things to
your cart to reach a greater coupon discount teir, then when you
see that message you're meant shrug and go ahead ordering the extra
junk you added at full price anyway.
The blatant dishonesty does put me off a lot of the time, but
sometimes AliExpress is still a lot cheaper than even Chinese
sellers on Ebay, who are no more honest anyway (although I do have
marginally more faith in Ebay themselves). Plus some manufacturers
such as, (back on topic) Banana Pi, use it as their official store.
Not in the UK.Another one was for an excavator for $1500 - that turned out to be the
deposit on one to be delivered later at a total cost of
$12000...depending on options
True most companies in the USA do want at least twice as much toToo many vendors got their fingers burned sending by international post.
send things to me in Australia as it costs me to send things to the
USA. But it's not half as bad as the UK where the costs often start
at over $100 to send anything to Aus these days. Though I guess
because many UK/USA companies insist on only sending international
orders by courier for some reason. Courier services can be
expensive from China as well. Most couriers now just hand over to
the local postal service once the parcel reaches Aus so I still
have to drive to town to pick the thing up from the post office
myself anyway.
Parcels just 'disappeared'
Like I say, many go over to local post once they get here now, so
they're just as likely to disappear at that stage.
They probably
get insurance included to cover refunds in such cases, but you can
get that from the local postal service for international parcels
sent through them anyway (though it can take months to work through
the process of making a claim).
I couriered some documents to my niece in South Africa for just ?20 took
tow days only!
Actually when they were really coming by courier, parcels usually
got to the nearest city really quick, then waited there for a
couple of weeks until they got around to making the expedition out
to where I live. Delivering to the post office does often work out
quicker in that regard. However the thing is I'm almost never in a
hurry in the first place - I'm forced to pay triple the cost to get
something (at least to the nearest city) next week, then it sits
around for a week or two before I get up to the stage of needing it
for whatever project I'm working on anyway. Or it just costs so
much that I don't order at all.
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 22:08:01 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 21:13, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 12:53:46 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:Trump doesn't believe anything really. He is also beyond caring. He just
Trump still thinks that isolation is possible or even desirable in the >>>> 21st century
He obviously doesn't believe that or he wouldn't be screwing around in
West Asia.
says whatever floats into his mind from the last person he talked to.
He has no plan. He just does stuff until the ratings go down, or someone
stops paying him, then stops doing it...
He seems to be ignoring the ratings. Other than the Christian Zionists and Jews there isn't much enthusiasm for the corner he's painted himself into. The Epstein files fiasco didn't help either. There may be nothing new in
them but when you see someone burying something in the backyard it raises suspicions. His waffling on immigration is another point.
The upcoming elections will be interesting. Midterms seldom generate a lot
of general enthusiasm meaning both parties will have to deal with the more opinionated wings.
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 21:49:03 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 21:03, rbowman wrote:
Meanwhile the EC has fined AliExpress for peddling counterfeit, unsafe,
or illegal products. AliExpress replied with 'Unfair to us upstanding
Chinese merchants!'.
Anyone who takes a CE sticker from China seriously hasn't watched Big
Clive enough.
I particularly liked the mannequin who had a firecracker up her
snatch...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcDgOGC5Lcc
Never heard of him but he certainly finds some strange stuff. After
watching him waving a voltage detector around a Temu ebike on charge I
don't think I'll be buying one.
The mannequin was weird. Nothing aimed at the Japanese market surprises
me. The names escape me but I think the title had 'City' in it. A co-
worker who was into anime recommended a movie, let's say 'Beast City'.
When I searched netflix for the DVD, I found a similar title. It featured, among other things, a cartoon talking penis, and an older woman standing
in a room with milk flowing out of her breasts until it was knee deep. The next day I asked him about the talking dick and we determined the title I rented was close but not what he mentioned. Hentai is a little beyond twisted.
On 2026-08-07 00:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
In this case it was also really obvious in
spite of the different listing images that the two sellers were
really the same person/company, because both listings had the same
typo in the title!
Maybe that's a typo of the automated translator.
"Unobtainium is a humorous engineering and fictional term for a
hypothetical material that has the ideal, perfect properties for a
specific application, but is impossible to get or does not actually
exist. It combines the word "unattainable" with the chemical suffix "-ium
On 07/08/2026 11:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
"Unobtainium is a humorous engineering and fictional term for a
hypothetical material that has the ideal, perfect properties for a
specific application, but is impossible to get or does not actually
exist. It combines the word "unattainable" with the chemical suffix "-ium
Stating the obvious, here, but that should say "unobtainable" not "unattainable" ... I've never heard of "Unattainium", but it sounds like
it should be a hypothetical element that exists but can't be extracted
... a bit like potassium was before Humphrey Davy and electrolysis.
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from.
On 07/08/2026 13:35, Daniel James wrote:
On 07/08/2026 11:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
"Unobtainium is a humorous engineering and fictional term for a
hypothetical material that has the ideal, perfect properties for a
specific application, but is impossible to get or does not actually
exist. It combines the word "unattainable" with the chemical suffix "-ium
Stating the obvious, here, but that should say "unobtainable" not "unattainable" ... I've never heard of "Unattainium", but it sounds like it should be a hypothetical element that exists but can't be extracted
... a bit like potassium was before Humphrey Davy and electrolysis.
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
that is new to me.,..
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from.
...That isn't!
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].
Can't remember what it was.
s|b <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
In Belgium it's 3 euro per item. If you're buying 100 t-shirts, it's 3 euro. If you're buying 100 t-shirts and 50 phone cases, it's 3+3 euro.
If you buy 1 t-shirt and 1 phone case, it's 3+3 euro.
3 Euro per different type of item, plus a percentage of the total
indicated value for VAT, I believe.
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 07/08/2026 13:35, Daniel James wrote:I had a friend who used to call that "Muckite".
On 07/08/2026 11:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
"Unobtainium is a humorous engineering and fictional term for aStating the obvious, here, but that should say "unobtainable" not
hypothetical material that has the ideal, perfect properties for a
specific application, but is impossible to get or does not actually
exist. It combines the word "unattainable" with the chemical suffix "-ium >>>
"unattainable" ... I've never heard of "Unattainium", but it sounds like >>> it should be a hypothetical element that exists but can't be extracted
... a bit like potassium was before Humphrey Davy and electrolysis.
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
that is new to me.,..
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from....That isn't!
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].
Can't remember what it was.
On 7 Aug 2026 08:45:52 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
s|b <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
In Belgium it's 3 euro per item. If you're buying 100 t-shirts, it's 3
euro. If you're buying 100 t-shirts and 50 phone cases, it's 3+3 euro.
If you buy 1 t-shirt and 1 phone case, it's 3+3 euro.
3 Euro per different type of item, plus a percentage of the total
indicated value for VAT, I believe.
No. 3 euro per article for every package with a total value of 150 euro
or less that is imported from a country outside the EU, so not just
China. (But obviously targeted at China.)
On 06/08/2026 23:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
I am always slightly amused by how backwards the USA is, Back in the nineties I was on holiday and wanted to withdraw some money using my MasterCard, I think we were on Nevada. The teller looked at the card and said 'never seen one of those. I'll try'. Then her face lit up. 'It
worked!' she said.
I had used that card all over Europe n different countries....
Things that amuse me
- All wires are overhead. NO new wires are overhead in the UK
- All trucks use solid rear axles with cart springs. I haven't driven a vehicle-a like that since 1980
- broadband internet access doesn't really exist mostly.
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
- The food industry is designed to make you fat, eat more crap, then
gouge you again via medical bills when you get heart disease or diabetes
- Everything is about ripping off someone else. It's all monetised one
way or another. Not many people just do stuff they enjoy, without
thinking about the money
- Americans think America is the best country in the world. Because they believe what they are told and never travel further than Acapulco,
God bless Amerika.
She needs it!
On 2026-08-07 13:02, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 23:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
...
I am always slightly amused by how backwards the USA is, Back in the
nineties I was on holiday and wanted to withdraw some money using my
MasterCard, I think we were on Nevada. The teller looked at the card and
said 'never seen one of those. I'll try'. Then her face lit up. 'It
worked!' she said.
I had used that card all over Europe n different countries....
Things that amuse me
- All wires are overhead. NO new wires are overhead in the UK
- All trucks use solid rear axles with cart springs. I haven't driven a
vehicle-a like that since 1980
- broadband internet access doesn't really exist mostly.
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
Recently it was on the news a guy that was having a walk in the
countryside, a nurse. Somehow he fell or something, and his walking
stick got stuck on his belly, not the centre, but the side. Instead of phoning rescue, he walked down, some 17 km, for fear of being ripped out
by the cost of rescue.
Amazing.
On 2026-08-07, Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-08-07 13:02, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 23:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
...
I am always slightly amused by how backwards the USA is, Back in the
nineties I was on holiday and wanted to withdraw some money using my
MasterCard, I think we were on Nevada. The teller looked at the card and >>> said 'never seen one of those. I'll try'. Then her face lit up. 'It
worked!' she said.
I had used that card all over Europe n different countries....
Things that amuse me
- All wires are overhead. NO new wires are overhead in the UK
- All trucks use solid rear axles with cart springs. I haven't driven a
vehicle-a like that since 1980
- broadband internet access doesn't really exist mostly.
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
Recently it was on the news a guy that was having a walk in the
countryside, a nurse. Somehow he fell or something, and his walking
stick got stuck on his belly, not the centre, but the side. Instead of
phoning rescue, he walked down, some 17 km, for fear of being ripped out
by the cost of rescue.
Amazing.
It sounds like you're referring to this story:
https://notthebee.com/article/american-man-hikes-10-miles-down-mountain-with-pole-through-side-to-avoid-pricey-medical-bill
It wasn't an ordinary ambulance ride he was avoiding:
As a nurse, he is likely aware that
being airlifted to an emergency
room would be a $20,000-$50,000
bill.
Since he wasn't losing much blood,
he decided to hike down and drive
himself to the hospital.
...
After determining that he had not
punctured a lung or another organ,
David's friends Brad and Jess
helped him get down Granite Peak
and they called search and rescue
on their sat phone.
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized
medicine?
On 07/08/2026 13:35, Daniel James wrote:
On 07/08/2026 11:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
"Unobtainium is a humorous engineering and fictional term for a
hypothetical material that has the ideal, perfect properties for a
specific application, but is impossible to get or does not actually
exist. It combines the word "unattainable" with the chemical suffix
"-ium
Stating the obvious, here, but that should say "unobtainable" not
"unattainable" ... I've never heard of "Unattainium", but it sounds
like it should be a hypothetical element that exists but can't be
extracted ... a bit like potassium was before Humphrey Davy and
electrolysis.
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
that is new to me.,..
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from....That isn't!
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].
Can't remember what it was.
Today - "CanaKit" Pi5 at $259. Was less than half that 18 months ago.
"Kit" (box + a few options) from various makers running $354 to $209.
The higher RAM versions seem especially affected since basically all
memory-makers shifted production to "AI"-friendly stuff.
On 8/7/26 06:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].
Can't remember what it was.
Don't know about that one. I want to know where to buy "scratch", there
are so many things that can be made...
On 2026-08-07 19:13, Robert Riches wrote:
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized
medicine?
I'll ask chatGPT because I'm not sure.
After determining that he had not punctured a lung or another
organ,
David's friends Brad and Jess helped him get down Granite Peak and
they called search and rescue on their sat phone.
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized medicine?
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized
medicine?
On 8/7/26 06:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 07/08/2026 13:35, Daniel James wrote:Don't know about that one. I want to know where to buy "scratch", there
On 07/08/2026 11:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:that is new to me.,..
"Unobtainium is a humorous engineering and fictional term for a
hypothetical material that has the ideal, perfect properties for a
specific application, but is impossible to get or does not actually
exist. It combines the word "unattainable" with the chemical suffix
"-ium
Stating the obvious, here, but that should say "unobtainable" not
"unattainable" ... I've never heard of "Unattainium", but it sounds
like it should be a hypothetical element that exists but can't be
extracted ... a bit like potassium was before Humphrey Davy and
electrolysis.
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from....That isn't!
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].
Can't remember what it was.
are so many things that can be made...
On 2026-08-07, Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-08-07 19:13, Robert Riches wrote:
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized
medicine?
I'll ask chatGPT because I'm not sure.
<next message>
Stop it. I'm not here to read AI slop.
On 2026-08-07, wmartin <wwm@wwmartin.net> wrote:
On 8/7/26 06:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].
Can't remember what it was.
Don't know about that one. I want to know where to buy "scratch", there
are so many things that can be made...
I've heard of a place called "Theory". I want to move there,
because so many things work in Theory.
On 2026-08-07, Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-08-07 13:02, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/08/2026 23:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
...
I am always slightly amused by how backwards the USA is, Back in the
nineties I was on holiday and wanted to withdraw some money using my
MasterCard, I think we were on Nevada. The teller looked at the card and >>> said 'never seen one of those. I'll try'. Then her face lit up. 'It
worked!' she said.
I had used that card all over Europe n different countries....
Things that amuse me
- All wires are overhead. NO new wires are overhead in the UK
- All trucks use solid rear axles with cart springs. I haven't driven a
vehicle-a like that since 1980
- broadband internet access doesn't really exist mostly.
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
Recently it was on the news a guy that was having a walk in the
countryside, a nurse. Somehow he fell or something, and his walking
stick got stuck on his belly, not the centre, but the side. Instead of
phoning rescue, he walked down, some 17 km, for fear of being ripped out
by the cost of rescue.
Amazing.
It sounds like you're referring to this story:
https://notthebee.com/article/american-man-hikes-10-miles-down-mountain-with-pole-through-side-to-avoid-pricey-medical-bill
It wasn't an ordinary ambulance ride he was avoiding:
As a nurse, he is likely aware that
being airlifted to an emergency
room would be a $20,000-$50,000
bill.
Since he wasn't losing much blood,
he decided to hike down and drive
himself to the hospital.
...
After determining that he had not
punctured a lung or another organ,
David's friends Brad and Jess
helped him get down Granite Peak
and they called search and rescue
on their sat phone.
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized
medicine?
On 7 Aug 2026 08:45:52 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
s|b <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
In Belgium it's 3 euro per item. If you're buying 100 t-shirts, it's 3
euro. If you're buying 100 t-shirts and 50 phone cases, it's 3+3 euro.
If you buy 1 t-shirt and 1 phone case, it's 3+3 euro.
3 Euro per different type of item, plus a percentage of the total
indicated value for VAT, I believe.
No. 3 euro per article for every package with a total value of 150 euro
or less that is imported from a country outside the EU, so not just
China. (But obviously targeted at China.)
On 06/08/2026 23:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 05/08/2026 23:59, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier.
The transport, import duty, VAT and handling charges doubled that.
I can import small stuff from china with none of that.
I guess you actually believe the postage quotes on sites like
AliExpress then?
No need. They have proved to be 100% accurate
"Accurate"? Well if you mean they charge you the same as what's
shown then yes. If you mean it's always what they actually pay
to send your item then you're being fooled.
Well that is no different from any other online vendor then, is it?
In that case I'll bet some Chinese seller thereNope. Ive bought a ton of stuff from Aliexpress. The more usual 'scam'
has a RPi Zero for something like $10, but with $60 for delivery,
while another has one for $60 and $10 delivery. Pick the deal that
looks best to you!
is to advertise say a Pi zero for 80c, but when you go to the page
that's just the plastic case...if you want a PCB and chips with that its >>> $20 :-)
Yes, seen plenty of that, but I find the fake postage charges are
more common. The thing off AliExpress that's waiting at the post
office for me today is a prime example, where the same item is
listed by two sellers on AliExpress, one appearing cheaper than the
other on the search page. But the postage on the cheap one was
significantly more than the other, so the higher-priced one was
really much cheaper. In this case it was also really obvious in
spite of the different listing images that the two sellers were
really the same person/company, because both listings had the same
typo in the title!
Well I am not going to sweat that. I Can Do Sums...
They probablyIn general these days claims from ANYONE are refunded once you put the return parcel under an authorised scanner.
get insurance included to cover refunds in such cases, but you can
get that from the local postal service for international parcels
sent through them anyway (though it can take months to work through
the process of making a claim).
Amazon, Ali express - even Ebay.
That was the standard delivery time of *anything* that was light enoughI couriered some documents to my niece in South Africa for just ?20 took >>> tow days only!
Actually when they were really coming by courier, parcels usually
got to the nearest city really quick, then waited there for a
couple of weeks until they got around to making the expedition out
to where I live. Delivering to the post office does often work out
quicker in that regard. However the thing is I'm almost never in a
hurry in the first place - I'm forced to pay triple the cost to get
something (at least to the nearest city) next week, then it sits
around for a week or two before I get up to the stage of needing it
for whatever project I'm working on anyway. Or it just costs so
much that I don't order at all.
to go by air.
I am always slightly amused by how backwards the USA is,
Back in the nineties I was on holiday and wanted to withdraw some
money using my MasterCard, I think we were on Nevada. The teller
looked at the card and said 'never seen one of those. I'll try'.
Then her face lit up. 'It worked!' she said.
I had used that card all over Europe n different countries....
Things that amuse me
- All wires are overhead. NO new wires are overhead in the UK
- All trucks use solid rear axles with cart springs. I haven't driven a vehicle like that since 1980
- broadband internet access doesn't really exist mostly.
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
- The food industry is designed to make you fat, eat more crap, then
gouge you again via medical bills when you get heart disease or diabetes
- Everything is about ripping off someone else. It's all monetised one
way or another. Not many people just do stuff they enjoy, without
thinking about the money
- Americans think America is the best country in the world. Because they believe what they are told and never travel further than Acapulco,
On 2026-08-07 00:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
In this case it was also really obvious in
spite of the different listing images that the two sellers were
really the same person/company, because both listings had the same
typo in the title!
Maybe that's a typo of the automated translator.
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized
medicine?
On 8/7/26 06:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 07/08/2026 13:35, Daniel James wrote:Don't know about that one. I want to know where to buy "scratch", there
On 07/08/2026 11:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
"Unobtainium is a humorous engineering and fictional term for a
hypothetical material that has the ideal, perfect properties for a
specific application, but is impossible to get or does not actually
exist. It combines the word "unattainable" with the chemical suffix
"-ium
Stating the obvious, here, but that should say "unobtainable" not
"unattainable" ... I've never heard of "Unattainium", but it sounds
like it should be a hypothetical element that exists but can't be
extracted ... a bit like potassium was before Humphrey Davy and
electrolysis.
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
that is new to me.,..
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from....That isn't!
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].
Can't remember what it was.
are so many things that can be made...
s|b <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
On 7 Aug 2026 08:45:52 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
s|b <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
In Belgium it's 3 euro per item. If you're buying 100 t-shirts, it's 3 >>>> euro. If you're buying 100 t-shirts and 50 phone cases, it's 3+3 euro. >>>> If you buy 1 t-shirt and 1 phone case, it's 3+3 euro.
3 Euro per different type of item, plus a percentage of the total
indicated value for VAT, I believe.
No. 3 euro per article for every package with a total value of 150 euro
or less that is imported from a country outside the EU, so not just
China. (But obviously targeted at China.)
Well Australia Post claims otherwise:
"From 1 July 2026, all items sent to the EU, except for gifts valued
below EUR45, will be subject to customs duty and VAT:
Parcels valued under EUR150: VAT will apply to the parcel, along
with a flat-rate customs duty fee of EUR3 per item."
https://auspost.com.au/disruptions-and-updates/international-service-updates/global-customs-imports
I've already written code to calculate and charge it (with all the
different VAT rates for all the different countries in the EU),
although upon attempting to submit a test order with that it was
rejected by their system and after the usual few weeks delay I
finally got a reply the other day to my query to them about that
saying that in spite of what that webpage (still) says about
pre-payment using Zonos (at least one USA company that must be
doing _very_ well off Trump) they haven't implemented EU
customs/VAT pre-payment yet and are expecting to start rolling it
out just for parcels sent to Sweden, Denmark and Germany from the
14th of Aug. Other EU countries aren't worthy of comment,
apparantly. At least they did really implement it for the UK and
Canada.
So I can believe their webpage might be wrong about VAT too, but it
seems quite unlikely so I'd like to see a cite.
e
On 8/7/26 14:01, wmartin wrote:
On 8/7/26 06:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloy casting].Don't know about that one. I want to know where to buy "scratch",
Can't remember what it was.
there are so many things that can be made...
-a In USA, the term "pot metal" has been around for
-a a very long time. Mostly zinc but with who-knows-
-a what also mixed in there. It's not a consistent
-a recipe.
-a IS good enough for low-stress housings and such
-a however and easy to cast/machine. Better than
-a plastic but not as good as decent aluminum or
-a steel alloy. HAS it's place IMHO.
We
live pretty close to the border; it's less hassle for me to go across
the line to a USPS office in a border town - where I hand them my
package, pay my postage (still $10), and everything is good.
On 2026-08-07 13:02, The Natural Philosopher wrote:[...]
[...]Things that amuse me
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
Recently it was on the news a guy that was having a walk in the
countryside, a nurse. Somehow he fell or something, and his walking
stick got stuck on his belly, not the centre, but the side. Instead of phoning rescue, he walked down, some 17 km, for fear of being ripped
out by the cost of rescue.
Amazing.
On 2026-08-08 04:48, c186282 wrote:
e
On 8/7/26 14:01, wmartin wrote:
On 8/7/26 06:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloyDon't know about that one. I want to know where to buy "scratch",
casting]. Can't remember what it was.
there are so many things that can be made...
-a-a In USA, the term "pot metal" has been around for
-a-a a very long time. Mostly zinc but with who-knows-
-a-a what also mixed in there. It's not a consistent
-a-a recipe.
-a-a IS good enough for low-stress housings and such
-a-a however and easy to cast/machine. Better than
-a-a plastic but not as good as decent aluminum or
-a-a steel alloy. HAS it's place IMHO.
I think I have seen motors used in kitchens have very cracked metal housings. Probably this pot metal.
- Americans think America is the best country in the world. Because theyMaybe not so bad here yet on those counts.
believe what they are told and never travel further than Acapulco,
Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
Is helicopter rescue "free" in countries with socialized
medicine?
Here in Australia it's separate from free public healthcare (which
might not turn out to be available or completely free either, but
that's a different story). Here in the state of Victoria I choose
to pay for an ambulance subscription, and get a carboard card that
I believe gets me out of paying thousands in the event of needing
ambulance or helicopter transport. At least it worked for me once.
I think it covers me interstate, but ambulance services run by
other states may have different arrangements.
On 2026-08-07, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-08-07 13:02, The Natural Philosopher wrote:[...]
[...]Things that amuse me
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
Recently it was on the news a guy that was having a walk in the
countryside, a nurse. Somehow he fell or something, and his walking
stick got stuck on his belly, not the centre, but the side. Instead of
phoning rescue, he walked down, some 17 km, for fear of being ripped
out by the cost of rescue.
Amazing.
And this is why these costs can't exist.
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from.
On 07/08/2026 13:35, Daniel James wrote:
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from.
The late, great, Terry Pratchett wrote of "Narrativium", which he said
was the raw material from which stories are constructed.
... there's also "Corium", which is the name given by nuclear engineers
to the the material created in the core of a nuclear reactor that is (inadvisedly) allowed to melt down ... as has happened at Three Mile
Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corium_(nuclear_reactor)
On 07/08/2026 13:35, Daniel James wrote:
I might also mention "Handwavium", which means, you know ...
... and "Chinesium" which so many cheap imported goods are made from.
The late, great, Terry Pratchett wrote of "Narrativium", which he said
was the raw material from which stories are constructed.
... there's also "Corium", which is the name given by nuclear engineers
to the the material created in the core of a nuclear reactor that is (inadvisedly) allowed to melt down ... as has happened at Three Mile
Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corium_(nuclear_reactor)
On 08/08/2026 00:21, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
- Americans think America is the best country in the world. BecauseMaybe not so bad here yet on those counts.
they believe what they are told and never travel further than
Acapulco,
Aussies are in fact quite international.
I had an Anaesthetist who seemed to be Filipino with a strong Australian accent. Very good she was. But I had mere seconds to talk before there I
was, gone...
in the UK the air ambulance is pretty much free.
I met a guy in the cardiac ward who had had a heart attack on a trains station platform, was given first line by a paramedic who just happened
to be there, was air ambulanced to one hospital where he died several
times, air ambulanced to IIRC Cambridge where he had an operation, and
woke up in the intensive care unit in my local hospital two weeks
later...
On 2026-08-08 04:48, c186282 wrote:
e
On 8/7/26 14:01, wmartin wrote:
On 8/7/26 06:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
A late friend had a similar word for pot metal. [Zinc alloyDon't know about that one. I want to know where to buy "scratch",
casting]. Can't remember what it was.
there are so many things that can be made...
-a-a In USA, the term "pot metal" has been around for
-a-a a very long time. Mostly zinc but with who-knows-
-a-a what also mixed in there. It's not a consistent
-a-a recipe.
-a-a IS good enough for low-stress housings and such
-a-a however and easy to cast/machine. Better than
-a-a plastic but not as good as decent aluminum or
-a-a steel alloy. HAS it's place IMHO.
I think I have seen motors used in kitchens have very cracked metal housings. Probably this pot metal.
On Sat, 8 Aug 2026 12:52:19 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
in the UK the air ambulance is pretty much free.
I met a guy in the cardiac ward who had had a heart attack on a trains
station platform, was given first line by a paramedic who just happened
to be there, was air ambulanced to one hospital where he died several
times, air ambulanced to IIRC Cambridge where he had an operation, and
woke up in the intensive care unit in my local hospital two weeks
later...
I don't know the cost but both hospitals have helipads and I often see the helos coming or going.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Flight_Network
The local hospitals are quite good but don't have the special facilities available in Seattle. A co-worker's wife had a very premature baby that
was flown to Seattle. There's a macabre joke that if you're shipped to Seattle you're going to die but this case had a happy ending after many months.
The alloy does not seem very resistant to vibration.
-a It's soft enough you'd THINK it would be, but its not.
-a Most aluminum alloys and 300 series stainless are
-a not super-good with vibrations either - though
-a better than 'pot metal'. I've seen 'magnesium' tire
-a rims crack too.
-a Only steel - esp nearly pure iron - seems to stand
-a up to vibration, but it's HEAVY. Some cast iron,
-a like that previously used for engine blocks, can
-a be pretty good but will fracture on a sharp impact.
-a I've seen old cracked engine blocks too.
-a Plastics - they start 'crystalizing'/decomposing
-a the instant they're made.
I can't use my usual fstab line for mounting NFS shares.
-a Crashes on boot. You get a text login, but it's not
-a REALLY root and you can't fix fstab. Weird.
On 09/08/2026 01:47, c186282 wrote:
-a The alloy does not seem very resistant to vibration.The problem is mainly that its has no fixed composition, Its random non ferrous scarp mainly. Use a magnet to get the iron and steel and melt
-a-a It's soft enough you'd THINK it would be, but its not.
what is left over perhaps
-a-a Most aluminum alloys and 300 series stainless arePot metal is heavy and brittle in my experience.
-a-a not super-good with vibrations either - though
-a-a better than 'pot metal'. I've seen 'magnesium' tire
-a-a rims crack too.
Came across it back in the day in toys, carburettor castings, thermostat housings..valve covers..all stuff that needed shape retention but no
great strength
-a-a Only steel - esp nearly pure iron - seems to standCast iron is brittle.That's why they used to use wrought iron - but it
-a-a up to vibration, but it's HEAVY. Some cast iron,
-a-a like that previously used for engine blocks, can
-a-a be pretty good but will fracture on a sharp impact.
-a-a I've seen old cracked engine blocks too.
was expensive.
Then making steel got super cheap and that was that. Whole generation learned to treat and alloy steel to get almost whatever you want
-a-a Plastics - they start 'crystalizing'/decomposing
-a-a the instant they're made.
Not all of them. Like steel, there is a huge range. There's many a radio case made of 'Bakelite' or stuff skinned with 'Formica'-a or floored with 'linoleum'....still functioning
Epoxy and glass fibre PCBs dating from the 1970s are still OK, as are phenolic resin items
PVC however is very short lived, In the sun
Nylon is intermediate - UV ageing often gets it
Jury is still out on polycarbonate, ABS-a and ASA.
In fact one of the eco gripes about plastics is that they *don't* degrade.
Nevertheless there are plastic gobbling bugs thriving at the bottom of
the sea apparently, eating all those microplastics.
Beware the SweepingStatement...
On 2026-08-09 14:20, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 09/08/2026 01:47, c186282 wrote:
-a The alloy does not seem very resistant to vibration.The problem is mainly that its has no fixed composition, Its random
-a-a It's soft enough you'd THINK it would be, but its not.
non ferrous scarp mainly. Use a magnet to get the iron and steel and
melt what is left over perhaps
-a-a Most aluminum alloys and 300 series stainless arePot metal is heavy and brittle in my experience.
-a-a not super-good with vibrations either - though
-a-a better than 'pot metal'. I've seen 'magnesium' tire
-a-a rims crack too.
Came across it back in the day in toys, carburettor castings,
thermostat housings..valve covers..all stuff that needed shape
retention but no great strength
-a-a Only steel - esp nearly pure iron - seems to standCast iron is brittle.That's why they used to use wrought iron - but it
-a-a up to vibration, but it's HEAVY. Some cast iron,
-a-a like that previously used for engine blocks, can
-a-a be pretty good but will fracture on a sharp impact.
-a-a I've seen old cracked engine blocks too.
was expensive.
Then making steel got super cheap and that was that. Whole generation
learned to treat and alloy steel to get almost whatever you want
-a-a Plastics - they start 'crystalizing'/decomposing
-a-a the instant they're made.
Not all of them. Like steel, there is a huge range. There's many a
radio case made of 'Bakelite' or stuff skinned with 'Formica'-a or
floored with 'linoleum'....still functioning
Epoxy and glass fibre PCBs dating from the 1970s are still OK, as are
phenolic resin items
PVC however is very short lived, In the sun
PVC is used here for window frames and blinds. I had a place with such,
40 year old, and good. Yellowish, though. And more brittle.
Nylon is intermediate - UV ageing often gets it
Jury is still out on polycarbonate, ABS-a and ASA.
In fact one of the eco gripes about plastics is that they *don't*
degrade.
They fragment into microplastics.
Nevertheless there are plastic gobbling bugs thriving at the bottom of
the sea apparently, eating all those microplastics.
Beware the SweepingStatement...
Not all of them. Like steel, there is a huge range. There's many a radio
case made of 'Bakelite' or stuff skinned with 'Formica' or floored with 'linoleum'....still functioning
Epoxy and glass fibre PCBs dating from the 1970s are still OK, as are phenolic resin items
Never had great results doing a full version updates in Ubuntu. Had
to keep like three terminals open so I could run fixes and more fixes
before rebooting.
On 2026-08-09 14:20, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 09/08/2026 01:47, c186282 wrote:
-a The alloy does not seem very resistant to vibration.The problem is mainly that its has no fixed composition, Its random
-a-a It's soft enough you'd THINK it would be, but its not.
non ferrous scarp mainly. Use a magnet to get the iron and steel and
melt what is left over perhaps
-a-a Most aluminum alloys and 300 series stainless arePot metal is heavy and brittle in my experience.
-a-a not super-good with vibrations either - though
-a-a better than 'pot metal'. I've seen 'magnesium' tire
-a-a rims crack too.
Came across it back in the day in toys, carburettor castings,
thermostat housings..valve covers..all stuff that needed shape
retention but no great strength
-a-a Only steel - esp nearly pure iron - seems to standCast iron is brittle.That's why they used to use wrought iron - but it
-a-a up to vibration, but it's HEAVY. Some cast iron,
-a-a like that previously used for engine blocks, can
-a-a be pretty good but will fracture on a sharp impact.
-a-a I've seen old cracked engine blocks too.
was expensive.
Then making steel got super cheap and that was that. Whole generation
learned to treat and alloy steel to get almost whatever you want
-a-a Plastics - they start 'crystalizing'/decomposing
-a-a the instant they're made.
Not all of them. Like steel, there is a huge range. There's many a
radio case made of 'Bakelite' or stuff skinned with 'Formica'-a or
floored with 'linoleum'....still functioning
Epoxy and glass fibre PCBs dating from the 1970s are still OK, as are
phenolic resin items
PVC however is very short lived, In the sun
PVC is used here for window frames and blinds. I had a place with such,
40 year old, and good. Yellowish, though. And more brittle.
Nylon is intermediate - UV ageing often gets it
Jury is still out on polycarbonate, ABS-a and ASA.
In fact one of the eco gripes about plastics is that they *don't*
degrade.
They fragment into microplastics.
Nevertheless there are plastic gobbling bugs thriving at the bottom of
the sea apparently, eating all those microplastics.
Beware the SweepingStatement...
On 09/08/2026 08:45, c186282 wrote:
I can't use my usual fstab line for mounting NFS shares.
-a-a Crashes on boot. You get a text login, but it's not
-a-a REALLY root and you can't fix fstab. Weird.
That was happening to me for a while.
Systemd scripts didn't realise you can't mount filesystems till the
network is up
Now the worstthat happens with wifi networks-a is that the nfs mounts
time out and I have to mount later on
PVC is used here for window frames and blinds. I had a place withThat's UPVC - treaqted to reduce the effect, but not eliminate it
such, 40 year old, and good. Yellowish, though. And more brittle.
But Corium is real and exists. And nasty
On 08/08/2026 18:44, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
But Corium is real and exists. And nasty
Yes ... but the formation of the word is similar. It is a jokey made-up
name that suggests that it is a pure substance, when it is actually an ad-hoc mixture of nuclear fuel, moderator, reactor wall materials,
concrete, and random shit that happened to get in the way when the
reactor melted.
As you say: Nasty. I wouldn't use the elephant's foot from Chernobyl as
an umbrella stand!
Yes ... but the formation of the word is similar. It is a jokey
made- up name that suggests that it is a pure substance, when it
is actually an ad-hoc mixture of nuclear fuel, moderator, reactor
wall materials, concrete, and random shit that happened to get in
the way when the reactor melted.
hardly jokey and all names are 'made up...
Curium is a synthetic radioactive chemical element with the symbol
Cm and atomic number 96. Named after scientists Marie and Pierre
Curie, it was first produced in 1944 by bombarding plutonium with
alpha particles. It is also the name of a major global
radiopharmaceutical company
Selenium. Named after the noon because it was found along with
tellurium, meaning Earth...
Tungsten: Derived from Swedish (tung + sten) because the mineral ore
is very dense and heavy.
Wolfram (Chemical Symbol W): Comes from the mineral wolframite. The
name originates from German tin miners. They called it wolfram
because the mineral hindered tin extraction by "devouring" the tin
like a wolf eats a sheep (wolf + ram/foam)
and so on....
Corium comes from a reactor CORE
nothing jokey about it
Unobtanium follows the same rules, and the joke is that the first
part means it doesn't exist or cant be sourced.
Like fairy farts and unicorn dung
The joke lies in naming it in a way that suggests it's a well-defined
pure substance.
On Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:12:09 +0200, s|b wrote:
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 19:49:58 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
PSUs are generic But Pi zeros are unobtanium right now, except at silly
money
I can wait. I think I have a spare one somewhere
'unobtanium', I love it when I learn a new word/expression. If I could
only remember it, so I can use it myself some day. (-:
The word has a long history. There is a nuance. 'Vaproware' is a product that is announced but doesn't exist. The prime example is when Osborne announced the successor to the Osborne 1, killing the sales of the
existing product without having the replacement in hand. Intel's 432 and Microsoft's Xenix may fall into that category.
'Unobtanium' is a device that exists but you can't buy at the present
time. The Zero is a current example. In the early '80s vendors were
quoting similar lead times of over a year on commodity chips. That, in
part, impacted IBM's PC design.
The valuable material extracted from the world of Avatar was rCLunobtainiumrCYrCoa nice geek callout which apparently levitated.
On Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:51:01 +0000, Michael J. Mahon wrote:
The valuable material extracted from the world of Avatar was
rCLunobtainiumrCYrCoa nice geek callout which apparently levitated.
Also, the material that the craft was made from in rCLThe CorerCY (2003).
On Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:51:01 +0000, Michael J. Mahon wrote:
The valuable material extracted from the world of Avatar was
rCLunobtainiumrCYrCoa nice geek callout which apparently levitated.
Also, the material that the craft was made from in rCLThe CorerCY (2003).
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