Oh, ALSO...

One of the things brought to me was a toaster that wouldn't stay "down", but otherwise worked fine. This is a semi-common problem - I had another #toaster with the same problem at the last Repair Cafe.

And this one... the manufacturer secured the bottom base to the chassis with Torx screws (fine) ... but SECURITY Torx screws. If you're not familiar with these, they're regular Torx screws but there's a pin that sticks up in the middle of the fastener head, so regular #Torx drivers won't go into the head. You need special #drivers with a hollow bit to go over that pin.

Now, I have "security" Torx drivers because fuck you, you don't get to lock me out of something that belongs to me [1], but this is ridiculous. It's a CDN$40 two-slot toaster, not some #unobtainium magic technological wonder. It's one great "Up yours!" from the #manufacturer to the #consumer and the #environment.

Name-and-shame time: it was a Black and Decker (they can pay me if they want me to use their vanity typography to refer to them). This is another of those brand names that maybe used to mean something, but now is just marketing. There are a *lot* fewer #factories making toasters than there are brands selling toasters. They just tick boxes on an #OEM's feature list to get "their" product.

[1] It's easy to get the drivers these days, so they don't have much effect, but when they first came about almost no one had them, so it was a major pain in the ass.

#BlackAndDecker #VanityTypography

The cable box, that the relative's cable company never wanted back well over a decade ago, has come out of hiding down the back of a workbench in a shed and yielded a 500GiB Seagate hard disc. Not to be sniffed at.

If I can figure out how to get the heat sink off, I shall satisfy my curiosity about what CPU it used.

It's one of those affairs that uses the 'H' type of torx-head screws — purportedly a 'security' measure, but I was able to buy a set of L keys for £15 from Machine Mart.

Thanks should go to whoever it was on the FediVerse who put me on to #MachineMart a couple of years ago.

https://machinemart.co.uk/p/laser-miniature-star-bit-set-tamperproof/

Yes, I know. £15 for something that I could have got for a tenner off e-Bay is not the best trade. But I'm having fun channelling #BigClive, opening the thing up with pry bars and sticking the hard disc into another machine to see how it is partitioned and formatted.

#torx #ShedClearance

Laser 4197 8 piece Miniature Star Bit Set - Tamperproof - Machine Mart

#DoYouKnow Blaubeeren sind #Torx T30 kompatibel.
Ein Land, das im Jahr 2025 die #Torx Schraube entdeckt, kann ich nicht ernst nehmen. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/torx-screws-review/
The Best Screw You’ve Never Used

America has been stuck on slip-prone, strip-prone screws for centuries. There’s a better way.

Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World

🏔️ New research reveals: It's not physical ability alone that gets you to the finish in ultra-trails—it's making smart decisions when things go wrong! Athletes completing 50%+ use functional coping strategies 66-100% of time.

📖 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332058

#UltraRunning #TrailRunning #SportsPsychology #Endurance #Research #coping #MentalToughness #Running #SportsCoach #Sport #TORX #TOR450 #TDG

It’s not difficulty that matters, but strategy: Perceived stressor, functional and dysfunctional coping strategies in ultra-trails of extreme duration

To date, no studies have proposed specific taxonomies of stressors and coping strategies used to manage them by ultra trail runners in races longer than 200 miles, with existing research focusing on significantly shorter distances an then on challenges that could be of a different nature. The aim of this study was to fill this gap by developing specific taxonomies that would group both the stressors encountered and the coping strategies into distinct conceptual categories. Furthermore, to observe in a real competition if these taxonomies allows the evaluation of the coping strategies used by athletes. Two Focus Groups composed of experts on the topic proposed provisional classifications, which were analysed using Applied Thematic Analysis. Three distinct Draft Taxonomies were identified: typical stressors, functional and dysfunctional coping strategies used by athletes during competitions. A critical comparison between the provisional taxonomies and literature led to the development of three definitive taxonomies. In a second phase, to verify whether the taxonomies reflected the real experiences of runners, seven participants in a 280-mile race were interviewed daily during the event. Their responses regarding the stressors and the strategies they had implemented to deal with them were recorded. Expert panelists categorized the transcribed responses according to the proposed taxonomies. The concordance of the judgments, verified with the Fleiss K, was considered a measure of the taxonomies’ ability to capture real experiences. Results confirmed substantial agreement between the raters regarding both the stressors (K = 0.711, p < 0.001) and the coping strategies (K = 0.73, p < 0.001). The analysis of the proportion between the use of functional and dysfunctional strategies proved to be high (between 0.66 and 1) among athletes who completed more than 50% of the race. The taxonomies were found to effectively described athletes’ race experiences, revealing context-specific coping strategies likely developed through years of practice.

Ist das schon jemandem aufgefallen, das #Heidelbeeren einen #Stern tragen? Ich dachte zuerst es sei ein #Torx aber ich habe mich getäuscht.
@cassana The manufacturing equivalent of firewalls #torx
Aber #Bombtrack war schlau und hat die #Torx durch #Inbus ersetzt.

Thank You Steve Jobs for the excuse I needed to buy a full set of six-inch-long Torx Bits 😝

#Macintosh #Macintosh128 #M0001 #Torx #GonnaNeedABiggerBit #VintageComputing #RetroComputers #RetroGaming #WallOfRetro #NerdsOfVintage #HappyNerding #TheVintNerd

Recently i learned, that while #Torx is still a protected trade name.
The shape, however, is not.
That has lead to the linguistic contortions of "Hexalobular internal driving feature
for bolts and screws"
#ISO 10664