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Would you spend $80 on a coffee mug?


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If you are a US taxpayer, you have at least in part. The US Air Force was paying $1,200 each for fancy coffee cups for use on aircraft. But even at that price, the cups would break pretty easy. Somebody figured out a way to fix them with a 3D printer. However someone in Congress found out about the cups and the USAF isn't buying any more of them for some reason.....

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1 hour ago, JerrySTL said:

The US Air Force was paying $1,200 each for fancy coffee cups for use on aircraft.

This is an interesting situation.  I wonder what the cups cost when "new" and just being added to the planes?  And then, say 20 or 30 years later, when no longer being added to new planes, did the manufacturer just get rid of the production line, so every time the USAF want a few replacement cups, they do the standard "quote an insane number" to see if the USAF would bite?  Then, someone did bite :D  And for the next several years, the company made a ton.

3D printing is so great for this sort of thing. Watching Wheeler Dealers the other day, Mike had a little doodad for a sun roof 3D modeled and printed instead of spending endless hours/days/weeks trying to find the part.  Probably better than original as well.  Perhaps, though,, the USAF would outsource this work to some bloated contractors instead of keeping some skilled techs working on creative and interesting challenges.
 

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2 hours ago, 2Far said:

It's only a 10 oz cup. I'd have to buy 2.

Then there's our tax dollars at work:

Battle over Air Force’s $1,300 coffee cups heats up

So how does a bureaucrat respond? Create a new department. :lol:

"Wilson said that in July, she ordered a new Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office to be created to find ways to develop and deliver parts at a fraction of the cost of traditional manufacturing methods."

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2 minutes ago, donkpow said:

So how does a bureaucrat respond? Create a new department. :lol:

"Wilson said that in July, she ordered a new Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office to be created to find ways to develop and deliver parts at a fraction of the cost of traditional manufacturing methods."

The military has to compete with the new Amazon HQ2 office.  This new AFRSO will allow then to keep a few more officers on the payroll instead of losing the talent to Amazon.

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45 minutes ago, roadsue said:

I did, sort of...

I donated to my local public television station and received a PBS News coffee mug as a thank you.

Yep.  I am always amused when a group (charity, etc.) asks for a large donation and, in return, they promise to send you a "free" t-shirt or some such crap.   :D

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I paid almost that much for a coffee mug (I think it was like... $79.99) and sent it to Martha down in Richardson TX.  I'm not sure she ever even used it.  I'm guessing her husband dropped it on the kitchen floor and it broke into a thousand pieces.

Did I waste my money?

 

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4 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

Yep.  I am always amused when a group (charity, etc.) asks for a large donation and, in return, they promise to send you a "free" t-shirt or some such crap.   :D

Amused at the people who need to be given something to be charitable or that a charity can't get people to contribute without offering something?  Many (most) have straight "give $xyz" options, but many also offer the "free gift as a thanks" gimmick. Just choose the straight giving option.

I find the address labels or nickel/stamp attached to the donation sheet more annoying, and I now get about six different free calendars each year. ? Sometimes my wife and I get separate versions of the same calendar.

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4 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

I paid almost that much for a coffee mug (I think it was like... $79.99) and sent it to Martha down in Richardson TX.  I'm not sure she ever even used it.  I'm guessing her husband dropped it on the kitchen floor and it broke into a thousand pieces.

Did I waste my money?

 

I thought he was using it as a water bowl for rescue puppies?

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4 minutes ago, donkpow said:

I tried that with a hired employee of the charity. He said it couldn't be done. I took the jelly and gave it away. Win. Win. Double Winning. Winning twice.

He worked on commission!  Just like those darn Girl Scouts! I think the Girl Scouts will accept cash these days in lieu of boxes of cookies.

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1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

He worked on commission!  Just like those darn Girl Scouts! I think the Girl Scouts will accept cash these days in lieu of boxes of cookies.

There was a cub scout being trained to be a money grubber over at Lowe's. He was selling popcorn but I don't eat popcorn. I told him so and asked him what I should do. He said, "Do whatever you want to do." I said, "That's what I'll do, whatever I want." His dad laughed and I donated some cash with a smile.

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7 hours ago, Road Runner said:

Yep.  I am always amused when a group (charity, etc.) asks for a large donation and, in return, they promise to send you a "free" t-shirt or some such crap.   :D

I've contributed to PBS for three years whether they give me a mug or not. 

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No.  In general, I'm like the guys Stanley and Danko interviewed for their book, "The Millionaire Next Door."  They had a reception with pate and other stuff alien to most middle class people and the millionaires with Middle Class incomes turned their noses up at it.  When ask his favorite beer, one said, "Free and Budweiser."

When I got out of college and in 1977 got a $16K research chemistry job ($67K in today's $), one of the first things I did was buy a $250 ($1040 in today's $) 25" Color TV, not an extravagant price at that time.  But I had a guilt headache for a week for spending so much money!

As time went on, I grew out of my poor childhood fear of spending money, but I still try to get the best bang-for-the-buck.

$80 for something that's only going to keep that cup warm doesn't work for me. As an alternative, I've got a cheap-but-good steel 25 oz. thermos.  My Mr; Coffeemaker makes 20 oz. of coffee.  There's room for a little half-and-half and the thermos keeps it all hot for hours.

 

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