argyleaf

I can't speak to endurance (I got into IF after my endurance-athlete days) but I know that body weight-based athletes do this to perform better. My experience is specific to rock climbing.

When you are right at the edge of your abilities being just a couple pounds lighter can feel like a world of difference (people hone down their rack to precisely what they need for a route, nothing more), especially on sport and boulder problems. My anecdata points to it being great for the project/performative aspects of the sport but as a tool for consistent progression/improvement, I am less confident in stating anything.

It is an option but it is neither particularly breathable, nor flexible, nor inexpensive.

For some PPE all you are looking for is no-melt (which would leave molten goo on your skin that would increase the damage)or provides a minimal level of protection, e.g. NFPA 70E PPE level 1 for arc flash, suitable to your expected risk exposure.

From your first link, the link to the WilmerHale [0] article is a 404.

[0] https://www.wilmerhale.com/uploadedFiles/Shared_Content/Edit...

WiX is a nightmare from which I am feverishly trying to awake...

From a former climber's perspective, moving expediently through terrain is frequently the safest mode of operation. Every second you are in the mountains you are exposing yourself to increased risk of a catastrophic accident. Even if this is a terrifically low probability event if you spend enough time there it will likely bite you. Thus pursuing the fastest methods of travel is, from my perspective, aspiring to the highest ideals of mountaineering because it allows you to do it for longer (hopefully).

_Nice_. I tried a cheesecake once and the cooking time in the dutch oven was about 8 hours longer than expected (gave up waiting at 10p and left it in the coals overnight to finish). At least it was a nice breakfast.

I have an idea on how I would do it but do you care to share your method?

My troop had a Heavy Cream Patrol which prided itself on making gourmet food in the backcountry. This usually meant carrying extra equipment, learning to cook well with both backpacking stoves and live fire (more than just boiling water), and spending extra time cooking at night. After hiking all day you are going to sit around the campfire anyway, why not make it a productive period? Plus there is nothing better than a stellar meal and dessert while sitting in a beautiful spot.

Cooking is still a way I relax and one way I show affection to friends and family. There is a certain satisfaction from having a meal where you raised and/or made every item on the table from raw materials. For instance this morning I made my wife and I egg sandwiches with sourdough bread we baked yesterday morning, red pepper jelly we put up last year, onions we grew and stored over winter, bacon we smoked from a hog we helped raise, eggs from some chickens we help take care of, and microgreens we grew in the basement. We (clearly) live in a rural-ish setting so I realize what is possible for us is not possible for those living in a major metro area (except maaaaybe Portland), but aspects of this are possible almost anywhere if you want to try.

Then there is the nerd factor where you can get into the science of cooking a la modernist cuisine and that takes it to a whole other level in engaging with my engineering side....

Not really given the highly integrated nature of laser manufacturers where they bundle the table, drives, CNC, material handling, power supply, and (often) SLA together. Additionally there is a lower run-rate of consumables in comparison to other industrial cutting technologies so the life-time cost is more comparable to competing technologies.

So why not always use laser? They have far higher upfront costs as their business model is not consumable-driven. Further they are limited in material thickness and finish they can handle. They are great at cutting sheet and thin (<= 1/4") metals, when the surface is clean and uniform as mentioned above, but if your shop needs the ability to cut thicker materials or the up-front cost is too high then plasma, oxy-fuel, or (possibly) waterjet are better options.

Totally hear you.

I'm living in a small college-town-adjacent city in rural New England and though I occasionally have pangs of desire for the SV life of some college friends, working for an established company that is not a historic software powerhouse makes stress super manageable, makes me a big fish in a small pond, gives me time to hack on side projects, and opportunity to perfect my hobbies (wood-fired pottery, cooking, and yoga). I took what feels like a big pay cut but cost of living compared to BOS, SV, SEA, or NYC at least zeros that out.

Of course there are problems where adopting technologies/best-practices, hiring a team, or speed of development is like pushing molasses up a sand dune, but leaving that at the door at the end of the day is worth it to me.

Will that balance change? Who knows. The future is hard to predict, but right now it makes a lot of sense to me.