S08.E10: Inboard Technology, Nomiku, Nootrobox, Pet Plate

[rose711]

I'm only about five minutes in, but every time I think Chris Sacca has hit peak dickweed, he manages to top himself.

Omg. I had never watched this show before and he is the worst.

[MrSmith]

On 12/3/2016 at 0:14 AM, Jamoche said:

I'm in Silicon Valley and I've never heard of "bio-hacking". I'm also an old enough computer programmer to have once proudly claimed to be a "hacker" - as in, finding clever solutions to problems the designers hadn't considered. Weird that we've got "lifehacks" and "biohacks" (which aren't hacks in any of the senses of the word - "lifehacks" are just "Hints from Heloise" rebranded) but "computer hackers" are still the bad guys.

Completely agree. When they said bio-hacking, my wife immediately paused the show because she knew I was about to unleash a tirade about that. I'm so sick of people thinking "hacking" is bad unless it happens to have absolutely nothing to do with ... you know ... actual hacking. Made me want to punch those hipsters right in their douchey faces. And maybe I'm just not up on all the actual science behind nootropics, but I can't be the only one who views such products as being based on voodoo science.

My least favorite "product" was PetPlate. I went on their site to see what it would cost to feed a 170 pound dog (we have an Irish Wolfhound). The prices are insane! $20 PER WEEK to feed a five pound or smaller dog! Anyway, buying a 91 to 100 pound dog package ($90 per week) and a 61 to 80 pound dog package ($70 per week) would cost us $8580 per year. Currently, we feed him a frozen, raw turkey neck every evening and he's got dry kibble to eat whenever he's hungry the rest of the day and that costs us $720 per year. This means PetPlate would cost us almost TWELVE TIMES AS MUCH as it currently costs us to feed our dog. I figure it's going to be at least that for anyone else. We feed a super premium, which means we pay considerably more up-front, but even people who still think grocery brands are fine would end up with a much higher food bill with PetPlate. My mother-in-law has a pug mix and she only buys a $20 or $30 bag of food every 5 or 6 months.

I don't know much (ok, I don't know anything) about sous vide, but even I could see that product wasn't going to appeal to people in the way they think it will. If you want convenience, then you've already got a crock pot. So, why would you need their gadget? And if you're interested in sous vide for the way it makes you food taste or whatever, then - once again - you don't need their gadget. I thought their choice of steak done sous vide was very poor. That steak lost so much of its juices being cooked that way. When they said "And then you can sear it on the grill or your stove to finish it off", I laughed even before my wife could (who is the one who does nearly all the cooking in our house) because even I know that you sear the steak first to seal the juices in! If you're searing it at the end, you're doing it wrong. And if you know enough to sear it at the beginning, then why wouldn't you simply finish the steak on the grill or on the stove top since you've already got the grill fired up or made a pan dirty and heated up the burner? I found the couple to be very strange, too. I'm not entirely sure he's actually a person. I suspect he might be a Japanese sex robot that she hauls around to make her look like she's in a happy relationship and that is programmed to say other things to give the appearance of sentience. If he is an actual person, I'm surprised he didn't scream "IT'S PEOPLE!!!!!" and run away, given how stiff he was and how stilted and halting his speech was during the presentation.

The skate board thing might turn out to be popular. I know younger people in urban areas are eschewing vehicles for other forms of transportation (bicycles, walking, public transit). I'm not part of that demographic and so I'm not sure how interesting something like that might be for someone that age. At $1400, I can't imagine it'll be all that interesting. It almost certainly won't be for anyone living in a place that regularly gets snow during the winter, since the skate board will be useless for 4 or 5 months every year. I also wonder what replacement cost of the battery will be when it's no longer capable of storing enough power to go the predicted seven to ten miles. Will the battery even be replaceable? Or will it be like the iPhone? Personally, I could see such a device being interesting to people who work on a campus like Google, Facebook, or Epic. It would probably be a good way to get around those places since they're large and your only other option is walking (well, probably also biking at Google and Facebook, but Epic's campus is almost 100% indoors since they're in Madison, WI).

Anyway, that's pretty much my wife and my take on this episode.

Edited December 5, 2016 by MrSmith

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Shark Tank Eats Its Own Dog Food

A dog starved at his master's gate may predict the ruin of the state, but what would William Blake say about a Shark Tank episode steeped in useless products? 'I've been dead since 1827, thank Christ,' probably.

[yourdreamer]

  On 12/3/2016 at 7:29 AM, starri said:

I'm only about five minutes in, but every time I think Chris Sacca has hit peak dickweed, he manages to top himself.

Omg. I had never watched this show before and he is the worst.

Wow, sorry you had to start out with such a dud. There have been some really great episodes throughout the seasons, but this one....definitely wasn't! Try the CNBC reruns if you get that channel, there are some better ones. Plus Daymond John >>>> Chris Sacca.

[starri]

21 hours ago, Amarsir said:

The cowboy shirts? Branding. He has a not-particularly interesting story about buying one in an airport on the way to a convention, getting a reaction, and returning to the airport to buy up a bunch more.

Steve Jobs and his turtleneck, Mark Zuckerberg and his hoodie.

It's all fucking branding to those guys.

[hkit]

10 hours ago, starri said:

Steve Jobs and his turtleneck, Mark Zuckerberg and his hoodie.

It's all fucking branding to those guys.

Anyone who uses "branding" in relation to themselves is someone I would never be interested in knowing. Probably another reason I will never have that kind of money. But at least nobody can accuse me of not being authentic. 

[Bookish Jen]

8 hours ago, hkit said:

Anyone who uses "branding" in relation to themselves is someone I would never be interested in knowing. Probably another reason I will never have that kind of money. But at least nobody can accuse me of not being authentic. 

Stop being a brand; try being a human being.

I kind of hate watch this show. I'm all about the entrepreneurial spirit; I think the PBS show "Startup" is particularly charming and features people I totally root for. But Shark Tank is too chock full of entitled mommies, yuppie douche bros, and hipster types hawking completely useless businesses like the bio-hacking caffeine cubes. Gee, just take some No-Doz and down a few Red Bulls.

[starri]

8 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

I kind of hate watch this show.

I think we all do to some extent.  There are occasional people who give me warm fuzzies, and then there are the types you mention, plus the precocious children.  

[raiderred1]

Saca's shirts have been around in my(rodeo/cowboy/cowgirl) crowd for at least 10-12 years.  They are called Scully's and they are well made but really no one wears them anymore.  I own about 10 of them but haven't worn them in about 10 years! 

[Bookish Jen]

11 minutes ago, starri said:

I think we all do to some extent.  There are occasional people who give me warm fuzzies, and then there are the types you mention, plus the precocious children.  

Ugh, I almost forgot the precocious children. 

I thought the dog food guy was down-to-earth and charming, but his product was a no-go for me. 

[Ottis]

On 12/3/2016 at 0:48 PM, PepperMonkey said:

Kevin is beginning to win me over. What is wrong with me?

I've always liked Kevin. He's only saying what some of us are thinking. I can't deal with another Robert or Lori (one of each is good, no more). Kevin is the Simon Cowell of Shark Tank.

[Missy Vixen]

On 12/4/2016 at 5:54 PM, annewithaneee said:

And if there still are a ton of people in unconscionable working conditions in the era of wellness plans and in-office massages and whatnot, where self-care is evangelized (literally never heard any of my coworkers talk about biohacking, nor would they have any need for it; I only know of it as A Thing from the internet), it's really gross and irresponsible of these dumdums to try and exploit the situation for profit.

 

The only companies that are doing the "biohacking" and insane work schedule BS now are startups that end up crashing and burning after their employees leave for a saner situation. To say I was shocked to hear Sacco call those bozos out on national TV was an understatement; he is the king of arrogance in all situations, but in this one, I was actually cheering him on from the family room couch. That isn't a workplace. It's a recipe for significant illness or accident at a very young age. I can't imagine working anywhere in which employees were expected to chew a handful of sugar cubes and code for 72 hours straight. I realize my view of it all is from the Seattle area and not the Silicon Valley, but when a certain software company located in Redmond, WA is actually pushing work-life balance after years of compelling employees to work ridiculous hours, it's time to find another approach.

[starri]

1 minute ago, Missy Vixen said:

I can't imagine working anywhere in which employees were expected to chew a handful of sugar cubes and code for 72 hours straight.

But why bother eating when you can drink Soylent?  You don't even have to stop working to do it.

[ClareWalks]

On 12/3/2016 at 5:08 PM, raiderred1 said:

Dogs and cats are carnivores!  What about them is in any way herbivore or omnivore?

Cats are carnivores. Dogs can be omnivores in "captivity" although they definitely cannot cook vegetables. :)

Edited December 17, 2016 by ClareWalks

[nutella fitzgerald]

Has no one mentioned the coffee Mark Cubes guys preparing for their presentation by going into "power poses," or did I just hallucinate that it happened?

[Bookish Jen]

2 hours ago, nutella fitzgerald said:

Has no one mentioned the coffee Mark Cubes guys preparing for their presentation by going into "power poses," or did I just hallucinate that it happened?

Well, it does sound like some BS product a couple of hipster douchebros would hawk on Shark Tank.

[sasha206]

On 12/5/2016 at 6:09 AM, MrSmith said:

Made me want to punch those hipsters right in their douchey faces. And maybe I'm just not up on all the actual science behind nootropics, but I can't be the only one who views such products as being based on voodoo science.

 

Holy hell, I absolutely HATED those hipsters.  Mealy-mouthed entitled special snowflakes.  

[Silly Angel]

Sigh, I bought my mom a sous vide thingy (not the one on the show) for Christmas. She'll totes use it, though. The sad part is I was inspired by the stupid show. I hadn't realized there were home versions.

[Thriftykins]

On 12/4/2016 at 6:06 PM, Missy Vixen said:

My husband worked for a software company twenty years ago that almost succeeded in a) breaking him and b) breaking up our marriage. The product in question was a cutting-edge billing solution for cell phone companies. In other words, time was of the essence, there were two people in the world that could provide support to said product since the learning curve was so steep, and he had one day off in two years.  There is only so much coffee one can drink when working in that type of environment. It was so bad by the time he left that the company maintained a hotel room across from the office after more than one employee fell asleep behind the wheel of their car after being up for 48-72 hours at a time (and the resulting car wrecks). The company was run by idiots like the Coffee Nibbles "entrepreneurs". I hate to break it to them, but coffee, sugar and buzzwords won't substitute for reasonable work hours, actual exercise and nutritious food, and eight hours of sleep. People who code or provide product support for three days without sleep aren't making good decisions or being effective.

Wow that's terrible.  I'm a programmer and I worry about falling into a company like that.

Marathon coding sessions are kinda sorta a thing, when you enjoy what you're doing.  But like any hobby, the body shuts down and you need sleep.  I can't imagine going at it so long that I feel like I need to stay up more than an hour or two.

Also, coding can be mentally straining.  After too long, your brain just kinda starts to melt and you can't figure out solutions to the simplest problems.  It becomes counterproductive to keep going.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Thriftykins