Azrael and Dumpster Diving [Archive]

View Full Version : Azrael and Dumpster Diving

KojiroTakenashi

08-20-2005, 08:22 PM

So...Az...you ever go Dumpster Diving?

baslisks

08-20-2005, 08:27 PM

I would go dumpster diving in japan. If its true that every teen has a cell phone. Think about it all the broken phones just waiting to be recycled.

kshgosu

08-20-2005, 08:55 PM

Not to mention the electronic stores/massive department stores. I think they have compactors/advanced stuff to take care of that. But if not I'd go for it.

baslisks

08-20-2005, 08:58 PM

yaeh whats up with destroying all the good parts when there is only like 1 or 2 parts broken?

Praetorian

08-20-2005, 09:16 PM

I would go dumpster diving in japan. If its true that every teen has a cell phone. Think about it all the broken phones just waiting to be recycled.

In your country, wherever you're from, not every teen has a cellphone?

Wherever it is, I'm moving there.

Arctic_Slicer

08-20-2005, 09:23 PM

In your country, wherever you're from, not every teen has a cellphone?

Wherever it is, I'm moving there.

In some countries, like North Korea, cellphones are pretty much illegal so if you want to be somewhere without cellphones you might consider one of those countries but putting up with cellphones is probabally less of a problem than other problems such countries have. I hate cellphones to and think making them illegal in all countries would be doing the general population a huge favor.

KojiroTakenashi

08-20-2005, 10:30 PM

In South Carolina, Cell Phones are pretty much outlawed at schools...so kids rarely have them, if at all.

Urban~Ninja

08-20-2005, 10:52 PM

Most Kids have em over here in Australia, but we hardly use them, the affect wore off like 4 months after getting it, i have to search for mine when i go out, apart from then i dont touch it.

Flintloq

08-20-2005, 11:57 PM

In South Carolina, Cell Phones are pretty much outlawed at schools...so kids rarely have them, if at all.They're not allowed in Maryland schools either, but that doesn't stop kids here (myself included) from carrying them around all the time.

kshgosu

08-21-2005, 01:22 AM

You guys hijacked the dumpster thread...I hope you're happy.

Flintloq

08-21-2005, 01:39 AM

I'm quite happy, I managed to triple my post count! :D

Xenotrauma

08-21-2005, 03:38 AM

Not to intentionally continue the hijacking.. but I just had to throw in.

An Italian friend of mine who teaches English in Italy said that cell-phones were massive problem there... to the point where they made them check them at the door. The only kicker with this was that the kids were so bound at the HIP to their phones, they would literally go out and buy DISPOSABLE cell phones to check at the door and hide theirs in their backpack to use in class... so hardcore.

Excel-2008

08-21-2005, 03:42 AM

How does one get service in a disposable cell phone? Are phone cards used? Or do they use mock cell phones as a decoy?

Xenotrauma

08-21-2005, 03:52 AM

Well I didn't really ask her, but I got the impression that they were -purely- for decoy to put in the basket at the door.

truce

08-21-2005, 06:18 AM

In some countries, like North Korea, cellphones are pretty much illegalif you're living in north korea, i'm sure not having a cellphone is the least of your problems.

l337m45t3r

08-21-2005, 06:53 AM

I'd imagine that they'd use phone cards.

Sector

08-21-2005, 07:03 AM

I wonder why do I even have a cell phone in the first place. Must get rid of it.
________
Best Butane For Iolite (http://vaporizers.net)

JudoPorkChop

08-21-2005, 07:14 AM

Az isn't a hacker, last time I checked. Why would he gallivant around in trash?

nice gaijin

08-21-2005, 08:08 AM

perhaps because japanese people like new stuff, and there is a pile of semi-old furniture and electronics at many apartment complexes that people are free to pick through before it's hauled away to the ゴミ捨て場... not really dumpster diving, though. In fact, I don't recall actually seeing dumpsters, perhaps because most trash is pre-sorted into burnable and non-burnable. Most "trash" is not something I'd want to go sifting through.

did hackers still go through the garbage? seems unlikely... my favorite quote from my old dumpster diving days was "asbestos? aww, I'm gonna have a rash... in my lungs"

l337m45t3r

08-21-2005, 08:57 AM

Mostly? Because of this. (http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=211) :D

Arctic_Slicer

08-21-2005, 11:15 AM

You guys hijacked the dumpster thread...I hope you're happy.

There wasn't much of a thread to hijack considering it was a question addresed to Azreal. Considering he hasn't responding to it there really isn't any purpose not to discuss the cellphone issue.

Josh

08-21-2005, 03:02 PM

I go dumpster diving every saturday with my friends. There is a rich neighborhood not too far from where I used to live so we would ride over there at night, climb the gates and go diving. They were all the time throwing away awesome stuff. I found my first computer over there. It wasnt more than a couple months old and all that was wrong with it was its powercore burned out, easily fixed. Half of my DVDs and Video Games came from there. There was even a pinball machine, but we didnt have any way to get it out of the community. I love rich people.... Not Hillary Duff though, I dislike her.

Arctic_Slicer

08-21-2005, 10:22 PM

KojiroTakenashi

08-22-2005, 03:04 AM

Rock on, man!

I would have brought the trusty pliers and Lucky Screwdriver, and dismantled the thing so I could carry it out in pieces...yeah. Totally awesome.

You know, even broken stuff can be good. The screens (and perhaps other bits) from no longer functioning laptops are usually good...I hope one day I'll score a really good, glossy one. I have a kickass mod planned where I wouldn't have to lug my hugeass monitor (I do graphics at bargain prices! :D) to a LAN...just the case. Bwahahaha...

Azrael

08-22-2005, 05:26 AM

Haven't gone dumpster diving.

I should though, as the Japanese throw away perfectly good stuff.

The only catch is, I'd really have nowhere to put it.

akitaka

08-22-2005, 05:36 AM

Sell good junk on Ebay. Some aren't picky.

Kustom

08-22-2005, 10:05 AM

Well, in Tokyo at least it would be hard... You see, everything must be recycled, and for anything larger than a toaster you have to arrange for the garbage men to come and pick it up at your place (for a fee). There's so little room everywhere, you can't just dump it in a street corner.

Now where I come from there would be a lot of illegal dumping to avoid paying, but this is Japan... People follow the rules closely - and your neighbours are spying on you. If you take out burnable garbage on a Monday when it's supposed to be picked up on Tuesdays, the bag somehow finds its way back to your doorstep. So forget about illegally dumping a microwave or a PC (or a fridge! ha!)...

However, friends of mine managed to find some garbage in the darkest, dirtiest corners of the city. Chairs and a rusty bike, that was it (By the way don't ever try riding an unregistered bike in Tokyo! You will get busted, eventually).
I've never seen any electronics out there (maybe in Akihabara?), and I think it's because trucks visit neighbourhood pretty often to relieve people of their electronic junk. For free, unlike putting it in the garbage, which can get really expensive for large items. You gotta think real hard before you buy anything large in Japan... This chair might be only 900 yens, but it can cost you more to get rid of it later!

Tetsusaiga

08-22-2005, 10:37 AM

Tut tut Az, Just mail em down to me I have an entire Warehouse to stash goodies.

Josh

08-22-2005, 05:06 PM

My friends and I went out again last night and we found a bunch of old Nintendo games that still work. It was slim pickins though, apparently the sharks beat us to it. There are 3 groups that dumpster dive that neighborhood. The Sharks, the Jets and the Warriors. Sounds gay but thats what we've been calling ourselves since 1994. Proud Jet since 1995 :) We did actually fight once, only once, back during the Blizzard of 96 on the east coast of the US. We rumbled like there was no tomorrow. Kinda like that scene from Gangs of New York. the Sharks came out and the Jets. We all stood there and then the Warriors came out and helped us whoop the Sharks. A bunch of 7 & 8 yearold kids fighting over trash. Awesome times.

akitaka

08-22-2005, 05:40 PM

^that was a pretty awesome story; you could make a funny editoria about that.

I didn't know bikes had to be registered, though; is it some sort of anti-theft ploy?
think it's because trucks visit neighbourhood pretty often to relieve people of their electronic junk. For free, unlike putting it in the garbage, which can get really expensive for large items.
That actually seems swell, to me. I know this is laziness talking, but it gets annoying having to go to goodwill every time to donate useless electronics (that aren't mutilated, of course). Also, tossing things like that feels like a huge waste; if the proceeds were to go directly to recycling/repairing/parts harboring, that alone makes me feel a little better. Recently I found an awesome program here in AZ that takes all computers/components, and does that, or lends the old comps to schools for kids to tinker with. AZSTRuT, is what it is.

Henjin

08-22-2005, 05:58 PM

We put our old electronics in our garage. :D

kshgosu

08-22-2005, 06:06 PM

There is a soulution then. I'll go to tokyo and become...not an english teacher...not a salaryman...but a garbageman! I could keep the good stuff, sell it on ebay, then profit$$$$. I'd be a pretty rich garbageman, albeit crooked in some sense.

Henjin

08-22-2005, 06:24 PM

Think you could make enough on Ebay to pay off your student loans?

KojiroTakenashi

08-22-2005, 08:00 PM

You could always put it in the mail.

...Addressed to me.

Also, there ARE some people who have set up businesses on eBay selling merch that Japanese (and other companies) throw away...

No place? Why not get a nice, flat TeeVee? :D

Edit: Blast! Did not see that second page...Oh Yeah, Josh, did you feel pretty, oh-so pretty?

sakana

08-22-2005, 08:19 PM

Mostly? Because of this. (http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=211) :DYee Haw! MegaTokyo Rocks! its a little wierd sometimes though...

co_delphi

08-22-2005, 11:48 PM

Oh Yeah, Josh, did you feel pretty, oh-so pretty?

Actually I believe he felt pretty, witty, and gay.

KojiroTakenashi

08-23-2005, 01:05 AM

Well, then, I pity any girl who isn't me today.

Even though I'm a guy.

Kragar

08-23-2005, 03:36 AM

You have dumpsters in Japan? That's one of the odd things about Taiwan -- there are no dumpsters. There's a severe lack of public trash cans, for that matter.

Everything gets recycled, so you have to hand-deliver them to the garbage trucks that come around. You don't even get to leave them on the curb. If you're busy and not at home at 7 o'clock on the right days, you're screwed.

Stormhammer

08-23-2005, 04:08 AM

Haven't gone dumpster diving.

I should though, as the Japanese throw away perfectly good stuff.

The only catch is, I'd really have nowhere to put it.

Thou must get bigger house!!!

-Stormhammer-

Kustom

08-23-2005, 04:38 AM

^that was a pretty awesome story; you could make a funny editoria about that.

I didn't know bikes had to be registered, though; is it some sort of anti-theft ploy?

Oh yeah! They're really serious about it... When you buy a bike, even second-hand, it has to have a sticker and you need to carry your permit with you at all times. You have to understand checking bike IDs is the only action cops get all day in Tokyo residential neighborhoods... If you're a gaijin, you will get checked pretty often (at least twice a week), but to be fair it happens to Japanese people often enought too. It's also forbidden for two people to ride one bike, although housewives carrying three small kids in baskets on their bicycle seem to never get arrested (they damn should be, in my opinion!)

That actually seems swell, to me. I know this is laziness talking, but it gets annoying having to go to goodwill every time to donate useless electronics (that aren't mutilated, of course). Also, tossing things like that feels like a huge waste; if the proceeds were to go directly to recycling/repairing/parts harboring, that alone makes me feel a little better.

Actually, those trucks go to Akihabara next, and recycle your electronics I believe. You see, in a typical Tokyo appartment you don't have any room to stack up unused electronics - I once had unused computer speakers at home, believe it or not it was eating up all the free space in my living room. Now I personally give my electronic junk to the truck people when they come on sundays (nothing like being woken up at 8 am on a sunday by a loudspeaker truck), and I think most people do, it's a thriving business in Tokyo. It really pisses me off to have to pay and arrange an appointment during business hours with Shinjuku city services to get rid of that stuff.

Big Pete

08-24-2005, 04:22 PM

Skip diving , its the sport of the future, half of my (well equiped) garage came out of skips, along with almost all the bar stock I have. However, I have worked in engineering for years, and there is all sorts of good stuff goes out. Industrial skips are far better than domestic ones. :cool: :D

co_delphi

08-25-2005, 09:01 PM

Big Pete

08-26-2005, 09:52 AM

A skip is a large metal box, 8' wide x 16-20' long, up to maybe 8' high, no lid, no wheels, it gets collected/delivered by a truck with a special lifting frame. They are for waste disposal and can be hired for domestic use eg, during a renovation project or garage clearout, but they are frequently used by companies as a giant rubbish bin (hence industrial skip). Skips outside of light engineering firms often have lots of steel/brass /aluminium etc offcuts that are invaluable if you build stuff at home like I do, on occasion there are even small machines that can be salvaged.

Josh

08-29-2005, 12:28 AM

As a matter of fact I did feel pretty as well as witty. Not so much gay though, I think I skipped that one. :)

Skip Diving is awesome too. My neighbors tossed a perfectly good 36inch TV one day because they didnt have anywhere to put it in their new house. Bastards didnt ask if I wanted it, but I took it anyway. Quid pro quo.

RaspberiHevn

08-30-2005, 07:29 PM

-edit- gomen

RaspberiHevn

08-30-2005, 07:32 PM

In your country, wherever you're from, not every teen has a cellphone?

Wherever it is, I'm moving there.

In Hong Kong I hear it's mandatory. If the parents or kids don't have one then they won't know the days of exams and PTA meetings.

Annorax

08-30-2005, 08:43 PM