Comments by "Dave Sisson" (@Dave_Sisson) on "Asianometry" channel.

That sounds a lot like the Bass Strait oil fields in south eastern Australia. Similar sea conditions that also began in the late 1960s and most oil and gas fields are now nearly exhausted.
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While East Asian shipbuilders dominate cargo ships, European shipyards still dominate the more specialised cruise ship and large ferry segment. Other countries with expensive labour control their own niches as well, such as the two Australian companies that have a monopoly on the big 40 knot catamarans that carry trucks, cars, and 1000+ passengers. So it's not as simple as saying East Asia builds the most ships, there are quite a few segments where they have no presence at all.
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The second hand National (Panasonic) microwave I inherited from a relative when I was a student is still happily working and it's now about 40 years old.
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Post civil war the Soviets were barely aware of the United States, their focus was more on Europe and to a lesser extent, Japan. So IF they looked at foreign catalogues, it is far more likely to have been British, or possibly French, Spanish, etc. The concept of "American exceptionalism" was largely unknown outside the United States which was mostly regarded as a mid sized economy far from the centre of things.
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@capmidnite Well most countries build their own navies. But the Jones Act and related legislation mean that the USA cannot compete with countries where labor is the same price or even more expensive such as Germany, France, Japan, Finland, Australia, etc. If they loosened the rules, they would be able to sell into the international market. I live in one of the countries I listed, so the USAs extreme protectionism forcing them out of shipbuilding for the rest of the world hurts them, but benefits my country.
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Okay, for a start, the constitutional crisis was solved by immediately calling a federal election. Less than a month later the people elected a government of their choice. Secondly, only the most extreme and deranged conspiracy theorists claim CIA involvement.
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The "best" watch depends on personal taste. If you want something flashy and obviously expensive get a Rolex or similar style. If you want something ultra elegant, discrete and impossibly thin, buy a Patek Phillipe (which probably costs more than the Rolex). Most of the surviving Swiss watch companies also have their own niche markets.
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@JeffBilkins Don't worry. I think only virginal teenagers without a babe write that silly comment after every video they watch. Eventually they will move on to a new cliche.
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@nchw68 I use the 40 year old National microwave about 5 days a week and I'm fairly confident the previous owner did too. The only defects I've encountered are that the bright white enamel and plastic parts have dulled into a cream colour and the interior light globe failed last year and I can't be bothered replacing it.
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It interests me how different parts of the world specialize in building different types of ships. East Asia does container ships and bulk carriers, Europe does cruise liners and big ferries while Australia does the large, fast catamaran ferries. Of course there are a few exceptions, but the United States has so many inflexible rules and regulations that their ship building industry is almost dead.
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@DanielSMatthews Much of the oil and gas is located in deeper water to the east of the geographical Bass Strait, but some of it is in shallower and stormier waters of Bass Strait proper.
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Fair point, but how is that a relevant comment for a video on Swedish mechanical calculators?
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@KissofDeath63 I wrote it that way to embarrass the kid who wrote it. I bet he won't write it again.
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So what do New Zealanders call Tasmania? The South West Island?
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@josephmagana6235 It may have been a large economy, but in Europe and most of Asia it was regarded as a remote and largely irrelevant place. The concept of "American exceptionalism" was largely confined to the inward looking United States.
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But Rolex was the most 'aspirational' brand, the sort of thing that ordinary people want to own. So in that sense it is prestigious. But people used to wealth bought something like Patek Phillipe or one of the smaller brands, or at least they used to. In these times of everyone carrying a phone with them all the time, watches have ceased to be practical tools and are really just optional jewelry.
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