u/BelethorsGeneralShit

We're switching to an induction cooktop in our house and non of our current cookware will work with it, so we're in the market for something new.

We're not huge cooks and most everything we do is pretty simple - mostly fried eggs, pasta, some soups, etc... Two frying pans, a medium pot, and a large pot would cover like 98% of our use cases. We'd like to keep the budge to $500 or below.

The catch is my mother in law will abuse the shit out of most anything we get and will absolutely not do any different. I already know that just trying to show her how to use the new cooktop (which is just knobs) is going to be like showing a llama how to use a nuclear reactor.

When cooking, she's just going to go for whatever utensil is closest. Maybe it's metal. Maybe it's silicone. Maybe it's the cat. She's going to turn the heat up way too high. She's going to haphazardly throw everything into the dishwasher. Or if she doesn't, she'll scrub it with a Brillo pad or similar.

So yeah, some delicate cookware made from Japanese Cherry blossoms or whatever isn't going to work. My main frying pan right now is some cheapo non stick $25 from Amazon that I didn't have high hopes for, but it's holding up just fine after two years of her. Unfortunately it won't work on induciton.

Also it needs to be solidly non stick, the more slippery the better.

I'm looking to get a digital camcorder for my 10 year old who wants to learn about video editing and making little movies.

From what I understand, a phone will often have better video taking capabilities at this price point, however he doesn't have a phone, and we're not looking for anything super high quality. It's more to have fun with and use a learning tool.

I see a bunch on Amazon, from no name random Chinese brands. They advertise themselves as being 4k or 8k, with resolution anywhere from 48 to 88MP and image stabilization and other stuff that all sounds great on paper, but in my experience with these off brand Amazon products, the marketing doesn't always translate to reality.

Which guess is somewhat okay, since as mentioned we're looking more for something to practice with and learn on, versus making any serious production.

Any suggestions about these, or perhaps a budget name brand, or other things to look for are all welcome, thanks!

I'm building a gaming PC with my kid. He's paying for half of it, so we're on a budget but I can extend a line of credit under favorable terms if it makes sense.

We live near a Microcenter and I'm looking at their CPU + motherboard + RAM combos. Right now he mostly just plays Minecraft and Roblox, so I don't think I really need a strong GPU for those and can stick with the integrated graphics. He can add a GPU in the future when he starts playing more demanding games. He also likes to stream his playing on YouTube (I don't think anyone has ever watched...)

I'm currently looking at this bundle with a Ryzen 5 7600X3D and 16 gigs of RAM for $349. From what I can tell, this should be a pretty solid middle of the road setup.

However, they also have a bundle that's a step up, which includes a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 32 gigs of RAM for $599

Considering just the extra RAM is ~$200 by itself, I'm basically only paying $50 for the processor upgrade. If I think we may want to jump to 32 gigs in the future regardless, then this upgrade seems to make sense.

Of course then it becomes a slippery slope, because now I'm only $90 away from this, which is a 9800X3D....

I do have a habit of overanalyzing things and losing the forest for the trees, so I'd like to get some feedback before I talk myself into a cycle of upgrades that aren't really necessary.

My kid is 10 and he's been wanting to build a "gaming" PC with me; he'll be paying for half of it. The only games he currently plays are Roblox and Minecraft. With that in mind, and keeping costs down, I figured it'd make sense to just stick with integrated graphics for now, and we can add a graphics card down the road when he starts getting interested in more demanding games.

I'd like to keep our CPU under $200. Initially I was looking at using a Ryzen 5 8600G since it seems to have one of the more powerful integrated graphics, but now I'm reading that Roblox and Minecraft can pretty much run on an abacus, and it's better to get a more powerful CPU that has lower quality graphics, since integrated graphics are irrelevant as soon as you add a dedicated card.

So with that in mind I was thinking of a Ryzen 5 7600. Although currently the 7600 and 9600X are the same price on Newegg, and the 9600X comes with a free 750w power supply.

Then I'm looking for a motherboard to pair it with. Maybe Asus B650E Max Gaming Wifi? I don't really know what I'm looking for here or what separates a cheap one from an expensive one, but it has good reviews and seems reasonable at $150.

[We do have a Microcenter nearby, if that changes anything]

I'm an American and hold no other citizenship. My wife and two kids have both American and Polish citizenship and passports.

This summer, one kid and I will be traveling to Norway. My understanding is that when we land in Norway, we can both go through the line for EU citizens. He'll present his Polish passport and I'll present my American one and his birth certificate, and tell the officer I'm his father. We should be processed together and under EU Directive 2004/38/EC, none of our time in the country would count against the usual 90/180 day rule for tourists.

When we leave, we'd do the same thing. And when we land in the USA, he would use his American passport (we have Global Entry).

Edit: We're not planning on staying more than 90 days, that point is just academic for curiosity.

Basically the title. Dad was infantry (11B) on an 81mm mortar crew in the 101st Airborne in the Army. I forget the exact years, but it was about 1968 to 1972, give or take a year to either side. He was also parachute qualified. He voluntarily enlisted and was not drafted.

For his whole enlistment he stayed in the US. He didn't have any medical conditions or anything that would disqualify deployment to my knowledge. He was simply never shipped out. He finished his enlistment and was honorably discharged.

Given that America was forcibly drafting young men to meet the demands of the Vietnam War, would it have been common to have a (presumably) perfectly qualified soldier never ship out? If not, what would be a reason for this?