Dear Brian,

Good p.m. There are things that simply do not work, and - note my language - cannot be made to work, no matter how much effort is expended on trying to make them work. I call such a thing, an "HDD": a hopelessly defective device.

Such things are either misconceived and/or badly made, such that they cannot do, that which they are intended to do. Such things cannot be fixed. They can only be thrown away.

The Russians spent seven decades trying to make "central economic Planning" work, i.e., to allocate goods and services efficiently. They couldn't make it work: Russia ended up bankrupt and polluted. No one can apply "central economic planning", because it is a logical nonsense.

These "self-adhesive brake shims" seem to be an HDD. Perhaps there is a way to make them work, but it is not obvious. Most adhesives will liquefy, if subject to heat.

In short, you gave the supplier good advice: get rid of them, pronto.

Well done.

Yours faithfully,

spook