Re:It is bad, wrong way to go about it
on
Health Care Reform
·
· Score: 1
Is there anything that the government runs that really functions correctly/efficiently?
It's been shown, over and over again, that government run healthcare institutions like the VA and Medicare spend more dollars they collect on actual patient care than any private insurance company. They also have consistently higher customer patient satisfaction ratings...
The government run systems in Germany and France spend half as much money (in terms of GDP) then we do, cover everyone, and have similar (or in many cases better) health outcomes
I know all of this clashes with some world views, and some "this I know to be always true" axioms, but reality does that sometimes
You are probably happy with the setup because you are are probably young and without a doubt, healthy, and because you are young and healthy, you've never had to use it...
Gambling on exotic technologies that would only marginally increase sales is not the surest path to profitability. But hey what do I care - I'm not American
Nor are you an automobile marketing guru (nor am I), but looking at history, it should be obvious to anyone that new fangled gizoms, like FM radio, Air conditioning, cruise control; despite the sanctimonious outrage folks like yourself, DO end up helping cars sell...
If its a technology, like ABS or ESC, which, again despite the howls of protest from so-called auto aficionados , have made cars demonstrably and quantifiable safer. Well then, all the better...
GM, or any other car company, would be derelict not to at the very least, explore these kinds of technologies
Its not the voltage and cycle, its the physical dimensions/characteristics of the plug itself.
Designing plugins on the style of the North American and European 220v (respectively based on the car's destination) socket would seem to be fine. Cars sold in Europe don't usually end up in America, and vice-versa...
There are other considerations though: security for one, I suppose some kind of locking/threading mechanism so the local kid (on accident) or local hoodlum (on purpose) can't just stroll by and yank the plug out. I suppose that would be nice if it were standardized, allowing one charging station to charge different makes and models.
It just seems like one of those engineering problems that has probably been already solved by someone, somewhere
he only reason the automatic transmission is so heavily advertised is because it provides an extreme up front profit and requires prohibitively expensive repairs, many of which are done by the dealer as the transmission is so unreliable.
you sound European...
Properly maintained automatic transmissions (read trans fluid flushed and refilled at the specified interval) are actually more reliable than a comparable manual transmission. Even if driven perfectly, you will need a new friction plate/throwout bearing eventually..
A good auto tranny can last 500k miles with nothing but fluid/filter changes.
What kind of bullshit is this? Censorship to "Protect the national consciousness"? So what communist party pamphlet are you reading that from?
Information is more free, more open, and more diverse than it has ever been. That scares a lot of folks, even in the West, and you can be sure it scares the shit out of the ruling elite in China..
If they give out press passes to bloggers, how can we be certain there will be enough room at an event for the real journalists from the New York Post?
It's not a bad idea, but, have you ever tried to steer a car with no power steering, or stop a car with no power brakes? Fighting all of those dead hydraulics is not easy.
I'm a larger than average male, in my mid 30s and I've had to do it in my mini van because of a mechanical failure, it was not easy. Anybody with any kind of physical problem (or just those who are old/small) would be put in an really bad position...
Maybe its the lesser of two evils, I dunno...
WTF does a *car* need all that computing power for? I've driven dozens of cars without a single microchip in them - they started, they stopped, they did everything you'd reasonably expect a piece of personal transport to do.
All those microchips make cars cleaner (modern emission control systems are computer controled), safer (antilock brakes ESC are proven lifesavers), more efficient (electronically controlled timing, fuel/air mix, etc), and more reliable (MTBF for autos has went down in the last 30 years, not up)
That's not to might light of the glaring failures that may or may not be at the root cause of the spectacular issues going on at the moment, but as a whole vetronics are a good thing..
It's not about being "cozy" ( I know a backhanded swinging dick type of insult when I hear one).. It's about providing for not only yourself, but your family.
It's one thing to play the risk vs reward with your life, it's another to play it with someone else's...
And don't kid yourself, when you try to go it on your own that is exactly what you are doing...
One serious illness incurred without insurance (or with mediocre insurance) equals absolute financial oblivion at best, and death at worst
Plenty of problems in canada, plenty of problems in UK.
Plenty of problems here in America too. Those countries you mention cover everyone, spend half as much (as a percentage of GDP, and since their GDP is less per capita even less than that), and their life expectancy, just as good...
its much better to work for some huge soulless corporate pig where everything you create is owned by the pig and all you get is a measly salary and the pig gets richer and fatter while you wonder if you have enough to retire on at 65
When you have a wife a kid(s) depending on you, when health benefits for you/your wife/kids would cost 5 times as much (if they are available at all, if you have any kind of special needs, or pre-existing conditions, forget it) and half as good, then yeah, it does...
The republicans like to burn sacrifices at the alter of "small business" and entrepreneurship, but they are full of it..
There are plenty of folks out there who have idea/dreams, who would go out on their own, but have to make the decision to stay in a job's that don't reveal their full potential, jobs they may even hate because of this..
Depends,
In the state of Texas, I'm not even sure if the concept of "unreasonable deadly force" exists for an uninvited stranger inside your house, be they armed/unarmed/coming/going whatever...
Hell, Joe Horn was vindicated for killing two house robbers outside of somebody else's house....
then why can't I apply Occam's Razor and declare the universe can have that property you claim for the prime mover, and thus declare the prime mover unnecessary?
You can do that very thing, many eastern religions do that, or something similar, i.e. the universe itself is God..
That's fine, but you still haven't removed the supernatural, just moved the supernatural "uncaused cause" from some being outside the universe, to the universe itself.
If you are a true atheist, a true rationalist, you must do better than this...
"People who are serious about their driving are much more likely to want a manual transmission" - serious as in viewing it with the sanctimonious attitude taken by European autosnob douche bags, such as yourself?
Or serious as in needing a car to be a functional member of society (the situation in 90%+ of the US)?
Modern automatic transmissions for most drivers offer better economy, create less traction issues, and last longer if properly maintained, and offer less driving distractions.
I own TWO vehicles, one with an auto, one with a stick, and probably drive more in a month than you do in a year..
[quote]Any car will 'accelerate wildly' under cruise control, given the right conditions, i.e. you are going up a hill and it can't maintain speed in the current gear. [/quote]
The condition you describe, in a car with an automatic transmission, will cause the auto to down-shift, not "accelerate wildly"....
I am glad for this thread though, there was a discussion on fark about the vapid Toyota fanboy-appologist crowd, and how they just might be "the Apple of cars".. It looks think that circle is now closed..
Ka Band, Laser?
Resolution/Discrimination is phenomenal at K band, but range can be a problem.
As wavelength goes down, you start getting real issues with propagation through the atmosphere. The attenuation from water vapor can be severe...
22 is definitely not the first second, or third choice in a defensive firearm, but it will still kill a human being deader than crud on a stick. Plenty of folks in your local cemetary could probably attest to this, if they could speak...
And no, it doesn't take a "series of head shots". At short range.22 particularly from a longer barreled pistol, or better yet a rifle, will go through a human skull at all but the shallowest of angles.
Factory slaughterhouses use bolt guns, but the.22 is still used as a slaughter tool for pigs in small operations and family/side business farming situations..
Slashdot Mirror
Is there anything that the government runs that really functions correctly/efficiently?
It's been shown, over and over again, that government run healthcare institutions like the VA and Medicare spend more dollars they collect on actual patient care than any private insurance company. They also have consistently higher customer patient satisfaction ratings...
The government run systems in Germany and France spend half as much money (in terms of GDP) then we do, cover everyone, and have similar (or in many cases better) health outcomes
I know all of this clashes with some world views, and some "this I know to be always true" axioms, but reality does that sometimes
I have catastrophic insurance, so if I get cancer and my bills go over $20,000 then THEY will cover the cost. Like a safety net.
Thats what you hope at least...
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/health-insurer-targets-hiv-patients-d
You are probably happy with the setup because you are are probably young and without a doubt, healthy, and because you are young and healthy, you've never had to use it...
GM quality has actually become quite "decent" http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=a6vimtbt2YqQ
anecdote + anecdote does not equal data Note the positions of Buick ( a GM brand ) - and the positions of the Japanese makes you mention http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/porsche-tops-in-dependability-study/
Gambling on exotic technologies that would only marginally increase sales is not the surest path to profitability. But hey what do I care - I'm not American
Nor are you an automobile marketing guru (nor am I), but looking at history, it should be obvious to anyone that new fangled gizoms, like FM radio, Air conditioning, cruise control; despite the sanctimonious outrage folks like yourself, DO end up helping cars sell...
If its a technology, like ABS or ESC, which, again despite the howls of protest from so-called auto aficionados , have made cars demonstrably and quantifiable safer. Well then, all the better...
GM, or any other car company, would be derelict not to at the very least, explore these kinds of technologies
Designing plugins on the style of the North American and European 220v (respectively based on the car's destination) socket would seem to be fine. Cars sold in Europe don't usually end up in America, and vice-versa...
There are other considerations though: security for one, I suppose some kind of locking/threading mechanism so the local kid (on accident) or local hoodlum (on purpose) can't just stroll by and yank the plug out. I suppose that would be nice if it were standardized, allowing one charging station to charge different makes and models.
It just seems like one of those engineering problems that has probably been already solved by someone, somewhere
he only reason the automatic transmission is so heavily advertised is because it provides an extreme up front profit and requires prohibitively expensive repairs, many of which are done by the dealer as the transmission is so unreliable.
you sound European...
Properly maintained automatic transmissions (read trans fluid flushed and refilled at the specified interval) are actually more reliable than a comparable manual transmission. Even if driven perfectly, you will need a new friction plate/throwout bearing eventually..
A good auto tranny can last 500k miles with nothing but fluid/filter changes.
What kind of bullshit is this? Censorship to "Protect the national consciousness"? So what communist party pamphlet are you reading that from? Information is more free, more open, and more diverse than it has ever been. That scares a lot of folks, even in the West, and you can be sure it scares the shit out of the ruling elite in China..
rough guess-- you lose 50% of the wind energy coming and going.
Rough answer, you are wrong, RTFA and RTF Thread, particularly (#31435384) http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1578760&cid=31435384
You can do better by pumping water uphill, where you don't have the compressive losses.
no, you can't, again, RTFA
here it is 2010, and I'm still using cutesy acronyms from the early 1990s, seriously though RTFA has never been a more appropriate response
The terrorists have won. Way to send us down the path of dhimmitude O'bama!
If they give out press passes to bloggers, how can we be certain there will be enough room at an event for the real journalists from the New York Post?
It's not a bad idea, but, have you ever tried to steer a car with no power steering, or stop a car with no power brakes? Fighting all of those dead hydraulics is not easy.
I'm a larger than average male, in my mid 30s and I've had to do it in my mini van because of a mechanical failure, it was not easy. Anybody with any kind of physical problem (or just those who are old/small) would be put in an really bad position... Maybe its the lesser of two evils, I dunno...
WTF does a *car* need all that computing power for? I've driven dozens of cars without a single microchip in them - they started, they stopped, they did everything you'd reasonably expect a piece of personal transport to do.
All those microchips make cars cleaner (modern emission control systems are computer controled), safer (antilock brakes ESC are proven lifesavers), more efficient (electronically controlled timing, fuel/air mix, etc), and more reliable (MTBF for autos has went down in the last 30 years, not up)
That's not to might light of the glaring failures that may or may not be at the root cause of the spectacular issues going on at the moment, but as a whole vetronics are a good thing..
it's about time, godless commies... Now, switch over to FOX news for the REAL story
It's not about being "cozy" ( I know a backhanded swinging dick type of insult when I hear one).. It's about providing for not only yourself, but your family. It's one thing to play the risk vs reward with your life, it's another to play it with someone else's... And don't kid yourself, when you try to go it on your own that is exactly what you are doing... One serious illness incurred without insurance (or with mediocre insurance) equals absolute financial oblivion at best, and death at worst
Plenty of problems in canada, plenty of problems in UK.
Plenty of problems here in America too. Those countries you mention cover everyone, spend half as much (as a percentage of GDP, and since their GDP is less per capita even less than that), and their life expectancy, just as good...
its much better to work for some huge soulless corporate pig where everything you create is owned by the pig and all you get is a measly salary and the pig gets richer and fatter while you wonder if you have enough to retire on at 65
When you have a wife a kid(s) depending on you, when health benefits for you/your wife/kids would cost 5 times as much (if they are available at all, if you have any kind of special needs, or pre-existing conditions, forget it) and half as good, then yeah, it does... The republicans like to burn sacrifices at the alter of "small business" and entrepreneurship, but they are full of it.. There are plenty of folks out there who have idea/dreams, who would go out on their own, but have to make the decision to stay in a job's that don't reveal their full potential, jobs they may even hate because of this..
Jail for unreasonable use of deadly force?
Depends, In the state of Texas, I'm not even sure if the concept of "unreasonable deadly force" exists for an uninvited stranger inside your house, be they armed/unarmed/coming/going whatever... Hell, Joe Horn was vindicated for killing two house robbers outside of somebody else's house....
then why can't I apply Occam's Razor and declare the universe can have that property you claim for the prime mover, and thus declare the prime mover unnecessary?
You can do that very thing, many eastern religions do that, or something similar, i.e. the universe itself is God..
That's fine, but you still haven't removed the supernatural, just moved the supernatural "uncaused cause" from some being outside the universe, to the universe itself.
If you are a true atheist, a true rationalist, you must do better than this...
Not totally safe, IF YOU FUCKING DRINK IT.... Even Alpha emitters can kill you, if they get on the inside of you...
"fuel economy is so much better with a manual transmission" No, actually it's not...
Right because the father of 4 with a steady job and a decent house in Omaha can just pack up and move to NYC and everything will be just swell....
"People who are serious about their driving are much more likely to want a manual transmission" - serious as in viewing it with the sanctimonious attitude taken by European autosnob douche bags, such as yourself? Or serious as in needing a car to be a functional member of society (the situation in 90%+ of the US)? Modern automatic transmissions for most drivers offer better economy, create less traction issues, and last longer if properly maintained, and offer less driving distractions. I own TWO vehicles, one with an auto, one with a stick, and probably drive more in a month than you do in a year..
[quote]Any car will 'accelerate wildly' under cruise control, given the right conditions, i.e. you are going up a hill and it can't maintain speed in the current gear. [/quote] The condition you describe, in a car with an automatic transmission, will cause the auto to down-shift, not "accelerate wildly".... I am glad for this thread though, there was a discussion on fark about the vapid Toyota fanboy-appologist crowd, and how they just might be "the Apple of cars".. It looks think that circle is now closed..
Ka Band, Laser? Resolution/Discrimination is phenomenal at K band, but range can be a problem. As wavelength goes down, you start getting real issues with propagation through the atmosphere. The attenuation from water vapor can be severe...
22 is definitely not the first second, or third choice in a defensive firearm, but it will still kill a human being deader than crud on a stick. Plenty of folks in your local cemetary could probably attest to this, if they could speak... And no, it doesn't take a "series of head shots". At short range .22 particularly from a longer barreled pistol, or better yet a rifle, will go through a human skull at all but the shallowest of angles.
Factory slaughterhouses use bolt guns, but the .22 is still used as a slaughter tool for pigs in small operations and family/side business farming situations..