Really? Going to a place where the guards on both sides of the border check your identity routinely, and people expect anonymity as a matter of course?
What I expect is that they check the only document that is legally required to provide me with legal entry to my own country. I do not expect them to take my picture, finger prints, rental scan, blood sample, stool sample, perform a colonoscopy, or try to figure out if I am a terrorist by some automated scanner using some body language cues and body temp to see if I am a terrorist.
Why is it that every time I read stories like this I just want to go punch a TSA agent in the cock? The last time I flew back from international travel I got the privilege of getting photographed like all US citizens going through customs at JFK or Newark (I forget which one I went through in January) and decided to see what I could get away with. I have a black fedora I wear so I tipped my head down until the picture of my face was just a picture of my hat and flipped the camera the bird. The border agent seemed to be in a good mood as he chuckled when I brought the printed document that comes out of the machine up to him that has the picture on it. His only additional comment that it wasn't a very appropriate picture and waved me through. I figured at the time the worst that would happen is that I would be told to go back and fill it out again, get a proper picture and stand in line some more.
it seems like watch makers should make ever more amazing mechanical gadgets that are totally distinct from the Apple Watch.
While I would agree, this isn't about making an amazing device it is about making an amazingly expensive device. I am half tempted to see if I can get a one off hand made mechanical watch of amazing accuracy. Then again this would be a one off watch made to be extremely accurate, with an extremely long lifetime so the cost would probably end up being greater than most high end watches which I couldn't afford anyway. Maybe some day I will win the lottery and then I can have really nice things.
engineering marvels and will last for generations if they are overhauled regularly by a watchmaker certified for the brand
Yes most luxury watches are still all mechanical movements and the mechanical aspect is what makes them neat. There is a lot of engineering that goes into making one and depending on the watch there is the appreciation of the skill of craftsman that made it. That said I don't think a lot of people buying luxury watches are necessarily buying them for that but instead as a means of showing off. Think of it as the way MBAs measure their equivalent of their e-peen.
As far as service goes, just like with vehicles a good watch repair shop will be able to take care of it without any issue and keep them adjusted and clean. The watch repair shop I go to while being a certified repair shop for some high end watches will gladly service any watch and does quality repairs. They guy there even makes replacement parts that can not be sourced by other means which was done for one of my watches to repair a broken internal chain link and replace a missing screw on a watch that is over 160 years old. Add in that the aforementioned repairs, plus full cleaning, oiling, and adjustment came to $120 and the watch works probably as good as it did new. Just getting a full cleaning, oiling, and adjustment only costs about $30 for most watches so it isn't the silly prices charged by jewelers or Luxury Brand X repair shops, much like the price difference for an oil change for a BMW at Valvoline rapid oil change vs. getting it done at the dealer.
People looking to spend 10 grand on a watch want a Rolex or some other quality brand that will last a lifetime and that they can pass on in their will, not some junk fad that will be obsolete in 24 months
Maybe not. As others have stated the people who buy a Rolex are buying a status symbol or jewelry. It is easily recognizable and a way to set your self apart from the unwashed masses since even they recognize a Rolex. Having never owned a Rolex I can't speak to their reliability or accuracy but it looks like they are not better than my very good but when new inexpensive mechanical Benrus made US military watch (federal stock number 6645-066-4279) for accuracy, it runs 3 seconds +/-1 fast per day verified against a proper time and frequency device. This is a watch that is just a few months shy of being 50 years old and has seen harsher conditions than probably any Rolex as it was used in the Vietnam war, and I have taken it out hunting and camping a number of times. The biggest difference between a Rolex and my Benrus is that the Rolex is a somewhat functional piece of jewelry while my Benrus is just a functional piece. Personally I think the clean design of the Benrus with it's matte finished parkerized stainless steel case, black dia with white and yellow markings is a much cleaner look instead of the look at me style of a Rolex.
You give the TSA mouth breathers too much credit. This is a far more likely scenario:
TSA goon: Waht is this? It looks expensive. (puts device in their pocket)
or:
TSA goon: What is this? Whoops! (drops device on the floor on accident)
Fun and games aside I have dealt with some very security conscious entities and was unlucky enough to be onsite when a box that was delayed arrived and had been opened while in shipment. That went right in the trash and the next trip that someone made there they brought new hardware with them on the flight.
When housing associations, communities and local government care more that your lawn is green than preserving water because there is a drought
And that is why while I am annoyed that my city mandates grass lawns, I am glad that they don't require them to be green. I will let it go dormant in the hottest and driest parts of the summer, but I will water my trees as watering them is cheaper than paying to have them removed, and even then I only water them after the sun has gone down so it is cooler with less evaporation. The HOA on the other side of the park can piss off since they seem to believe that they have a say over everything they can see.
From my reading additional insulation has one of the lowest time to pay back periods of all home energy related improvements. typically in the 2-3 year range. Granted if you live in an are that has a fairly temperate climate it will have a longer payback period but still it isn't bad.
Now that I have that out of my system I really wish the US would pursue things like the Fischer-Tropes process you mentioned or other forms of thermal depolymerization instead of the silly corn based ethanol policy the US government has been pursuing. As a side benefit when fed biological matter one of the other outputs is carbon based solids mostly char which is actually a fairly good soil amendment and is good for long term carbon sequestration.
Not one of them thought that government spying on it's citizens is a good idea.
Seems that you know people who actually care and don't fall for the BS "if you have nothing to hide" line. If I look around at the people I know who are closer to what would be considered the average American most of them seem to support these actions. For example my mother puts it as at least they are trying to do something. My sister will repeat the if you have nothing to hide line, while her husband, a former Marine, thinks the programs should be expanded.
I think you'll see how much this issue matters to people in the next presidential election.
So by using the results of the last election and the one before it I should expect it will mean fuck all.
The problem is that he is a Democrat and from Oregon. This basically means that he will be vilified by the right. And for those of you who think I am being a political hack the Democrats are just as bad when someone like Rand Paul does it too. Remember when our side does it, it is great but when the other side does it they are helping terrorists win or are racists.
Intoxication is a funny thing as there is very real mental component to it. When I was in college there were a bunch of freshmen who were whooping it up in their dorm and I swung by to see what was going on since I am always up for a good time. They went on about how the couldn't believe that the grocery store sold them some margarita mix and how wasted they were. Then I told them that margarita mix didn't actually contain any alcohol and they protested until I told them to check the bottle which mentioned that it was non-alcoholic. Nothing funnier than seeing a room full of "drunk" freshmen become instantly sober.
I don't know why I find this as funny as I do. Maybe it is because I don't have dogs now but did as a kid growing up and can remember my dog eating grass for a few cycles or maybe it is because I use to feed my mom's cats grass (they loved it) and they would go harf behind the couch. As far as what dogs will eat my experience has been anything that may or may not be food that more or less fits in their mouth. Also the smellier it is (why do you want to eat a pile of cow shit) or the more you try to get them to not eat it the more likely they are to eat it.
The main selling point of the Ni-Fe batteries is their ability to take abuse and neglect and still function. This is what becomes critical for installs in individual homes where one could assume that the home owner will just ignore them for extended periods of time. They may be more expensive up front for a given capacity but their lifetime cost should be much less given that they have a lifetime measured in decades instead of single digit years. Yes they do have a higher self discharge rate higher than other batteries but in an application where they are not being used for long term storage that should be of less concern. The low energy density is also not a big deal in stationary installations since they aren't being moved.
Pumped hydro may be more efficient but there you need the space and geography to support it and it would be good for large scale storage. For more local storage, using better batteries like sodium-sulfur batteries at the substation level to smooth things out..
How reasonable is reasonable? Here is one place I used once a long time ago but for 3d machined parts (not cut sheet metal) it will start at $184. It appears that their prices have gone up since I last looked at them (about 7 or 8 years ago), but I don't know by how much.
Why bother with Li-ion or lead acid when there are batteries that can really stand up to abuse that have been around for over a century. Granted a nickel-iron battery isn't as energy dense as the other 2 but in a stationary install that is not a big concern. Add to it that they can be refreshed fairly easily after a multi-decade initial lifespan and they become a good enough solution. If one were to look for a better technology to install at the substation level there is always the sodium-sulfur batteries but those would be something I would want to keep out of the hands to the general public since I could see some dumb ass working on their home putting a nail through it with catastrophic results.
Then I must live in one of the most fearful neighborhoods in the world as most of my neighbors have multiple firearms. Either that or I happen to live in a neighborhood where a lot of the people still go out hunting in the fall and winter. I guess I do own one firearm out of fear but from what I can tell it is a fairly well founded fear of the large predators that I have had fairly close encounters with where I hunt. Nothing gets the blood pumping like having a wolf trying to drive you back into the waiting pack, have a cougar come up to the tree you are in, being 2 feet from a black bear. So I guess my magnum class sidearm that I take out with me into the woods is something that I keep because of fear. Then again when I am not hunting those firearms all just sit nice and secure in the large heavy fireproof safe that is bolted into the poured concrete floor and poured concrete wall in my basement.
If granny is anything like my grandmother I would trust her with a firearm more than a lot of people. Last summer she mentioned that she missed going pheasant hunting so my uncle, my cousin, and I took my 89 year old grandmother out pheasant hunting on opener. We didn't go as deep into the really thick stuff and slop as we usually do but grandma kept up just fine.
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Really? Going to a place where the guards on both sides of the border check your identity routinely, and people expect anonymity as a matter of course?
What I expect is that they check the only document that is legally required to provide me with legal entry to my own country. I do not expect them to take my picture, finger prints, rental scan, blood sample, stool sample, perform a colonoscopy, or try to figure out if I am a terrorist by some automated scanner using some body language cues and body temp to see if I am a terrorist.
Why is it that every time I read stories like this I just want to go punch a TSA agent in the cock?
The last time I flew back from international travel I got the privilege of getting photographed like all US citizens going through customs at JFK or Newark (I forget which one I went through in January) and decided to see what I could get away with. I have a black fedora I wear so I tipped my head down until the picture of my face was just a picture of my hat and flipped the camera the bird. The border agent seemed to be in a good mood as he chuckled when I brought the printed document that comes out of the machine up to him that has the picture on it. His only additional comment that it wasn't a very appropriate picture and waved me through. I figured at the time the worst that would happen is that I would be told to go back and fill it out again, get a proper picture and stand in line some more.
it seems like watch makers should make ever more amazing mechanical gadgets that are totally distinct from the Apple Watch.
While I would agree, this isn't about making an amazing device it is about making an amazingly expensive device. I am half tempted to see if I can get a one off hand made mechanical watch of amazing accuracy. Then again this would be a one off watch made to be extremely accurate, with an extremely long lifetime so the cost would probably end up being greater than most high end watches which I couldn't afford anyway. Maybe some day I will win the lottery and then I can have really nice things.
engineering marvels and will last for generations if they are overhauled regularly by a watchmaker certified for the brand
Yes most luxury watches are still all mechanical movements and the mechanical aspect is what makes them neat. There is a lot of engineering that goes into making one and depending on the watch there is the appreciation of the skill of craftsman that made it. That said I don't think a lot of people buying luxury watches are necessarily buying them for that but instead as a means of showing off. Think of it as the way MBAs measure their equivalent of their e-peen.
As far as service goes, just like with vehicles a good watch repair shop will be able to take care of it without any issue and keep them adjusted and clean. The watch repair shop I go to while being a certified repair shop for some high end watches will gladly service any watch and does quality repairs. They guy there even makes replacement parts that can not be sourced by other means which was done for one of my watches to repair a broken internal chain link and replace a missing screw on a watch that is over 160 years old. Add in that the aforementioned repairs, plus full cleaning, oiling, and adjustment came to $120 and the watch works probably as good as it did new. Just getting a full cleaning, oiling, and adjustment only costs about $30 for most watches so it isn't the silly prices charged by jewelers or Luxury Brand X repair shops, much like the price difference for an oil change for a BMW at Valvoline rapid oil change vs. getting it done at the dealer.
People looking to spend 10 grand on a watch want a Rolex or some other quality brand that will last a lifetime and that they can pass on in their will, not some junk fad that will be obsolete in 24 months
Maybe not. As others have stated the people who buy a Rolex are buying a status symbol or jewelry. It is easily recognizable and a way to set your self apart from the unwashed masses since even they recognize a Rolex. Having never owned a Rolex I can't speak to their reliability or accuracy but it looks like they are not better than my very good but when new inexpensive mechanical Benrus made US military watch (federal stock number 6645-066-4279) for accuracy, it runs 3 seconds +/-1 fast per day verified against a proper time and frequency device. This is a watch that is just a few months shy of being 50 years old and has seen harsher conditions than probably any Rolex as it was used in the Vietnam war, and I have taken it out hunting and camping a number of times. The biggest difference between a Rolex and my Benrus is that the Rolex is a somewhat functional piece of jewelry while my Benrus is just a functional piece. Personally I think the clean design of the Benrus with it's matte finished parkerized stainless steel case, black dia with white and yellow markings is a much cleaner look instead of the look at me style of a Rolex.
You give the TSA mouth breathers too much credit. This is a far more likely scenario:
TSA goon: Waht is this? It looks expensive. (puts device in their pocket)
or:
TSA goon: What is this? Whoops! (drops device on the floor on accident)
This should do
Fun and games aside I have dealt with some very security conscious entities and was unlucky enough to be onsite when a box that was delayed arrived and had been opened while in shipment. That went right in the trash and the next trip that someone made there they brought new hardware with them on the flight.
and then probably have sex with your girlfriend.
No one wants to have sex with his hand.
When housing associations, communities and local government care more that your lawn is green than preserving water because there is a drought
And that is why while I am annoyed that my city mandates grass lawns, I am glad that they don't require them to be green. I will let it go dormant in the hottest and driest parts of the summer, but I will water my trees as watering them is cheaper than paying to have them removed, and even then I only water them after the sun has gone down so it is cooler with less evaporation. The HOA on the other side of the park can piss off since they seem to believe that they have a say over everything they can see.
From my reading additional insulation has one of the lowest time to pay back periods of all home energy related improvements. typically in the 2-3 year range. Granted if you live in an are that has a fairly temperate climate it will have a longer payback period but still it isn't bad.
We can't have hydrocarbon fuel/storage technology. Don't you know that The internal combustion engine is the greatest enemy of mankind. Every time I drive to work it makes baby Al Gore cry.
Now that I have that out of my system I really wish the US would pursue things like the Fischer-Tropes process you mentioned or other forms of thermal depolymerization instead of the silly corn based ethanol policy the US government has been pursuing. As a side benefit when fed biological matter one of the other outputs is carbon based solids mostly char which is actually a fairly good soil amendment and is good for long term carbon sequestration.
Someone has to poison the NSA data mining well.
Not one of them thought that government spying on it's citizens is a good idea.
Seems that you know people who actually care and don't fall for the BS "if you have nothing to hide" line. If I look around at the people I know who are closer to what would be considered the average American most of them seem to support these actions. For example my mother puts it as at least they are trying to do something. My sister will repeat the if you have nothing to hide line, while her husband, a former Marine, thinks the programs should be expanded.
I think you'll see how much this issue matters to people in the next presidential election.
So by using the results of the last election and the one before it I should expect it will mean fuck all.
The problem is that he is a Democrat and from Oregon. This basically means that he will be vilified by the right. And for those of you who think I am being a political hack the Democrats are just as bad when someone like Rand Paul does it too. Remember when our side does it, it is great but when the other side does it they are helping terrorists win or are racists.
Intoxication is a funny thing as there is very real mental component to it. When I was in college there were a bunch of freshmen who were whooping it up in their dorm and I swung by to see what was going on since I am always up for a good time. They went on about how the couldn't believe that the grocery store sold them some margarita mix and how wasted they were. Then I told them that margarita mix didn't actually contain any alcohol and they protested until I told them to check the bottle which mentioned that it was non-alcoholic. Nothing funnier than seeing a room full of "drunk" freshmen become instantly sober.
That is why I only drink distilled water or rain water mixed with pure grain alcohol.
I don't know why I find this as funny as I do. Maybe it is because I don't have dogs now but did as a kid growing up and can remember my dog eating grass for a few cycles or maybe it is because I use to feed my mom's cats grass (they loved it) and they would go harf behind the couch. As far as what dogs will eat my experience has been anything that may or may not be food that more or less fits in their mouth. Also the smellier it is (why do you want to eat a pile of cow shit) or the more you try to get them to not eat it the more likely they are to eat it.
Kisses don't seem to work on my kids, but a band-aide appears to be a cure all.
The main selling point of the Ni-Fe batteries is their ability to take abuse and neglect and still function. This is what becomes critical for installs in individual homes where one could assume that the home owner will just ignore them for extended periods of time. They may be more expensive up front for a given capacity but their lifetime cost should be much less given that they have a lifetime measured in decades instead of single digit years. Yes they do have a higher self discharge rate higher than other batteries but in an application where they are not being used for long term storage that should be of less concern. The low energy density is also not a big deal in stationary installations since they aren't being moved.
Pumped hydro may be more efficient but there you need the space and geography to support it and it would be good for large scale storage. For more local storage, using better batteries like sodium-sulfur batteries at the substation level to smooth things out..
1. reasonably works
Probably yes
2. is a cost-effective alternative to OEM.
No, well maybe considering how much a dealer chargers of OEM parts, but it wouldn't be cost effective for aftermarket.
How reasonable is reasonable? Here is one place I used once a long time ago but for 3d machined parts (not cut sheet metal) it will start at $184. It appears that their prices have gone up since I last looked at them (about 7 or 8 years ago), but I don't know by how much.
Why does it have to be loss-less storage? Have both solar generation and a storage be cheap enough and it becomes a non issue.
Why bother with Li-ion or lead acid when there are batteries that can really stand up to abuse that have been around for over a century. Granted a nickel-iron battery isn't as energy dense as the other 2 but in a stationary install that is not a big concern. Add to it that they can be refreshed fairly easily after a multi-decade initial lifespan and they become a good enough solution. If one were to look for a better technology to install at the substation level there is always the sodium-sulfur batteries but those would be something I would want to keep out of the hands to the general public since I could see some dumb ass working on their home putting a nail through it with catastrophic results.
Really?
Then I must live in one of the most fearful neighborhoods in the world as most of my neighbors have multiple firearms. Either that or I happen to live in a neighborhood where a lot of the people still go out hunting in the fall and winter. I guess I do own one firearm out of fear but from what I can tell it is a fairly well founded fear of the large predators that I have had fairly close encounters with where I hunt. Nothing gets the blood pumping like having a wolf trying to drive you back into the waiting pack, have a cougar come up to the tree you are in, being 2 feet from a black bear. So I guess my magnum class sidearm that I take out with me into the woods is something that I keep because of fear. Then again when I am not hunting those firearms all just sit nice and secure in the large heavy fireproof safe that is bolted into the poured concrete floor and poured concrete wall in my basement.
If granny is anything like my grandmother I would trust her with a firearm more than a lot of people. Last summer she mentioned that she missed going pheasant hunting so my uncle, my cousin, and I took my 89 year old grandmother out pheasant hunting on opener. We didn't go as deep into the really thick stuff and slop as we usually do but grandma kept up just fine.