Cars change all the time. The limiting factor has been and always will be that the "average driver" is still just an average driver. On top of that, many of these roads with these slow speed limits GP complains about are not significantly changed in that time. Good driver in a new car with the road to themselves? Sure go nuts. Average driver in a regular car surrounded by more average drivers? God damn, slow that guy down!
What it comes down to is observing what the signals do on your commute and use it as a guide - but you certainly can't make assumptions on how they work in other towns.
While the effect is the same, the reason big rigs leave gaps is because it takes them much longer to change speed. I can't quite fathom what goes on in the heads of folks who cut off big rigs in traffic... I always leave a gap for a couple of reasons:
- I'm often on a motorbike, and if I don't leave a gap, cars will oftentimes confuse *me* for a gap.
- It's far less stressful to give up that minute or so of driving time to not be constantly worried that somebody might *gasp* get ahead of me
- If I need to change lanes, it's far easier and less invasive to accelerate in my gap to get into a spot in another lane than it is to slow down.
This is right on - but don't forget that NC will lose out on employment and property taxes from Tesla-owned retail and service centers. For the Model S, these laws harm the states but really won't impact Tesla. People who really want them will take the short trip to get them. Now, if Tesla intends to move more mainstream into the market where people are looking for "a commuter car" instead of "a Tesla" - they'll absolutely have trouble by not having a local presence.
It's a spurious argument though. So a portion of the profits doesn't get skimmed by a local dealer. How bad does that really hurt the community when it's still going to be provided with local salespeople, managers, service techs, taxes on auto sales, property taxes for the storefronts that are owned by the manufacturer?
I'm not at all against buying local, but keep in mind those cars aren't produced locally. The vast majority of the money for that Ford or Chevy is going to other regions. Sure there are all sorts of manufacturer incentives and financing, but ultimately the dealer just buys the cars at one price, marks them up, and resells them to us. We would do far more for local business by switching to that local coffee shop down the street from Starbucks than we would by switching to direct auto sales.
This is the whole thing though - to sell cars the company is still going to have to open up stores. They will still need to open up service centers. There's still storefronts that will need to pay leases and taxes. The value to the state and community is practically identical whether the excess profits go to Tesla or to the one guy at the top, given the small part of the profits that would otherwise get skimmed off in-state.
The only difference is they aren't going through the current buddy club. This is all about competition, in that the dealer networks don't want any. It's pathetic that it's become normal to use the courts and legislature to create or maintain your business model.
And as a business model, it worked out pretty well - until instead of a single no-frills commuter car, it was expanded it into a badge-engineered model line exactly like all the rest of GMs model lines.
I don't think you're necessarily trying to give the impression that the business model is what killed Saturn, but just so our fellow readers are aware - they were killed by the same model redundancy and bloat that killed oldsmobile and pontiac.
OK fine, send the address to the state's database and let them spit back the rate... Point still remains that it's possible to make it pretty transparent and low-cost for online merchants.
Do you realize that's the very definition of a Luddite?
I didn't realize, but I went ahead and looked it up. Man, we've been getting it wrong all these years! Thanks for clearing that up.
In this case though, I think the automated checkers simply aren't as fast or efficient as an actual checker. As long as we need to scan the barcodes and weigh the produce, a person whose been doing the job for a while will usually be quicker than one who hasn't. All we're doing is replacing work somebody else did with work that I now have to do.
When I can walk out the door and have it auto-RFID scan all of my merchandise, then we'll have made an improvement and the checker can go the way of the buggy whip maker.
The thing is, there isn't yet a "solution" to the tax collection and disbursement. I suppose it's fair to say it's not well thought out - but to tie that to the minimums is jumping the gun. I can picture a very smooth implementation for inter-state tax collection which would put minimal burden on the retailers to use: lookup the tax rate by zip code, calculate the amount to charge, wire the tax to the state. I can also picture a nightmare
When I started writing this, I figure the states would bend over backward to make tax collection easy, then I remembered the hassle of filing federal taxes. Never mind, it's going to be a nightmare.
He's got tunnel vision, pretty much lost credibility at "sales tax buying stadiums for millionaires." I suppose GP doesn't drive on any roads in his town, see any benefit from the local schools and universities, can handle his own fire and police services...
I dunno, I've bought plenty of things from overseas (tech crap from companies in Hong Kong, old car crap from companies in Britain). I'm sure the packages go through customs given they usually take two to four weeks to get to me, but the process seemed rather transparent. Of course these are small items worth small dollar amounts, so I can't speak to what would happen if I tried to order a new TV from Bermuda.
I usually try to avoid self checkout for a handful of reasons:
- Pain in the ass "unexpected item in bagging area" notices (maybe this is resolved with newer systems)
- Half of my store trips include beer or wine and need somebody to OK the sale anyway
- Often I'm getting bulky stuff (dog food, home or garden stuff) that's ridiculous to try and scan on the bed when the checkers could use a handheld scanner
- If I have a lot of stuff, a trained checker and bagger is far faster than I am (and I wouldn't want to hold up the self checkout line anyway)
- I kinda like the interaction
- Most important: I prefer somebody be employed
My local grocer has no self-checkout kiosks. They are very good about opening lanes if lines start growing (I've never seen more than three people in line without them frantically searching for more checkers). Admittedly, this is nowhere near the norm, and I know I pay a bit extra at the checkstand - but I'll take it any day over driving an extra five miles to the nearest "supercenter" to deal with the crowds, even if there's self checkout. I will say that I try to use self checkout if I do need to go to one of the supercenters. I usually want to get in and out of those places as quickly as possible and they're often the only way to avoid a big checkout line.
Sounds like a great business model... Try it out and let us know how it goes...
Customer service is a small part of the job for a B&M employee. Back when I worked for one, I spent just as much time organizing product, stocking shelves, maintaining demos, and keeping the shelves clean as I did helping customers. So no, you can't replace B&M stores with kiosks and expect it to be a place anybody but the most antisocial would want to go. The store you describe is exactly how on-line retailers work - there is no reason to have you customers come into the store and peruse goods if they're just going to be looking at kiosks of the website anyhow.
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All you're really saying is that you don't like beer. That's OK, y'know...
You *could*, but that would just be pedantic, I mean nobody's ever been killed by a USB cable ;)
...or keep the laptop plugged in when you're just sitting on the couch instead of wearing out the battery.
Hey, we should talk about the availability of power outlets on the couch!! Where's the Ask Slashdot button?
Nobody has been killed by a USB cable.
I don't know if I'd put money on that assertion...
Nailed it.
Cars change all the time. The limiting factor has been and always will be that the "average driver" is still just an average driver. On top of that, many of these roads with these slow speed limits GP complains about are not significantly changed in that time. Good driver in a new car with the road to themselves? Sure go nuts. Average driver in a regular car surrounded by more average drivers? God damn, slow that guy down!
And killing me is *way* worse than killing anybody else!
What it comes down to is observing what the signals do on your commute and use it as a guide - but you certainly can't make assumptions on how they work in other towns.
To the tailgater it makes you a jerk. To everybody else it makes you less likely to cause an accident. Thanks!
While the effect is the same, the reason big rigs leave gaps is because it takes them much longer to change speed. I can't quite fathom what goes on in the heads of folks who cut off big rigs in traffic... I always leave a gap for a couple of reasons:
- I'm often on a motorbike, and if I don't leave a gap, cars will oftentimes confuse *me* for a gap.
- It's far less stressful to give up that minute or so of driving time to not be constantly worried that somebody might *gasp* get ahead of me
- If I need to change lanes, it's far easier and less invasive to accelerate in my gap to get into a spot in another lane than it is to slow down.
No, this is what we call "armchair driving." We all know half of /. never leaves the basement.
You're right, it's just too bad that they have to deal with it at all.
This is right on - but don't forget that NC will lose out on employment and property taxes from Tesla-owned retail and service centers. For the Model S, these laws harm the states but really won't impact Tesla. People who really want them will take the short trip to get them. Now, if Tesla intends to move more mainstream into the market where people are looking for "a commuter car" instead of "a Tesla" - they'll absolutely have trouble by not having a local presence.
It's a spurious argument though. So a portion of the profits doesn't get skimmed by a local dealer. How bad does that really hurt the community when it's still going to be provided with local salespeople, managers, service techs, taxes on auto sales, property taxes for the storefronts that are owned by the manufacturer?
I'm not at all against buying local, but keep in mind those cars aren't produced locally. The vast majority of the money for that Ford or Chevy is going to other regions. Sure there are all sorts of manufacturer incentives and financing, but ultimately the dealer just buys the cars at one price, marks them up, and resells them to us. We would do far more for local business by switching to that local coffee shop down the street from Starbucks than we would by switching to direct auto sales.
This is the whole thing though - to sell cars the company is still going to have to open up stores. They will still need to open up service centers. There's still storefronts that will need to pay leases and taxes. The value to the state and community is practically identical whether the excess profits go to Tesla or to the one guy at the top, given the small part of the profits that would otherwise get skimmed off in-state.
The only difference is they aren't going through the current buddy club. This is all about competition, in that the dealer networks don't want any. It's pathetic that it's become normal to use the courts and legislature to create or maintain your business model.
And as a business model, it worked out pretty well - until instead of a single no-frills commuter car, it was expanded it into a badge-engineered model line exactly like all the rest of GMs model lines.
I don't think you're necessarily trying to give the impression that the business model is what killed Saturn, but just so our fellow readers are aware - they were killed by the same model redundancy and bloat that killed oldsmobile and pontiac.
He wasn't sent there to make a music video, y'know...
...I think
Woah. Bravo, AC. Everybody's rebutting that troll's diatribe, but you nailed it in one sentence.
OK fine, send the address to the state's database and let them spit back the rate... Point still remains that it's possible to make it pretty transparent and low-cost for online merchants.
Do you realize that's the very definition of a Luddite?
I didn't realize, but I went ahead and looked it up. Man, we've been getting it wrong all these years! Thanks for clearing that up.
In this case though, I think the automated checkers simply aren't as fast or efficient as an actual checker. As long as we need to scan the barcodes and weigh the produce, a person whose been doing the job for a while will usually be quicker than one who hasn't. All we're doing is replacing work somebody else did with work that I now have to do.
When I can walk out the door and have it auto-RFID scan all of my merchandise, then we'll have made an improvement and the checker can go the way of the buggy whip maker.
Just to be a pedantic ass, I think you meant "completely not true."
The thing is, there isn't yet a "solution" to the tax collection and disbursement. I suppose it's fair to say it's not well thought out - but to tie that to the minimums is jumping the gun. I can picture a very smooth implementation for inter-state tax collection which would put minimal burden on the retailers to use: lookup the tax rate by zip code, calculate the amount to charge, wire the tax to the state. I can also picture a nightmare
When I started writing this, I figure the states would bend over backward to make tax collection easy, then I remembered the hassle of filing federal taxes. Never mind, it's going to be a nightmare.
He's got tunnel vision, pretty much lost credibility at "sales tax buying stadiums for millionaires." I suppose GP doesn't drive on any roads in his town, see any benefit from the local schools and universities, can handle his own fire and police services...
I dunno, I've bought plenty of things from overseas (tech crap from companies in Hong Kong, old car crap from companies in Britain). I'm sure the packages go through customs given they usually take two to four weeks to get to me, but the process seemed rather transparent. Of course these are small items worth small dollar amounts, so I can't speak to what would happen if I tried to order a new TV from Bermuda.
I usually try to avoid self checkout for a handful of reasons:
- Pain in the ass "unexpected item in bagging area" notices (maybe this is resolved with newer systems)
- Half of my store trips include beer or wine and need somebody to OK the sale anyway
- Often I'm getting bulky stuff (dog food, home or garden stuff) that's ridiculous to try and scan on the bed when the checkers could use a handheld scanner
- If I have a lot of stuff, a trained checker and bagger is far faster than I am (and I wouldn't want to hold up the self checkout line anyway)
- I kinda like the interaction
- Most important: I prefer somebody be employed
My local grocer has no self-checkout kiosks. They are very good about opening lanes if lines start growing (I've never seen more than three people in line without them frantically searching for more checkers). Admittedly, this is nowhere near the norm, and I know I pay a bit extra at the checkstand - but I'll take it any day over driving an extra five miles to the nearest "supercenter" to deal with the crowds, even if there's self checkout. I will say that I try to use self checkout if I do need to go to one of the supercenters. I usually want to get in and out of those places as quickly as possible and they're often the only way to avoid a big checkout line.
Sounds like a great business model... Try it out and let us know how it goes...
Customer service is a small part of the job for a B&M employee. Back when I worked for one, I spent just as much time organizing product, stocking shelves, maintaining demos, and keeping the shelves clean as I did helping customers. So no, you can't replace B&M stores with kiosks and expect it to be a place anybody but the most antisocial would want to go. The store you describe is exactly how on-line retailers work - there is no reason to have you customers come into the store and peruse goods if they're just going to be looking at kiosks of the website anyhow.