As someone who used paper maps and compasses daily in the wilderness for more than a decade, I can assure you they most definitely tell you where you are, as well as provide all the information you need to determine all the features a GPS offers (such as how to get where you want to go from where you are), except the exact time of day.
Well, OK, the clued-in would also have a straight edge and a pencil or pen. Yes, you can get ones that write on a wet paper map. Which you won't need, since you were clued in enough to paint your paper maps with Thompson's Water Seal, which waterproofs them for a full season in the elements in the really worn parts (the seams you fold the map at) and for years in the least worn parts (the map portion not on a folded seam) before you need to re-apply it, and readily takes pencil and pen marks.
What you meant to say, perhaps, is a GPS can display a map to someone who has no clue how to actually use a map, and as a bonus, tell them where they are.
One of the healthiest vegetable oils, Canola Oil, is a product of genetic modification to remove a potential toxin, making it safe for humans to consume. Most of the characteristics were obtained by "conventional" genetic modification, similar to that used to create, for example, a seedless fruit variety.
However since Monsanto introduced the Gene-Spliced variety in the late 1990's, ("Roundup Ready Canola") that form has come to dominate the available crops in Canada and the USA. Also, the Monsanto variety has found it's way into the storage lots of the non-licensed seed stock. The result is the GMO Canola is virtually the only form available today in food grade Canola Oil (although it is worth noting that at least 87% is by grower's choice of the Monsanto seed, not seed stock contamination).
To avoid the GMO variety is to abandon the use of Canola altogether.
Canola pushes both all the "Heart Smart" buttons, and all the "GMO/non-GMO" buttons.
Because food manufacturers have largely embraced Canola as an input in processed foods, essentially everything from all the middle aisles in a North American supermarket contains GMO Canola. In other words, almost all the products in the supermarket in Vermont will have to be labeled as containing GMO ingredients.
The alternative is to use a less healthy vegetable oil, and that might include Hydrogenated varieties containing unhealthy Trans Fats, and earn the right to apply the NON-GMO label.
In order to avoid the possibility of a string of text being unrecoverable in the future due to some minor change in the text you used versus the available copies (a potential issue with printed or online versions of even classic texts such as The Odyssey, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette, etc), use a specific version of the Bible. For example the King James Version of a Psalm; that text will always be the same, character for character, if you use a specific version (interpretation and language translation) of the Bible. There are other texts that could also be used, including similar non-Christian examples. The presence of a religious book has many advantages, including the likelihood that access to it will be made available under many circumstances, including imprisonment by hostile agents. It is also "normal" to own or demand access to such texts.
When I was in College, long before 1984 and the introduction of dates in desktop computers (in other words, I had no idea how anyone else did it), I numbered my lecture notes sequentially; the only way to do that is Month / Day / Year.
010612.02 would be Jan 6 2001 page 2
If you do it any other way, the date becomes your sequential indicator, which breaks it as far as determining which page was written first (the day of the month becomes the "first" page, so 1 Jan and 1 Feb follow each other, not 1 Jan followed by 2 Jan)
The easy fix is to switch to a fixed-width, fixed-size font so that things like bankofarnerica don't look like bankofamerica, etc.
No, the easy fix is to never update software from anywhere other than the developer's website. Has the bonus feature of always working now and forever on every OS.
Modern diesel electric boats are very quiet and pose a challenge to those that worry about such things.
True, but I'm guessing this is one of their Romeo class because atsvwhich are quite old. At any rate, she would have had to snorkel at some point which would give away her location. That she hasn't doesn't bode well for her or her crew.
Still, the PDRK aka North Korea have been building submarines, including perhaps the world's greatest program developing some very small "midget" variants, for a very, very long time. Some require the assistance of a mother ship but the largest of the midget type, the Samg-O Class (crew of 15), can operate independently.
It may also be a Sinpo Class (crew estimated of 30~50), the largest vessel and currently under active development to replace the Romeo Class. One has been observed under construction, others may be or have been built, and there is always the possibility of testing gone wrong.
Along with artillery, it's probably the military technology that the North Korean domestic industry is most proficient at. Although understood to be still inferior to the most modern western designs, that does not mean impotent, and the quiet running ability of Diesel-Electric subs is far from new and well understood; a 1970's era (40 years ago) level is sufficient for excellent results.
Here's a picture with better perspective: https://www.rt.com/news/313141... I suspect that protuberance with the windows is an enclosed bridge for conning the boat in cold weather, and not part of the pressure hull...diesel boats have to spend a lot of time running on the surface.
True, but another inherent property of Diesel-Electric submarines is they can operate submerged in extreme silence... nuclear subs make a very small but detectible amount of noise at all times underwater... which in this case might be a contributing factor in the overall uncertainty on both sides, as to whet, exactly, is going on (such as "is it simply damaged, or sunk, or what, exactly").
On another topic raised here (regarding the possibility that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, aka "North Korea") might blame the west for a sinking of the sub), there is the problem in that there is a fine line that must be drawn with regard to what sanctions and what incentives can be applied or offered to North Korea in order to moderate it's behaviour.
The problem is you can't go too hard because as a generally regarded rogue nation, you don't know how desperately they would hold onto power or (essentially) how many lives they would be willing to risk in order to maintain their control over the nation, and presumably, beyond. Blaming the USA, Korea (aka "South Korea") or Japan, etc is a near perfect pretence to escalation and who-knows-what aggressive action.
Not exactly on topic, but the article, San Francisco's situation, and the conditions over time not just in cities, but states, nations, any identifiable economic area all point to what I consider a flaw in Economic reporting, that, to my amazement, many people fail to grasp.
The strength of any economy is reported as good, bad, improving, failing, the "world's best", the "world's worst"... whatever rank you care to put on it... based solely on the inflated value of the whole. City A is twice as prosperous as City B if the rents, wages, and prices are all twice City B's. No matter that an hour's wages buys the same square foot of land, the same block of cheese, the same latte, the same month of cable TV in both cities. City A is clearly "better" based on the Economic Data. If City A happens to be the most expensive city on the planet to work and live then it's defined as the wealthiest city on the planet, the most successful economy, the "place to be". Except as far as the day to day goes, it's just another, ordinary city.
[Somewhat more on topic] And then we get the issues regarding the transition from a City B economy to a City A economy... there are people on fixed incomes or working in fields where the high wages aren't sustainable, who get stuck in the old economy when their fellow citizens are part of the new economy. They need each other... someone has to build the homes, make the cheese, pour the latte... but they can't afford each other. Similarly, if a visitor from City A comes to City B for a vacation, they seemingly have twice as much money to spend. But not at home, where twice as much buys just enough.
The economic realities are constantly shifting and the solution for SF residents of today is the same as it's always been... wages and rents must go up, and some people must move to a City B (or even a City C) economy.
This is not really new... time to roll the ubiquitous "is this news?" Slashdot comment. (Just kidding).
I'm sorry, but simply because some silicon and radio waves are involved, I don't see why that elevates this to newsworthy status. How about a headline from 1952 Korea, or 1944 Russia, or 1776 Virginia, where a poorly rendered paper map led to an ambush? Does it make the front page of a firearms journal of the day? I hope not.
I get it that for some people, possibly even the vast majority of people, driving is drudgery and a burden.
I am not one of those people. I like to operate machinery (which is what driving is) and regardless of whether it's a classic or modern car, a sports car, a truck of almost any size (I don't operate tractor-trailer rigs, but 3-axle trucks, buses, light trucks are fair game) or Skid-Steer, a Loader, a Skidder, a 4-wheeler, a snowmobile, a boat of almost any size and power appropriate for fresh water use, light aircraft... I'm sure there's something I'm missing from the list, but you get the idea I'm sure.
I don't like being a passenger in the first place; I almost never can sleep in a vehicle if someone else is driving, and that includes operators I trust. Obviously everyone feels the same as I when it comes to my driving skill, but I really am a good, courteous driver with thousands of hours operating vehicles other than road-going units, let alone on public highways. Zero at-fault accidents over 40 years driving on public roads, and probably dozens of examples where I've driven out of danger (versus freezing and driving right into it) with no injuries to anyone although I don't fear sacrificing the vehicle to save injury or death.
To me a self-driving car involves two areas of anxiety... one, I don't trust the thing in the first place, and two, I'm being robbed of an activity I enjoy, which makes objection #1 moot, as things turn out.
I live in "High Tax" Canada, and $8.15/hr after taxes (Federal Income Tax + Provincial Income Tax + Payroll Taxes) would be less than minimum wage ($10.50/Hr).
This is a good point... realistically, why do the wireless keyboard/mouse makers use their own protocol, which is most likely far less secure than something designed by people who know what they are doing? BT is a relatively open protocol that has stood the test of time. Yes, it has had its security issues, but after 10+ years, it is pretty robust, and is definitely good enough, assuming proper pairing with 4-6 digit PINs (and re-pairing happens very infrequently.) If one needs more security, it can be handled at the application layer.
When I see some mouse or keyboard requiring its own dongle, I move on. If they are too cheap to use an industry standard for their stuff, then I'm suspecting they skimped on security somewhere else.
I don't know one way or the other, so this is pure speculation, but it may be a cost issue. Some may scoff, but virtually any difference in wholesale / production level quantity costs beyond the trivial usually means one wins overwhelmingly over the other. A case in point... Firewire chips (the original 400 MHz versions) were about $25 in wholesale / 1000 qty versus USB 1.1 at around $15. FW has significant performance advantages over USB, not the least of which is it is fully self-managing whereas USB requires management by the host CPU and CPU cycles to function, which also makes the number of USB buses available in the motherboard an issue. But that $10 price difference pretty much killed the FW in the market, even in areas where the performance differences were significant (eg Audio or Video where real-time performance is important in a way that made buffering a poor solution, so USB management could cause dropped frames, etc).
Computing and Computer peripherals are a bit more cut-throat as far as these manufacturers' choices go compared to other industries so even small differences in cost make one option overwhelmingly supported versus another.
Like I said earlier, no idea if this played a role in some manufacturers' choosing WiFi over Bluetooth (and this would be BT 2 with 10m range) but certainly it's possible.
Just a comment so that everyone understands that melting ice involves two opposite results.
If the ice was on land, then when it melts the oceans rise in level. Example: A glacier in Alaska or Greenland. If the ice was on water then when it melts, the oceans fall in level. Example: An iceberg near Newfoundland.
The opposite is also true: if glaciers increase in size (you remove water from the atmosphere, water that cannot fall on the ocean anymore) then ocean levels fall; if icebergs form to a greater extent than they melt (both normally happen in an annual cycle in the North and South polar regions, and are happening today) then ocean levels rise (frozen water contains air which makes it float partly above, not in, the oceans).
And it then should be obvious that a certain combination of warmer temperatures and melting ice causes the two to cancel each other. *
* Note that I'm not saying this is likely, just that it's one of a certain number of possible outcomes.
It's not commonly seen, but Canada has a $C 1000.00 denomination bill. I'll save everyone the joke, it's still worth about $US 700.00 so easily qualifies as a "big bill". Why is there no outcry about it's existance, about how a lunch pail of 'em adds up to a million, blah, blah, blah? Because every time you obtain one (or any number) of them, the bank records the serial numbers. And every time you deposit one, or convert it to other denominations, the bank records the serial number again. So, criminals, go ahead and make yourself about a thousand times easier to be identified and arrested.
WHY do idiots always come up with a regulation with No Earthly Use when a pencil solves ALL of their objections to this or that?
I am working on an app that will insure my golden years will be awash in dollars.
It will simply banish any news item, any television story, any music performance live or recorded, and any an all reference however transmitted, to Mr West from annoying the buyer. At 99c a pop, I expect to surpass Bill and Melinda's bank account within weeks after release.
My only regret is it's not ready this very second.
Aw, what the Hell. The Linux version will be free. You guys deserve it.
I like imagr. I have no affiliation (not even an affiliate marketing link on my website).
There are no charge options that are possibly good enough for most people and that I like better than Google-Photos, but I have found that even the paid account ($25/yr) which is what I have is worthwhile for someone who needs lots of high resolution online and offline options.
Naturally free is better, so maybe Amzon is right for you, but I would encourage you to check it out if you have a few minutes. You can't have too many free options, in case... well, in case what is happening with Google and Picassa... users left in the lurch and needing to scramble for alternative options.
It's got some kind of social media thing going which I pay no attention to, just always log right into my account. What I like best is you can post images to websites (forums, etc) and they don't leave your posts orphaned like so many of the usually touted options do (cough! photobucket! cough!) when you don't log in often enough or by displacing older images for newer ones.
I have no experience or knowledge of this stealth fighter you speak of. But I do know that plywood as used on aircraft construction has excellent stealth characteristics. Incidentally, the USAF and Northrop-Grumann are both well aware of this.
I can only imagine that you don't realise that GPS is very hit and miss under trees, in deep valleys, near tall buildings, in tunnels parking buildings, etc etc etc.
This is actually just a cheap inertial navigation supplement to GPS and the Summary is highly misleading (they are not improving absolute location at all just using medium drift inertial combined with GPS to stabilise position not improve it in any absolute way).
But don't let facts get in the way of fantasy.. Venture capital to the rescue!
I have a generation-older Garmin GPS that tracks inside buildings... I can get a lock inside my apartment or in the hallway, and walk down the hall of my apartment (no visible windows) and not lose lock or track. The building is in an area surrounded by trees taller than the peak of the 2-story 64 room unit. There are no supplemental ground stations in the area.
I do know it's possible to get poor reception in a GPS receiver, but in case you were unaware, it's also possible to get excellent coverage in difficult surroundings.
I'm not sure about Australia or the US or EU or wherever someone might live, but in Canada no-one is obligated to accept Cash for anything. A Constitutional Amendment so stating would actually mean a fundamental change in how business and debts are settled.
Which is why I don't believe this Amendment will get anywhere at all in Oz.
You know, this is important and everybody wants any Sporting Contest to be fairly refereed, and that includes issues with the Game Clock.
However, the Referees made a decision. Regardless of whether they were technically correct or not, the mechanism for applying rules to a Game is unambiguous; whatever the Officials decide is final once the game is declared "over".
You can do things under an appeal like remove the result from standings, or even award a win, but all that depends on whatever rules the game was played under and whether an appeal is even allowed, and what redress the rules provide for under that appeal, after the game was decided by the Officials.
Games have been decided this way since forever, and regardless of whether the Time Code on the Replay Video was correctly or incorrectly interpreted, the Officials make a rule and that's that. Appeal if it's allowed, or not, but there is no going back and complaining it was done wrong. And very important games have been settled this way since forever, and in some cases a "bad call" gives the winner an undeserved victory.
It's part of Sport. Get over it (Lord knows, as a Sports Fan, I have had to, many times).
I am one of those people who think speed limit changes are an issue. A city or town or highway should have consistent, predictable speed limits, so drivers "know" how fast they should be going, and can intuitively know how fast they are actually driving. If in a city, I am OK with two non-freeway speeds... 25mph and 35 mph, for example. EVERY residential street is 25 mph, EVERY thoroughfare is 35 mph, done. Same thing on a urban freeway or rural highway... say 45 mph and 70 mph, or whatever... the community can decide on the actual limits, but you only get two choices. No more. I am OK with exceptions for obvious safety issues... an unusually tight curve, for example. But don't take that to mean you can have more than two limits on otherwise ordinary streets or highways. People will learn how fast they are driving, by looking at the speedo and correlating it with how the vehicle feels. If you speed, well, then you should be consistent when you speed (I'm 5 mph over, usually), so again you know intuitively how fast you are going.
I don't like a huge set of speed limits, where in one town or city you might find 15, 20, 25, 30... etc mph limits posted. Now, you have to hunt for speed limit signs everywhere, instead of watching where the hell you are going.
It does lead to greater ticket revenue, and never assume that isn't the motive when your local or state/provincial government can't get it together on speed limits. It is far from unheard of for a local administration to set out to deliberately confuse drivers with constant changes in speed limits, but it's wrong and in essence is trading dollars for safety.
Keeping your eyes on the road is way more important, and will lead to much fewer accidents, than trying to fit into some traffic engineer's idea of how fast a given section of pavement is "safe" at.
If you can't build a municipal road that is safe at 25 mph, you (or your civic administration, more precisely) are failing in more ways that matter, and they should be shit-canned at once. They simply don't get it, period.
I lived in Houston, TX for several years and can confirm that TX police is for sale to the highest bidder. This instance of TX police "for sale" isn't at all surprising.
This topic (and your reply) are interesting and topical to me. The Municipal Police force have the mobile scanners in their vehicles... not all police cars but currently about half, and a continuous purchase program with the goal of eventually equipping every car eventually. A couple more years and they will be in every Cruiser.
But with regard to " TX police "for sale" ", only last week it was decided by City Council and the Police Commission, after proposals from various private and charitable groups and organizations, that the Municipal Police would accept no monies or equipment in lieu of money, under any circumstances, in the interest of impartiality and public confidence in Police impartiality, from any party save for the Civic Administration's normal funding of the department via Property Taxes *.
I was impressed by a City Council and Mayor (whom I rarely agree with), and the Chief of Police showing some integrity for a change.
* Property taxes are relatively low so it's not like the City is scrambling for tax revenue; average is about $C 2200/yr ($USD 1540) with the City getting about half and one of the Boards of Education getting the rest, and whom set their own mill rate (property tax rate)... taxpayers "elect" to fund one of the school systems, regardless of whether you have children in K-12 or not; the two largest are Public and Catholic, but there are others to choose from (French Immersion, Ukrainian, Cree [native American] Mennonite, etc.). My 2015 Property Taxes were just under $C 500.00 but my home has a relatively low assessment of about $65K.
It would have to be via an aircraft (helicopter or fixed wing) licensed to a company with a valid and current commercial passenger-carrying license. Which is to say it would be expensive.
It's not illegal under FAA regulations to accept money for a ride on a private aircraft, but the amount can be no more than the actual cost incurred, divided by the passengers carried.
Since a pilot of a private aircraft is considered a passenger, that means (for example) in a flight consisting of a pilot and a passenger, the passenger can legally pay, at most, ½ of the actual verified cost of the flight, and no more. The fact that it's a helicopter and not fixed wing is irrelevant as the same rules apply.
If you want to live and work in Ireland for Irish companies, then you could easily renounce your US citizenship, and have absolutely zero obligation to good old Uncle Sam whatsoever.
And, since you and I both know that you're probably not making billions of dollars a year, it's extraordinarily likely that you'd get a tax credit for taxes paid to the Irish government for all or very nearly all of the taxes you "would" owe to Uncle Sam, which means that, in effect, you have to simply file a tax return each year, which says "I owe nothing."
Stop whining.
Unfortunately, you cannot "easily renounce your US citizenship and have absolutely zero obligation to good old Uncle Sam whatsoever."
Under US Law, the US Government will refuse to recognize a renunciation of citizenship if it is determined the renunciation is solely to avoid US Income Taxes.
Also, in order to receive credit for taxes paid to a Foreign Nation, there must be a pre-existing reciprocal tax treaty between (in this case) Ireland and the USA. You know for certain such a treaty exists?
Slashdot Mirror
As someone who used paper maps and compasses daily in the wilderness for more than a decade, I can assure you they most definitely tell you where you are, as well as provide all the information you need to determine all the features a GPS offers (such as how to get where you want to go from where you are), except the exact time of day.
Well, OK, the clued-in would also have a straight edge and a pencil or pen. Yes, you can get ones that write on a wet paper map. Which you won't need, since you were clued in enough to paint your paper maps with Thompson's Water Seal, which waterproofs them for a full season in the elements in the really worn parts (the seams you fold the map at) and for years in the least worn parts (the map portion not on a folded seam) before you need to re-apply it, and readily takes pencil and pen marks.
What you meant to say, perhaps, is a GPS can display a map to someone who has no clue how to actually use a map, and as a bonus, tell them where they are.
One of the healthiest vegetable oils, Canola Oil, is a product of genetic modification to remove a potential toxin, making it safe for humans to consume. Most of the characteristics were obtained by "conventional" genetic modification, similar to that used to create, for example, a seedless fruit variety.
However since Monsanto introduced the Gene-Spliced variety in the late 1990's, ("Roundup Ready Canola") that form has come to dominate the available crops in Canada and the USA. Also, the Monsanto variety has found it's way into the storage lots of the non-licensed seed stock. The result is the GMO Canola is virtually the only form available today in food grade Canola Oil (although it is worth noting that at least 87% is by grower's choice of the Monsanto seed, not seed stock contamination).
To avoid the GMO variety is to abandon the use of Canola altogether.
Canola pushes both all the "Heart Smart" buttons, and all the "GMO/non-GMO" buttons.
Because food manufacturers have largely embraced Canola as an input in processed foods, essentially everything from all the middle aisles in a North American supermarket contains GMO Canola. In other words, almost all the products in the supermarket in Vermont will have to be labeled as containing GMO ingredients.
The alternative is to use a less healthy vegetable oil, and that might include Hydrogenated varieties containing unhealthy Trans Fats, and earn the right to apply the NON-GMO label.
In order to avoid the possibility of a string of text being unrecoverable in the future due to some minor change in the text you used versus the available copies (a potential issue with printed or online versions of even classic texts such as The Odyssey, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette, etc), use a specific version of the Bible. For example the King James Version of a Psalm; that text will always be the same, character for character, if you use a specific version (interpretation and language translation) of the Bible. There are other texts that could also be used, including similar non-Christian examples. The presence of a religious book has many advantages, including the likelihood that access to it will be made available under many circumstances, including imprisonment by hostile agents. It is also "normal" to own or demand access to such texts.
When I was in College, long before 1984 and the introduction of dates in desktop computers (in other words, I had no idea how anyone else did it), I numbered my lecture notes sequentially; the only way to do that is Month / Day / Year.
010612.02 would be Jan 6 2001 page 2
If you do it any other way, the date becomes your sequential indicator, which breaks it as far as determining which page was written first (the day of the month becomes the "first" page, so 1 Jan and 1 Feb follow each other, not 1 Jan followed by 2 Jan)
1995 wants it's News Story back.
The easy fix is to switch to a fixed-width, fixed-size font so that things like bankofarnerica don't look like bankofamerica, etc.
No, the easy fix is to never update software from anywhere other than the developer's website. Has the bonus feature of always working now and forever on every OS.
Modern diesel electric boats are very quiet and pose a challenge to those
that worry about such things.
True, but I'm guessing this is one of their Romeo class because atsvwhich are quite old. At any rate, she would have had to snorkel at some point which would give away her location. That she hasn't doesn't bode well for her or her crew.
Still, the PDRK aka North Korea have been building submarines, including perhaps the world's greatest program developing some very small "midget" variants, for a very, very long time. Some require the assistance of a mother ship but the largest of the midget type, the Samg-O Class (crew of 15), can operate independently.
It may also be a Sinpo Class (crew estimated of 30~50), the largest vessel and currently under active development to replace the Romeo Class. One has been observed under construction, others may be or have been built, and there is always the possibility of testing gone wrong.
Along with artillery, it's probably the military technology that the North Korean domestic industry is most proficient at. Although understood to be still inferior to the most modern western designs, that does not mean impotent, and the quiet running ability of Diesel-Electric subs is far from new and well understood; a 1970's era (40 years ago) level is sufficient for excellent results.
Here's a picture with better perspective: https://www.rt.com/news/313141...
I suspect that protuberance with the windows is an enclosed bridge for conning the boat in cold weather, and not part of the pressure hull...diesel boats have to spend a lot of time running on the surface.
True, but another inherent property of Diesel-Electric submarines is they can operate submerged in extreme silence ... nuclear subs make a very small but detectible amount of noise at all times underwater ... which in this case might be a contributing factor in the overall uncertainty on both sides, as to whet, exactly, is going on (such as "is it simply damaged, or sunk, or what, exactly").
On another topic raised here (regarding the possibility that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, aka "North Korea") might blame the west for a sinking of the sub), there is the problem in that there is a fine line that must be drawn with regard to what sanctions and what incentives can be applied or offered to North Korea in order to moderate it's behaviour.
The problem is you can't go too hard because as a generally regarded rogue nation, you don't know how desperately they would hold onto power or (essentially) how many lives they would be willing to risk in order to maintain their control over the nation, and presumably, beyond. Blaming the USA, Korea (aka "South Korea") or Japan, etc is a near perfect pretence to escalation and who-knows-what aggressive action.
Not exactly on topic, but the article, San Francisco's situation, and the conditions over time not just in cities, but states, nations, any identifiable economic area all point to what I consider a flaw in Economic reporting, that, to my amazement, many people fail to grasp.
The strength of any economy is reported as good, bad, improving, failing, the "world's best", the "world's worst" ... whatever rank you care to put on it ... based solely on the inflated value of the whole. City A is twice as prosperous as City B if the rents, wages, and prices are all twice City B's. No matter that an hour's wages buys the same square foot of land, the same block of cheese, the same latte, the same month of cable TV in both cities. City A is clearly "better" based on the Economic Data. If City A happens to be the most expensive city on the planet to work and live then it's defined as the wealthiest city on the planet, the most successful economy, the "place to be". Except as far as the day to day goes, it's just another, ordinary city.
[Somewhat more on topic] And then we get the issues regarding the transition from a City B economy to a City A economy ... there are people on fixed incomes or working in fields where the high wages aren't sustainable, who get stuck in the old economy when their fellow citizens are part of the new economy. They need each other ... someone has to build the homes, make the cheese, pour the latte ... but they can't afford each other. Similarly, if a visitor from City A comes to City B for a vacation, they seemingly have twice as much money to spend. But not at home, where twice as much buys just enough.
The economic realities are constantly shifting and the solution for SF residents of today is the same as it's always been ... wages and rents must go up, and some people must move to a City B (or even a City C) economy.
This is not really new ... time to roll the ubiquitous "is this news?" Slashdot comment. (Just kidding).
I'm sorry, but simply because some silicon and radio waves are involved, I don't see why that elevates this to newsworthy status. How about a headline from 1952 Korea, or 1944 Russia, or 1776 Virginia, where a poorly rendered paper map led to an ambush? Does it make the front page of a firearms journal of the day? I hope not.
I get it that for some people, possibly even the vast majority of people, driving is drudgery and a burden.
I am not one of those people. I like to operate machinery (which is what driving is) and regardless of whether it's a classic or modern car, a sports car, a truck of almost any size (I don't operate tractor-trailer rigs, but 3-axle trucks, buses, light trucks are fair game) or Skid-Steer, a Loader, a Skidder, a 4-wheeler, a snowmobile, a boat of almost any size and power appropriate for fresh water use, light aircraft ... I'm sure there's something I'm missing from the list, but you get the idea I'm sure.
I don't like being a passenger in the first place; I almost never can sleep in a vehicle if someone else is driving, and that includes operators I trust. Obviously everyone feels the same as I when it comes to my driving skill, but I really am a good, courteous driver with thousands of hours operating vehicles other than road-going units, let alone on public highways. Zero at-fault accidents over 40 years driving on public roads, and probably dozens of examples where I've driven out of danger (versus freezing and driving right into it) with no injuries to anyone although I don't fear sacrificing the vehicle to save injury or death.
To me a self-driving car involves two areas of anxiety ... one, I don't trust the thing in the first place, and two, I'm being robbed of an activity I enjoy, which makes objection #1 moot, as things turn out.
I live in "High Tax" Canada, and $8.15/hr after taxes (Federal Income Tax + Provincial Income Tax + Payroll Taxes) would be less than minimum wage ($10.50/Hr).
This is a good point... realistically, why do the wireless keyboard/mouse makers use their own protocol, which is most likely far less secure than something designed by people who know what they are doing? BT is a relatively open protocol that has stood the test of time. Yes, it has had its security issues, but after 10+ years, it is pretty robust, and is definitely good enough, assuming proper pairing with 4-6 digit PINs (and re-pairing happens very infrequently.) If one needs more security, it can be handled at the application layer.
When I see some mouse or keyboard requiring its own dongle, I move on. If they are too cheap to use an industry standard for their stuff, then I'm suspecting they skimped on security somewhere else.
I don't know one way or the other, so this is pure speculation, but it may be a cost issue. Some may scoff, but virtually any difference in wholesale / production level quantity costs beyond the trivial usually means one wins overwhelmingly over the other. A case in point ... Firewire chips (the original 400 MHz versions) were about $25 in wholesale / 1000 qty versus USB 1.1 at around $15. FW has significant performance advantages over USB, not the least of which is it is fully self-managing whereas USB requires management by the host CPU and CPU cycles to function, which also makes the number of USB buses available in the motherboard an issue. But that $10 price difference pretty much killed the FW in the market, even in areas where the performance differences were significant (eg Audio or Video where real-time performance is important in a way that made buffering a poor solution, so USB management could cause dropped frames, etc).
Computing and Computer peripherals are a bit more cut-throat as far as these manufacturers' choices go compared to other industries so even small differences in cost make one option overwhelmingly supported versus another.
Like I said earlier, no idea if this played a role in some manufacturers' choosing WiFi over Bluetooth (and this would be BT 2 with 10m range) but certainly it's possible.
Just a comment so that everyone understands that melting ice involves two opposite results.
If the ice was on land, then when it melts the oceans rise in level. Example: A glacier in Alaska or Greenland.
If the ice was on water then when it melts, the oceans fall in level. Example: An iceberg near Newfoundland.
The opposite is also true: if glaciers increase in size (you remove water from the atmosphere, water that cannot fall on the ocean anymore) then ocean levels fall; if icebergs form to a greater extent than they melt (both normally happen in an annual cycle in the North and South polar regions, and are happening today) then ocean levels rise (frozen water contains air which makes it float partly above, not in, the oceans).
And it then should be obvious that a certain combination of warmer temperatures and melting ice causes the two to cancel each other. *
* Note that I'm not saying this is likely, just that it's one of a certain number of possible outcomes.
It's not commonly seen, but Canada has a $C 1000.00 denomination bill. I'll save everyone the joke, it's still worth about $US 700.00 so easily qualifies as a "big bill". Why is there no outcry about it's existance, about how a lunch pail of 'em adds up to a million, blah, blah, blah? Because every time you obtain one (or any number) of them, the bank records the serial numbers. And every time you deposit one, or convert it to other denominations, the bank records the serial number again. So, criminals, go ahead and make yourself about a thousand times easier to be identified and arrested.
WHY do idiots always come up with a regulation with No Earthly Use when a pencil solves ALL of their objections to this or that?
Because Idiots.
I am working on an app that will insure my golden years will be awash in dollars.
It will simply banish any news item, any television story, any music performance live or recorded, and any an all reference however transmitted, to Mr West from annoying the buyer. At 99c a pop, I expect to surpass Bill and Melinda's bank account within weeks after release.
My only regret is it's not ready this very second.
Aw, what the Hell. The Linux version will be free. You guys deserve it.
I like imagr. I have no affiliation (not even an affiliate marketing link on my website).
There are no charge options that are possibly good enough for most people and that I like better than Google-Photos, but I have found that even the paid account ($25/yr) which is what I have is worthwhile for someone who needs lots of high resolution online and offline options.
Naturally free is better, so maybe Amzon is right for you, but I would encourage you to check it out if you have a few minutes. You can't have too many free options, in case ... well, in case what is happening with Google and Picassa ... users left in the lurch and needing to scramble for alternative options.
It's got some kind of social media thing going which I pay no attention to, just always log right into my account. What I like best is you can post images to websites (forums, etc) and they don't leave your posts orphaned like so many of the usually touted options do (cough! photobucket! cough!) when you don't log in often enough or by displacing older images for newer ones.
http://imgur.com/
I have no experience or knowledge of this stealth fighter you speak of. But I do know that plywood as used on aircraft construction has excellent stealth characteristics. Incidentally, the USAF and Northrop-Grumann are both well aware of this.
I can only imagine that you don't realise that GPS is very hit and miss under trees, in deep valleys, near tall buildings, in tunnels parking buildings, etc etc etc.
This is actually just a cheap inertial navigation supplement to GPS and the Summary is highly misleading (they are not improving absolute location at all just using medium drift inertial combined with GPS to stabilise position not improve it in any absolute way).
But don't let facts get in the way of fantasy.. Venture capital to the rescue!
I have a generation-older Garmin GPS that tracks inside buildings ... I can get a lock inside my apartment or in the hallway, and walk down the hall of my apartment (no visible windows) and not lose lock or track. The building is in an area surrounded by trees taller than the peak of the 2-story 64 room unit. There are no supplemental ground stations in the area.
I do know it's possible to get poor reception in a GPS receiver, but in case you were unaware, it's also possible to get excellent coverage in difficult surroundings.
I'm not sure about Australia or the US or EU or wherever someone might live, but in Canada no-one is obligated to accept Cash for anything. A Constitutional Amendment so stating would actually mean a fundamental change in how business and debts are settled.
Which is why I don't believe this Amendment will get anywhere at all in Oz.
You know, this is important and everybody wants any Sporting Contest to be fairly refereed, and that includes issues with the Game Clock.
However, the Referees made a decision. Regardless of whether they were technically correct or not, the mechanism for applying rules to a Game is unambiguous; whatever the Officials decide is final once the game is declared "over".
You can do things under an appeal like remove the result from standings, or even award a win, but all that depends on whatever rules the game was played under and whether an appeal is even allowed, and what redress the rules provide for under that appeal, after the game was decided by the Officials.
Games have been decided this way since forever, and regardless of whether the Time Code on the Replay Video was correctly or incorrectly interpreted, the Officials make a rule and that's that. Appeal if it's allowed, or not, but there is no going back and complaining it was done wrong. And very important games have been settled this way since forever, and in some cases a "bad call" gives the winner an undeserved victory.
It's part of Sport. Get over it (Lord knows, as a Sports Fan, I have had to, many times).
I am one of those people who think speed limit changes are an issue. A city or town or highway should have consistent, predictable speed limits, so drivers "know" how fast they should be going, and can intuitively know how fast they are actually driving. ... 25mph and 35 mph, for example. EVERY residential street is 25 mph, EVERY thoroughfare is 35 mph, done. ... say 45 mph and 70 mph, or whatever ... the community can decide on the actual limits, but you only get two choices. No more. ... an unusually tight curve, for example. But don't take that to mean you can have more than two limits on otherwise ordinary streets or highways.
If in a city, I am OK with two non-freeway speeds
Same thing on a urban freeway or rural highway
I am OK with exceptions for obvious safety issues
People will learn how fast they are driving, by looking at the speedo and correlating it with how the vehicle feels. If you speed, well, then you should be consistent when you speed (I'm 5 mph over, usually), so again you know intuitively how fast you are going.
I don't like a huge set of speed limits, where in one town or city you might find 15, 20, 25, 30 ... etc mph limits posted. Now, you have to hunt for speed limit signs everywhere, instead of watching where the hell you are going.
It does lead to greater ticket revenue, and never assume that isn't the motive when your local or state/provincial government can't get it together on speed limits. It is far from unheard of for a local administration to set out to deliberately confuse drivers with constant changes in speed limits, but it's wrong and in essence is trading dollars for safety.
Keeping your eyes on the road is way more important, and will lead to much fewer accidents, than trying to fit into some traffic engineer's idea of how fast a given section of pavement is "safe" at.
If you can't build a municipal road that is safe at 25 mph, you (or your civic administration, more precisely) are failing in more ways that matter, and they should be shit-canned at once. They simply don't get it, period.
I lived in Houston, TX for several years and can confirm that TX police is for sale to the highest bidder. This instance of TX police "for sale" isn't at all surprising.
This topic (and your reply) are interesting and topical to me. ... not all police cars but currently about half, and a continuous purchase program with the goal of eventually equipping every car eventually. A couple more years and they will be in every Cruiser.
The Municipal Police force have the mobile scanners in their vehicles
But with regard to " TX police "for sale" ", only last week it was decided by City Council and the Police Commission, after proposals from various private and charitable groups and organizations, that the Municipal Police would accept no monies or equipment in lieu of money, under any circumstances, in the interest of impartiality and public confidence in Police impartiality, from any party save for the Civic Administration's normal funding of the department via Property Taxes *.
I was impressed by a City Council and Mayor (whom I rarely agree with), and the Chief of Police showing some integrity for a change.
* Property taxes are relatively low so it's not like the City is scrambling for tax revenue; average is about $C 2200/yr ($USD 1540) with the City getting about half and one of the Boards of Education getting the rest, and whom set their own mill rate (property tax rate) ... taxpayers "elect" to fund one of the school systems, regardless of whether you have children in K-12 or not; the two largest are Public and Catholic, but there are others to choose from (French Immersion, Ukrainian, Cree [native American] Mennonite, etc.). My 2015 Property Taxes were just under $C 500.00 but my home has a relatively low assessment of about $65K.
It would have to be via an aircraft (helicopter or fixed wing) licensed to a company with a valid and current commercial passenger-carrying license. Which is to say it would be expensive.
It's not illegal under FAA regulations to accept money for a ride on a private aircraft, but the amount can be no more than the actual cost incurred, divided by the passengers carried.
Since a pilot of a private aircraft is considered a passenger, that means (for example) in a flight consisting of a pilot and a passenger, the passenger can legally pay, at most, ½ of the actual verified cost of the flight, and no more. The fact that it's a helicopter and not fixed wing is irrelevant as the same rules apply.
If you want to live and work in Ireland for Irish companies, then you could easily renounce your US citizenship, and have absolutely zero obligation to good old Uncle Sam whatsoever.
And, since you and I both know that you're probably not making billions of dollars a year, it's extraordinarily likely that you'd get a tax credit for taxes paid to the Irish government for all or very nearly all of the taxes you "would" owe to Uncle Sam, which means that, in effect, you have to simply file a tax return each year, which says "I owe nothing."
Stop whining.
Unfortunately, you cannot "easily renounce your US citizenship and have absolutely zero obligation to good old Uncle Sam whatsoever."
Under US Law, the US Government will refuse to recognize a renunciation of citizenship if it is determined the renunciation is solely to avoid US Income Taxes.
Also, in order to receive credit for taxes paid to a Foreign Nation, there must be a pre-existing reciprocal tax treaty between (in this case) Ireland and the USA. You know for certain such a treaty exists?