In the corporate run world, of which you are a fan, they have lobbied to legislate for other people to financially benefit for 70 years after the death of an author. But rational individuals have good reason to ignore that.
I'm right there with you. The original purpose of copyright in the U.S. (for *limited times* per the Copyright Clause) was to encourage people to create. You're allowed to profit from your work for a few years, which lets you eat and keep a roof over your head (and maybe put a couple more Bentleys in the garage). But that gravy train was purposefully designed to run out so that you'd have an incentive to continue creating. I really see nothing wrong with the original 14-year term. If you can't monetize your work in that time, too bad. If you expect a payout just because your dad was a popular author, too bad. I'm sure the descendants of the Brothers Grimm would like to get some of Disney's profits too, but that doesn't mean they're entitled to it.
And since Salinger is dead, there's no defensible reason that his works shouldn't be allowed to fall into public domain if we honor the text and intent of the Copyright Clause of the Constitution (in the U.S., anyway).
If I'd been on the jury, it probably would have ended as a mistrial because I'd want to shake Diffie's hand, thank him for his work (and Martin Hellman's too!) and get an autograph.
It sounds like you were wanting a guilty verdict regardless of what the jury instructions or the law said. Nullification would have been an option, but an ineffective one - the judge always has the option to set aside a guilty verdict in favor of a declared verdict of "not guilty" or a new trial, as the benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to the accused, not the state. Nullification really only works when the jury finds a defendant not guilty - a judge can't set that verdict aside and double jeopardy rules prevent the accused of being tried again.
Companies are lowering their standards and letting HR do the screening, interviewing and the hiring.
I'm very thankful to work at a place that not only offers pretty good pay, but an HR department that works very closely with us when dealing with new candidates. A dev manager does the initial phone screen, and he and our senior devs conduct the interview themselves after the candidate has a short meeting with HR. It's unfortunately kind of grueling for the candidate, but we get a much better idea of what kinds of skills the candidate *really* has and a feel for their personality and disposition. Consequently, we don't have any difficult prima donnas and every single one in the dev group knows that C strings are null-termed.:-D Seriously though, it makes for a much better work environment because everyone is comparable in their level of competence (even the junior guys are damned sharp), and that tends to make it a lot easier for all of us to work together and get stuff done.
I was comparing current pricing for both vehicles as new. Inflation should affect pricing on maintenance items for both cars to a similar degree, so while the maintenance costs for an ICE vehicle may increase, so may the cost of the battery replacement for the EV. The battery may be $10K today, but might be $13K when it comes time to replace it, which makes a substantial difference in the value proposition.
I do sincerely hope so. I want to see EVs succeed and for our dependence on fossil fuels to go down, for both environmental and political reasons. But we're not there yet, and it seems a lot of EV fans want to discount or ignore the very real problems that are contributing to low EV sales at the present time. It's a real chicken-and-egg situation, and I think if the manufacturers are serious about the technology, they're going to have to step up and make them more practical to own (expanding charging networks, in particular) before they can expect people to come beating down their doors.
I really think the most practical solution is working towards quick-change battery systems/networks and the insurance issues that would arise, such that the time and convenience spent refueling an EV gets to be on par with that of an ICE vehicle, which would also work towards alleviating potential buyers' concerns about replacing a $10,000 battery pack when it dies.
Recharging at home I will give you of course, and possibly your destination if you're visiting family/friends, etc., but otherwise I haven't seen too many other places where I could just easily plug a car in for the day. Meal breaks aren't long enough to get any meaningful charge, and again, I haven't seen very many restaurants where one could plug their car in even if they were. Tesla owners have the benefit of the Supercharger network, but the distance between stations often exceeds the car's range, so again you're looking at hours to get the vehicle charged for many places people might want to go. Want to drive between Orlando and Pensacola? You never left Florida, yet it's not happening without at least one layover each way to charge the car, so you're going to have to budget pretty much an entire day's worth of time to accommodate that.
I don't think I've seen a broken window crank in a car less than 20yrs old and even then it's a $10 fix instead of $150 or more for a new window motor.
The problem I keep seeing is that manufacturers keep using the cheap and fragile Bowden cable assemblies for the windows instead of the old scissor-bar mechanism that was a lot more durable. Stainless steel cable over nylon pulleys is pretty much a recipe for ensuring maintenance revenue.
work out how much you spend on gas and oil and servicing, replacement of engine parts over 10 years then compare.
Gas/oil/servicing my daily driver for 10 years works out to about $12,000. That's less than the price differential between the latest model of my car and a new Leaf. In seven years, I've spent less than a thousand dollars for parts (including tires), with none of that going towards the drivetrain. You talk like $10,000 is nothing, but the fact is that you can replace pretty much the entire drivetrain (engine, transmission/transaxle, etc.) in any other car for that amount.
No, range is not bullshit. The fact remains that there is not even a Tesla would let me drive from where I live to visit friends that live on the other side of the state without stopping to recharge for 8 hours or so at least once, and that's assuming I could find a place that would let me do it. The various hybrids would of course allow it, but that rather defeats the purpose of driving an EV since hybrid mileage figures aren't competitive enough with gas-only right now IMO.
Don't get me wrong - I'd *love* to get an EV, but the price/performance ratio is just not there yet.
People say the same crap about the Tesla S, and it's got hundreds of miles of range.
I suppose technically that 265 miles qualifies as "hundreds of miles", but it's 150 miles less than anything else I own, and my vehicles take less than 10 minutes to gain another 400 miles of range, and didn't cost $70,000 *combined*.
Even with the superchargers you have to take 20 minutes to charge your car. Only the Tesla is capable of being anything but a city car.
Not to mention the travel time and battery charge just to reach the station, which also needs to be factored into the effective mileage. My nearest Supercharger station is relatively close, but I'd still be spending an hour and a half and 80 miles of my capacity just getting there and back. The next closest one would leave me with about 25% of the charge when I got back.
But then again, ev, hasn't tried the logical step. Gas/electric a small super-effecient engine, with a generator, to peak charge a super-capicitor/battery for extended range , or for heavy haulers.
Yes, they have tried that - they're called "hybrids", like the Chevy Volt. I don't think you'll see supercaps in any substantial automotive applications anytime soon though - it's bad enough when a battery sustains damage and shorts out, but supercaps would be releasing all their energy *instantly* in the same situation. Heavy-duty applications like trucks have more concerns about durability and power. I think you'd find pulling a 10,000 pound trailer for any distance would sorely tax any battery's capabilities.
Once the government starts to dislike or fear the population of a country (and the US is clearly there already), the law just becomes a tool of oppression.
And at that point, the governed need to do some real soul-searching and determine what they're willing to sacrifice to keep that from continuing.
I hadn't thought GM offered anything other than the 6' and 8' beds, excepting weird stuff like the Avalanche, but it's been a while since I looked at the market because trucks are just way too expensive now for me to take seriously. I need to do some suspension work on my 1500, and buying a full set of upper and lower control arms + tie rod ends is still going to end up costing me less than a single payment for a new truck.
I don't know where they get the money for it, but every stereotypical redneck around these parts is driving some beater getting 12mpg's or less.
You might be surprised at the mileage some trucks get. I've got a 2002 GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab with 130K miles, and my highway mileage is over 20 mpg. Around town it drops to about 17-18. Not great compared to a compact, but a lot better than most people would assume.
This is also why full size trucks with regular cabs and short beds aren't really a thing anymore. They need the larger footprint provided by a longer bed.
Actually, what I see more than anything are short-beds with a full 4-door cab, instead of the extended cabs with small suicide doors that were popular for many years (one of which I own). The 4-door cab/short bed is a good compromise between hauling capacity and passenger comfort, and without the parking headaches of a full 8' bed.
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In the corporate run world, of which you are a fan, they have lobbied to legislate for other people to financially benefit for 70 years after the death of an author. But rational individuals have good reason to ignore that.
I'm right there with you. The original purpose of copyright in the U.S. (for *limited times* per the Copyright Clause) was to encourage people to create. You're allowed to profit from your work for a few years, which lets you eat and keep a roof over your head (and maybe put a couple more Bentleys in the garage). But that gravy train was purposefully designed to run out so that you'd have an incentive to continue creating. I really see nothing wrong with the original 14-year term. If you can't monetize your work in that time, too bad. If you expect a payout just because your dad was a popular author, too bad. I'm sure the descendants of the Brothers Grimm would like to get some of Disney's profits too, but that doesn't mean they're entitled to it.
And since Salinger is dead, there's no defensible reason that his works shouldn't be allowed to fall into public domain if we honor the text and intent of the Copyright Clause of the Constitution (in the U.S., anyway).
If I'd been on the jury, it probably would have ended as a mistrial because I'd want to shake Diffie's hand, thank him for his work (and Martin Hellman's too!) and get an autograph.
It sounds like you were wanting a guilty verdict regardless of what the jury instructions or the law said. Nullification would have been an option, but an ineffective one - the judge always has the option to set aside a guilty verdict in favor of a declared verdict of "not guilty" or a new trial, as the benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to the accused, not the state. Nullification really only works when the jury finds a defendant not guilty - a judge can't set that verdict aside and double jeopardy rules prevent the accused of being tried again.
Companies are lowering their standards and letting HR do the screening, interviewing and the hiring.
:-D Seriously though, it makes for a much better work environment because everyone is comparable in their level of competence (even the junior guys are damned sharp), and that tends to make it a lot easier for all of us to work together and get stuff done.
I'm very thankful to work at a place that not only offers pretty good pay, but an HR department that works very closely with us when dealing with new candidates. A dev manager does the initial phone screen, and he and our senior devs conduct the interview themselves after the candidate has a short meeting with HR. It's unfortunately kind of grueling for the candidate, but we get a much better idea of what kinds of skills the candidate *really* has and a feel for their personality and disposition. Consequently, we don't have any difficult prima donnas and every single one in the dev group knows that C strings are null-termed.
I was comparing current pricing for both vehicles as new. Inflation should affect pricing on maintenance items for both cars to a similar degree, so while the maintenance costs for an ICE vehicle may increase, so may the cost of the battery replacement for the EV. The battery may be $10K today, but might be $13K when it comes time to replace it, which makes a substantial difference in the value proposition.
I do sincerely hope so. I want to see EVs succeed and for our dependence on fossil fuels to go down, for both environmental and political reasons. But we're not there yet, and it seems a lot of EV fans want to discount or ignore the very real problems that are contributing to low EV sales at the present time. It's a real chicken-and-egg situation, and I think if the manufacturers are serious about the technology, they're going to have to step up and make them more practical to own (expanding charging networks, in particular) before they can expect people to come beating down their doors.
I really think the most practical solution is working towards quick-change battery systems/networks and the insurance issues that would arise, such that the time and convenience spent refueling an EV gets to be on par with that of an ICE vehicle, which would also work towards alleviating potential buyers' concerns about replacing a $10,000 battery pack when it dies.
Recharging at home I will give you of course, and possibly your destination if you're visiting family/friends, etc., but otherwise I haven't seen too many other places where I could just easily plug a car in for the day. Meal breaks aren't long enough to get any meaningful charge, and again, I haven't seen very many restaurants where one could plug their car in even if they were. Tesla owners have the benefit of the Supercharger network, but the distance between stations often exceeds the car's range, so again you're looking at hours to get the vehicle charged for many places people might want to go. Want to drive between Orlando and Pensacola? You never left Florida, yet it's not happening without at least one layover each way to charge the car, so you're going to have to budget pretty much an entire day's worth of time to accommodate that.
I don't think I've seen a broken window crank in a car less than 20yrs old and even then it's a $10 fix instead of $150 or more for a new window motor.
The problem I keep seeing is that manufacturers keep using the cheap and fragile Bowden cable assemblies for the windows instead of the old scissor-bar mechanism that was a lot more durable. Stainless steel cable over nylon pulleys is pretty much a recipe for ensuring maintenance revenue.
I haven't seen sales figures, but I think the hottest selling EV today is the Model S, which has around 300 miles of range.
That's only if you order it with the (pricey) high-capacity battery option. It's about 30% less without it.
(it has some, but not as many, you can't really fly a train into a building)
;-)
Back when I drove monorails for Disney, I often did that dozens of times a day.
work out how much you spend on gas and oil and servicing, replacement of engine parts over 10 years then compare.
Gas/oil/servicing my daily driver for 10 years works out to about $12,000. That's less than the price differential between the latest model of my car and a new Leaf. In seven years, I've spent less than a thousand dollars for parts (including tires), with none of that going towards the drivetrain. You talk like $10,000 is nothing, but the fact is that you can replace pretty much the entire drivetrain (engine, transmission/transaxle, etc.) in any other car for that amount.
No, range is not bullshit. The fact remains that there is not even a Tesla would let me drive from where I live to visit friends that live on the other side of the state without stopping to recharge for 8 hours or so at least once, and that's assuming I could find a place that would let me do it. The various hybrids would of course allow it, but that rather defeats the purpose of driving an EV since hybrid mileage figures aren't competitive enough with gas-only right now IMO.
Don't get me wrong - I'd *love* to get an EV, but the price/performance ratio is just not there yet.
People say the same crap about the Tesla S, and it's got hundreds of miles of range.
I suppose technically that 265 miles qualifies as "hundreds of miles", but it's 150 miles less than anything else I own, and my vehicles take less than 10 minutes to gain another 400 miles of range, and didn't cost $70,000 *combined*.
Even with the superchargers you have to take 20 minutes to charge your car. Only the Tesla is capable of being anything but a city car.
Not to mention the travel time and battery charge just to reach the station, which also needs to be factored into the effective mileage. My nearest Supercharger station is relatively close, but I'd still be spending an hour and a half and 80 miles of my capacity just getting there and back. The next closest one would leave me with about 25% of the charge when I got back.
No, it's for the times the EV is charging or the trip exceeds its range.
Not if your time is worth anything at all.
But then again, ev, hasn't tried the logical step. Gas/electric a small super-effecient engine, with a generator, to peak charge a super-capicitor/battery for extended range , or for heavy haulers.
Yes, they have tried that - they're called "hybrids", like the Chevy Volt. I don't think you'll see supercaps in any substantial automotive applications anytime soon though - it's bad enough when a battery sustains damage and shorts out, but supercaps would be releasing all their energy *instantly* in the same situation. Heavy-duty applications like trucks have more concerns about durability and power. I think you'd find pulling a 10,000 pound trailer for any distance would sorely tax any battery's capabilities.
The *governed*, not the government. :-)
I think what's being searched might be reasonably kept secret but the government should never have the right to force you into an anal probe
They shouldn't have the right, but that doesn't mean they don't do it anyway.
Once the government starts to dislike or fear the population of a country (and the US is clearly there already), the law just becomes a tool of oppression.
And at that point, the governed need to do some real soul-searching and determine what they're willing to sacrifice to keep that from continuing.
I hadn't thought GM offered anything other than the 6' and 8' beds, excepting weird stuff like the Avalanche, but it's been a while since I looked at the market because trucks are just way too expensive now for me to take seriously. I need to do some suspension work on my 1500, and buying a full set of upper and lower control arms + tie rod ends is still going to end up costing me less than a single payment for a new truck.
Where I live they're mostly used by retirees to occupy the left lane at 5 mph under the speed limit.
I don't know where they get the money for it, but every stereotypical redneck around these parts is driving some beater getting 12mpg's or less.
You might be surprised at the mileage some trucks get. I've got a 2002 GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab with 130K miles, and my highway mileage is over 20 mpg. Around town it drops to about 17-18. Not great compared to a compact, but a lot better than most people would assume.
This is also why full size trucks with regular cabs and short beds aren't really a thing anymore. They need the larger footprint provided by a longer bed.
Actually, what I see more than anything are short-beds with a full 4-door cab, instead of the extended cabs with small suicide doors that were popular for many years (one of which I own). The 4-door cab/short bed is a good compromise between hauling capacity and passenger comfort, and without the parking headaches of a full 8' bed.