The problem is there aren't a lot of people who enjoy social networking, web surfing, email, and watching videos with their phone who think, "You know what would make this more enjoyable? Anchoring this thing that I'm playing with on the couch to a fixed location in the house that costs a couple of hundred extra dollars."
Video streaming is better on the couch. Web surfing is better on the couch. Social media is better on the couch. Casual gaming is better on the couch.
Things that suck on the couch are Office apps, editing video, editing and organizing photos... stuff like that. Even low-end phones can easily handle office type stuff, but editing video and photos is going to suck on a phone (photos less so). So yeah, I guess for the narrow case where someone needs to do some light word processing or spreadsheet work and they for some reason really, really want to keep it all on their phone instead of using Dropbox, iCloud, or similar... yeah, that is the sliver of a Venn diagram that I was referring to. I just don't see many of those people opting for the docking station over a desktop. Hell, most people just buy a laptop these days, which can still be used on the couch when your phone battery runs out!:)
In the early 80s, we still addressed our envelopes with the old-fashioned abbreviations. Fortunately, I grew up in a state where the old abbreviation was the same as the new, just with dropped punctuation:) N.J. -> NJ
Not only that, buying "Russian" engines also kept former Soviet rocket engine designers busy with something that did not involve a despotic regime. People forget how important that was (and to some degree still is).
You are going to carry around the dock, monitor, keyboard, and mouse for your phone? No, probably not. You leave the desktop sitting wherever it is you planned on sticking the dock.
Life works that way. As a species we are resource-constrained, so we jockey for resources. Barring a perfect intelligence that can make perfect resource allocations, we are always going to have resource winners and losers. My kids think this is deeply unfair, and they are right. But at the end of the day, you need to get yourself into a position as a resource allocator by out-competing the rest. If you still want to live like a monk and strive to make stuff fair in that position, go nuts - it will make you a better person than most of us.
In nature you see this all the time. The giraffe with the longest neck gets food that the other giraffes cannot. Even our propensity to cooperate as a species is entirely a result of competitive pressure with other species. If we manage to get to the point where we fairly allocate all resources to all humans, it will be at the expense of most other species on the planet... how's that for cynical?:)
In my case, I'd rather have a $200 phone and a separate $300 desktop that far outperforms said phone than need to buy a $600 phone to get less performance. Sync is a solved issue, so I don't really see the benefits of using a single device.
I believe it is not Federal law, but is part of NFPA 70 National Electrical Code, which most states adopt in one form or another. In PA you can get boxes of 10 for about $10 at Home Depot.
Sure, 120V can still kill you - but 240V is definitely more dangerous. In the US 240 is center-tapped, so perhaps that's why people are saying that - if you are standing in a puddle of water and you touch 120V or one leg of 240V it doesn't matter, you still get 120V.
increasing density in solid state storage, and the latter can be an upgrade to your old machine.
Yup, this. I'm using a 2009 laptop with memory and SSD added. It's definitely getting long in the tooth, but performance is still acceptable (even if battery life is not). My father had his 5-year-old mid-range desktop die on him. For roughly $200 he can replace it with a brand new machine with the same specs. And there's no reason for him not to do that.
The problem is they very much do make them like they used to.
If you are in a business where you don't have cyclical layoffs to purge the trash, then you need some kind of policy to weed out the poor performers. Maybe doing it in a giant wave like this is not a great idea, but it's better than not doing it. And frankly, it probably does make a lot of sense to do it in a wave. Performance reviews (or whatever metric is being done) are usually all finished at around the same time, so you'd know who your bad performers are all at once. Why wait? I wish the public schools would do something like this every year.
Interestingly, in my house the children's rooms are all set up that way. I don't know if it was part of the original construction (I think they are), or if the owners modified the house later - but that's the way it is. The master bedroom has outlets at "normal" height. I recently renovated a room, and since I was down to bare studs and redoing the electric anyway I decided to see if the code said anything about height. It did not, and most of the advice that I could find was along the lines of "make all of the outlets 1 hammer height high". Which is exactly what I did:)
In the US, code is now to have shutters on ALL outlets, not just outdoor. But while the UK plug opens the shutter using the always-present earth pin (it can be plastic when not needed), the US shutters open by applying even pressure on both conductors evenly. So, yeah, they are kind of a pain. And yeah, my toddler ran over to "plug" a fork in once.... once! (j/k, I caught him... but seriously, what the hell is with kids sticking metal into these damn things?)
I guess if you are going to make electricity dangerous, you might as well go all the way.
We have those outlets, too, here in backwards North America - but we plug the oven or clothes dryer into them.
I will say that the British have hands-down the best-designed plug for safety: sleeved conductors, ground pin opening shutters for the conductors, a fused plug, and a switch right on the outlet. Definitely a bit on the spendy side, but really well thought-out.
People in the cities have the numerical advantage... can't shoot 'em all! And a guy shooting people is going to attract a lot of attention. This is not good if the efforts of the city people are in any way coordinated.
A gun is definitely a good thing to have in societal collapse type scenarios - but only for warding off individual opportunists. Anyone who decides to band together is going to beat the rugged individualist, who can only shoot at one thing at a time.
That is actually a screenplay version of the earlier novel. In any event, "blade runner" refers to smugglers of medical supplies (like, scalpels). I have to admit, it is a cool name.
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The problem is there aren't a lot of people who enjoy social networking, web surfing, email, and watching videos with their phone who think, "You know what would make this more enjoyable? Anchoring this thing that I'm playing with on the couch to a fixed location in the house that costs a couple of hundred extra dollars."
Video streaming is better on the couch. Web surfing is better on the couch. Social media is better on the couch. Casual gaming is better on the couch.
Things that suck on the couch are Office apps, editing video, editing and organizing photos... stuff like that. Even low-end phones can easily handle office type stuff, but editing video and photos is going to suck on a phone (photos less so). So yeah, I guess for the narrow case where someone needs to do some light word processing or spreadsheet work and they for some reason really, really want to keep it all on their phone instead of using Dropbox, iCloud, or similar... yeah, that is the sliver of a Venn diagram that I was referring to. I just don't see many of those people opting for the docking station over a desktop. Hell, most people just buy a laptop these days, which can still be used on the couch when your phone battery runs out! :)
In the early 80s, we still addressed our envelopes with the old-fashioned abbreviations. Fortunately, I grew up in a state where the old abbreviation was the same as the new, just with dropped punctuation :) N.J. -> NJ
Here's the list of proper abbreviations.
No problem! We'll just build a cryogenic containment vessel so that any escaped gas condenses and save money that way!
Not only that, buying "Russian" engines also kept former Soviet rocket engine designers busy with something that did not involve a despotic regime. People forget how important that was (and to some degree still is).
You are going to carry around the dock, monitor, keyboard, and mouse for your phone? No, probably not. You leave the desktop sitting wherever it is you planned on sticking the dock.
I'm just trying to picture the teeny-tiny little overlapping circles on the Venn diagram for how many people fit that description.
If you are happy conflating Uber with a black/grey market, then I am absolutely thrilled to return in kind.
Life works that way. As a species we are resource-constrained, so we jockey for resources. Barring a perfect intelligence that can make perfect resource allocations, we are always going to have resource winners and losers. My kids think this is deeply unfair, and they are right. But at the end of the day, you need to get yourself into a position as a resource allocator by out-competing the rest. If you still want to live like a monk and strive to make stuff fair in that position, go nuts - it will make you a better person than most of us.
In nature you see this all the time. The giraffe with the longest neck gets food that the other giraffes cannot. Even our propensity to cooperate as a species is entirely a result of competitive pressure with other species. If we manage to get to the point where we fairly allocate all resources to all humans, it will be at the expense of most other species on the planet... how's that for cynical? :)
So... those farmers markets are a big no-no then. I'll keep that in mind.
Yeah, just like I "rip off" the grocery store clerk by shopping at the grocery store with the lower prices.
In my case, I'd rather have a $200 phone and a separate $300 desktop that far outperforms said phone than need to buy a $600 phone to get less performance. Sync is a solved issue, so I don't really see the benefits of using a single device.
Trow trow trow your boat...
I believe it is not Federal law, but is part of NFPA 70 National Electrical Code, which most states adopt in one form or another. In PA you can get boxes of 10 for about $10 at Home Depot.
Sure, 120V can still kill you - but 240V is definitely more dangerous. In the US 240 is center-tapped, so perhaps that's why people are saying that - if you are standing in a puddle of water and you touch 120V or one leg of 240V it doesn't matter, you still get 120V.
increasing density in solid state storage, and the latter can be an upgrade to your old machine.
Yup, this. I'm using a 2009 laptop with memory and SSD added. It's definitely getting long in the tooth, but performance is still acceptable (even if battery life is not). My father had his 5-year-old mid-range desktop die on him. For roughly $200 he can replace it with a brand new machine with the same specs. And there's no reason for him not to do that.
The problem is they very much do make them like they used to.
I think this whole discussion should pivot on what one anonymous Tesla employee says.
If you are in a business where you don't have cyclical layoffs to purge the trash, then you need some kind of policy to weed out the poor performers. Maybe doing it in a giant wave like this is not a great idea, but it's better than not doing it. And frankly, it probably does make a lot of sense to do it in a wave. Performance reviews (or whatever metric is being done) are usually all finished at around the same time, so you'd know who your bad performers are all at once. Why wait? I wish the public schools would do something like this every year.
Why are electrical outlets not at "adult" height?
Interestingly, in my house the children's rooms are all set up that way. I don't know if it was part of the original construction (I think they are), or if the owners modified the house later - but that's the way it is. The master bedroom has outlets at "normal" height. I recently renovated a room, and since I was down to bare studs and redoing the electric anyway I decided to see if the code said anything about height. It did not, and most of the advice that I could find was along the lines of "make all of the outlets 1 hammer height high". Which is exactly what I did :)
In the US, code is now to have shutters on ALL outlets, not just outdoor. But while the UK plug opens the shutter using the always-present earth pin (it can be plastic when not needed), the US shutters open by applying even pressure on both conductors evenly. So, yeah, they are kind of a pain. And yeah, my toddler ran over to "plug" a fork in once.... once! (j/k, I caught him... but seriously, what the hell is with kids sticking metal into these damn things?)
I just like to say it.
I guess if you are going to make electricity dangerous, you might as well go all the way.
We have those outlets, too, here in backwards North America - but we plug the oven or clothes dryer into them.
I will say that the British have hands-down the best-designed plug for safety: sleeved conductors, ground pin opening shutters for the conductors, a fused plug, and a switch right on the outlet. Definitely a bit on the spendy side, but really well thought-out.
They have numerical advantage by perhaps 50 to 1 - they could overcome you with rags tied around their feet.
People in the cities have the numerical advantage... can't shoot 'em all! And a guy shooting people is going to attract a lot of attention. This is not good if the efforts of the city people are in any way coordinated.
A gun is definitely a good thing to have in societal collapse type scenarios - but only for warding off individual opportunists. Anyone who decides to band together is going to beat the rugged individualist, who can only shoot at one thing at a time.
Who cares about the fools who live in the city?
You might, when they flee it.
That is actually a screenplay version of the earlier novel. In any event, "blade runner" refers to smugglers of medical supplies (like, scalpels). I have to admit, it is a cool name.