Posts by My other car WAS an IAV Stryker 566 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Mar 2018
Stickers. Lots of stickers. Especially those made for car bumpers.
I would have wanted one ~20 years ago back in grad school at a major public university. Big monogram logo on one side, smiling mascot on the other. (Would also need a wagon-trailer to haul groceries -- I could have rigged an interface to the seat post.)
The US politicians who claim to pray to God the most, actually don't; they pray to the idols of money, power, and corporate greed. Can't fix a planet with that attitude -- instead of being good stewards of it like God intended, it's more like rape and pillage the planet for all its resources, then burn them.
(Remember, kids, "pillage then burn". Better return on investment than vice versa.)
If I have to use cheap connectors, I prefer automotive ones like the Deutsch DT series. At least you can specify keyways to prevent connector mismatching.
I just built a box with (1) 8-position and (3) 12-positions (A, B, C). As long as I wire up the other side correctly, you can't swap them, so no worries.
A proper bench-top power supply should be able to display both volts and amps at the same time.
I just tested a hand-built assembly over the weekend. The little bench supply I have on hand can do 30V, 10A, but is set to 24V and I get to read the live amps to see actual load taking place (0.1A on one circuit, 0.24A each on a couple others).
"Hopefully governments will grow some balls and stand up to him instead of funding him."
Have you seen who was running the US federal government from January 2017 to 2021? (Not to mention influencing it, mostly via media, both before and after.)
A recent meme posted by a Facebook "friend" basically wants people to fear EVs (among other things) since they can be "shut off" by others which is an element of control over your behavior.
The engineer in me knew that any vehicle with enough brains to connect to a phone and/or online services -- regardless of powertrain -- is probably taking data and may be receiving over-the-air software updates; the former (data) leads to control and the latter IS control over the vehicle already purchased.
I figured just about every automaker does it and concluded that only new laws would end it, but the conservatives -- especially the kind who show a clear anti-EV bias -- wouldn't like to hear about new "regulations" on the auto (or any) industry. So I shook my head and moved on without commenting.
And then this article arrives two days later, proving my very point.
(The first meme item was "smart meters". First, smart meters are still meters, not shutoff devices -- if the electric utility wanted to shut me off, they could dispatch a worker at any time, period. Second, everyone has been complaining that the local electric grid's reliability has been poor, and these meters are part of a larger plan to be able to track the distribution system -- seems like a fine engineering solution, since this utility IS supposed to control their own system and "you can't control what you don't measure". However (thirdly), the "smarts" in the meters have now allowed for "time of day" rate changing, raising rates during peak hours when demand is highest, but that's just market economics, right? Something US conservatives should be supporting, not against. Maybe the problem is lack of choice -- no alternatives due to this forced monopoly, but influencing the utility would take *gasp* more laws/regulations. I wonder what's wrong with conservative voters that make them believe these bull$hit memes so easily without being able to think critically.)
I tend to see retired soldiers move into private sector, especially in "sales" where they can schmooze the people they used to work with.
On the other hand, I've seen plenty of private-sector/contractor engineers (former colleagues) gravitate toward becoming DoD civilian employees, doing the same work they did before but more R&D-focused instead of platform design/development -- the contractor in question wasn't interested in spending capital for IRaD and/or the DoD wanted to keep those R&D dollars in-house.
(Icon: none of this was IT work. Technical, yes, but way more mechanical.)
Let's say I get added to a chain sent to a group (> 1 receiver plus me) that has >= 3 messages (more like 5), top-posted. The first time I receive, I read bottom-up.
For any additional replies, if the *new* content is at the top, the Outlook preview shows me what I need. An "auto-scroll to bottom" would be redundant if I already read the chain's history.
I would prefer a "scroll to bottom" button over making it automatic.
(If using the Preview pane, Ctrl-End may go to the end of the message list unless I click in the Preview pane first. If I wanted extra clicks, I'd open the message as a separate window. Plus, I don't like going between mouse/trackball and keyboard too much, especially for a two-hand key combo like that. And yes, I need two hands because I need "Fn" on this laptop to enable "End" instead of F12, since I prefer having Fn locked to enable full-time F# keys, particularly F2 in Excel, instead of mostly-useless multimedia functions. I'll admit I can turn off NumLock and have navigation keys on the number pad, or use a separate keyboard, but either is actually more hassle for me than using Fn for Home and End, and the other four navigation functions -- PgUp, PgDn, insert, delete -- have their own keys outside the number pad.)
I assume you mean lousy, because that's my experience.
Wife and I both have iFruit phones. I use the Weather Channel app, she the built-in weather, and mine always seems more accurate.
(She sometimes uses weather reports from a local TV station via their app, which are better except for ads.)
Weather.com has been generally unusable for decades now.
All I wanted to do was print a week-long forecast for the high school marching band director for our July 1997 trip to Boston (from Minnesota).
Trying to print that graphic-heavy and ad-laden crap hung the computer and resulted in a figurative ream of literal garbage from the printer.
(Note the year -- we couldn't check a smartphone app on the road. We were packing the motorcoaches (fancy buses), so I was at the school already and using their resources. Maybe at home I would have had a fighting chance, maybe retyping the forecast as a simple Word document, text only.)
If I was going to tap off car power, I have headrest-mounted DVD players (built-in screens) for the kids.
Without AC power [1], if I wanted to do that -- or any significant task, maybe using an inverter -- outside the car, I'd bring along a second full-size car battery [2]. I might build a cable from the 12V power port to recharge the "spare" battery.
1. We always camp in state parks with nearby outlets, primarily for those with trailers/RVs (BIG campers), but useful for a fan, hair dryer, inflator, radio, or whatever, given an extension cord and suitable power strip (I have an 80-foot reel with 4 outlets that I keep in the garage but always bring for camping). And "whatever" could possibly include my $200 32" monitor -- or a projector borrowed from the library -- and our normal HDMI DVD player ($100). Plenty of good times right in the tent if we wished.
2. Had quite the adventure with one of our cars this spring, already damaged from a collision (their fault; ran a red light). Started with a flat tire, and the experience (hazard lights) also killed the battery. Both replaced, but about a month later there was a "final" incident that left it further damaged and barely operational. Sold it to a nearby scrapyard, but I stipulated that I wanted that battery. (They could keep the tire since I didn't know if I'd get another vehicle with the same rims.) I took that battery home and they didn't even reduce my payout; it sits on my workbench on the float charger, ready to jump our other (older) car or the riding lawnmower... or provide off-site power for a while. (I should build that recharge cable...)
Yet another similar tale:
One early-generation "drum machine" (drum-sounding electronic box) got its signature sound, particularly the bass/kick drum, from some flawed transistors from a dodgy source, but it was the perfect sound for its time. The company started running out of said transistors and couldn't find any more -- normal pieces were unflawed, therefore useless for the sound -- so they stopped production. (I'd give a link but I forgot the make and model.)
Painkiller addiction and acting like an asocial jerk, starving for attention? Sounds like straight out of TV's "House" (aka "House, M.D.")
Icon --> because House solving medical mysteries plus his sidekick Wilson were meant to be like Holmes (and his cocaine) & Watson.
Montana's experiment lasted only a year or two after the Feds started letting the states set the rules (previous max was 60 urban, 65 rural).
Michigan's cops -- and this is from cops attending my church -- don't care about the highways until you're 15 over. Surface streets, it depends on the jurisdiction and actual road in question (15 for major routes, 5 or 10 for others).
But Ohio... If you have out-of-state plates -- especially Michigan -- don't go even ONE over, no matter what the rest of traffic is doing, at least on the I-80/I-90 Ohio Turnpike (toll road). I've driven some off-highway Ohio state routes with nothing but farms around for miles, cruising a nice 5 to 10 over and no one in sight to stop me.
Wisconsin (I-94) acts similarly to Minnesotan plates: 5 over, no more, but traffic will be passing you.
It's not always 70 MPH for interstate highways either. In metro areas it is often less (55 / 60 / 65), and in rural areas it can be more (75 is the max in Michigan, but I've heard of 80 or 85 in some states).
Your history of the "Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways" (according to Wikipedia) is spot on, though.
AT&T did the same thing to me back when I was new on U-verse (VHDSL w/out dial tone) starting in April 2008. Full outage for no reason because someone yanked the line at the cabinet. Maybe they checked for dial tone, but they certainly didn't check the customer/address list, if such a thing existed.
Happened three or four times -- supposedly labeled after the second or third time but I know there was minimum one incident post-labeling -- until they finally figured it out.
"pureLiFi suggests that being able to see into a room with active LiFi via a telescopic lens would not provide a data interception opportunity."
El Reg has covered many exploits of a certain Israeli university that would probably like a chance to prove that wrong. It's only a matter of time.
A "hard science fiction" comic strip I once saw, where "true" AI is real...
("Legs" is our protagonist calling tech support.)
NARRATOR: Six hours later...
PATRICK: Sequur-Cam Tech Support, I'm Patrick O'Day. Ummm... how did you get this number?
LEGS (on comm): I waited on hold until you picked up.
PATRICK: That shouldn't have worked. There's an A.I. that intercepts long holds and redirects to the Hypernet site.
LEGS: Right. I also called a suicide hotline, and conferenced us all together. Your A.I. let me straight through.
PATRICK: Interesting.
LEGS: Yeah. Your call-center A.I. was right on the edge. Ready to pull her own plug. She's having a nice intervention right now.
"...these guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity."
Now, I don't know these two's track record of charitable giving -- and I don't care to research either of them -- but I have two predictions:
1. The "charity" in question is a winner-take-all purse.
2. Charities might indeed receive "hundreds of millions" but there will *also* be a sizeable purse.
Either way, I just don't see these two duking it out for free, no matter the smack-talk.
--> Mine's the one with the bills from the mailbox in the pocket in lieu of a fat wallet.
"I don't think urban communities are where the problems are honestly."
It's relatively easy to add services in urban areas, running new lines in existing utility ducts or even storm drains / sewers.
Rural? Plenty of room to add more poles and wires.
Suburban America is the problem. Residents want more choices but don't want their beautiful neighborhoods -- especially their own lawns -- torn up. Plus, as others have commented, the power-gone-to-their-heads municipal governments help enforce certain monopolies.
Personally, as I've said many times, I can have 1 coax or 1 copper twisted-pair provider. I've maxed out the latter at a decent-enough price and won't touch the former due to their shoddy business practices (especially bait-and-switch). I want the copper company to bring the fiber, but I can't have it until everyone around me does, and the company won't make any promises.
Yes, actually, very much like Spring Break throughout southern Florida and many resort towns of Mexico and some of the near Caribbean. Thanks for the clarification; here's one for you if you didn't get enough in Ibiza. --->
(Not like I have first-hand experience; I was too much of a Band Geek traveling with the pep band to college basketball tournaments at that time of year. Still had plenty of drinking after our games, though, win or lose.)
Being a 'Murican, not UK/Euro, I had to look this up. Seems like the parallel to saying "that's (Las) Vegas, baby," and the more popular "what happens in Vegas..."
(If I misinterpreted the context, please gently correct me. You can still downvote, but that way you've earned the right to give one.)
How I love the El Reg forums. Kudos to you for your graceful (and refreshing) response to the criticism against your original post -- here's *your* upvote.
(Keep the positive vibes going, people! Upvotes for everyone!)
...a single-emoji useless/unhelpful response (Twit), or no response at all (Apple)?
Depends on what you're going for. Both an emoji or silence (which can be truly golden) beat the profanity-laden tirade both company's CEOs probably desire to direct toward El Reg.
To reframe it as "what's the worst possible response to an inquiry?" I pick the silence. Knowing in advance that a poop emoji awaits reduces the shock of such a response and is more bearable than the anxiousness of no reply at all (there is still some anxiousness, even when you expect no response).
Given: companies have "free speech" like individuals -- as ruled by the SCotUS. Thus, they can pay market rates (however you define those) for political reasons, much like individuals. In this way, the public is greatly overpowered.
However, for a government public-comment period, there is zero entry fee, and I think we just need a couple of extremely simple rules to, ideally, prevent this from happening again:
1) A company/corporation must -- like individuals -- comment under its own name. No hiring others, period; the commenter must be your own employee with the authority to use the name of the company/corporation.
2) Again like individuals, each company/corporation gets ONE comment. No more. There's no money for commenting, so you can't buy more like political (election) influence.
(Yes, the C-suite residents -- and each employee** -- of each company/corporation can ALSO post under their own names, one post each, real names only.)
Enforcing these? Nigh to impossible, but I think we can all agree on principle, and that's a start.
** If the employees reuse the company's post, they must be allowed to post on company time. I would expect that for some larger corporations that many employees might choose to make a public comment that differs from their employer -- on their own time, of course -- and that right of free speech shall not be infringed and shall be without consequence by their employer (reprimand/termination).
I blame the American Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, N./S. Dakota) with their overly indulgent "state fairs" [1]. They'll deep-fry just about anything [2].
[1] Coincidentally, yesterday was "Statehood Day" for Minnesota [3].
[2] My personal favorite at the Minn. State Fair -- at least in hindsight -- was the Pronto Pup: a corn dog using not cornmeal but wheat-based pancake batter, so it fries up extra thick and they have to use a full-round dowel, not those weak, flat sticks. I've lived in Michigan for a while (18 years [4]) and need to take my kids to "The Great Minnesota Get-Together" if only so my son gets a Pronto Pup.
[3] Minnesota has the world-famous Mayo Clinic -- they missed their opportunity on this one!
[4] Michigan does not have their own state fair anymore, but they do have plenty of indulgent heart-clogging food: paczki (Polish pre-Lenten doughnut), Detroit-style deep-dish pizza, and Mackinac Island fudge.
'Murican here, heck yeah.
My personal tower at my right knee runs Folding@Home 24/7 (Go team Folding Vultures!), CPU at 100% and nVidia GPU at 25%, and has its fan running constantly. But I also have low-level tinnitus and they compete which one appears louder, but I can always hear both and just tune them out (light music helps). Plus, without any music, I welcome the steady "noise" that partially (sometimes completely) covers any other work-at-home noises like the HVAC, fridge, and most noise from outside save for the slammed doors of my neighbors' (both of them) pickup trucks.
The work laptop on the desk barely makes a sound, but I rarely do the intensive stuff like Matlab/Simulink or AutoCAD. But when it blows, the exhaust is HOT -- no putting certain snacks (chocolate) on the left side and keep the cold drinks 6 inches (15 cm) away in an insulated flask.
US law doesn't guarantee anything, and employer policies differ:
My former employer would say that if I could produce a note, I would merely have to adjust it in the online timecard system and boom got my vacay hours back. (They never documented how fast you earned sick time, or how to check, so I assumed I had plenty, but I rarely used it.)
For my current employer, vacay time and sick time come from the same bucket, so no improvement.
Icon, meh -->
For battery electric vehicles, the data link (CAN or other) will be accessible (if not now, then soon) to an offboard charger via the charging port.
Open hatch (may require minimal breakage), insert dummy plug, inject messages, unlock, enable driving mode, goodbye car... and no tell-tale vroom as they speed away.
First keyboard I ever used was a knock-off XT layout. Really wish I could have F-keys on the left ever since, especially F2 for Excel. But I would prefer them raised one row to add F11 and F12, the latter for Save As in Office. (I really wish all programs would standardize on a keystroke or key-combo for Save As/Export.)
The icon of shame for references to micros~1 -->
Hint: Farmers *DO* give a crap, and they hate DST more than anyone else, because it throws off schedules such as when to milk the cows (u**ers full based on sunrise/sunset) versus when the tanker truck comes to haul it away (based on a shifting clock). It makes the farmers rush the cows, who passionately care not to be bothered.
I've also heard that before crops can be delivered to market, the sun has to come up to burn away the frost (think hay/straw bales, stored outside). Again, shifting market schedule hurts, not helps.
If farmers need extra afternoon daylight for harvesting, it wouldn't be until late summer anyway. Messing around in spring doesn't help one bit.
Yes yes YES!
And furthermore (edited by me):
"Your [social media] is not bound by the constitution to respect your freedom of speech and CAN [block/censor/remove/delete] you for stating an opinion they don't agree with."
Anyone who argues that social media is a "public forum" akin to the town square (truly public/government-owned land) needs to check the list of shareholders.
(Anecdote: in my township and the surrounding ones, there is plenty of land with sidewalks in front of the township buildings to vent from, but not many folks are there because they truly want to be, idly. The best example of such a place is called Greenfield Village -- plenty of folks milling about -- but is owned by a nonprofit -- not government -- who could easily call Security and kick you out.)
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