Raithe Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Although the increase in electronics makes it a whole heap more difficult to self-repair. Case in point, my dad has a Golf GTI with a mildly modified engine that's got to be going for nearly 30 years old now. Every couple of months he has it up on the drive over a weekend as he has to fix something, but it still runs smoothly. Compared to my mother's Renault people carriers that's just a few years old, but whenever it has a problem it HAS to go to a dealer because there's always fancy electronics involved that you can't fix yourself. "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
Malcador Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 The arrogance is strong in this one. 1 Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
LadyCrimson Posted January 30, 2014 Author Posted January 30, 2014 Woke up with a headache. Pretty much stayed in bed most of the morning. You too? ...I think mine's a little less severe today. I don't feel nauseous every time I move my head, at least. Hopefully that means something. I suppose if this continues through the weekend I'll go see a doc just to be safe. Was zoned on the couch watching "Looper" earlier. I still find it a "just missed being great" type of movie, but that scene where the old version of a guy is being reduced piece by piece (fingers, nose, limbs) still creeps me out. “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
Guard Dog Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 This morning I took Tommy out to do his business. I set a cup of coffee on the porch rail, walked over to the edge of the porch to knock down the ice from the gutter. By the time I got back to the coffee cup it was starting to freeze. That's too freaking cold. Needless to say I didn't go back out after that. 1 "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Enoch Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Yeah, it's been pretty lousy lately. My commute includes a 3/4 mile walk to the subway station, and a block or so to my office on the other end. I've never been one for jogging, but in single-digit temperatures (Fahrenheit; that's -12 to -18C), I walk very fast. I also need to buy a better hat. 1
JFSOCC Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Spent 1 1/2 hours checking the barrel throats (The most stressed part of a rifle, the part where the bullet enters the barrel and the rifling) with a tiny mirror and a flashlight. Very informative. 110 year old barrels that survived trench warfare with x thousands corrosive military rounds down the tube still look like new and the barrel of a gun I bought two years ago with 800 rounds of high quality ammo through it shows first signs of firecracking and the lands look rounded. The barrel and accuracy is going to be toast during the next 300 rounds. I don't agree with the saying ''everything was better back then'' but I have to admit craftsmanship was certainly a lot better back then. And all that without modern lathes, computers or computerized furnaces. Thats really sad. That's because we're living in a consumer society. Ever heard of of planned obsolescence? There was this belief after the stock crash of 1929 that this was because of market saturation stopping sales. Things these days are made specifically not to last, so that there can be no market saturation, and you'll keep buying buy buy buy. This is why light bulbs have a maximum lifespan of 10.000 hours, when light bulbs made before 1930 sometimes survived for over 50 years. Mind still in "overstressed not that great" territories.. glad you're still with us though. 1 Remember: Argue the point, not the person. Remain polite and constructive. Friendly forums have friendly debate. There's no shame in being wrong. If you don't have something to add, don't post for the sake of it. And don't be afraid to post thoughts you are uncertain about, that's what discussion is for.---Pet threads, everyone has them. I love imagining Gods, Monsters, Factions and Weapons.
Walsingham Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Was it on here that I recently read a piece about toxic leadership in the Armed Forces? If so, can I have it again, please? "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Raithe Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Was it on here that I recently read a piece about toxic leadership in the Armed Forces? If so, can I have it again, please? Hm, it was on weird news stories that it got put up.. "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
Malcador Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) This is why light bulbs have a maximum lifespan of 10.000 hours, when light bulbs made before 1930 sometimes survived for over 50 years. Well for that turning it off and on helps to break the filament, heating and cooling and so on. Some of those bulbs lasting decades were left on for a long time, if memory serves. Though I imagine they'd always try to build them with a fixed life span. Today is the usual dealing with Russian women day, so this will be fun. Edited January 31, 2014 by Malcador Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Amentep Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Beware the Pinto! My dad had a pinto for 15+ years. The gas tank problem was fixed via the mandatory fix recall and it ran really well until it sat for a length of years unused. I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man
Walsingham Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Planned obsolescence isn't a god damned conspiracy, you cretins! If a man typically buys dentures in his sixties, and the average lifespan doesn't go beyond 100... DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO MANUFACTURE DENTURES THAT LAST 100 YEARS? NO IT ****ING DOESN'T! Equally, the legal and physical requirement for a system changes. Like we've seen with muscle cars and oil tankers just to name two bloody obvious examples. Again, build to last too long, and you just need to scrap it early. To go back to the original point, those wonderfully over-engineered rifles were in massively short supply at the start of WW1. Winston Churchill talks about having units having to share rifles, FFS. Equally, within a few years changes in artillery and fortifications, and combat fatalities meant that infantry fought closer together, and with less training. So they needed simpler higher fire options. Wow that was more ranty than I planned. 2 "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Azdeus Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 That's because we're living in a consumer society. Ever heard of of planned obsolescence? There was this belief after the stock crash of 1929 that this was because of market saturation stopping sales. Things these days are made specifically not to last, so that there can be no market saturation, and you'll keep buying buy buy buy. This is why light bulbs have a maximum lifespan of 10.000 hours, when light bulbs made before 1930 sometimes survived for over 50 years. There was a really neat documentary on Swedish television about that a year or two ago, it was really interesting, even though it was really heavy handed on the conspiracy theory parts wich I really did'nt like to much. That said, the old lightbulbs sometimes had a wattage of over 100 while only providing the same amount of light as a modern 25W bulb (4 lumens per watt versus 16 for a modern one), a nearby friend has a carbon filament lightbulb from the beginning of the 1900's and I just love the light that comes from it, it's so cozy... 1 Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken
Woldan Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 To go back to the original point, those wonderfully over-engineered rifles were in massively short supply at the start of WW1. Winston Churchill talks about having units having to share rifles, FFS. Equally, within a few years changes in artillery and fortifications, and combat fatalities meant that infantry fought closer together, and with less training. So they needed simpler higher fire options. The Russians in WW1 had soldiers armed with blackened broomhandles in the trenches because at that time they still didn't have the infra structure nor the industry to build large amounts of rifles. And the Mosin Nagant they had was a very cheap, simple rifle (doesn't make it less awesome though). They even had contracts with the French and the US to build their rifles.Everyone was designing new guns and were looking for new weapons at that time so the weapon shortages have very little to do with the actual designs of the guns. I gazed at the dead, and for one dark moment I saw a banquet.
Hurlshort Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 So I started my taxes, and it looks like I owe like $4000. Yay for entering a new tax bracket. Seriously, I barely went up by $5k in salary, but I passed some ridiculous threshold. I'm still figuring it out, I might need to consult an expert.
Walsingham Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 So I started my taxes, and it looks like I owe like $4000. Yay for entering a new tax bracket. Seriously, I barely went up by $5k in salary, but I passed some ridiculous threshold. I'm still figuring it out, I might need to consult an expert. Unless the expert is going to cost your 4k I'd suggest doing so. Sorry to hear about that, though. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Gfted1 Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Iirc, Hurlshot makes over 120k / year. Pay your taxes you hippy. 1 "I'm your biggest fan, Ill follow you until you love me, Papa"
Hurlshort Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Iirc, Hurlshot makes over 120k / year. Pay your taxes you hippy. Heh, I paid around 12% this year, but the government wants 15%. It's actually the state that is killing me. I have my federal under $1000 at this point, but the state wants another $2200. Geez.
PK htiw klaw eriF Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Today I went to the gym and am currently in between classes, trying not to argue about a Powerpuff Girls cover with a pedant. "Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman run the 21st century version of MK ULTRA." - majestic "you're a damned filthy lying robot and you deserve to die and burn in hell." - Bartimaeus "Without individual thinking you can't notice the plot holes." - InsaneCommander "Just feed off the suffering of gamers." - Malcador "You are calling my taste crap." -Hurlshort "thankfully it seems like the creators like Hungary less this time around." - Sarex "Don't forget the wakame, dumbass" -Keyrock "Are you trolling or just being inadvertently nonsensical?' -Pidesco "we have already been forced to admit you are at least human" - uuuhhii "I refuse to buy from non-woke businesses" - HoonDing "feral camels are now considered a pest" - Gorth "Melkathi is known to be an overly critical grumpy person" - Melkathi "Oddly enough Sanderson was a lot more direct despite being a Mormon" - Zoraptor "I found it greatly disturbing to scroll through my cartoon's halfing selection of genitalias." - Wormerine "I love cheese despite the pain and carnage." - ShadySands
Labadal Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) Back from England. Sitting at the Kop, watching my team beat our rivals 4-0 was a dream. Couldn't have wished for a better trip. I want to go there again for the Arsenal game. If money wasn't an issue! Edited January 31, 2014 by Labadal 2
Malcador Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Back from England. Sitting at the Kop, watching my team beat our rivals 4-0 was a dream. Couldn't have wished for a better trip. I want to go there again for the Arsenal. If money wasn't an issue! Oh God another Liverpool fan whining about ticket prices! Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
BruceVC Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Back from England. Sitting at the Kop, watching my team beat our rivals 4-0 was a dream. Couldn't have wished for a better trip. I want to go there again for the Arsenal. If money wasn't an issue! Good to have you back "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
Labadal Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Back from England. Sitting at the Kop, watching my team beat our rivals 4-0 was a dream. Couldn't have wished for a better trip. I want to go there again for the Arsenal. If money wasn't an issue! Oh God another Liverpool fan whining about ticket prices! I'm happy that I'm not an Arsenal supporter in that regard.
Calax Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Mind still in "overstressed not that great" territories.. glad you're still with us though. It's really hard to see a reason to continue when you know that your career prospects aren't gonna change that much... ever. Victor of the 5 year fan fic competition! Kevin Butler will awesome your face off.
Malcador Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Not that bad, for entertainment in London, anyway. Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Agiel Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Today, you would have a difficult time convincing me otherwise that web designers have some burning, irrational hatred of Opera, as my mail client refuses to work with it and I must use Google Chrome to work in any functional capacity. Quote “Political philosophers have often pointed out that in wartime, the citizen, the male citizen at least, loses one of his most basic rights, his right to life; and this has been true ever since the French Revolution and the invention of conscription, now an almost universally accepted principle. But these same philosophers have rarely noted that the citizen in question simultaneously loses another right, one just as basic and perhaps even more vital for his conception of himself as a civilized human being: the right not to kill.” -Jonathan Littell <<Les Bienveillantes>> Quote "The chancellor, the late chancellor, was only partly correct. He was obsolete. But so is the State, the entity he worshipped. Any state, entity, or ideology becomes obsolete when it stockpiles the wrong weapons: when it captures territories, but not minds; when it enslaves millions, but convinces nobody. When it is naked, yet puts on armor and calls it faith, while in the Eyes of God it has no faith at all. Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of Man...that state is obsolete." -Rod Serling
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