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Comment Re:I dunno about LEDs, but CFLs don't last (Score 2) 602

Toto's do (start at about $300, but well worth it). They have a two stage flush, and 15/30 second refills depending on the stage. The only thing they suck at is... heavy dark matter on the back of the bowl. That's what the $1,000+ versions are pressurized...

During a large party it's nice to have a toilet that can move 4 people per minute through the bathroom line.

Great toilets, made in America. They get crazy expensive on the high end (they go all Japanese with digital controls and extra spray stuff, warm air, etc.).

Comment Re:47 square yards? (Score 1) 268

I figured that "ache feet" was a logarithmic progression, the farther you walk the more it hurts (once it starts hurting), and it isn't linear.

Of course I didn't see how that would be related to irrigation. Maybe it's a term used by those who inspect long irrigation systems.

And of course I saw your response regarding auto-correct...

Comment Re:The Global Food Crisis is not a science problem (Score 1) 308

Correct on the amount of food. The situation is actually an energy problem, the cost of transporting foods can be prohibitive.

Especially so if they have a short time frame to be consumed (healthy stuff like fruits and vegetables). And those food types are prized by first world consumers, so, from an economic perspective, those who can provide the best profit get the food.

America turns corn into energy. South America turns sugar into energy. How would you suggest minimizing that and also pay to move the food around the globe?

The market wins, not those who need food.

Check out Darwin's Nightmare. Terrible documentary about food distribution (great documentary, the content is of a terrible nature).

Comment Re:Unintended Consequences (Score 2) 410

Fantastic book (not the best writing, but a great story). I took my CCW class with author, John Ross, and had him sign my copy.

Interesting Facts - John Ross single handedly got concealed carry passed in Missouri, paying for lobbyists out of his own pocket. Surprisingly, the legislature threw in the Castle provision (preventing civil suits if you kill an uninvited person in your home). As in the book, he actually owns a quarry which he uses as a gun range and he has quite a few Class 3 weapons (which you can shoot for the cost of ammo after taking his CCW class).

Comment Re:The WHO (Score 2) 478

And further, I have asked myself, Would I want to be one of my grandparents.

My grandmother is upper 80's, she can no longer form short or medium term memory. Meds help with anger which was an issue early on. She needs a walker and can be coherent (while asking the same questions over).

Her husband is my grandfather, Wib, he turned 90 about a week ago (my son is named after him, their actual name is Wilbur but they will always been known as Wib). He's got his mind and gets around fine, albeit with considerable pain in the entire body. I don't like that he still drives, but it is a necessity where he lives. And he still works, although most of his customers have died off. It is his routine. And he loves his wife and would certainly perish quickly if she passed.

My grandmother wrote a letter to her grandchildren in the 1980s, and she said "these bones are ready for the grave." I found it when I was about 10. We talked about it, but I don't remember the conversation, just the phrase. Burned in my mind. She was in her late 60's at the time.

Kurt Vonnegut said, on the Daily Show, that he would have already committed suicide if not for how it would affect his grandchildren. He passed a couple of years later.

So it goes.

Comment Re:The WHO (Score 1) 478

The decision regarding death's timing should be up to the individual (if possible, accidents and such interfere), with the decision based on his/her considerations of pain/quality of life and family and/or other obligations. Alzheimer's and Dementia are different stories, thus the need for living wills addressing mental situations (if you were no longer yourself, would you rather spend your funds on your care or helping your family financially?).

Soylent Green had it right, there should be euthanasia centers, 'tis a sad aspect of a civilized society, but it is civilized, allowing for self determination (with the same music and film as the movie, one of my favorite scenes in any movie). Keep in mind that the starving masses didn't choose to die, they continued to suffer. Fantastic movie.

As for society and being worthless (per the general society), that's a question of being/trying to be employed, but it has nothing to do with whether one should die. But worth with family is another situation, and is more important anyway (I don't care what society thinks about or values about me).

Comment Re:The WHO (Score 2) 478

You are absolutely correct about life expectancy. At birth, per the Social Security Administration's actuarial tables, men have a life expectancy of 76.1 and women 80.94.

From there it never appears to go down (it is flat a couple of times, age 9-10 for both genders; add actual age and expectancy then diff over time). At no point is your full life expectancy, per standardized tables, at or below 75. At 75 the men and women life expectancy's are 85.89 and 87.77 respectively. Women are expected to live longer until age 116, at which point men and women have an equal life expectancy...

Here's the table: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/...

I haven't used an actuarial life table in a couple of decades, fun stuff.

And to be clear, the expectancy is from that age, so adding them is correct. Here's the full note:
Note: The period life expectancy at a given age for 2010 represents the average number of years of life remaining if a group of persons at that age were to experience the mortality rates for 2010 over the course of their remaining life.

Comment Re:it's means it is (Score 1) 132

My dashcam can be triggered on motion. I don't use this feature, I just let it record all of my driving.

That should dramatically cut the power used by the camera when it isn't recording.

I'm about to get a 2nd one that will be rear facing (and then maybe left/right facing, I need to find a model that doesn't come with a screen, so it would be smaller).

I've already used the threat of the dash cam to get some guy and a cop off my ass (he said I hit his car with my door, but I hadn't even been on the parking level where it happened, I told the cop I would gladly pull up my dashcam videos if the guy would like, the cop came back a couple of minutes later and said that wouldn't be necessary...).

Comment Re:Oh, but it does. You can't make a backup (Score 1) 222

A couple of years ago a friend of mine plugged into my laptop to charge her iPhone, she clicked something with regards to the iTunes prompt (I had an iPhone so it was installed), and next thing we know 800 photos on her phone had been deleted but not backed up to my computer. I never figured out what she did, and she wouldn't connect to any computer but hers after that (she didn't synch/backup to iTunes on her computer, the phone was stand alone).

I really enjoyed the iPhone experience (through iPhone 4). But I like to develop for Android, so that's where I'm at now. Nexus 5 owner. Battery life isn't that good, but I have wireless chargers at work, in my living room, my bedroom, and my kitchen. I just put it down wherever I'm at and it stays charged. There's are two more in my travel bag, ready to go (one for the hotel, one for the office).

Comment Re:+ operator for string concat? (Score 1) 729

Holy shit, you are correct. In fact there's more to it than what you described.

Here's some C# code, the last examples (z, z2) really bother me (in those cases the string was cast to a number):

                        int i = 1;
                        string j = "1";
                        double k = 1.15;

                        var x = "1" + 1; // string "11"
                        var y = i + j; // string "11"
                        var x2 = j + i; // string "11"
                        var z = k + i; // double 2.15
                        var z2 = i + k; // double 2.15

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