Bomber pilots and F-16 pilots don't have high resolution video of every strike. (They do with some missile strikes but not all) and usually get "visual confirmation" from other sources. Drone pilots have video the whole time and watch every second of it during strikes. Other drone pilots have to "confirm" but the shooter does see every bit of detail. Just because they aren't flying in the airspace themselves doesn't mean they don't get the impact of their actions.

As someone who grew up with an AF pilot father who flew both fighters and bombers and who now works with drone pilots regularly, I guarantee you drone pilots see far more of the damage they cause "close up" than bomber and most fighter pilots ever will.

Go sit a mission sometime. It's not what you think it is. Mostly it's monotonous, boring work. When there is an actual strike, it's a big deal. It's not like a video game at all, though. I promise you that.

I have sat these missions (not as a pilot) and I don't really understand the "stress" they are talking about. Other than the shift work, which can take a toll on family life, most of the folks I know doing these missions don't feel especially stressed about it.

I suspect this is a political push to change the AF standards of training required to do the job. The Army gives their UAS pilots ground training only. The AF, as far as I know, still requires full flight training. Big time and commitment difference. The AF also requires officers to do this while the Army allows enlisted, which means you get them younger, cheaper, and typically can hold onto them better because they don't have the same civilian opportunities by getting out.

So I can sell you sugar laced with arsenic? I can sell you rat labeled as chicken? Get real. You're very happy with the people telling your stores what they can and cannot sell you as long as it's some perceived benefit rather than some perceived slight.

Why in the world you would consider this a limit on your personal freedom I have no idea but we all have our crosses to bear. This may be one of yours, I guess. What exactly do you have a problem with in this decision? The lack of consensus in research or some concern you have over what the replacements will be (and their impacts) or just bitching for the sake of bitching?

You are aware that most English speakers will pronounce ways, waze, and weighs identically, right?

Nice. Totally missed that in my post. Yet another Doh! moment.

Have you ever actually eaten rabbits, squirrels, lizards, snakes or frog legs? They taste nothing like chicken. Why do people always say this? Or people's pallets really so fucked up they can't distinguish between different types of meats?

Like I said, I changed as much detail as I could and then I did what they said would "close" my account. I have no idea if it's really closed but I haven't received any spam from them since. I don't provide anyone a valid phone number so that's never been a worry for me.

Man I hate making spelling and grammar mistakes. Sometimes it takes more than two readings...

Floor heating/cooling/ Far more efficient than forced air and no worries about the crap your moving around your house (mold, pollen, etc.) so fewer respiratory issues. We kept our house in Korea at 17C (~63 F for the US folks) in the winter and would sweat if we wore anything other than shorts and t-shirts. You can also tie into your geothermal/solar for even further reduced costs.

Definitely solar/wind power capability-- as close to "off grid" as feasible in the desired footprint. Tie in to grid but be self sufficient when necessary.

Along the discussion of the DC home, a good inverter and maybe dedicated DC outlets. Maybe just feed outlets directly from solar/wind battery bank.

I'd add switchable glass windows to go "opaque" whenever I wanted, at least in the bedrooms.

Intercom with a console in every room, and one on the back patio/deck and garage. Less of an issue if you are building a single floor house, but quite helpful if you live with folks who are hard of hearing or you're building a reasonable large or multi-story house.

The obvious speaker, network, and coax wiring throughout.

A "dark" room with full faraday cage built into the walls. Turn it into my home theater or something. Nothing in, nothing out. Nice for private conversations and no distractions while otherwise entertaining.

Obviously some of these assume a fairly large budget. The geothermal with floor heating shouldn't be too much more to invest in initially than a "conventional" forced air system, though and will pay for itself fairly quickly. (In the central Atlantic region of the US, my calculations were about 7 years for initial install and something like 11-13 for a retro-fit). Adding solar/wind won't cost significantly less than they would as a retrofit, except possibly the grid tie-in. Do the grid tie-in either way and save yourself some trouble down the road.

We call those shotguns. With bean bags or rock salt, of course. Wouldn't want to "hurt" anyone.

The last time I used paypal I decided was the last time, period. If a transaction requires paypal in the future, I'll pass on the purchase and tell the seller exactly why. They wouldn't let me delete expired credit cards, they wouldn't let me remove a closed bank account, fuck them. I closed my account entirely after putting in bogus contact information since I'm sure they don't actually delete any account data.

This is just one more reason to hate paypal.

Just no. One more good reason not to use this "service". Uber is clearly run by a bunch of a-holes who think they can do whatever they want with your data. I'll pass. I hope this drives more customers away but, sadly, I doubt it will.

I wasn't referring to use time, to be honest. Plenty of legit reasons you want to "turn it off" and know it's actually turned off.

There are other reasons than battery charging to want a user replaceable battery. Just to be clear.

Sometimes they do need a reminder. Sometimes we just do things out of tradition. Sometimes we do things simply because we like it. Sometimes, we do things to "prove" something. Even if it's just a "minor league game" it's important to someone who's there. Whether it's the players who'll never make it to the big leagues or the kids who only get to see their dad on occasions like that or whatever. Just because you think it's trivial doesn't make it trivial for everyone else.

I find it all a bit ridiculous, personally, but to argue that the US is the only place this happens is also inaccurate. They do it at baseball games in Korea and Japan, if my memory serves properly.

Not exactly a rarity for people to feel pride in their place of residence.