Andddd...we just veered into tin-foil hat territory.

I was hoping someone would challenge my assertion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

I was thinking everywhere, not just the U.S., but I have to admit I did not remember only the FAA could regulate local airspace, and I have no idea what other countries do in that regard.

It seems like communities could address this to some extent not just trough airspace, but using zoning to disallow facilities where the drones could take off and land.

If the drone confines its flight path to mostly over the road systems it will make a lot less noise than a passing car.

I thought about that too, but the problem is road nose is well contained to buildings on the side of the street, while drone noise is elevated and thus can reach out a lot more.

Perhaps drone noise at 200+ feet would not be as bad as I'm thinking of, but it seems like these would be pretty large drones at 55lbs, thus quite a bit noisier than many of the drones we are used to hearing.

The main problem (well, perhaps not the MAIN problem) I see is that no-one signed up to have drone flights right over their houses. You can buy and plan for where airports are going to be, but the "drone corridors" will just appear overhead one day. Drone sounds are (I think) especially obnoxious buzzing...

It'll be interesting to see if communities try to ban this.

Could it also be related to poorer parents working more hours, thus having less time to be with the kids during their early years

There are probably dozens of measurable ways being poor affects the development of brains. But ultimately, it's happening because that's the way the people at the very top in terms of wealth and power want it. The last think they want is for poor people to suddenly become successful, and develop political power.

One of the side-effects of the New Deal and the labor movement in America is that a bunch of people who were on the shitty side of the street suddenly were able to take a big step up. GIs coming out of WW2 who would normally have gone to work in the coal mine or slaughter house suddenly had the means to go to college, buy a house, live a life of reasonable comfort. And do you know what they did with this sudden shift in circumstances? They developed political power. Their kids went from blue collar to white collar. And similar steps up during the pre and post-war period occurred for women and American blacks.

And this scared the bejeesus out of the elite. So, in the 70s, and peaking in the 80s, there came an effort to undo these advancements. The effort included an attack on New Deal programs like Social Security and the labor movement. The effort included the flooding of the inner city with crack cocaine (which we now know to have been run by our own government). The effort included the confluence of evangelical religion with supply-side capitalism by Billy Graham (who started his ministry with funds from the Chamber of Commerce).

The effort to put the genie back in the bottle continues to this day, and it's been quite successful. Economic disparity hasn't been this out of whack since the 19th century. Militarized policing, private prisons, an attack on public education are all fronts in this class war being waged by the elite. You want to see it in action, watch the political policies being pushed by governors of Kansas, Indiana, and many states throughout the South and in big cities in the North. Just watch.

I traded in a previous gen iPhone, I got enough to pay for AppleCare for two new phones. That happened on the spot, I don't see how that is any kind of "disadvantage".

You can get more selling a device yourself for sure. But that's a lot of hassle, ant not everyone has eBay accounts.

You can also get a little more selling to other companies that will give you cash for older phones. But not much more, and it takes a little longer than simply getting credit for Apple when your goal is to buy something new from Apple anyway...

Get yer robot firefighter here

You are SO SURE it's going to be a massive flop that you post AC so the prediction cannot be traced to you...

We all know what that means

Not if you wait about a month. This whole process is about handling initial demand, then will probably change.

But with the Apple Watch, only a few (admittedly self-selected) people get that privilege.

Or anyone can order any model online (like the eve so exclusive Amazon), or just walk in a store and ask to try one on the spot.

Wow, SUPER privileged.

Scalpers can just order them online; I think it's much more about customer satisfaction (which you mentioned) plus the fact that they just will not have much stock in store to start with. If everyone has to order one it will feel more fair, and no-one will be pressured to buy some model they don't quite like just because it's there (which goes back to customer satisfaction).

I think you may not understand what "exclusive" means. I sometimes have to reserve a Motel 6 ahead of time because they are busy, are they "exclusive" also?

The process is there because there are so many watch combos they can't realistically stock them all. Also, it's a REALLY GOOD IDEA to try something in person first before you wear it around all the time (not just in terms of looks but how it feels on your skin).

Isn't it smarter to make sure a customer gets a watch they want rather than taking a lot of returns because what they ordered was too big/small/wrong color?

I think it's laughable Apple is being ridiculed for asking people to try one out first to make sure they want one, rather than Apple pushing people to buy them sight unseen. Isn't this the exact opposite of the pure marketing drive people are always accusing Apple of?

Greenhouse gases and temperature appear to be capable of a feedback loop

No, they really don't. At least not in Earth's atmosphere.

CO2 emissions have gone up and up over the last two decades with almost no increase in heat over that period of time.

Apparently CO2 does not actually lead to a feedback loop. Which only makes sense when you realize the whole Earth is a system designed to process CO2 in vast quantities.

Safe except for the byproducts, which are most definitely not safe

Why not? The byproducts are very small in volume, and quite well protected/contained.

It's better than coal which spreads low does of radiation, not to mention other pollution, all over the place. Both in burning and in transport.

It's better than solar or wind, byproducts of manufacture of those systems end up in the environment.

Nuclear has the safest byproducts. because you will never come in contact with them.