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Comment Think bigger picture (Score 1) 732

A ban that was subsequently overturned, was it not?

Card and the homophobes are playing King Canute. Try as they might, they cannot order back the tide. They might have the occasional local and temporary success, but the writing is very much on the wall here.

So then why care if he wants to waste his money supporting a futile fight?

But on the other side, Ender's Game the story has had uncounted amounts of positive effects on people (including me turning my life around, and all the second order effects that spill from that). Exposing more people to that story is only a good thing (especially if it leads to reading the books - the first three are very, very powerful and life-changing works of art)

I was shocked to my core to learn how reprehensible a person Card really is - and I still struggle to reconcile how that person could possibly write Ender's game, Speaker for the Dead, and the other one (the Shadow series is just Card going back to the well and largely forgettable) That, in of itself, is a valuable lesson.

I'll happily trade some money flowing into the hands of bigots to fund windmill-tilting if that results in a world where Ender's Game exists.

Comment Throttle by Wire is more than just assembly (Score 1) 610

The comments about TBW making assembly cheaper are well-founded and accurate, but there's WAY more than just that:

TBW let's you get rid of the idle speed solenoid / idle speed bypass motor, which handles high idle during warmup and anti-stall during big drop throttle. Instead, the ECU can move the throttle plate directly. More control authority, less under/overshoot, more stable idle, less idle fuel consumption - not to mention a savings of between 1 (PWM idle solenoids like Honda) to as many as 6 wires (stepper motor systems like Mitsubishi)

TBW allows you to change the ratio between delta pedal and delta throttle - and do so *dynamically*. You can do this by changing the linkage and cam on a mechanical throttle, but it's a big deal and not easy to tune. With TBW, it's a lookup table or a function. If you have a powerful car with a big throttle body, this can pay HUGE fuel savings and vehicle control dividends at low throttle plate angles, where tiny tiny differences in throttle plate angle make huge differences in airflow.

TBW makes traction control / stability control WAY easier - and it doesn't crackle and bang like spark retard systems do.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Just because you can't imagine the benefits don't mean they aren't there.

Comment Re:153 GOP voted to default (Score 1) 999

You're talking about a nation that went to war with itself - killing millions of people - so that it could try and keep the institution of SLAVERY.

In the face of that, how is brinksmanship over paying the bills in any way surprising?

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