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Comment Re:I don't know of anyone buying an EV ! (Score 1) 172

I totally agree that EV charging at home has been solved. Where I live (SE Michigan), our local utility company (DTE) will even come out and install a separate meter for your EV charger in case your existing panel doesn't have the ampacity to accommodate 1 or 2 additional 220V circuits for charging.

I think broad charging on the road still has some ways to go. Yes, there may be fast charging infrastructure along major interstate routes between cities. But as an outdoorsy person, I find myself driving to a lot of rural areas like Munising, Michigan and Slade, KY. These places do not have fast charging infrastructure or potentially ANY charging infrastructure whatsoever. Munising has one 40A Level 2 charger, meaning it will take approximately 6 hours to charge your typical EV. Most of the other "chargers" listed in the Munising area are actually campgrounds, casinos, or RV parks with 220V NEMA outlets, and many of the comments on these slow chargers are, "I called recently and they no longer offer EV charging."

I'm not a EV hater. I think especially for city driving EVs are awesome, but there are still gaps that can't be filled by them, leaving a place for traditional fossil fuel cars or hybrids.

Comment Re:Not interested in more proprietary protocols (Score 1) 29

There's a rock climbing series I can only purchase and view on Vimeo.
So I can't figure out how to watch it on my Amazon FireStick.
Not surprisingly, Chromecast only seems to work with Youtube. I can't find a way to ChromeCast from Vimeo app. Despite their web support saying I should be able to do that, no ChromeCast icon appears in the lower right corner of the video.

We definitely need a standard for this with solid support. I can't believe in this day and age there are "dead ends" like this that just don't seem to work.

Comment Re:it's a start (Score 1) 202

Indeed. Perfect is the enemy of good.

I'd love to know why incremental progress isn't ever good enough, and it has to be an all-or-nothing solution for the denial crowd to not shit all over it.

Incremental improvement is still improvement, and enough increments delay "the point of no return" just a little bit more, buying us further time to make more incremental improvements unless some kind of "Eureka!!" development comes along.

This isn't a hard concept, and arguments against making incremental improvements where possible are quintessentially bad faith arguments.

Comment Re:What is the benefit of using iMessage? Seriousl (Score 2) 122

Clearly you've never tried to send a video in a group chat that involves an iOS user.

It's a fucking shit show that only Apple can fix, or allow to be fixed via reverse engineering such as what TFA is about.

This 100%. My brother, wife & daughter use iPhones but I'm on Android. They've tried to send me photos and family videos over SMS/MMS and it's horrible. And they hate it when I say, "Send those to me over FB Messenger" or whatever. They just don't want to be bothered to have to think about it and take alternative actions accordingly.

Comment Re:Many RPGs you could buy (Score 1) 181

Back in the late 80's we played AD&D but also Middle Earth Role Playing. I also had copies of MERP's "big brother", RoleMaster. Both were published by Iron Crown Enterprises, and MERP was essentially a pared down version of RoleMaster rules.

one of the best things about MERP/Rolemaster were critical hits as well as fumbles. Roll high enough and your attack does critical damage, and the crit tables were pretty fun. It was pretty cool to sometimes see a lowly hobbit take out an Uruk Hai with an arrow straight to the eye, or have a well cast lightning bolt spell completely fry the opponent's nervous system.

That seemed so much more enjoyable and realistic than just pummeling your enemy until they reach 0 HP.

Comment Re:Selective Wannabe Environmentalists (Score 2) 58

Let's turn it around. How many Tesla batteries could be made from 5.3 billion cell phone batteries.
A quick Google search suggests there are 2-3 grams of Lithium in a cell phone battery, and 63kg of Lithium in a Tesla battery.

So doing the math:
(2 * 5.3billion) / 64000

= 168,254 Tesla batteries worth of Lithium in those 5.3 billion phones, just going by Lithium used, and being conservative about the amount in a cell battery.

Comment Re:I love Patagonia (Score 2) 75

Presumably the preference is for natural fibers over polyester.

You can't just wave a magic wand and say, "Let's use natural fibers!". What natural fibers, exactly? Cotton? Bamboo? Rayon? Merino Wool? These all have different characteristics than nylon, polyester, or polypropylene that make them less suitable for use in outdoor clothing and gear. I've seen absolutely zero natural fibers than can compare to 15 denier coated polyester for making ultralight tarps, or to ECOPAK UltraWeave for making lightweight backpacks.

The same goes for synthetic insulation (Primaloft, Climashield Apex, Polartec PowerFill, Thinsulate) vs the natural stuff (i.e. down). They've tried to make down perform better in challenging, damp conditions by spraying a bunch of DWR chemicals on it. It only works to a point, and then the DWR gives up and the down will still collapse and clump.

Comment Re:Why was this ever allowed in the first place. (Score 1) 214

Yeah, there is at least one pretty good documentary about how the plastics associations/industry pushed to put this symbol on everything, because it boosted consumer acceptance of plastics.

Sorry I can't cite a reference. I may be thinking of the "Plastic Wars" piece by Frontline, or "The Plastic Problem" by PBS Newshour. Both are on Youtube.

Comment Re:I'm all for this (Score 1) 214

Yeah, I remember scooping mustard and mayo out of a wide mouthed glass jar, and smacking the back of a glass ketchup bottle when the ketchup wouldn't flow. Glass is infinitely recyclable.

Plastic does have its place. For example, I don't miss the possibility of stepping on broken glass or a rusty tin can at the beach. Now it's the micro-plastics that are slowly working their way through every facet of the food chain and slowly killing us.

I like the idea of making the manufacturer be responsible for the cost of disposal at the end of a plastic item's use. That would discourage so much single use plastic and perhaps make biodegradable materials for single-use items more competitive.

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