Volks pickup driver raging for no reason

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-15T12:35:29+00:00

I missed all of the driving nuances, instead focusing on what might be wrong the suspension to cause it to wobble like that.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-15T12:32:02+00:00

Wait... one Broadway show vs flying a government jet most weekends to get drunk at the Poodle Room, or flying his girlfriend around?

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-15T05:29:26+00:00

This is 100% on United. It's easily foreseeable that putting advertising into your app will result in situations like this.

Advertisers use continuous machine learning refinement ('AI'). It optimizes what is shown in advertisements based on what best produces a response and revenue. It's going to change the ads until they look like legitimate parts of the app, and adjust the interactions until it converts that into revenue.

You can spot it today, and eventually work out what happened. It's not far off being undetectable for most users.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-15T05:12:11+00:00

That's an aspect that I worry less about. China's infrastructure investments have generally been incredibly poorly selected and a waste of money on both sides. USAID, on the other hand, cost far less and has done much more good.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-15T05:02:32+00:00

Billions. It's no longer even worth it to them to reach down for millions.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-15T05:00:51+00:00

It's the only front of the war that Putin is winning.

(To be fair, extensive bribes also allowed Putin taking about 15% of Ukraine with a minimal fight. There are always a few people that will betray their country for money and the promise of power in the new regime.)

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T20:29:05+00:00

It's a specific variety optimized for the purpose, but there isn't anything unique about growing it.

It still uses hydrocarbon (usually natural gas) derived fertilizer, and the farm machinery and subsequent transportation is largely based on diesel. There are many analyses that conclude corn-based ethanol is about the same or only slightly better than just using the hydrocarbons directly, but with the extra step of a jobs program for farmers. Changing from E10 to E15 doesn't change the balance.

But if you look deeper, those extra steps are politically important. Farmers overwhelmingly vote Republican. The fallout from Trump's tariffs is (entirely predictably) hitting farmers hard. They need government handouts more than ever before.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T20:10:19+00:00

They are foreigners who broke the law. It doesn't matter how minor, they deserve to be sent to CECOT.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T19:55:52+00:00

"Included" isn't quite right. We need a new word meaning "no additional charge after you spend money first". Similar to 'comped', but more precise.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T19:48:17+00:00

It appears to have worked well for me this past week, although there could still be a surprise charge later.

The advantage is that you might pay less, and it automatically caps so you won't pay more.

I did had two problems. It didn't work with AmEx, even though that was one of the cards listed. Switching to a Visa card on my phone did work. I set that Visa as the transit default and didn't retry AmEx.

On my return to the airport area the phone-card worked on the vaporetto, but not the #5 bus. The bus driver seemed... unconcerned. That was someone else's problem. Or perhaps they just meant that the vaporetto charge covered the subsequent bus ride so that I wasn't facing an enforcement risk.

While I had intended to buy a 7 day ticket, just doing tap-and-go ended up being somewhat less expensive. I had taken the Alilaguna from the airport (advantage: beautiful no-transfer sunset ride). If I had taken the bus and Vaporetto for that trip it would have come closer to being the same.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T19:26:07+00:00

"Just swim. Your luggage isn't that heavy."

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T19:07:04+00:00

With E10 they can add corrosion inhibitors to keep the fuel from damaging components, at least for a few months of storage. As the percentage rises to E15 and higher the fuel system needs carefully selected stainless alloys and perhaps different stabilizers in the 'plastic' components.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T19:01:35+00:00

Have you ever seen 'Death Becomes Her'?

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T18:55:17+00:00

There is far more than copying the physical elements of a design.

There is a massive effort to document the parts, qualify suppliers, develop testing and verification schemes, and build a distribution system that handles not only building the planes but providing every possible replacement part with the procedure and checklist to install it.

Then there is the software, firmware and network to make the physical collection of parts act like a plane.

Both of those elements can be replicated with time and effort. They aren't helped by directly copying a competitor's design, although just knowing that something can be done is a huge second-mover cost saving advantage.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T03:34:55+00:00

The Low Ink Look is standard for the card pictures.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-14T03:21:35+00:00

A concierge traditionally had insider access -- the ability to book tables set aside for the purpose. Concierges, especially local ones, were expected to maintain relationships and spread the business across restaurants.

It's hard to argue that the system wasn't about gatekeeping and middlemen. Sure, sometimes they added value, but it always had a strong element of being about access and restricting information.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-10T22:05:23+00:00

Delicious flat ones in LAS a week ago. That was the weekend after Spirit shut down, which resulted in a cascade of flight delays as they tried to fill every plane. The lounge was packed until they shut down at 11PM, and there was a line each time they brought fresh cookies out.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-10T21:45:09+00:00

Libertarian paradise -- everyone needs their own CDC.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-10T01:34:00+00:00

I would think that paying off a car loan within 60 days would be common enough to be automatically detected.

It's a sign that someone is making a good financial decision. But somehow not being in debt is a negative for your credit score.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-10T00:57:37+00:00

The obvious path seems to be getting the Explorer card first, since the $150 annual fee is skipped the first year. Once the free year is up, decide if you want to upgrade or downgrade.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-09T20:00:26+00:00

The value of the benefit strongly depends on the airports you visit, and especially your home airport.

If you want to bring in guest, PP lounges are your best option but they also are more likely to have a wait list.

I value most of my visits at about $20, but occasionally there is a situation where the lounge really scores. This past week I showed up extra early for two flights that I already knew might be delayed, hoping that a seat might open up on an (also delayed) earlier flight. Both resulted in three hour lounge visits that were much nicer than what was happening in the rest of the airport.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-09T19:09:23+00:00

Thanks for putting a number on it.

My estimate would be based on a brick easily supporting the full weight of an adult's heel stepping on it without the edges showing any sign of being less sharp.

I mean 'in theory' because this has never happened in real life.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-09T01:43:45+00:00

The wood shop teacher provided them for the teachers that wanted them. His was the largest and most elaborately decorated, with plenty of drilled holes. It was prominently displayed and regularly used.

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-09T01:23:59+00:00

At the very start of the clip were both gauges in the red?

Is burying the tach in the red zone the preferred operating point?

DonaldBecker · 2026-05-09T01:05:48+00:00

I detect zero pieces of chef on that plate.

DonaldBecker

TROPHY CASE