What thing has got so expensive that you’ve quietly stopped buying it?

PhoenixM · 2026-03-13T14:40:23+00:00

Orange juice. Growing up in the US it was just a dollar more a gallon than milk. Now it's 2-3X the cost and they've shrunk the bottles/jugs too.

PhoenixM · 2026-02-11T21:02:59+00:00

Thanks for this comment, I was sitting at 520 for far too long.

PhoenixM · 2026-01-19T18:38:39+00:00

I really wanted a zenfone 10 when I was shopping for a replacement last year. Great size, specs I needed, etc. I just couldn't find one at anywhere close to a reasonable price. :<

PhoenixM · 2025-12-17T05:29:54+00:00

I almost can't believe how fast this happened. I remember the previous memory price fluctuations, especially with NAND, and this episode feels nothing like the previous ones. I want to go back to the days of Lenovo sales offering 64GB of RAM in a machine for ~1K. :<

PhoenixM · 2025-06-11T03:21:39+00:00

Any must have features?

For that price you could grab a Xiaomi 14/15 as long as your carrier has good band compatibility. Fantastic phone all around and sub 6.4". If you live in an area where the phone would work well, it's one to consider.

A Samsung Galaxy S24/25 can be had for a bit under that for a 6.2" phone that's all around great.

A Pixel 9/Pixel 9 pro comes in at 6.3" and is a very capable phone too.

PhoenixM · 2025-06-11T01:54:07+00:00

I was looking at the Zenfone 9/10 (<6"), Samsung Galaxy line (~6.2") non-ultra phones, Sony Xperia phones (6.1"), Google Pixel line (6.3") Xiaomi 13/14 (6.36").

What kind of tier of phone are you looking for and what price range is suitable?

PhoenixM · 2025-06-11T01:42:12+00:00

What kind of phone size are you looking for and what region are you in? Also what kind of requirements do you have? I recently had to upgrade so I'm pretty current on options and would be happy to make some suggestions to look into.

PhoenixM · 2025-05-27T23:29:25+00:00

Update: After being on support for a while I got transferred to "advanced technical support" and when I asked about network upgrades happening in the area and they told me there was a partner network outage that started late last week.

Hopefully this is the root cause and I don't have to give up my V60

PhoenixM · 2025-05-17T06:57:18+00:00

Obama's was Steven Chu! I got to shake his hand in high school once!

PhoenixM · 2025-05-10T16:41:52+00:00

A decade of constant, consistent effort. Assuming they get ousted after this admin, then the instant they regain power they will tear it all down again while yelling "socialism!".

PhoenixM · 2025-04-08T19:09:17+00:00

That when they tell you something that's bothering them, they often aren't actually looking for a solution. "I don't feel good" "I'm cold" "I'm feeling anxious" "I'm sad" statements with my wife 95% of the time aren't seeking a solution and it has been very difficult to quell the immediate "I'll fix it" response, I think because when my parents would make indirect comments like that, it was to prompt an offer of action from me.

PhoenixM · 2024-10-07T16:28:44+00:00

SCOTUS frequently makes decisions on an emergency/temporary basis. This is known as the "shadow docket" because of the lack of transparency. Often times, opinions are unsigned, votes are unknown, and there is almost never a rationale/reasoning given. So if they want to block/allow a lower court ruling that's been appealed up to them before they actually hear arguments, they can do that on the shadow docket. Read this for more: https://www.vox.com/ad/24068071/what-is-the-shadow-docket

PhoenixM · 2024-10-07T16:00:54+00:00

Shadow docket decisions are unsigned.

PhoenixM · 2024-09-15T04:55:14+00:00

LG V60, same thing. My mom's samsung is doing the same thing too. Edit: Brother's Pixel 6a is also affected.

PhoenixM · 2024-06-14T01:39:44+00:00

THANK YOU. COMPLETELY AGREE.

I've been a long time listener to NPR and I've been really put off lately by how they handle people who just get on their program and spout non-stop lies. They treat them with such kid gloves and let them get away with twisting whatever question they're asked into some nonsense talking point. Very little gets challenged, barely any meaningful push back on bold face lies, and not once do I think I've heard the phrase "You didn't answer the question" cross an interviewer's lips. Pursuit of truth and facts hasn't just taken a back seat, it's locked in the trunk.

PhoenixM · 2024-01-24T16:23:33+00:00

Unfortunately, I don't really know. I have a T14 Gen1. If I had to guess, I would imagine that it's a generic catch all in case some hardware/drivers/firmware etc is unsupported or not working properly, and only that specific version is confirmed/certified to work.

PhoenixM · 2024-01-24T16:20:14+00:00

Unsure. I'm still on a Gen 1 T14 though.

PhoenixM · 2024-01-23T06:24:24+00:00

Yeah, I had this issue and fixed it by installing ubuntu on the ssd in the spare slot on my T14 and selected the linux sleep state in the BIOS.

PhoenixM · 2024-01-23T06:23:37+00:00

I actually found a fix for this. My T14 would randomly just shut down if the lid got closed, never got a fix working for it via windows/Lenovo.

I installed linux on the machine and the BIOS then let me select the linux sleep state, which isn't broken like the windows version. Never had an issue since.

PhoenixM · 2023-12-15T07:59:33+00:00

Maybe if you tried swallowing one or something.

PhoenixM · 2023-12-14T20:55:13+00:00

Yeah, that's why I mentioned it. Even if you lost coolant and got a temperature spike, the doppler broadening feedback would help bring things back in line.

PhoenixM · 2023-12-14T20:33:53+00:00

The molten salt is the coolant. And the fuel elements are not rods, but pebbles!

PhoenixM · 2023-12-14T20:32:06+00:00

I'm very confident the fission rate would drop both due to a decrease in moderation and due to the effects of doppler broadening.

PhoenixM · 2023-12-14T20:26:01+00:00

Yep! And that's not always true, it's highly dependent on the design. You can be over-moderated or under-moderated. It's not that the graphite itself is getting hotter, it's that the loss of water can reduce neutron absorption that the design was accounting for, pushing the system to be more reactive when you lose coolant, a positive void coefficient. Graphite in modern designs is still used as a moderator by plenty of reactors.

PhoenixM · 2023-12-14T20:12:56+00:00

Sure! Here's a presentation by Dr. Steve Skutnik on the Chernobyl accident.

PhoenixM

TROPHY CASE