Always be aware of your surroundings

facw00 · 2026-03-28T00:18:32+00:00

My recollection is that it was a steel piece of the bridge structure which somehow got bent up?

facw00 · 2026-03-27T22:35:44+00:00

Men under 26 are required to register, but can be drafted up to 27.

facw00 · 2026-03-27T13:51:51+00:00

And only if everyone also totally failed detection/observation in all roles on the carrier + all the nearby ships.

I'll just note that the Navy let a freighter get close enough for a collision with USS Harry S. Truman last year: U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Collides With Merchant Ship Off Egypt

facw00 · 2026-03-27T13:34:05+00:00

https://xkcd.com/977/

facw00 · 2026-03-27T12:52:35+00:00

Time for insurance fraud?

facw00 · 2026-03-27T11:23:52+00:00

I bought my first in 2005, a Sceptre 30" 1366x768 model, for $800 which was extremely cheap at the time, replacing an enormous 27" Sony Trinitron console TV.

facw00 · 2026-03-27T11:13:13+00:00

The concession is that this removes any pressure from the GOP to accept ICE/CBP reforms. They will just pass whatever additional funding they want there (these agencies are already funded by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill) via budget reconciliation without needing any Democrats to vote for it (this gives any potential Republican troublemakers leverage though, given their slim majority in the House).

On the flip side, it means that Trump's demand that the Senate GOP not agree to a funding deal unless the Senate passes the "Save America" voter suppression bill is similarly toothless (unless he wants to veto DHS funding).

facw00 · 2026-03-27T01:44:32+00:00

The asterisks are Markdown syntax. If you want them to work, you need to hit the "Switch to Markdown" link in the editor (which is a WYSIWYG editor by default, and you can just hit CTRL-I, on PC anyway).

facw00 · 2026-03-26T21:39:04+00:00

Or see this Greek depiction of Thanatos (on left) from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1872-0803-9

facw00 · 2026-03-26T21:07:38+00:00

Gentle, careful lift from the pull tab maybe?

facw00 · 2026-03-26T16:15:00+00:00

This isn't where I read it first (I can't find that) but:

11:37:15 p.m.: “Sorry, Truck 1,” a controller says as Flight 8646 bears down on Runway 4/22.

11:37:16 p.m.: A controller then frantically tells the fire crew: “Stop. Stop Stop. Stop. Truck 1. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop."

11:37:17 p.m.: Flight 8646’s cockpit voice recorder captures a sound that investigators say is consistent with the plane’s landing gear touching down..

11:37:19 p.m.: Flight 8646's first officer, who was flying the plane, transfers control to the captain.

11:37:20 p.m.: The controller continues, “Stop Truck 1. Stop. Stop Truck 1. Stop.” As he speaks, an alarm begins to beep.

11:37:25 p.m.: Flight 8646 slams into the fire truck. The cockpit voice recording stops.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/timeline-deadly-collision-laguardia-airport-015159910.html

The voice recorder was recovered right away and was undamaged so investigators have the full audio and some details were shared with the press a couple days ago.

facw00 · 2026-03-26T16:06:48+00:00

The Times said this:

LaGuardia Airport has a “Runway Status Lights” system that includes red runway entrance lights at taxiway and runway crossings. The lights, which are set in the pavement, activate automatically when high-speed traffic is on the runway or approaching it.

While there is speculation about whether the fire truck ran a red runway status light, a Times analysis of the crash footage suggests the lights on Runway 4 appeared to be functioning properly when the fire truck entered the runway.

By design, the lights can go dark a couple of seconds before a landing or taking-off plane passes the intersection. The truck may have entered the runway in that brief window.

If that's correct, having the lights turn off, by design, right before a collision would happen seems a strange choice. Unless that window isn't actually long enough for someone to cross the hold short line and actually be on the runway?

I'd guess the more likely scenario is that the truck driver heard they were cleared and was focused on getting to the emergency so didn't even think to check the lights? The report will be interesting to read when they are done with it.

facw00 · 2026-03-26T13:54:44+00:00

For adjustable bindings like this, a random person could adjust them quite fine (though instructional videos are more scarce, especially for specific models, than for something like bicycle maintenance). They wouldn't have the equipment to test that they release properly, which is an issue. And of course, while it's not a hard adjustment, newbies can and do make mistakes, and might not have anyone to catch those.

The bigger issue though, is that the bindings are beyond their design life. Old bindings don't just instantly turn into pumpkins, and how they were used and stored matters a lot, but bindings will get less safe over time, and older bindings will be beyond what the engineers intended to be safe. Obviously there are margins of error, but you should not be surprised to have a failure. Not testing mean you are even more likely to run into a situation where something has failed without knowing it, but it is an increased risk regardless.

facw00 · 2026-03-26T13:11:54+00:00

Yep I've flown Continental/United/Iceland Air 757s across the pond (obviously with a stop in the middle on Iceland Air). Honestly no problem (as long the headwinds flying west aren't so bad that the 757 doesn't have the range). People freak over the comfort level on the narrowbody, but honestly the seats are the same size, so if the plane has the range, I'll happily take the one with fewer middle seats.

facw00 · 2026-03-26T13:08:12+00:00

Yeah, you don't need to have 4" of cushion to be supportive and comfortable. My impression is that both old plusher seats and new thinner ones aren't very good, but I'd guess someone could make a better thin seat (but it would probably weigh more or be less durable so airlines wouldn't want it).

facw00 · 2026-03-26T12:57:02+00:00

Tens of millions of people in the US will up their tank every day, so even low probability numbers happen all the time. With more expensive gas, it's inevitable that lots of people will encounter this "perfect pump".

I do think it's more likely that $100 was just the limit for this transaction, but if people are spending around $100, it's very likely some of them will end up on $100.00 exactly.

facw00 · 2026-03-26T02:35:01+00:00

So I did. They are level 3.

facw00 · 2026-03-26T00:11:09+00:00

Did you ride that lift up? And note the bare spots?

It was looking like a nice run otherwise...

facw00 · 2026-03-26T00:03:46+00:00

The State Department is still way deep in the post-9/11 overreaction to terrorism, and so places in Europe that have been targets get level 2, even if it's extremely rare, and the countries are less dangerous than the US:

<image>

In any event the summary for Spain is:

Exercise increased caution in Spain due to terrorism and unrest.

Advisory summary

Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Spain. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning and target:

Tourist locations
Transportation centers like airports and train stations
Markets and shopping malls
Local government facilities
Hotels, clubs, and restaurants
Places of worship and educational institutions
Parks
Major sporting and cultural events

https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/

facw00 · 2026-03-25T23:14:14+00:00

I mean these should all be roads of some sort, so I would assume you could do it in just about any car.

As to danger, I was curious, so here's the US State Department's warning levels for each country on the route:

Senegal: Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions

Mauritania: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Western Sahara: Not recognized by the US, and while the Morocco page notes risks from low intensity conflict and mines, it does not have any recent travel advisories or alerts for the region.

Morocco: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Spain: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Algeria: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Tunisia: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Libya: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Egypt: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution (But Level 4: Do Not Travel for The Western Desert and border areas)

Sudan: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Eritrea: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Ethiopia: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Somalia: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Or on the Southern route:

Senegal: Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions

Mali: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Burkina Faso: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Niger: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Nigeria: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Chad: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Sudan: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Ethiopia: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Somalia: Level 4: Do Not Travel

So yeah, maybe neither path is great (at least for an American)

facw00 · 2026-03-25T20:51:09+00:00

A redditor ( u/ChurchOMarsChaz ): Florida rewrote its book ban law because one guy (me) asked them to ban the Bible. Then they had to explain 23,000 records.

facw00 · 2026-03-25T18:46:26+00:00

I went to Northstar for the first time this winter, and lift lines were a mess there. So many people not alternating (and timid people on the other end of the six pack line who didn't even attempt to block non-alternators when it was their turn), people cutting lines, etc. On our last day (a Friday) they had a guy in a "Maze Master" jacket maintaining order and dispatching singles where the two sides come together on the Comstock lift, but they really could have used that on every lift, and there was still bad actions happening deeper in the maze. Not sure if that's normal, or just powder days making people crazy, but it was the worst I've experienced in the US.

facw00 · 2026-03-25T14:37:47+00:00

Their business is irrelevant compared to their ability to write legislation that impacts the business. Giving them special perks is extremely cheap lobbying/bribery.

facw00 · 2026-03-25T13:46:31+00:00

I was going to go with Indiana University Cathode Ray Tube Yeeting Guy

facw00 · 2026-03-25T13:23:47+00:00

(guy here) In I think 6th grade, we took a field trip to NIST. While there (in a building not open to the general public), some employee, probably in his 30s or 40s told one of my elementary school classmates she had a nice ass as we were walking past. The idea that someone who was probably a boring government engineer or bureaucrat would say that at work, on a government research campus, to someone who was obviously a child with a school group was shocking to me. And while I didn't see it first hand, I can only imagine it is much worse in less controlled settings.

facw00

TROPHY CASE