So, I’m having trouble with a JavaFx program and decided to ask a question on StackOverflow. And it looks like a moderator, or other user, edited my question to change the wording. I have no problem with the edits, except that they seem awfully picky. What do you think?
So I am attempting to “Retain Agency” by posting this here for us to have a look.
In the future, I will always attempt to retain my agency.
I had assumed that StackOverflow was a forum, but it seems it is subtly different from a forum. Here are a couple of examples of the etiquette of StackOverflow showing through:
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a common payment infrastructure. What we have now with Check and even On-Line banking services is outdated and not secure. Checks were first used in the 17th century here in the US. Here are a list of problems that I’ve seen over the past few years with payment systems. I’m sure this is not a complete list:
Handwritten checks can be cashed by anyone who can convince a bank to do that.
Handwritten checks can be lost in the mail, so you need to pay postage and extra fees to have tracking numbers to assure they are delivered to the correct person / entity.
Online Banking services are not much better than handwritten checks. There are three means of delivery of payments by the services that I’ve seen. At least two banks in my area use the same online-banking service, so there aren’t choices that I can easily find. 1 – They take your money from your account, then they write a check on their account and mail that check, apparently with no tracking and there is no transparency so if the check is lost, you need to deal with it in a cumbersome way by visiting your bank, and contacting the payee. 2 – They take your money, then do a money transfer directly to the payee. You have no visibility that this has been done or that it worked. 3 For some payees, your money is taken from your account, then it’s bundled up with many other payments and a bulk money transfer is done. Again no transparancy or accountability is available on the online banking website to assure this worked and when.
Credit cards and debit cards sometimes work, depending on the Payee. But there is no security if the card number is passed to a website since if the website is hacked your card may be stolen.
Privacy.com is a website that creates virtual cards funded by a Debit card from your bank and provides additional security and accountability. Privacy cards can be created at will, with a limit, and are locked to the merchant the first time they are used. If the merchant is hacked, only that card need be replaced since all other merchants have a different card number. The payments are easily tracked on the Privacy website. But there are transactions that will not work with Privacy. Payments are limited to small amounts – a few hundred dollars – unless you pay for a paid plan. So Privacy can help with small and continuing payments made online, but only if the payee takes credit cards and only if the amounts are relatively small.
Let’s examine this problem in more detail and propose at least part of a modern solution to solve it:
I saw a Youtube video talking about a new controller that solves the Joystick Stick Drift problem with game controllers. But then I got to searching around and found that Hall effect joysticks have been around for a dozen years.
So APEM was making Hall effect joysticks back before 2010. There’s a youtube video from Digikey showing that.
But the Hall Effect Joysticks are Going to be More Expensive
Oh, by the way, before we talk about the Hall Effect versions costing more, look at this:
So, yes there are cheap controllers that plug in for $30 or so. But the wireless ones are about the same price as the Hall Effect ones from Gulikit. No excuse for Microsoft and Sony to not use Hall Effect joysticks. :ww
Logitech has released a new mouse. Basically the design is just rotated about 70 or 80 degrees to take pressure off of the wrist. Great Idea!. But they are charging over twice as much for this mouse, for no good reason, other than it’s novelty.
The new Lift mouse is $70 here and on Amazon. Compare that with the older normal mouse, with the same number of buttons and same wireless features for $40. And the one I use, which is a bit smaller, also with all the same buttons and wireless for just $20.
Over THREE TIMES THE COST for just novelty. Nothing new inside the mouse, just a different plastic case and Over TRIPLE the cost.
Let us remember that Canada has for a long time been the purveyor of Oil from Tar Sands:
Tar Sands are arguably one of the most destructive and polluting ways to obtain oil. And “Tar sands extraction emits up to three times more global warming pollution than does producing the same quantity of conventional crude.” says the NRDC.
Just Wash That Reputation
So what is Canada really doing with this far future bandaid over their use of ICE cars? I suggest that this is a case of Reputation Washing.
While the term “Reputation-Washing” usually refers to rich folks donating small amounts to charity to cover much larger messes, I suggest that it would seem to apply to this Canadian ICE car ban as well.
The Canadian ICE car ban is in the far future. Fifteen years in the future, we may primarily be driving electric cars anyway, so this is just in keeping with trends and not making any real commitment to a change.
Does this ban come with any statement about shutting down and cleaning up the Tar Sands Extraction in Alberta? I don’t see that mentioned.
A meaningless far future ban and meanwhile “Drill Baby Drill!”. :ww
After 70+ years, I’ve developed a lot of ways of sorting out what I believe from what I don’t. Long before social media and mobile phones there was the scientific method, which I adhere to. Concepts like “Preponderance of the Evidence” and Avoid Conspiracy Theories and Trust Multiple Sources and Trust Experience and Peer Review come to mind.
Some would say that the world is a horrible state and would blame it on certain key actors or concepts. I am reminded that through out my entire life the world has been in a horrible state. Many of the Actors and Concepts have not really changed. For example, Capitalism has always been very unfair and while one can argue that it is “more unfair” recently and increasingly so, I fail to see a clear alternative. While it is also clear that Regulation does not work because the powerful are adept at either preventing or mitigating it to their own ends. I would put this in the column of a Continuing Struggle not a sign of a looming disaster. This would seem to have been looming for the past 200 years or so.
But there have been some successes. I am reminded of a few decades at the beginning of the 20th century when “Gangsters” were a thing and they no longer are a thing. And when “Robber Barons” were a thing, and they no longer are. And when Communism was a thing, and it no longer is. While Fascism continues to be a thing, I see a long chain of over coming bad political ideas, and so I am hopeful.
Each year I get about two tons of pellets to heat my house. Sustainably Harvested Douglas Fir Pellets from here in Oregon. And each year these pellets come in “Plastic Bags” which of course are made from Natural Gas. And of course, these bags are not really Recyclable. Interesting Lie that we’ve been told for years by the Plastic Industry. Of course it is way cheaper to make new plastic than recycle it.
Up until this year, my pellet supplier was at least willing to take the bags away with the Pallets and Weather Wrap covers [ which are even heavier plastic]. But this year, they are not willing to “Take my garbage” and so I have saved all the bags and now have to throw them away with the Trash. I have always distinguished between “Organic” refuse as “Garbage” and “non-Organic” refuse as Trash, but never mind.
But the obvious, sustainable alternative for packaging is not available here in Oregon for wood home heating pellets. Obviously “Paper Bags” would be better.
I am continually amazed by shipping by truck. Here’s the current example of a shipment from Newegg to my home [anonymized]. Of course, read the route from the bottom up.
UPS Trucked the box to Portland and then back to me via Roseburg, which is next to the highway that the truck passed on the way to Portland. So that is an extra “Round Trip” between Roseburg and Portland or 356 miles and about 6 hours farther than required to avoid the stop in Roseburg.
So I recall seeing this movie, and I thought it was pretty good. Maybe it was on Netflix briefly, or somewhere on Dish when it came out. I’ve long since cancelled dish, as mentioned earlier. Oh. Look there. I just checked and I rented the DVD from Netflix a while ago, but it’s not streaming on Netflix. So, I’d like to see this movie again, and oddly it’s not streaming on Netflix or Prime – for no additional cost. Odd based on the BluRay price don’t we think?
So, Amazon “Prime Video” wants $15 to stream it, but the BluRay disk costs about 1/2 that? And shipping is free with my Prime membership of course.
As you can see from my previous post, I’m fed up with Dish Network raising prices without providing any better features. For an account with local channels and a DVR, the base price is apparently over $100. Sure, you might get a “Starter Discount” but I’ve had my service for more than a Decade. $1200 per year is too much. Time to be a Cord Cutter.
So, let’s naively try to Cut the Cord and see what happens. But first, as all good engineers know, we develop a list of requirements:
Requirements
In no particular order:
News – Keep up with this crazy world, and find out, within an hour or two whether POTUS has been tossed out, or an earthquake or volcanic eruption has started nearby.
Entertainment – I get most of my entertainment from Netflix and DVD.com [Yeah I know it used to be called Netflix too, but they really want you to forget that they ever shipped you a DVD or BluRay.] for the movies that I can’t stream. But if I’m going to cut the cord I’ll need to get at least one more entertainment streaming service.
Use my new fancy Sony TV. A couple of years ago I got a Vizio P65, and it failed and then after they fixed the power supply, it decided to reboot itself a couple of times a day for no reason. Anyway, I now have a new Sony XBR-65X950H Bravia TV, and I love it. It works just fine and it supports “Android Apps” of course.
So how do we “Cut the Cord” and satisfy these requirements?
Windy Weather 