Your unpopular (non-political, non-offensive) opinions!

[Quackers101]

2 hours ago, Donut417 said:

I remember we had a wired version back in the day. Was never a fan. Also god help you if you use Bluetooth on Windows. If anything its gotten worse over the years. Windows 7 was passable, but when I upgraded to Windows 10, Bluetooth, at least headphones became useless. I know MS stated they planned on fixing this in Windows 11. Hopefully they do. 

would assume it also depends on what BT version you got. But agree that some UI and less access to options by non-console/command users that has made things a bit complicated or just stupidly hard. But do remember windows 7 had it's own issues, also so many have very different experience with bluetooth, not sure what is the most troublesome with it though. if its by some standard or version or software related.

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, Quackers101 said:

would assume it also depends on what BT version you got.

Well Im going to assume the $6.99 bluetooth adapter I got shouldn't work better than the build in one on my motherboard which I believe is a better version. I blame Windows mainly because I haven't had issues on MacOS, iOS or Android. Linux Bluetooth support is very hit or miss and Ive never gotten it to work. I found with Windows 7 Bluetooth worked 95% of the time. With Windows 10 I had issues every time I tried to use it. 

[Donut417]

Every day on Facebook I read a story about how an Airline here in the US fucked up. Canceling flights, overbooking Flights, inconveniencing people, etc. I dont understand why people continue to flock to the airport to be disappointed and have their time wasted. 

 

Next year come hell or high water Im going out to Colorado to see my BFF. My plan is to take the Amtrak. Why, Im not going to subject myself to the abuse of the airlines. It will take me longer to get where Im going but at least Ill be comfortable and hopefully not treated like garbage. 

[rikitikitavi]

3 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Why, Im not going to subject myself to the abuse of the airlines. It will take me longer to get where Im going but at least Ill be comfortable and hopefully not treated like garbage. 

Even if train takes 3h longer, it might still be faster than the airplane.

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, rikitikitavi said:

Even if train takes 3h longer, it might still be faster than the airplane.

LOL 3 hours. A Plane takes like 3 hours the train is like 19 hours, and I think thats with the layover in Chicago. Because you take a train from Dearborn or Ann Arbor Michigan to Chicago. You wait 3 hours and you get on the California Zepher and it takes you the rest of the way. On the California Zepher I would pay for a roomette so I have a sleeping space. 

[rikitikitavi]

1 minute ago, Donut417 said:

LOL 3 hours. A Plane takes like 3 hours the train is like 19 hours, and I think thats with the layover in Chicago. Because you take a train from Dearborn or Ann Arbor Michigan to Chicago. You wait 3 hours and you get on the California Zepher and it takes you the rest of the way. On the California Zepher I would pay for a roomette so I have a sleeping space. 

Lol, thats a long trip... not what I had in mind

[Donut417]

Just now, rikitikitavi said:

Lol, thats a long trip... not what I had in mind

Remember. America doesn't believe in high speed rail. The fact we have passenger rail service is a miracle. And the only reason we do have passenger rail service is because the US government actually created Amtrak and currently holds most of its shares. Without government backing Amtrak would fail. 

[Bombastinator]

37 minutes ago, rikitikitavi said:

Lol, thats a long trip... not what I had in mind

My memory is that while trains move more slowly they don’t (or didn’t) have the same before and after wait that aircraft do.  So for shorter trips a train can be faster because of the waits.  Those waits have gotten so long recently that I don’t believe there even is such a thing as a three hour plane trip any more.  The same factors that limited air travel might also limit train travel though.  If these made the waits more similar the advantage trains have on shorter trips could go away.  I haven’t traveled by either plane or train since before the pandemic.  Plane trip length was increased by 911 and again by the pandemic.  The 911 thing created a net advantage for trains because you can’t fly them into a building. I don’t know what the pandemic did. Iirc right now it is suggested that one arrive at the airport 4 hours before the plane is scheduled to actually leave. (Up from 1 hour) This advantage also applies to private jets which is what more or less keeps that industry afloat currently.  There is such a thing as a three hour flight by private jet even though their airspeed can be half that of a commercial jet.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Bombastinator

[rikitikitavi]

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

My memory is that while trains move more slowly they don’t (or didn’t) have the same before and after wait that aircraft do.  So for shorter trips a train can be faster because of the waits.

Well that's why I said:

2 hours ago, rikitikitavi said:

Even if train takes 3h longer, it might still be faster than the airplane.

I had ~8h train that required ~5min commute ~15min before departure and arriving basically in destination's downtown

vs ~4h flight with long traffic jam commutes, and of course the TSA's arrive at least ## beforehand

 

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I don’t know what the pandemic did.

More screening, spreading out everything.

 

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

This advantage also applies to private jets which is what more or less keeps that industry afloat currently.

Yes. Also nice to have a helicopter to pick you up to avoid the traffic jam and get to the jet asap  Just be hush about it, nowadays you will get trashtalked about it.

[Quackers101]

8 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Every day on Facebook I read a story about how an Airline here in the US fucked up. Canceling flights, overbooking Flights, inconveniencing people, etc. I dont understand why people continue to flock to the airport to be disappointed and have their time wasted.

when the US has such a bad market, would not trust a lot of their business practices. always hear about how horrible just as an consumer it is over there. While in the UK or EU you have more to deal with price and delays, to maybe more consumer protection laws.

 

There was or still might be plans for some rail in the US.

[IPD]

8 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Remember. America doesn't believe in high speed rail. The fact we have passenger rail service is a miracle. And the only reason we do have passenger rail service is because the US government actually created Amtrak and currently holds most of its shares. Without government backing Amtrak would fail. 

That's because in the good old USA, you're supposed to go cross-country traveling in an RV, like the good lord intended. 

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, Quackers101 said:

There was or still might be plans for some rail in the US.

California is building high speed rail. Or at least they are trying to. The issue is they spend like half the funds on legal battles. People don't like it when the government eminent domain's their land and have a tendency to sue the government as a result. 

[Tan3l6]

Weather is really warm this summer.

[Bombastinator]

8 hours ago, rikitikitavi said:

Well that's why I said:

I had ~8h train that required ~5min commute ~15min before departure and arriving basically in destination's downtown

vs ~4h flight with long traffic jam commutes, and of course the TSA's arrive at least ## beforehand

 

More screening, spreading out everything.

 

Yes. Also nice to have a helicopter to pick you up to avoid the traffic jam and get to the jet asap  Just be hush about it, nowadays you will get trashtalked about it.

So I’m agreeing with you then.

[Donut417]

11 hours ago, IPD said:

you're supposed to go cross-country traveling in an RV, like the good lord intended. 

If only I could afford an RV. My sister and brother in law has a 35 foot travel trailer. Its pretty nice, but they are expensive. I looked in to RV's and Travel Trailers because I want my own space. But most cities around where I live have issues when people live in them full time in someones driveway. I also looked in to Studio sheds but those are also too expensive. 

 

 

[Donut417]

Walked passed my dad looking at Netflix shows. He asked about Cowboy Bebop. Legit I felt it was a good show, they had the right people playing the right parts. Im kinda pissed that Crapflix choose to cancel it after just one season. I also enjoyed Resident Evil, but I didnt really play any of the first games only played 4 and 5. Hope it gets a second season. 

 

I also dont like how they announce stuff like WAYYYYYY ahead of time and dont give you any more info on it. Been waiting on The Witcher Blood Origin for like ever at this point. 

[Bombastinator]

48 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Walked passed my dad looking at Netflix shows. He asked about Cowboy Bebop. Legit I felt it was a good show, they had the right people playing the right parts. Im kinda pissed that Crapflix choose to cancel it after just one season. I also enjoyed Resident Evil, but I didnt really play any of the first games only played 4 and 5. Hope it gets a second season. 

 

I also dont like how they announce stuff like WAYYYYYY ahead of time and dont give you any more info on it. Been waiting on The Witcher Blood Origin for like ever at this point. 

I was so annoyed I looked into it.  It was apparently canceled right after the first episode.     The problem was not enough people were watching it.  So a sort of metropolitan kind of thing (there’s a movie called metropolitan that is astoundingly good if you are a person that ever went to a high end prep school.  That isn’t a large number of people though and for everyone else it was stupid, so it flopped). As another example one of the networks ran a documentary on neilson families during sweeps week.  It worked too well.  According to the ratings system something like a third of the country watched it.  Which of course didn’t actually happen.  The film that won the best picture at the academy awards recently was a film called “bird man”. I found it to be execrably awful.  Really really bad.  Not merely lousy but actually unwatchable. Robot monster was imho a better film.  It was about being a theatre geek though and everyone voting was more or less a current or former theater geek so it was considered to be amazingly good. 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Bombastinator

[IPD]

3 hours ago, Donut417 said:

If only I could afford an RV. My sister and brother in law has a 35 foot travel trailer. Its pretty nice, but they are expensive. I looked in to RV's and Travel Trailers because I want my own space. But most cities around where I live have issues when people live in them full time in someones driveway. I also looked in to Studio sheds but those are also too expensive. 

 

 

Yeah, there's definitely some cities that have zoning regulations that make no sense whatsoever.  If I ever build, I'm going to get a Barndominium and have permanent hookups for my RV pad.  That way, it can at least be used as a guest house or something--when it's not on the road.

 

P.S.

Travel Trailers and pop-ups are about the least expensive RV's on the market.  But you do have to buy used to get maximum value.  I've seen some in the 15-30k range that are cat's pajamas; especially if you are planning to keep it parked for long periods of time.  My current "favorite" travel-trailer company is ATC--as they make a 3-season add-on package that turns your toy hauler's door into a screened patio/porch.  That's like 64' of additional sq/ft when it's parked. 

[Bombastinator]

4 minutes ago, IPD said:

Yeah, there's definitely some cities that have zoning regulations that make no sense whatsoever.  If I ever build, I'm going to get a Barndominium and have permanent hookups for my RV pad.  That way, it can at least be used as a guest house or something--when it's not on the road.

 

P.S.

Travel Trailers and pop-ups are about the least expensive RV's on the market.  But you do have to buy used to get maximum value.  I've seen some in the 15-30k range that are cat's pajamas; especially if you are planning to keep it parked for long periods of time.  My current "favorite" travel-trailer company is ATC--as they make a 3-season add-on package that turns your toy hauler's door into a screened patio/porch.  That's like 64' of additional sq/ft when it's parked. 

Zoning like a lot of city ordinances can be done for reasons that are not obvious.  Political (for example commercial zoning lowers the number of homeowners which could have made a difference god-knows how many years ago).  As another example In my city there was a tree that was declared sacred to force a change in the placement of a freeway in order to make some people a lot of money.

[Donut417]

11 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Zoning like a lot of city ordinances can be done for reasons that are not obvious.  Political (for example commercial zoning lowers the number of homeowners which could have made a difference god-knows how many years ago).  As another example In my city there was a tree that was declared sacred to force a change in the placement of a freeway in order to make some people a lot of money.

Zoning laws are defiantly done wrong. I understand separating businesses from residential areas where I make sense. For example I dont think someone would want to live near a Distribution Center and deal with all the Semi's. On the other side I think people would be fine to live near a grocery store or other small shops. Most zoning laws dont allow fo that. 

 

A interesting thing I found out recently is that 70% of the property taxes paid to the city I live in are from businesses. I guess that's why the police and fire departments were asking us to renew the milage we passed 4 years ago for additional funding, because we have no tax base. 

 

The biggest bullshit zoning was done by the state of Michigan. Detroit Metro Airport used to pay property taxes to my city. Some time ago they decided the Wayne Country Airport Authority should get all the tax money leaving us with jack shit. So we have to deal with the planes, the traffic and crime associated with the airport but we dont get any benefit from it being in the city. Hell when the police tried to enforce the speed limit on the road south of the airport due to travelers speeding, the airport police would pull up behind them with their lights on just the warn drivers. Later the county raised the speed limit which means instead of them doing 60 in a 45, now they do like 70 in a 55. Its great. 

[kasugatei]

North American zoning is just a huge BS. Fortunately I am not living in a American suburb. Here, in my suburb there are lots of small businesses, there are convenience stores, small residential buildings, houses, supermarkets, schools and train station is just few minutes away. It is way more convenient and cheaper in the long run to live in suburbs like mine than living in a place where I would have to drive my car almost if I have to go to toilet. 

[Bombastinator]

5 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Zoning laws are defiantly done wrong. I understand separating businesses from residential areas where I make sense. For example I dont think someone would want to live near a Distribution Center and deal with all the Semi's. On the other side I think people would be fine to live near a grocery store or other small shops. Most zoning laws dont allow fo that. 

 

A interesting thing I found out recently is that 70% of the property taxes paid to the city I live in are from businesses. I guess that's why the police and fire departments were asking us to renew the milage we passed 4 years ago for additional funding, because we have no tax base. 

 

The biggest bullshit zoning was done by the state of Michigan. Detroit Metro Airport used to pay property taxes to my city. Some time ago they decided the Wayne Country Airport Authority should get all the tax money leaving us with jack shit. So we have to deal with the planes, the traffic and crime associated with the airport but we dont get any benefit from it being in the city. Hell when the police tried to enforce the speed limit on the road south of the airport due to travelers speeding, the airport police would pull up behind them with their lights on just the warn drivers. Later the county raised the speed limit which means instead of them doing 60 in a 45, now they do like 70 in a 55. Its great. 

Commercial/residential zoning happens (shops with apartments upstairs) but it’s not commonly done anymore.  States don’t do zoning though they may define how zoning can be done.  It can be subject to the same forces.  That percentage is pretty normal.  Maybe even low. Commercially zoned property is also much more expensive, generally.  The point behind traffic enforcement is to have the drivers move at a speed that is safe for the area with as minimal intervention as is possible because intervention is expensive.   In my area there are some very very long bridges over a rail road area.  When one is on the bridge it looks like a freeway, so drivers automatically go at freeway speeds but the speed limits were often much lower.  Like 45.  The reason was because it was still in town.  There was a massive speeding problem and simply handing out tickets didn’t control it.   It produced a problem because when the bridge ended there was residential area and it became unsafe but the cars were not slowing down.  The solution was to simply put auto speed warnings and “reduced speed ahead” signs up to mark it like the end of a freeway so drivers would slow down.  They still sped on the bridges, but slowed down at the end of them without having to spend massive amounts of money on police presence. 

[IPD]

Would be even easier to not require zone enforcement--if US roads were laid out similar to European ones.  Instead, in the USA, we tend to have one main feeder road with a 45 mph speed limit and turn-offs 4 times per block.  In Europe, you'd have a 55 mph feeder road, a 15mph side-access road, and turn-offs between the two only every 3rd block or so.

 

No business is going to want to encroach on residential zoning when those areas are really only accessed directly by a side-access road with a low MPH limit.

[Bombastinator]

17 minutes ago, IPD said:

Would be even easier to not require zone enforcement--if US roads were laid out similar to European ones.  Instead, in the USA, we tend to have one main feeder road with a 45 mph speed limit and turn-offs 4 times per block.  In Europe, you'd have a 55 mph feeder road, a 15mph side-access road, and turn-offs between the two only every 3rd block or so.

 

No business is going to want to encroach on residential zoning when those areas are really only accessed directly by a side-access road with a low MPH limit.

They have zoning in most countries.  It’s as old as Rome.  Britain  was an early one with a famous banishment of the tanners down wind of London

Edited July 27, 2022 by Bombastinator

[pythonmegapixel]

7 minutes ago, IPD said:

Would be even easier to not require zone enforcement--if US roads were laid out similar to European ones.  Instead, in the USA, we tend to have one main feeder road with a 45 mph speed limit and turn-offs 4 times per block.  In Europe, you'd have a 55 mph feeder road, a 15mph side-access road, and turn-offs between the two only every 3rd block or so.

 

No business is going to want to encroach on residential zoning when those areas are really only accessed directly by a side-access road with a low MPH limit.

We have to get away from the assumption that everyone will want to drive to every business. If I've just run out of one or two items - say I just need some milk - then why would I want to go to the trouble of driving to a store if I could walk to a local one in a few minutes?