Refrigerators and planned obsolescence

Most of the refrigerator manufacturers cut corners (it would seem), and make refrigerators that break much sooner than you'd anticipate.

They complicate things by making them hard to repair or not covering some parts under the warranty, or not having parts in stock.

And that tweaks the bottom line because consumers have to buy another fridge!

But here's a case where a group of consumers are saying whirlpool for this practice.

We - as humans - can be better. Refrigerators are not good for the environment, once their service life is over. So you would think companies might come up with different methods or try and at least make them last.

But you'd be wrong.

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/whirlpool-refrigerator-lawsuit-defective-wiring/

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Apr 9

 Dave’s Musings

There was a recent article in Forbes about wealth inequity in this country. They refer to it as a "New Gilded Age" as layoffs among employees are fairly commonplace, while companies continue to make enormous profits - and the executives of said companies get paid lavishly for their work.

Its yet another reason to hate on the system, and why employee engagement is so abysmally low. There's no investment in employees, no attempt to retain them, and hiring is just absurd with "AI systems" rejecting people for jobs they are eminently qualified for, without the candidate even getting a resume to a hiring manager.

There's so little to build on, as companies just want you to pour everything into a job, and accept that they are giving you a paycheck; all the while they consider you to just be a number.

Florida didn’t get much of a view of the solar eclipse, but nevertheless, it was spectacular to see images coming in from places in the direct path! this is a view from Mazatlan Mexico And a view from Burlington, VT And I would like to point out something: the path of the eclipse is such that only a small swath of the country could see it and have a total eclipse, while the rest of the nation has a partial eclipse; depending on location, a percentage of the moon obscured the sun - less, the further that we move away from the path. And why is that? Because of the curvature of the Earth! If the Earth was flat, then the entire US would have experienced an eclipse.

Here's a cool piece of tech that allows for wireless power transmission; outdoor things can be powered without being connected to an outlet. Its a "puck" that you plug in and attach to a window, then you place a receiver outside which you can plug into via USB. It uses a magnetic field to connect the devices. While its mostly a prototype for now, the concept is very intriguing and could revolutionize way we use power. https://newatlas.com/around-the-home/power-mole-transmits-electricity-window-glass/

Disney's proxy battle came to an end last week. Typically, board room challenges are difficult and the odds are long. Still, the Peltz bid picked up a fair amount of momentum and it was close ... but in the end, the mostly predictable outcome was that the company "won" the proxy fight. As you might guess, the overall reality of the outcome is more nuanced. The board got a wakeup call from big investors, there is acknowledgement that some C-suite thinking needs to evolve, and its clear that Iger needs to start truly succession planning right away. So....in a way, you could argue that Peltz got what he wanted to a large degree.

I've seen a few articles recently about universal basic income. Several cities have piloted programs, and there's a group of investors who are doing a controlled study in Denver to see what impact this might have on people's lives. The results thus far are encouraging. We see that the participants in each of the specific cities who are receiving benefits from the government are happier, at least somewhat successful, and are are more self-sufficient. And it seems to curb homelessness - which is always a desired outcome. "For many ... households, a small monthly infusion of unconditional cash can make the difference between stability and deep poverty." And in the Denver story, they're testing various amounts of money over different periods of time to see if one solution works better than others. But in every case, they're seeing positive results. Of course, there are people who think this is a horrible idea, and people should have to fend for themselves. But as we've seen in the past, there is such a disparity in wealth that some people can simply never catch up, through no fault of their own. https://www.businessinsider.com/guaranteed-basic-income-san-antonio-texas-woman-afford-food-housing-2024-4?amp https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-basic-income-program-low-income-black-women-debt-bills-2024-3?amp https://www.denverbasicincomeproject.org/research

Latest video

This video is about Reusable rockets https://youtu.be/1XiUd76ZVl0

One Little Spark …

I was “downsized” from my job, and a few weeks ago, I opted to apply for unemployment from the state of Florida. [aside: I'm at ease with my situation, and am making a switch to consulting at this point in my career] Keep in mind that unemployment money comes from the companies that do business in the state. It’s paid by them to cover unemployment insurance as a regular assessment; it does not come directly out of the states bottom line. But Florida wants people to work! And so limits you to 12 weeks of payments. The amount you receive is dependent on what you were making while employed, but caps at $275 per week. Which equates to about $6.87 per hour - while in Florida the minimum wage is $12 (federal minimum is $7.25 by the way). Clearly it is a disincentive. And what's this? The amount paid through unemployment hasn't changed in nearly two decades. And by the way, that money is taxed at a rate of about 20%. So it’s nowhere near being enough to live on. (The notion that people are complacent with unemployment and don't want to go back to work is asinine!) Then, there’s the bureaucratic process of applying, which could take up to two weeks before you’re even eligible. And the first week in the system is a non-payment week. Meaning that you only get paid after your 3rd week out of work. Payments are every two weeks, so essentially you have very little money, and a long time between getting it. There’s followup required each week which takes time and effort, and the agency is a typical state agency that is underfunded and has a lot of red tape.  I have to imagine many people struggle with this system, have to take whatever job, or simply give up. In any of those cases, the state can report that unemployment is low! There’s something very broken about our system, and as it stands this greatly favors lower-wage paying businesses who can take advantage of people. It’s pretty sad.

Never forget. It’s always about the money.

The world can be kind of stupid...

That's obvious, right? 

Here's my story: I created a youtube video that I published.  It was based on a podcast I had done more than a dozen years ago, and included nothing new - it was a re-edit with videos included.

Having been that long ago, I didn't recall from where I sourced the materials, and rolled with it.  I did do a cursory search, to see if there was anything that I might have borrowed (if you will), but came up empty.

Flash forward to the video being active for a couple of weeks.  Some random guy posts that I have infringed on his copyright via a comment on the video.  I reply, and ask for details and offer an email address to contact me, (aside: sometimes you get weirdos commenting, so its better to take things like this "seriously" - but offline)

No answer.  Then, I get a notification from youtube that they received a copyright notice with a takedown request.  The name is the same as the guy who commented, and now I have an email address.  But two key things:

• the person claimed that his content was used in the entire video.  That was definitely NOT the case.  There is a section where I played audio, which was not his, and another few places where I talked about a few things that I had knowledge about. Those could not have been his. 

• As "proof" he pointed youtube to an archive.org site that contained NONE of what I had in the video.  And his actual site is no longer active. (to be fair, I have a recollection of visiting his site, and getting some info, but what and how much, I can't recall OR VERIFY)

Youtube provides no other information or ability to contact anyone, but suggested I reach out to the content owner to resolve the situation.  I did.  I asked if we could leave it up with attribution (and disabling any monetization), and he agreed.

But then I got notified that I didn't take action and the video was removed and I received a copyright strike.  And I have no further recourse, other than legal action.

So in other words, he claimed it was all his and provided "proof" that was anything but.  My video is gone.  And I can do nothing about it.

That's just stupid.  

Of course, I have thoughts about how this was handled.  The person who made the claim was kind of a dick about all of it.  Come at me and just put a takedown request without a discussion? And when I suggested he - as recommended -  simply rescind the takedown and instead submit a copyright notice, he basically blew me off.
Thanks for nothing, pal.

Well that’s different

A variation on a phishing scam that doesn't require a computer. 

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Apr 2

 Dave’s Musings

The Conversation has an interesting op-ed type of report called "How Florida's home insurance market became so dysfunctional, so fast."

TL;DR it has everything to do with climate change and how its impacting Florida's rather long coast line (second in the nation to Alaska, first in the lower 48 at more than 1,300 miles). And how the reinsurance market has become a problem unto itself, primarily because of the risks of climate change.

So if you want to see an example of how changing climates impact our everyday lives, look to the insurance market in Florida, California, and other states that are seeing more impacts and rising insurance costs.

https://theconversation.com/how-floridas-home-insurance-market-became-so-dysfunctional-so-fast-217055

The Voyager I spacecraft (which was launched over 45 years ago!) was expected to end its useful life some years ago. Yet, it kept sending back data for a few more years. That is, until it suddenly started sending back gibberish which the team thought meant that it had finally reached its end of life. But a few intrepid scientists stayed with it, and they think they have figured out what's causing the gibberish and (more importantly) how to fix it. Because of the distance, communication takes a long time - and it will be many months before they will know if it works. Still, its intriguing that there's still the potential for useful information to come back. https://gizmodo.com/nasa-voyager-1-reconnects-data-glitch-1851334565

An educator at the University of Alberta has come up with an ingenious, low-cost alternative for a wireless light switch that doesn't require power or a battery to operate. Instead, it translates RF power from a base station into the electrical energy needed to operate. How futuristic! "By enabling the wireless control of each section of homes. our solution prevents unnecessary use of energy, which in turn lowers energy bills and reduces carbon emissions." https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/wireless-light-switch-batteryless-home/

Disney always looks to innovate and often create new ride technology that sets new standards. Take the ride Soarin', which lifts guests in a sort of gondola as they view a screen in front. The imagineer who thought it up built a prototype using an old Erector set he had in his basement. And now, the company has an idea how to up that to a new level and create a more flexible design that can provide for more movement - or perhaps provide for thrills. BlogMickey noted a new patent filing that explains it all. https://blogmickey.com/2024/03/disney-files-patent-for-soarin-2-0-flying-theater-ride-with-greater-thrill-more-complex-range-of-motion/

Here's a story about an heiress who announced she is giving away her fortune. But its more than that. She wants to have a greater purpose and realizes that one person may make a decision that may not be as well thought out. As an example, we saw what happened with Mackenzie Scott (Jeff Bezos's ex-wife) and how there was an amount of mansplaining that followed her decision to donate to charities. And so Marlene Englehorn announced that "Extreme wealth as power must be regulated" and "that the process must be more democratic" - and thus solicited 50 people who represent average Austrians to help her to figure out what to do with the money. They have met, and will continue to meet in order to decide what the best use of the money will be. “I’m not so fixated on the result. The most important  thing to me is the public discussion of wealth and equality.” https://fortune.com/europe/2024/03/15/austrian-heiress-basf-gives-away-27-million-basf-no-taxes/

Latest video

I'm talking about the Hall of Presidents at Disney World https://youtu.be/vbHFlG0PJgc

One Little Spark …

This a really good, long-form article about retail theft. CNBC reporters embedded with police forces around the country to see how they were dealing with rises in retail theft. I'll leave you to read it, but a couple of key takeaways that I noted: much of the large-scale retail is a form of well-organized crime, and the extent of the "rise of retail theft" is greatly overstated by retailers looking to make noise, or pad their bottom lines. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/12/inside-organized-crime-rings-targeting-retailers-ulta-tjx-walgreens.html

Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Mar 26

 Dave’s Musings

The majority of the "Don't Say Gay" legislation in Florida has been implemented, even though it continues to work its way through the court system due to various legal challenges.

But there was one piece for which the teacher's union sued the state, and they reached a settlement a few weeks ago. This was about the conduct of teachers outside of the framework of actual classroom teaching. In short, the state has agreed to let teachers continue to express themselves, to talk about identity and relationships, and to use terms and names that students prefer - as long as they are "not taught."

Make no mistake: it is a victory against the nonsense that the state put out there under the guise of "protecting children" when in reality it was to "keep children in the dark," "restricting free speech," and to "make it hard for them to figure out who they are and who they can talk to."

Its a bit of good news, and a starting point.

I ran out of space in the last newsletter, but a little over a week ago, we saw attempt #3 at launching Starship. The net outcome is more progress toward a truly reusable very large craft. On the positive side: They were able to ignite all the engines on the first stage They were successful at "hot staging" the second stage They reached orbital insertion This is the largest man-made object to be launched into space They opened the outer doors, which means they could launch a satellite in the future They were able to pump fuel from one tank to another (a requirement for deep space travel) They made a re-entry maneuver, and could generally control descent. On the downside: The first stage did not have its rockets re-ignite, and was lost The second stage was also lost as it re-entered the atmosphere - but not before we got some amazing video, including seeing the plasma that built up around the craft. Failure is always an option, and the learnings will lead to more success in the future, I'm sure.

A couple of researchers in the Netherlands are proposing what they call a "heat battery" which uses sodium and water to create water vapor, which cools, and has a byproduct of salt, which stores the heat. The overall effect is that you could cool a building's roof with the vapor - while simultaneously using the trapped heat to eliminate the need for a water heater. Its tremendously environmentally forward-thinking. Even though the concept has been considered before, it could never be used at scale. And the next step is to put the theory into practice in a neighborhood in Europe. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/heat-battery-home-power-electricity-efficient/

Ahead of the proxy vote, there is some (conveniently) leaked information about 4 people the Walt Disney company has tagged as possible successors to Bob Iger in the CEO role. The names should officially be considered rumors. And I wouldn't doubt the number of possible candidates is closer to 8 at this point, possibly with some coming from the outside (but who have ties to Disney). The 4 people we learned about are Dana Walden, who currently heads up the linear TV division, Jimmy Pitaro, who runs ESPN, Alan Bergman, who runs the film business, and Josh D'Amaro who runs theme parks. Its an interesting list, and its deliberate in its intent to show that there is NO intent to break the company up at this time.

Proving once again that Florida politicians are so in touch with their constituents, and apparently because they just look for things to support the interests of the big players in Florida (ie, insurance and utilities), legislators passed a law that would prohibit off-shore wind farms because, essentially, they would be ugly. Of course, it doesn't much matter, because the placement of them would be further off the coast, where Florida's domain ceases to exist. And if, in fact, the utilities themselves wanted wind farms, they'd get the legislature to update the law. This is another case of grandstanding. For no real reason. https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/florida-moves-to-ban-nonexistent-offshore-wind-over-views-from-the-beach/2-1-1609069

Latest video

Gas or Electric in cars. Which is cheaper? https://youtu.be/b2qbLblo6rU

One Little Spark …

I’m troubled by the discussion about TikTok being bad, and wanting to ban it. And saying that data privacy is a concern, that the Chinese government can use it to collect data and influence, etc, etc, etc. is problematic. Look, I’m not saying TikTok is anything great or that there isn’t something to discuss. But singling it out among the various social media platforms seems motivated by something more (politics I would assume) Children’s privacy and mental health is a concern on all the platforms.  But there are dozens of small players where the denizens sometimes hangout. Who’s watching those? And to the other two big players: Meta’s Instagram is allowed to promote videos it chooses, and we have no idea what the algorithm is, or how data is being used (or shared). Xitter has a vague privacy policy, and its owner said he would disseminate information about the platform to whoever he thinks requires it. And of course he wants to use it to develop his own AI solutions. Overall, I have no issues with trying to mediate these platforms - all of them - in a reasonable way. Freedom of speech is fine, except when the government has issues with that and restricts it.