The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

Do hipsters use land lines?
Seems like they would.
Give someone a land line number just to be twee.

[CountDeMoney]

Things must be different in Baltimore, because in my neighborhood "old" is an excellent description for the copper, and it is about as reliable as a Labrador on speed.  Back when I had the T1 I ended up calling them so many times that they finally came out and dug up an entire terminal post.  The other rats nests in the area still look like shit, though.  I would trust my cell ahead of a landline here, even without the VOIP.

And you are where, again?  Flat, open, less-densely-populated-than-the-Mid-Atlantic Texas?  Hmm.

[frunk]

I'm too lazy to post the images, so just go here:

Wanna trade some baseball cards?

[HVC]

Do hipsters use land lines?
Seems like they would.
Give someone a land line number just to be twee.

CdM uses land lines. So yes, yes they do.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm too lazy to post the images, so just go here:

Wanna trade some baseball cards?

Is that Mario Mendoza the Mendoza of Mendoza line fame?

[frunk]

I'm too lazy to post the images, so just go here:

Wanna trade some baseball cards?

Is that Mario Mendoza the Mendoza of Mendoza line fame?

Yep.

[Liep]

9 years and the first energy saving light bulb I bought is dead.

[KRonn]

9 years and the first energy saving light bulb I bought is dead.

All mine are still going strong, but I've been replacing some with LED bulbs now. And I still have a lot of CFL bulbs left.

[Iormlund]

What are impairment indicators?

At a high level, in accounting you record the value of something at what you paid for it. So you buy a bunch of equipment for $1,000,000, you record an asset of $1,000,000.

You then depreciate it. So you think it will last 20 years, you lower the asset value by $50,000 a year.

So in 10 years, when you report your financials, you will tell the world you have an asset of $500,000. That is fine, but what if the asset has become obsolete or has for some other reason become worthless? The standards say you have to revisit the value under certain circumstances, and evaluate whether it needs to be lowered, which is referred to as impairing an asset. The circumstances requiring you to revisit the value of the asset are "impairment indicators".

That reminds me of something. I was recently sent a file on a machine another plant of the company wanted to "sell" us. Its value was listed as over half a million. It's a 12 year old machine and its technology is obsolete. Nobody in his right mind would acquire it. The only reason we will is because it's intra-company, so corporate will force us to eat that shit.

[Admiral Yi]

Just read in an Economist article about Islamic radicalization in French prisons that 60% of total prison population is Muslim.

[Syt]

Borrowed a Gear VR set from a colleague to test it out with my Samsung Galaxy S6.

I'm actually rather surprised. The VR bit is pretty convincing (though a bit blurry - after all, in effect you hold your cell phone within an inch or so of your eyes) and registering head movements really well. Even just looking at high res 360° photos is pretty neat.

And even though you know that you're watching on a measily phone, watching a movie in a virtual movie theater tricks me into thinking I'm watching it on a huge screen, despite the slight blurriness.

It's my first foray into VR tech, and I know that it's the low end of the spectrum, but color me interested/convinced of the tech in general.

[The Brain]

Just read in an Economist article about Islamic radicalization in French prisons that 60% of total prison population is Muslim.

Many people find God in prison.

[lustindarkness]

Borrowed a Gear VR set from a colleague to test it out with my Samsung Galaxy S6.

I'm actually rather surprised. The VR bit is pretty convincing (though a bit blurry - after all, in effect you hold your cell phone within an inch or so of your eyes) and registering head movements really well. Even just looking at high res 360° photos is pretty neat.

And even though you know that you're watching on a measily phone, watching a movie in a virtual movie theater tricks me into thinking I'm watching it on a huge screen, despite the slight blurriness.

It's my first foray into VR tech, and I know that it's the low end of the spectrum, but color me interested/convinced of the tech in general.

You watch pornhub on it?

[Syt]

Not yet.

I also like the Netflix app. It puts you in a nice mountain chalet living room with a 60+ inch TV. Though it's weird when you look down and just see the floor where you expect your legs to be.

[The Larch]

French hitchhiker 'goes berserk' in New Zealand after four days stuck without a lift
Traveller arrested in tiny town of Punakaiki after allegedly attacking road signs and abusing locals following almost a week without a ride

A Frenchman has gone on a frustrated rampage in a tiny New Zealand fishing village after he spent four days waiting for a hitchhiking ride.

The 27-year-old Frenchman arrived in the west coast settlement of Punakaiki, home to just 70-full-time residents, late last week.

According to New Zealand police the man spent four days attempting to hitchhike south.

On the fourth day after no one had picked him up he went "berserk", allegedly attacking the Welcome to Punakaiki sign with a rock, abusing motorists and throwing other road signs into the local river.

"Oh he threw an absolute hissy fit; he was lying prone on the road screaming that New Zealanders were assholes and he couldn't wait to get back to Europe," says local Neil Mouat, who eventually called police after an elderly fisherman "had words" with him, and Mouat feared the altercation could turn violent.

"He was a spoilt millennial, and he created a hell of a din. But all that time he was standing in the wrong place to hitchhike – a corner with poor visibility and nowhere for cars to easily pull over."

West coast senior sergeant Paul Watson said the man had been hitchhiking around New Zealand for some time and become "enraged" when his travels abruptly halted in the minute settlement of Punakaiki, which has no grocer or corner shop and only basic public facilities.
"That road sees a bit of traffic but this man had no joy, I suspect because of his aggressive behaviour. He also told us he hadn't eaten for two days so that could have contributed to him losing the plot."

Punakaiki is only 44km north of the established west coast town of Greymouth.

Watson estimates the man could have reached Greymouth in a day's walk and been halfway down the west coast in four days.

"Hitchhiking is totally legal and travellers usually have no problem hitching lifts around here. It is rare to see anyone waiting for long, and I have never heard of someone waiting four days. This case is an outlier," said Watson.

The man has been charged with wilful damage and his passport has been confiscated. He is now out on bail.