Every attempt to make something idiot creates a bigger idiot

While I totally see the point this is already “solved” in that they shouldn’t have high beams on in the first place.

Pedestrians and cyclists are tough because drivers don’t think to toggle their high beams, even If they see pedestrians and auto-high beams aren’t any better. We’re out of luck

In my neighborhood we have very narrow streets and where there are sidewalks not pavement right next to the street. I never thought I’d appreciate the small amount of separation a standard sidewalk give but it actually does make a difference in how blinded your u are by traffic. But the bottom Line is similar to yours: this is a high density neighborhood with streetlights where no one should use high beams to begin with. Realistically there are several Poorly placed houses whose owners are probably even more frustrated

I’ll take being briefly blinded as a car hits a pothole over ten terrifying seconds of zero visibility as a monstrous vehicle careens toward me and I have no idea where the street is or what’s in it

At least in Manhattan, traffic is usually slow enough that pedestrians are at least as fast. Also they tend to go as a crowd. I’ll usually wait for the light but when hundreds of other pedestrians swarm into the street I figure we’re fairly visible and safe.

I would never drive in Manhattan simply because it’s the slowest and most frustrating way to get around. I used to drive around queens when I had a girlfriend there but we’d always take a train around the city, and I’m sure traffic has only gotten worse. It’s just not worth it

This may be another case of needing technology to rescue people who are just that dumb.

• Auto-high beams have been getting better over the years to the point that humans can no longer claim to be more responsive. They just work. Every time. And never forget
• my car has active matrix headlights and it’s freaky to drive at night with the high beams on and watch a dark spot follow surrounding cars

In ten years we’ll all forget how to toggle off high beams, as it will just work most of the time. But at the same time we’ll be blinded less as the machine never forgets

My similar anecdote is people taking a right on red without stopping (or apparently looking), and would probably be included in those statistics. Since there may be a pedestrian or cyclist just around the corner you can’t see until you’re at the intersection, stopping and looking is critical for safety

I used to be a proponent of right on red, because who wants to be stuck at a dead intersection? If you only consider cars, it’s a nice efficiency gain. But now non-car users like pedestrians and cyclists don’t have a safe time to cross the intersection. And it’s so much worse now that people turning right on red seem to have forgotten the parts about “after coming to a complete stop” and “yielding to other traffic”

I knew someone who did that because the sidewalks were too uneven. She had bad ankles and kept rolling them trying to walk in the sidewalk

Since pandemic I’ve fallen twice because of bad sidewalks. It’s embarrassing as shit

We’re still working on the loss of caring about driving from pandemic. For some reason it brought out the worst in people, and some of them are still there

I’m not buying that. Sure, what you say is absolutely true but we’re talking pedestrian deaths. That’s more of the fault of the high steel wall at the front, and that is purely a style choice.

There are plenty of cars with stock LED headlights and proper cutoffs, so they’re less blinding than traditional headlights

It’s aftermarket “illegal” LEDs, LEDs that are misaligned or started at a bad height, and way too many drivers who never turn off their high beams. Yet another safety rule we only pay lip service to, resulting in unnecessary deaths

My stock Subaru can handle more off-roading than most trucks ever do

That was one of my objections to replacing kitchen appliances for all too long. I’m not even going to consider all the same brand. But they’ve added enough “styling elements” that it’s tougher to fill a kitchen with similar appliances from different manufacturers

The problem is it’s not really people’s choice. Companies have gotten very good at disguising quality tradoffs and marketing has got very good at muddying the waters.

Since this is about tools, I’ll bring up Craftsman as an example. For many years, it was a quality brand accessible to homeowners. But as they changed to be cheaper they still marketed themselves as a quality brand and they seemed like the same price. It was only after the brand value was destroyed, that it became clear how “cheap” the tools had become and people were able to make a legitimate decision to move on

Clippy was always the symbol of my hatred toward technology companies . How did he get redeemed?

Voyager I and II are 48 years old running on thermoelectric generators. that’s amazing. They are winding down because the half life of plutonium means there is much less power than when new.

I can see future probes lasting even longer with americium as a fuel source

But introducing moving parts for a sterling engine? In space? And expect it to last like that? Seems unlikely

But the point of this video is whether the things you have control over make a significant difference.

You can if you just want the results but the value of a video like this is going over the process and the detail, so you know how much to trust it.

We just spend more and more time on our phones. I still charge every night. Each new phone I’ve gotten has had more battery life than the last but I also use the phone constantly, so it’s no more likely to last the day.

This is somewhat masked because my car has fast wireless charging. I just put my phone down and when I get somewhere my battery is topped off

While that seems obvious, I’ll disagree

• phones have a charging curve that takes into account heat, battery level and probably more factors specific to battery health. Most of the additional charging speed is likely minimal effect
• You can have a battery replaced on even the latest iPhone for $99 or less, and I expect most phones to be cheaper. Yeah it’s not really diy nor replacement cost only, but it’s just not that bad relative to the cost of the device. Sure I’d rather spend $20 and replace my own battery, but if I’m spending $1,000 on a new phone, then $99 every 3-4 years for batteries is just not that bad

That’s no longer true. As reporting quality continues to decline and headlines focus more and more on outrage clicks straying further and further from the content, all too many can now be answered with ”n/a”

I bet thats wrong, but I know ….

There’ve been usage changes

• iPhone has “Optimized Charging” where it predicts usage and tries to keep about 80% charge until it expects you to use it
• iPhone has “Adaptive Performance “. Maybe not charging but tries to gradually ramp to “low power mode” to be gentler on the battery
• all phones likely have refined charging curves to match battery technology