TheSkiGeek
TheSkiGeek t1_jefcrhw wrote
Reply to comment by rhino369 in eli5: Why do seemingly all battery powered electronics need at least 2 batteries? by OneGuyJeff
I mean… if there was really widespread demand for it, you could make something AA-cell sized that is actually two smaller 1.5V cells stacked in series. That’s basically what a 9V battery is, it’s six little 1.5V cells packaged up.
But most things that want 3V or more have enough space to hold two or more AA or AAA cells. So there just hasn’t really been enough demand to make a new widespread size+voltage format for consumer usage.
TheSkiGeek t1_je5hle2 wrote
Reply to comment by Captain-Griffen in eli5 why ancient historical buildings haven’t been kept up? Why are buildings like the Parthenon and the Colosseum in such disrepair? Greece and Rome/Italy have existed the entire time? by PickledSpace56
The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) are typically still considered as “developing” economies, they still have a lot of people living either without modern conveniences or in total squalor (or both).
TheSkiGeek t1_jabkzg4 wrote
Reply to comment by annomandaris in Eli5: How did people know how long a year was in olden times? by Slokkkk
Hard to tell when it’s exactly noon.
More reliable to mark where on the horizon the sun sets/rises each day. When the movement of that point stops and reverses, that’s either the winter or summer solstice.
TheSkiGeek t1_jabknby wrote
Reply to comment by Successful_Box_1007 in Eli5: How did people know how long a year was in olden times? by Slokkkk
Yeah, but you only need to get close. It’s okay if you’re off by a day or two if all you’re using it for is to decide when to plant and harvest crops.
If you’re staying in one place for a while you can set up more permanent solutions. Structures like Stonehenge have notches and openings that line up with the sun position in different seasons, so you can tell exactly which day is the solstice or equinox (or whatever days are important to you).
TheSkiGeek t1_ja8czil wrote
Reply to comment by ryneches in ELI5: why do grocery stores in the US keep such a large inventory? Aside from being prepared for episodic panic buying like toilet paper or bottled water, is there an economic reason to do this? How much of the food ends up going bad? by DrEverythingBAlright
It works with items that are fungible, like some specialty imported shelf-stable item. Because the last one is just as valuable as the first one, so you can capitalize on low supply causing a high demand.
With fresh produce, usually the nicest/freshest pieces are going to be taken first. So the last ones left are often bruised/damaged/discolored/otherwise undesirable in some way.
TheSkiGeek t1_j8zmbfr wrote
Reply to comment by ipalush89 in Daycare prices by PrincipleLarge2118
It’s not MA, it’s a “dependent care flexible spending account”. It’s a federal program but your employer has to support it.
TheSkiGeek t1_j6p44cp wrote
Reply to comment by Sneak-Scope in ELI5: Why do computers need GPUs (integrated or external)? What information is the CPU sending to the GPU that it can't just send to a display? by WeirdGamerAidan
That’s because GPUs don’t really cache anything, they’re running a program that streams data from one part of VRAM, transforms it, and writes it back to another part of VRAM.
If the OS wants to change what the CPU is doing it just jumps it to another block of code in RAM. Programs can spin up their own threads in real time. With a GPU there’s a whole process that has to be gone through to load or unload shaders, map and allocate VRAM, etc. — it’s much less flexible, and the latency of swapping from one kind of calculation to another is much higher.
TheSkiGeek t1_j6p31rr wrote
Reply to comment by WeirdGamerAidan in ELI5: Why do computers need GPUs (integrated or external)? What information is the CPU sending to the GPU that it can't just send to a display? by WeirdGamerAidan
“Integrated graphics” or an “integrated GPU” these days almost always refers to a small(er)/weak(er) GPU that is included in the CPU itself.
From the perspective of the operating system, a ‘discrete’ GPU and the ‘integrated’ GPU are both rendering devices that it can access. In a laptop with discrete graphics, both of these are usually able to output to the built in display, so a game or other application can choose to render to either one. That’s usually where you see things getting confused, as the BIOS or OS might be configured with the integrated graphics chip as the first/default rendering device.
It’s also possible to do pure software rendering using only the CPU. Nobody actually wants to do this these days for real time applications, since it is painfully slow. But it is an option.
TheSkiGeek t1_j63vko5 wrote
Reply to comment by Living-Structure108 in Sick time pay out? by funsk8mom
This. /u/funsk8mom, if you complained about an unsafe or hostile work environment and were fired in retaliation (especially with no disciplinary history) you may have a case.
You should be able to at least get a free consultation from a lawyer, and some people will take cases like this on contingency. You don’t pay up front, they get paid a share of what you win/settle for, plus courts can award extra payment for legal fees.
TheSkiGeek t1_j5hzkyh wrote
Reply to Will National Grid trim trees interfering with utility wires on my private property? by ksoops
They’ve trimmed a tree on my property because it was too close to power lines, so… yes, they can do that. Although they trimmed near the lines on the street, not the one connecting to my house.
I’m not sure if you can explicitly request it, and I’m also not sure if you can stop them from doing it if it’s endangering public infrastructure. They didn’t ask me before they did it, just informed me as they were getting started.
TheSkiGeek t1_j358ik5 wrote
Reply to comment by noodle-face in Why can't any of you drive. Or why do you try to kill yourself and everyone else? by QwertyPuffz
RI drivers do weird things all the time.
CT and NJ drivers are actively suicidal.
MA drivers are fast and aggressive but they’re predictably fast and aggressive. (Usually.)
TheSkiGeek t1_j2isxfs wrote
Reply to comment by ItalianMama95 in Homeless with a 3 year old by ItalianMama95
A “notarized agreement” doesn’t mean anything if blindly following it is going to put your child in danger.
No family court (I hope) would agree that you should try to live in a car with your child all winter and be bouncing in and out of shelters rather than stay with your family. Especially since the father is backing out of a former agreement to let you live with him. Although if your son’s father wants full time custody and has a stable home situation, they may decide it’s better for the kid to live with his dad.
If you and your ex can’t come to an agreement, you probably will need to talk to lawyers in both MA and the UK, and maybe petition a court here in MA to set up a formal custody agreement.
TheSkiGeek t1_irs2smz wrote
Reply to comment by egv78 in Thanksgiving questions from a foreigner by obcork
I’d take that recipe or a link to it if you’ve got it handy.
TheSkiGeek t1_ir28ola wrote
Reply to How do y'all like T-Mobile's coverage? by arborgent
Generally good in urban areas, can be hit or miss in more rural spots. My wife used to be on AT&T and sometimes she had better service. The frequency bands that TMo uses also don’t penetrate buildings as well, so inside a huge office building or when underground you might have weaker service and slower data speeds. Worth testing out in places you go to frequently before you make the jump.
Modernish phones should support wifi calling on their network. At least with actual T-Mobile plans, not sure about Mint. That helps at home or at work.
TheSkiGeek t1_iqxrcjp wrote
Reply to comment by MASKcrusader1 in Driving thru Salem: what is a flashing green traffic light supposed to mean? Instead of solid green. by human-potato_hybrid
https://www.mass.gov/doc/chapter-4-rules-of-the-road-0/download does list a "pedestrian hybrid beacon (PHB)" with red and yellow lights:
>A Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) allows pedestrians to safely cross a roadway. A PHB only operates when activated by a pedestrian. When all lights are dark, you can proceed with caution. When the bottom yellow light is flashing, you must slow down. When the bottom yellow light is solid, you must prepare to stop. When the top two red lights are solid, you must stop for pedestrians. When the top two red lights are flashing, you must stop and proceed with caution if clear.
But "flashing green circle" is not listed. I don't remember ever hearing about those in Driver's Ed and I've never seen one.
The town where I live has pedestrian crossings with a button that turn on blinky yellow LED lights temporarily. Or ones that trigger a traffic light to turn red. Those seem to be the more modern version.
Edit:
http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/03/lines_lights_and_rule_breakers/?page=1 quotes a Cambridge PD officer (in 2008) saying flashing green is the same as solid green but intended to get people to slow down, typically used when the cross traffic has a flashing red.
I used to live somewhere where some lights would change to flashing yellow along the main street and flashing red on the side streets late at night. But still never seen a flashing green.
TheSkiGeek t1_jefdalm wrote
Reply to comment by rhino369 in eli5: Why do seemingly all battery powered electronics need at least 2 batteries? by OneGuyJeff
Or you could step up the voltage to 3V (or 5V or whatever you need) internally. But these days you can probably get stuff like Bluetooth/wifi chipsets that can run on very low voltage for exactly this kind of usage.