Viewing profile — dbloom

The Toronto line failed because it basically only catered to rich business travelers. By only having two stops — downtown and airport — it significantly constrained its TAM just to…

California HSR goes to San Francisco, Millbrae, San Jose, Gilroy, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Hanford, Bakersfield, Palmdale, Burbank, Los Angeles, and Anaheim. It provides frequent si…

Not to mention people whose spouses/partners work at a different company!

If you're sending an even slightly significant amount of money, there are potential tax implications too. You might need to do a 1099.

This is a good point. Two counterpoints though: 1. I posit (without evidence, because I'm lazy) that most people who buy "fast" new cars are more concerned about image than the act…

This is a great explanation. I'd add one small clarification: > Back to four stroke engines: Momentum and the firing of other pistons keeps the whole thing cycling back around The …

There are LED bulbs on the market that have great compatibility with all dimmers. I hope that market forces eventually weed out all of the less compatible LED bulbs. At that point,…

Yes, it was. (I saw one in the wild many years ago) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayChoice-10

In this case, "servicing" was probably referring to a heavy maintenance check. There are several different tiers of checks, ranging from short frequent ones, to expensive, time con…

Comcast charges $34.95/mo for a sports pack for bars and restaurants: http://business.comcast.com/tv/restaurants/plans-pricing ...but only $8.95/mo for the same sports pack for wai…

Killing the battery isn't a bad idea either, actually :) (Usually there's a recessed traditional key in the fob that you can use as a backup)

Your microwave oven is likely a better choice, since its faraday cage-like behavior is required for both safety and regulatory reasons.

I bought my Prius used for much less than 20k, and it has this system. (And when you buy a used car, you don't choose what features you get!)

For those of you not in the loop, these "keyless" systems let you walk up to your car and open your door without getting your key out of your pocket. There is a proximity sensor un…

I wonder if they're pulling a Gmail by announcing this on April Fools Day (it's April Fools Day somewhere, right?). (Like most stuff coming out of Amazon, I can't actually tell if …

This was almost certainly illegal. Removing dwelling units in SF (as they did to the downstairs neighbor's flat) almost always requires a public hearing. See http://www.sf-planning…

How do you turn a wrench with your human hand without breaking your arm? :-)

Context: http://www.reddit.com/comments/m16fd

At least on the 2013+ models, you can choose to make the TV not show the "smart" interface every time it boots. And you can disable the "Smart TV" boot-up splash screen, too. I onl…

Samsung actually has a bug bounty program for their Smart TVs: https://samsungtvbounty.com/Home.aspx I would not have been willing to connect my Samsung TV to the internet if their…

Here is the paper about Dr. Fill that was published in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, if anyone is interested in a far more technical explanation: https://www.jai…

I don't understand why airlines don't just disable recline in one half of the economy-class cabin, and then let passengers choose whether they want to sit in the reclining or non-r…

Neither of this looks anything like the Hover! that actually came on the Windows 95 CD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQa3OM6zBJ4