371–380 of 479 posts
This feels like a good time to bring up the lead-crime hypothesis (flaws and all). For those who don't know, there's a strong (if faulty) correlation between lead levels in preschool children and crime rates: https://www.vox.com/2016/1/14/17991876/crime-drop-murder-lea... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis Regardless of what you think about the hypothesis, the growth and crunch in lead levels…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One problem with a lot of the studies is that the studies have a lot of confoundeing and estimates of lead's harm seem to be rising even as exposure decreases, which should make people stop and think more. But this doesn't come up that much because it is obviously bad for you, and there's generally no good reason not to avoid exposure and not many people care about precisely how bad it is for you. But it's weird that…
Marginal negative impacts of lead diminish with increasing exposure, so studies showing higher sensitivities today are expected.
It would have to do that be consistent with this claim that the sensitivities have gone up, unless both groups have trended down in lead levels non-linearly.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In lots of places the tailpipe emissions of a modern car are cleaner than the air. CO2 is a pollutant, but it's not a toxin when the concentration is low and oxygen is available.
[flagged]
CO2 is demonstrably emitted as a pollutant, but it's only a fertilizer in pretty poetic sense: Plant growth is bottlenecked by other factors.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
Ah yes, the infamous "they", who are plotting to take away your cars, your guns, and your hamburgers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In lots of places the tailpipe emissions of a modern car are cleaner than the air. CO2 is a pollutant, but it's not a toxin when the concentration is low and oxygen is available.
[flagged]
Care to take a big huff off a farmer's anhydrous ammonia tank?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recently fell in love with copper pipes. So many advantages, so easy to work with. Quick and nearly fool-proof. I tried introducing some stainless fixtures and did not have a good time with it. I'm not a pro by any means but I do all of my own plumbing and gas work in my house. Haven't had one issue out of iron gas pipe or copper water lines. I was actually planning a pex install/replacement, and I have worked with…
I had a house where a brand new copper line corroded and started leaking 2 years from installation, and I don't mean at joints or anything, I mean the local water just ate right through the wall of the pipe. I switched to Pex and was fairly happy with it. I never did do the research to figure out what was up with the water, but similarly, when I tried inventing my own sump-pump sensor by dipping copper wire into the…
If I used well water or had another non-city source, I would do my best to keep copper out of the plumbing and I would minimize brass as well. Stainless steel and plastic, please.
So is IQ a "largely pseudoscientific swindle" to quote a popular article from a few years ago, or is it not? Because if the consensus is that it doesn't matter, then why bother using it as a metric here?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah yes, the infamous "they", who are plotting to take away your cars, your guns, and your hamburgers.
I mean, yeah - They're pretty enthusiastically telling us that's what they want to do. It's not a conspiracy theory if they're actually advertising it...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not actually true though. I find SAC305 to wick into joints faster than leaded solder does, provided you have quality flux in the solder. If you get the cheapest lead-free solder you can find on Amazon it will be bad. Doubly so if you have a non-temperature-controlled soldering iron. Too cold, and it won't melt effectively. Too hot, and exposed metal will oxidize rapidly.
What is your favoured temperature for let's say through hole DIP connections?
Works beautifully with SAC305.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recently fell in love with copper pipes. So many advantages, so easy to work with. Quick and nearly fool-proof. I tried introducing some stainless fixtures and did not have a good time with it. I'm not a pro by any means but I do all of my own plumbing and gas work in my house. Haven't had one issue out of iron gas pipe or copper water lines. I was actually planning a pex install/replacement, and I have worked with…
I had a house where a brand new copper line corroded and started leaking 2 years from installation, and I don't mean at joints or anything, I mean the local water just ate right through the wall of the pipe. I switched to Pex and was fairly happy with it. I never did do the research to figure out what was up with the water, but similarly, when I tried inventing my own sump-pump sensor by dipping copper wire into the…