lock-the-spock (u/lock-the-spock)

lock-the-spock commented on Burial chamber of an ancient Egyptian priestess is discovered after 4k years dailymail.co.uk/sciencete... · Posted by u/uptownfunk

gnabgib · a year ago

Source article (referenced as the source, and the photos/fb quote lifted from): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14048371/bur...

Source-source article: https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/cairo/news/20241013_Lady-I...

Original source (German): https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/aegyptologie/aktuelles/...

lock-the-spock · a year ago

Interesting is also the mistranslation of "Dame", a lady from a wealthy family, as 'princess'.

This is a governor's wife, not a princess.

lock-the-spock commented on WiFi4EU initiative provides free Wi-Fi in public spaces across Europe hadea.ec.europa.eu/progra... · Posted by u/nabla9

cocok · a year ago

I saw an asphalted road on the mountain ridge, along the E-3 hiking route, in a national reserve territory, with a EU funding sign saying that it was built "for the benefit of the local species".

The road leads to a chalet, and the only one who it benefits is the chalet's owner, making it easier for his drunkard customers to drive right to it on the weekends, with zero walking involved.

lock-the-spock · a year ago

Such projects are EU funded but in fact implemented through national or regional programmes agreed by the regional authorities... So it's usually at that level that favouritism or corruption plays in.

lock-the-spock commented on Was the Stone Age the Wood Age? nytimes.com/2024/05/04/sc... · Posted by u/Brajeshwar

pclmulqdq · 2 years ago

Disregarding the houses, the most popular form of apartment building in the US right now is called a "5 over 1" which has a wood frame on top of a concrete first floor. The facades often aren't wood, but the buildings themselves are usually wood. Most "brick" houses in the US have a brick facade over a wooden house.

The few exceptions are in the densest cities in the US, like New York, where new construction is concrete and steel.

Canada, I am sure, is the same. Mexico and South America, not so sure. I have been around some places in Central America that have tons of wood construction, and so did the parts of Argentina and Brazil I have seen, but you may have better information. Many houses that you think are concrete or brick actually have a wood frame.

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

Even the concrete and steel houses often start with wood framing of some sort and end with wood as a structural part of any ceilings and roofs. Not to mention stairs, room structures/interior walls, ...

lock-the-spock commented on Was the Stone Age the Wood Age? nytimes.com/2024/05/04/sc... · Posted by u/Brajeshwar

Findeton · 2 years ago

In Europe almost no building is made of wood, except for decorative floors.

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

Few buildings in Europe are today solely made from wood, but nearly every building will be part wood. From the frame on which walls and floors are built up with other materials up to the roof where for most houses the very structure is made from wood, it's clear wood is one of the most essential building components. To be honest I struggle to think of any building I've ever seen that has no wood - except for semi-subterranean structures or those built out of natural structures I can't think of any.

lock-the-spock commented on Fairbuds: In-ear with replaceable batteries shop.fairphone.com/fairbu... · Posted by u/pfooti

nutrie · 2 years ago

I just don't get how they're still around. I'd never spend EUR 700 for an android phone. It's sad, but iOS is so much better.

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

I guess you miss the selling point(s) as you see the phone only as its final product and the direct benefits to you. That has never been the ambition. Here's why I bought Fairphones for my family:

* Fair supply chains. This was their original selling point and is still an incredible unique feature. They changed cobalt and copper supply chains and established tracing mechanisms that now other manufacturers can also use.

* Self-repairable. I switched two screens so far, probably not a huge cost difference to the neighbourhood dirty phone repair shop, but I feel better about it.

* Social enterprise, giving back to the community

* Nice to know my funds go mostly to a good cause and everyone in the supply and production chain is treated well (they even pay a premium to manufacturers so workers at the assembly line get paid a fair wage).

I am well aware it's not the best phone. It's rather clunky, camera used to be weak (got much better with the latest update), and I had some small issues. But overall a solid phone, I support a de kind of ecosystem that really improves things down the line and I don't need to feed Sony or Apple execs money.

lock-the-spock commented on EU rejects Apple's changes: Company could be fined 10% of global turnover 9to5mac.com/2024/03/25/ap... · Posted by u/ksec

InsomniacL · 2 years ago

The question is if Apple think maintaining their monopoly is worth more than 'up-to' 10%.

I guess 10% would be reserved for absolute refusal of compliance and malicious compliance might attract a smaller fine?

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

EU legislation generally sets a maximum, but then you also have to prove proportionality to determine the actual amount (damage done + fine). Any such amount will certainly get challenged in the courts, so the Commission will get its ducks in a row before actually settling on a number.

lock-the-spock commented on EU rejects Apple's changes: Company could be fined 10% of global turnover 9to5mac.com/2024/03/25/ap... · Posted by u/ksec

kutenai · 2 years ago

I did read that, and I think it is OUTRAGEOUS. I'd call it criminal, but these thugs in the EU have no moral character.

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

I'm sorry that you have such an emotional reaction about a company being threatened with a fine (not even penalised yet) for harmful behaviour which they could immediately choose to stop if they'd want to.

*

Two scenarios: Company A violates consumer rights. Government does nothing, consumers continue to get ripped off.

Company B violates consumer rights. Government threatens fines. Company either fixes the problem (consumer hsrm reduced) or eats the fine (and the money can be used to pay for useful stuff). Either way, they can no longer gain by tipping off consumers and have every reason to stop if the fine may be repeated for a repeat offender.

*

Calculating on global profits is standard practice and is done the same theme the US calculates fines (depending on what the fine is about - you might have different reference points for different harm). This is the only solution as otherwise companies will play the usual whack-a-mole where they create an "affiliate Europe" that is legally separate but pays 100% of its net profits as a licensing fee for the brand name to the parent company, thus making 0€ (more difficult to play this game with gross sales, but there are still plenty of ways to fudge those numbers).

lock-the-spock commented on Germany's solar panel industry, once a leader, is getting squeezed nytimes.com/2024/03/25/bu... · Posted by u/JumpCrisscross

SiempreViernes · 2 years ago

The main obstacle is that the EU became deeply neoliberal in its thinking, judging state subsidies as worse than slave labour.

For example, when the US rolled out the cornucopia of state protectionism that is the IRA the EU has mainly responded by saying "actually, that's not very free marked of you USA".

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

The EU has its own subsidy programmes as well but it is a lot more complex. You need 27 governments to agree to make something happen, from 400.000 people Malta to 80.000.000 million people Germany. The small countries are terrified to be squashed by German and French power to give subsidies to their own national company, ruining the single market.

In fact you have the same issue in the US but the states have no direct say, and statistics are not done the same way - so you don't see the impact the same way and don't have discussions the same way.

lock-the-spock commented on Apple hit with over 1.8B euro EU antitrust fine in Spotify case reuters.com/technology/ap... · Posted by u/nopakos

mjhagen · 2 years ago

> Apple's conduct, which lasted for almost ten years, may have led many iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions [...]

Apple Music and Spotify subscriptions cost exactly the same.

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

Yes but Spotify gets only 70% of that cut while apple gets 100%. Without the apple tax Spotify might be able to either go down in price or increase quality/breadth/payouts to creators/other offerings/... The market is distorted and you pay more and get less if one monopoly takes all others for a ride.

lock-the-spock commented on Scientists put Jared Diamond's continental axis hypothesis to the test psypost.org/scientists-pu... · Posted by u/nickcotter

Vinnl · 2 years ago

I really liked Guns, Germs & Steel. Not necessarily because I was immediately convinced that it explained everything and that was the end of it (I don't have the relevant expertise to be the judge of that), but just because it showed me a way of looking at the world at a way larger scale than I had previously done, and was very engaging while at it.

It makes sense that such theories like the continental axis hypothesis may turn out to play some role, but not be a single cause-and-effect. Earth is a pretty complex system, after all.

lock-the-spock · 2 years ago

You might enjoy this as well, similar big picture and fascinating, but a bit more scientific and focused on the human element.

> The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous