[bevanc]

I’m right handed, but tie my laces and ties as a lefty and wear my watch on the wrong hand because my dad was a lefty. I’ve also driven a stick in the UK and in the US and find it more natural with my left as that is how I learnt, but you adjust pretty quick.

 

[turtlerod]

Me waiting for my new Loki Max

 

[corndog71]

The minimum wage was meant to be a living wage yet for 50 years it has dropped in value under the misguided idea that it’s for unskilled or teenage labor. It has also remained the same for over a decade despite the cost of living going up every year. It has less purchasing power than it had in the 60’s. Had it kept up with measures of productivity it would be around $22-24/hr. The cost of everything has skyrocketed well away from the US median wage of around $31K. Millennials and Gen Z own only a 1/4 of the overall wealth baby boomers owned at the same age. They’re also way deeper in the hole of debt from school loans than previous generations. It’s no wonder they don’t want to start families or buy homes. Unless they had help from their parents the struggle is very real.

 

[tin-ear]

I just wish idiots would yield to the opposite lane from schools, to allow buses safer right of way. It scares me every day, a child might be hit by a foolish driver, trying to save 15 seconds, by not slowing down!

I have serious doubts about self driving cars. Although, one thing about self driving cars is they can't drive drunk.

 

[tin-ear]

There's an economics paper out there that says an individual needs to have 70K in income to be happy. That includes kids, btw. A family of four would need 4x70k. I think that amounts to $35/h?

A family shares things to a certain degree, like housing and house expenses, vehicles, food, utilities, etc. As you add people you may pay more for water, but not more for house insurance or cable TV; buying food for one costs a lot more per person than for more that one, etc.
I wonder if cultural anthropologists would come up with something different, something considering other things than monetary wealth?
Listen to this:
If you want to be happy....

 

[A Jedi]

Me waiting for my new Loki Max

Going by this picture, you have bigger fish to fry ahead with of Loki.

 

[JamminVMI]

I feel your pain. I've had all 4 fingers on my right hand (as well as all 4 on my left hand plus the left thumb) operated on at different times for trigger finger. Not a lot of fun with a wad of bandage on a finger.

And then the several months to get the digit working normally again… I’m up to both thumbs and two fingers. But I’m one of the ambidextrous oddities, didn’t bug me much usage-wise. Except that I’m a fountain pen user, and writing with my left, which I can do, turned into a smeary mess (as did my hand). I know, so sad. Needs must when the sinister/gauche guy drives, right?

Dominant hand/foot/eye bits are interesting. I’m ambidextrous, wife is a lefty (refused in mid-60s to be converted), and when pregnant, commented as I was assembling baby furniture using tools in both paws, that she hoped the resultant kid would be ambidextrous as well. Naturally, we got a rightie, who to this day (in her 20s) claims that her left arm is but a useless appendage. Fascinating…

So, fellow audiophools. Do we have a dominant ear?

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

So, fellow audiophools. Do we have a dominant ear?

Yes, that of the last studio producer to mix up the tapes.

 

[rkw]

Both Intel and tsmc (two of the largest fabricators in the world) are building new major manufacturing facilities in the Phoenix area as a response to the current capacity constraints. They both started building this year with hopes of being at volume manufacturing levels in the 2024-25 time frame.

It would be ironic if the manufacturing facilities got delayed due to shortages of electronic components.

 

[433521]

By the way my new car is a Mustang Mach E and it is as much software-centric as was my Tesla - indeed the only issues with the MME so far have been all software-related. Ford knows how to make cars and trucks, but they are in the early stages of learning how to be a software company.

I test drove one, but it is important to me if I'm buying a new car, that the car is built in America.

Spoiler: it's always nice to have options

Or Germany.

 

[433521]

If Jason ever posts a message on Head-Fi that says that Schiit is releasing a smart product of some kind, or is adding a mod to their products that allows you to control your Schiit gear using a app on your smartphone, I will assume that this is a message saying that he has been kidnapped and is being held by forces unknown.

I wish the urd would have a way to play files from my hdd.

 

[rkw]

I wish the urd would have a way to play files from my hdd.

It does in a way -- Urd has USB input and you can play files from HDD on a computer over USB to the Urd.

If you wish you could connect an HDD directly to Urd, Schiit would have to build a player to process file formats and provide a UI interface for file selection, and they don't want to get into that type of software development.

 

[macdonjh]

When you look at highest median household income for any county in the US you get numbers like this:

• Loudoun County, Virginia ($142,299)
• Falls Church City, Virginia ($127,610)
• Santa Clara County, California ($126,006)
• San Mateo County, California ($124,842)
• Fairfax County, Virginia ($124,831)
• Los Alamos County, New Mexico ($121,324)
• Howard County, Maryland ($121,160)

To say a family of four needs twice the above averages is getting up there pretty well. Many of these counties have houses in the neighborhood of $1.4 million up.

The above bolsters your previous point: some areas of the world are more expensive to live in than others. A person could earn $100,000 a year and still feel poor if he lived in Santa Clara County, CA (some of my family lives there, thankfully since 1969 so they've "ridden the real estate tide" and aren't trying to start out). That same $100,000 per year would do quite nicely in Harris County, TX or Shelby County, AL.

That's why I don't buy into the premise or conclusion stated for the article, that everyone needs $70,000 per year to be happy.

 

[macdonjh]

The minimum wage was meant to be a living wage yet for 50 years it has dropped in value under the misguided idea that it’s for unskilled or teenage labor. It has also remained the same for over a decade despite the cost of living going up every year. It has less purchasing power than it had in the 60’s. Had it kept up with measures of productivity it would be around $22-24/hr. The cost of everything has skyrocketed well away from the US median wage of around $31K. Millennials and Gen Z own only a 1/4 of the overall wealth baby boomers owned at the same age. They’re also way deeper in the hole of debt from school loans than previous generations. It’s no wonder they don’t want to start families or buy homes. Unless they had help from their parents the struggle is very real.

Alternate perspective:
One consequence of the minimum wage is teens have a hard time finding their first jobs. It's pretty tough to find your second job and start the process of building your skills and work history if you can't get your first job.

$22/hr is approximately triple the current minimum wage. If the minimum wage triples, will my salary also triple?

I know a lot of millennials and gen-Z who don't work nearly as hard as some baby boomers I know. Many of those same people spent a lot of money for degrees which don't support good-paying careers. That is poor planning.

 

[Paladin79]

A family shares things to a certain degree, like housing and house expenses, vehicles, food, utilities, etc. As you add people you may pay more for water, but not more for house insurance or cable TV; buying food for one costs a lot more per person than for more that one, etc.
I wonder if cultural anthropologists would come up with something different, something considering other things than monetary wealth?
Listen to this:
If you want to be happy....

Funny.
I want to say the happiness in question was possibly being happy with the money you were earning but even those with great wealth want more houses or yachts or vacations. so I cannot imagine a magic number of $70k being an answer.
I was taught years ago that you can only be truly happy when working towards a goal. That goal could be more education, greater wealth, a bigger house, more time with the family, but you best know how to work towards realistic goals, and why you might fail.

My son did this and and more than achieved major goals while in his twenties. He graduated college with no student loans to pay off, knew the limitations of what he might earn in his home town so he moved to the DC area.

His goals were:

written
time binding
realistic
backed by a plan
specific
measurable
etc.

Pretty much MBO for the individual, but you best meet all criteria. I also taught him that if you find something you truly love to do, it is no longer work.