Treat it as the common good and societal investment it actually is, and fund it from central taxation like plenty of other countries do. Problem solved!
It rather reminds me of a recent Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) interview where he lamented what seems to be an emerging excess focus on villains, not "good guys" - and making them way too glamorous:
Even when we encounter actual utopian (or even just wholesome, positive) fiction, we have become so cynical that we are constantly waiting for that plot twist where we learn that underneath the utopia is actually a dystopia, and everything good and positive was an illusion.
I think this comes from the misunderstanding that 'a better world' means Utopia, where all the problems have been solved. Such Utopia is almost impossible to imagine, might be impossible in practice and is perhaps not that interesting to try to describe.
For some reason we have no problem imagining dystopias as something that can be a sliding scale of misery but utopia has to be something absolute - like a heaven on earth.
This is why I don't like the term utopia to describe what I'm looking for. Because people are always there to point out that utopia is something that doesn't exist by definition. Fine, so what do we call a fiction that realistically paints a world that is ever so slightly better? Anti-dystopia? Counter-dystopia?
FWIW I do think you're right that we should treat a new entrant to the (mainstream) market with at the very least some "optimistic skepticism".
Personally I'd like to see some stronger competition in the market and wish them well, but I'd also like to see how the dust settles and some build-up of evidence for reliability etc when properly assessed against other makers.
Agree re chicken wings but there are plenty of reasonable and responsible credit options for spreading payments for a relatively unusual purchase - at least, not a daily or weekly necessity - like a TV
> Agree re chicken wings but there are plenty of reasonable and responsible credit options for spreading payments for a relatively unusual purchase - at least, not a daily or weekly necessity - like a TV
That stopped being true a long time ago, at least in the US. TVs can be had incredibly cheaply nowadays. A quick Amazon search shows many models available for circa $100. That's like less than a dozen fast food meals.
If you need a TV, save your money and buy one you can afford. A predatory payment plan should not be used.
OK but US really is in a world of its own these for a lot of things. In the UK it's very common to get 0% interest installments.
Which is not to have a go at the US, but to just make the point that buying domestic appliances is not a simple "bad credit" case. Unlike chicken wings.
Not really - for something like a TV you can wait or get a more modest model. And if waiting would take too long then it's probably not a reasonable expense for you.
Sorry no but domestic white goods such as TVs, fridges, laundry appliances, etc are the perfect use case for small credit plans where doing without or "saving up" is a poor alternative, and sensible non-extortionate credit options have been around for literally decades for this reason.
There are obviously external forces that contribute to anyone’s circumstances rich or poor.
But, ultimately, you can only spend as much as you make in income, or go bankrupt. Choosing to tack on an interest payment to your costs is often an unnecessary additional cost for people. That’s true if you’re poor buying a rudimentary TV or rich maxing out credit cards to furnish your mansion.
>> ... TDD is unlikely to help you solve problems that are beyond incremental changes.
Thank you for expressing this niggling problem with TDD. Personally I just cannot use it for "new stuff", I need to explore and create direct with "real" code for anything non-obvious.
It's harmless, it's a 6 month window. Number plate:
XX24 - registered between 1 Mar 2024 - 31 Aug 2024
XX74 - registered between 1 Sep 2024 - 28 Feb 2025
XX25 - registered between 1 Mar 2025 - 31 Aug 2025
etc
The first two letters of a number plate identifies the location where the vehicle was registered. For example, LA – LY covers London and MA – MY covers Manchester and Merseyside. Nothing personally identifying whatsoever.
If you're truly paranoid about such things you can always buy a car registered hundreds of miles from your residence, and in practice with an abundance of second-hand (used) cars in the marketplace from across all the UK, there's always a huge variety of registration letters driving about anyway!
