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One of our neighbors recently suffered a massive flood in their house due to a burst sink supply hose:

Readers: What material do you think we’re looking at here? A vinyl or rubber inside pipe surrounded by braided stainless steel?

All of our houses in this sub-development (within Abacoa) are 20 years old so it is possible that this supply hose had been waiting to fail for 20 years. This plumbing company says to replace the supply lines everywhere in the house every ten years, but also implies that five years is the correct interval:

The general rule of thumb is to replace all your supply line hoses every 5 years as a preventative measure to protect your home against any potential leaks. But since braided supply lines have a rubber core, we recommend that they can be replaced every 10 years.

The Fluidmaster Pro supply lines have a 10-year warranty, which presumably means that replacing after 7-8 years would be smart. A set of two is less than $20, I think, so it wouldn’t cost a lot to hit all of the sinks and toilets in a house.

Does anyone reading this have a Moen Flo AI overlord water shutoff device in his/her/zir/their home? If so, I would love to hear about it in the comments. It seems as though it would have potential to generate hassles, e.g., Family Member A is in the house taking a shower while Family Member B is outside topping off the pool, which looks to the Flo like a one-hour massive leak (it is possible to tell the Flo to sleep for a bit while one is doing something unusual with water). The Flo can be installed outdoors so long as there is an electric outlet nearby and it can latch onto 2.4 GHz WiFi (I think we can meet those requirements).

Another potential source of paranoia is erosion of copper supply lines by hot water recirculation. Apparently the pump has to be sized exactly right, which involves a lot of calculation (example). In an innumerate society such as the U.S., the inevitable result is a lot of houses being built with big pumps thrown at the recirculation system.

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What do readers think about the Intel Arrow Lake CPUs, which are officially released as of today?

It’s time for me to build a new PC. What’s a good parts list? The current desktop was about $2700 in pre-Biden dollars (without a monitor). Adjusted for official CPI, that’s roughly 3,650 Bidies today. So maybe I should spend $3,650 today? On the third hand, official CPI seems to be a fraud and we have a new need to train AI models all day every day. So maybe the budget should be $4,500 of which $1,000 should be spent on a graphics card?

I’m not a gamer, so the plan is to try to get by with motherboard/CPU graphics until the Nvidia RTX 5000 series is available (I could use my old GTX 980 graphics card if need be). What’s a good parts list, without monitor or graphics card, for a PC built with the Arrow Lake CPU? My dream would be to have mostly USB-C ports, room for a few hard drives in addition to sizable M.2 C: drive (do I need a heatsink? 8 TB? 4 TB seems to be the cost-efficient choice (per-TB), but I’m sick of having to figure out what to move off my pathetic 1 TB C: drive to one of the big mechanical drives), maybe 64 GB of RAM (current box has 32 GB and it is almost always enough). Or is the answer that everyone with taste uses AMD and that $6,000 is a more reasonable budget in our inflation-free economy? (I want to be buried with this Windows desktop so it should last at least the 10 years that the previous one did.) If I configure an Adobe Premiere Pro non-RAW editing machine over at Puget Systems with some of the above hardware it is quoted at $7,200 with an RTX 4080 graphics card.

How about this monster Samsung Neo G9 monitor? An attorney who mostly works from home sang its praises. It’s a big monitor with high resolution (the typical curved gaming monitor is a feeble 5,120 x 1,440 while this one is 7,680 x 2,160):

A 43″ 8K monitor might be nicer if one were available, but the predicted 8K revolution seems never to have occurred. The IP litigator who uses the above Samsung said that he sets it up to show four documents in portrait mode side by side. He’s programmed some Windows keyboard shortcuts using a free Microsoft add-on (PowerToys?) to zap windows to the left or right side. To avoid neck strain I think it would make more sense to use this with the document into which one was typing smack in the middle and supporting documents on the sides (i.e., 3-across instead of 4-across). The lack of a built-in camera seems bad. The inevitable result is a webcam perched on top blocking part of the screen with the bracket and trailing a USB cable? In the post-coronapanic all-Zoom-all-the-time-age why don’t monitors come with some sort of standard mount for a webcam if they aren’t going to include the webcam? Even a gamer needs a webcam for Twitch streaming or whatever, right?

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Almost as exciting to progressives as a new COVID-19 vaccine… Apple has announced the iPhone 16 (two cameras/lenses) and iPhone 16 Pro (three cameras/lenses).

For us photo nerds, plainly, the 16 Pro is the only device of interest. I can’t figure out what’s different, though. Here’s what Apple says:

With iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, the world’s favorite camera gets even more powerful. Powered by A18 Pro, the upgraded camera system introduces a new 48MP Fusion camera with a faster, more efficient quad-pixel sensor and Apple Camera Interface, unlocking 4K120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision — the highest resolution and frame-rate combination ever available on iPhone, and a smartphone first. The quad-pixel sensor can read data 2x faster, enabling zero shutter lag for 48MP ProRAW or HEIF photos. A new 48MP Ultra Wide camera also features a quad-pixel sensor with autofocus, so users can take higher-resolution 48MP ProRAW and HEIF images when capturing uniquely framed, wider-angle shots or getting close to their subjects with macro photography. The powerful 5x Telephoto camera now comes on both iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, allowing users to catch the action from farther away, no matter which model they choose. iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max now take spatial photos in addition to videos to help users relive memories with remarkable depth on Apple Vision Pro.

For still photography, it sounds as though maybe the wide angle camera will yield higher resolution results (but is the lens good enough for that to matter?).

There is some new camera software, which makes the phone work more like a legacy DSLR:

Camera Control — a result of thoughtful hardware and software integration — makes the pro camera system more versatile with an innovative new way to quickly launch the camera, take a photo, and start video recording. It has a tactile switch that powers the click experience, a high-precision force sensor that enables the light press gesture, and a capacitive sensor that allows for touch interactions. A new camera preview helps users frame the shot and adjust other control options — such as zoom, exposure, or depth of field — to compose a stunning photo or video by sliding their finger on the Camera Control. Later this fall, Camera Control will be updated with a two-stage shutter to automatically lock focus and exposure on a subject with a light press, letting users reframe the shot without losing focus. Additionally, developers will be able to bring Camera Control to third-party apps such as Kino, which will offer users the ability to adjust white balance and set focus points, including at various levels of depth in their scene.

But maybe this will also work with older iPhones?

The company claims that they’re going to automatically generate blather suitable for emailing (“Built for Apple Intelligence”), but there is no evidence that they’ve tackled the “fill out a shopping/shipping form” challenge.

I guess I will buy one to replace my iPhone 14 Pro Max (recently failed and required a $219 new camera module at the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Apple Store (a model of customer service, I have to admit!)), if only to enter the glorious USB-C era that Android users entered 10 years ago and to lord it over Android users (“I have AI and you have nothing”).

What’s a good example of a recent photo that I couldn’t have taken without the cameraphone? Here’s one from Costco that can be captioned “Starlink is everywhere”:

And here’s the Big Bang Bar pinball machine, one of about 200 made, at the Delray Beach Silverball Museum:

It’s unlikely I would have carried a serious camera into these situations, so here’s a shout-out to the engineers at Kyocera who pioneered the camera phone in May 1999 (eight years before Apple released the iPhone).

Related:

• A University for the People becomes an Apple Store (“Carnegie donated the library building [in Washington, DC] to the public. Now it can be used by any member of the public who can afford $1,000 for a phone.”)

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Frontiers of Journalism: “Wildlife Protections Take a Back Seat to SpaceX’s Ambitions”.

A New York Times investigation found that Elon Musk exploited federal agencies’ competing missions to achieve his goals for space travel.

The investigative team first figured out that blasting off the world’s largest rocket can be disturbing or harmful to nearby animals:

As Elon Musk’s Starship — the largest rocket ever manufactured — successfully blasted toward the sky last month, the launch was hailed as a giant leap for SpaceX and the United States’ civilian space program.

Two hours later, once conditions were deemed safe, a team from SpaceX, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a conservation group began canvassing the fragile migratory bird habitat surrounding the launch site.

The impact was obvious.

The launch had unleashed an enormous burst of mud, stones and fiery debris across the public lands encircling Mr. Musk’s $3 billion space compound. Chunks of sheet metal and insulation were strewn across the sand flats on one side of a state park. Elsewhere, a small fire had ignited, leaving a charred patch of park grasslands — remnants from the blastoff that burned 7.5 million pounds of fuel.

Most disturbing to one member of the entourage was the yellow smear on the soil in the same spot that a bird’s nest lay the day before. None of the nine nests recorded by the nonprofit Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program before the launch had survived intact.

Based on the 2000′ scale, it looks like SpaceX has trashed or burned roughly one square mile of land in Elon’s Fool’s Errand to Mars (TM). That leaves only 268,820 square miles of Texas that SpaceX hasn’t trashed or burned (more like 261,193 square miles if one counts only the land area).

(Note that the launch operations at Cape Canaveral have been tremendously beneficial to wildlife because they’ve prevented humans from developing the areas near the pads. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was set up in 1963 in tandem with the launch pads. If you do a tour of the Kennedy Space Center the density of birds, gators, etc. is similar to what you find in Everglades National Park. I’m confused as to how the area escaped intensive development prior to NASA’s arrival. Wikipedia provides only a bit of history.)

SpaceX did respond to the article…

To make up for this heinous crime, I will refrain from having omelette for a week pic.twitter.com/FecxG8Rjmg

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 10, 2024

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Today it has been one year since we lost Alex.

Here are the memorial tiles that a few of us got together on, installed at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky:

He loved engineering and cars, so it seemed fitting that he be remembered at this temple of American engineering excellence.

The photos above are from the museum staff. I am hoping to stop in Bowling Green at some point in the next year or two to see the tiles for myself.

Related:

• Rest in Peace, Alex Kowalski

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Loyal readers will be familiar with my love for Calvin Coolidge (great biography by former WSJ reporter Amity Shlaes, incidentally), born on this day in 1872 and our President from 1923-1929. Coolidge did not stray too far from what the U.S. Constitution says that Presidents should do, i.e., appoint people in the executive and judicial branches, sign legislation, and veto legislation. Modern-day presidents exhibit precisely the opposite of Silent Cal’s behavior. They’re flying around, giving speeches, comforting those who’ve suffered from a natural disaster or a crime, offering opinions on matters that the U.S. Constitution would seem to reserve to state legislatures and governors, etc.

Let’s suppose that the Democrat dream of imprisoning Donald Trump comes true. And let’s further suppose that the Democrat nightmare of Donald Trump winning the November 2024 election comes true. (I never believe that a Republican will win because my theory is that the majority of Americans want a planned economy and an ever-more-comprehensive welfare state.) How well could a U.S. president govern from the confines of a New York State prison cell? Personal theory: way better than if he/she/ze/they were trying to government from the White House. The imprisoned president would have much more time to read legislation and decide whether to sign or veto than a president constantly shuttling around the country (and world) on Air Force One. Depending on the restrictions imposed by New York Democrats, an imprisoned Trump might end up working in much the same manner as Silent Cal!

From MSNBC:

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From the big animal hospital in Boston:

Let’s have a closer look at the 2SLGBTQQIA+ pit bull, which we’d be unlikely to see in Palm Beach County partly due to the cruel repression of Dictator Ron DeSantis and partly due to the fact that pit bulls are banned by most apartment complexes and HOAs.

Maybe the pit bull will reappear in his/her/zir/their rainbow garb for Nonbinary Awareness Week, which starts July 8.

And down in New York City’s Greenwich Village….

NEW: Washington Square Park in New York City has descended into chaos as massive brawls break out following Pride Celebrations.

In footage shared by @ScooterCasterNY, people can be seen hitting, pulling hair and fighting.

NYPD has announced that they are closing the park… pic.twitter.com/bwTqrYBhL3

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 1, 2024

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“Why N.Y.C. Hotel Rooms Are So Expensive Right Now” (NYT, May 25):

The average hotel room rate in the city is $301 a night, a record. A major reason: One of every five hotels is now a shelter, contributing to a shortage of tourist lodging.

In late 2022, as thousands of migrants began to arrive in New York City, city officials scrambled to find places to house them. They quickly found takers: hotels that were still struggling to recover from the pandemic-driven downturn in tourism.

Dozens of hotels, from once-grand facilities to more modest establishments, closed to tourists and began exclusively sheltering migrants, striking multimillion-dollar deals with the city. The humanitarian crisis became the hotel industry’s unexpected lifeline in New York; the hotels became a safe haven for tens of thousands of asylum seekers.

About 65,000 migrants are being sheltered in hotels, tent dormitories and other shelters, in large part because of the city’s legal obligation to provide a bed to anyone who needs one. The city projects it will spend $10 billion over three fiscal years on the migrant crisis.

Low-skill migrants make the U.S. richer economically and culturally, yet it is a “crisis” when more enrichment is happening?

We are informed by the New York Times that Replacement Theory is false, as well as racist. Only a fool could entertain the idea that native-born Americans are being replaced by low-skill immigrants streaming across an open border that is intentionally undefended despite Americans paying nearly $1 trillion/year to fund a military. We are also informed that 20 percent of potential tourists have been replaced by migrants.

From the New York Post:

Who else can profit from low-skill immigration? Government workers! “The Massive Immigration Wave Hitting America’s Classrooms” (Wall Street Journal, May 25):

STOUGHTON, Mass.—Eighth-grader Sandla Desir spoke softly in a classroom recently while reading the Dr. Seuss book, “One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish,” aloud in accented English.

The book isn’t typical material for a 13-year-old. But when Sandla started at O’Donnell Middle School in September, the native Haitian Creole speaker could barely read.

Millions of migrants, most seeking asylum, have crossed the border in recent years and have been allowed to settle in the U.S. until a federal immigration judge decides their fate, a process that can take years. Among the record numbers, federal data suggest, are as many as one million children who have arrived with their families or on their own since 2021.

Districts are faced with the need for additional teachers and staff who can teach English … Adding the 90 shelter students has cost Stoughton, which teaches a total of 3,740 students, at least $500,000 for increased staff and busing costs. The state said it has reimbursed nearly all of that money. … The most immediate upfront costs this year were hiring five new staff members, including two teachers, and contracting for a bus to shuttle students to and from the hotel shelters, Baeta said. The district has gone from seven to 17 English-as-a-second-language teachers in the past five years.

Related:

• “Yes, Immigration Hurts American Workers” (Politico 2016), in which Harvard economists find that the main effect of low-skill immigration is to transfer $500 billion/year (pre-Biden money) from the American working class to elite Americans, e.g., the kinds of folks who own hotels in New York City

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I was delighted that the brief trip from the hotel to the airport included a view of the following car:

Not sure if I love the reference to Talladega Nights or “I Identify as a Problem” more.

A powerful politician directed a river of federal tax dollars into the KSME airport back in 2006 to build a world-class commercial airline terminal:

It has never been used.

We fired up and vaguely followed the Ohio River to Parkersburg, West Virginia (KPKB). We enjoyed tailwinds of up to 30 knots, but combined with the terrain that also made for bumps so we once again climbed as high as 7,500′. Note the Tesla charging station, below.

Parkersburg features a sometimes-used commercial terminal, thanks to continuing applications of your tax dollars into the Essential Air Service program. We enjoyed some breakfast there and got a lesson in philately as well as in how wrong people are in their perceptions of inflation. A luxurious four-seat piston-powered aircraft, the Beech Staggerwing, cost $9,250 and first class postage was 32 cents in 1997 (the stamp is now worth about 1.75 Bidies).

A photo of the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains about 20 minutes before descending into KGBR:

Here’s Torrance’s finest product with 30.7 hours on the collective meter:

The happy owner supplied us with an Enterprise rental car, pre-tuned to NPR, for the trip to Boston/Cambridge.

As previously noted here, we were offered free samples of healing marijuana within 30 minutes of our arrival in Maskachusetts:

Every crosswalk in Great Barrington is painted in the sacred colors:

Retailers post signs for the world’s smartest humans:

They also worship the Sacred Rainbow in Stockbridge:

The world’s smartest humans are provided with instructions for how to use the devices depicted above:

Except for the final trip down the Mass Pike, including an inflation-free $15/person meal at McDonald’s, that was it!

Related:

• Helicopter from Los Angeles to Maskachusetts, Part 1

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Let’s consider how Joe Biden’s proposed new federal long-term capital gains tax rate of 44.6 percent would work without the inflation adjustment that other inflation-plagued economies have. We start with a California-based investor who purchased General Electric stock for $100/share in June 1997 and sold it for $162/share today:

At official CPI rates, the investor has lost money. $100 in June 1997 has the same spending power as $195 Bidies today. On top of the agony of the loss, he/she/ze/they will have to hand over to the Feds tax on $62 of fake profit. Let’s assume the investor lives in California and is financially comfortable. The total tax rate under Uncle Joe’s latest proposal will be 58 percent (44.6 federal plus 13.3 state). So the investor will pay $36/share in tax and thus net $126/share for a stock that cost $195 in today’s money. (The numbers are far worse if we use the cost of California real estate as the relevant measure of inflation rather than official CPI.)

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