> If joins are necessary, we learned to consider breaking down the query and move complex join logic to the application layer instead.
We often try to leverage the power of the DB to optimize joins on our behalf to avoid having to create them. At a certain point, I guess you wind up having to pull this back to your layer to optimize "the one job" of the database.
I jest, but only slightly. We don't just want to persist data, but link it for different purposes, the "relational" part of RDBMS. Good to know there's still room to grow here, for PostgreSQL and the DB industry.
These are great books. I had them in paper, and they were great for understanding both how the 6502 worked, and metaphors for managing higher level constructs in ML.
This helps you see how your browser tries to block or deflect fingerprint and trackers. I miss their "You are one of x,000 users" from the old site but it still gives a nice summary of bits of info your browser leaks and how fingerprinting basically works.
Watch makers have moved to this model over the last few years as well. The Swatch group has restricted access to movements and parts by acquiring major movement manufacturers, forcing the industry to use duplicate parts, some produced in violation of patents (dep on region). The patents attempt to protect proprietary approaches adding complexity through unique pieces, which rarely add functionality or new value.
Having just bought a Mini Cooper, I'm in the initial free-services period of the ownership and honestly, if it's the $10 a month I suspect, I'm okay with it. Primarily for the navigation...it really is superior to the Carplay experience (a square in the middle of the round screen, vs a map that takes up nearly the entirety of the screen...IIRC, traffic, Weather, remote start, and voice control come along for the ride.
I won't pay for 5g (phone does that) or Serius XM (for all the channels, I'm really not jazzed about the offerings)...but $10 for the above features seems reasonable.
> it really is superior to the Carplay experience (a square in the middle of the round screen, vs a map that takes up nearly the entirety of the screen
I haven't used CarPlay since I'm an Android user, but this reeks to me of a manufacturer developing a problem so they could seek rent for the solution.
If there were no financial incentive otherwise, they certainly would have ensured the CarPlay experience was as nice as their own solution as a selling perk.
At the time the code was/is written, I'm betting carplay offered up a square viewport. Apple's since wanted to offer up multi-display solutions to be the AV/GUI for cars...I think Aston Martin took them up on that...but a number of other manufactures are backing off on that (GM) I suspect because they want to distance themselves from a look and feel you could get in other cars.
I'm not a fan of subscriptions, but in this case, the $10 seemed like good value for features. the map is better, and it's much better integrated into the HUD.
It felt like you were getting more, unlike having buttons that don't work unless you pay...weird psycholgical difference between a subscription and being held hostage.
I have a 2016 VW Beetle (which is a pleasure to drive, the 150PS diesel), but it has buttons on the steering wheel that do absolutely nothing without me paying £200 for the privilege of VW unlocking them.
Want to press that phone button to make a call? Sorry please visit your VW dealership.
Want to have CarPlay or Android Auto? Sorry please visit your VW dealership.
Want to speak to your car to make a call? Sorry please visit your VW dealership.
I also have a 1972 VW Beetle which doesn't require any intervention from anyone else on Earth to use. Guess which is the classic between these 2 models?
No, it bloody well isn't, and I kindly request you stop with that nonsense. Remote start is a glorified CAN message paired with either a TOTP or HOTP message. That's it. There should be zero room for a manufacturer to justify inserting themselves in the middle except greed. Goddamn tired of solving problems only to see companies keeping the problem around for the sake of market segmentation.
Bundling. You get 5 things, one of which makes the other ones worthwhile. Yeah, I get it...
By the same token, all ranges of Mini Cooper now have the B48 turbo 4...the top of the list had a bigger turbo and improved intake...the bottom two I suspect are identical with differing software.
I will happily take advantage of that when the car's out of warranty. (I have the base motor)
You probably should be getting the automatic serviced every 10 years. That basically involves cleaning it, replacing the mainspring, and applying new lubricant. If it's a dive watch, they would also replace the gaskets which dry out.
The last time I persuaded him to give it for service he complained that the service cost was 3x what he had paid for the watch in the first place. For months.
He had fashioned a strap for the watch using a piece of rubber when the bracelet broke and was perfectly happy with that unsightly arrangement.
Well, that at least establishes how much he values the watch.
Luckily for him, the market for watches is big and when he finally needs something new he has a lot to choose from. The watches on the low end are better than ever and the watches on the high end are excellent but crazy expensive.
"Wait, Boeing made life-saving features an expensive option, and almost got away with it??? Get marketing on the phone! We need to double down on our evil."
It's been a few years since the "Expert Mouse" was released, and there's still no "Magic Trackpad" equivalent on the Windows side. Still, the earlier Expert Mouse trackball have been pretty good for folks wanting an HID besides the keyboard. But it's been years since an updated design.
This version improves the scroll ring, but adds many more buttons and knobs, many of which are probably extraneous (imo).
Early users point to an odd "off-axis" placement of the main sensor which results in unexpected cursor movement when rotating at the north end of the ball, so may not fit your working style. But maybe worth the eyeball if you like your trackball.
It's fascinating to see the mergers of 2 dead tech. This isn't emulation or archiving; it's something that only a few hundred people can even experience. Yet it's a fascinating journey. I'm not quite sure why I like it. The excessive detail? The passion and drive? I didn't expect to enjoy it, and those kinds of surprises are nice to stumble on.
Early strips are very different. Dark, sarcastic, double meaning, lots of depth. They changed as Schulz got older and lighter, and that's what most folks know. But worth reading the earliest entries, and then see how those themes play out in the later strips.
Calvin and Hobbes tried to replicate that darkness but were more ham-handed. Still clever, but much less subtle.
The JFK one can be seen in the lobby of the TWA hotel (https://www.twahotel.com/photos). If you have a layover, or can come early, this whole lobby is worth a good 25 minute walkthrough.
I am actually quite frustrated with the state of "Open Banking" access in the US. No matter which tool I use across open source or just something I hack myself (or a spreadsheet), I still have no easy way to get to my banking and investment data. Plaid and other "aggregator/scrapers" are not designed for a single user. Tiller and Lunchapp seem OK, but now I have yet another party involved in the process.
Why is there not an aggregation service that literally lets me go directly to my financial institutions to pull down my data and put it into whatever I want? A Plaid, Finicity, Yodlee, MX for the user, not the mass-traffic developer?
I guess, like price engines and free hosting, the business model isn't there to support a thing that just helps folks.
SimpleFIN is a layer on top of MX that you can pay $15/yr for.
It's still MX under the hood though so it's maybe not quite as satisfying of a solution? I agree I wish we had better consistent APIs between financial institutions for data access in the US.
As I understand it, Tiller is basically a wrapper around Yodlee with some spreadsheet integration. I've found pulling the data from the spreadsheets into beancount/fava isn't too bad.
It blocks the most egregious and give a bot score that you can use to get more aggressive at the next layer. That score seems to miss a lot of bad traffic, making it not very useful in it's current state.
> If joins are necessary, we learned to consider breaking down the query and move complex join logic to the application layer instead.
We often try to leverage the power of the DB to optimize joins on our behalf to avoid having to create them. At a certain point, I guess you wind up having to pull this back to your layer to optimize "the one job" of the database.
I jest, but only slightly. We don't just want to persist data, but link it for different purposes, the "relational" part of RDBMS. Good to know there's still room to grow here, for PostgreSQL and the DB industry.