insaneirish

> Pretty Simple fix.

Backstops have a cost, and infinite backstop subsidizes risk taking activity of deposit taking institutions.

I'm not even saying that what was done in the wake of SVB and Signature was wrong, per se, but making it formal policy that all deposits in a bank are insured is a fundamental change to the foundation of banking in the US. It may be "right" or it may be "wrong", but the one thing it is not is "simple", because the consequences could be far reaching, unintended, and unpredictable, both short term and long term.

Since I can’t seem to reply to danaris…

This seems to be an allusion to Matt Levine’s writing that “everything is securities fraud”.

It’s not as cynical against companies as you think. The overall point is that sometimes there’s a lot blurrier line between legitimate activities and what someone could interpret as securities fraud than you’d expect.

> How is Intel an underdog next to AMD? I don't know many business machines running AMD.

I don't know what a "business machine" is, but you probably aren't intimately familiar with organizations that have been directly purchasing large amounts of processors or processor containing devices over the last several years. For many such entities, AMD has made way more sense than Intel.

PCalc is always open on my Mac, frequently used on my iPhone and, (of course) always in RPN mode.

That's exactly the link I would have sent you. :-)

Tim is an excellent teacher and the perfect example of this technique.

This is a funny article.

Others have mentioned that it's a little murky if the author is critical specifically of balloon framing or of stick built construction in general.

The irony is that balloon framing is more feasible today than ever. Balloon framing downsides:

1. Really long dimensional lumber

2. Fire risk of continuous cavities

3. Ledger/joist connection to balloon studs

The solutions?:

1. Engineered lumber. Dead straight and incredibly strong LSL (laminated strand lumber) and LVL (laminated veneer lumber) come in basically whatever length you reasonably need them.

2. Fire blocking is well understood. Insulation materials like mineral wool can further drive fire risk inside a stud cavity to near zero.

3. An innumerable number of well engineered and reasonably priced structural fasteners and metal connectors with well understood properties make it straight forward to build a second story floor off of balloon framed studs.

2022 is a great time to be balloon framing. In fact, you'll see it in large great rooms for floor to vaulted ceiling walls. Some framers who like to preassemble as much as possible on the ground and then lift the wall for efficiency and safety will balloon frame as well.

> Note that the SEC's is merely a civil action.

The SEC can only bring civil action, for those wondering why it's a civil action.

It's not useless.

If the threat is that unloading a position will cause a dip in shareholder value of $X, but those actually in control believe their own thesis and operating model is worth more than $X, then they can choose to weather the storm, believing their way will negate the loss of $X.

If they really don't have an answer to the activist investor's thesis, then yea, they'll roll over.

That blog I linked to is great; it's written by the principal of an HVAC design firm who is well respected.

Green Building Advisor (https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com) is a great community for such things, with a 99% residential focus.

I have an ERV in my house, running continuously. There are some great pieces of equipment out there, but they require conscious consumers and/or progressive code enforcement to end up in use.

> None of this really exists in the residential sector, but maybe it should.

The requirements exist in the IRC [1] but are frequently not enforced in many jurisdictions.

[1]: https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/2018-building-code-makes...

Well, hey, at least we know it’ll be another fun part of Matt Levine’s next post.

> How in the world is a balance sheet not a report that is generated by a system, viewable by any executive? Did they not have a CFO or any finance people or accountants?

Depending on your line of business, this is actually not a simple thing when you're trying to mark assets to market in a meaningful way. When everything you own is liquid, it's one thing. When things are less liquid, it's another. This is true even of completely legitimate businesses.

> They said in the iMessage announcement that it’d be an open protocol. Really duplicitous.

Source?

> I'd say that counts as probable cause, someone who downloaded the app probably committed a crime.

What?! Is Apple a co-conspirator then? What about the people who did app review? Should we round them up and charge them, too?

> Really wish the cops would download a list of who installed this app and find their location data on top of a map of reported thefts...

Uh... So, I too found the website and couldn't believe how brazen the business is. I too was surprised about the app. If I downloaded the app because I was so surprised, should my name be given to the police as part of this investigation?

That's ridiculous.

> The human author of the text and this well-known blog is Stuart Deutsch, https://twitter.com/toolguyd

I find him to be pretty reliable overall, and I believe he’s drawn ire from some manufacturers due to his honesty.

He also has a PhD (in materials science IIRC), FWIW.

> always punch your holes first

Anytime I'm drilling a lot of holes, screwing a lot of screws, or screwing any number of screws but with a high accuracy requirement, I pre-drill with a tapered bit (example: https://www.amazon.com/FTG-USA-Replacement-Countersink-Taper...). They're typically used with countersink bits, but that's not how I use them most often. They're just really good at nailing a hole location quickly and accurately. And for things like framing, they are good at setting pilots for toe screws which can sometimes otherwise be annoying to do.

Mayo is really not difficult to hand whisk. It's pretty much the only way I make it, which is once every week or two. Blenders are nice when you need a larger quantity, but for a small amount I find them to be a nuisance.

Can't help for readers in Poland, but in the US, all I ever use are GRK screws, which use a variety of different Torx sizes.

I primarily keep stock of their 'cabinet' screws which have a washer head useful for mounting all sorts of things and their multi-purpose framing screws. I'll buy their trim screws as needed.

They are excellent fasteners and they're readily stocked in Home Depot near me, which is a big positive.

Except the ones that can't, which infuriates me to no end.

I was just saying to someone (after having stripped some Phillips head 8-32 screws that stripped by just looking at them) that it's amazing that the guy who invented the worst screw is famous for them. The lesson? Life is not fair.

> Question: Who owns the deposited assets? Don't the original owners have dibs?

If you give your money to something that looks like a bank, walks like a bank, but is not actually a bank, don't expect them to be held to the same legal standards as a bank.

If you are a builder that executes these details on every project, the cost impact is manageable. When you consider that houses are largely financed and also have operating costs that are dependent on energy efficiency, better built homes make sense on a cash flow basis.

However, the real estate industry does not properly value energy efficient projects, and most builders don't execute these details often, so they end up costing more than they should.

Another article from Fine Homebuilding goes over some of these issues: https://www.finehomebuilding.com/project-guides/insulation/d...

As a side note, Fine Homebuilding and its associated property Green Building Advisor (https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com) are exceptional sources of information on quality residential construction. HGTV and similarly oriented renovation programming dominate this media, but there is a large community of people trying to do things correctly and making use of the appropriate technology to do so.

Worth taking a look at construction focused tape and some real-ish world testing of them:

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/two-wingnuts-de... https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/testing-constru...

Long story short: acrylic pressure sensitive adhesives are very, very good. Huber Zip tape, 3M 8067, and tapes from Siga and Pro Clima tend to be very good when you care about weather/water resistance.

I have never owned an Element. I have never considered buying an Element. I would say I have above average awareness of the car market and am a competent DIY mechanic.

With that preface, I have recommended an Element to multiple acquaintances on account of (seemingly) being able to hose out the inside!

Whatever the root of this perceived 'capability', the dissemination of it was remarkably effective. If you asked me why I thought this, I would say that my recollection was that the official marketing campaign highlighted it as a feature.

> I wish we had a Linux Foundation for automakers to have them collaborate and make exchangeable parts and open source computer systems. Their greed prevents any serious progress and regulations also make this difficult, but I don't see why there isn't some collective.

Oh boy is this an odd basis to an analogy.

Here's a talk Balaji Prabhakar gave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQSA99nrFEU. Looks like the clock sync part starts about 30 minutes in.

Haven't watched this one, but might be complementary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opf9CBwP5R8.

> The figures (eg $21M) and names dropped (eg Stanford) are an appeal to authority, which does make me curious.

They have the 'names' because they are a reputable group of people. They have been at this problem for a while, first with extensive research that required clock sync as a pre-requisite, and then to evolving into clock sync as a formidable problem unto itself.

Clockwork is a rename of the company as far as I can tell. Their original name (Tick Tock Networks) [1] was probably too close to what has become a very popular homophone.

[1]: https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_de/6947372

> Google is holding all your old free G Suite accounts hostage

They are not holding these accounts hostage. You can export mail from Google. You can change your MX records to different servers.

I've been bit as much as anyone by Google killing products, but honestly, it's amazing they've kept this product free for so long. And in this case, the product isn't being killed; they've simply decided to start charging for it.

Purpose built induction wok hobs can be very, very good, but there are two potential problems with a regular induction range and a wok:

1. For a round wok, you'd need an 'adapter' to hold the wok. 2. for a flat bottom wok, you might not get enough surface area on the induction element.