Trump has threatened to end democracy in the US. So yesterday may end up being the last time anyone in the US gets to vote.

I wouldn’t call that a win for democracy.

I didn’t realise it was just this one grandma that did all that.

Didn’t he already repeatedly claim that he’s fighting directly with the West?

Even in his own words what would this change?

Having elected officials makes sense for politicians since their job is to represent the interests of the people but it’s terrible for other types of public office.

What do you want from a judge or a sheriff? Someone who’s experienced and competent. Who can best judge that? Would it be the hierarchy of their peers who they work with every day or would it be random members of the public who’ve barely even heard of them?

Edit: and no, I’m not suggesting political appointments. That’s also a recipe for disaster. Do it like Commonwealth countries: make the civil service independent of the political process and make appointments be part of the usual process of promotion.

Recycled plastic is also inferior quality with worse structural properties so it’s not really suitable for many applications.

A lot of larger companies like Compaq etc. were making “respectable” PCs by then and selling them in big quantities in direct competition to IBM.

There’s a reason why no-one bought IBM PS/2s. They were horrible value for money.

The real competition at the time was the thousands of other brands selling PCs. By that time IBM was plummeting in sales and other companies were selling most of the PCs. That’s where 95% of the market was.

Samsung offers a lot more models so they tend to have a higher high end and a lower low end than Apple.

Traffic was close to zero here during covid lockdowns. It was bliss - it was quiet and serene like I’ve never experienced before.

Is it wrong to be wistful about the car-free depths of a pandemic?