One of the reasons why Nvidia managed to get ahead was that they managed to get a new chip out every 6 months without fail, so there was always a new Nvidia card to upgrade to.
I've been getting into sim racing lately and a majority of the youtube reviewers do this thing where they claim it's not a sponsored video but the company sent them the product for free. And that's the same problem when it was magazines publishing glowing reviews of mediocre products just so the gravy train of free stuff doesn't end.
Those would be somewhat better if they made a point (I've seen some in the photography world do it with smaller things) of "and after I go through a review, I'm going to give it away to a viewer/follower..."
We also have state-wide anti-light pollution regulations on the books[1]; unfortunately, enforcement is spotty and depends on the community.
Where I live (southern NM) we've had a steady influx of people from out of state, and the first thing they tend to do is install outdoor security lighting that is in clear violation of the NSPA. All that to say that I have noticed that some of the newcomers who were in violation may have been reported since their fixtures are now turned off after 11pm. So, enforcement does happen; it just takes time. Thankfully, we have a few astronomers in the community!
(The one deficiency in the NSPA is that it defines fixtures based on wattage rather than lumens. There have been efforts to change this language, but they've stalled.)
Yes. Also I think we astronuts tend to avoid campgrounds (too many people with lights) and motels (we're up all night). A piece of remote public land is just more suited to the purpose.
I moved from Santa Fe County (Rancho Viejo area) to the Denver metro area and am sad every time I go outside at night. We could see the Milky Way most nights.
The NM sky is amazing during the day, too. Such a vibrant blue!
My local Costco has finally added self-checkout registers. I noticed that the receipt is a different color than the ones you would normally get if you went to a cashier. I assume the exit people who check your receipt look more closely when it's a self-checkout one.
Also, the workers who load your cart at Costco seem to be trained to pack it for easier/faster scanability by the exit-check people. Plus IIRC the receipts split anything they leave on the bottom rack of the cart into a separate section. Neither of those things happen with self-checkout, I suppose (I've not used the self-checkout yet, because the regular checkout is so fast at Costco and they're well-staffed enough that I haven't wanted to)
Off topic I guess, but the font that article uses is throwing my eyes for a loop. The lower-case 't' in particular, but I am also not fond of the number '3' either.
reply