So, I'm going to be a voice of reason here, also working for a a major US automaker: there's a 0.0001% chance this would ever be a thing implemented, and is almost definitely just something someone brainstormed and threw in the patent/IP registration system for a nice bonus. We're heavily encouraged to submit ideas, even if there's no real plans to ever implement them, and you can make more than $2k for a couple day's worth of work in some cases.

I've come up with some hilariously dystopian ideas, and I'm more than happy to submit them because I know we'll never bother with implementing them, it keeps other more "ambitious" OEMs from doing it, and the aforementioned monetary bonuses. Just because something is patented, doesn't mean it's going into production next week.

Also, because I know what sub I'm in, before everyone crucifies me here because I work for an automaker, I do so because I want to make a change from the inside, and my job focus is primarily on making vehicles safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Maybe they're just European

Unfortunately, it's pretty true at least internally, though their dumpster fire reputation is changing that. I've worked at a number of Tier 1 automotive suppliers and OEMs, and I can't even tell you the number of times I've had to listen to "We should do 'thing' because that's what Tesla does". It's leading to a lot of shitty and anti-consumer practices, but fortunately I think some of the smarter leadership is finally seeing that they were shitty ideas all along, and was nothing more that techbro bullahit.

There's also a not-so-unfounded conspiracy that Tesla has a significant number of employees going onto social media to create that narrative.

Not to mention one of the few actually intelligent things Elon did, and convince a ton of people to tie their financial future and wellbeing to Tesla by putting basically their entire portfolio into it, by various means. Couple that with the referral programs telling people they'll get a free $250k car if they shill hard enough through the referral program, and you have a massive army of people whose finances are heavily intertwined with Tesla

Solar is a weird rabbit hole of the kind of people who get it. It's like the epitome of horseshoe theory, where you either have the left-leaning eco-conscious sorts, or the far-right doomer/prepper "I hate the government so much I'm going to live off-grid" types who are the main people interested in it.

It's very weird researching solar stuff sometimes, because the advertising will either focus on the more typical performance metrics like W/m² and smart-home integration, or their ability to withstand an EMP and the fact they have no 5G chips in them and shit.

As someone who's extremely left leaning, it's so goddamn infuriating, because there are so many pro-gun Dem leaning voters that wind up voting (R) down the ticket, almost solely because the Democratic candidate went on an idiotic speech about AK-15s and their 30 caliber per second clipazines. It's not like the anti-gun Dems they're pandering to are going to vote Republican because the Democratic candidate said nothing about guns during their campaign.

It's literally one single issue that the Dems could just not say a word about. Literally, no work involved. No campaigning, canvassing, or fundraising. Just don't bring it up, and it would massively improve their odds in some of the most critical swing states. But no, they just have to virtue signal to the areas that are basically ultramarine blue, and it fucks them over every goddamn time.

I wholeheartedly agree, to a point. I don't think it's good to stipulate a "need", and I have no problem with gun ownership being normalized, but you hit the nail on the head with the lack of seriousness. As darkly hilarious as it is, the fact that I've visited someone's home where they literally just had a loaded handgun in a fruit bowl on the kitchen table was frankly disgusting to me, and certainly highlights how many people will buy a firearm but just really don't understand the responsibility, and it gives a lot of responsible gun owners a really bad image.

I make it a huge point to take people shooting, show them how to handle firearms responsibly, and try to get some education out there so they can not only handle themselves, but potentially call out irresponsible firearms behavior they may see and teach others.

Gun buying is not really the issue, it's people getting unauthorized access to firearms from people who did go through the process of buying them legitimately. Stealing a gun from a family member who leaves them in the glove box of their truck, or in an unlocked case under the bed is much easier than trying to do a straw purchase.

Or, just target the thing that is used in over 60% of gun crimes, and focus on handguns rather than sporting rifles. They're way easier to steal and conceal, easier to accidentally drop/leave somewhere where unauthorized people (i.e. kids) can access them, and from the perspective of the very pro-2A side, are far less useful against tyrannical state actors.

I mean, someone like Elon Musk (probably) isn't stealing the copper from charging stations to fund his drug habits, the ultra-wealthy have far more efficient ways of stealing from society. People being desperate enough to steal wiring from infrastructure is definitely a problem, even if it's a symptom of greater issues.

Don't forget the Saudis! They'd love to entice Trump with a tacky golf resort in the middle of the desert in exchange for some more environmental deregulation and looking the other way on human rights violations

Another adjacent life hack is when assembling flat pack furniture, use a quality wood glue on all the joints and connectors, but especially those little wood dowels. It won't make it indestructible, but it'll hold up far better over time.

With some rounding, we can get that up another 3% ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Knowing many people who've worked for him, you have about 6 months at a MuskCo brand company max before you really know what a piece of shit he is, and either a.) leave ASAP, b.) convince yourself it won't be so bad and hang on for ~2 years, or c.) fall into the cult of personality and believe that Daddy Elon loves his little proles and cares very much about all the hard work you're doing [EMPLOYEE NUMBER HERE].

The absolute last stop on the "Musk is Tony Stark but IRL epic gamer Redditor and likes weed and Rick and Morty!" train was when he called that cave diver a pedophile. It was apparent well before then, but anyone acting like they had no idea what a piece of shit he was after that either didn't hear about it, or was willfully ignorant because they wanted to continue pretending that basing their entire personality around a billionaire wasn't a terrible idea.

I mean, that's one interpretation. The other one is the reality that the Soviet Union didn't always treat political prisoners particularly well, and being a former/current western spy, he was pretty smart to err on the side of caution in case they were the ones in charge.

It's honestly a great joke just because it can be so multi-layered given the character of Austin Powers being a free-love, hippy-ish, world-class spy. He genuinely could have both genuinely hoped that communism won, but also a smart tactic to potentially avoid being sent to a gulag, knowing that if he was wrong, the potential repercussions would probably be less severe.

Well, now that I know they make pride Crushers, you've definitely sold me lol

What're you running now? I've been using Sony MX's for a long time now, but I love the idea of the Crushers for those times I want to feel like the walls are made of subwoofers, and they seem inexpensive enough for a decent pair of secondary headphones.

*Reich kind

It's still an option.

https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1008254/~/executive-2%25-reward-faqs

Quoting the site: "To receive a refund for the current Executive upgrade fee, the membership must be canceled or downgraded to a Gold Star or Business Membership. Any 2% Reward issued or accrued will be subtracted from the refund and forfeited to the extent it exceeds the amount of any refund. "

If I'm hosting an outdoor event with a group of people in the middle of summer where there's no easy access to drinking water, I'm not going to count on everyone bringing their own water in sufficient amounts and then have to worry about someone getting severely dehydrated. As much as they suck, sometimes disposables are necessary.

Don't forget, you can also request a refund for the price difference between the regular and executive if you don't meet the breakeven point