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#1
Off-Topic / Re: Frustrated visitors sue Na...
Last post by CtrlAltDel - Today at 11:18:48 AM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on Today at 10:48:04 AMOr we could ditch $10s and $50s and then all of the bills have legitimate reasons for four (or in the case of $5, three) in the same transaction.

What bothers me is that the system is crazy adhoc inconsistent. We have a 25ยข coin, but a 20$ bill, and so on. The euro people, who have everything 1, 2, and 5, I think are on the right track there.
#2
Off-Topic / Re: Frustrated visitors sue Na...
Last post by CtrlAltDel - Today at 11:15:50 AM
Quote from: SP Cook on Today at 10:07:49 AMtriple featherbed union

Quote from: SP Cook on Today at 10:38:19 AMI attempted to couch my statement in a non-judgmental way

I see.

#3
Off-Topic / Re: Changing one letter of a t...
Last post by GaryV - Today at 11:08:51 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 28, 2024, 04:41:17 PMPEW features - The latest advancements in uncomfortable church seating.

Or maybe, something about skunks.
#4
Off-Topic / Re: Frustrated visitors sue Na...
Last post by Big John - Today at 11:06:43 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on Today at 10:46:22 AMSome people oppose eliminating the $1 bill out of concern that a $1 coin is hard to use for tips at a strip club. (Which invariably leads to jokes about using the "coin slot.")
How do they do it in Canada?
#5
Off-Topic / Re: Dead Malls
Last post by bing101 - Today at 11:06:14 AM



City Beautiful does a segment on malls.
#6
Mid-Atlantic / Re: Francis Scott Key Bridge (...
Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 11:05:39 AM
Quote from: Rothman on Today at 10:39:22 AM
Quote from: Big John on Today at 08:36:21 AM
Quote from: Rothman on Today at 07:39:03 AMThere's good reason why trusses are totally avoided nowadays.  One member fails, the bridge goes down.

I recently posted in a thread somewhere about the issue with gusset plates and possible future asinine decisions by my state's historical preservation office to require them over even gussetless trusses.
It sounded like you were defending it when I mentioned it for the Blackhawk bridge replacement for the IA/WI River crossing.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=34519.msg2907220#msg2907220

Wut.  I suppose context matters...

Like I said in that link, "Gussetless trusses are safer than the old trusses with gusset plates."  If DOTs are going to be required to build a truss by other regulatory agencies, then they should be gussetless.  Without the external requirement for a truss, DOTs will avoid them altogether for good reason.

Wait, how are gussetless trusses safer? The only real difference between the Caltrans sign truss that is allowed to have exit tabs versus the older one that isn't is that the exit-tab one has gusset plates. So I thought that meant that gussets made the truss stronger (so the wind loading wasn't a concern).

Or does the gusset/gussetless distinction have to do with fracture criticality, which doesn't really matter for a sign truss because it will be replaced long before a member failure becomes an issue?
#8
Sports / Re: Da Bears look at Arlington...
Last post by hobsini2 - Today at 11:03:05 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on Today at 10:43:20 AM
Quote from: JoePCool14 on Today at 10:03:42 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on March 23, 2024, 09:29:37 PMChicago in general has some really pathetic owners, especially McCaskey and Reinsdorf.

No kidding. Reinsdorf is a waste of space. He couldn't even be bothered to retain our beloved lead TV commentator who is a lifelong White Sox fan and was great at his job. Cheapskate. The Sox have almost zero chance of being good until he sells the team or dies.
Jerry has got to be the most anti fan friendly owner in the game. What would be really nice would be to see him start losing money. I can't stand the guy he is like a dinosaur in today's game and needs to go. He never was a good owner in the first place.
What is it about owners named Jerry that they end up being douchebags?
#9
Off-Topic / Re: Frustrated visitors sue Na...
Last post by JayhawkCO - Today at 10:48:04 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on Today at 06:29:25 AM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on Today at 03:44:45 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on Today at 02:10:35 AM
Quote from: ZLoth on March 28, 2024, 10:45:34 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 26, 2024, 04:04:21 PMRegarding currency reform more generally, I like the idea of getting rid of the $1 bill, though I can't help but wonder how much of an obstacle the vending machine industry presents, given how much they invested in installing those dollar-bill acceptors. I'm not sure I've ever encountered a vending machine that accepts $2s, though certainly I've encountered some that accept $5s.

I'm kinda surprised at the life span of a $1 bill per https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/how-long-is-the-life-span-of-us-paper-money.htm . I thought it would be measured in months rather than 6.6 years. Having said that, while coins are more expensive than bills to produce, they also last much longer (30 years and longer).

The lifespan of a $1 bill was months back in the 90s, but two things happened:
1) people use less cash now, so it wears out less quickly, and
2) Someone at the Fed realized that the scanners that they use to detect when bills are damaged were sending all bills that were fed into the machine upside down to the shred pile, since they only had the good bill image to compare to in one orientation. Oops!

And even when cash is used, $1 ain't gonna be used for much more than just making-up the amount the larger bills don't already cover and/or vending machines.

$1s are still going to be the most-used, though, because they're the only bill that has a quasi-legitimate reason to have 4 in the same transaction. (This assumes you're like 99% of the population that pretends $2 bills don't exist, of course.)

Or we could ditch $10s and $50s and then all of the bills have legitimate reasons for four (or in the case of $5, three) in the same transaction.
#10
Off-Topic / Re: Frustrated visitors sue Na...
Last post by 1995hoo - Today at 10:46:22 AM
Some people oppose eliminating the $1 bill out of concern that a $1 coin is hard to use for tips at a strip club. (Which invariably leads to jokes about using the "coin slot.")

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