Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[Govmnt_Lacky]

When did upgrading/replacing a car stereo become so "involved" and expensive? 

Want to replace my factory radio in my truck with something more modern. After days and hours of research, it looks like getting the features that I want is going to run me about $750+ AND... I will be doing all the work! 

In addition to getting the updated receiver ($550) I also need to get a separate XM tuner (non-factory radios DO NOT come with XM tuners built in) which is $70. I also need a converter box in order to maintain the use of my OEM amplifier ($100) and yet another wiring harness to adapt to my factory wiring from the truck to the new receiver ($30)

Damn....

[redkurn]

right around 2012.

air con and lots of other things are now incorporated into the head unit, why? no one really can say other than someone decided it would make massive amounts of cash to force someone wanting or needing a new head unit to be forced to buy gadgets and adapters to get around it. at least that was a friends complaint who has a camero and found himself in this situation when just trying to add some subs and high end speakers with a new head unit.

he found a solution to it, but i think it was really involved and required a few adapters just to keep air con. he spent maybe $450 just to get the head unit installed and did the work himself.

[alanp]

Some absolutely gorgeous video of the inside of the Sagrada Familia, and the details of Gaudi's string physics model is also very interesting.

I'm really not the travelling sort, but I'd love to visit this one day.

[redkurn]

Some absolutely gorgeous video of the inside of the Sagrada Familia, and the details of Gaudi's string physics model is also very interesting.

I'm really not the travelling sort, but I'd love to visit this one day.

Wow, that's pretty amazing to see and learn about. thanks for sharing it.

[Muadzin]

Some absolutely gorgeous video of the inside of the Sagrada Familia, and the details of Gaudi's string physics model is also very interesting.

I'm really not the travelling sort, but I'd love to visit this one day.

As far as churches go 137 years aint that out of the ordinary. York Cathedral was started in 1230 and finished in 1472. What is probably unique about this project is that it was started as a house of God in a deeply religious country and will now get finished as a work of art in a mostly atheist country. If it weren't for its magnificent design it would probably not be finished right now as the Catholic Church is dying in Europe. And in Spain at an above average rate. Churches are being closed, sold off or demolished all over the continent. There is really no need for a new one if the old ones can't be filled with devotees. My own city of Nijmegen used to be staunchly Catholic and had dozens of churches, and most of the remaining ones will probably be gone or no longer be a church within the next 10 years.

[matmosphere]

I remember reading about that place a long time ago, I'm surprised they actually finished it after being relatively close for so long. Hopefully I can find a minute for that video later.

Some absolutely gorgeous video of the inside of the Sagrada Familia, and the details of Gaudi's string physics model is also very interesting.

I'm really not the travelling sort, but I'd love to visit this one day.

As far as churches go 137 years aint that out of the ordinary. York Cathedral was started in 1230 and finished in 1472. What is probably unique about this project is that it was started as a house of God in a deeply religious country and will now get finished as a work of art in a mostly atheist country. If it weren't for its magnificent design it would probably not be finished right now as the Catholic Church is dying in Europe. And in Spain at an above average rate. Churches are being closed, sold off or demolished all over the continent. There is really no need for a new one if the old ones can't be filled with devotees. My own city of Nijmegen used to be staunchly Catholic and had dozens of churches, and most of the remaining ones will probably be gone or no longer be a church within the next 10 years.

I get why it took 150 years to build something like that a thousand years ago, but they just build a building that is a mile tall in Dubai in five years (the length of of a really good Bowie song).

[TFZ]

I live in Ulm, Germany, home of the Ulm Minster, the tallest church in the world. Apparently the Sagrada Familia is going to take that spot once it is finished. It also had a build time of over 200 years overall, with a big break of several centuries in the middle.
As a visitor you can go up narrow stairs to the top of the main tower. I love walking up there, it's like 15-20 minutes of stairs, and you are then rewarded with quite an amazing view, and the architecture is always a humbling experience. With good clear weather in the summer you can see the Bavarian alps over 100km away.

[Muadzin]

I get why it took 150 years to build something like that a thousand years ago, but they just build a building that is a mile tall in Dubai in five years (the length of of a really good Bowie song).

The Dubai building gets build by a commercial enterprise with a lot of money. In business time is money. Cathedrals get build by religious folk, who don't have lots of money. Well, at one time they did but not any more as there are barely any of them left today. Without the tourism this building would have run out of funds to build decades ago. Factor in a very destructive civil war in the 1930's, and how this cathedral was seen as a symbol of a rebellious province by a dictator who ruled Spain for almost 4 decades and I can see why finishing it wasn't seen as a priority for him either.

[matmosphere]

Yeah, I was talking about the impact of modern construction equipment more than anything else. Power tools, cranes, you know machines that can do things in seconds or minutes with relatively minimal human effort, versus those same jobs taking a large group of people hours, days, weeks or months to complete.

There is a show called Secrets of the Castle (bbc I think) where the document a group of people trying to restore a thousand~ish year old castle using the techniques they used at the time. Even things like making a single nail were incredibly time consuming. There was a section where they are putting in a single step from a spiral staircase and it took four or five people a day pretty much just to get it there and put it in. It really shows why it would take so long to make those cathedrals, but also exactly why it wouldn't take that long now.

[Muadzin]

I still think that they could have finished those old buildings a lot quicker then they historically did. Even with old tools. As the people back then were more primitive technologically, but just as smart as we are today. It's the same Mk.1 brain we all have. To quote from The Right Stuff, what makes rockets go up? Funding! Same with cathedrals. They didn't always have enough funding. Certainly not steady funding as famines, war, politics and other upheavals could interrupt their cash flows. They knew the risk, they accepted them, plus they were of a different mindset when it came to such things then we are. We are of the right here, right now mindset, no patience whatsoever. Theirs was a more if it will take a 100 years or more, so be it. As long as God's house gets finished it doesn't matter that much. If we die beforehand God will know what our intent was.

And you gotta love ancient engineering. First time I saw the Pyramids, see these mountains of stone rise over the horizon, I was so awed. Humans built these! With primitive tools and techniques compared to ours. If they could build these with their tools and skills, there is no limit to what we can build with our engineering tools and skills. One of my better more optimistic moments.

[alanp]

(on computers) "With the transistor, such a device might take up only a good-sized room."

[redkurn]

(on computers) "With the transistor, such a device might take up only a good-sized room."

Cool video!

[alanp]

I know we have some chemists here... what effects does Adenine and Guanine have on the body when consumed?

I was reading a small wiki article about Russian prison tea, chifir, which apparently dumps a lot of these chemicals into the tea due to the very long brewing process. Anyone know what this stuff is like?

[alanp]

I've heard of the Tesla Turbine before, but never had it explained so well to me.

[lars]

Hmm...which price would you rather pay:  The regular price, or the fantastic-deal "sale" price?

Help me, Rhonda.