I think seeking value in hobbies is a problem, they don't need to have any inherent value for the hobbyist other than being fun. I say it is a problem because it leads to a kind of mentality where one seeks productivity and optimization of RoI in all things in life. You are allowed to enjoy thing for no other reason than being fun. That being said, I agree with you, but I feel this kind of thinking could lead to see others who just want to enjoy a hobby as less than me, and that's where I draw the line.

I wonder if you could change what a HDD writes or reads with a specific pattern of vibrations, making it "fail" selectively.

The fact that the first legally compliant cryptocurrency is backed by oil reserves says a lot.

What we should provide is equality of opportunity (i.e. anyone should be given a fair and equal treatment in an interview) not equality of outcome (someone should be given a job, just because they represent a certain segment of population).

Exactly. I really can't understand why someone would fail to see this. Unless they have some other definition of equality. But I genuinely would like to hear other definitions and discuss the semantics of that word in the social context.

equality of opportunity should mean that equivalent effort should yield equivalent results, right?

Evidence that private air traffic control use/would use more modern tech?

I mean, I think it's self-evident as a general point...but in this specific case they don't have any satellite data driving their weather analysis because the government bureaucracy is mired in an ongoing process to upgrade. Anyone who has done gov't software contracting has probably seen cases like this.

Why a private company would invest on better technology if it doesn't have competitors? It's not profitable for a service provider to invest, and even if there are competitors, most of the time, like with cellphone carriers, they agree not provide a better service so they can all take their portion of the cake without expending a dime.

And to a de-facto government.

If you are paying for an expensive fish and are served a cheap one, you are being ripped off. Someone may not care about what kind of fish they receive, but charge them more for that and I would say almost 99% would care.