What makes a car "Reliable"

 If I buy a new car, and, want something "Reliable", this is what I want:

The vehicle never strands you

A Reliable vehicle never gets you stuck on the roadside. This means whatever problems the vehicle has are not problems that will result in you being stuck. Vehicles known for destroying their own engines are thus not reliable, even if the body lasts forever. 

The vehicle will last 20 years or more

A Reliable vehicle is one that lasts. The average age of a vehicle is over a decade; but to be reliable, a vehicle needs to last longer. This means the vehicle should not have catastrophic things that tend to happen after 15 or so years of ownership. 

The vehicle can be mistreated and still run well

A Reliable vehicle is one that will run and run well even when you neglect it. All vehicles should be treated well, but a reliable vehicle is one that can handle missed regular maintenance appointments and yet still work well. 

The vehicle is cheap to repairs and maintain

A Reliable vehicle does not bankrupt you with maintenance. Some vehicles are difficult to work on and have high labour costs, while others have parts that are expensive to acquire, and others have so many cheap parts break often that repairs add up.

No vehicle is perfect, but a reliable vehicle is all of these.

You will not find a vehicle that scores 100% in all these categories, A vehicle that has a 95% in all but one of these categories, but a 5% in that last category is not reliable. One that has 70% in every category, is reliable by comparison. 

This is important because it is important to look at what reliability is not.

Reliability is not an ugly car.

Measuring reliability by simply totalling the problems with a vehicle one by one means that ugly cars; those with damaged trim pieces or squeaky windows, end up being seen as not reliable. Measures that consider such things in their metrics are not worth your time. (Worst Offenders: Youtubers)

Reliability is not measured over the first 6 months.

Suggestions that reliability can be measured by looking at the first 6 months of a car's lifespan are as ludicrous as they are offensive. Manufacturers love such stats as, obviously, they present a low number of problems per car, compared to longer studies. Do not pay any attention to them. (Worst Offender: J.D. Power)

Reliability is not how cars work when at their best.

All vehicles that are operated as the manufacturer recommends will run well. This is not reliability. Reliability is measuring a vehicle at its worst. Even a Yugo can be reliable if maintained well enough, that does not make Yugo a reliable car brand. (Worst Offender: Car and Driver)

Reliability is not measured independent of cost

People who want a reliable car want one because they have limited amounts of money. This means the car needs to be designed to be easy to work on; that it needs to have affordable parts, and expensive parts that do not often break, and needs to have had reliability in mind at the design phase. (Worst Offender: Consumer Reports)

With this is mind, we can look at some specific examples:

The cost of any car's "known issues" must be factored in.

Some old Toyotas that are 20 years older or more have manual gearboxes where the 5th gear no longer works properly. Replacement could cost $1500; perhaps double that, or perhaps half that. Such a cost needs to be kept in mind when asking if Toyotas with these gearboxes are reliable. 

Lexus's of the era can have leaky power steering pumps; and that leaks right on to the alternator. The cost for this can be $500, again, half to double; though, regular maintenance can cut this cost.  

GM Northstar engines are known for head gasket problems.

The list can go on and on; but, any similar "known issue" must be kept in mind when looking at if a car is reliable. Sadly, the only way to know this for sure, is to wait 20 years. 

The cost of any car's "expected issues" must be factored in.

Early CVT's, for example - those from before, say, 2016?, have been known to be problematic unless meticulously cared for. It remains to be seen if modern CVT's (those since 2016) are more reliable or not. 

This guide will help you understand what a "Reliable" car is, at least, as defined by me. 

dinky cars

 when I was younger, I had a number of dinky cars. little die cast toy cars. not all of them were actually made by dinky; I remember majorette and hot wheels in particular. the good news is I found lists for all 3, as well as matchbox. I can't find a corgi made list, but, am compiling a full list of cars I am 100% certain I had. here is the list so far: 

https://majorette-model-cars.fandom.com/wiki/Porsche_Turbo
https://majorette-model-cars.fandom.com/wiki/Volkswagen_Golf_GTi_(Mk_II)
https://majorette-model-cars.fandom.com/wiki/Cadillac_Stretch_Limousine
https://majorette-model-cars.fandom.com/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_XM
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/%2757_Chevy
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Saab_9000_Turbo
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Ferrari_F40
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/1987_Corvette
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/GMC_Wrecker
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Ferrari_Testarossa_(K-149)
https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/1984_Dodge_Daytona_Turbo_Z
https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Blown_Camaro
https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Turbo_Heater
https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Malibu_Grand_Prix

https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Talbot_Lago

https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Alien

https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Purple_Passion

https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Vector_%22Avtech%22_WX-3

I remember having many, many cars up to about 1995 when I moved. This is also about the time it was probably decided I give some of them to my little brother. I don't really remember having many, if any, of the toys after I moved.

what makes a cold war, a cold war

 lack of war.

okay, okay, this sounds stupid, but let me explain.

We've only had one, widely recognized, cold war, in our history. As such, we need to take our main lessons from that 'conflict'. 

the TLDR of the conflict was that the US and USSR opposed one another, but didn't directly have a 'total war' war with one another.

When did the war start. Was it in 1919 when the USSR was 'founded'? No. Most literature says it started in 1949. Some might say in 1945, others in 1947, but 1949 seems the more popular option. What happened in 1949? The berlin airlift.

I could go into detail of what exactly the berlin airlift was, but, I'll summarize it instead:

It was an event where the US and USSR almost went to war. But didn't. 

To TLDR the entire above; a cold war is when you almost go to war, but don't go to war. 

Or

Lack of war. 

So. Why am I making this post? China. And the USA.

Are they in a cold war?

No.

Why not?

There's yet to be an event where they almost go to war, but don't go to war. 

So what are we in?

Pre-war. Pre-cold war.

Just as 1938 was "Pre WW2", and, everyone knew WW2 was coming, we are in the "pre" period to the second cold war. 

We are just waiting for that triggering "spark" that turns this from a pre cold war, into a cold war. 

the future, part 1

This is a post that I've spent a very long time trying to write. In fact, since about 2005, I've been trying to express it properly, and I've never been able to. Until now. Let's begin slowly and softly with this graphic. It shows the situation in the far future, where corporations have become so interconnected by webs of ownership, that nearly every corporation on the planet is owned by one of 7 other corporation, and each of those, is owned by individuals, or, their families. 

This is an example of what that might look like. 

I'll pick this up in another post shortly. 

Why I unfollow people on twitch

 This is an updated version of two earlier posts, where I tried to outline why I follow people on twitch. I've realized, that's not how I operate. I follow people for too many reasons. However, I unfollow people for a very narrow and specific set of reasons that I want to outline to help people understand why I've unfollowed them, or, simply stopped watching them.

1 - You don't stream enough. Some people take long breaks in streaming, if this happens, I can unfollow. All you need to do to get me to follow back is start streaming again.

2 - You don't talk enough. A lot of the people I follow on twitch are not very big streamers, as such, there's a need to fill the 'dead air'. You need to talk. You've not been talking enough. You can get me to return by talking more.

3 - You don't have quality options. I've made other posts about this, and if I've followed you, I've shared the post with you. You've decided that quality options are not important. You can get me back as a follower by getting quality options on the regular. 

4 - You speak before you read. This annoys me greatly. Some people see 2 chat messages waiting to be read, read one of them, and then start responding to that first message. During this time, additional chat messages build up. I watch enough twitch (over 40 hours a week for the past 3+ months) to see the difference between partners, and non-partners, and THIS is the difference. Do not respond to a chat message when there are more chat messages to read. You can respond to it once you've caught up with chat. Additionally, you need to learn the skill of reading one thing while saying another thing. This is a skill. You need to learn it. You can convince me to come back simply by making an effort to learn this skill.

5 - You keep playing multiplayer games. These are not for me. They distract the streamer. I watch twitch to interact with streamers. If I just wanted to watch someone play video games, I'd go to youtube. Multiplayer games tend to see the streamer interact with other players. I want you to interact with me! If I didn't, I wouldn't be watching. This is a hard fix, as, it requires playing less games you like, and it may simply be that you as a streamer and I as a viewer are simply not compatible. 

6 - You are a jerk. This one is very rare, as, I tend to notice someone is a jerk before following in the first place. Not really sure how to fix this one. Seems like a personal issue for the streamer. 

Quality options, what they are, and how to get them!

  Hello streamer! You are reading this because I (or someone else) has linked you to this post. This is the third version of similar posts. You are being sent this link because you've started a stream that has no quality options!

What are quality options? 
On any stream you watch, on desktop and mobile, you can click the little gear icon. In that menu is a "Quality" option. If you have no quality options, the only options available will be your native source streaming rate, and "auto". These are sometimes encoding or transcoding options. These are all words for the same thing. They allow users to watch at a lower bitrate, using less bandwidth. 

What should I set, 720p or 1080p?

Your output resolution does not matter at all. It has no impact on if you do or do not get quality options, and has no impact on what quality options do for viewers.

My connection is good/bad, so...

This also does not matter at all, and also has no impact on if you do or do not get quality options. Your stream is sent to twitch, and without quality options, it is simply sent to others as-is. If you get quality options, that means Twitch uses its magic to reduce the needed internet speed for people who view your stream. 

How does my output bitrate does not matter?

Your settings only impact your output bitrate. Quality options allow people to watch at lower bitrates, and not just the one you are outputting. Without these, the only option is your output bitrate. With them, lower bitrates can be selected. You can stream at, for example 720p at 30fps at 6000 bitrate, or at 3000 bitrate. The only thing that matters for some people is the bitrate, as that determines what loads quickly and what constantly buffers. What matters is getting quality options, as that will enable people to watch. 

Why don't I have them already?
Non-partners only get quality options "sometimes". Affiliates and Non-Affiliates seem to get them at the same rate. If you are a partner; good news: you already have quality options automatically every time you stream. 

How can I get them if I do not have them?
You can re-start your stream. This re-rolls the random chance. Many times, a single restart will generate the options, sometimes it make take many restarts (20 or more) pending on how busy twitch is, and how lucky you are with your random chance. Many well known affiliate streamers will do this. In fact, if you follow an affiliate who always seems to get quality options, you can outright ask them if they restart to get them. They will tell you that they do. I personally recommend trying at least 5 times. Each time you try, check your own stream, and look for that quality option. You should see a list of options such as 160p, 360p, 480p, and so on. You may see less if you stream at lower resolutions, but those first few options should always be there.

Why should I restart to make them appear?
Viewers use quality options because their internet connection is simply not fast enough to watch your stream at the bitrate at which you are streaming. Many guides suggest streaming at a bitrate of 6000. but many users, such as those on mobile data, can not handle 6000 bits. Getting the options allows viewers to watch at a lower bitrate, lower than whatever you've set the bitrate to. To check and/or change your broadcast bitrate, you will need to look at the settings in your broadcaster program (OBS, xsplit, streamlabs, etc)

What if I do not want to restart?

It's understandable, but there really is nothing wrong with restarting, and it is commonplace among affiliates who average more than 40 viewers. The only other way to allow more people to watch without restarting is to lower the bitrate at which you stream. You can get to partner without ever doing any of this; however, getting quality options can often double your viewership, and greatly increase the amount of subs and donations you get. It will also mean a more fun chat experience with better quality interactions with viewers. 

So wait, summarise for me; why do I want this again?

Some people literally can not watch your stream without quality options. Their internet is not fast enough. Quality options let them watch at a bitrate that their internet can handle. While the quality options are presented as options such as "480p" and "720p", your output resolution does not matter. You'll often see people who output at 720p, at 60fps, have both a source option, and a separate 720p, 60fps quality option. The latter is your stream after twitch has worked its magic. This latter option, despite being identical, often cuts the bitrate viewers need in half. 

Is there really no other way?
You could set your base output bitrate lower. This will enable more people to watch, but can mean your stream does not look as crisp.

What rate should I set it at, and how will that impact my quality?
There will always be people with connections too slow to handle whatever you are streaming at. Setting it at 3000 seems to enable most people to watch as "high speed" internet standards from a decade or two ago would target similar numbers, and many old-standard mobile data networks can handle this. In terms of quality, you are going to have to make a choice. There are those who will not watch streams that are below 1080P at 60fps. and there are those who do not have an internet connection able to receive that much data. Setting things based on the game can be smart; if playing a game with a 30 fps framerate, for example, you could easily find bitrate savings just by reducing your output fps. 

This all sounds like a bit much!

When you are not used to it, it can be. Streamers who are used to restarting, simply consider it part of their "steam starting routine." It can be difficult to add this as part of your routine, but eventually it will become a habit. If, for whatever reason, you are unwilling to restart your stream until you get quality options, You'll have to decide which group you are going to exclude. You can choose to stick with not having quality options, but this will mean many people can't watch. You can choose to not restart but stream at a lower bitrate. This can work for some, but not for others. Or you can choose to restart until you get the options. This may add frustration to your stream routine. I highly recommend you do this as the minor irritation this provides you with is easily offset by the hours of entertainment you can provide to people who otherwise can not watch, but in the end, this is your choice, and I can not make that decision for you. 

maps without words!