If there was a warthog look-alike with a hard top available, I'm fairly sure it'd look and sell better than the Cybertruck. It's already similar looking to kitted-out Jeeps which people seem to love.
Bonus points if it uses a battery and generator to power electric motors, which is a pretty reliable and light maintenance setup.
Obviously this depends on the region and weather, but in my experience the best areas on the mountain are tracked out and bumpy by the afternoon. Once the sun really starts hitting the snow it can get lumpier and tougher compared to fresh stuff, and more frequent / larger ice patches appear on hard-packed runs.
If you have a season pass it doesn't make sense to ski the worse conditions, since you can just go back another morning. There's also the desire to beat the traffic leaving the resort, which can be brutal in some places.
One of the common modifications for controllers is thumb-stick extenders that simply make the analog input more precise, not "faster". I don't think you can detect this using your strategy, since there is no change to the electronics of the controller. To the console and game software it just looks like the player is more accurate than others, and reducing the in-game look and movement speed wouldn't remove the advantage.
Some combination of heuristics (target acquisition time, moving target tracking, etc) would probably be the only way. But what if a player is genuinely exceptional - should they be punished for that?
That list doesn't include cities where the local train (subway or street rail) system connects to the airport, which seems odd. In my experience it's way easier getting to the into the city using local rail compared to dealing with parking, rental cars, traffic etc.
The only downside is almost none of these systems are in operation 24/7, with the exceptions being NYC and Chicago. If you have a very early or late arrival / departure, you just can't use them at all without waiting several hours at the airport. I wish more cities could add reduced frequency night service, something like maybe 1 train every hour or hour and a half.
As a somewhat cherry-picked example, if someone in the southern part of my city wants to take a train into the city center, the last good route with only one transfer leaves at 10 pm. At 10:40pm Google maps suggests a route with 3 transfers that takes almost twice as long (and includes the commuter rail which is a separate, more expensive ticket). The last possible option is at 11:40 and takes 3 times as long as the normal route. If we want people to use trains and subways, the service hours have to be greatly improved.
>Two stroke engine parts don't have a massive legally protected cult following like guns
Yes they do, they're called dirtbikes and a large part of America enjoys riding them. Other countries use them in the scooter form factor.
Could some of the use cases be covered by alternatives like the electric Surron? Sure. Will you successfully pass a law against them in the next 30 years? Not a chance.
Comparing this to off-piste skiing or mountain biking is not fair at all. You can view avalanche predictions, sample the snow pack, and take safe and slow lines that go perpendicular to the faults when skiing. Biking you can use hydraulic disk brakes, deliberately lay the bike down and slide out, plus you should be wearing a full face helmet, spine + neck protector, and other armor.
Unless you are actively trying to set a speed record or win a race there is far less danger.
> Unless you are actively trying to set a speed record or win a race there is far less danger.
Well, that's also exactly what we are talking about here…
Also you're talking to someone who broke his own shoulder earlier this year while doing some very easy off-piste skiing earlier this year so I can absolutely assure you that danger is just a small mistake away even if you aren't doing insane stuff.
"Code" is not what is stopping people from building, city zoning and regulations are. There's some things that add a bit to the cost, like GFCI outlets, multiple egress points for bedrooms, and inspections. Mandatory setbacks, minimum lot sizes, height restrictions, ADU rules, etc are what dictate what is possible to build.
You could easily describe a moderate house you desire to an architect, hire a GC and have a house built to code for $75k-$150k if it weren't for permits, zoning and regulations.
>As much as I'd love to be able to play Mario or Zelda in 4k 60fps
You can do this on PC with emulators if you want to. It's probably not "legal" but if you have already paid for a copy of the game there isn't much harm in it.
Off the grid cabins frequently use a hybrid setup, where a (typically) propane generator refills the batteries during extreme load or whenever they dip below n%. It's handled by a smart system that can optimize for house temperature, minimum propane or electricity used, etc.
This works very well because you rarely need it and propane has a fixed, predictable cost. Unfortunately, it doesn't work in CA due to their rules about generators.
Custom cabinet work does not have a low bar. You need to be familiar with multiple joinery techniques and finishing methods, even if your parts are coming straight off a CNC. Getting them perfectly square, face framed, mounted etc takes a lot of time and attention. For houses where the framing was done poorly, it takes even more time.
I believe fairly competent cabinet assemblers / installers are making $40-75 / hour depending on location. Everyone else paying less is half-assing it or doing a poor job.
Sure, but an apprentice can learn the basics to be useful on the job in a couple days.
That's not the point anyway, working entry-level retail is pretty much a 0 stakes job — quality has been mostly engineered out of it. Even a basic cabinet assembly job requires some quality control. Some people do not want to do anything of quality.
IMO we'd all be better off if people had a universal basic income and these people could spend more time finding something else to do with their time.
Bonus points if it uses a battery and generator to power electric motors, which is a pretty reliable and light maintenance setup.