Spyke

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ELI5 - So why exactly doesnt Biden expand the courts?

I think in addition to the other points on this page, the thing that keeps coming to me is because I think deep down inside, Biden knows where the fault is.

The Supreme Court's primary role is to decipher existing laws, existing precedent, and figure out how it should be interpreted in a different era. Yes, I know due to how politicalized everything is, sometimes questionable outcomes come from the Supreme Court. But at the core, their job is to interpret existing law and precedent.

Congress' role is to actually pass new laws for a new era. It can be argued, they've done a terrible job at that because they're busy trying to appease their base. Because they're so divided, very little acts, with any substance, are being passed at the federal level.

Expanding the court might result in the outcome you want today, it may not result in the outcome you want tomorrow.

But expanding the court also continues to give Congress a way out of making tricky compromises and laws, so they can continue fundraising on outrage, and yet do very little about things by blaming the other side.

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What exactly makes a shoe "orthopedic"?

So I'm someone who has to use an orthopedic shoe because I have (really bad) flat foot. So to add more flavor text,

  • It is true, orthopedic isn't really a regulated term, so it gets thrown around pretty aggressively with little meaning.
  • Some shoe companies genuinely are creating orthopedic shoes for people with actual foot problems. For me personally, I use Orthofeet brand because I find them to straddle the very weird intersection of shoes with extra wide toe boxes/foots, and terrible arch support, and flexible + lightweight materials. They didn't pay me to say this, I'm just really really happy with them after nearly a decade of jumping between brands.
  • Sometimes orthopedic shoes are not enough... like in my defective case. In my case, I have Orthopedic Insoles which are NOT the same things as the flimsy things in the supermarkets. They're actually custom molded to my foot, to prevent my skeletal structure from collapsing more under the horribleness of my flat foot. Between my shoes and my insoles, this is literally the difference between me being unable to walk and me being able to run a bit.

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Student loan payments resume October 2023, but missed payments won't affect your credit score until Sept. 2024. Are you planning on resuming payments?

Disclaimer: I'll be honest, I haven't read the exact mechanics of the student loan ramp plan that Biden proposed, so there might be something else to the plan that overrides my thoughts.

But in general, if you are accruing interest on the loan but aren't dinged, you have to consider the impacts of compounding interest.

  • If you have a $100 loan (just to keep the numbers simple) with a 3.4% APY, that's $103.4 for the year.
  • Next year, it's not $103.4 again. It's $103.4 with another 3.4% APY. That makes your second year payment to $106.9 for the year, which is a 6.9% increase over your first year..
  • The year after that, it's $110.5 for your third year, which is a 10.5% increase from your original loan.
  • The year after that, it's $114.2 for your fourth year, which is a 14.2% increase from your original loan.

Note that this is not a linear growth -- it's not 3.4 + 3.4 = 6.8%. It's exponential the longer you don't pay for that first year because you're now not just covering the principal (the base cost) but also the interest that was applied on top of that principal, compounded year-after-year.

All that to say, so long as interest is accruing, it's almost always a smart idea to pay any loan off. However you are right, that due to inflation, it's possible High Interest Savings Accounts can accrue interest greater than 3.4% so you may come out ahead. But be sure to run those numbers out for real with respect to compounding interest -- don't just think "Wow 3.4% is less than 4.5% interest in my savings account!". Make sure you will come out ahead, make sure your loan lets you pre-pay with a larger payment at the end of this 12 month grace period, etc.

But just double check your math and be sure things will turn out the way you do.

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for a savings account that calculates interest daily and pays interest monthly, is it better to contribute daily or monthly?

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But I would add, don’t hold back money from your higher interest accruing accounts if you have it, if you’re trying to optimize the interest. Once you have the money, deposit it as soon as possible, so interest begins accruing on it, even if it’s not the beginning of the month yet.

In other words, if you hold back money, it’ll never accrue interest. You’re not going to get exponential or compounding growth on money that wasn’t accruing interest. You only get that once it begins accruing interest.

memmy

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Hello from Memmy!

I’m going to say something unpopular: I think you should make it possible for users to pay you for premium features like notifications.

Writing software is a hard thankless job. I’m sure there are many in the community who’d like to help you so that you can be more recharged and sustained in your pursuit to make Memmy better.

It’s admirable you want to keep it free, I hope there’s always a great free version. But I think you should consider a premium route, for features which actually do cost money to operate, and make a few bucks out of it too.

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New Footage Shows Tesla On Autopilot Crashing Into Police Car After Alerting Driver 150 Times

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If we want to get really technical, the NSTB is requiring all new cars to have emergency braking so in this situation, the car should slam on the brakes. Even if it can’t slow down fast enough to prevent a crash, it should slow down enough to minimize it.

Is this particular Tesla under said law? Probably not. But I think we can see why this tactic is the infinitely safer and more ethical than saying “good luck, control this car on your own or enjoy this 100 km crash otherwise”

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SEPTA will officially use AI to ticket cars parked illegally in bus lanes

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My best guess as an AI engineer is that the AI is to detect the difference between cars that are parked vs cars on the road that are stopping at a light and then take the picture at the right time.

I don’t think the article says the bus drivers initiate the photos — presumably SEPTA would rather have drivers drive than framing the perfect shot — so it makes sense to have AI fit in there.

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Unfit for CEO

The crazy thing is… they probably could have charged for the API and got away with it. Either charge a reasonable rate or keep their rates a bit higher, but offer consulting services and a longer deployment timeline so everyone can be more efficient.

They somehow managed to completely roll this out by taking the worst or most expensive option possible at every turn. It’s almost impressive how bad they did.

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Student loan payments resume October 2023, but missed payments won't affect your credit score until Sept. 2024. Are you planning on resuming payments?

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That’s fair enough. The only caveat I’d make is… don’t you use that extra money you’re not using to buy more things, subscribe in more things, or do more things. Whatever money you’re choosing to not use towards your loan should go for savings type purposes.

A lifetime of solid financial choices always begins right now, everyday, for you and I. Don’t cut corners now, be responsible. 🙂