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Plan Vs. Reality

Corporate Fuckery, Tools

Via Insty, I saw this little snippet over the past weekend:

BMW Patent Reveals Branded Screw Design That Limits Access to Vehicle Repairs

BMW has filed a patent for a new fastener design that underscores the automaker’s long-standing willingness to chart its own path, even when that path complicates ownership. The newly revealed screw head is shaped like BMW’s roundel, creating a proprietary design that standard tools cannot engage.

Unlike familiar Torx or hex fasteners, the patented screw uses a circular head divided into four quadrants. Two of those quadrants are recessed to accept a matching driver, while the remaining sections remain flush. The BMW logo is embossed around the perimeter, leaving little doubt about the fastener’s origin or intended exclusivity.

Uh-huh. While I like Glenn’s thought (everyone needs a damaged-screw extractor), that’s not how this will play out.

Here’s a preview of the timeline, as I see it:

  • BMW gets patent for new screw design approved
  • 24 hours later, you’ll be able to buy the following BMW screw-design screwdrivers at Amazon.com, all made in China:

Regular handle ($4.99)

T-handle ($7.99)

Cordless ($24.99, with charger included)

As usual, the marketing- and engineering assholes at BMW (a.k.a. the Control Freak Division) will be handed their asses by the market.

You saw it here first.

RFI: Sport Fury

Drive Time

Okay, I need some Murkin aficionado to ‘splain this one to me.  It’s a 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury:

The engine is 512 c.i., and creates 656 hp with 662 ft-lbs of torque, while the rev counter goes up to 9,500rpm, all of which seems stratospheric for a car of this vintage.

The questions flow thick and fast, e.g. why did this beast not take over the world, did it ever race and win everything it raced in, etc.

All educated comments welcome.

So Much For That Trend

Men & Women, Sports

People have been moaning recently about how Gen Z kids aren’t having sex anymore, also seeming to prefer hanging out on porn websites or (worse) relying on A.I.-created partners for their jollies.

Well as it turns out, that’s apparently not true for all Gen Z kids:

The village where Winter Olympics athletes are staying in Milan has reportedly run out of condoms after slashing its supply from 300,000 to a mere 10,000.

I would have thought that the condom needs for just the Swedish Olympians would have emptied [sic]  that supply — the Swedes (Winter and Summer) being generally regarded as the most prolific users thereof — but hey, I guess the Olympics Committee was trying to save money or something.

I guess it’s also quite telling that these kids felt they could rely on “government” to take care of their every need.  (Without any proof, though, I’m pretty sure that most of the American kids brought their own supplies of said items with them — I know I would have, under such circumstances.)

And just to head one argument off at the pass, let’s at least acknowledge that when you throw a group of superbly-fit youngsters from all over the world together into confined quarters, they’re going to go at it like rabbits.  (And the organizers need to be kicked in the ass for thinking that these young Olympians were going to be any different from previous athletes.)

No need to spend time at PornHub or ai.com when you can have easy access to real-life willing bodies, after all.

High Hurdles

Foreign Affairs, Immigration

Speaking of the Swedes, I see that they’re following their Danish cousins and getting serious about immigration and citizenship:

The right-wing coalition government in Sweden has announced plans to significantly increase the threshold to obtain citizenship in the country, including a prohibition on migrants who fail to learn the native language.

The Swedish Ministry of Justice said this week that a series of new citizenship requirements will take effect by June 6th of this year. The ministry said that the measures will seek to “strengthen the importance of citizenship and increase incentives for individuals to become part of Swedish society, which also strengthens the Swedish community.”

According to the MoJ, the government will require migrants to live in the country for at least eight years to become eligible for citizenship, up from the current five-year standard.

It will also become necessary to demonstrate “self-sufficiency”, with a monthly income of around 20,000kr ($2,250).

Finally, prospective citizens will now have to demonstrate the ability to speak Swedish and knowledge of Swedish society.

All good stuff, and all quite reasonable qualifications to joining what is, after all, one of the more civilized nations of the world.

The only thing I’d add — were I a Swede at that level of power and influence — would be a limit on non-citizen residence to eight years:  in other words, if you don’t become a citizen after eight years, then out you go.  Once again, quite reasonable.