blazingfrog2

I just signed up using a custom userid/pwd (not FB login) and did not connect any social network account to unplu.gg and I noticed that my picture is showing up in the profile.

How did that happen?

As much as I agree with you in theory about being able to make judgments without being in a given situation, I'd have to disagree specifically about the kids situation.

You might think I'm generalizing, but I know I'm not the only one to think that nothing can prepare you for having kids. It's probably because it's as much a technical situation as it is an emotional situation. And the long-lasting nature of raising kids will impact you in ways you could never have possibly imagined.

While staying clear of that mental trap is key (so easy to forget, at least here in the US), I also think that for it to feel easy, some people have to make a conscious effort to make it easy.

If you're anything like me, any intellectually-gratifying side project I get started on will slowly consume me if I'm not careful. By that, I mean that it's what I'll think about when I get up, before I go to sleep and, yes, during all my free time. I can't do the one hour a day thing.

It's simply impossible to balance that state of mind with young children, at least the first few years, because it's not so much that they'd resent you if you chose to spend your free time on that side project instead of them (although if they're old enough, they will), it's that they physically need you for reassurance, feeding, diaper-changing, etc... That's a lesson I learned the hard way, especially after my second child.

A real danger for people like me is that you could end up resenting your own kid for depriving you of that intellectual gratification you crave. No matter how much fun little kids are (say < 4), they cannot satisfy that craving.

I couldn't agree more.

That's pretty much my stock answer when, after complaining about how much my kids eat out of me, I get the "you-chose-to-have-them" look. Having kids forces you out of you comfort zone, forces you to constantly adapt, evolve, go with the flow of life. As painful as it may seem sometimes, I believe it's all worth it.

You also hit the nail on the head with your second point. Without going to the extreme of living vicariously through another being which can never be healthy for either party, looking at your child grow up and go through the fascinating steps of learning life (steps I've long forgotten), I can't help but feel a little bit of myself feel that amazement myself.

Probably the best line in the wealth of well-written comments (yes, I'll admit I did read too many):

Also, I didn't like the Scratch N Sniff parts.

Funny or not (I don't think I'm any different from the natives in that regard), that doesn't explain why they would find it perfectly reasonable to share the joy in public where "fun" is certainly not the aim.

While we're knee-deep into the toilet conversation, you make an interesting observation. I'm originally from France and have lived in California for over 11 years but, to this day, I'm still astonished at how little embarrassment there is in American toilets (my experience is limited to the mens rooms) as far as unpleasant noise goes. It is obviously a fact of life but, where I come from, denial is king in that department.

My theory is that it's because American public toilets are usually made of 2 thin, low separation walls and a door with sometimes wide gaps which makes it almost inevitable to share the entire experience with everybody in the room.

Still not used to it...

Instead of calling this a political move, I'm wondering if they would allow an app that tracks murder victims across the US as they happen. My guess is that it would be rejected too for the same reasons, which are probably not political. This would simply be, as they said, crude. And IMHO, inappropriate.

Their documentation is either wrong or misleading:

Basic Javascript integration

We load the library onto the page asynchronously, which keeps your website loading quickly even if placed in the <head> of the page.

In our case just commenting out the library load solved all our issues.

Not the person you asked the question to but, if I may, I would suggest a 2 (or maybe 3) step drilldown. A high level, more condensed, summary-type of chart (kind of like the one seen in the original post) that would give a clear overview of the differences between the various types of instances (OnDemand, Reserved, Spot). And then a way to drill down into instance types and see the details (AZ, Linux vs Windows, etc...)

My issues with the current layout are:

- all the text blocks in between charts that are not really informative after you've read them once.

- The fact that the instance types, data transfer, EBS, etc... are all listed at the same logical level when I make a clear distinction between, on the one hand, all the different instance types and, on the other hand, everything that pertains to an instance (logically underneath an instance).