Unless something has changed, it's pretty difficult to replace the battery in Oral B toothbrushes. Which is a shame, because they die pretty much like clockwork after about 3 years.
I bought and use a Kindle specifically because it has zero distractions. All you can do is read. You're not interrupted with a text, or another app's notification, or anything like that. There's no temptation to use another app, because there are no other apps. It's just you, and your book.
It's still "easy" to strip DRM from Amazon books but you need an actual Kindle to do so. If it's something that you would like to do, it might be worth investing in a cheap used Kindle even if you never plan to use it to read.
You don't really need to type long form text on it. The primary use of the keyboard on the MCDU is for the flight management computer, and aviation fix names are 3 or 5 letters at most. That is the primary design case for the keyboard. ACARS is secondary, and on a typical flight only a few long-form text messages are sent.
Every aircraft that I've ever flown has an alphabetical keyboard. Typically horizontal space is valuable, yet vertical space is less valuable, so it's easy to make the keyboard long but not wide. However, as others pointed out, it seems to be changing in newer jets.
I volunteered at a museum when I moved to a new city, thinking that I would meet people. I determined that exactly two types of people volunteer at museums: students/recent graduates that want to build a career in that field, or retired folk.
I wasn’t in a phase where I desired meeting either of those groups, so while volunteering was a positive experience, the social aspect of it was not.
I actually felt a little guilty volunteering-- the selection process was a little competitive and I didn't want somebody who wanted to get a start in their career turned away.
Their automotive industry coverage is pretty good, but their car reviews are pretty awful. I'm not sure what value they add to the automotive review world -- they could carve out a niche of very detailed infotainment reviews, for example, but they don't.
To me, it seems that word came down from high that "you must do auto reviews at Ars" and they are complying with the least amount of effort possible.
The problem with a chargeback is that it doesn’t actually cancel the service. You’re likely to see the same charge on your next month’s statement.
Now, as part of the chargeback process the merchant may cancel your subscription, but they’re also likely to ban you as a customer from ever using their services again.
The P-8 having EICAS is more of an indictment of Boeing than anything (the P-8 is a Navy 737). It’s completely technologically possible, just that entrenched interests (namely, Southwest) kept Boeing from advancing the technology of their aircraft.
Every airplane type is a bit different, but typically, if the aircraft is powered then the CVR is recording. Even if it’s at the gate with nobody onboard— the CVR does not know nor care.
The only way to stop the CVR from recording is to depower the airplane (which is one of the steps you take prior to an emergency evacuation) or to pull the circuit breaker if the airplane needs to stay powered.
A pilot would never pull the circuit breaker without confirmation from management or safety to do so. It’s just not done routinely. Depending on the airline, it may not even be the pilot’s responsibility to do so. Every airline has a binder (likely, several binders) full of procedures to follow after a NTSB-reportable accident. No one person is expected to do the job of many.
The best part is that Boeing had EICAS, the engine indicating and crew alerting system, in the early 80s with the introduction of the 757/767.
In the mid-90s, when they updated the 737 to the Next Generation, they opted to stay with the six-pack recall light system that every 737 pilot hates. Same in the Max. Too expensive to change and would likely require a new type rating.
The A320 was such a technological leap forward in commercial aviation. Boeing wasn’t able to match it until the introduction of the 777, almost a decade later.