Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Night Globe

A desktop globe that shows only city lights at night around the globe.
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Interesting and pretty at the same time. Comprised of shots from space (well, obviously) of city lights at night including all the ships at sea.

Could do two versions, one that was simply printed, and the one that could be used as a nightlight, that was illuminated from the inside.

I would actually buy one of these. Something about the nightlight version would be very relaxing. A view of the planet mostly asleep, but the lights kept on, systems being managed, power, water, heating and air conditioning systems all running. Civilization cloaked safely in blanket of technology keeping us protected from the elements. Almost as if to say:

"All systems are working, your family is safe, most of the world is at peace tonight. Goodnight Doctorremulac3. Pleasant dreams."

doctorremulac3, Nov 24 2018

This illuminated would make an amazing nightlight. https://fineartamer...ocktrek-images.html
[doctorremulac3, Nov 24 2018, last modified Nov 25 2018]

Inspired by BS0's post. Day-Night_20Illumin..._20Rotation_20Globe
[doctorremulac3, Nov 24 2018]

They already have on that you can turn on at night that shows constellations. https://www.amazon....c=1#customerReviews
Could have the company just update the artwork to show cities at night. [doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018]

Why not move to beautiful Silicon Valley? https://www.sfgate....record-12724159.php
Impress your friends and family with this incredible $2 million estate! [doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018]

Or for a little over half the price of that you can get the same square footage in Fayettevill Arkansas... https://photos.zill...p730g1000000000.jpg
But it has a pool in front of it... and a 5,000 square foot 5 br 5 bath mansion thrown in. [doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018]

The Facebook bus. http://www.siliconb...or-shuttle-drivers/
[doctorremulac3, Nov 28 2018]

[link]






       I love this, and would gladly sit in front of one and stare. Not sure I would buy one, but I'd like to stare at one.
blissmiss, Nov 26 2018
  

       I'd want one on the bedside table to look at before going to sleep. Muse about all the stuff going on around the world at night. Baseball games in New York, nightclubs in Tokyo, concerts in Spain. Think about the places I'd like to visit, places I've been to I'd like to visit again, places I'm glad I experienced but would never go back to. Just take a virtual night trip around the globe before going to sleep.   

       I think it would be relaxing.
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       // Civilization cloaked safely in blanket of technology keeping us protected from the elements. Almost as if to say:   

       "All systems are working, your family is safe, most of the world is at peace tonight. Goodnight Doctorremulac3. Pleasant dreams." //   

       You probably need to be on a slightly lower dose of your medications ...
8th of 7, Nov 26 2018
  

       Don't take medications of course, I'm not one of these "Woe is me, everything sucks!" kind of folks. Nor to I think everything is perfect but it's not supposed to be.   

       Life is a series of massive waves you can either master and ride or you can stand there and let them knock you down. <--- (original thought) Either way, those waves of life are coming. Your choice on how to handle them.   

       In my opinion.   

       Speaking of which, I need to go surfing soon. Fuck this serious shit.
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       I take it you don't live in the mid-western part of the US then. No surfing here. Just shoveling and sliding. 4th snowfall this month and we ain't even in December yet. Beeee-zar.
blissmiss, Nov 26 2018
  

       Yup, sunny California, where you can surf on Saturday, ski on Sunday. Don’t know anybody who’s actually done that, but it’s theoretically possible during the winter.   

       Silicon Valley where I live also has some great deals on houses if you ever want to move here. Look at this jaw dropping palatial estate that went for a mere two million dollars. (link)
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       Not only is it jaw-dropping, but as far as I can see it retains all its original features.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 26 2018
  

       But really, who needs an 800 square foot house? This is just showing off.
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       Not only that, but that building has height. It could well be several thousand cubic feet, and who needs a cubic foot?
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 26 2018
  

       By the way, the weather's shite here as well, hot as hell in the summer. And as I think I've mentioned before, people drive like they're the friggin' Sultan of Cashelvania. At any given time you'll see some self important douchebag demonstrating how rules of the road don't apply to those who make over $300,000 a year with their stupid $200,000 "OUT OF MY WAY PEASANT!!" mobiles. People in Arkansas by comparison (where the other house linked for comparison is located) are very polite and friendly. So you can buy one shack in Sunnyvale surrounded by assholes or TWO mansions in Arkansas surrounded by friendly neighbors and polite people for about the same price.   

       Other than that Silicon Valley's a terrific place. Worth every penny.
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       Does the word "bitter" resonate with you at all, [doc]? And $300,000 isn't what you'd call a huge salary.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 26 2018
  

       Did I call that a huge salary? Let me be more specific: it's the trigger point for being an asshole. (but I would call that a huge salary)   

       Was the $200,000 car price tag OK? I don't want people to think we're ghetto here.   

       And by the way, once you get over a million a year, you become nicer evidently. Atherton next door with an average salary of over a million a year and the homes averaging 6.5 million has no such rude drivers. It's just here where I live and surrounding areas. I believe it's people striving to make those big Atherton bucks that are so aggressive. Ashamed of their pittance $300,000 salaries perhaps.
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       Yes, that would make sense. In my experience, people with genuinely adequate incomes (which, incidentally, are never salaries) are usually very nice and considerate people.   

       Sometimes it takes a couple of generations for the niceness to bed in - new money is always awkward. Witness that place in Arkansas in your link - the poolhouse in the background is clearly modelled on the owner's expression saying "Oi, I got loadsamoney so fuck off!"
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 26 2018
  

       Hmm, trying to think if I've ever met a really rich person who wasn't nice.   

       Oh yea, some music biz people and lawyers have been pieces of... well, not nice.   

       But yea, big money is usually earned and you earn better if you work well with people.   

       And being nice helps.
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       I bunned this twice, but it was dark and you couldn't see it.   

       One of the biggest mistakes the UK ever made was, back in the early 1900's, to introduce crippling inheritance tax. It seemed like a good idea at the time - all these rich families going on and on for generations, passing their wealth down to their kids. Much fairer to slice off 40% of it each time it's passed along.   

       But the result was the complete genocide of a species of philanthropists. These supposed hooray Henrys were the people who supported local industries (indeed, entire villages), created employment, and invested in new, risky businesses because they could afford to and because they thought it was the right thing to do. Most of the great British industries of the past (and there are very few of the present, surprise surprise) were made possible by people who could afford to risk a lot of money.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 26 2018
  

       I'm in total agreement on that one. Let me put is this way, name one rich philanthropist who said "I know what I'll do with all this excess money, I'll start a war!" which is the kind of thing "philanthropic" governments do with their money when they get bored. (and by "their" money I mean "our" money.)   

       Don't get me wrong, I love a good war as much as the next guy, but sometimes they don't quite achieve what they were supposed to and they ain't cheap.   

       Plus all the death, there's that.   

       I'm hoping it's private industry that puts the first man on Mars to prove private can out do public sector. Massive history changing projects are just something that government isn't capable of doing currently. We had the cold war to help sell the Moon landing. Can't convince politicians the Russians might set up military bases on Mars and just drop bombs on us from overhead when Mars is in the right position like we did with the Moon.   

       So it's private sector vision, aptitude at getting stuff done and the knowledge of how to balance a ledger that will get us there.   

       Hopefully.
doctorremulac3, Nov 26 2018
  

       //philanthropists//   

       Nah. I've seen too many episodes of "Upstairs, Downstairs" to believe that description of Old British Money. But I suppose that Mr. Darcy seemed a reasonable enough fellow.   

       Frankly there's not much to do in Arkansas besides pluck chickens and cook barbecue. Mansion, yes, okay, but boringville.
RayfordSteele, Nov 27 2018
  

       The globes should be calibrated with an internal time-controlled shade which covers the internal light so that as one turns the globe on its axis only half the globe will display city night lights. The other half will be externally lit by a small spotlight from an armature representing Sol. An engraved or printed ring affixed to the base of the globe could indicate relative time zones and local time co-ordinated to longitude.
jurist, Nov 27 2018
  

       That was actually covered in another post. I had suggested it for a globe that had only the day portion lit and decided a simplified night globe would be neat.
doctorremulac3, Nov 27 2018
  

       Good Doctor, I moved back to this shit hole called the Midwest from San Fransico, and even had a meet-up with some bakers where I was living in Danville. The houses there are prolly about the same ridiculous, staggering amount as Silicon. Or thereabouts.   

       And now I'm here, stuck in the middle of nowhere. Bleh. Save me, someone.
blissmiss, Nov 28 2018
  

       Big, sounds like tee many martoonies doing the talking there.   

       Blissy, consider moving back. There's some stuff inland that's reasonable. There's a reason we put up with all this stuff, it is California after all.
doctorremulac3, Nov 28 2018
  

       Ewww, like Bakersfield? Nahhhhh. As for surfing and skiing in the same day, you can't beat Santa Barbara. Now there's some pricey real estate.
blissmiss, Nov 28 2018
  

       Oh god no! Happiness is Bakersfield in your rear view mirror. The sign at the city limits says "Welcome To Bakersfield. Looks Like You Really Screwed Up." I'm talking about wine country. Bit tough to find a job but some areas are really nice.   

       Yea, Santa Barbara, they check your net worth at the border. Under 3 mill they turn you away. Well, maybe not that bad but pretty close.
doctorremulac3, Nov 28 2018
  

       [dr R III] I used to live in downtown Mountain View, in a house very similar to the one in your link (except in a much worse state of repair). A great place to live although stupidly expensive. Another memory of that time - in order to squeeze more cars in at the tech company where I worked, they had valet parking for the staff car park.
hippo, Nov 28 2018
  

       Now they've got fleets of buses that gather workers and take them to Google, Facebook, etc.   

       Looking at a place to buy in Scotts Valley after the last kid goes to college and they assured me it's got private bus service to Silicon Valley. Drive yourself to work? How gauche. And by the way, these aren't city style buses, think what an NFL team takes to the game or a big time rock band's tour bus.   

       Anyway, it's only a matter of time before the Monetary Social Strata Enforcement Agency shows up at my door and says "Dr Remulac III? We've reviewed your financial records. You're going to have to come with us to Bakersfield."
doctorremulac3, Nov 28 2018
  

       Come to Michigan. You can have all 4 seasons in one day: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.
RayfordSteele, Nov 30 2018
  
      
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