this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
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Memes

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Post memes here.

A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

An Internet meme or meme, is a cultural item that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. The name is by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations.


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[–] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 36 points 2 months ago (5 children)

They are starting to rip out the cables used in car chargers. It's only 2m long, costs £300 to replace and the thief strips out £4 worth of copper.

[–] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 18 points 2 months ago (3 children)

In turkey there are a lot of people who gather cardboard for recycling for a wage of about 30-40 dollars a day

Is the USA version of this just pulling copper?

[–] MutilationWave@lemmy.world 41 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Stealing copper, getting under older cars and cutting out catalytic converters, yes. Copper is not a big money maker but it's better than collecting aluminum cans.

The problem with 90% of crime is poverty. They do hundreds of dollars of damage to make a few bucks. If we had universal basic income or better safety nets these crimes would nearly vanish overnight.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Well, except that it's nearly always super damaging.

The US version would be more like collecting cans back when they had a 5 or 10 cent deposit. Today I can't really think of anything like that. Maybe driving Uber/Lyft. Or just panhandling/begging.

[–] Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Michigan still does 10 cents a bottle

[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 1 points 2 months ago

People do that now in the Netherlands. The bins on the streets of Amsterdam sometimes have little holsters for bottles and tins so you can leave them for people who'd otherwise (or I imagine who still) dig through the rubbish for the deposit.

[–] frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 0 points 2 months ago

Several states do this, probably more profit than door dash.

[–] frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 0 points 2 months ago

We have recyclers too

[–] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If this is how the Western world arrives at harm reduction and UBI for everyone - that it's just good business - I'm not even gonna be mad.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Like that would happen when they can sell £4 cables for £300.

[–] Shard@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

It's not that £4 cable costs £300. £4 is the scrap value of the copper once the insulation has been peeled off. Freshly made cable costs a bit more than that.

It costs £300 to fix because of the cost of the cable, labour and the workmanship.

[–] beaiouns@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Why scrap it when you can turn around and sell it right back to them?

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If I break into your house and steal your TV then knock on your door the next day to offer to sell it back to you, would you buy it?

[–] beaiouns@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Depends on how much copper is in it, I guess

[–] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Not much since I stripped it out and sold it for a cool $4. Now do you want this cable for 1/2 off or not!

[–] Comment105@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

Well, the ones making the cable still probably only make a small fraction of the value in labor. The majority of the inflated price goes to C suite paychecks.

I remember when I made 10s of thousands worth of cable every day from cheap materials and walked away with a couple thousand a month. I ended up quitting that job, but the slightly mentally challenged woman there who was the most efficient and accurate to spec probably still sits there making cables every day.

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

That will be great when I'm on a long trip looking to charge in the middle of nowhere lol.

I have actually been stranded a couple of times already. Still love electric though

[–] desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

TBF they do have a large gauge wire in them

[–] frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 1 points 2 months ago

It's not a long distance and they don't have super large gauge. I'd have expected 0 or 2/0 but apparently 2-4 is common.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social -5 points 2 months ago (4 children)

1: Why's it $300 then?

2: All theft from Tesla owners is valid in 2025

3: Why do people assume they aren't selling the expensive cables whole?

[–] Schmuppes@lemmy.today 15 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)
  1. Because the damage also includes labor and overhead, not just material.
  2. We're not talking about Tesla specifically.
  3. Even if the stolen cable was left undamaged, who are you gonna sell it to? The company that owns the charging station?
[–] Clasm@ttrpg.network 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

1: Labor & Equipment.

2: Tesla owners don't necessarily own the Charging stations.

3: They are icing wire cutters to remove the cables, destroying the cable in the process.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social -2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

1: Sure it does. What's the other $250 then?

2: Fair

3: That makes sense. I wonder if the solution might be for the stations to just have ports car owners to provide the cables?

[–] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The cables are capable of 100kw and are thick and heavy

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] fallingcats@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Just crimping a connector to such a cable is hard work. You really can't compare that to traditional wiring. Many are also water-cooled.

[–] frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] fallingcats@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 months ago

Yes. The cables are intentionally made "too thin" so that they weigh less and are less stiff. The upside it it makes handling them much easier. The downside is they they get pretty hot pretty fast, and from there you have two options: Actively cool the cable from inside or throttle charging so the cable doesn't melt.

[–] droans@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You know there's more to it than just raw copper, right?

The cable itself, insulation, active cooling, labor, complicated build process, specialized installation, etc.

Don't be daft.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social -1 points 2 months ago

I'm sure they're all handcrafted masterpieces of workmanship, lmao.

[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

£300 is about $375, yankee doodle.

[–] frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not everyone has a stupid cursive L on their keyboards, marmite

[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 1 points 2 months ago

I can't be annoyed by someone who knows it's an L and correctly guesses I love marmite!