Semi-Hemi-Demigod

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Just wait until the foxes get hooked on crack

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago)

The second ads are required the customer stops being the users and starts being the advertisers. This starts the enshittification snowball shitball, Randers.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

He's trying to build the US equivalent of WeChat without having the government on his side.

Aaaand now I just have a new worst fear.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

I'm not sure but I know a certain Australian who's probably making a two hour slideshow about it right now

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

He goes by Perun

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

animal: evolves to run away from predators as a defense mechanism

humans: ayo catch that it will go great with the evil plants

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

This just in: Schools no longer allowed to play "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" because of the line "gay happy meetings"

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

I need your tricorder, your uniform, and your shuttlecraft

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Somebody fucked with Spot and Data went John Wick

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

I think innovation at the consumption end is going to help a lot. On Technology Connections I saw an electric induction stove that could be powered from a regular socket. It had a battery that would trickle charge throughout the day and then use the batteries to power the induction cooktops, as well as a couple of plugs. If widely deployed and in other appliances, with a little smarts that could provide power leveling at the home level.

Another solution would be adding some intelligence to water heaters. Have a temperature control valve on the output where you set the temperature, and program the water heater get to 160-180°F when electricity is cheap. This would be a thermal battery that would easily level out demand for electricity for heating water.

Or you could do thermal storage by heating a house very warm/cold prior to a large cold snap/heat wave, and letting it coast down/up to a temperature instead of heating/cooling a lot during the cold/hot weather. He's got a video on this technique here

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Combine that with some radiant floor heating on a nice thick concrete slab and you could use the battery for home heating. (Though it would need a lot of water.)

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago)

The main problem with nuclear power plants isn't the radiation or the waste or the risk of accident. It's that they cost so damn much they're rarely profitable, especially in open electricity markets. 70-80% of the cost of the electricity is building the plant, and without low interest rates and a guaranteed rate when finished it doesn't make economic sense to build them.

The latest nuclear plant in the US is in Georgia and is $17 billion over budget and seven years later than expected.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

The cost of electricity dropping is bad news for nuclear power plants because they'll be even less profitable when they're finished. Especially since they take decades to construct, during which time renewables and storage become even cheaper.

And we'll still need a way to store power from renewables when they overproduce.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Nuclear power is the ONLY form of clean energy that can be scaled up in time to save us from the worst of climate change

Except the plants take so long to build they won't be ready until we're at 2°C

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

An electrician installing faulty wiring doesn't render your home uninhabitable for a few thousand years.

So there's one difference.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

One reason it wasn't made a priority 50 years ago is because Jimmy Carter - a nuclear submariner who understood the risks and economics - decided it wasn't a good idea.

This is a man who was present at a minor nuclear accident, who helped create the modern nuclear submarine fleet, acknowledging that nukes weren't going to help during the height of the Oil Embargo.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago)

Don't forget all the fossil fuels used in machinery that builds nuclear power plants, and the CO2 emissions from all of the concrete used.

Oh, and if you start building a nuclear power plant right now it will be online (maybe) in a decade or two and hopefully for only 150% of the initial cost. There's a nuclear power plant in Georgia that is $17 BILLION over budget.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

I’m pretty sure companies would be happy to ship their passengers minced to maximize their profit.

That actually sounds more comfortable than normal airline travel

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

The latest nuclear power plant built in the US is seven years behind schedule and almost $20 billion over budget. It bankrupted Westinghouse Energy, and is slated to cost consumers more than double what comparable electricity costs because of these overruns.

And this was a plant that was using newer construction techniques like offsite assembly to reduce costs.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Okay, so we've got a safe nuclear power plant that's a decade behind schedule and 100% over budget.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

It’s like Fusion Power. We can see a future where we have it figured out and working but it’s still some years, if not decades, away.

Allow me to share the most frustrating graph I have ever seen

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

We could have also built solar collectors in orbit and beamed carbon-free electricity to Earth if we started 50 years ago.

Heck, if we funded fusion research properly there's a good chance we'd have had that by the mid 90s

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

It's plenty safe now, but my electricity rates have doubled because the plant was so over budget and they need to make their money back.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

That $17 billion could be spent on renewables that produce cheaper electricity and be online in less than 20 years.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Would it be better to dump billions into nuclear power plants that won't come online for a decade at least, or to dump billions into renewables that can be online and reducing emissions in under a year?

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

That's your opinion. I think funding nuclear is just burning money and wasting time we don't have.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

So after 10-20 years of construction and cost overruns and 10-20 years of operating at a loss you start making money.

And that's assuming electricity rates don't drop in that time. Which they are as renewables get deployed more and more because they don't go 100% over budget in time and money.

If we get started building nuclear power plants now, how much will storage and transmission tech improve before they're even completed, let alone profitable?

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

If we started building nuclear powerplants right now it would take 10-20 years before they're even online. That's 10-20 years worth of technology improvements that could make it obsolete, especially if we don't pin our hopes on nuclear baseload and start building a grid that can be 100% renewable.

And that's not even mentioning the truly massive budget overruns. Or the environmental impact of mining and refining fuel.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago)

Considering nuclear plants consistently go tremendously over budget, budget that could be used on renewables, and how quickly renewables are improving, I would take that bet in a heartbeat.

For reference, here's a graph comparing the cost per megawatt hour over cost per installed capacity from 2010-2019. Solar is now 1/5th what it was 10 years ago, onshore wind is half, and offshore wind is down by 25%.

The cost of nuclear power in that time has increased by more than 50%.

I would much rather invest in something that's showing improvements in cost and technology than Cold War white elephants.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

How long do you think it will take for a nuclear power plant to earn back the $34 billion it takes to build one? They're definitely not making that much money the first year the plant is online.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Nuclear power isn't even cheap anymore. Solar power is 5x cheaper per megawatt than it was 10 years ago. Wind power is half the price. Both are cheaper than nuclear, which has gone up in price despite a decade of research to make it cheaper.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

This was true a decade ago but since then renewables have plummeted in price. Solar is 5x cheaper than it was a decade ago. Nuclear, meanwhile, has gone up in price by 50%.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

This attitude is about a decade out of date. It made sense around 2010 when wind and solar weren't widely deployed and cost more than nuclear per megawatt hour. Now we have more wind and solar deployed than nuclear, and they're significantly cheaper and faster to construct and make better economic sense than nuclear.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Good news then: If you go to war with one NATO member you get war with the rest of them absolutely free!

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Loneliness? Literally impossible

This is my sticking point. There's nothing better than the feeling of being alone in the house, at least for a little while.

Now if it came with a fully customizable virtual world where I could be alone if I wanted to, then I'd be down.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

He's Klingon so his name is Ram'C G'rdOn

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

They enter a cooking competition called Duranium Chef, hosted by a flamboyant collector who seeks the greatest dishes in the galaxy

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

40-something, Eastern US, can drive manual, haven't for years because I threw my back out in DC traffic driving stick.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Makes me glad I caught it toward the end of February 2020 on a flight. And got vaccinated and two boosters. Might go for the trifecta just to be sure.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

A lot of companies with large campuses have gotten concessions from local government, since the workers will increase economic activity in the area. So part of it is also that city governments are putting pressure on companies to get people in, and they might lose millions in tax breaks they got for building in their city.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

Plus because you're not paying to commute you have more money for tacos

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

I really wish they'd give a real reason for it. Just say "When we built our offices we negotiated with the city to have lower taxes and if you don't come back we'll lose that." Or "We don't want the value of our commercial real estate holdings to go down."

At the very least the workers could be mad at the right thing. Instead Amazon is going to lose its best folks to fully remote jobs first, then backfill with people who aren't able to get a WFH job or have to pay people a huge premium to attract remote workers back to the office.

That will hurt them worse than the taxes or real estate devaluation, but that will happen over years instead of by next quarter, so they don't care.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

The first couple times I helped my dad change the oil in his car he dumped it down the storm drain which lead to the Chesapeake.

We don't do that anymore.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

First the szechuan sauce riots and now this

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

It’s a bit like how anime_titties is world politics

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

If they can't have debates over zoom meetings that's a culture problem, not a technology problem

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

TIL HTMX

thx

Semi-Hemi-Demigod , 10 months ago

I raised some pigs a few years ago and I kept waiting for that time when I'd go out to their pen and look into their eyes and swear off meat forever.

It never happened. They were fucking delicious and I'm glad they're dead. Pigs are fleshy bulldozers wrapped around a garbage disposal.