3 ms·

Hyperbole. Orders of magnitude different. 4 extra =/= hundreds extra --- And why did the government spend $8M(!!) in unused solar panels? I could have gotten

Hyperbole. Orders of magnitude different. 4 extra =/= hundreds extra --- And why did the government spend $8M(!!) in unused solar panels? I could have gotten 26,000+ trash cans at $300 each!

ceejayoz 3y ago
The article says they needed another 11 the next year. Buying a couple hundred seems sensible if (as I suspect it is) most of the cost is at the project level rather than the unit level. > And why did the government spend $8M(!!) in unused solar panels? Spares? A lower than expected defect rate? Who knows? Paul doesn't provide useful specifics, just the politically sexy top-level numbers. In an organization with a multi-trillion dollar annual budget, $8M in unused solar panels is a bit like you throwing away a ream of paper that got some water damage.
- paulddraper 3y ago
  Presumably that would be for the Dept of VA to clarify. > In an organization with a multi-trillion dollar annual budget, $8M in unused solar panels is a bit like you throwing away a ream of paper that got some water damage. And yet a fraction of that amount is front page HN. Clearly a lot of other people believe differently.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    > And yet a fraction of that amount is front page HN. Clearly a lot of other people believe differently. A lot of people believe incorrect things about stuff they don't understand, yes. HN most certainly isn't immune. Outrage bait is hardly a new phenomenon. The unit cost looks insane because it's a side effect of the fact that a defense contractor won't get out of bed without a minimum of a couple hundred grand in the contract to cover the program.
crote 3y ago
You don't know in advance that you need 4 extra. Maybe the planes get replaced quickly and you're left with a hundred trash cans, maybe they keep using them for a century and you need a thousand more.

3 ms·

Hyperbole. Orders of magnitude different. 4 extra =/= hundreds extra --- And why did the government spend $8M(!!) in unused solar panels? I could have gotten

by paulddraper 3y ago

Hyperbole. Orders of magnitude different. 4 extra =/= hundreds extra --- And why did the government spend $8M(!!) in unused solar panels? I could have gotten 26,000+ trash cans at $300 each!

ceejayoz 3y ago
The article says they needed another 11 the next year. Buying a couple hundred seems sensible if (as I suspect it is) most of the cost is at the project level rather than the unit level. > And why did the government spend $8M(!!) in unused solar panels? Spares? A lower than expected defect rate? Who knows? Paul doesn't provide useful specifics, just the politically sexy top-level numbers. In an organization with a multi-trillion dollar annual budget, $8M in unused solar panels is a bit like you throwing away a ream of paper that got some water damage.
- paulddraper 3y ago
  Presumably that would be for the Dept of VA to clarify. > In an organization with a multi-trillion dollar annual budget, $8M in unused solar panels is a bit like you throwing away a ream of paper that got some water damage. And yet a fraction of that amount is front page HN. Clearly a lot of other people believe differently.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    > And yet a fraction of that amount is front page HN. Clearly a lot of other people believe differently. A lot of people believe incorrect things about stuff they don't understand, yes. HN most certainly isn't immune. Outrage bait is hardly a new phenomenon. The unit cost looks insane because it's a side effect of the fact that a defense contractor won't get out of bed without a minimum of a couple hundred grand in the contract to cover the program.
crote 3y ago
You don't know in advance that you need 4 extra. Maybe the planes get replaced quickly and you're left with a hundred trash cans, maybe they keep using them for a century and you need a thousand more.