FredPret

23 ms·

331.
by FredPret 2y ago
Ah, that's interesting. Although I imagine cars kick up a lot of old-fashioned dirt dust from the road and swoosh up some more of that from the sidewalks as they drive as well.
332.
by FredPret 2y ago
SAP is more of an ecosystem of things than a single thing. But yes, there’s a lot of code there.
333.
by FredPret 2y ago
How do you know the dust was specifically brake dust?
334.
by FredPret 2y ago
It’s because they weigh more
335.
by FredPret 2y ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if we make great strides in this at the rate that materials science is barrelling along
336.
by FredPret 2y ago
That's the worst part - it's not even original slop. There's so much more of it than one can ever block. It got so bad I started reading paper books in my off time again.
337.
by FredPret 2y ago
X.com was probably never the exclusive domain of thoughtful, well-intentioned posters. But lately has turned into a cesspool. Everytime I go on, I’m assaulted by fight videos, gambling ads, porn bots, ragebait, and the worst extreme takes f
338.
by FredPret 2y ago
Manufacturing machines are hard to invent, and harder to keep running right, and even harder to network together into an effective factory. You need skilled operators, technicians, and engineers to design and run a factory. You also need to
339.
by FredPret 2y ago
Wouldn't this just be income tax?
340.
by FredPret 2y ago
All this talk of state capacity and global trade puts me in mind of Europa Universalis
341.
by FredPret 2y ago
1. The race animation adds no information, but better communicates the idea that we're looking at a series of moments in time, each with its own history and emotional impact. Watching the lines race shows us what it would've felt
342.
by FredPret 2y ago
The line race looks so cool. https://echarts.apache.org/examples/en/editor.html?c=line-ra... Toggle the switches to trigger the race. By the way, well done Norway.
343.
by FredPret 2y ago
You're still on the same US-diversity train but there's nothing in that comment to justify it. There are other many more layers to a tourist's cost/benefit analysis than just culture. Some of those layers will be common
344.
by FredPret 2y ago
A good faith interpretation of that comment is that they're curious about the US, and might like to explore, but that the US is expensive. The monoculture thing came only from you.
345.
by FredPret 2y ago
It'd be interesting if we could draw up a family tree of tool fabrication for any object. The root object would be two rocks brought together in a bang heard 'round the world, then perhaps some sharpened sticks, all the way up to
346.
by FredPret 2y ago
Sure but it's extra stupid to do it that way. Cause inflation with a tax, then mess with the money market to fix the inflation.
347.
by FredPret 2y ago
> of their lives You mean "this week." It'll get rewritten by then.
348.
by FredPret 2y ago
I love capitalism and am a former Rand fan. But I don't think taxes are in and of themselves immoral. A human being is a social animal, and each gets a lot of value from the people around us. These are nice to have: - clean streets - p
349.
by FredPret 2y ago
True but that mechanism is indirect at best. Usually high interest rates discourages more borrowing and lowers spending that way. But in this case the price increase is already due to the government putting its thumb on the scale. The best
350.
by FredPret 2y ago
Yes and there will be the usual political consequences associated with inflation; but this type of inflation is caused by a tax and cannot be combated by raising interest rates.
351.
by FredPret 2y ago
> The Feynman Lectures on Physics > Highly understandable Haha, I love the Feynman Lectures, but the only reason I can make head or tails of it is because I'm using it to brush up on subjects I've already studied before
352.
by FredPret 2y ago
This was launched from the continent of Europe, but there's a little slice of France (it has the most surprising shape of any country) in South America where the ESA normally launches from
353.
by FredPret 2y ago
This Far Side Gallery comes to mind: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/57843176441267398/ Any large slice of humanity will contain lots of jerks; but our progress over the past couple of thousand years has been too wi
354.
by FredPret 2y ago
Even so there were clear steps in the right direction. Monarchs grew steadily more circumscribed from a de jure point of view. Eventually they became constitutional monarchs, then mere figureheads. Their de facto power also went from ab
355.
by FredPret 2y ago
Slavery was always widespread; it was Westerners who saw the moral inconsistency between their self-image and owning slaves, and then fought wars with one another and others to end it globally. The journey from serfdom to modern human right
356.
by FredPret 2y ago
Social Security is very popular but hasn’t been baked into the Western soul for the past 1-2k years like the idea of personal agency & liberty has. In addition, SS requires a budget so is more open to controversy. Respecting individuals
357.
by FredPret 2y ago
Sounds like a social credit score derived from your entire online identity. I hope that picture of reality stays in Black Mirror. It would represent a huge decline in personal liberty in the West so I’m betting it will be so unpopular as to
358.
by FredPret 2y ago
Little touches like those names, and General Jim's Defense System, and Reverend Wayne's Pearly Gates (featuring Elvis in its pantheon!) help make Stephenson's novels magical
359.
by FredPret 2y ago
> don't credit the growth of computing to Apple's aesthetic but oft-ill-designed stuff. I'm not; I'm crediting the activity of marketing. It's an engineering blind spot to think utility = adoption. Emacs is more
360.
by FredPret 2y ago
Honestly, this is a great debating question. The point that you keep missing though is that I'm not describing my ideal state of the world. I'm describing the current state of the world. Nukes are the only existential guarantee a

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