bumby

51 ms·

901.
by bumby 2y ago
While the terms can change over time, my understanding in ME circles is that "engine" is usually referring something that converts a source of energy into a force. So in this case, a device is using chemical energy (LOX + kerosene
902.
by bumby 2y ago
My hunch is that poverty concentrates in urban areas for the same reasons economic activity does: there are certain economies of scale that are enabled by population density. If you push poor people to rural areas, you’re also pushing them
903.
by bumby 2y ago
I think we can agree that separation of socioeconomic status is prevalent (and maybe useful) while still disagreeing on what degree of that produces a vibrant and stable society. So the question is what degree do we find acceptable? I perso
904.
by bumby 2y ago
This assumes people don’t care about the larger scale of poverty or that those regional/national poverty rates won’t have second order effects that will later impact these well-off communities. One of the difficulties in game theory is
905.
by bumby 2y ago
Is it creating more poverty or “attracting” poverty from somewhere else? If it’s the latter, it’s not increasing the global level of poverty, just the local level. I would expect a well governed municipality to have the ability to absorb,
906.
by bumby 2y ago
I read that as “they made the tough problems somebody else’s problem to solve.” What I’m really looking for is governance that helps solve these types of problems, not pushing them away with the engineering equivalent of redefining the syst
907.
by bumby 2y ago
I am waiting more for the longevity of the roof than the panels. I’m not too keen on putting a lot of penetrations on an aging roof. The $30k number was based on a 10kW system (we’re limited based on a multiple of actual usage). But what yo
908.
by bumby 2y ago
> So for most home owners it’s easily worth it. Can you elaborate on how you arrived at that conclusion? At least where I live, the math didn’t work out. It seemed like smarter conservation was a much better alternative. A couple portab
909.
by bumby 2y ago
Their first demo flight was plagued with thruster "valve mapping errors" which could have been catastrophic (eg, it could have caused it to collide with the ISS). > "Boeing described the new software problem as “a valve ma
910.
by bumby 2y ago
Can you elaborate on what constitutes the “space industry” in this sense? Sometimes the OSHA groupings don’t align as well as one would think. A wet lab testing material compatibility and a rocket test stand can both be “aerospace” but have
911.
by bumby 2y ago
To be clear, I believe there are a total of 28 RCS thrusters, 5 of which had issues
912.
by bumby 2y ago
I see. Except Medicare isn’t currently an option for most people employed. I think there are some benefits to employer sponsered healthcare, particularly with large employers who can negotiate lower prices. But I’m not sure it’s better on b
913.
by bumby 2y ago
What are you seeing as the drivers of those diseconomies of scale? That might help me better answer the question. Again, though, I think it’s an error to treat each country as if it’s interchangeable. In other words, we need to understand t
914.
by bumby 2y ago
There was a decent amount of concern within NASA on the touchscreen design, but the contract type tended to force those discussions to the sideline. In the end, NASA wanted a ride and not to drive the design. Edit: for those wondering, this
915.
by bumby 2y ago
I think there is some evidence of economies of scale. For example, Medicare can negotiate for better prices due to sheer number of patients covered.
916.
by bumby 2y ago
An interesting aspect of cancer survivability is the jump in cancer rates in the US right around age 65. The implication is people aren't being seen until they qualify for Medicare, pointing to preventative healthcare access problems.
917.
by bumby 2y ago
No doubt, but then all we have to make sure is we have a benevolent dictator...forever. That pretty much pushes the long-term probability to zero.
918.
by bumby 2y ago
Just to add to the nuance, you're comparing a country with 6MM people to one with 370MM people. What dynamics do you think that difference of scale has on the overall healthcare outcome?
919.
by bumby 2y ago
I think this is missing the point. I don't think anyone is arguing that pharma spends a lot on marketing and that this cost is passed on to consumers. Rather, the point being made is that the US system disproportionately funds pharma R
920.
by bumby 2y ago
This is the frustrating part of these conversations because people act like you can just swap one country for another like they are interchangeable. They aren’t. For example, other countries get to keep drug costs low because the companies
921.
by bumby 2y ago
> but there's also much stronger gating of promotions by competency tests there, right? I think it heavily depends on the branch and what is considered “competence”. I remember meeting Airmen who could cite all the stats about weap
922.
by bumby 2y ago
I meant it as an executive order, which is really the only stroke of a pen that would work. Otherwise you’d have to build the political capital to get enough representatives to sign on, and that’s exactly the non-simple task I was alluding
923.
by bumby 2y ago
I agree with the population part. But more nuance is that a huge part is the last few weeks of life because of cultural aspects regarding protecting life by all means necessary. However, they’re a saying in healthcare that you can optimize
924.
by bumby 2y ago
Do the employers then pay for Medicare?
925.
by bumby 2y ago
Ignoring that a “stroke of the pen” is a dictatorial solution almost by definition… Considering Medicare/Medicaid are currently approaching $1T annually to serve less than 20% of the population how dues your stroke of the pen plan pay
926.
by bumby 2y ago
> Better to simply create a system by which they're weeded out. I agree with this. It's really just another way to say there should be mechanisms to hold people accountable. > Which I guess dovetails with the military &quot
927.
by bumby 2y ago
> "Quit fucking around" and institute a national, single-payer plan that covers everyone, like every other modern industrialized country. Except we're not starting from a blank slate. So short of heavy-handed, dictatorial
928.
by bumby 2y ago
I don't disagree that it solves the "in this job until I die". But as you allude to, it creates its own issues and it's not clear to me if, on balance, its better. Churn can also create an ineffective (or superficially e
929.
by bumby 2y ago
(by plum brook, do you mean NASA? If so, I've met some smart people from there and other NASA posts, but also met some of the worst employees that epitomize some of what the discussion is against - very toxic, against any new ideas, re
930.
by bumby 2y ago
What makes you believe the military is immune to "bureaucracy-at-scale" problems? From my vantage point, it may have both large bureaucratic issues and massive churn. (And it's not immediately clear to me that the former isn&

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