ctdonath

53 ms·

541.
by ctdonath 7y ago
The problem is UBI simply becomes the new $0 per supply-and-demand. If you didn't have to work for $UBI, and everybody has $UBI it has no value. Yes, the math is more complicated than that; upshot is a limited supply of essentials will
542.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Because humans need an objective minimum to survive. Below that they face slow death. There's a difference between social norm vs existential need, and many people have a vested interest in conflating the two. There has to be a baselin
543.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Agreed. The momentum of welfare service providers alone would see to that, with somewhere around a million US workers having a vested interest in keeping their jobs as gatekeepers/facilitators, vs "everyone gets a check" cove
544.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Because relocating requires a tremendous effort: new housing, job, occupation, acquaintances, etc. Because a lot of that cheap land is cheap for a reason: low/no data service, harsh weather, insufficient community. Because "basic
545.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Problem is the lack of colloquial objective definition of "poor". The US "poverty line" is at 80th percentile of world incomes. The US's vast welfare/entitlement system ensures few indeed net less than that lin
546.
by ctdonath 7y ago
China is taking it seriously which is different from addressing it competently ... welding occupied apartment buildings shut, throwing undiagnosed into Hotel California[1] quarantine centers, randomly spraying things with who knows what
547.
by ctdonath 7y ago
The key difference between software vs all other engineering: building it is instant & free & repeatable, vs expensive & slow & singleton. If bridges could be replaced in minutes for pennies, we’d build them iteratively too.
548.
by ctdonath 7y ago
We have cars that can drive themselves at speed under normal conditions. That's pretty huge re: "useful". Extending satisfactory performance under fringe conditions is just a matter of improvement.
549.
by ctdonath 7y ago
"Lie"? Rather a harsh phrasing. The only thing unleashing it is the decision to turn it on, which is largely up to regulators.
550.
by ctdonath 7y ago
I envision herds of driverless vehicles slowly cruising randomly, summoned when needed, avoiding the cost of parking.
551.
by ctdonath 7y ago
SpaceX & Starlink are symbiotic, but do look like distinctly separate businesses. Each wouldn't want to be subject to major problems of the other: if one suffers disasters, other isn't financially impacted. An "at cost&qu
552.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Yes. They were terrible. Best case was Google Glass, which sounded entrancingly innovative until you tried one and immediately lost all interest. Resolution was very low, battery life very short, UI very annoying, appearance very embarrassi
553.
by ctdonath 7y ago
You're the anomaly. Most people find "swipe and pay later" far more convenient, "pizza shop already knows where to deliver" & "oh it's Joe, I'd better answer" far more convenient, etc. Yes th
554.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Takes 16 years to train a human to learn driving, and badly at that. We have a vastly larger & superior neutral net, specialized training support, swivel mounted cameras, and probably a lot more than we yet realize.
555.
by ctdonath 7y ago
How about a mother with a 10-year gap raising kids?
556.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Go watch Elon's presentation Autonomy Day. He pointedly addresses it. Specifically, he shows an orders-of-magnitude chart, each point accompanied by a picture of a car presented at that magnitude of occurrence. At one extreme is "
557.
by ctdonath 7y ago
When the alleged dangers are scary/obvious, and the benefits hard to comprehend, easy to oppose. I remember when credit cards, caller ID, online shopping, tax software, etc were all new. Each was loudly denounced as evil for various re
558.
by ctdonath 7y ago
“At scale” has to include several standard deviations of insufficient light/wind availability. When batteries deplete, you have no power. This gets very expensive when you’re backing up for cases that won’t happen more than one day pe
559.
by ctdonath 7y ago
GoalZero.com : Boulder 100 Briefcase, Nomad 20, Nomad 13, & Nomad 7 panels; Yeti 400, Yeti 100, Yeti 100AC, Yeti 50, & Guide 10+ batteries. Running a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPhones, & iPad Pro.
560.
by ctdonath 7y ago
To compare, I’m a solar powered user. All summer I work outside on a notebook writing apps, powered by several combinations of solar panels and matching batteries. On the whole it works. Excess PV panel capacity charges battery, ensuring en
561.
by ctdonath 7y ago
I'm running on partial "utility solar". Cost varies wildly over the year, from 1x to >3x vs regular electric; average is 1.5x ... but that's with a reliable instant backup supply for every second solar supply is insuf
562.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Yup. And not an uncommon opinion. At a quarter-million miles, most people want something different. "It's falling apart" is an acceptable excuse. "It's running just fine, another three-quarter-million miles to go&qu
563.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Different problems. Designing high-maintenance cars to keep in-network repair shops busy is one thing. Limiting access to repair information is another. Like Apple, Tesla faces (more than most manufacturers) the problem of a 3rd-party repai
564.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Yes, repair still needs sorting out. HOWEVER, other manufacturers build for repairs: there are high-cost repair services provided at every dealership. Yes you can get a car fixed, but that's because it's built to need fixing often
565.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Most ICE dealers have a high-dollar repair shop as part of the facility. Yes, the incentives do not work out in the buyer's favor: complex high-maintenance parts ensure the cars don't last all that long without pricy repairs, and
566.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Competitors are deeply locked in to their system & network, so not sure why a Tesla employee (of which there are relatively very few) would particularly want to go elsewhere. I worked at Kodak at a critical point, and watched (from insi
567.
by ctdonath 7y ago
Closest thing I see at a glance is the not-yet-available Ford Mustang-E. At bottom end, comparable to a Tesla 3 but $3885 more without autopilot, and ~1s slower (0-60) acceleration. For about same price, can get 72 miles more range, or ma
568.
by ctdonath 7y ago
That's my wife's current objection to buying an EV: after a quarter-million miles, a Tesla will still be running fine with no reason to replace it (vs an ICE trying to self-destruct).
569.
by ctdonath 7y ago
ICE autos are locked into three near-monopoly supports: - Manufacturing scale is enormous, with vast supply chains and deeply ingrained middlemen & unions locking in prices. - Sales is via local monopolies(-ish) which dictate what model
570.
by ctdonath 7y ago
The Eudaemonic Pie - first major attempt to beat Las Vegas (roulette) with concealed computers. You Can’t Do Business With Hitler - contemporary analysis of the downfall of German economy before WWII. Planiverse - think Flatland with a deep

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