kickout

29 ms·

271.
by kickout 6y ago
Disagree, in these types of projects you want longevity over peak talent. You start paying top dollar then that talent is going to leave the second they get a better top dollar option--and then you're in an arms race you can't win
272.
by kickout 6y ago
Agreed, but IMO R >> MatLab and SAS over the past ~10 years. Both Matlab (physics??) and SAS (pharma/financial) seem to have further sunk into deep niches.
273.
by kickout 6y ago
Fair, although I would say Excel and R are serving two separate purposes. But yes, Excel is of course #1
274.
by kickout 6y ago
Probably the most popular non-software engineer language for working with data. Millions and millions of users that have no idea what this blog post is technically about (but is interesting nonetheless)
275.
by kickout 6y ago
I agree, but I also think its long overdue to reflect transportation costs to the consumers as well (airline prices and gasoline prices are artificially subsidized and do far more damage to the environment than meat production--target them
276.
by kickout 6y ago
> large concentrated populations in former Empires didn't suffer because their wasn't enough BT corn to feed its cattle, and we would be remiss to forget that much. Um, food riots were an absolute MAJOR thing in antiquity and r
277.
by kickout 6y ago
The alternative is not much better. If we didn't breed those plant for transportability and storage, then <1% would get to enjoy them. I agree its a problem, but its clearly what is working in the market. If someone has excellent ta
278.
by kickout 6y ago
Long read (already read it previously), but very good. Should be more fodder for breaking up and beefing up regulations on tech companies
279.
by kickout 6y ago
The linked website (observeablehq.com) is an excellent source to learn d3 (steep learning curve though). I'm not a programmer and taught myself D3 last fall. Amelia Wagenbruger (sp?) has a good book too. edit: https://www.ne
280.
The Profitability of Sustainability in Agriculture(thinkingagriculture.io)
4 points by kickout 6y ago|0 comments
281.
by kickout 6y ago
I would say the Scott Walker election was more closely linked than the national president race (but we'll see)
282.
by kickout 6y ago
There is plenty of cow poop, so the scale isn't a problem. Having that cow poop stay where you put it (in the soil) rather than running off in the nearest creek/river or seep into the groundwater--that's the hard part. Using
283.
by kickout 6y ago
No, they don't necessarily challenge sustainable practices. They just haven't figured out a way to monetization framework. When they do, they'll push it harder than Roundup. Until then, sustainability is good PR and sustainab
284.
by kickout 6y ago
Corn is a poor ethanol crop. Period. It should not ever be used for its ethanol purpose. There are better crops suited for that purpose but the infrastructure in the US is set up for.....corn. Humans don't eat corn (or they eat a trivi
285.
by kickout 6y ago
Cover crops are a good tool, but there will never be a silver bullet solution for weeds (even autonomous weeding robots). Mother nature is crafty. That said, the 'chemical' era we are currently in is over, even if no one wants to
286.
by kickout 6y ago
That's the current incentive structure for better or worse. Someone (maybe the USDA, maybe SV) needs to pony up money to compete with using that ground for cropland. In an ideal scenario, the ground surrounding waterways should be ea
287.
by kickout 6y ago
Great--let's outlaw ICE cars first, and regulate airlines too. We can't let those industries skirt by. Food Production is a greater societal need than travel most people would agree.
288.
by kickout 6y ago
1 year back to 'normal'? Unlikely. Soil that has been under intense management will almost always need more than 1 year to 'return to normal' which is hard to define.
289.
by kickout 6y ago
The catch is this is like LeBron James saying, 'see it is easy to win championships in the NBA' because he's a .00001% outlier. The system like the ones in the linked article are complicated, and the stated yields and profits
290.
by kickout 6y ago
The most successful farmers have the best scale (10,000+ acres) of just corn/soy/wheat/cotton (depending on geography). The 'niche' guys may make good money, but their complexity is probably 1x-5x (maybe more) a &#x
291.
by kickout 6y ago
Modern farming is hyper efficient and basically 90% automated. That said, the remaining 10% market is probably a 100B-1T market opportunity (seriously). Not many startups either.
292.
by kickout 6y ago
No. F that. Consumers aren't paying externalities for transportation costs (think airlines and cars). Why should agriculture be the bad guy? Start with transportation and then come after ag. Don't single out ag please
293.
by kickout 6y ago
There is truth in this statement. Land owners want the highest ROI for their investment (land). Farmers, who have a huge safety net from subsidies, have no problem propping up rent prices to grow corn/soy (and mine the soil). There nee
294.
by kickout 6y ago
That's the million dollar question. There are reasons to subsidize overproduction of food and plant-based biofuels (ethanol) -- food riots are bad. So the current system makes sense even if I don't agree with it 100%. I anticipate
295.
by kickout 6y ago
Is growing maize the best use of Subsaharan Africa land if their productivity is ~33% of 'optimized' regions? Or is it better to sequester carbon that land? The world is not short of maize supply
296.
by kickout 6y ago
No, the scale of agriculture is too big for residential solutions to move the needle. Need economic incentives for these eco-friendly practices.
297.
by kickout 6y ago
I think the Rodale people are well intentioned but off in their approach. Need to focus less on the technological aspect or more on the economic and scaling aspect. The reason people don't do this isn't because they aren't aw
298.
by kickout 6y ago
This is correct. Its not an education problem (most farmers agree with these no-till sustainable practices), its an incentive problem. No sane farmer who derives their living from farming is going to take such a huge risk when annualized co
299.
Incentivizing Regenerative Agriculture(thinkingagriculture.io)
2 points by kickout 6y ago|0 comments
300.
by kickout 6y ago
Yes. Correct. Thank you @evgen. Brazil == soybeans mostly. Those slashed rainforest acres are being chopped with safrinha corn in mind. Those statements by the parent are an easy filter to someone not knowledgeable

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