markvdb

23 ms·

271.
by markvdb 5y ago
What would be the use of trying to negotiate with that man, unless backed up by credible military threat? The good news is that at almost 70, he doesn't have eternal life. The bad news is his replacement will probably be a similar soci
272.
by markvdb 5y ago
I have anecdotal evidence to the contrary: myself. In the short and medium term, it's obvious that wind and solar are going to help us avoid the worst of the climate crisis. In the long term, we might need something more to reverse cli
273.
by markvdb 5y ago
South Africa had its own nuclear weapons. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_and_weapons_of_ma...
274.
by markvdb 5y ago
Green hydrogen derivatives would make that theoretically possible. This is receiving quite a lot of attention in the EU at the moment. In practice, the stress is more on industrial processes and other primary energy use scenarios.
275.
by markvdb 5y ago
As you say, fusion technology inherently has less need for strict regulation. Less harmful waste. Less runaway reaction. Less arms proliferation. This potentially creates room for fusion that never existed for fission: - innovation and entr
276.
by markvdb 5y ago
We use a traditional system at our first home, but at the family holiday home in the remote countryside, smart home stuff makes a lot of sense: - burglary alarm - smoke alarm - no guests? all lights off - minimal heat in winter to prevent f
277.
by markvdb 5y ago
In my native Belgium, indexation is set in law. Price levels up by 6%? Wages up by 6%. There has been tiny bits of nibbling at the edges, but the principle stands and is not up for discussion.
278.
by markvdb 5y ago
Participation should be encouraged by offering appropriate prizes. I propose a well-balanced package: - six months of community service at hospital emergency services - confiscation of vehicle - confiscation of other vehicles owned if legal
279.
by markvdb 5y ago
FOSDEM organiser here. Same for me.
280.
by markvdb 5y ago
Thank you. To be fair, most of us were students 15-20 years ago and have even grown a few grey hairs...
281.
by markvdb 5y ago
Spot on observation. Classical guitar teacher here. I'd never have been able to buy the house I'm writing this from on my salary if not for also prostituting myself in the it sector :-)
282.
by markvdb 5y ago
> Really, really curious to see how all this market volatility will affect their talent pool. Losing almost all gains over the last 18 months will certainly cause some people to reconsider their tenure One can hope...
283.
by markvdb 5y ago
.69€ or $.77 on on Fastned, one of the largest relatively fast charging networks in the EU. .45€ or $.50 with an 11.99€/$13.37 monthly subscription.
284.
by markvdb 5y ago
You'd be 100% right to be wary of charging this kind of battery inside your terraced home until it has thoroughly proven itself to be fire safe. The terrace or the garden shed might provide a safe alternative though.
285.
by markvdb 5y ago
If this also entails a 5x improvement in weight, let's see if that potentially enables hand luggable car batteries. - Nissan Leaf 62 kWh battery: 410 kg= 6.61 kg/kWh - order of magnitude for this type of battery: 1.32 kg/kWh
286.
by markvdb 5y ago
From what I've seen of the US, the lag is more like 50 years and increasing because of "interesting" spatial planning. Look at Flanders (northern Belgium) and Germany for areas 30+ years behind the Netherlands.
287.
by markvdb 5y ago
There are a few counter arguments to that idea, many of those linked to battery weight. An efficient car with a 40-50 kWh battery could weigh at least 200-250kg less than a 85kWh one. This has a direct effect on: - energy consumption. Havin
288.
by markvdb 5y ago
For exactly the reasons you bring forward, I own a Flevobike Greenmachine [0] recumbent. It has a fully enclosed chain and a Rohloff 14 speed hub. A marvel of mechanical engineering and almost zero maintenance. The perfect muscle power long
289.
by markvdb 5y ago
Interesting and well written. I was pleasantly surprised by the bike-by-wire concept. That looks like it really has the potential to simplify the architecture, do away with a lot of maintenance and increase rider comfort. No more chain, bel
290.
by markvdb 5y ago
It's not about there not being food. It's about people being too poor to buy it, many of them in the eastern EU. Some anecdotal evidence that might sound extreme, but actually isn't. I know an old lady over 80 from Latvia. Sh
291.
by markvdb 5y ago
Food prices rising means hunger means social unrest. The developed world is not entirely out of the woods. With low natural gas prices and heavily subsidised food, the poor of the US should hopefully come out relatively unharmed. It's
292.
by markvdb 5y ago
> The one key rule that you should always follow is to have your water-impermeable layer on the warm side of the insulation. This very much holds true in 99% of modern homes.. except if you build your entire wall breathable. That is how
293.
by markvdb 5y ago
Au contraire, my dear Watson. Without under-slab insulation, the heat emanating from the ground below the house escapes very quickly. This heat we don't generate. It occurs naturally. This is about using the naturally escaping heat to
294.
by markvdb 5y ago
If you have a large enough plot, consider building a home out of jumbo straw bales. Super insulating, easy and fast to build, cheap and eco.
295.
by markvdb 5y ago
Be super careful internally insulating an old house. This can cause _a lot_ of humidity problems if not done _exactly_ right. Very often, there is no way to do it exactly right! I would recommend you to consider breathable internal insulati
296.
by markvdb 5y ago
> It is interesting that you insulate under the house. Near our place in the countryside, required foundation depth is 1.4m to protect from frost heave. Use an insulated slab and that requirement goes away. The insulation keeps the heat
297.
by markvdb 5y ago
It might not work as well, but there are certainly useful hints to be taken. At a bare minimum, it proves that recidivism is not laws-of-physics unavoidable.
298.
by markvdb 5y ago
The Norwegian system is capital intensive, but good at preventing recidivism.[0][1][2] Evidence based policy works. Even starting the transition to evidence based policy in the US would be hard though. [0] https://scholarlycommon
299.
by markvdb 5y ago
Tell that to my parents' meighbour who thought it a good idea to decorate his garden as if it were a plane landing strip. Anecdata of course, but also a perfect illustration of Jevons' paradox.
300.
by markvdb 5y ago
I remember fall 1995 rather well. A friend I've since long lost track of snuck me into his university's 24x7 student computer rooms at night. Introduced me to the internet. Quite fittingly, a slightly naughty irc chat session with

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