The second stage probably won't be recoverable, unless it is turned into something that resembles a mini space shuttle (due to the speed it has to hit the atmosphere, it needs appropriate heat shielding).

The first stage, which is 70% of the rocket cost, gets exposed to a lot of stress, so it may end up being reused only 10 times. But there is inspection and refurbishment costs -- this is still up in the air. I know the plan is to get it up to maybe 50 reuses, and 24-hour turnaround time. But that part still needs to be proven out yet. So on the low side, if minimal cost to inspect / refurbish, and it gets 10 uses, the cost drops down to 33% of the original cost. Adding back in refurbishment, plus infrastructure and staff, you are talking closer to a 50% cost reduction. Not bad, but not earth-shattering either.

If the second stage ever becomes reusable, and everything proves to need only minimal refurbishment, that is where you get 1 order of magnitude savings.

There is already a way to fuel them. It's called a full service gas station. Assuming the truck can navigate to the appropriate spot, and if there is a market for it, I'm more than sure that truck stops will be willing to add a person to staff to handle the fuel dispensing (for a price).

Why not have the drivers in full control, and the computers just observer and record what the would have done? Then compare the logs of the two, to spot the differences. Take the Teslas for example -- why not have the self driving part always running, but in "disconnected" mode, to build up the training data?

Because out of 100 people, one person will have a family emergency they have to attend to. 2 people will have mis-set their alarm clocks, 5 are first-time travelers and underestimated traffic and security delays. Then there are the business travelers who have a last minute change of agenda, and take a flight at a later time.

That's basically how Android Auto (and I'm assuming Apple Carplay) work. When it is plugged into the dashboard display, you get driving friendly apps, and the rest of the phone is disabled while in that mode.

Refrigerant based dehumidifiers produce about 2 liters per kilowatt hour (at least in a somewhat damp basement -- probably less efficient in drier areas). So that would be over 40 megawatts of continuous input needed to get 2000 liters per day. Or, at 10 cents per kilowatt hour, $100 of electricity per day to reach that target. Or about 5 cents per liter -- not too far off from the 2 cents needed, and it can be renewable if powered off wind or solar. But then you need to factor the capitalized cost of the equipment in -- a dehumidifier is about $100.00 or so, with a 5 year write off that works out to be 1/10 penny per liter. Not sure how much the solar panels will cost to run it though.

The simple answer -- have a specific list of job titles and matching skills requirements that are determined to be in short supply. This list gets reviewed annually. Any unemployed IT worker could register their skills, and would get first crack at new positions when an H1B worker is requested.

Not to mention, that self driving cars will very rarely commit traffic violations (speeding, etc). That will dry up a major revenue source for a lot of smaller towns, another billion dollar industry.

One day, I had a Slashdot page still opened in my browser, locked my screen, went to lunch. Came back to complaints that my computer was annoying everyone in the office -- delayed auto-playing video ads were the culprit. So thanks to Slashdot (and me wanting to keep my job), I now have adblock installed.

Oh, not to mention the 3 times in the past I got a nasty computer virus due to an infected ad network. These are now no longer a worry.

I thought that it was primarily because McDonald's served a hot beverage in a cup that easily collapses when you grab it, and the lid pops off. Now their cups are very rigid even with no lid.

You would think so, but now it is who has to load/unload the dishwasher. Dishes go from the dinner table to the sink, after a day or two they pile up, and it is a chore to cycle them through the dishwasher.

I like the free soda, because it acts like a canary in a coal mine. As soon as they take away the free soda machine, I know that the place is about to go under, and it is time to start sending out resumes.

Or they should sue the company who made the copper wire that brings the internet to their homes. Makes about as much sense.

I'm sorry, but going to Mars is NOTHING like going to California. You can be pretty well assured that wherever you go on Earth, you won't die of suffocation (except maybe from exposure to fumes from an active volcano). And food grows or is found almost everywhere on the planet (excluding Antarctica -- even most deserts have food available in them).

The only way Mars would work is if machinery can be sent that digs a deep enough pit, so it can have a usable air pressure. From there it can be terraformed.

They may not owe US taxes, but they will probably have to file paperwork every year declaring such. Failure to file the paperwork can result in large fines, which are a problem if they ever decide to travel to the US.