Especially since the construction of the rail line is in a race with the electrification of cars and the transition to green energy, both of which are making rapid progress in California every year.

I've heard there are long lines at the recharging stations between LA and Las Vegas on big weekends. Obviously that's not great in itself, but it shows that 400,000 tons number is set to shrink. Of course you'll still never beat a train for efficiency in moving a bunch of people along the same route at the same time, like for a raiders game.

If idiots like this actually locked down systems ( offshoring makes it easy to crack these ), OR refused to pay, then these nations/groups would stop. Butâ¦.

Just like nations that trade prisoners or pay for others, makes their citizens easy targets.

Using an expendable cargo version starship, including a small rocket for launching the samples to orbit would be possible. That would also fit in with what SX wants. From there, ESA's return rocket would be able to bring them back. And this could be done in the next couple of years assuming that SX gets Starship done this year.

You think you can tell. Experimentation does not bear that out. I'm not claiming you can never tell. But you said 95%... not a chance, not even close:

https://www.timeshighereducati...

Interesting that AI is being used to accomplish this, yet if you ask ChatGPT4 itself what happens when milk turns sour, you get nothing but a straight answer:

When milk turns sour, it is undergoing a process of fermentation, primarily due to the action of bacteria. Here's what happens in more detail:

1) Bacterial Growth: The primary bacteria in milk that cause souring are lactic acid bacteria. These bacteria are naturally present in the environment and can find their way into milk from the air, from milking equipment, or from the containers used to store the milk.

2) Lactic Acid Production: As these bacteria consume the lactose (milk sugar), they produce lactic acid as a waste product. The increase in lactic acid lowers the pH of the milk.

3) Change in Taste and Texture: The increase in acidity gives the milk a sour taste. Moreover, the acid affects the milk proteins (mainly casein), causing them to coagulate or curdle, which changes the texture, making it thicker.

4) Preservation and Spoilage: While souring can act as a form of natural preservation (in products like yogurt and sour cream), further bacterial activity can lead to spoilage, where the milk develops an off smell and flavor and may become unsafe to consume.

The souring process is essentially a form of fermentation and can be both desirable and undesirable. In controlled conditions, it leads to the production of various dairy products. However, when unintentional, it indicates that the milk has gone bad and should not be consumed.

You can at least see the silver lining - the regulatory firewall being constructed to block high-tech globalization hurts Apple's sales in China, but in exchange they got protection from Chinese competition, namely Huawei.

Let's back up to step #1 where you claim Apple didn't make massive profits on the iPhone.

I agree. Some of it, I suspect, is that I've just read so many books now that I'm in 50s that when I read a trope-driven genre novel (SF, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, whatever), I rapidly feel like I've read this story before. I've gotten to the same place with TV and movies. Both mediums really suffer from a lack of any kind of originality, or even attempts at quirkiness. It all just feels like Thomas Kinked-esque cookie cutter.

I've started reading a lot more non-fiction, mainly history. Ironically, there's a lot more originality there than in most of the modern fiction I read.

I read the first Three Body Problem novel, and I thought it was crap. Some of that might have been the translation, although I've read other translations from Chinese without that much of an issue. The plotting was terrible, the characters flat. I finished it more because I kept expecting it to eventually turn around, breaking my rule that if I don't like a book in the first three chapters, I won't finish it. In the end, I couldn't imagine why I would want to read any more of it.

Does it have the intro "Imagine Bash, but object oriented and with function call names so long they would drive a Java developer to madness. Brought to you by the author of Microsoft Bob and Clippy, psychopaths that infect your computer with their dead-eyed smiles comes Powershell."

As an owner of the complete History of Middle Earth series, these books are not for the casual fan, or probably even the average fan. They really are more designed for Tolkien scholars, and anyone picking up The Nature of Middle Earth expecting ripping yarns filled with Hobbits and wizards is going to be very disappointed.

I dunno man. Hydrogen aside, Toyota's foot-dragging on full electrification in favor of hybrids is currently working very, very well for them. They are a conservative company for conservative buyers who want a low-risk and economical transportation.

Toyota Cashes In on Booming Hybrid Sales
Updated Feb. 6, 2024

TOKYO - Gasoline-electric vehicles are flying off dealer lots in the U.S. and generating a windfall for the reigning hegemon of hybrids, Toyota.

A couple years ago I was more bullish on Tesla leaving them in the dust technologically, but Tesla seems much weaker now after going all-in on the Cybertruck and now self-driving Taxis which they can't actually make.

Quite often looks just like it though. Like, just like it. "From the river to the sea", "by all means necessary", etc. That's like the Hamas theme music. And if you're humming Hamas happy tunes, you're supporting Hamas and their methods. Further, support for Hamas remains widespread in all available polling in Gaza. So a lot of them are on board with the genocidal terrorists running their government and all their actions as well. Supporting them is also supporting Hamas.

False equivalence in the extreme. Israel attacks valid military targets, even when fighting terrorists who don't follow Geneva or any other convention on war. Israel goes above and beyond by broadcasting where and when they're going to strike so civilians can leave. Except Hamas often doesn't let them leave because as Hamas themselves have stated in television interviews: dead Palestinian women and children help their cause and they aim to maximize the dead civilians on their side. Meanwhile, you've got Hamas specifically targeting women and children for rape and murder and live-streaming the whole thing to the world.

So no, they aren't the same. And it would take one ignorant motherfucker to think they are.

I don't necessarily think it's "wrong" for these people to protest until they get fired, but I do think google has the right to fire them and I don't they should be able to sue over it.

China's birth rate is down to 1.16 - about half what is needed for population stability. The median age in China was 18 in 1970, 37 in 2020, and will hit 50 in 2050. All of this will make younger workers even more of a hot commodity, but they will simply be forced to relent and accept more older ones over time.

https://www.statista.com/stati...