Comment Delta Queen (Score 1) 36
I've got a Delta Queen 2 plays for
Comment Re: No. (Score 0, Troll) 141
I live in AZ. There ARE some issues with not having DST. It gets F'n dark early and the sun rises late in the morning. I walk dogs and for some time I start and finish in the dark. Kids ride the school busses in the dark. The winter Ag workers start in the VERY dark, but it IS cooler. Over all I like not having to change the time.
Setting the time backwards used to be a huge deal in the mainframe world, with duplicate transaction times logged and such, but as I read it now they are using Universal time and incrementing daily.
Comment Re:most dedicated fans? (Score 2) 41
Yes, and the fans could buy it at the venue where the Artist gets the lions share, or they could finance a BMG VP's next girlfriend and buy it from a retailer. Go to the show, buy some merch and you are TRULY supporting an artist or band. Everything else is just BS.
Comment Re:Do they really need to make a buck here? (Score 1) 69
You fail to understand the mind set of Google. YES they really do need to make a profit EVERYWHERE, and NO they do not understand what ENOUGH is. They will charge as MUCH as they can while delivering as LITTLE as they can, and then they will constantly push that margin. Their PE mindset runs businesses into the ground as uses customers for every drop they can squeeze. Welcome to the Machine...
Have a cigar.
Submission + - Electrical Utility Megamerger Is All About the Data Centers (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A proposed merger of the largest utility in the country by market value, NextEra Energy, with the sixth-largest, Dominion, would create a megacompany at a time when data centers and rapid increases in electricity demand are reshaping the industry. The proposal, announced Monday morning and contingent on state and federal regulatory approval, would result in a company that leads in nearly every aspect of the US power and utility industry, including overall electricity generation, natural gas generation, and renewables. The $67 billion deal combines NextEra’s size and reach with Dominion’s positioning as the local utility for the world’s largest concentration of data centers in northern Virginia. But the results are likely bad for consumers and the environment, creating a company with enormous financial and political strength that will be difficult to effectively regulate, according to consumer advocates and analysts.
For perspective, only Exxon Mobil and Chevron would be larger based on market value among US-based energy companies. “Mergers are not about consumers; they’re about shareholders,” said Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School. “For the Dominion shareholders, they are selling their shares at a premium. The executives are getting massive payouts for facilitating this, assuming it all goes through, and obviously NextEra believes the transaction is going to add value to the company. Ratepayers are all an afterthought.” The deal makes financial sense for both companies, said Andrew Bischof, an equity analyst for Morningstar. “We view the transaction as allowing NextEra to accelerate its data center ambitions, which had trailed those of its regulated peers, by using Dominion’s expertise and relationships to expedite NextEra’s data center hub plans,” he said in a note to clients.
NextEra, based in Juno Beach, Florida, includes Florida Power & Light, the largest regulated electricity utility in the state, and NextEra Energy Resources, a wholesale electricity supplier that owns power plants across the nation. Dominion, based in Richmond, Virginia, includes regulated utilities serving much of Virginia, parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, and other assets across the country. The company would be called NextEra Energy, and NextEra CEO John W. Ketchum would serve in the same role after the deal closes. Robert M. Blue, Dominion’s CEO, would be the CEO for regulated utilities for the merged company. The parties said they expect regulatory approvals to take 12 to 18 months. NextEra shareholders would own 74.5 percent and Dominion shareholders would own 25.5 percent, respectively, of the combined company in the all-stock transaction. “We are bringing NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy together because scale matters more than ever—not for the sake of size, but because scale translates into capital and operating efficiencies,” Ketchum said in a statement.
For perspective, only Exxon Mobil and Chevron would be larger based on market value among US-based energy companies. “Mergers are not about consumers; they’re about shareholders,” said Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School. “For the Dominion shareholders, they are selling their shares at a premium. The executives are getting massive payouts for facilitating this, assuming it all goes through, and obviously NextEra believes the transaction is going to add value to the company. Ratepayers are all an afterthought.” The deal makes financial sense for both companies, said Andrew Bischof, an equity analyst for Morningstar. “We view the transaction as allowing NextEra to accelerate its data center ambitions, which had trailed those of its regulated peers, by using Dominion’s expertise and relationships to expedite NextEra’s data center hub plans,” he said in a note to clients.
NextEra, based in Juno Beach, Florida, includes Florida Power & Light, the largest regulated electricity utility in the state, and NextEra Energy Resources, a wholesale electricity supplier that owns power plants across the nation. Dominion, based in Richmond, Virginia, includes regulated utilities serving much of Virginia, parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, and other assets across the country. The company would be called NextEra Energy, and NextEra CEO John W. Ketchum would serve in the same role after the deal closes. Robert M. Blue, Dominion’s CEO, would be the CEO for regulated utilities for the merged company. The parties said they expect regulatory approvals to take 12 to 18 months. NextEra shareholders would own 74.5 percent and Dominion shareholders would own 25.5 percent, respectively, of the combined company in the all-stock transaction. “We are bringing NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy together because scale matters more than ever—not for the sake of size, but because scale translates into capital and operating efficiencies,” Ketchum said in a statement.
Submission + - Gen Z sparks CD revival as young music fans rediscover physical media (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: Compact discs may not be dead after all. Disc Makers says CD revenue is up 9 percent so far in 2026, with April alone seeing an 18 percent year over year increase. Surprisingly, much of the renewed interest appears to be coming from Gen Z listeners discovering CDs for the first time rather than older buyers chasing nostalgia. Younger fans are reportedly drawn to the format because CDs are cheap, tangible, collectible, and often more practical than vinyl, especially for people driving older cars that still include CD players but lack modern Bluetooth connectivity.
The resurgence is also giving independent musicians a badly needed revenue stream outside of streaming platforms, which typically pay fractions of a cent per play. Disc Makers says short-run CD manufacturing can cost roughly $2 per disc, while artists regularly sell them directly to fans for $10 to $15 at concerts. While CD sales remain far below their early 2000s peak, the company believes younger listeners are helping create a new market for physical music ownership at a time when many consumers are growing tired of subscription based streaming services.
The resurgence is also giving independent musicians a badly needed revenue stream outside of streaming platforms, which typically pay fractions of a cent per play. Disc Makers says short-run CD manufacturing can cost roughly $2 per disc, while artists regularly sell them directly to fans for $10 to $15 at concerts. While CD sales remain far below their early 2000s peak, the company believes younger listeners are helping create a new market for physical music ownership at a time when many consumers are growing tired of subscription based streaming services.
Comment Played in 93... (Score 1) 19
I played it in 93 on shareware from walnut creek cdrom. More recently, like 30 minutes ago I played a UZDoom MOD called Dragon remastered. The mod has custom music from synth to live. Brutal Doom is as good as most of what comes out today. Zandorum lets you frag strangers, and UZDoom is buttery smooth on a boatload of hardware configs.
self confessed Doom fanboi
Once on a development Unix machine we loaded a doom process monitoring tool and Frag'd our problems away.
Comment Giving out claude credits?!?! (Score 1) 14
They are trying to bootstrap usage by placing some value on Claude credits that will surely woo people not using Claude.
I've used Meta AI several times but only for art work based on my RPG game scene descriptions. We used to have a talented artist as part of the group, but she's moved on. My skills creatively are limited to writing, but I've gotten spoiled with pic's of my NPC's. I make my maps painfully thru Campaign cartographer, but visual aids add so much to the game.
Comment What a joke... (Score 1) 32
If they weren't ripping people of with every purchase there would no need for a "discount". I was the "guy" who was forced to replace our really nice Commodore Pet computers with that crApple BS in HS. Apple never did anything for the schools that they didn't get paid for. Their software SUCKS, their networking SUCKS. In an effort to be "cool" and trendy apple has made supporting their stuff annoying time consuming.
Comment Employees not needed... (Score 2) 41
GM's future is so dull that they sold their shades. A company that has no future needs very few employees. If the US allowed Chinese imports the US companies would be gone already.
Comment another attempt (Score 2) 27
This is just another sad attempt at a walled garden. I play games...lots of games in a wide variety of genres. I love GOG and ITCH. I am on steam and another half dozen platforms but I rarely buy anyhting I cant download for offline cosumption. In a setup like this, you own nothing, and even mod'ing is totaly controlled by an entity well known for SUCKING.
the *ZDoom engines and modding community have given me far more game hours than ANY published game. 40oz. and the DBP folks deserve credit.
Comment WooHoo... (Score 1) 30
WoW. Your AI can match their AI on a task that NOONE wants done. The previous AI results were tossed because the bugs they reported were 80% typos and formatting errors that everyone else agreed were to be left for student training. Thanks AI...
What we need is for everyone's AI to code a personal OS based on a standard API, but with totally different spaghetti back ends. Then recode on a monthly basis.
#hackthat
Comment Re: Mature technology (Score 2) 35
Corporations don't understand "nefarious". Their understanding is Binary: profitable or NOT proftable. They do what is profitable...
Comment Re: A moratorium is stupid (Score 4, Informative) 96
It already does. Residential building projects require a power/water/sewage infrstructure plan that ensures there is enough utility for the number of projected buildings/residents. Heck in my state they do a green space study and often make developers install a wash area for runoff.
Comment Re: It is not binary, for or against. (Score 5, Informative) 96
I've worked in many across North America and outside it for a decade or more and he is for the most part correct. Call Centers are good business, Data Centers are utility hogs that run dark.
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