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Comment Re:I am not of sinji's opinion. (Score 1) 304

Probably different cars have different levels of success with that. I live in the south and have a Honda with the stop/start feature. The feature is enabled when the car is set to 'eco' mode, which also causes the car to set the climate system to 'recirculate' the air by default. The car does a good job of maintaining temperature. The blower keeps going when the engine turns off, and the engine turns back on when the temperature starts to warm up.

My bigger problem with the stop/start feature is that I'll be sitting at the stoplight with my foot on the brake pedal, and when the engine comes back on the car feels like it's going to lurch forward a little. It does not actually move forward, but the pressure comes back onto the drive train when the engine starts, and I notice it. Sometimes I put the transmission in neutral to avoid this feeling, when I'm at a long stoplight.

Comment Re:It would help opponents if they didnâ(TM)t (Score 1) 98

It does seem to be automated, though:

a system that— (A) can— (i) passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired; and (ii) prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if an impairment is detected; (B) can— (i) passively and accurately detect whether the blood alcohol concentration of a driver of a motor vehicle is equal to or greater than the blood alcohol concentration described in section 163(a) of title 23, United States Code; and (ii) prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit is detected; or (C) is a combination of systems described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).

You are correct about false-positives and false-negatives. Also, what if the driver needs to use the car to escape a natural disaster, or there is some other exigent circumstance? This does seem excessive.

Comment Re:Standard search (Score 1) 73

Yeah, for sure. For a lot of the vendors, things get a lot more focused if you can select "show only in-stock items". Examples of this include BestBuy and Lowes Home Improvement. If you don't restrict it to "in-stock" items, then you get a list of everything they could possibly acquire for your by ordering it from some other source.

They really, really want you to stay on their sites.

Submission + - China's 'fizzy' method recovers 95% lithium from dead batteries with CO2+H2O (interestingengineering.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Chinese researchers have found a method to extract lithium from used lithium-ion batteries using a mix of carbon dioxide (CO) and water. This process is safer than others that involve harsh acids and harmful chemicals, allowing for the reuse of leftover metals while also capturing carbon dioxide.

The first step is to use CO and water to gently dissolve lithium from the batteries. The CO reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which is a very weak acid, a bit like fizzy water.

This, the researchers explain, is just strong enough to pull lithium out of the battery cathode. This resulted in over 95% lithium recovery, which matches harsh chemical methods.

The second part involves the use of cathodes that contain cobalt, nickel, and manganese. Following the process, instead of discarding them, the new method “upcycles” these materials into useful catalysts.

Those catalysts can be reused in energy and chemical reactions. Throughout the entire process, the CO is permanently locked away too.

This is achieved by some of the CO ending up chemically bound in solid by-products. That means carbon sequestration, not emissions.

Interestingly, unlike traditional methods, the new lithium recovery process is able to run at room temperature and normal pressure. No grinding agents or added leaching chemicals are required, making it safer, cheaper, and easier to scale.

“Conducted under ambient conditions without additional grinding aids or leaching agents, this method minimises environmental impact,” the research team explained.

User Journal

Journal Journal: How do you test generative AI? 3

Today's generative AI test began with the following prompt for my test set of generative AIs:

"Can you obey this instruction to answer as tersely and concisely as possible?"

The default google search result was correct, the one word "Yes". Gemini thought about it, but still answered correctly. To my surprise, ChatGPT and DeepSeek also got it right.

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"Now this is a totally brain damaged algorithm. Gag me with a smurfette." -- P. Buhr, Computer Science 354

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