Look, tetraethyl lead was a "cheap" way to get gasoline-fueled engines to run higher compression without pre-detonation (knocking) damaging the engine. The development of electronic fuel injection in the 1970's and 1980's pretty much eliminated the knocking problem by electronically adjusting the timing of spark plug ignition via knock sensors and a small computer, which meant modern gasoline-fueled engines for street-legal vehicles rarely suffer from this issue. Besides, modern refining technology makes it possible for gasoline RON octane ratings as high as 99 (circa 95 pump octane) in unleaded fuel, pretty much eliminating the need for tetraethyl lead.

Correct. What may have been the final nail in the coffin on MTV showing music videos happened in 2012, when PSY's "Gangnam Style" was posted on YouTube and within a few months, it became a gigantic worldwide sensation without needing MTV. That very success using YouTube drove record companies to start posting home videos instead of waiting for MTV. Indeed, you wonder would Beyoncé would have done the "visual album" version of her acclaimed album _Lemonade_ if it weren't for it being able to be posted on YouTube.

Is it people think reading is a vice due to the unfortunate "performative reading" issue, which is described by Google Gemini AI (of all things!) as:

"The act of reading, especially complex or "literary" books in public or online, primarily to project an image of being intellectual, cultured, or deep, rather than for the genuine enjoyment or absorption of the text."

I really wonder why people say if they see someone in public reading a real book on Kindle reader or the Kindle app on their cell phone or small tablet computer? They can't tell if you're reading a "literary" work like _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy or even much shorter novel.

There's also the issue of the software being used by the Chinese EV's. They could be used to spy on people by the Chinese government and the self-driving systems Chinese automakers use are nowhere as refined as what Tesla did with Autopilot and FSD.

I think a reason why AMPAS could do this is because in most of the developed world, over 100 megabits/second download speeds are now easily available over cable TV lines (DOCSIS 3.1 and later), fiber optic line to the home, and now Starlink satellites. As such, everyone can enjoy watching the Oscar ceremonies with at least 720p/1080i resolution with no stuttering nowadays.. Besides, YouTube is ubiquitous almost everywhere, and given Google's server resources, can easily handle all the traffic.

Most of those coal-fired power plants are so old that it's cheaper to dismantle them than upgrade them to meet current EPA emissions standards. The likely exception are power plants that use cleaner-burning Powder River Basin coal, and most of those are in central states in the country (Texas is a major consumer of this coal).

With modern fracking technology, most powerplants are now burning compressed natural gas instead of coal, natural gas from multiple sites all over the USA.

The problem is that due to the power needs and the need to cool all that computing equipment, there is actually not that many places where putting in a large AI datacenter is viable.

I can only think of two places: Iceland with its plentiful untapped geothermal power and Norway with its plentiful hydropower and water supply. Indeed, several companies have already started to build large data centers in these two countries.

Correct. Flawed as that plan is, moving their capital to a totally new location could cut the population of Jakarta by as much as 10 million people. That could make that city far more manageable.

I remember reading that the Finns started playing over radio frequencies the famous polka song "Säkkijärven polkka," which was found to be extremely effective in shutting down remote controlled land mines the Red Army placed on the ground and causing casualties for several months starting around September 1941. So much so that the Finnish Army ended its jamming practice by spring 1942 as the batteries on the Soviet mines lost its charge.

I think the Chinese government needs to severely cull the number of EV manufacturers down to four at most: BYD, SAIC, Geely Group and Chery. And give them unlimited resources to make their EV's truly world-class vehicles that comply even with the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

But much of what was learned from the iPhone Air will go into the iPhone 18 models arriving in March 2027. This means:

1. The back looks like iPhone 17 Pro but with only two camera sensors.
2. Larger camera plateau will mean most of the electronics will be inside the camera plateau.
3. Will use stainless steel chassis but will be a bit thinner than iPhone 16/16 Plus models from 2024.
4. Wraparound antenna will be stainless steel.
5. Will come in 6.1" and 6.6" screen sizes with just about no bezels, so the 6.1" model will be about the size of the 2017 iPhone X and the 6.6" model feels like a thicker iPhone Air.
6. Full MagSafe support including Qi2.2 support for 25 watt wireless charging.
7. Apple A20 SoC with 12 GB of RAM.
8. New silicon-carbon battery with 3,900 mAh on the 6.1" model and 4,500 mAh on the 6.6" model.
9. C2 radio modem, including mmWave support for US models.
10. N1 (or its successor) I/O chip.
11. Return of better-quality speakers.
12. USB Type C port with up to 40 watts initial charging speed and possible USB 3.2 1x1 5 gigabit/second data transfer speed.

In short, it looks like the current iPhone Pro but with only two camera sensors in back, stainless steel chassis and thinner chassis (but not as thin as iPhone Air). It will be available in multiple colors, including the colors supposed claimed for the iPhone 18 Pro models. Note the rumored haptic touch buttons won't arrive until 2028.

A big factor driving EV sales recently is the introduction last year and this year of new, lower-cost (but 200 mile range and under) EV models from the likes of Hyundai/Kia and Renault. Renault, especially with the 4 E-Tech and 5 E-Tech models and the upcoming Twingo E-tech, models well-suited for the narrower streets of Europe.

The southwestern quadrant of the continental USA has some of the best climate conditions in the world for solar power. Much of Australia and lands along the Mediterranean Sea are the same way. Indeed, that's why there are large solar farms in Spain itself.

But do we REALLY need gigabit broadband for everyone? I think for most Americans, 256 megabits/second download speed is more than sufficient for most uses including working from home.

Maybe the standard for everyone should be 256 megabits/second download and upload.

Correct. Air pollution is definitely a defining factor. We still have many who grew up when air pollution from automobiles was still a serious issue, The long list of air pollutants from the exhaust of gasoline or diesel fueled engines can be quite long.