And anything that could be done by AI should be done by AI?

If we lived in a society with free housing, food, and healthcare. That would be one thing. If the overlords passed the lower production costs on to the consumer, that would be another. Instead we are likely to reach a point where the majority of people are unemployed and destitute; and business only make products for other businesses and the wealthy. Because they are the only ones who can afford to buy anything. Inevitably that is how you get violent revolutions. Except in this case it will be people fighting the robots while the rich hide away in their fortified terrestrial, deep sea, and space compounds.

"Because by 2050 nuclear is going to be completely irrelevant and look like an even worse economic deal than it is today."

How do you figure? Fusion reactors seem to always be 5-10 years away. Battery tech could theoretically improve and come down in cost enough to make it truly viable as type of base load power when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing. We could finally come up with a viable way to viable generate electricity from the ocean while also not killing what lives in there.
But all of those things are "if's". Nuclear fission is a reliable and proven technology that exists today. And one thing Canada certainly has lots and lots of open space far from people, fault lines, and possible tsunamis.

Yes we should have solar, wind, and batteries. But we should also have carbon free nuclear power.

If adults can lose minutes at a time and forget why they pulled out their phone because of social media, then image how much of stronger effect it has on kids. It doesn't take a psychologist to come to the conclusion it's probably not healthy for kids.

Within reason, adults can do whatever they want. We also have laws saying they have to be 21 to drink and own hand guns. They have to be 16 to 18 to get a driver's license. Kids can't even get into an R rated movie...legally. Yet many parents have no probably letting their kids doom scroll on social media and YouTube. And have access to the open internet. It may not be as bad as smoking and drinking, but it is clearly mostly a waste of time to stare at an endless feed of short videos, photos, memes, and short paragraphs curated by an algorithm designed keep you watching as many ads as possible. That would be true even if it wasn't radicalizing people.

Social media is just as obviously a net negative as smoking cigarettes to anyone who partakes. Just like smoking, that doesn't mean there are not positives too. But on balance we all know how we use it the most its is at best is a waste of time with a potential of lots of negative consequences. It is right to have laws designed to keep kids off these platforms. I mean, heavy forbid they have to have a text chain, and instant messaging group, actually call someone, or see their friends in person.

It depends on the child. Raised in nearly identical environments one of our kids is solidly average student who doesn’t work well in groups, but is intelligent and athletic. They have a twice weekly tutor to make sure he stays on top of his school work. And often needs to be encouraged to engage in tasks. But give him something they are interested in and they eagerly learn everything about it we have to remind them there are in fact other things in the world as well.

The other is top of their class, works well in groups and is reasonably athletic (plays team sports), but has to work very hard to keep up with their peers athletically. Does not need a tutor and is self motivated.

We let both of them watch tv and play video games. But it is time limited. Neither has a smartphone. The one that likes to watch dumb YouTube shorts is the one who does well in school and is self motivated. Our kid that struggles to care about school hates YouTube and tells his brother he is rotting his brain watching that garbage. So go figure.

Yes I think modern tech has contributed to short attention spans. But I rotted my brain on bad cartoons, comic books, video games, and, clandestinely watched R rated movies as child and I turned out fine. I also had free run of the neighborhood, read long novels before the age of ten, and played a lot of sports too. I think the trick is to convince kids that discomfort and struggle is part of the learning process, not a sign of failure and that something isn’t worth doing. “We do this BECAUSE it is hard”. What many kids are suffering from today is a lack of mental and emotional resilience.

I’m not giving away my battery’s charge cycles. Though maybe some people may want to, I wouldn’t even sell them. The battery is one of the most expensive parts of the car. Why on earth would someone want their battery to wear out sooner?

Internet phone numbers account for the majority of scammers. Burners are used by the poor, international travelers, and those engaged in crime. As long as VOIP exists spam bots, spoofed numbers, and scammers will continue to ply their trade. Of course there are also countless legitimate reasons for a VOIP number as well.

Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Kentucky are commonwealths. Vermont and Delaware call themselves both commonwealths and states in their constitutions. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are commonwealths of a different sorts as well.

It would have to be a whole lot more than $1000 a month in government/oligarch cheese. Social security pays far more than that. And with no more workers, there is no more SS fund. And let’s be honest, SS payout amounts right now would not support most Americans’ current lifestyles.

If robots and computers are going to do most of the work in 10-20 years, then what do the owners of the robots and computers need the rest of us for? Among the 10 to 100 million or so people world wide who will own everything they even have a robust gene pool. If we don’t want to return to a world completely controlled by warlords of a ruling class ushering a techno dark age for the majority of humanity; we need strong democracies to stand up to forthcoming woulbe techno fascists. We cannot rely on benevolent dictator. A Union of people is the only thing that can keep them in check. That is why the Citizen United ruling is such a threat.

Yes, yes. There are worse places in the world. I mean, I’d even take Utah’s government over the US Federal government right now. But from one US state to another, I’d put Utahs backroom deals and corruption up against any other state in the nation. I mean yeah Illinois has had some bad politicians. But at least Illinois throws them in prison. In Utah politicians get a standing ovation admitting to hot tubing nude with teenagers. Not even a token slap on the wrist. No exaggeration. Google it.

My next vehicle will definitely be a long range EV. My household has two motor vehicles. One ICE. One PHEV. When we replace the ICE it will be with a long range EV. But we also will replace the PHEV with another PHEV when the time comes vs another EV. It is for the similar reasons I have three ways to heat my house in tne winter.

But EVs are already better in almost every way compared to ICE vehicles. The only thing ICE vehicles have over EVs is better refueling times and towing. (And it’s probably easier to hike in a gallon or three of gas than the equivalent electricity. But having back up solar panels could solve that in some situations with an EV too.)

A PHEV solves refueling issue for road trips until the interstate and destination charging situation improves. But most of the time anyone with a garage or driveway are likely to just charge overnight. So charging isn’t really an issue. Anything with 300+ mile range would easily get me to NYC or DC and back home without worrying about charging too. Even if I got caught in traffic. But for longer trips, charging on the road is not ideal.

This disenfranchisement is very similar to the IPC that in effect annexed a huge swath of SLC at the express opposition on the city residents to spend tax dollars generated by SLC to build infrastructure while exempting said infrastructure from the tax rolls.

Utah government is the worst. And a glaring example of corruption through single party rule because they successfully convinced a small majority the opposition is evil. And as such they don’t deserve a seat a the table.

That saddest part is that it is completely within the power of Utahan to change their government. But they have beeen so successfully brainwashed, they just can’t bring themselves to do it.

I have lived in supermajority red state, a super majority blue state, and now live in purple state. It may take longer to get somethings done here, but the resulting laws and legislations is almost always better when policy is debated out in the open instead of negotiated in back rooms and presented as done deal for an up or down vote. The corruption is far less palpable.

Republicans were never against the "nanny state" They are against the federal government from dictating to them how they have to treat American citizens who live within states controlled by Republicans. They don't want the feds getting in the way of how they can control the residents in within their state boundaries. They want to be the nanny with no interference from any pesky things like the US constitution and federal regulations.

Ahhh. And the sales of the Neo suddenly make sense! It is the cheapest way to get legal access to the full Mac OS.

I’m still surprised people will pay that for a good looking but underpowered machine at that price point. For the same price you can get a much more capable machine in the Mac mini if you want in on the Apple OS ecosystem. Though it isn’t nearly as portable. With the Neo you are not going to be able to do much more than browse the web, use web application, play simple games, and use it as fancy typewriter. And if that is all you want to do, it can be had for hundreds less if you are not married to the Apple ecosystem.

But as a stockholder I say, “Buy, buy, BUY my little lemmings!”

You don't need to claim the whole moon. Just parts where there are exploitable resources. The only time it would make sense to claim more than that is if you had a domestic and growing population on the moon and needed a place to build new infrastructure.

But whoever gets to resources first has the strongest claim to them.