Well, looking at the past 10 years it seems that Virginia had kept rates considerably lower than surrounding areas. And even after this jump they're on the lower side of regional energy inflation.

I used some of the evil AI to poke at things and it shakes out like this:

further poking at ye olde Gemini, credibly suggests that ~30% of the price increases area-wide ARE from grid capacity buildout and the rest is just general inflation, including fuel, and catchup maintenance.

So a 25% rate increase this year, is true. the implied 25% annual rate increase or some massive spike the past few years... not really... it was mostly due to delayed increase from artificially low increases the previous several years. And in absolute terms they're still cheaper than anything to the mid-atlantic states and around the same level as the rest of the south east.

(see e.g. https://www.chooseenergy.com/e... ... though the negotiated rate in the article is ~$0.13 so lower than the general rates there.)

yes but writing off $80k saves you 35% in taxes. so you still pay $52k.

Also, for the $25k truck you can still write off $20k in the first year. ($20k is the normal accelerated depreciation limit).

and the rest of it depreciates over the next 4 years. i.e. the big truck thing is just that it allows 100% depreciation of the asset in the first year. so you deduct the full price from your income that year instead of spreading it out over 5 years. that's it. And unless you're firmly in the top tax bracket you're better off in the long run depreciating the thing over 5 years ANYWAY (so that you're always deducting from the income with the highest marginal tax rate in each of those years rather than dipping in to a lower tax rate dollars in the first year).

soo.... the whole thing is basically almost never a real advantage and it's mostly a dealer sales tactic to get people to spend more.

it doesn't go through the whole math, but see https://markjkohler.com/blog/s...

I agree with the skepticism about the timeline and price, and t concern about the "oh, it'll all come together fine" vibe.

But, the size and specs are almost exactly like a '95 Ford ranger https://www.edmunds.com/ford/r...
That thing had a whoping 112hp in the 4cyl and 140 in the V6.

a 2026 Hyundai venue has a 1.6l na port injected 4cyl and 112 max HP. and only 200lbs lighter than the Ranger.
automotive journalists think that level of power sucks now, but, imo, that's just because, arguably , everything in the last 20 years in the US is way over powered for basic transportation.
https://www.caranddriver.com/h...

Honda still has a port injected 2.0L and Stellantis a 2.4L that mashed 180hp https://www.motorreviewer.com/...

so there exist engines that would hit the spec, but TBD who would want 90's acceleration, 90's ride, and 90's nvh in a new car. (not that they were that bad tbh, just that we've moved more up-market.

2nd gen escort WAS based on Mazda B platform. but made by Ford in Michigan.
the 1.9L in the US wagon was a Ford engine and transmission.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

I like their approach to customization and upgradability, but like with Framework laptops, you're gonna pay a premium up front for what you get because it's a small company. Like the base 2027 Chevy Bolt has more range and features for practically the same price. Though also it's literally cancelled after 1 model year since, w/o the Biden era CAFE requirements and rebates, it appears to be a money loser for Chevy so it got axed.

Re the Slate, some very important things are fixed:
2wd only
2 door.
mid battery pack.
slow for an EV.

Semi interesting. i say "semi" because that one seems VERY early / speculative, while Slate's been grinding for years already and is close to releasing something.

Also of note, which i hadn't realized is that Ford is working on a cheap electric 4 door "ranchero" "targetting" $30k. We'll see what comes of it.

https://www.motortrend.com/new...

Think of it as a reply with the previous conversation as an "FYI" attachment if you need to review context.

In practice it works well, imo.
In most simple cases you already know the context so don't need it. And if you do you can look down.

And if you get forwarded an email or added to a convo mid thread, it's good to be able to first see the latest message to get some idea why you got the thing or what the request is, and then you can dive into the bg below. And yes in many of these cases i will scroll all the way down and read "up" which is not ideal but it's fine since it's relatively rare compared to the other usecase.

Umm... IBEW journeymen probably make more than 95+% of civics and philosophy professors, think tankers, and politicians. (Certainly those in Coastal California do, but many of the guys in other areas do quite alright too)

i know it's just a turn of phrase, but it's interesting to consider. AND they're pretty AI proof too.

What are you comparing it to? A Starbucks? a farm? a walmart? A FedEx depot? A prison? A chicken processing plant? a call center?

The ops jobs at a data center be they phys plant, security or IT, are a pretty decent and better than many jobs available in rural areas.

Also, again, what negative "quality of life" impact is it having? (except for the noise, in the minority of places that that's an issue. yes those ARE ridiculous and that should have been addressed during permitting. should be addressed going forward. )

"I want to set the record straight:
I thought the cop was a prostitute."
- Homer Simpson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

except for the noise issue in some places, which COULD be solved with engineering (possibly driven by zoning Code changes), data centers are like the best "industry". they didn't cause traffic, they don't cause any local pollution... compared to the taxes and employment they give of, I can't think of something with lower impact. (of the top of my head. )

and the noise issue isn't inherent. the few data centers I've been in were silent from the outside in normal operation. (vs when running backup generators, which you COULD hear)

came to say the same, but TFA DID imagine it!

and it's some sort of /. crime that the line didn't make it into TFS.

But you don't understand, it saves 5% of the weight!

And physics (or Apple marketing) has proven that no consumer openable container can be water tight. it's IMPOSSIBLE!

not sure what you man by battery technology being junk.

Current batteries are awesome. Remember NiCad ? What's NOT awesome is manufacturers making them non-replaceable to save a few grams and $ and claiming it's because of "water resistance".

And, imo the toothbrushes are the same. i've been happy with the Oral-b ones (also induction.. though after a year or two already shorter battery life than when new), but there's no reason why it can't have some sort of screw on mechanism and use some standard sized cell that i could replace for $10 when the time comes.

but i was assured in these very pages that pres. Trump had ordered the destruction of everything that isn't coal! (except for nuclear, but only as long as it leaks so as to cause suffering)

what's the meaning of this?