@amt2000.bsky.social
Isn't this what Niles Eldredge was saying in response to the gene-centric focus on evolution? Evolution tends to rediscover certain phenotypic forms rather than others.
January 12, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Isn't this what Niles Eldredge was saying in response to the gene-centric focus on evolution? Evolution tends to rediscover certain phenotypic forms rather than others.
Making number plates in a state jail?
January 8, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Making number plates in a state jail?
Let's put this in perspective. Global oil production is ~ 90 million bbl/dy, the USA ~ 13 million bbl/dy. 50 million barrels is just a few days of US production and less than 1 day of global production. That global oil prices barely dipped suggests this is a political nothingburger.
January 7, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Let's put this in perspective. Global oil production is ~ 90 million bbl/dy, the USA ~ 13 million bbl/dy. 50 million barrels is just a few days of US production and less than 1 day of global production. That global oil prices barely dipped suggests this is a political nothingburger.
You may be correct, but what is the evidence behind your assertion?
January 7, 2026 at 3:20 PM
You may be correct, but what is the evidence behind your assertion?
Trump also thinks this will hurt China's access to oil. All it will do is strengthen China's production of renewable energy hardware while finding other sources of supply enhanced by any increased Venezuelan production. He seems incapable of understanding global trade.
January 7, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Trump also thinks this will hurt China's access to oil. All it will do is strengthen China's production of renewable energy hardware while finding other sources of supply enhanced by any increased Venezuelan production. He seems incapable of understanding global trade.
One of the most inspiring posts I have read in a long time, an antidote to our depressing times.
I like the logic, although I think Cory downplays the leverage the USA retains - increasing tariff rates, denying access to banking, and military support for NATO and Ukraine.
I like the logic, although I think Cory downplays the leverage the USA retains - increasing tariff rates, denying access to banking, and military support for NATO and Ukraine.
January 7, 2026 at 3:09 PM
One of the most inspiring posts I have read in a long time, an antidote to our depressing times.
I like the logic, although I think Cory downplays the leverage the USA retains - increasing tariff rates, denying access to banking, and military support for NATO and Ukraine.
I like the logic, although I think Cory downplays the leverage the USA retains - increasing tariff rates, denying access to banking, and military support for NATO and Ukraine.
I think there is a Laundry Files plot in there somewhere.
November 22, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I think there is a Laundry Files plot in there somewhere.
I hope his future is very short. He is as bad as Sinema.
November 5, 2025 at 2:54 AM
I hope his future is very short. He is as bad as Sinema.
In the early days of the internet, there were some who wanted the unfiltered firehose of news aimed at their screens. This was before "attention" was recognized as the scarcity. Interestingly, the same is true of social media. The same headline is reposted by many on BlueSky.
October 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
In the early days of the internet, there were some who wanted the unfiltered firehose of news aimed at their screens. This was before "attention" was recognized as the scarcity. Interestingly, the same is true of social media. The same headline is reposted by many on BlueSky.
So we could power that data center by exploding a 1-megaton H-bomb every month and extract its entergy for the center? Well, at least it isn't emitting CO2! 😂
October 20, 2025 at 11:27 PM
So we could power that data center by exploding a 1-megaton H-bomb every month and extract its entergy for the center? Well, at least it isn't emitting CO2! 😂
This is obvious because that "magical additive" is just buying a more fuel efficient vehicle. A hybrid typically halves the fuel consumption of a US sedan. Governments needed to make up the loss of fuel tax revenue with other ways to raise revenue on hybrid ( EV?) drivers for road maintenance.
October 20, 2025 at 11:22 PM
This is obvious because that "magical additive" is just buying a more fuel efficient vehicle. A hybrid typically halves the fuel consumption of a US sedan. Governments needed to make up the loss of fuel tax revenue with other ways to raise revenue on hybrid ( EV?) drivers for road maintenance.
I get the same problem when I point my VPN at Britain. What a mess.
August 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I get the same problem when I point my VPN at Britain. What a mess.
MAGA = make abusers guilty again
August 11, 2025 at 3:48 AM
MAGA = make abusers guilty again
Read both Dan Davies' The Unaccountability Machine (excellent) and Nick Harkaway's "Karla's Choice". It was good, and I look forward to his 2nd Smiley novel, The Taper Man, out next year.
July 28, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Read both Dan Davies' The Unaccountability Machine (excellent) and Nick Harkaway's "Karla's Choice". It was good, and I look forward to his 2nd Smiley novel, The Taper Man, out next year.
Rentier capitalism that acquires everything and extracts all the value and funnels it to the top is almost a form of defunct mercantilism, with teh elites vs the rest as analogous to nations.
July 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Rentier capitalism that acquires everything and extracts all the value and funnels it to the top is almost a form of defunct mercantilism, with teh elites vs the rest as analogous to nations.
Silver lining, but a big black cloud. Trump will blame Biden/Obama/Clinton. Even China is asking for global regulation of AI.
July 28, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Silver lining, but a big black cloud. Trump will blame Biden/Obama/Clinton. Even China is asking for global regulation of AI.
Wind turbines, you dummy, Trump. Also, winning is easy when your caddy does an Odd Job on the golf course a la James Bond, Goldfinger. Could someone switch his golf ball before the 18th hole? 😂
July 28, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Wind turbines, you dummy, Trump. Also, winning is easy when your caddy does an Odd Job on the golf course a la James Bond, Goldfinger. Could someone switch his golf ball before the 18th hole? 😂
Yes. Also, the EU must invest in the USA and buy US armaments, upsetting the goal of an independent EU arms industry.
Forced investment in the US (a la Japan deal) INCREASES the trade deficit! Doh! Trump is an ignoramus.
Forced investment in the US (a la Japan deal) INCREASES the trade deficit! Doh! Trump is an ignoramus.
July 28, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Yes. Also, the EU must invest in the USA and buy US armaments, upsetting the goal of an independent EU arms industry.
Forced investment in the US (a la Japan deal) INCREASES the trade deficit! Doh! Trump is an ignoramus.
Forced investment in the US (a la Japan deal) INCREASES the trade deficit! Doh! Trump is an ignoramus.
I suspect realpolitik. A serious trade war with retaliatory tariffs could cripple some of the EU's industries, namely German autos and French wines.
I wouldn't go so far as saying "pathetic" as it was an emergency to prevent Trump's unilateral 30% tariff.
I wouldn't go so far as saying "pathetic" as it was an emergency to prevent Trump's unilateral 30% tariff.
July 28, 2025 at 5:59 PM
I suspect realpolitik. A serious trade war with retaliatory tariffs could cripple some of the EU's industries, namely German autos and French wines.
I wouldn't go so far as saying "pathetic" as it was an emergency to prevent Trump's unilateral 30% tariff.
I wouldn't go so far as saying "pathetic" as it was an emergency to prevent Trump's unilateral 30% tariff.
No he didn't. His short story was about a conventional solar sail race with a crew. TARS is a very different concept, even if it uses solar sails. If anything, it is more like a radiometer, but with the silvered side driving the rotation.
July 26, 2025 at 9:44 PM
No he didn't. His short story was about a conventional solar sail race with a crew. TARS is a very different concept, even if it uses solar sails. If anything, it is more like a radiometer, but with the silvered side driving the rotation.
I was just going to say that in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, China's economy is larger than the US's economy. Only in x-rate terms is the US economy larger.
July 18, 2025 at 3:10 AM
I was just going to say that in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, China's economy is larger than the US's economy. Only in x-rate terms is the US economy larger.
Better yet, publicly shamed and boycotted.
July 18, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Better yet, publicly shamed and boycotted.
How on earth did Thomas and Alito come to the opposite conclusion? *rhetorical question.*
May 18, 2025 at 6:33 PM
How on earth did Thomas and Alito come to the opposite conclusion? *rhetorical question.*
That is a caricature like programmers being "on the spectrum" nerds. There are well-known people in cognitive science who are involved in AI generally, who are interested in people. Douglas Hofstadter is a well-known example. Loudmouths like Altman, Amodei, and Musk are not representative.
May 18, 2025 at 6:31 PM
That is a caricature like programmers being "on the spectrum" nerds. There are well-known people in cognitive science who are involved in AI generally, who are interested in people. Douglas Hofstadter is a well-known example. Loudmouths like Altman, Amodei, and Musk are not representative.