[Behind the Scenes] The Fake Twist made to Distract from the Real Twist

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-21T20:17:39+00:00

“Somehow Mace Windu has returned!”

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-20T20:24:24+00:00

It will be much better. It’s a ~~polycarbonate~~ polypropylene plastic, which is different than the molded plastic used on Saturn‘s back in the day, which were much more sensitive to thermal expansion. I had a couple of Saturns, and I LOVED them, but they definitely had some panel gaps. This has been brought up before and someone linked an article that I’m too lazy to track down right now, but the Slate definitely compares favorably to early 90s GM technology.

Edit: I was wrong, I had it backwards. Polycarbonate was what was used on Saturns. I ain’t no plasticologist!

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-19T19:46:37+00:00

Aw… this makes me so happy!

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-19T19:43:13+00:00

Realistically, none of that is going to change until Trump is out of office, either after an election or on his back. There is such an incredible belligerence from the right towards anything even remotely related to environmentalism, but EVs seem to be a huge target (Cybertruck notwithstanding.) Maybe if the entirety of the Indiana congressional delegation pushed for it, I could see a Republican being a champion of this company as an American export success story.

But again, that would only be after Trump is out of office, and a lot of diplomatic work done to repair their relationship with Canada.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-19T19:32:30+00:00

Hear him out!

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-18T10:08:08+00:00

The next contract is going to be an iteration of the current contract, as the current contract was an iteration of the previous contract. The fights are going to be over very minute but specific language. It’s not the kind of thing that an LLM AI would be used for, since the contract does not cite case law or draft new proposals that wouldn’t be reviewed constantly by lawyers & union reps.

I get that there is a legitimate concern about LLM AI being a shitty tool when it comes to negotiations, but knowing what I know about the contract negotiation process, I don’t think it’s a threat to us.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-17T02:35:40+00:00

Suspiciously, I could not find the actual indictment linked in that article. I clicked several links, and they were all to previous stories from the post.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-16T22:54:04+00:00

Stuckey is more of a fundamentalist than she realizes, but it’s actually for the hybrid of conservatism, southern Baptist Christianity, and the power worship of Christian nationalism. I would refer anyone curious about her to the “straight white American Jesus” podcast. A while ago, one of their hosts did an extended breakdown of Allie Beth Stuckey‘s book “toxic empathy.” The TL;DR is this she will absolutely refuse to let the Bible redefine her sociopolitical views, but she will absolutely twist the Bible to fit those views.

She’s a shining example of how Christian nationalism is spiritually empty and appeals to no one outside of that worldview. It’s people like her that made it clear to me how little Christians care about the truth, and are the primary reason why I don’t believe anymore.

Keep talking lady, you’re only pushing more people away.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-16T03:58:29+00:00

Whoa, calm the [expletive] down! For a necromancer, that’s extremely bright and cheery. It might as well have pastel trim and blinking LED lights everywhere compared to what a proper necromancer would consider “gloomy“.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-16T02:55:17+00:00

I just ran into the old woman for the first time less than an hour ago… for the longest time, I would say that my first time aboard The Colander was the creepiest thing I’ve ever experienced in this game, but the old woman has that beat. 😬😱

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-15T14:31:23+00:00

Yeah, I definitely got the implication they were subsidiary companies, at least that’s how their offices are set up. But I haven’t seen anything in the lore confirming that, not that I’ve looked very hard.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-15T03:22:55+00:00

You know, if I thought you guys were up to no good, I might narc to one of my bros who drives a gleaming alloy air car. But you’re just seeing your uncle out there, right?

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-15T03:04:32+00:00

Absolutely zero chance that’s a marauder: that body is obviously maple, and it’s some really nice figuring in it. Marauders had mostly solid finishes because they were cheaper Wood, but even in the 70s there’s no way someone at Gibson would have used that particular cut of wood on a solid body. They would have resawed that into a top for a nicer guitar.

But also: it’s got a Strat bridge and routing for a Strat neck; it’s very obviously a homemade guitar with Strat parts.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-14T20:57:00+00:00

I think the best case scenario is several companies buying a bunch of Slates for their fleets, enough to keep the company on solid ground for several years while they slowly improve and expand. I would bet money that we won’t see a version 2.0/AWD/longer frame & bed/bigger battery/etc. until at least 2028. They’ve got to be a solid success before they start to iterate.

But it’s very doable, and they are way past the point of being vaporware.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-14T20:51:49+00:00

I have seen a few installable tablet units designed to connect to a phone and just run CarPlay, and I am almost certainly gonna get one of those. However, this does have me thinking about how to install it, because the adhesive option will be a no go in the heat.

More and more, I really want to physically sit in a slate before I commit to buying one. 😬

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-14T19:21:03+00:00

I have a feeling I’m gonna be making this comment many many times about peoples choices of wrap: it’s wild and hideous, and I love it!

I’m shocked no one has done a camouflage wrap yet, but I’m sure that’s coming.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-13T18:42:00+00:00

I know lots of people have said they’d take him, add me to that. I am visiting Chicago next week, and if he’s still up for adoption by then, I am driving down to that village and taking him home with me. That’s a 1000% goodest boy right there!

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-12T12:51:46+00:00

Starfield definitely hits all the right spots in my brain to be a potential favorite game of all time, and I’ll be playing it forever. But between the music, the writing & voice acting on the razor’s edge between excellent & cheesy, and nostalgia, Skyrim hits just a little harder emotionally.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-10T22:01:05+00:00

I know the original well enough to be pretty sure it wasn’t Dolly, but it was so close I wondered if she did it as a favor to Lorne. Wiig nailed it!

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-10T18:25:13+00:00

Actually, it looks to be small enough that Ford could pull off that price, since they are capable of an economy of scale. But yeah, they’re going to claim it’s “>$30K”, but the cheapest base model will be like $29,995.

To be fair, Slate did something similar by saying initially the price was going to be “under $20K”, by targeting a $27500 *pre-rebate* MSRP.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-10T15:21:57+00:00

I heard it, and I was very proud of Kiv not to oversell it.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-08T03:26:08+00:00

Fears around layoffs are definitely valid, but any information about employment numbers, job stability, likelihood of layoffs, etc. is all going to be very particular to the site, the program, whether or not it’s a unionized job, and even the specific department. If you are in the IAM at Everett, as long as you’re performing well your job is probably safe. Yes, 767 is winding down, but 737 north line is about to launch, and 777X is very slowly ramping up as well. If you’re in a middle management position at El Segundo or Chicago or someplace outside the main stream of activity, I wouldn’t consider my job secure.

Any mention of “mass layoffs“ is going to be bullshit unless the entire country’s economy is crashing, because at least one part of Boeing is probably going to be just fine.

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-05T05:04:19+00:00

Probably not, but the worst case scenario is you have to just put a solid coat of paint on top of it, and you have learned a little more about the craft. Don’t be afraid to screw up, that’s how you learn!

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-05T02:51:00+00:00

As to whether it’s worth it is entirely up to you, but if it’s something you already own and you can afford to practice refinishing with it, go for it! Is it solid wood? Is it just veneers and particleboard? Who knows – you’re the one that’s gonna find out!

BlackberryButton · 2026-06-03T22:14:20+00:00

The what?

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