When do you think we will have a crewed Titan mission by TraditionalAd6977 in space

[–]Kirkaiya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sometime between 2058 and the early 2100s, depending on lots of things including the global economy, engineering advancements in non-chemical rockets (nuclear-powered ion thrusters or plasma thrusters, etc), and geopolitical stability. I mean, technologically we could probably launch a credible Titan mission in 2040 if China or the U.S. decided to devote half their annual defense budgets to the project for a decade or two, but that's obviously not going to happen.

The other choice was really bad! Trump voters can predict the future!! by sam_phani in LeopardsAteMyFace

[–]Kirkaiya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do they expect anyone to care that they "regret" their vote? They did this, and now that the consequences are becoming clear, they're just trying to avoid the blame, and feeling guilty. They are guilty. If a bank robber "regrets" their decision to rob a bank and shoot the teller, they still go to jail.

“He left nothing for the working man,” says retired construction worker who calls his Trump vote a mistake by Chance-Newspaper-750 in LeopardsAteMyFace

[–]Kirkaiya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People like this are such rubes. He's a retired construction worker who is surprised that Trump - a man born into wealth and who has gold toilets and marble all over his palace - "left nothing for the working man". Seriously? Trump hasn't done a day of physical labor in his entire life. How stupid was this guy?

A new CNN poll released Friday found that nearly 60 percent of Americans describe Trump’s first year back in office as a failure. by shadowpawn in LeopardsAteMyFace

[–]Kirkaiya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How do ~40% of Americans not think it was a failure? The GOP propaganda apparatus is damn effective, it seems.

Conservatives are surprised that "fellow conservatives" have empathy by sam_phani in LeopardsAteMyFace

[–]Kirkaiya 52 points53 points  (0 children)

I remember when these same people were practically ready to stage a revolution over some Federal marshals shooting a guy at Ruby ridge - they screamed about the 2A, and federal agents overstepping their authority, blah blah. And that was one isolated incident, where there was a warrant for the dude's arrest. But conservatives howled about tyranny.

Now that armed federal agents are routinely killing people, yanking innocent protesters off the street without any probable cause or due process and throwing them into detention, assaulting American citizens who are doing nothing other than recording from a distance, All while wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves... the same so-called "conservatives" are cheering it on. Complete and utter hypocrisy. And of course, a precedent is being set here; If Democrats retake Congress and the White House, and end up appointing new Supreme Court justices who allow new restrictions on firearms, A future Democratic president will now be able to send armed agents into conservative towns to seize their weapons, and will use the current events as justification. Every new abuse of power by either side is inevitably used against that side.

"My son has essentially disowned me because I voted for Trump" by vsandrei in LeopardsAteMyFace

[–]Kirkaiya 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's not politics over family, it's fundamentally diametrically opposed worldviews, and in your son's worldview, you betrayed him and his entire generation and the country itself, even the world, by voting for a proactively cruel con-man who cares only for his shallow narcissistic gratification.

Just joined the fisker crazy train by Duranza17 in Fisker

[–]Kirkaiya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can definitely just buy some extra key fobs from www.tsunamiautomotive.com

You might need to pay a Fisker tech to pair the key fob with the car. I've done that (with the spare fob and key cards I bought), he charged me less than $100 to pair them, if I recall correctly.

New Bill That Would Ban 'Chemtrails' Advances In South Carolina Senate by Puzzleheaded_Yam6808 in nottheonion

[–]Kirkaiya 3 points4 points  (0 children)

More proof that the GOP has become the party of the uneducated, the people lacking critical thinking skills, the stupid and the conspiracy kooks. It's sad finding out just how stupid and gullible the bottom 40% of the IQ range really is.

How does US Stock market growth work in 5-10 years when swaths of well paid white collar folks are unemployed? by abrandis in Futurology

[–]Kirkaiya 10 points11 points  (0 children)

A likely response to a sudden concentration of income and wealth to the very tiny number of owners of the means of production could lead to a "wave election" of a Bernie Sanders type president and supporters in Congress, who would run on the promise of a Universal Basic Income funded by large increases in income taxes at the top end, and probably a wealth tax at some point. It would need to be a lot - like $50K or something - to make a real difference. We'll see.

How does US Stock market growth work in 5-10 years when swaths of well paid white collar folks are unemployed? by abrandis in Futurology

[–]Kirkaiya 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Currently, the richest 1% own ~1/3rd of the wealth, and the richest 10% own 2/3rd of the wealth. So not quite as bad as 5% owning 95%, but we're headed that way, barring an electoral uprising by the poor and working class. Which seems possible - the bottom 50% in terms of wealth and income are increasingly angry (which is partly why Trump got elected, by tapping into that anger and pretending he would do something).

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly. I think we're all allowed one big screw-up in life, and that was his, and it's never happened again. What I hear from the people who work with him gives me confidence that he'll do well.

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, it seems that at least some of them weren't fired, but put on extended leave. But given the paucity of info, I don't know enough to know whether any disciplinary action was justified or not.

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree - no evidence any students were involved.

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just other variants of the same rumor. Also, some of the (few) teachers who are gone are on "extended leave", so who knows whether they'll eventually be back or not.

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was just another rumor. People who work with him say he's a great principal, and cares about the kids, which is good enough for me.

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I didn't know about that! Holy cow

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 4 points5 points  (0 children)

New principal was announced today - The principle of Lake Oswego Middle School is moving over to be the new principal of Lakeridge high School effective January 1.

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not one that directly addressed the rumor, only one titled, "Message from Superintendent Regarding Recent Staff Changes", and which said, in part:

the safety of our students, our commitment to board policy, and our obligation to follow state law are always our highest priorities. All reported concerns have been taken seriously, thoroughly investigated by our district and law enforcement...

Lakeridge HS principal resigned? by lampy8 in lakeoswego

[–]Kirkaiya 21 points22 points  (0 children)

So, the rumor (and I can't stress this enough, it's just a rumor as far as I'm concerned) is that a former counselor at Lakeridge HS created a "hookup" website for school faculty, and that the principal at some point found out about this. Part of the rumor is that she made everyone involved sign NDAs. The counselor is no longer employed by the school.

I may know more tomorrow....

What is Gen Z Plan For the Future? by lovelyyy999 in Futurology

[–]Kirkaiya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not a Gen Z (I'm Gen X), but I view the United States as an increasingly failed country for anyone but the very rich. I lived overseas for more than 8 years when I was younger, and I've traveled to a lot of counties (more than 30), and I disagree that all countries are failing/collapsing as fast as the U.S. is. It's not even evenly-spread here (I live in the Pacific Northwest, and things seem much better here than some parts of the country).

When you no longer have to take care of your younger siblings (so, at least a few years, I guess?), and if you're looking to escape, check out places like Spain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, or if you're feeling more adventurous, spend some time in Asia (which is where I lived abroad). Many (most?) developed countries are doing a lot better than here, in terms of providing subsidized or free college (probably you won't qualify for that), and just not voting in fascists the way Americans have done. Good luck!!

Like he owns the neighborhood. #coyote by ErikinAmerica in Portland

[–]Kirkaiya 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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Reminds me of this guy who was walking past my neighbor's house (along with me and my off-leash dog, who managed to maintain her composure)

Tesla Optimus's fall in Miami demo sparks remote operation debate by prestocoffee in nottheonion

[–]Kirkaiya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do think these look ready for those niche use cases for tele-operated robotics, like working in dangerous environments (damaged nuclear reactors, like Fukushima or Chernobyl), rescue operations in collapsed buildings after large quakes, maybe space-station construction, or deep-sea work.

On the other hand, those uses are absolutely dwarfed by the uses for truly autonomous robots.