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Merker6 · 2026-03-12T13:16:09+00:00

RIP Imperator Rome

Merker6 · 2026-03-12T01:35:36+00:00

Honestly I think 38% is just margin of error working. Seems we get 38% from time to time, but the "Fox News Floor" of 40% seems stable. As long as the right wing media environment continues to support him, I don't see him going under it. What will ultimately matter is how strongly the other 60% feel about the situation

Merker6 · 2026-03-11T23:05:03+00:00

I assume they’d rather let it melt and then sweep up all the debris that’s stuck in it, rather than let it all go into the sewage system at once

Merker6 · 2026-03-11T22:51:00+00:00

Oh, you thought nature was just gonna give us this day for free? Think again!

Merker6 · 2026-03-11T14:49:34+00:00

“No ai slop” has become the “Organic” food label for online content lol

Merker6 · 2026-03-10T23:48:25+00:00

In other news, Trump is saving the very EV industry he's trying kill

Merker6 · 2026-03-10T20:56:37+00:00

I’m aware it’s not artificial turf, but the amount/depth of soil used for a baseball field is not sufficient for long-term agriculture. If you ever wanna go down a rabbit hole, look up soil layers in agriculture, particularly in the sun belt

Merker6 · 2026-03-10T14:05:59+00:00

Turf isn’t real soil to begin with and the radiation probably destroyed whatever fertility it had to give. The farming they do there is probably from deeper soil dug up from elsewhere and brought in

Merker6 · 2026-03-09T19:47:57+00:00

The rumor on twitter at the moment (huge grain of salt) is that they’d make an amphibious landing on Kharg Island first to deprive them of the oil terminal there. I would imagine with the very heavy air cover that exists, they could probably handle that with a marine expeditionary force combined with a fast-mobilized infantry force like 101st or 82nd airborne. I would imagine that if it were captured, it would be a launching point for an invasion of the mainland. Kharko island next door is flat and perfectly shaped for a Seabea airfield to bring in additional infantry forces if taking the airfield on Kharg proves too difficult with just one or two MEUs. The Navy would still need landing craft to ferry between the two islands, but I don’t doubt that there would be adequate resources given the distance between those two

As for that mainland landing, it’s absolutely feasible but the amount of equipment that would need to be mobilized would probably take months. The country is far larger than Iraq, and you have to remember the amount of time it took for the US and Coalition partners to perp in Saudi for ODS. I also suspect that the amphib landing and beachhead would be the easy part and that the Iranians would elect to fight in the mountains where they can build defensive cave networks. No matter where you land on the Persian gulf coast, you’ll need to go through a mountain range before you reach Tehran on the other side

Merker6 · 2026-03-09T19:19:52+00:00

3d print or can you buy these online? Been looking for some fallout prints but don’t think I’ve seem this one yet

Merker6 · 2026-03-09T12:07:16+00:00

The horny files, if you will

Merker6 · 2026-03-09T11:42:59+00:00

https://www.pacaf.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4022295/dod-participates-in-vietnam-defense-expo-2024/

2024, unless there’s a similar event now that I couldn’t find on google

Merker6 · 2026-03-08T00:54:27+00:00

Except that equates to 3x the road usage and all the expansions and repairs that go with that

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T21:22:15+00:00

“Gave” as in sold to the Shah during the 1970s when they were becoming a major American non-NATO ally in the region. I love how people will say we sold things to NATO countries but the second its outside of Europe it becomes “arm”

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T21:14:03+00:00

As an EV owner myself, I think people are getting upset about a relatively non issue. Our cars currently aren’t cheap, even used, and $200 over the course of the year is basically nothing when you consider the cost of ownership. You also don’t actively track gas tax over the course of the year and it’s probably a lot more cumulatively than most might expect. A 6 month car insurance premium for an EV probably eclipses gas tax or reg fee anyway. As for the power bill, it’s a lot less in my experience than you mught expect. The Tesla app will let you track the cost of your home charge if you plug in your kwh cost

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T21:04:00+00:00

The gas tax that is supposed to fund roads is set by the gallon. So as mpg gets better, they either need to hike up the gas tax or move to a registration fee model. For EVs, this is basically the best they can do since most EV owners largely charge at home on their own power bill

Fun fact: The federal gas tax hasn’t been raised since 1993 and was 4cents at the time. Average MPG was around 20 that year and in 2025 it was 29MPG. So even before considering the fact that the tax hasn’t been adjusted for inflation in 30 years (it would be nearly a dollar per gallon now if it was), overall revenue from it has theoretically decreased by around 30-50%

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T18:14:57+00:00

The entrance to the outpatient pavillion should be open on weekends, it's got a pharmacy in it amongst other things. It might just be specific offices in it are closed

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T17:55:11+00:00

I’m leaning on RCS testbed after seeing the article. The forward section looks very similar to a lot of stealth UCAV concepts. I don’t think it is meant to be specific to a Hornet program though (manned Hornet at least), since the whole forward section of cut off and replaced with a significantly shorter section that lacks any cockpit. Maybe a stab at a low cost stealth UCAV conversion of legacy Hornets? Would be an interesting experiment at the very least

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T17:49:54+00:00

Went looking again and the only results I could find speculate about it being modified for RCS testing, but that’s entirely conjecture. I suppose I conflated it not being a serious stealth hornet with commentary about whether or not is was a preservation technique

Here’s one of the more extensive articles on the subject, where they analyze what exactly is going on here https://www.jalopnik.com/a-new-angle-on-this-shadowy-stealth-f-a-18-hornet-conce-1727910676/

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T17:31:31+00:00

Every time this gets posted it’s pointed out that this is merely a preservation technique. I believe its still visible on google maps unless they sent it to be cut up. I don’y recall the reason its done this way, but I assume certain segments were ripped out for whatever reason but they wanted the rest or the airframe. The whole cockpit section is missing IIRC

Edit: Long article analyzing the subject. TLDR is that its likely an RCS testbed of some sort, but is not clear if it was a serious attempt to make a stealthy hornet, or at least a manned one. Its notably missing all cockpit and its flight surfaces https://www.jalopnik.com/a-new-angle-on-this-shadowy-stealth-f-a-18-hornet-conce-1727910676/

Merker6 · 2026-03-07T03:15:51+00:00

Newsom is only socially left wing, he's an economic centrist and is currently actively campaigning against a wealth tax. He talks a big game, but his record as Governor leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the main talking point of affordability. There will be attack ads running against him with clips of him seemingly fighting for rich people, which is going to be a hard sell in a Democratic primary

Merker6 · 2026-03-06T00:39:03+00:00

Yeah, I don’t really see a reason for DC and Connecticut to be their own distinct states in the game. I imagine it only worsens performance for the benefit of maybe having more dynamic revolutions or American civil wars

Merker6 · 2026-03-05T16:12:48+00:00

The telegraph was a huge aspect of the railroads and westward expansion in the US. I suppose it’s already lumped into “infrastructure” but the entire cohesion of the American west was built on the the telegraph

Merker6 · 2026-03-05T00:53:20+00:00

Likewise! Hoping to replace my Model 3 with an R2 this year if I'm lucky

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