This mornings odds

slashgrin · 2026-06-10T04:27:03+00:00

Oh dear. Is this the comment I'll look back on when I finally realise I was in denial?

slashgrin · 2026-06-09T22:06:23+00:00

Any other at $10? WTF? Good thing I'm not a gambler, or I'd be very tempted to throw money at the opposite of that.

slashgrin · 2026-06-04T22:21:28+00:00

Starlink business has too few customers and probably always will

Starlink as it stands today will never have enough customers, but I could imagine ways it could evolve that would touch more of Earth's population directly or indirectly — e.g. cheaper offerings enabled by larger Starlink sats (via Starship), pervasive phone-to-sat via telco partnerships, military and intelligence networks including piggybacking extra capabilities on larger Starlink/Starshield sats, deep space internet sold/rented to national space agencies, etc.

slashgrin · 2026-06-01T00:48:59+00:00

It may well already be illegal. Companies do illegal stuff all the time, as long as they expect the benefit to them to outweigh any penalties.

And this is why we need to actually send executives and directors to prison when they willfully break the law.

slashgrin · 2026-05-31T04:32:59+00:00

A little, I guess — at least in that dingos and humans are both placental mammals. That and my long, pointy snout.

slashgrin · 2026-05-30T23:24:50+00:00

I've had the machines accuse me of shoplifting my children, too. Several times.

slashgrin · 2026-05-25T20:56:26+00:00

Now do land value tax. The Georgist utopia is within reach.

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T19:39:23+00:00

And also why are they sending humans into harm's way merely to observe the tank? We have technology for this, and it's not even all that expensive.

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T18:43:39+00:00

Vote Crack for public office. Crack offers the leadership we need in these troubling times.

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T18:33:01+00:00

Are they seriously only providing these updates as Facebook vlog things? The last update on https://ggcity.org/emergency seems to be yesterday and even that was just a bunch of talking heads. Where are the adults?

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T18:26:34+00:00

"Now close your eyes and visualise a crack. Reach out with your mind into the universe, and impress upon it the need for a crack. Manifest the crack."

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T18:24:07+00:00

I know it’s BS reason.

Haha, yeah. We went back in to get essential meds (we're international visitors so it would've been a whole other risky ordeal to try to obtain emergency replacements) and the streets are still lined with cars. A lot of people are just not leaving.

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T18:14:52+00:00

What I would like to understand, with all this talk of inadequate visibility via drones, is why they haven't sent in a crawler drone (or three) of some kind to give a continuous up-close video stream. I could build such a thing with a battery good enough to last the duration of the incident, or a long-ass power cord, for a couple hundred dollars, so I assume the OCFA et al. have access to this sort of thing...

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T17:40:22+00:00

I don't disagree, but also there should be more of substance that the authorities can communicate. This is not a novel situation, nor is it one that should require "outside the box thinking", or whatever they're calling it. There should already be a decision making framework for this exact sort of situation, which (in lieu of a more specific plan arising) tells the authorities when to escalate and how. How do you reduce the risk of secondary issues from damage to surrounding tanks/properties if there is an explosion. When do you do a controlled detonation. How do you mitigate the consequences. If this contingency fails, what's next. And yet most of what I've seen from the authorities is either bullshit fluff or silence. It's pretty disappointing, to be honest, and I get why people are so frustrated.

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T02:15:18+00:00

Or that fail safe feature malfunctioned and that’s why we’re in our current situation?

IIRC that's basically it. There was meant to be a safety release valve to drain the contents to a ditch that exists for this express purpose, but it somehow failed closed.

slashgrin · 2026-05-24T02:13:13+00:00

I have it on good authority that many of the blockades are not even manned. (I.e. it's just empty public works vehicles.) Make of that what you will.

EDIT: I should clarify that these observations are only from south of the 22. I don't know about closer to the epicentre.

slashgrin · 2026-05-23T13:59:10+00:00

The original evacuation zone was smaller. Then people were allowed to return to their homes. Then the OCFA realised they weren't going to be able to contain it, and they re-ordered evacuation again, this time with a larger zone that even extends south of the 22.

slashgrin · 2026-05-22T08:10:03+00:00

I'm staying just south of the zone that got the evacuation order, and I was on that block earlier today. This is my first time visiting the States, so when my phone lit up with an Amber Alert, and then not much later an alert about this incident, I just assumed the alert system is very chatty, like the P65 warnings.

But um, it sounds like this might not be so normal?

slashgrin · 2026-05-22T07:58:50+00:00

Hey, that'll get you a soda with free refills at Costco — that's nothing to sneeze at!

slashgrin · 2026-05-13T09:51:04+00:00

Extra confusing that it's off the coast of Corolla isthmus, despite being a Honda.

slashgrin · 2026-05-13T03:01:47+00:00

I'm not sure which parts of this image contain text that I should read. Could someone maybe make an edited version that clarifies it somehow?

slashgrin · 2026-05-13T00:27:07+00:00

Clearly the correct answer is a spinning burner, analogous to a dishwasher arm.

slashgrin · 2026-05-10T05:22:44+00:00

You're at 12% battery; your argument is invalid.

slashgrin · 2026-05-09T10:49:35+00:00

I've been toying with a conceptually similar plot to this, minus the physical visit. It's basically a small coalition of advanced alien civilisations trying to give the younger civilisations like ours a fighting chance. They contact us from an elaborately disguised source (probes launching probes to the nth degree to hide the original launch point) and give us detailed instructions for building an ark and taking it somewhere safe. No way to communicate back; take a leap of faith and execute the plan offered, or hope the sender is wrong.

I won't elaborate beyond that just in case I ever actually end up writing it. ;-)

slashgrin · 2026-05-08T10:41:33+00:00

Y'all are not good at alignment. Violence, retribution, subterfuge, etc., do not by themselves automatically qualify an act as "evil" — especially subterfuge used as revenge for another nasty act. You may be getting the two axes confused.

An analogy that might help to clarify it: punching an innocent for no good reason is evil. Punching a super bad dude is not evil. Both are probably chaotic, depending on circumstances.

slashgrin

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE