Longpork_afficianado

joined 1 year ago
[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Ditch the batteries and just spin up a large flywheel.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The Constant, by Mark Chrysler.

Headlined as "a history of getting things wrong", the host goes into deep dives about what we thought we knew, how we eventually came to figure out we were wrong, the repercussions of both.

It takes a seriously funny and well researched approach to a number of major events in our history, and I absolutely must recommend "the foolkiller" a five episode exploration of a submarine found at the bottom of the Chicago River then lost to history, with a very juicy footnote delivered several episodes later, that I dare not spoil for you.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 9 points 9 months ago (3 children)

It works for now, but the reason most wires have a rubber-like insulator around them is that it takes very little to Crack or abrade a thin coating such as this and turn it into a fire hazard.

I'm surprised a product with such a small safety margin is allowed for sale.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 4 points 9 months ago

If it were a ban on the rare earth minerals themselves, yes, but a ban on the extraction technologies just secures dependence on Chinese sources.

The reason China is a major exporter of these minerals has less to do with their availability in China and more to do with their lax environmental regulations, which allow extraction via means that are prohibited in many other countries.

So preventing their extraction in countries where stricter environmental standards are in place just means more environmental damage.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 3 points 9 months ago

Lostprophets were one of my favourite band during my formative years, and I still love the music, but any time I hear it now I can't get past the fact that the singer was a literal baby rapist.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 13 points 9 months ago (2 children)

This seems solvable. There are differences in pitch between a nearby whisper and a distant shout.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 20 points 9 months ago

Russia has recruited many more troops since then. The proper way to interpret this information is that the majority of troops currently deployed in Ukraine were conscripted after the start of the war.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Would you rather slightly irregular steps, or a muddy slope with no steps at all?

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 4 points 9 months ago

I don't know about you, but if I've driven an hour to go to a store and can't park my ute directly in front of it, I turn straight around and go home again.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 17 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Dang, California is making a lot of real progress. Nice work.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Neat theory, but I dont think I buy in. When we have tools and packs to keep us safe from predators, and any old human can run down a gazelle by just jogging after them for an hour til they collapse from heat exhaustion, where is the evolutionary pressure to be a super-sprinter?

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 4 points 9 months ago

I reckon if you could get there 10 years early you could probably prevent the entire thing. If you were capable of convincing some of the larger groups within the americas of the impending invasion, there were certainly people and resources enough to put together a small navy and start patrolling the eastern coast. Throw is some modern knowledge of firearms and metallurgy to help them develop some cannon, and Columbus never makes it to America.

Back in Europe people assume him lost at sea, and leave the atlantic untouched for another generation. With that much time to prepare, who knows how things play out.

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