All the AI generated websites are driving me insane. They just repeat the same thing over and over again with a bunch of useless text.

I never wanted Joe Biden to win, but he has completely won me over. He has been an absolute class act. Americans are very fortunate to have a president who has experience with the Cold War right now. I can’t think of any major criticism, besides his age.
The economic policy has been effective, unemployment is low, inflation is under control, working class wages have risen, foreign relations are stronger, the deficit spending has been dropping, and the country feels much less hostile then it did 2-4 years ago.
I seriously was upset he won, but he’s impressed me.

FYI, those are known to be full of malware if you buy the random branded ones off Amazon. It’s Highly recommend that people go with known reputable brands.

Forgot the shitty crash cart with the wrong plug, a screen from 2005, and one of those shitty compact keyboard and track pads.

Oooof. That’s was easily a $80,000 mistake

That’s got to be written by Chatgpt lmao. Still funny 😆

Ukraine is doing great. I know Russia is a meme, but they do have far more resources and man power. These guys are working with tech they just got trained on. Russia is well fortified. Keep in mind, the counter offensive is still developing. Often things are said publicly to skew the other side.

Let’s cut through the noise here. The idea that China has been playing 4D chess while the West plays checkers is a sexy narrative, but it misses the forest for the trees. Yes, China has masterfully leveraged the existing global system, pulling itself up from the economic bootstraps with a mix of state-driven capitalism and strategic engagement with Western technology and markets. This isn’t a con; it’s smart strategy, plain and simple. They saw an opening in the global market’s hunger for cheap labor and pounced, all while Western companies tripped over themselves to cut costs and boost quarterly earnings. Exploitative? Perhaps. But a con game? Hardly. Both sides knew what they were getting into; it was a marriage of convenience where both parties shared the bed for mutual benefit.

Now, onto this doomsday prophecy about the U.S. spiraling into oblivion. If you’re betting on American collapse, you’re going to lose your shirt. The U.S. isn’t just standing; it’s adapting and moving in ways that the naysayers seem to conveniently overlook. Post-COVID, the stats tell a story not of decline but of rebound and resilience. Unemployment’s in check, inflation fears are being managed, and domestic consumption is through the roof. Americans are spending, industries are innovating, and energy? The U.S. is sitting on an energy bonanza that makes the Middle Eastern oil sheikhs blush. Thanks to shale, the U.S. is not just energy independent; it’s a global energy heavyweight.

And let’s not forget technology. Silicon Valley isn’t just a place; it’s a global beacon of innovation. AI, biotech, quantum computing—you name it, the U.S. is at the sharp end of the spear. This innovation engine isn’t sputtering; it’s accelerating, fueled by a demographic dynamism that much of the developed world can only dream of, thanks largely to immigration.

As for Europe, casting it as the West’s last bastion against a rising China misses the point. Europe has its cards to play, sure, but don’t count the U.S. out of the game. The American economy is a behemoth, driven by internal markets, technological supremacy, and demographic vitality. Europe’s integration and strategic coherence are worth watching, but let’s not pretend it’s the only show in town.

In sum, the narrative that China’s rise comes at the expense of a declining West, and particularly a faltering U.S., is overly simplistic and frankly, wrong. We’re in a period of massive global transition, sure, but the American decline? That’s not the story being written. The U.S. is shifting gears, and the next chapter might just surprise the gloom-and-doom crowd.

“We’re supposed to be able to go about our business in our day-to-day lives without being surveilled unless we are suspected of a crime, and each little bit of this technology strips away that ability.”

Sounds nice in theory, but that’s not true at all. From my understanding, there is no expectation of privacy in public.
It feels really strange, but we are all under satellite observation almost 24/7. There are observational drones that can loiter and collect ground data. This has been around for decades. Radio lab did a great episode about this.
It’s definitely creepy. There is no escaping it at this point :/.

I, and many others, find the use of ‘loli’ content in this context to be morally questionable. The key concern is the normalization of such behaviors, which can perpetuate and potentially endorse harmful desires. Moreover, even though it involves drawings, it still fosters an environment that is fundamentally based on the sexualization of underage characters.

They were pretty cool enlightenment thinkers who created the first constitutional republic and were able to muscle out the British Empire. It’s pretty remarkable.

Those are all good things for economies! They offset demographic declines.

It all makes sense now. Idk how you can look at the state of twitter and think it’s a model to aspire too. Weird.

Unpopular opinion: bots might be a good thing for now.
I’m speaking from a growth perspective. Assuming users want to use social media to…socialize… you need active users and constant content. New social media platforms have a lack of users and content. Bots can bridge that gap until enough users are contributing and using the platform.
If you really think about it, it comes down to a platform using bots effectively. Let’s say the bots will only submit content when user submitted content falls below a threshold. Maybe it will auto generate threads for breaking news.
What if bots are used to ask questions and further conversations, like a social lubricant. Employed in a way to pull more useful information from users or to keep people engaged.
This all hinges on the ability for a bot to appear real.

This sounds super fucked when you think about it. I’m not a fan of bot content. If you didn’t know it was a bot, what difference would it make? LLM might be able to make it engaging and natural.

Texas is number two in the country for PV capacity, and number one for wind power generation (by a long shot).
If you look at the numbers, you’ll notice that it doesn’t really correlate with political affiliation, but instead where it’s economically viable. The prices of the PV panels are slowly coming down, so we should see it become more prevalent as time goes on.

It’s a work in progress. We are waiting for a beta to come out.

*support

The thing you got to realize is that the executive branch does not have free reign to pass whatever they want. To me, the mark of a good executive is their ability to pass legislation. The Biden administration has done a fantastic job in light of such a polarized political system in the United States. Not everybody is going to want the same things that we want. In order to get things passed, sometimes we have to make compromises.

Furthermore, the Biden administrations passing of the Inflation Reduction Act specifically invested 70+ billion into public transportation (specifically rail), and far more into renewable energy production.

Biden has been able to move the meter to the left while still working with conservatives on certain issues. If you’re looking at it from a progressive standpoint, and you might not think they’re doing as much as they can. But please keep in mind that they also have to represent moderates and conservatives of the democratic branch.

Also, walkability would be state/local issue lol.

Did you look into 12v mini split systems? Avoiding the need for an inverter might drastically bring down costs and efficiency. I’ve seen a couple sets out on the market that come with everything already (prefilled mini split system and solar panels). Adding a transfer switch and an inverter could get you somewhere! I liked the idea of it purely as an “assist” with a larger system. Pull some heat out of the house to reduce the load on the main hvac system.

I use propane in my house and I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the instant heat and instant cool. It works really well to for pan frying.
It’s awful at boiling water. It’s faster to use an electric kettle.
The cost of the propane is horrible too. $4.80+ a gallon.
I’d 1000% move to electric or induction, but it’s just another big expense. I’d also have to run a 208v/30a circuit to my kitchen :(
Electric prices have been steadily rising as well :/