2021-08-02

Cool

Texas Instruments new TI-84 Plus CE Python graphing calculator
1996 Geo Tracker auction - Cars & Bids

This is quite honestly one of the very coolest cars we've ever had here on Cars & Bids. What you see here is a 1996 Geo Tracker, which shouldn't be too exciting, except for the fact that this one has had a full drivetrain swap from a 2015 Chevy Camaro V6. That V6 engine isn't the most thrilling powerplant in the Camaro -- but placed in this car, it must be an absolute joy, given its small size and the fact that nobody really expects a Geo Tracker to shoot off the line with over 300 horsepower.

Worthy

A Generation Lost in the Bazaar - ACM Queue
Collections: The Queen’s Latin or Who Were the Romans, Part V: Saving And Losing an Empire – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

Whatever the cause, we need to begin by conceding that, as normal as they may seem to us, bridges are not generally some natural construction, but rather a deeply unnatural one, which must be held up and maintained through continual effort; such a thing may fail even if no one actively destroys it, merely by lack of maintenance or changing conditions.

Large, prosperous and successful states are always and everywhere like that bridge: they are unnatural social organizations, elevated above the misery and fragmentation that is the natural state of humankind only by great effort; gravity ever tugs them downward. Of course when states collapse there are often many external factors that play a role, like external threats, climate shifts or economic changes, though in many cases these are pressures that the state in question has long endured. Consequently, the more useful question is not why they fall, but why they stay up at all.

and

Unfortunately for some of the change-and-continuity arguments about living standards, archaeology has a tendency to give us data that is somewhat less malleable. That archaeological data shows, with a high degree of consistency, that while there is certainly some continuity between the Late Antique and the early Middle Ages the fall of Rome (in the West) killed lots of people (precipitous declines in population in societies without reliable birth control; probably this is mostly food scarcity, not direct warfare) and that living standards also declined to a degree that the results are archaeologically visible.
Spotting the Next Big Thing in Semiconductors - by Semi-Literate - Semi-Literate

This industry has ridden an innovation gravy train for 65 years. That gravy train has had a few big winners. But today, these incumbent winners (ex. Intel) are generally faltering or have been eclipsed by new winners (ex. TSMC) who are riding the same gravy train. Many companies and governments think that the solution to their woes is simply finding a way back on this train, seemingly without caring that the end of the tracks is in sight. This is the sort of short term thinking that is characteristic of an industry that has operated on 18-24 month cycles of innovation for 6+ decades with great success.

This short term thinking won’t invent the future. To invent the future, companies and governments need to survey the landscape and ask “How do we fund “bad” ideas that result in a few big winners?” This post is about long-term thinking for a short-term industry: how to accelerate the arrival of a post-Moore’s Law future.

etc

Horseshit

Home Depot is selling power tools that won’t work if they’re stolen
- Home Depot Is Selling Power Tools That Require Activation In-Store
Covid Made Consumers Want More Pot, for Less
Launch HN: Heimdal (YC S21) – Carbon neutral cement | Hacker News
New Mexico Court Rules Gas Stations Liable for Selling Fuel to Drunk Drivers

Now, the New Mexico Supreme Court is looking to hold gas stations accountable for their role in knowingly allowing drunk drivers to hit the road. Last week the court ruled 3-to-1 that gas stations have a "duty of care" to not allow individuals who are intoxicated to purchase fuel. In fact, the ruling goes as far as to edict that any gas station which knowingly permits drunk drivers to fuel up their vehicles can be held liable for any injuries caused by that person behind the wheel while they are intoxicated.

New Mexico is the second such state in the U.S. to publish a ruling which places the burden of responsibility on gas stations—Tennessee was the first.

Obit

George Rhoads, Designer of “ball machines” dies

Culture War / Re segregation / Identdoctrination

Media / Many Ministries of Truths / Censorship

TechSuck

FB users buying Oculus VR headsets to get customer service prioritization
Google won't let you sign in with old Android versions after September 27th

Google will no longer let you sign into the company's apps on devices running Android 2.3.7 (Gingerbread) or lower from September 27th onward. You can still sign in on the web, but you'll have to update to at least the tablet-only Android 3.0 (realistically, Android 4.0) if you want to avoid major hassles while checking Gmail or navigating with Google Maps.
Halo Infinite's bots are teabagging real players

2021-08-02

Cool

Worthy

etc

Horseshit

Obit

Culture War / Re segregation / Identdoctrination

Media / Many Ministries of Truths / Censorship

TechSuck

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Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda