Boy. That sure looks like what happens when humans panic. If the result is the same, what's the difference?
Sorry, I worded that poorly. By "pull out", I meant that they stopped trading. I didn't mean that they sold off their holdings, as panicking human investors tend to do.
Here let me play that game, "Alternative energy is always better so we should shut down everything else right now"
Whatever. You win, the strawman loses.
The point is solar and wind are wasteful and misinvestments and likely to be so for a long time yet to come.
Wind is already cost competitive with coal. On current trends, solar will be within a decade, and is already the cheapest source of energy in some markets, such as Hawaii.
It is an accurate, well-written article, with links to more information. If you have a legitimate complaint about TFA, then you explain what it is. Otherwise, stop whining. Personally, I am happy to see USAToday publishing stories like this, and I am glad that Slashdot is covering it as well. We need more stories like this.
Anyway, I for one am happy that it is happening 1.8 billion light years away. A total stellar collapse can emit enough gamma rays to sterilize a galaxy.
You mean the way biofuels were the way to the future ?
What is your point? That although coal is stupid and uneconomic, we should burn it anyway because biofuels are even stupider? Do you think that makes any sense at all?
There is no question that current biofuels policies, including American ethanol subsidies and European wood pellet subsidies, are not cost effective, and may even be environmentally counterproductive. But that in no way justifies burning more coal. They are different issues.
it's our cheapest and most abundant energy source.
Nope. Coal is currently about $42 per ton, which is about $2 per million BTU. Gas is not only cheaper, but gas plants are also simpler and cheaper to run. Gas plants are faster to adapt to fluctuations in demand, and can even serve as "peakers". They work well in a grid with intermittent wind and solar. Coal plants can't do that. They overproduce in the troughs when they dump excess power on the grid at low prices, and they can't ramp up for the peaks to take advantage of price surges. This is why, in America, not a single coal plant is under construction or even being planned. Coal no longer makes economic sense.
People in western countries produce far more than people in poor countries. Why? It is not because they work harder. People in poor countries work much harder, but they work on the wrong things, because capital is misallocated, and resources are squandered. In western countries, investors seek out even tiny increases in return on capital, meaning that resources are used very efficiently. It is easy to denigrate investors and capitalists as "producing nothing", but they are the reason you don't live in another 3rd world shantytown. God bless Goldman Sachs.
Solar panels last about 20 years, then need to be replaced.
No, they are warrantied for 20 years. That means that the manufacturer thinks that most of them will last at least that long. The warranty is usually for 80% power production. Even if they fall below 80% production, they are still producing power, and don't "need" to be replaced.
I bet those engineers don't get performance bonuses or commissions.
Commissions, no. Bonuses, yes. I know some techies that work in finance, and the compensation is VERY good. I am not sure it equals the value of a human soul, but still very good.
The occasional market "crash" attributed to automated electronic trading...
Some crashes have been attributed to automated trading, but later analysis has found that (so far) no crashes were caused primarily by automatic trading. In fact, the "flash crash" of 2010 was exacerbated by loss of liquidity as automatic traders pulled out because volatility exceeded parameters.
Are you sure? One of the things that surprised me when I lived in Tanzania was how similar the prices were.
A TV costs about the same everywhere in the world. If anything, it will be even more expensive in developing countries. But local goods are usually cheaper, and locally rendered services tend to be WAY cheaper.
When I lived in Shanghai, I didn't own a car because I couldn't afford it. But my family had a live in housekeeper for $100 / month.
I am not so sure. Many modern tech businesses, from auctions to social media to ride sharing, depend on "network effects" far more than technical excellence. The first company to get funding and build out their customer network is likely to be the winner. Even for businesses without network effects, there are advantages to bigness. If you have a better search algorithm than Google, you are still going nowhere without funding, because you don't have the money for the ten thousand servers needed to hold your index.
It may simply be that the initial investment was traunched
Indeed. Additionally, if a company fails to hit their objectives, it is likely that those later traunches will be denied. Most companies that get a first round, never get a second. They either go out of business, get acquired, or scale back and try to grow organically.
Really? You have every law ever written memorized and every prescident ever ruled on?
No. But I know what "Google" is, and I know how to type. I also have enough common sense to know the sort of things that may be illegal, and I should take 30 seconds or so to check. If you are a programmer, and you work with customer data, you should have a basic idea of what you cannot legally do with that data.
It could also be the false flag operation. Police used fake protestors at Vietnam War protests to provoke violence and discredit the real protestors. I don't know if Trump supporters are smart enough to do the same, but these rioters are certainly discrediting the cause they nominally claim to support. When Trumpsters see these people rioting, looting, and waving Mexican flags, they feel their intolerance and xenophobia is even more justified.
They have detained some suspects and are collecting evidence. What's so outrageous or even particularly newsworthy about this?
They are using social media to connect these people to others. If you are "friends" with one of these people, you are likely okay. If you are connected to two or more, you are likely going onto a watchlist. I suggest getting a Trump/Pence bumper sticker just to be safe.
"Begging the question" just doesn't mean what it used to mean any more.
"Begging the question" is almost always used incorrectly, and most people don't even know the correct meaning. But enough people get annoyed by incorrect usage, that it is best to just avoid the phrase entirely in your own speaking or writing.
Use "raise the question" if that is what you mean. Use "circular reasoning" if that is what you mean. Or, if you really want to look pretentious, use "assuming the antecedent".
Is there any correlation there? I think people are doing best in countries and regions that have human rights.
You need to apply the "principle of temporal causality". If A happens and then B happens, it is possible that A caused B, but very unlikely that B caused A. There are many societies where automation was followed by prosperity long before that society recognized basic human rights.
Slashdot Mirror
automatic traders pulled out
Boy. That sure looks like what happens when humans panic. If the result is the same, what's the difference?
Sorry, I worded that poorly. By "pull out", I meant that they stopped trading. I didn't mean that they sold off their holdings, as panicking human investors tend to do.
Here let me play that game, "Alternative energy is always better so we should shut down everything else right now"
Whatever. You win, the strawman loses.
The point is solar and wind are wasteful and misinvestments and likely to be so for a long time yet to come.
Wind is already cost competitive with coal. On current trends, solar will be within a decade, and is already the cheapest source of energy in some markets, such as Hawaii.
This is a valid source for science news?
It is an accurate, well-written article, with links to more information. If you have a legitimate complaint about TFA, then you explain what it is. Otherwise, stop whining. Personally, I am happy to see USAToday publishing stories like this, and I am glad that Slashdot is covering it as well. We need more stories like this.
Anyway, I for one am happy that it is happening 1.8 billion light years away. A total stellar collapse can emit enough gamma rays to sterilize a galaxy.
You mean the way biofuels were the way to the future ?
What is your point? That although coal is stupid and uneconomic, we should burn it anyway because biofuels are even stupider? Do you think that makes any sense at all?
There is no question that current biofuels policies, including American ethanol subsidies and European wood pellet subsidies, are not cost effective, and may even be environmentally counterproductive. But that in no way justifies burning more coal. They are different issues.
it's our cheapest and most abundant energy source.
Nope. Coal is currently about $42 per ton, which is about $2 per million BTU. Gas is not only cheaper, but gas plants are also simpler and cheaper to run. Gas plants are faster to adapt to fluctuations in demand, and can even serve as "peakers". They work well in a grid with intermittent wind and solar. Coal plants can't do that. They overproduce in the troughs when they dump excess power on the grid at low prices, and they can't ramp up for the peaks to take advantage of price surges. This is why, in America, not a single coal plant is under construction or even being planned. Coal no longer makes economic sense.
What does Goldman Sachs produce?
People in western countries produce far more than people in poor countries. Why? It is not because they work harder. People in poor countries work much harder, but they work on the wrong things, because capital is misallocated, and resources are squandered. In western countries, investors seek out even tiny increases in return on capital, meaning that resources are used very efficiently. It is easy to denigrate investors and capitalists as "producing nothing", but they are the reason you don't live in another 3rd world shantytown. God bless Goldman Sachs.
Solar panels last about 20 years, then need to be replaced.
No, they are warrantied for 20 years. That means that the manufacturer thinks that most of them will last at least that long. The warranty is usually for 80% power production. Even if they fall below 80% production, they are still producing power, and don't "need" to be replaced.
Coal accounts for 33% of U.S. electricity production, vs 0.6% for solar.
That is a misleading stat, since NO new coal plants are being built, while solar installations are growing rapidly.
I bet those engineers don't get performance bonuses or commissions.
Commissions, no. Bonuses, yes. I know some techies that work in finance, and the compensation is VERY good. I am not sure it equals the value of a human soul, but still very good.
The occasional market "crash" attributed to automated electronic trading ...
Some crashes have been attributed to automated trading, but later analysis has found that (so far) no crashes were caused primarily by automatic trading. In fact, the "flash crash" of 2010 was exacerbated by loss of liquidity as automatic traders pulled out because volatility exceeded parameters.
Humans panic. Computers don't.
Are you sure? One of the things that surprised me when I lived in Tanzania was how similar the prices were.
A TV costs about the same everywhere in the world. If anything, it will be even more expensive in developing countries. But local goods are usually cheaper, and locally rendered services tend to be WAY cheaper.
When I lived in Shanghai, I didn't own a car because I couldn't afford it. But my family had a live in housekeeper for $100 / month.
and a rapidly growing middle class
Was that a joke?
Take your blinders off. The middle class may not be doing so well in America and Europe, but in the other 90% of the world it is expanding rapidly.
Wow. Seibel gets it
I am not so sure. Many modern tech businesses, from auctions to social media to ride sharing, depend on "network effects" far more than technical excellence. The first company to get funding and build out their customer network is likely to be the winner. Even for businesses without network effects, there are advantages to bigness. If you have a better search algorithm than Google, you are still going nowhere without funding, because you don't have the money for the ten thousand servers needed to hold your index.
It may simply be that the initial investment was traunched
Indeed. Additionally, if a company fails to hit their objectives, it is likely that those later traunches will be denied. Most companies that get a first round, never get a second. They either go out of business, get acquired, or scale back and try to grow organically.
Does being a candidate of the Socialist Party mean that one should be coy like a little princess?
Please help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.
Really? You have every law ever written memorized and every prescident ever ruled on?
No. But I know what "Google" is, and I know how to type. I also have enough common sense to know the sort of things that may be illegal, and I should take 30 seconds or so to check. If you are a programmer, and you work with customer data, you should have a basic idea of what you cannot legally do with that data.
It could also be the false flag operation. Police used fake protestors at Vietnam War protests to provoke violence and discredit the real protestors. I don't know if Trump supporters are smart enough to do the same, but these rioters are certainly discrediting the cause they nominally claim to support. When Trumpsters see these people rioting, looting, and waving Mexican flags, they feel their intolerance and xenophobia is even more justified.
The biggest problem with a pure vegan diet, is that it seems to require importing a significant number part of the diet.
What? I have never heard anyone claim this before, and it makes no sense. Do you have evidence whatsoever that this is true?
I would expect instead that the field of AI advances as the investigators figure out better algorithms, and not because the work of the machine.
I think you are missing the point. Once AI reaches a certain point, the machine is the one improving the algorithm.
Water absorbs radiation pretty effectively
Indeed.
They have detained some suspects and are collecting evidence. What's so outrageous or even particularly newsworthy about this?
They are using social media to connect these people to others. If you are "friends" with one of these people, you are likely okay. If you are connected to two or more, you are likely going onto a watchlist. I suggest getting a Trump/Pence bumper sticker just to be safe.
"Begging the question" just doesn't mean what it used to mean any more.
"Begging the question" is almost always used incorrectly, and most people don't even know the correct meaning. But enough people get annoyed by incorrect usage, that it is best to just avoid the phrase entirely in your own speaking or writing.
Use "raise the question" if that is what you mean.
Use "circular reasoning" if that is what you mean.
Or, if you really want to look pretentious, use "assuming the antecedent".
what army/navy/etc. would sink a nuclear ship in their own waters during war?
Given the opportunity, all of them.
If sunk, it could be a major issue in your region for generations to come.
Nine nuclear ships have sunk at sea. None of them resulted in significant radiation release. The reactors are designed to withstand sinking.
Personally, I wish they'd named the first ship of that class Enterprise, and let Ford be one of the latter ones
Personally, I think we should stop naming ships, or anything else, after dead politicians. Or, even worse, living politicians.
Is there any correlation there? I think people are doing best in countries and regions that have human rights.
You need to apply the "principle of temporal causality". If A happens and then B happens, it is possible that A caused B, but very unlikely that B caused A. There are many societies where automation was followed by prosperity long before that society recognized basic human rights.