adutchman's recent activity

  1. Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro

    adutchman
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    Even small plants do not fit into a picture where renewables are dirt cheap. With cheap electricity, we need storage and flexible assets, not baseload.

    Even small plants do not fit into a picture where renewables are dirt cheap. With cheap electricity, we need storage and flexible assets, not baseload.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    I am one of the people who think the idea of baseload is outdated. If solar is say, 30% of the price of nuclear, even using it through (inefficient) storage is cheaper than using nuclear....

    I am one of the people who think the idea of baseload is outdated. If solar is say, 30% of the price of nuclear, even using it through (inefficient) storage is cheaper than using nuclear. Frequency was the main argument for a long time, but frequency regulating batteries are proving very effective (there is a big installation in Scotland I know of, and probably a few in Australia as well).

    1 vote

  3. Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    That is true for existing nuclear yes but only marginally. For new generation, it's not even close, and with solars learning rate, that picture will change as well in a few years time. The main...

    nuclear energy cost per kwh is from what I have read the cheapest.

    That is true for existing nuclear yes but only marginally. For new generation, it's not even close, and with solars learning rate, that picture will change as well in a few years time. The main insight imo is that batteries and solar prices are going down so rapidly, that pretty much nothing else is able to compete on price. The learning rate we are seeing is in a way similar to computers or the internet: I think we are at the "that internet thing is pretty neat for ordering books" state of solar.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro

    adutchman
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    I've been saying this for years now: solar combined with wind and storage are inevitable. Government support is nice, yes, but there is no way back now. Coal was already on the way out, gas is...

    I've been saying this for years now: solar combined with wind and storage are inevitable. Government support is nice, yes, but there is no way back now. Coal was already on the way out, gas is next. Phasing out nuclear won't make sense for a while, but building new plants does not make financial sense anymore.

    8 votes

  5. Comment on Bun has been rewritten in Rust in ~comp

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    Interesting theory, hadn'r linked those two events together. I don't think they'll have an easier time making similar PRs to the Rust project though.

    Interesting theory, hadn'r linked those two events together. I don't think they'll have an easier time making similar PRs to the Rust project though.

  6. Comment on Bun has been rewritten in Rust in ~comp

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    Maybe, yes. I agree with that Rust probably would've been better for this particular usecase, from what I can see at least. I don't know if it was stupid though, there are certainly legitimate...

    Maybe, yes. I agree with that Rust probably would've been better for this particular usecase, from what I can see at least. I don't know if it was stupid though, there are certainly legitimate reasons to use Zig and some projects use it with great success.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Bun has been rewritten in Rust in ~comp

    adutchman
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    So, when Bun was created, they very loudly chose for Zig over Rust, because it gave them the memory control they needed for their very high performance standard. And fair enough: this is one of...

    So, when Bun was created, they very loudly chose for Zig over Rust, because it gave them the memory control they needed for their very high performance standard. And fair enough: this is one of the main selling points of Zig and something Rust is explicitly not designed for (not as a main goal anyway).

    And now, they come out with a fully generated AI PR, completely unreviewable code, probably also AI slop, saying: yeah, we didn't need that control after all, Rust is actually better because it gives more memory safety.

    This was clear from the start, why did you suddenly change now? Was it because Zig was the language of the day at the time? The whole thing just makes me doubt about their initial reasoning, their ability to use AI responsibly and also makes me worried about Astral/UV and OpenAI.

    8 votes

  8. Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport

    adutchman
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    Really interesting video, cleared up some confusion of my assumptions about it being an EV with a generator.

    Really interesting video, cleared up some confusion of my assumptions about it being an EV with a generator.

  9. Comment on Pawmometer uses real-time weather data to estimate ground temps and flag unsafe surfaces for dogs in ~life.pets

    adutchman
    Link
    Idk, the combination of "vibe-coded", "non-developer" and "Crypto" doesn't sound great to say the least.

    This vibe-coded tool tells dog owners when pavement is too hot for paws

    Gregory Paige isn't a developer. He's a product marketer at Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin

    Idk, the combination of "vibe-coded", "non-developer" and "Crypto" doesn't sound great to say the least.

    5 votes

  10. Comment on US will revoke passports for parents who owe child support in ~society

    adutchman
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    This sounds extremely freedom-limiting, and a taking away of rights, correct?

    This sounds extremely freedom-limiting, and a taking away of rights, correct?

    16 votes

  11. Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    He's written some more great works, and the publishing company he's a part of, The Correspondent, publishes many other great non-fiction works as well. The thing I was referring to was the "Moral...

    He's written some more great works, and the publishing company he's a part of, The Correspondent, publishes many other great non-fiction works as well. The thing I was referring to was the "Moral Ambition" movement, where they try to encourage people with ambitious but morally gray jobs (think McKinsey and co) and puts them to do good for the world, like the lead paint initiative I mentioned, or lobbying against Big Tabacco.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    I very much agres that this zero-sum game "we need to maximise efficienty on everything" mentality is not great. I personally do like effective altruism, but more of the Rutger Bergman style I...

    I very much agres that this zero-sum game "we need to maximise efficienty on everything" mentality is not great. I personally do like effective altruism, but more of the Rutger Bergman style I suppose, which is more "if you donate and want to help people, stop and think about how effective your donation is". Things like lobbying for leadless paint > funding for more cancer research. Not because that is bad, but because there is already enough resources allocated on solving that problem.

    That being said, I still think donating to causes you personally feel connected to, or are local to you is good, I do it myself. Is donating to FOSS the most effective donation I could make? No, but I care so I do it anyway. I think of ea as a sort of diversification of my donations.

    9 votes

  13. Comment on Good time to buy a gas/diesel car (in the EU)? in ~transport

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    Ah, I understand. They are absolutely feasible with an EV (I have done my fair share), but not budget EVs (e.g., less than ~300-400 km practical range) which was what I was getting at.

    Ah, I understand. They are absolutely feasible with an EV (I have done my fair share), but not budget EVs (e.g., less than ~300-400 km practical range) which was what I was getting at.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Good time to buy a gas/diesel car (in the EU)? in ~transport

    adutchman
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    You could try a second-hand lpg car, like the the Chevrolet Spark (dual fuel). Otherwise, a cheap gas car doesn't sound like a bad idea, just wouldn't do diesel because that is even more volitile....

    You could try a second-hand lpg car, like the the Chevrolet Spark (dual fuel). Otherwise, a cheap gas car doesn't sound like a bad idea, just wouldn't do diesel because that is even more volitile.

    One more question, how far do you need to go when you drive? If its many infrequent trips, an EV suddenly becomes more interesting as well because many people have huge range anxiety.

    Edit: read over the part where you say you drive long-distance, what are we talking about?

    5 votes

  15. Comment on Train Jazz: A jazz combo played in real time by every active NYC subway train in ~music

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    Haha, incredible. I wasn't even alluding at that to be honest, just the jazz standard. Never knew that video was on the A-train, but I'm not suprised.

    Haha, incredible. I wasn't even alluding at that to be honest, just the jazz standard. Never knew that video was on the A-train, but I'm not suprised.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Train Jazz: A jazz combo played in real time by every active NYC subway train in ~music

    adutchman
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    Turns out it's not just the A train that's jazzy

    Turns out it's not just the A train that's jazzy

    2 votes

  17. Comment on No-stack web development in ~tech

  18. Comment on No-stack web development in ~tech

    adutchman
    Link Parent
    Two things about Tailwind that I think are worth calling out: Tailwind is an extremely thin layer on top off CSS, so besides recognising some patterns, you don't really have to learn anything for...

    Two things about Tailwind that I think are worth calling out:

    1. Tailwind is an extremely thin layer on top off CSS, so besides recognising some patterns, you don't really have to learn anything for using CSS primitives (display: flex -> flex).
    2. Tailwind does a wonderful job of cutting back to a modern and usefull set of CSS, which reduces the amount of footguns.
    3. Tailwinds utility classes are extremely well designed and consistent.
    3 votes

  19. Comment on Is new music dying? Everyone’s flopping. in ~music

  20. Comment on I’m traveling internationally for the first time and could use tips! in ~travel

    adutchman
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    My 2 cents: The Netherlands /= just Amsterdam. Most tourists do think that though, good news is that this means other places have a lot less tourists! Some nice cities/towns: Delft, Utrecht and 'S...

    My 2 cents: The Netherlands /= just Amsterdam. Most tourists do think that though, good news is that this means other places have a lot less tourists! Some nice cities/towns: Delft, Utrecht and 'S Hertogenbosch (that's a bit farther out though). Also, try to not only stay in the touristy corridor in Amsterdam, the nicer parts are outside of that.

    1 vote