PuddleOfKittens's recent activity
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Comment on Jenny Chase 2025 “opinions about solar” thread in ~enviro
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Comment on ‘World’s largest’ industrial heat battery is online and solar-powered in ~enviro
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentTraditionally, you'd just get heat from directly burning fuel, instead of burning fuel to generate electricity to power an electric heater. It only makes sense in the context of renewables, and...Is there some impediment that I’m not seeing here preventing more wide scale adoption in the general market?
Traditionally, you'd just get heat from directly burning fuel, instead of burning fuel to generate electricity to power an electric heater.
It only makes sense in the context of renewables, and more specifically in the context of large scale industrial heat use specifically powered by renewables. Even if it's already profitable to implement Rondo's system, large scale industrial plants are conservative by nature and it's not clear which tech will be the best.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentThis isn't ridiculous, it's just a slightly suboptimal use of billions of dollars. Once you're a billionaire, most ways to improve the world are selfish - curing cancer/mortality have their...This isn't ridiculous, it's just a slightly suboptimal use of billions of dollars. Once you're a billionaire, most ways to improve the world are selfish - curing cancer/mortality have their obvious benefits, but ending poverty improves the economy, keeping the environment intact prevents knock-on effects and preserves valuable bio-research opportunities, etc.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI want to spend my billions of dollars tracking down the wizard and running a giant global ad campaign mocking and belittling him.I want to spend my billions of dollars tracking down the wizard and running a giant global ad campaign mocking and belittling him.
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Comment on ‘World’s largest’ industrial heat battery is online and solar-powered in ~enviro
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI did check the details. But then I realized they don't matter (this is a claim in an article's clickbait title, sourced from the company's hypey press release, it's not even the low-low bar of a...I did check the details. But then I realized they don't matter (this is a claim in an article's clickbait title, sourced from the company's hypey press release, it's not even the low-low bar of a guinness world record), nobody really cares, and thus I don't need to do more than 5 minutes of checking on such a trivial topic before stating my opinion (couched in "it's possible that [], but I think []"). Especially when I'm looking for a lack of evidence, and I'd already found lack of evidence.
I get what you're saying, but I volunteer someone else to go do that extra legwork.
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Comment on ‘World’s largest’ industrial heat battery is online and solar-powered in ~enviro
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentIt's possible that one is measuring by MW and the other one MWh, but I think they're using a special measurement system called Straight-Up Fucking Lying™. Nobody want's to be the world's second...also said to be the world’s largest of its kind. They seem to be different kinds?
It's possible that one is measuring by MW and the other one MWh, but I think they're using a special measurement system called Straight-Up Fucking Lying™. Nobody want's to be the world's second biggest, and the only people who'll notice their Lie are people actively following multiple heat battery companies, and we basically all want heat batteries to succeed (also time spent nitpicking which is the biggest battery is time not spent lecturing on the different heat battery techs, and we both know the latter is more interesting).
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Comment on Spit on, sworn at, and undeterred: what it’s like to own a Cybertruck in ~transport
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentThis is only true because it's illegal to shoot it with an RPG. Cars are a weapon, and plenty of counter-weapons exist. And in case you're thinking "that's a stupid argument, obviously we're..."if you get into an accident in a cybertruck you will win in that fight." The problem is, is that an accident is not a fight,
This is only true because it's illegal to shoot it with an RPG. Cars are a weapon, and plenty of counter-weapons exist.
And in case you're thinking "that's a stupid argument, obviously we're excluding illegal use of weapons", an explicit selling point of Cybertrucks was it being bulletproof and having a bioweapons defence mode.
BTW, if RPGs/anti-vehicle weapons were legalised then the number of road rage incidents towards cyclists would decrease.
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Comment on Spit on, sworn at, and undeterred: what it’s like to own a Cybertruck in ~transport
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentYou shouldn't have messed with the Don."You've read your last free article
You shouldn't have messed with the Don.
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Comment on Spit on, sworn at, and undeterred: what it’s like to own a Cybertruck in ~transport
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI would expect cybertrucks to have wrap jobs, because the steel can rust if exposed to rain. A wrap job is the least stupid solution besides not buying a cybertruck.I would expect cybertrucks to have wrap jobs, because the steel can rust if exposed to rain. A wrap job is the least stupid solution besides not buying a cybertruck.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentIf you want to get to Mars, you'll be out in space exposed to cosmic radiation for months/years; you'll die of cancer before you arrive. Realistically, the most practical solution to that is...If you want to get to Mars, you'll be out in space exposed to cosmic radiation for months/years; you'll die of cancer before you arrive. Realistically, the most practical solution to that is curing cancer.
If you do get to Mars, nobody will contest you for it - it makes the Sahara look habitable. Nobody has made the Sahara self-sufficient, it'd be easier to wait for your Mars Empire to collapse on its own. That way they don't get tarred with the PR nightmare of killing The Guy Who Cured Cancer.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI, too, want to completely rip up every street in every city and redesign them in a less ugly fashion. Unfortunately, @DefinitelyNotAFae said my plans had to be ridiculous and not based on a...I, too, want to completely rip up every street in every city and redesign them in a less ugly fashion. Unfortunately, @DefinitelyNotAFae said my plans had to be ridiculous and not based on a desire to pragmatically improve the world.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
PuddleOfKittens LinkI would throw billions at building software support and app ecosystems for all sorts of probably-a-bad-idea gimmicks like this circular laptop. That circular screen won't work well with just...I would throw billions at building software support and app ecosystems for all sorts of probably-a-bad-idea gimmicks like this circular laptop. That circular screen won't work well with just regular Windows (or GNOME/Plasma/etc), after all.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentThere isn't a helium shortage. It gets weird, but there's a shortage of science-grade helium which needs high purity, but balloons can be 90% helium and still float. Meanwhile, helium is both a...There isn't a helium shortage. It gets weird, but there's a shortage of science-grade helium which needs high purity, but balloons can be 90% helium and still float. Meanwhile, helium is both a byproduct of fossil fuel production, and also just comes out of the earth and can be trapped and recovered.
Also, if you really care about preserving helium, just use hydrogen - if the explosiveness of the balloon really concerns you, throw money at fire-suppressing balloon liners or something.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentMake it a solar-powered electric airship. It has the space for those solar panels.Make it a solar-powered electric airship. It has the space for those solar panels.
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Comment on Venezuela shuts its embassy in Oslo, days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentDoing otherwise would be a pretty bad signal to Venezuelan loyalists.Doing otherwise would be a pretty bad signal to Venezuelan loyalists.
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Comment on The liquid air alternative to fossil fuels in ~enviro
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentCompressed air is theoretically cheaper because air can be stored in caverns that are naturally occurring, with some tech from the gas industry that's in widespread use to store their gas in said...Compressed air is theoretically cheaper because air can be stored in caverns that are naturally occurring, with some tech from the gas industry that's in widespread use to store their gas in said caverns (gas demand is way higher in winter than in summer, so it's cheaper to just produce some excess in summer and store it in a cavern). The cost is basically just some chemicals sprayed in to line the cavern for extra compressive strength (so you can compress the air more), plus a turbine -one that notably is only running on regular air, rather than an extremely hot solvent (water).
The point is, heat batteries are expensive because you have to pay for both the dirt and the insulation you wrap around the dirt, whereas empty space can be almost literally free.
One caveat I'd add is that for molten metal batteries like Don Sadoway's batteries, they're heat batteries that don't have (machined) moving parts or require a turbine (turbines being relatively expensive in both machining costs and maintenance costs). But if you care about the energy capacity (Wh, not W) then the turbine doesn't matter much compared to just the size of the cavern. And some of those caverns are monstrously huge.
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Comment on If AI can diagnose patients, what are doctors for? in ~health
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentIt's definitely a whimsical comparison. It feels appropriate given how people talk about how much AI reduces costs, though.It's definitely a whimsical comparison. It feels appropriate given how people talk about how much AI reduces costs, though.
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Comment on What game is your personal "Silksong"? in ~games
PuddleOfKittens LinkAs long as "waited a long time for" means "put off buying for years after launch", I'd say my Silksong would be Redout. I thought it was cool in TotalBiscuit's review, but didn't buy it for a few...As long as "waited a long time for" means "put off buying for years after launch", I'd say my Silksong would be Redout. I thought it was cool in TotalBiscuit's review, but didn't buy it for a few years. My only real criticism is that it flubbed the campaign - a campaign should be more than just a list of levels unlocked sequentially, it should have some level of flavor (story, cutscenes, feels) and Redout doesn't have that. The gameplay is rock solid, and so are the aesthetics and UX.
Failing that, probably Halo 3?
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Comment on If AI can diagnose patients, what are doctors for? in ~health
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI think it's really unfair that people compare AI to incredibly expensive professionals, instead of some random off Fiverr. An AI can very cheaply diagnose you, but so can Some Guy On Fiverr. The...AI is not capable of many things that people think it can do right.
I think it's really unfair that people compare AI to incredibly expensive professionals, instead of some random off Fiverr. An AI can very cheaply diagnose you, but so can Some Guy On Fiverr. The AI will probably screw up, lie about basic and verifiable facts, but so will Some Guy On Fiverr.
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Comment on We’re seniors. It’s not our responsibility to fix the housing supply. in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI'm not actually advocating for that law. I'm trying to illustrate the absurdity of your statement. Political advocacy is an action with consequences that people can be judged by and reacted to....I'm not actually advocating for that law. I'm trying to illustrate the absurdity of your statement. Political advocacy is an action with consequences that people can be judged by and reacted to.
FWIW, what I do advocate is for basically whatever it takes to relieve supply, including banning local govt from constraining development in any way by making development approval exclusively a state-govt domain (not just for political reasons but because it rarely makes sense for local govts to hire town planners, and thus local govt's town planning laws are frequently ignorant of expert advice).
I also advocate for more construction of public housing - because there's an argument that the problem may be contributed to by private developers constraining supply at hyper-local levels (i.e. if you're the only builder building new houses in the suburb of Whatsville and you've built a ton of housing all at once, then maybe you want to trickle those houses onto the market to avoid flooding the market in Whatsville specifically), and public housing can essentially act as a guaranteed competitor to discourage that.
I especially advocate for ditching restrictions on single-family homes and minimum lot sizes though, because the best way to reduce prices is for lots of small developers to e.g. buy a single 1-storey house, split it in half with two developers paying half of the house's price each, and build two 3-storey apartment blocks in the spot. Or split the housing lot into 3; I've seen it done.
I don't think people preserving their neighborhoods is done with the intent of increasing anyone's cost of living.
You're drawing a distinction between apathy and hate here, and you're not wrong but it's completely irrelevant. And I would push back against the 'intent' comment - as a parable, a literal scammer doesn't want their victims to lose money, they simply want themselves to gain the money, and the only available options to do so are for them to gain money at the victims expense, or for them not to. While they're primarily choosing to gain money themselves, they are simultaneously inextricably choosing for their victims to lose the money as a means to that end. NIMBYs want to benefit themselves at the cost of the rest of society, and if they don't already know it then they're just turning a blind eye. And at the end of the day, I don't care why they're harming me and most people I know.
Seriously, see this:
secondarily to preserve their investment/property value.
Investment value is the cost of housing. If someone wanted to make themselves wealthy by keeping the cost of groceries artificially high, you would obviously call them a ghoul.
The rest of the causes are economic forces I can't remember enough of to talk about.
I fully agree that the economic forces are extensive and hard to remember and talk about.
I also don't think preserving neighborhoods is the cause of the housing shortage. One part of the cause is corporations buying houses.
This isn't really the case, AFAICT. First up: there's no difference between corporations speculatively buying houses, and literally any other investor speculatively buying houses. If it's "the rich", it doesn't matter whether it's in your name or in your LLC's name. "Corporations" is a thought-terminating cliche here, honestly. It sounds like an explanation but it's not.
The number of corporations who own houses is IIRC ~1%, so it's still not a good explanation.
But far more importantly than all of that: speculatively purchasing housing is only effective if supply is constrained. Otherwise, speculators will dump billions into buying up an entire city's worth of housing, only for developers to come in and build another city's worth of housing. And housing speculation only works if housing prices are consistently going up! So more supply can cause a double-whammy of relieving demand and also bankrupting speculators who were hoarding supply.
The numbers bear out the fact that cities that are consistently building lots of housing, don't increase housing prices above inflation rate. IIRC I got that from a Construction Physics post.
The point is, if there is one thing that drives the housing shortage, it's constrained supply. And NIMBYism is the epitome of constraining supply (usually by driving up delays and costs so far that it's either unprofitable to build in the first place - and therefore nobody builds - or it's extremely costly to build, and so the housing construction can never reduce the cost of housing much, because those build costs need to be passed onto the customer.
Everyone blames it on deindustrialisation of the West and claims it's proof we're in decline, in my experience.