carsonc's recent activity
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Comment on Early tests of H5N1 prevalence in milk suggest US bird flu outbreak in cows is widespread in ~health
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Comment on A golden age of renewables is beginning, and California is leading the way in ~enviro
carsonc Link ParentThanks! It seems that is exactly what happened: "Jacobson withdrew his lawsuit in February 2018, two days after a court hearing on the defendants’ special motion to dismiss pursuant to the D.C....Thanks! It seems that is exactly what happened:
"Jacobson withdrew his lawsuit in February 2018, two days after a court hearing on the defendants’ special motion to dismiss pursuant to the D.C. Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) Act." (Wikipedia)
That inertia would lead to higher rates seems odd too. Is the "Emulated Inertia" discussed here ineffective or not widely implemented? -
Comment on A golden age of renewables is beginning, and California is leading the way in ~enviro
carsonc Link ParentI don't know who Mark Jacobson is. What makes you sceptical about his analysis? I do think this part is not the strongest part of the piece, but what do you see as the positively correlated or...I don't know who Mark Jacobson is. What makes you sceptical about his analysis?
I do think this part is not the strongest part of the piece, but what do you see as the positively correlated or possibly causal link between the high prices and renewables use?
I can imagine that the inability of a utility to throttle back supply results in energy that has to be sold when demand is saturated, resulting in the forced sale of energy at low prices and difficulty making the debt servicing payments. This might make the utility raise prices across the board. But I'm just guessing, at this point.
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Comment on Rooftop solar panels are flooding California’s grid. That’s a problem. in ~enviro
carsonc Link ParentIn thinking about your comment, I came to agree with it more and more. We just got approved for a lower rate at off peak levels because we have a plug in hybrid. Right now, we have net metering...In thinking about your comment, I came to agree with it more and more. We just got approved for a lower rate at off peak levels because we have a plug in hybrid. Right now, we have net metering and solar, so we don't benefit from additional storage. As long as watts of net consumption come in at night, we pay half price.
Residential rooftop solar is expensive and difficult to install, but residential batteries are much more amenable. With batteries, I could buy and hold electricity only when it is cheap. But more to the problem of the duck curve, the utility can just incentivise purchasing energy during excess production and at night, when demand would normally be low.
Incentivising residential battery purchase with lower time of use prices would ameliorate a lot of the demand curve problems with solar without making utilities install capacity.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club second nominations thread in ~books
carsonc LinkMinistry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson is the first book that comes to mind. I would love to discuss Annihilation by Jeff Vamdermeer with someone, no one around me has read it and it can...Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson is the first book that comes to mind.
I would love to discuss Annihilation by Jeff Vamdermeer with someone, no one around me has read it and it can be a tough sell from a casual reading perspective. -
Comment on Tildes Book Club meta discussion - should we read nonfiction as well as fiction and with what frequency? in ~books
carsonc Link ParentI did. I voted and commented, but I can withdraw my comment if that's not helpful. I think this group is great and I'm glad to participate.I did. I voted and commented, but I can withdraw my comment if that's not helpful. I think this group is great and I'm glad to participate.
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Comment on Rooftop solar panels are flooding California’s grid. That’s a problem. in ~enviro
carsonc Link ParentPerhaps in some states, but not in all. Besides, if the US keeps pursuing electrification, the demand will continue to increase, which is a problem that batteries can ameliorate but not solve....Perhaps in some states, but not in all. Besides, if the US keeps pursuing electrification, the demand will continue to increase, which is a problem that batteries can ameliorate but not solve. Today, do we have enough locally produced electricity to meet the peak demand that exceeds transmission capacity in a decade or five years?
If so, I would say that we should do as you suggest and level out solar power production and focus on improving storage. If not, though, then ramping up solar installations are a great way to ensure that the supply and transmission capacity are expanding to meet future demand.
Things are going to get uncomfortably hot and people will depend on electrically driven mechanical heat pumps for cooling. If that fails, the health and safety of many will be in jeopardy. For some, I predict that having electricity will be a matter of survival.
What do you think?
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Comment on Tildes Book Club meta discussion - should we read nonfiction as well as fiction and with what frequency? in ~books
carsonc Link ParentNon-fiction always has an "eat your vegetables" feel to me. I always feel that I should do it more than I actually do, yet I never want to. If this group can encourage me to delve into it more,...Non-fiction always has an "eat your vegetables" feel to me. I always feel that I should do it more than I actually do, yet I never want to. If this group can encourage me to delve into it more, great. I think a one-to-three ratio is what I can enjoy.
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Comment on Help me ditch Chrome's password manager! in ~tech
carsonc LinkI wanted to put a plug in for Enpass. I've now compelled several people around me to start using it. I really like it and, if you are in the market, you should give it a look.I wanted to put a plug in for Enpass. I've now compelled several people around me to start using it. I really like it and, if you are in the market, you should give it a look.
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Comment on What is it like to have both ADHD and autism? in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentNo problem. I have complete confidence in your capacities and no doubt that you will obtain your accomplish your objectives. I am happy to help in any way I can.No problem. I have complete confidence in your capacities and no doubt that you will obtain your accomplish your objectives. I am happy to help in any way I can.
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Comment on What is it like to have both ADHD and autism? in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentI apologize that it came off as a criticism; I certainly didn't intend it as such. I was speaking narrowly to the decision to get a diagnosis, and not the condition itself. I avoided diagnosis for...I apologize that it came off as a criticism; I certainly didn't intend it as such. I was speaking narrowly to the decision to get a diagnosis, and not the condition itself. I avoided diagnosis for a long time for fear of being constrained by it, and only realized afterward that it could play a positive role in my life.
You are very correct: it is not very empathetic to assume that others aren't living well or working hard with what they have. I agree completely. We are doing the best with what we have.
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Comment on What is it like to have both ADHD and autism? in ~health.mental
carsonc LinkI have a comprehensive diagnosis with both ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. I was diagnosed as an adult a few years ago, but had suspected something for several years before that. The testing...I have a comprehensive diagnosis with both ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. I was diagnosed as an adult a few years ago, but had suspected something for several years before that.
The testing took place over several sessions and featured a four hour sort of IQ test. The result was a 20-page report that documented the results of the testing, including the ways in which I exhibited ASD and ADHD, but also those areas where I had the greatest capacity.
There are many ways to look at it, but, for me, I believe that I have had some natural strengths that have helped me greatly. I also have, not weaknesses, but rather delays in other skills - things that I would have developed earlier if not for the neurodivergence. This allows me to work towards improvement in areas where I am weak with the knowledge that a delayed development in that area is still a development, and something to be happy about. Furthermore, a delayed development is not necessarily a limited one. Simply because I have developed a capacity later than others does not mean that it's "ceiling" is lower. If I am willing to keep developing a formerly weak capability, that capability can grow to be as great as that of anyone else.
In the meantime, I have tried to play to my strengths. The testing highlighted which of my capacities are exceptional and to what degree. Accordingly, I have tried to shape my professional carreer around those skills, so as to deliver to others on my team the best kinds of work products that I can produce, with the least amount of risk or effort. This allows me to think about areas where I can grow and develop capacities without staking important decisions or outcomes on the places where I am weakest.
I have tried to use my diagnosis to help me, rather than to let it define or constrain me. I don't see why you or anyone else can't do the same.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Piranesi in ~books
carsonc Link ParentIn a strange way, the book is a real-world stand-in for the World of the House it describes insofar as that world is only known to a few people, and those few have difficulty describing it to...In a strange way, the book is a real-world stand-in for the World of the House it describes insofar as that world is only known to a few people, and those few have difficulty describing it to others.
I've felt the same way about describing the book to others: I want to invite others to read it but do not want to tell them anything about it and ruin much of the joy of the book. The book was transporting, but I can't describe the place it transported me to and, even though others can access that world as easily as I could, my inability to describe it will probably mean that they don't read the book and thereby experience the world it describes.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Piranesi in ~books
carsonc Link ParentI wanted first to share sympathy with your condition. CFS sounds extremely difficult and I wish you the best. Reading your post also made me think about my own experience of reading the book. I...I wanted first to share sympathy with your condition. CFS sounds extremely difficult and I wish you the best. Reading your post also made me think about my own experience of reading the book. I would dive into it when I could just to get out of my world and spend time in the World of the House, even if only for a few minutes. For those minutes, I could escape.
The plot, the writing, the characters, and so on were all wonderful, but, I suppose like Ritter and Sorensen, I just wanted to go back to the House. Reflecting on the experience of being confined by disability that you write about... I can see those themes now in the book. Ritter and Sorensen are both confined against their will to the House, but then they both want to go back once they leave. Arne-Sayles and Ketterley only see the House from the perspectives of what they might gain from it. Would they have been happier if they had let themselves see the House as Sorensen did? Was Sorensen trapped in the House or was Ketterley trapped by his ambitions? Who suffered the greater confinement?
I never would have though of myself as trapped in my own life, but what does it say if I only wanted to escape from it whenever I could?
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Comment on Terraform Industries converts electricity and air into synthetic natural gas for the first time in ~enviro
carsonc Link ParentThe concept of sunlight to fuels is going to be important for a long time. Hydrocarbons make pretty amazing transportation fuels due to their high energy density and power density and, as long as...The concept of sunlight to fuels is going to be important for a long time. Hydrocarbons make pretty amazing transportation fuels due to their high energy density and power density and, as long as we want to keep moving people and goods around, we are going to prefer hydrocarbons to electric power.
Intermittent renewables also benefit enormously from access to energy storage, and making hydrogen and/or methane is an excellent long-term energy storage mechanism.
Last, I think there is often too little tolerance for incremental progress in developing technologies. It is easy to evaluate harshly the first-of-a-kind project because it encounters difficulties that more mature technologies either don't see or have already overcome. However, new technologies are needed to overcome the intrinsic limits of old ones and the road to a successful new technology is often paved with its own failures.
For example, even if this project sees massive methane leaks at first, it doesn't mean that the net effect will be negative. Even if the net GHG effect of this plant is to elevate GWP, it doesn't mean that other plants will, too. Even if the core concept of a methane end product is intrinsically elevating GWP, it could become an intermediate step towards liquid hydrocarbons in something like a Fischer Tropsch reaction, which would be much less volatile.
Sadly, it takes a lot of milk to make a little cream, and if we can't foster scientific failures in renewable energy, we will have difficulty creating successful innovations that will benefit a post-fossil fuel world.
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Comment on I have an issue with the 3 Body Problem in ~tv
carsonc LinkThese are great answers and I would like to offer my own. I've read the books but only watched the first episode of the show, so I'm not sure where the adaptation deviates from the source...These are great answers and I would like to offer my own. I've read the books but only watched the first episode of the show, so I'm not sure where the adaptation deviates from the source material.
One of the themes of the trilogy is importance of understanding an opponents true aims and motives, and how, when those are understood, their actions can be undermined. The sophon strategy described in the books is very subtle. What's happening? Why doesn't anything work? No one knows, initially. The Trisolarians may have assumed that humans are dumb enough to never figure out why. If so, why reveal more than needed and thus enable your enemy to undermine your objective?
There are other, even more improbable premises introduced in the books as the story continues. I hope you continue to post your observations.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club - We will be discussing Piranesi the third week in April in ~books
carsonc Link ParentThanks! I'll have to hold my... thumbs (?) until then.Thanks! I'll have to hold my... thumbs (?) until then.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
carsonc Link ParentI thought Three Body Problem was good enough to keep going and read The Dark Forest. I'm glad I did, as Dark Forest was, by far, my favorite of the three. For what it's worth, Bobiverse read to me...I thought Three Body Problem was good enough to keep going and read The Dark Forest. I'm glad I did, as Dark Forest was, by far, my favorite of the three.
For what it's worth, Bobiverse read to me like techie wish fulfillment fantasy. I enjoyed it, but it was conspicuously free of challenging or novel ideas. (Which is something I like, sometimes.)
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Comment on Sci-fi author Vernor Vinge dead at 79 in ~books
carsonc LinkAny time I think about public key encryption schemes, I remember how the characters in the book just laughed about when this was brought up in Fire. What a gifted author.Any time I think about public key encryption schemes, I remember how the characters in the book just laughed about when this was brought up in Fire. What a gifted author.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club - We will be discussing Piranesi the third week in April in ~books
carsonc LinkWhat are the policies about spoilers? I don't think I could say anything about this book without creating spoilers. It was just amazing. I want to talk about it, but I'm afraid to say anything...What are the policies about spoilers? I don't think I could say anything about this book without creating spoilers. It was just amazing. I want to talk about it, but I'm afraid to say anything that could give something away.
No, but not because the viruses are damaged. Attenuated viruses have been used in a wide range of vaccines. Vaccines work because they (1) have proteins associated with a particular target pathogen and (2) are associated with some kind of damage to the body. This damage often comes from the subcutaneous injection with a needle and causes the immune system to start searching for a culprit. The immune system finds the vaccine particles and associates the damage from the needle with the antigens in the vaccine and produces antibodies for the pathogen.
If there is no damage, there will likely be no immune response and therefore no immunity.