pbmonster's recent activity
-
Comment on iPhone 17, 17 Pro and Air announced in ~tech
-
Comment on $30K Ford EV truck due in 2027 with much-simpler production process in ~transport
pbmonster Link ParentThere will probably be and Id.Golf in around 4-5 years, based on VW's Scalable Systems Platform (the future successor to the MEB-platform). But knowing VW, that car will not have many parts in...One I’d like to see make a comeback is the EV version of VW’s Golf.
There will probably be and Id.Golf in around 4-5 years, based on VW's Scalable Systems Platform (the future successor to the MEB-platform). But knowing VW, that car will not have many parts in common with old or current ICE Golfs, they're just going to reuse the legacy name. That's what all the German brands are now moving towards with their EVs.
-
Comment on $30K Ford EV truck due in 2027 with much-simpler production process in ~transport
pbmonster Link ParentAh, I see what you mean. I also just realize that they don't sell the VW Id.3 in the US. Apparently almost everybody just decided that this market is not attractive for small hatchback EVs. So the...Ah, I see what you mean. I also just realize that they don't sell the VW Id.3 in the US. Apparently almost everybody just decided that this market is not attractive for small hatchback EVs.
So the Kia Niro and the Chevy Bolt are holding the fort. There's also the Nissan Leaf and a Mini Cooper, but I wouldn't consider buying those...
-
Comment on $30K Ford EV truck due in 2027 with much-simpler production process in ~transport
pbmonster Link ParentInteresting. That should make the market for Kia, Hyundai and VW even more attractive - if Americans had any demand for hatchbacks or sedans. For what it's worth, I think the EV6, IONIQ and Id.x...We don’t get Renault, Citroen, or Peugeot in the US
Interesting. That should make the market for Kia, Hyundai and VW even more attractive - if Americans had any demand for hatchbacks or sedans.
For what it's worth, I think the EV6, IONIQ and Id.x are all perfectly good small-ish EVs.
Nor do we get Skoda, Seat, or Cupra
Pitty. In the end, those are all EVs built on VW's MEB platform, but significantly cheaper than the respective Id.x VW sells under its own brand.
-
Comment on $30K Ford EV truck due in 2027 with much-simpler production process in ~transport
pbmonster Link ParentIs this a US thing? Don't you get the cheaper Korean/French sedans and hatchbacks? Kia, Hyundai, Renault, Citroen and Peugeot all built relatively cheap EVs. Small and midsize hatchbacks, sedans,...Ioniq 6 and the Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes ones
I guess the family and compact economy sedans are just going to die.
Is this a US thing? Don't you get the cheaper Korean/French sedans and hatchbacks? Kia, Hyundai, Renault, Citroen and Peugeot all built relatively cheap EVs. Small and midsize hatchbacks, sedans, they all have offers in those segments.
Then there's the VW group, they have plenty below $100k - even inhouse, the ID.7 is cheaper than that (still expensive for what you get). Skoda, Seat and Cupra are part of the VW group and serve significantly lower prices than Audi/Porsche. They all have small EVs.
-
Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk
pbmonster (edited )Link ParentNot even close. But this might be characteristic for a specific type of person and a specific type of work. I type, a lot. All day. If I'm sitting down at a computer, all 10 fingers instinctively...For me a really good trackpad negates the need for a mouse or nub.
Not even close. But this might be characteristic for a specific type of person and a specific type of work.
I type, a lot. All day. If I'm sitting down at a computer, all 10 fingers instinctively park in their resting positions on the keyboard, both index fingers searching for the little nubs on the F and J keys. When I'm forced to work with a touchpad or a Real Mouse^TM, I have to expend effort to return my right hand to JKL; after. And because I primarily use the mouse to quickly reposition the text courser or choosing the next email/file, repositioning my hand ads significant friction.
Compare that to using the ClitMouse: You type, you give the clit a flick with the right index, click with the left thumb, leave the mouse pointer where it is and go back to typing. No wrist movement, no searching for the J key.
It is, of course, absolutely essential that you have practice/muscle memory with the clit mouse. If each course placement takes 5 seconds because you've overshot your target and need to move back the other way - using your eyes as a closed-loop feedback system - working with the hardware becomes pure pain. But you get use to it quickly. I think I can get to any word on the screen with two flicks and a keyboard shortcut (e.g. cursor target beginning/end of word).
-
Comment on Google’s Taara is launching a new chip to deliver high-speed Internet with light in ~tech
pbmonster Link ParentIt won't have LOS between the phone and the cell tower, no. But you can connect cell towers that way. Which is very important, because once you serve a few 7G connections, you'll need a fat pipe...It won't have LOS between the phone and the cell tower, no. But you can connect cell towers that way. Which is very important, because once you serve a few 7G connections, you'll need a fat pipe to the rest of the internet. This means fiber to every single microcell - or something like a Light Bridge.
I can see it for microcells on rooftops in the city, or for larger cells out in the country.
-
Comment on Apple debuts iPhone 16e in ~tech
pbmonster Link ParentNo, you can't, unfortunately. This is exactly what I call "Chinese C-Tier phone with a slow processor, bad camera and questionable integrity of the Android install". Seriously, it has an outdated...No, you can't, unfortunately. This is exactly what I call "Chinese C-Tier phone with a slow processor, bad camera and questionable integrity of the Android install".
Seriously, it has an outdated Mediatek CPU with 4GB RAM and a 13MP camera module of unknown origin capping out at 30fps video.
I'd be extremely surprised if that thing runs stock Android 11. I bet they heavily customized it, all Chinese OEMs do.
-
Comment on Apple debuts iPhone 16e in ~tech
pbmonster Link ParentI recently had to begrudgingly upgrade my phone after waiting for years for a modern, compact phone, and it looks bleak. If you want a compact (sub 5" screen) phone, you only have crap choices: a...I am concerned about phone sizes though. I'm going to hold on to my iPhone 13 Mini for as long as I can but I don't know if there will even be a comparable Android model with a reasonable size in a few years.
I recently had to begrudgingly upgrade my phone after waiting for years for a modern, compact phone, and it looks bleak. If you want a compact (sub 5" screen) phone, you only have crap choices:
- a flip phone with a good front screen (e.g. Samsung Flip 6)
- a Chinese C-Tier phone with a slow processor, bad camera and questionable integrity of the Android install (e.g. Unihertz)
- a legacy phone with no or very short software support (Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact with a custom ROM or iPhone SE3)
- accept that 6" is now the new compact.
I have big hands, so I chose the last option. I still can one-hand that screen, but it's not comfortable. I miss my 5" phone every day.
-
Comment on Firebrick thermal energy storage could reach 170 GW in the US by 2050 in ~enviro
pbmonster Link ParentUnfortunately, much of the energy in a furnace is not used for heating the metal, but for melting it. The enthalpy of melting is significantly higher than the heat capacity. But sure, there's...a process that depends on drawing in material externally, heating it up, and then moving it somewhere else, using the stored heat in a preheat step would substantially reduce the peak energy demand
Unfortunately, much of the energy in a furnace is not used for heating the metal, but for melting it. The enthalpy of melting is significantly higher than the heat capacity. But sure, there's double digit percentage points of efficiency gains just in preheating the furnace and the charge.
round trip efficiency is 60-70% which is pretty good for electric -> heat -> electric
There is no way they're significantly past 50% for the heat-electricity step alone. They would make billions selling a 70% carrot efficiency process to classic thermal power plants.
-
Comment on Firebrick thermal energy storage could reach 170 GW in the US by 2050 in ~enviro
pbmonster Link ParentNo, this is all about industrial process heat. I'm surprised, too. I guess I can see the potential in low temperature processes like food processing, and even mid temperature processes like...No, this is all about industrial process heat. I'm surprised, too.
I guess I can see the potential in low temperature processes like food processing, and even mid temperature processes like chemicals production. But we use a whole lot of steel and concrete, and those run hot...
-
Comment on Firebrick thermal energy storage could reach 170 GW in the US by 2050 in ~enviro
pbmonster (edited )LinkOP, do you have a good technical overview how those high temperature storage systems work in practice? The article states This number is surprisingly high. It must include steel mills. Electric...OP, do you have a good technical overview how those high temperature storage systems work in practice?
The article states
Firebrick systems powered by renewable energy could be used for up to 90% of industrial process heat applications
This number is surprisingly high. It must include steel mills. Electric arc furnaces regularly heat steel to 1800°C, but go as far as 3000°C for other alloys. We'll ignore the latter. But how do you heat a standard 80 ton furnace (normally pulling 60MW electric) from a fire brick storage system? How do you get the heat out of storage and into the furnace?
Is it all just 2000+°C (you want the transport medium to be a few hundred degrees above your target, otherwise you're barely moving any power around) nitrogen gas piped through ceramic pipes? The volumetric flow must be insane if you want to move tens or hundreds of MW (400 ton furnaces are not uncommon). How do you pump this flow? Ceramic fan blades? How do you get it into the furnace? Ceramic jacket? Use high temperature helium and pump it straight through the steel?
And steel is only the first thing. Cement kilns run at 1500°C.
Is anybody actually doing any of this?
-
Comment on Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek hopes his latest brainchild, the Neko Body Scan, will revolutionise healthcare in ~health
pbmonster Link ParentI don't get it. The "CAT" in CAT scan stands for "computer assisted tomography". A tomography needs the subject to be cut in slices. The Neko scanner is not doing slices, its mostly a surface..."Neko" means "cat", right? So it's a cat scan. Funny.
I don't get it. The "CAT" in CAT scan stands for "computer assisted tomography". A tomography needs the subject to be cut in slices. The Neko scanner is not doing slices, its mostly a surface scan. So what's the joke?
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~humanities.languages
pbmonster (edited )Link ParentMaaaaaybe for writing. But even Arabic natives can have a hard time communicating even the basics with each other as you go from Western Sahara in the west to Oman in the east. Realistically, even...Arabic would probably be a better pick than French
Maaaaaybe for writing. But even Arabic natives can have a hard time communicating even the basics with each other as you go from Western Sahara in the west to Oman in the east. Realistically, even relatively close countries are not having a fluent conversation with each other. A Tunesian isn't just having a lively debate with a Egyptian, who isn't doing the same with a Jordanian. The dialects are to different.
They could debate in writing, though, or talk in modern standard Arabic - if the Tunisian remembers any from school.
-
Comment on Why don't governments invest in their own dating apps? Would you use one? in ~life
pbmonster Link ParentYeah, the good thing is that then the feeling between you and the state is mutual! But there are people who'd like to be parents, but they lack a stable partner. Tinder is probably not helping...I'm not planning to have kids, and if I don't have value outside of my fertility, I don't need to be engaged with that.
Yeah, the good thing is that then the feeling between you and the state is mutual! But there are people who'd like to be parents, but they lack a stable partner. Tinder is probably not helping very much, and that's what the discussion here is primarily about.
-
Comment on Why don't governments invest in their own dating apps? Would you use one? in ~life
pbmonster Link ParentI mean nobody is talking about making Tinder/Bumble/Hinge/Grindr illegal. But if you are a state actor, and you're worried about fertility rates, the quickest way to fix that is to get as many...I mean nobody is talking about making Tinder/Bumble/Hinge/Grindr illegal.
But if you are a state actor, and you're worried about fertility rates, the quickest way to fix that is to get as many people into stable long term relationships as possible. In the current cultural climate, assuming (and encouraging) a preference for monogamy makes this a whole lot easier.
-
Comment on Travel recommendations for Japan in ~travel
pbmonster Link ParentI did exactly that once, and found it utterly impossible to get a bowl of rice to go with the 2 different delicious fish dishes I ordered at random. Very good fish, just no sides whatsoever. Not...Once I just pointed at a menu at random and had one of the best meals of the whole trip. I generally find you can go a long way with pointing and smiling.
I did exactly that once, and found it utterly impossible to get a bowl of rice to go with the 2 different delicious fish dishes I ordered at random. Very good fish, just no sides whatsoever.
Not only English ability was the barrier, but the wait staff also had low motivation to cooperate and zero willingness to act on its own initiative. I'm convinced they were 99% sure what I wanted, but didn't dare to guess the last 1%. Google translate was not a thing yet, unfortunately.
-
Comment on Why don't governments invest in their own dating apps? Would you use one? in ~life
pbmonster (edited )Link ParentIt's certainly one of the problems. I agree, it's not the biggest problem. But Match Group, Inc. does not really want you to find your soulmate and get married. It wants you to keep looking at...The problem with dating is not that the apps suck
It's certainly one of the problems. I agree, it's not the biggest problem. But Match Group, Inc. does not really want you to find your soulmate and get married. It wants you to keep looking at your screen, swyping more people, and it wants you to start paying (to see who liked you, to keep searching) as soon as possible. It sends you notifications to keep swyping (no matter how your date went), its built to be as adictive as possible.
If you'd want to build an app that gets people into long term relationships as soon as possible, you'd probably include mechanisms that stop the swyping as soon as possible.
3 matches? No more swyping, no more "NEW MATCH!" dopamine dump notifications. Talk to them or unmatch.
Or more invasive: Encourage users to tell the app when they've scheduled a date, gamefy it, reward it, it's not hard. The app goes into lock down until you unmatch your date (which nontifies the date - it also notifies the date if you haven't told the app about the date).
-
Comment on Slugs - how are you coping? in ~life.home_improvement
pbmonster LinkProbably only an option for more rural gardens, but you can enlist your domestic fowl to fight in your slug war. The classic troopers are runner ducks, they love slugs and slug eggs, there's no...Probably only an option for more rural gardens, but you can enlist your domestic fowl to fight in your slug war.
The classic troopers are runner ducks, they love slugs and slug eggs, there's no stopping them.
But with a little effort, you can train chickens to hunt for slugs. Young hens are very adventurous in what they'll try to eat, they just usually don't try slugs because they are to big while the birds are still small-ish. But if you cut up a slug and hand-feed the pieces, they'll try it, and universally love the taste. Takes them a couple of feedings to get it, but once they've made the connection between slugs on the ground and the delicious pieces they've been eating, it's a massacre. And they'll keep the taste for slugs for the rest of their lives...
-
Comment on Denmark's plan to eliminate parallel societies has drawn criticism as ethnic discrimination. Others in Europe may be watching. in ~society
pbmonster Link ParentAny reason to focus on "the western world" specifically? Because Singapore has been fantastically successful in integrating its parallel societies, especially the historically poorer and less...I can not help but wonder, are there any example in the western world that have effective dealt with parallel societies?
Any reason to focus on "the western world" specifically?
Because Singapore has been fantastically successful in integrating its parallel societies, especially the historically poorer and less educated Malay ethnic group. And they did it exactly the way Denmark tries to use now: every neighbourhood, down to single apartment buildings, must approximate the ethnic make-up of Singapore as a whole. No segregation, no ghettos, no parallel societies.
It worked extremely well. But Singapore always made sure to have the leadership of the Malay group deeply involved in decisions like that, and those rules also got applied to the (historically richer) Chinese, Indian and Eurasian ethnic groups.
Still firmly team 'mini phone'. And I'm not talking 3.5" Chinese nano phone, 5" bezel-less was always the perfect size. Now 6" is the new "compact". I hate it - love everything else about my Pixel 8, but the screen is to large to comfortably one-hand everything.
This is true, of course. But going from 5" to 6.5" or 7" doesn't actually give you all that much real estate. Not enough to meaningfully run apps side-by-side. Not enough to use the often-superior desktop version of a site. Not enough to give you a quick way to switch between open tabs. In the end, "real" research (restaurants, hiking trails, ect.) needs 14" - and a keyboard.
Never had a problem with that on my 5" phone. And I did the majority of my reading on public transit on that screen. But I have 20/20 vision and a steady hand...