Off topic galore

[unk45]

Well, I looked at a world map a few days ago in order to see the Middle East and the corresponding countries around it. I've never been to any of the countries in that area of the world, so its foreign to me.

Anyways - I just did google searches for the most relevant articles from 1/1/2020 to present for the following key term searches and took one of the top 3 links in each search:

- Syria: UNHCR responds to deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria | UNHCR
- Afghanistan: Remarks by President Biden on the Way Forward in Afghanistan | The White House
- Iran: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/24/tech/iran-internet-blackout/index.html
- Yemen: Explainer: Why Yemen is at war
- Oman: Haitham bin Tariq sworn in as Oman’s new sultan
- Saudi Arabia: FACT SHEET: Results of Bilateral Meeting Between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | The White House
- Iraq: https://www.npr.org/2021/10/18/1047...cy-defined-by-two-very-different-wars-in-iraq
- Jordan: Jordan warns Middle East is at edge of ‘abyss’
- Israel: Israel strikes and seals off Gaza after incursion by Hamas, which vows to execute hostages
- Lebanon: Exclusive: Lebanon's leaders were warned in July about explosives at port - documents
- Kuwait: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/918248313/kuwaits-emir-sheikh-sabah-al-ahmad-al-sabah-dies-at-91
- Turkey: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1154913148/turkey-earthquake-fault-lines-syria

Outer countries:
- Egypt: https://theintercept.com/2023/09/22/menendez-indictment-egypt/
- Pakistan: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62712301
- Turkmenistan: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/08/1071565479/turkmenistan-gates-of-hell-fire
- Uzbekistan: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/15/1123...it-in-uzbekistan-as-the-ukraine-war-dominates
- Tajikistan: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/21/kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-border-clashes-prove-deadly-civilians
- Georgia: https://www.voanews.com/a/parliamen...l-approval-to-foreign-agents-law/6994450.html
- Ukraine: https://www.state.gov/joint-declaration-of-support-for-ukraine
- Ethiopia: https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing...efugee-arrivals-sudan-unseen-last-two-decades

Trends:
- Multiple giant wars
- Huge earthquakes and wildfires
- Massive amounts of refugees

The world gets its oil from these places. So many reverberations and it's almost like a petri dish of change going on. It reminds me of this really old quote by Elon Musk:

A quote by Elon Musk

In terms of the Internet, it's like humanity acquiring a collective nervous system. Whereas previously we were more like a [?], like a collection of cell...

www.goodreads.com

“In terms of the Internet, it's like humanity acquiring a collective nervous system. Whereas previously we were more like a [?], like a collection of cells that communicated by diffusion. With the advent of the Internet, it was suddenly like we got a nervous system. It's a hugely impactful thing."​

I liken the change of our entire energy consumption and utilization stack to the same line of thought, no? We're uprooting and replacing all of this, new technology always has a correlative (if not a causal) relationship with social change/progress too.

I've lived in five of those countries and worked in all of the first half of the list, most of the bottom one.
From doing that over decades I have learned just how much I do NOT know. I've also learned that from Greeks to the Roman empire, the Crusades, the Ottomans and ever since there has been endless conflict in the region, not least because of the fundamental world view differences between religious groups. After all nearly all fo the major forces have been Semetic, but never have the various linguistic groups thrived together.

All this affects TSLA only to the extent that reducing the importance of petroleum in the world reduces friction, perhaps.
The largest impact on TSLA is rising uncertainty, but that is dual edged, since BEVs do change the political dynamic pressures.

Only the perpetual uncertainty remains.

 

[betstarship]

I've lived in five of those countries and worked in all of the first half of the list, most of the bottom one.
From doing that over decades I have learned just how much I do NOT know. I've also learned that from Greeks to the Roman empire, the Crusades, the Ottomans and ever since there has been endless conflict in the region, not least because of the fundamental world view differences between religious groups. After all nearly all fo the major forces have been Semetic, but never have the various linguistic groups thrived together.

All this affects TSLA only to the extent that reducing the importance of petroleum in the world reduces friction, perhaps.
The largest impact on TSLA is rising uncertainty, but that is dual edged, since BEVs do change the political dynamic pressures.

Only the perpetual uncertainty remains.

If reducing the importance of petroleum is reduced and the word is out about that...wouldn't all of these countries' governments be moving as quickly as possible to renewables in order to stabilize and allow their countries to innovate freely for their own people's futures? It's people at the end of the day.

Also, Elon Musk has said multiple times recently that he's really confident climate change is going to get resolved. That will not happen without a reduction, if not annihilation, of fossil fuels in this region and globally.

 

[unk45]

If reducing the importance of petroleum is reduced and the word is out about that...wouldn't all of these countries' governments be moving as quickly as possible to renewables in order to stabilize and allow their countries to innovate freely for their own people's futures? It's people at the end of the day.

Also, Elon Musk has said multiple times recently that he's really confident climate change is going to get resolved. That will not happen without a reduction, if not annihilation, of fossil fuels in this region and globally.

This conversation may seem off topic, but I think it is a large part of Elon's angst, though he doesn't describe it this way.
Interesting thesis. Acting in intelligent self-interest seems to to be within the capabilities of nearly all politicians.
Acting to satisfy the lowest common denominator seems more precvalent.
A quick look at any given country, including the French and British artificial country inventions during the 20th century, makes logic a weakness.

The core reason why rationality cannot survive in the Middle East is crispy described by national history of the Levant.
That goes off-topic. Elon does understand that. No person who really does can be optimistic on this topic.
I can PM references if anybody cares.

 

[Krugerrand]

If reducing the importance of petroleum is reduced and the word is out about that...wouldn't all of these countries' governments be moving as quickly as possible to renewables in order to stabilize and allow their countries to innovate freely for their own people's futures? It's people at the end of the day.

No.

Yes, it’s people. Selfish, self-centered, crooked, money and power hungry people.

A few countries/cultures with different values will, like perhaps a Norway. Most will not.

Also, Elon Musk has said multiple times recently that he's really confident climate change is going to get resolved. That will not happen without a reduction, if not annihilation, of fossil fuels in this region and globally.

One thing Elon always overlooks is the nature of people. He always thinks they’ll do the right thing; what’s logical, ethical, moral. They don’t. They won’t.

 

[betstarship]

No.

Yes, it’s people. Selfish, self-centered, crooked, money and power hungry people.

A few countries/cultures with different values will, like perhaps a Norway. Most will not.

One thing Elon always overlooks is the nature of people. He always thinks they’ll do the right thing; what’s logical, ethical, moral. They don’t. They won’t.

I'm sorry. This is now off topic

 

[jabloomf1230]

StopWatt.... Review King

Where's the crack Tesla legal department? Or does Elon believe a simple capacitor can save the average household even a penny? All credible tests of these devices show they do little or nothing. It might be an option for a warehouse with a bunch of old electric motors, but that's about it.

 

[SmokyPeat]

.45 ACP (Tommy gun) isn't exactly known for it's penetration power, but I'd still absolutely love to see a video of that.

 

[Blue horseshoe]

.45 ACP (Tommy gun) isn't exactly known for it's penetration power, but I'd still absolutely love to see a video of that.

As a point of reference a typical .45 full metal jacket round commonly used for target practice will very easily penetrate any standard car door and hit anyone inside.

 

[SmokyPeat]

As a point of reference a typical .45 full metal jacket round commonly used for target practice will very easily penetrate any standard car door and hit anyone inside.

A non hollow point .22 LR round will too at close range. Maybe even a hollow point. The sheet metal in cars has become thinner and thinner as mfr's look to save money and weight. I'm not sure how many gangsters are carrying Thompson's these days, but it's cool that CT can withstand them.

 

[2daMoon]

As a point of reference a typical .45 full metal jacket round commonly used for target practice will very easily penetrate any standard car door and hit anyone inside.

It would have been cooler if Elon had also shot a full magazine at a legacy pickup (as a video on X) to establish a baseline for comparison.

Though, honestly, rural TMCers could probably find examples of 'retired' pickups full of bullet holes on a nearby farm easy enough.

 

[betstarship]

 

[Buckminster]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1716491507136450725

 

[friit]

I wonder if anyone here follows Karen on BlueSky. She had a thread recently where she detailed a prediction of Elon going to jail due to the ongoing SEC saga. She thinks criminal charges are likely and Elon wouldn't back down and thus lose.

She's still a fiery defender of Tesla, but boy is it weird to see her all but rooting for Elon's downfall.

 

[ggr]

I wonder if anyone here follows Karen on BlueSky. She had a thread recently where she detailed a prediction of Elon going to jail due to the ongoing SEC saga. She thinks criminal charges are likely and Elon wouldn't back down and thus lose.

She's still a fiery defender of Tesla, but boy is it weird to see her all but rooting for Elon's downfall.

Agree, I follow her on bluesky. I have invitations available if people want to join... send me a message if interested.

 

[TesLeif]

Yeah, I just watched it too. Seba was speaking in Saudi Arabia. It definitely was not what they wanted to hear.

Mostly, it was the same talk I've heard half a dozen times from him. But it did remind me that we still have a long way to go for battery cost reduction. Batteries are still going to get a lot cheaper than they are now.

We are already seeing the Seagull from BYD starting at around $11,000 in China. I don't know if those would be street legal in more developed nations. But I can see BYD going well under $20k in Europe soon.

I sure hope Tesla is pretty far along on the Gen 3 vehicle.

Same talk, except for the Precision Fermentation bit (using industrial biological processing to get the animal molecules/substances we want in a faster/lower-footprint/lower-energy/lower-water/etc. way... versus livestock/dairy/etc.... basically getting some of our high-environmental-footprint food from micro-organisms vs macro-organisms). Sounds Off Topic... *BUT* a huge advantage of industrializing the meat/dairy/protein/etc. industries is that we get a *LOT* of land back... 2.XB hectares? All this to say that there will be lots of land available for SOLAR, WIND, BATTERY STORAGE (SWB)... and for Superchargers... and for new forests (carbon sinks).

 

[Artful Dodger]

I wonder if anyone here follows Karen on BlueSky. She had a thread recently where she detailed a prediction of Elon going to jail due to the ongoing SEC saga. She thinks criminal charges are likely and Elon wouldn't back down and thus lose.

She's still a fiery defender of Tesla, but boy is it weird to see her all but rooting for Elon's downfall.

@KarenRei lost her *sugar* when Elon bought Bitcoin and didn't immediately sell it when she told him to (they resold a quarter later, at no cash loss to Tesla, and still hold a net higher position).

Karen should get over herself. But that doesn't seem to be in her skillset. She's much happier helping TSLAQ-types bring frivilous motions to the AGMs (a service which she now offers for free).

Sad.

 

[betstarship]

Earth’s ‘vital signs’ worse than at any time in human history, scientists warn

Life on planet is in peril, say climate experts, as they call for a rapid and just transition to a sustainable future

www.theguardian.com

Their report found that 20 of the 35 planetary vital signs they use to track the climate crisis are at record extremes. As well as greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature and sea level rise, the indicators also include human and livestock population numbers. Many climate records were broken by enormous margins in 2023, including global air temperature, ocean temperature and Antarctic sea ice extent, the researchers said. The highest monthly surface temperature ever recorded was in July and was probably the hottest the planet has been in 100,000 years

By 2100, as many as 3 billion to 6 billion people may find themselves outside Earth’s livable regions, meaning they will be encountering severe heat, limited food availability and elevated mortality rates

The researchers urged a transition to a global economy that prioritised human wellbeing and cut the overconsumption and excessive emissions of the rich. The top 10% of emitters were responsible for almost 50% of global emissions in 2019, they said.

Does anyone know if there's any vegas odds on this happening?...and how that's changed y-o-y as all **this** continues to progress?

Elon Musk Claims a 10,000-Square Mile Solar Farm in the Desert Could Power America | Buzzworthy

 

[jerry33]

Does anyone know if there's any vegas odds on this happening?...and how that's changed y-o-y as all **this** continues to progress?

Elon Musk Claims a 10,000-Square Mile Solar Farm in the Desert Could Power America | Buzzworthy

Should be about infinity, because although technically possible, no one would condone a single source power for the entire country. Distributed generation is far cheaper (fewer transmission lines) and less vulnerable.

 

[Buckminster]

Another sales point - carwash mode:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1717964924784132227

 

[betstarship]

I'm catching up on the news today and it made me ponder the question: what would Carl Sagan would say right now? also, what would he be working on?