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Here's the text version: https://practical.engineering/blog/2021/9/16/repairing-under...

Noteworthy: That power line is only 10 miles long. Madison to Dubuque would be about 10X longer.


> It is highly contestable that every single Western supermarket out there has a diesel generator down in the back / storage room that will kick in in an instant if a power outage begins.

Literally true. However:

- If it takes them 10 minutes to fire up the generator, then 5 minutes to restart the network and registers, that is no big issue (in a many-hour outage)

- At least in my part of the USA, many supermarkets do have generators - because storm damage causes local outages relatively often, and they'd lose a lot of money if they couldn't keep their freezers and refrigerators powered. Since the power requirements of the lighting and registers are just (compared to the cooling equipment) a rounding error, those are also on generators.


My big problem with lab-leak theories is that their "useful for the common good" utility seems close to zero. (Vs. just forcing the damned labs follow their own long-standing safety rules - which the labs were regularly screwing up at, decades ago.)

Vs. less-benevolent uses of those theories seem rife - whether that's neutral "clicks pay the bills" journalism, or angry hotheads stirring up easily-turned-violent xenophobia.


And to exercise their gigabuck-class egos, and ...

> son of a senior official in the CIA.

Not the son of a CIA Director, as the title seems to imply.

Reading the article's account of his behavior - I'd say he was a seriously troubled young man, desperately searching for some sort of meaning or purpose to his life.

> He told “Mert”, a Rainbow Family friend, that he joined not to fight but to gain a passport.

> In one message, he said: “My goal in life is to build an infrastructure for the oxidation of water in a supercritical state. To put an end to environmental pollution and the diseases and deaths associated with pollution, that is: cancer, lymphoma and all the hormonal problems associated with microplastics and estrogens in water.”

> Important Stories spoke to a member of the 137th regiment who said that, after training, Gloss was sent “to the assault units”. He last logged into Telegram in March.

Sound like the Russians found a cheap meat shield. And Michael at least found an end to his troubled life.


Nothing in this story suggests "seriously troubled".

desperately searching for some sort of meaning or purpose to his life.

Like a lot of people, young and old. That (or being a blithe traveling weirdo) doesn't make you 'seriously troubled'.


Ah yes, the tried and true method to fix everything: kill innocent civilians for a dictator

Happily, it sounds like WY's State Treasurer is mindful of manufacturing realities - especially markets, skilled workers, and supply chains.

I'm none of a Wyomingite, a Republican, or a Trump fan. (There's a heavy "following Trump's vision" spin to the announcement.)

But still, I hope that Mr. Meier's plan is quickly and obviously successful.


> [...] there was a time when people in Washington were positively giddy about Jeff Bezos’ new mansion on S Street. [...]

> “What he’s going to do is revive the legacy of Kay Graham and her great socializing — bringing smart, interesting people together in a social context,” Jean Case, who with her husband Steve was an old friend of Bezos and his then wife, said at the time.

> It was a prediction that a certain stratum of D.C. very much wanted to believe. The idea of a world-transforming industrialist running the political city’s salon flattered establishment Washington’s perennial hunger for social validation: See, we’re not just a bunch of ill-dressed policy wonks!

> The validation never arrived.

The real story isn't about Trump. The real story isn't about Bezos.

The real story is about thousands of supposedly educated & sophisticated people, who deluded themselves with baseless beliefs, because those beliefs felt SO good to them.


Also https://www.hylight.aero/

I see no mention of its ability to cope with wind & weather. Traditionally, that's been the Achilles heel of blimps and dirigibles.

Then there's stuff like FAA rules & regulations.


   if( really_cool_sounding_poorly_defined_indeterminable_condition )
      print "yes"
   else
      print "no"

If you primarily eat with your eyes - chocolate side up

If you primarily eat with your tongue - chocolate side down


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