Jblx2

Can't wait for us to adopt the metric Avogadro constant. I wonder what units they use for the Hubble constant in Europe (love me some megaparsecs).

And here I thought maybe time zero would be the big bang, but alas, that is too celestial, so I guess January 1st, 1970 it is. Or whatever that is in the metric calendar (10 months per year, 10 days/week, 100 days/month)

>something rational like 24-hour time

Shouldn't the real smarties be using 10-hour days using metric time? 100 minutes per hour, 100 seconds per minute.

https://timeity.com/metric-time/

It is also OK if you only use GPS 3 times per year.

Are there any cars that support CarPlay/Android Auto that don't have built-in navigation/maps?

$100k is in Canadian dollars? I just added almost every accessory/package and option to the the 2026 GR Sport Plug-in Hybrid RAV4, and it came out to $55,821. If there were options that were nearly identical, I only added the most expensive one. So I only added one hammock ($340) and one of the Pelican Dayventure Backpack Cooler ($301). This includes the dog first-aid kit, and the human first-aid kit. Maybe all the options will come through this link:

https://www.toyota.com/configurator/build/step/summary/year/...

...maybe there is a lot of dealer markup in your area?

How many unsolicited letters from a CEO are you getting per day? How much leeway did secretaries generally have when talking dictation for correspondence?

This is some unknown stranger offering partially cooked ingredients to you because they want you to finish off preparing the meal they want to eat.

> A good use of AI is when it enables people to do something they couldn’t do before, to contribute to a community when they couldn’t before.

There are two separate things here that are getting silently conflated.

> A good use of AI is when it enables people to do something they couldn’t do before

This could be good on an individual level, if say, a doctor wants to vibe code an app of some sort for his individual practice.

>to contribute to a community when they couldn’t before.

This is where it goes off the rails. If they couldn't meaningfully contribute before, they aren't going to suddenly be able to discern that whatever slop they want to contribute is of value to the community. That's just another way of saying, if I wanted an AI opinion on something, why wouldn't I get it directly from the source, and write the prompt myself, instead of have some intermediate human prompt the AI for me?

Keep in shape my friend! The smaller/sportier flying cars will probably have more weight restrictions.

Call me skeptical on being less complex than cars. I suppose this must be referring to parts count compared to an internal combustion engine car?

Interestingly enough, I posted this as a follow on to a comment I made on yesterday's derailed Waymo-in-Portland discussion, where I wondered when will personal (flying) quadcopter vehicles have more annual passenger miles than every passenger rail combined (subways/light rail/Amtrak) in the U.S. I'm could see it happening within my lifetime.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47943360

Just spit-balling here, but writing software can be pretty non-capital intensive. You need a computer, and your time. Hardware costs money. You need to buy tools. You spend money on raw materials. Spend more time and money to turn those raw materials in components. Spend more time assembling the parts. Find out there is an issue with widget A not working with widget B. Redesign B, buy its raw materials, have it machined again. Finally build first prototype after 6 weeks. Discover its flaws. Spend some more money to iterate. Wait another 6 weeks. Oh, and manufacturer Z says part C is a last-time buy. Would you want to buy 5,000 units now?

Also, reading through the whole thread make me think there should be a meme about this.

Normal Person: I heard about shellfish, but it turns out I don't like to eat it, because it tastes bad.

Seafood Advocate 1: You are wrong, shellfish is highly nutritious. And one of the most calorie dense foods.

Seafood Advocate 2: Everyone knows you need to eat shellfish between the hours of 11AM and 1PM. If you learn to eat at the proper time, you would like shellfish.

Seafood Advocate 3: People in Japan eat shellfish, so it is highly likely that you like shellfish as well.

Seafood Advocate 4: The only reason someone could say they dislike shellfish is because of the anti-seafood conspiracy.

Normal Person: I thought this was originally a thread about chicken pasta recipes? Continues to not eat shellfish.

Were there man-on-the-street grass roots 1950s advocates that were instrumental for getting the interstate highway system built? Suburban expansion advocates? Do you really only need an advocate to convince people to like something that they otherwise currently dislike?

And am I the only one who thinks the concept of a "transit advocate" is a bit odd? I mean, yes, there are people whose career is to make transportation work/better. And they should continue to do so. Were there non-Bell-Telephone-employees that were telephone advocates back in the 1940s? Airline advocates convincing people to fly? Car phone/cell phone brick/flip phone/smart phone advocates?

I think there is also a couple of other factors at play with the online train / mass transit advocates on places like HN. It could just be my imagination, but I think there is trains-are-a-good-solution-for-other-people (but not necessarily for me) contingent. And there is a trains-are-good-for-you transportation method, that you have to put up with for the "greater good". A bitter pill to swallow, not something you actually want. Kind of the opposite for say, electric vehicles, where they currently are a much superior alternative to and internal combustion engine vehicle for almost ever use case (acceleration, $/mile, maintenance, general hassle). That's why I think EVs will inevitably win, even in the U.S.. Maybe someone could come up with a luxury light rail that people would actually want to use? I mentioned it up-thread in the context of California high speed rail, but now I'm going to broaden it. When will personal (flying) quadcopter vehicles have more annual passenger miles than every passenger rail combined (subways/light rail/Amtrak) in the U.S.? I'm could see it happening within my lifetime. Maybe this has some bearing on why I see trains as antiquated?

I wonder if California high speed rail will ever surpass quadcopter personal vehicles in passenger miles per year. I know which way I'd bet for the year 2040.

A lot of it probably has to do with train advocates seeming like audiophiles extoling the virtues of phonograph records and the like. It seems like they are nostalgic for an 1880s utopia. That's just the vibe I get. I wonder what people in this thread think about The Line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Line,_Saudi_Arabia

>Trains are great

I wonder how much that sentiment is that based on steampunk and 1880's nostalgia?

How long does Waymo generally take to map and otherwise get ready for a new city rollout (permits, etc.)? I guess I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't even started offering rides in 2027.

Being slow and inconvenient would be the main reasons. Less exposure to communicable diseases and other unpleasantness are secondary reasons.

I wonder what percentage of people in Portland are resistors. Do they outnumber the homeless?

Anyone else feel a bit queasy about citing Kahneman as a source anymore?

https://retractionwatch.com/2017/02/20/placed-much-faith-und...

Here is a source that claims that Arizona is the #2 state for residential solar.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1419901/us-residential-g...

Is this blog potentially suspect/misleading? Up-thread someone pointed out another source for PV production with rankings:

  1 - California
  2 - Texas
  3 - Florida
  4 - Arizona
  5 - North Carolina
  6 - Nevada
  7 - New York

https://seia.org/solar-state-by-state/

And here's a different source for residential PV:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1419901/us-residential-g...

  1 - California
  2 - Arizona
  3 - Texas
  4 - Florida
  5 - New York

Is there any chance that people are jumping to incorrect conclusions?

£3.20/320 miles = 1p/mile

Does anyone have reliable data on the number locations selling avgas in say, the U.S. compared to the number of locations selling automobile grade gasoline?