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1000 results for “pipe_dreams”
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New Year's wish? Still thinking what my 1st hope would be for all. Not a pipe-dream, but something realistic? So far I believe it would be for a boring and steady 2023, devoid of upheaval & new crisis. A chance to rebuild. A chance to gain some equilibrium, personally, professionally, nationally. I can't even remember when this was last true for most--if it ever was. But for all of us, I do mostly wish we'd have reason to feel much more steady in our personal worlds.
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the whole reason i rescued these NeXT machines from a garage an hour away was because of the asset tags still glued to them.
i know exactly where and when the machines came from: the university of alberta's General Services Building (GSB), 8th floor, computer lab, in 1995.
when i was a teenager, my mom would take me to the university and let me wander around campus with a pocket full of quarters for the arcade
her grad student office was on the 8th floor. across from it was the department computer lab, which consisted of three rows of boring beige 386 SX-20's and a massive line printer. i used to goof around playing Jezzball and Pipe Dream on those machines.
but tucked off in the corner were four jet black machines. they all had huge monochrome monitors, and a gorgeous GUI with Wile E. Coyote on the login prompt. there was a big sign that read "you must have permission from CNS to use these computers". i'd sneak over and try every login/pass i could dream of, and never figured out how to login.
ffwd to the 2000s:
i've hunted every week for the past 25 years to find those machines. i suspected they might turn up on some local ad eventually, and today they did.they were bought by a gentleman (now in his 80s) from a provincial government surplus equipment auction sale 20+ years ago. they were decommissioned by the department, boxed up and auctioned as e-waste. he thought they'd be valuable, so he bought them all for a pittance. they sat in his garage for 25 years collecting dust, until his wife asked him to start clearing out his computing junk. (i'll post a pic of his garage soon)
so here they are - the department's most expensive asset at $10-20K CAD (after upgrades and accessories), ready to be put back to work again soon
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the whole reason i rescued these NeXT machines from a garage an hour away was because of the asset tags still glued to them.
i know exactly where and when the machines came from: the university of alberta's General Services Building (GSB), 8th floor, computer lab, in 1995.
when i was a teenager, my mom would take me to the university and let me wander around campus with a pocket full of quarters for the arcade
her grad student office was on the 8th floor. across from it was the department computer lab, which consisted of three rows of boring beige 386 SX-20's and a massive line printer. i used to goof around playing Jezzball and Pipe Dream on those machines.
but tucked off in the corner were four jet black machines. they all had huge monochrome monitors, and a gorgeous GUI with Wile E. Coyote on the login prompt. there was a big sign that read "you must have permission from CNS to use these computers". i'd sneak over and try every login/pass i could dream of, and never figured out how to login.
ffwd to the 2000s:
i've hunted every week for the past 25 years to find those machines. i suspected they might turn up on some local ad eventually, and today they did.they were bought by a gentleman (now in his 80s) from a provincial government surplus equipment auction sale 20+ years ago. they were decommissioned by the department, boxed up and auctioned as e-waste. he thought they'd be valuable, so he bought them all for a pittance. they sat in his garage for 25 years collecting dust, until his wife asked him to start clearing out his computing junk. (i'll post a pic of his garage soon)
so here they are - the department's most expensive asset at $10-20K CAD (after upgrades and accessories), ready to be put back to work again soon
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the whole reason i rescued these NeXT machines from a garage an hour away was because of the asset tags still glued to them.
i know exactly where and when the machines came from: the university of alberta's General Services Building (GSB), 8th floor, computer lab, in 1995.
when i was a teenager, my mom would take me to the university and let me wander around campus with a pocket full of quarters for the arcade
her grad student office was on the 8th floor. across from it was the department computer lab, which consisted of three rows of boring beige 386 SX-20's and a massive line printer. i used to goof around playing Jezzball and Pipe Dream on those machines.
but tucked off in the corner were four jet black machines. they all had huge monochrome monitors, and a gorgeous GUI with Wile E. Coyote on the login prompt. there was a big sign that read "you must have permission from CNS to use these computers". i'd sneak over and try every login/pass i could dream of, and never figured out how to login.
ffwd to the 2000s:
i've hunted every week for the past 25 years to find those machines. i suspected they might turn up on some local ad eventually, and today they did.they were bought by a gentleman (now in his 80s) from a provincial government surplus equipment auction sale 20+ years ago. they were decommissioned by the department, boxed up and auctioned as e-waste. he thought they'd be valuable, so he bought them all for a pittance. they sat in his garage for 25 years collecting dust, until his wife asked him to start clearing out his computing junk. (i'll post a pic of his garage soon)
so here they are - the department's most expensive asset at $10-20K CAD (after upgrades and accessories), ready to be put back to work again soon
-
the whole reason i rescued these NeXT machines from a garage an hour away was because of the asset tags still glued to them.
i know exactly where and when the machines came from: the university of alberta's General Services Building (GSB), 8th floor, computer lab, in 1995.
when i was a teenager, my mom would take me to the university and let me wander around campus with a pocket full of quarters for the arcade
her grad student office was on the 8th floor. across from it was the department computer lab, which consisted of three rows of boring beige 386 SX-20's and a massive line printer. i used to goof around playing Jezzball and Pipe Dream on those machines.
but tucked off in the corner were four jet black machines. they all had huge monochrome monitors, and a gorgeous GUI with Wile E. Coyote on the login prompt. there was a big sign that read "you must have permission from CNS to use these computers". i'd sneak over and try every login/pass i could dream of, and never figured out how to login.
ffwd to the 2000s:
i've hunted every week for the past 25 years to find those machines. i suspected they might turn up on some local ad eventually, and today they did.they were bought by a gentleman (now in his 80s) from a provincial government surplus equipment auction sale 20+ years ago. they were decommissioned by the department, boxed up and auctioned as e-waste. he thought they'd be valuable, so he bought them all for a pittance. they sat in his garage for 25 years collecting dust, until his wife asked him to start clearing out his computing junk. (i'll post a pic of his garage soon)
so here they are - the department's most expensive asset at $10-20K CAD (after upgrades and accessories), ready to be put back to work again soon
-
the whole reason i rescued these NeXT machines from a garage an hour away was because of the asset tags still glued to them.
i know exactly where and when the machines came from: the university of alberta's General Services Building (GSB), 8th floor, computer lab, in 1995.
when i was a teenager, my mom would take me to the university and let me wander around campus with a pocket full of quarters for the arcade
her grad student office was on the 8th floor. across from it was the department computer lab, which consisted of three rows of boring beige 386 SX-20's and a massive line printer. i used to goof around playing Jezzball and Pipe Dream on those machines.
but tucked off in the corner were four jet black machines. they all had huge monochrome monitors, and a gorgeous GUI with Wile E. Coyote on the login prompt. there was a big sign that read "you must have permission from CNS to use these computers". i'd sneak over and try every login/pass i could dream of, and never figured out how to login.
ffwd to the 2000s:
i've hunted every week for the past 25 years to find those machines. i suspected they might turn up on some local ad eventually, and today they did.they were bought by a gentleman (now in his 80s) from a provincial government surplus equipment auction sale 20+ years ago. they were decommissioned by the department, boxed up and auctioned as e-waste. he thought they'd be valuable, so he bought them all for a pittance. they sat in his garage for 25 years collecting dust, until his wife asked him to start clearing out his computing junk. (i'll post a pic of his garage soon)
so here they are - the department's most expensive asset at $10-20K CAD (after upgrades and accessories), ready to be put back to work again soon
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Ok I am truly sorry to be that guy. BUT:
Can we PLEASE, leave the "#AI improves #accessibility" talks to people who actually benefit from #accessibility?
I see SO MANY articles, On LinkedIn, on Slack, on Medium, about how AI improves #accessibility metrics, compliance, automates all the things.
Newsflash: your metrics are likely incomplete or inconclusive, compliance is at best an illusory snapshot, and automation for #accessibility is still a pipe dream, and that's coming from someone who actually uses these tools OUTSIDE a presentation room.
I don't care if you're #microsoft, #salesforce or whichever other big name that makes you feel authoritative. You're wrong, sorry to say.
Want ACTUAL stories from ACTUAL people using #AI to improve #accessibility? Hire me and I'll talk your ear off. That's been me for months now.
Don't want to, right before #GAAD? Welp ... that tells its own story then, doesn't it? -
Ok I am truly sorry to be that guy. BUT:
Can we PLEASE, leave the "#AI improves #accessibility" talks to people who actually benefit from #accessibility?
I see SO MANY articles, On LinkedIn, on Slack, on Medium, about how AI improves #accessibility metrics, compliance, automates all the things.
Newsflash: your metrics are likely incomplete or inconclusive, compliance is at best an illusory snapshot, and automation for #accessibility is still a pipe dream, and that's coming from someone who actually uses these tools OUTSIDE a presentation room.
I don't care if you're #microsoft, #salesforce or whichever other big name that makes you feel authoritative. You're wrong, sorry to say.
Want ACTUAL stories from ACTUAL people using #AI to improve #accessibility? Hire me and I'll talk your ear off. That's been me for months now.
Don't want to, right before #GAAD? Welp ... that tells its own story then, doesn't it? -
Ok I am truly sorry to be that guy. BUT:
Can we PLEASE, leave the "#AI improves #accessibility" talks to people who actually benefit from #accessibility?
I see SO MANY articles, On LinkedIn, on Slack, on Medium, about how AI improves #accessibility metrics, compliance, automates all the things.
Newsflash: your metrics are likely incomplete or inconclusive, compliance is at best an illusory snapshot, and automation for #accessibility is still a pipe dream, and that's coming from someone who actually uses these tools OUTSIDE a presentation room.
I don't care if you're #microsoft, #salesforce or whichever other big name that makes you feel authoritative. You're wrong, sorry to say.
Want ACTUAL stories from ACTUAL people using #AI to improve #accessibility? Hire me and I'll talk your ear off. That's been me for months now.
Don't want to, right before #GAAD? Welp ... that tells its own story then, doesn't it? -
Ok I am truly sorry to be that guy. BUT:
Can we PLEASE, leave the "#AI improves #accessibility" talks to people who actually benefit from #accessibility?
I see SO MANY articles, On LinkedIn, on Slack, on Medium, about how AI improves #accessibility metrics, compliance, automates all the things.
Newsflash: your metrics are likely incomplete or inconclusive, compliance is at best an illusory snapshot, and automation for #accessibility is still a pipe dream, and that's coming from someone who actually uses these tools OUTSIDE a presentation room.
I don't care if you're #microsoft, #salesforce or whichever other big name that makes you feel authoritative. You're wrong, sorry to say.
Want ACTUAL stories from ACTUAL people using #AI to improve #accessibility? Hire me and I'll talk your ear off. That's been me for months now.
Don't want to, right before #GAAD? Welp ... that tells its own story then, doesn't it? -
Research on the US labour market by the Brookings Institute suggests that since the #pandemic, many #workers having re-evaluated their #worklifebalance are starting to demand that employers fit round the staff's needs not the other way round....
How far does this shift reach?
For those in the #gigeconomy & in other forms of precarious work, the power of the #professions to makes such demands must seem like a pipe dream...
elsewhere such a request would likely result in no work at all
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Bering Strait Tunnel: Russia’s Post-War New Deal Or Geopolitical Mirage?
Bering Strait Tunnel: Russia’s Post-War New Deal Or Geopolitical Mirage?
Russia might still fund some less ambitious infrastructure projects in its Far East-Arctic region to keep the economy hot after the war ends, help veterans find work, and encourage settlement there.
Trump reacted positively to the proposal by Kirill Dmitriev, chief of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and envoy in ongoing negotiations with the US, to build a tunnel beneath the Bering Strait. The idea isn’t new but has recently been revived as a means of physically embodying the New Détente that their leaders aim to achieve if they’re first able to end the Ukrainian Conflict. Given its $8-65 billion cost as estimated by Dmitriev himself, however, this megaproject would have to be profitable if it’s to be built.
Therein lies the problem since Russian-US trade has always been low even before the unprecedented sanctions that were imposed after the start of the special operation. Energy and raw materials comprise the vast majority of Russian exports, but the US doesn’t need them since it already has enough of pretty much everything apart from rare earth minerals. About that, while Russia has some untapped rare earth deposits, their yields could easily be exported to the US by sea in the event of a New Détente.
Two Russian experts recently interviewed by publicly financed TASS are of a similar opinion. According to Dmitry Zavyalov, head of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Logistics and dean of the Higher School of Economics faculty at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, China might be interested in this megaproject, but “the scale of the costs, their distribution among the project participants, and geopolitical risks reduce the potential benefits.”
Alexander Firanchuk, a leading researcher at the Presidential Academy’s International Laboratory for Foreign Trade Research, pointed out that “Alaska is cut off from the main US rail network, while Chukotka is thousands of kilometers of permafrost and mountains from the nearest Russian rails. Any ‘saving’ of a couple of days’ travel compared to the sea instantly vanishes against the monstrous costs of building thousands of kilometers of new tracks, bridges, and tunnels in the harshest climates on the planet.”
Nevertheless, the aforesaid infrastructure projects might also be what Dmitriev has in mind, perhaps envisaged as a Russian version of FDR’s “New Deal” for keeping the economy hot and helping veterans find work once the war ends. Putin recently approved high-speed rail projects for connecting Moscow with major cities in European Russia, which could be employed to this end, but the tunnel proposal would help develop and settle the Far East-Arctic region per the vision that he shared in September.
Putin also proposed building a new veteran-led Russian elite last year, and some of its most aspirational members could cut their political teeth by working on these projects and then running in regional elections, after which they might rise to national renown. Among the comparatively less aspirational majority, they might be content to live out their lives in the rural Far East-Arctic region after working on projects there, especially if they were traumatized by the war and struggle to reintegrate into society.
With this insight in mind, the Bering Strait tunnel idea that Dmitriev just revived would actually be quite beneficial to Russia, but not for the reasons that many might have assumed. Even so, the total costs of this megaproject and all the associated infrastructure that would have to be built in the Far East-Arctic region would be enormous and arguably beyond the national budget’s means to fund in full, and foreign investors might not consider any of this to be profitable. The tunnel might thus remain a pipe dream.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.
#BeringStraitTunnel #DonaldTrump #FarEast #Geopolitics #Russia #TheArctic #USA
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Bering Strait Tunnel: Russia’s Post-War New Deal Or Geopolitical Mirage?
Bering Strait Tunnel: Russia’s Post-War New Deal Or Geopolitical Mirage?
Russia might still fund some less ambitious infrastructure projects in its Far East-Arctic region to keep the economy hot after the war ends, help veterans find work, and encourage settlement there.
Trump reacted positively to the proposal by Kirill Dmitriev, chief of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and envoy in ongoing negotiations with the US, to build a tunnel beneath the Bering Strait. The idea isn’t new but has recently been revived as a means of physically embodying the New Détente that their leaders aim to achieve if they’re first able to end the Ukrainian Conflict. Given its $8-65 billion cost as estimated by Dmitriev himself, however, this megaproject would have to be profitable if it’s to be built.
Therein lies the problem since Russian-US trade has always been low even before the unprecedented sanctions that were imposed after the start of the special operation. Energy and raw materials comprise the vast majority of Russian exports, but the US doesn’t need them since it already has enough of pretty much everything apart from rare earth minerals. About that, while Russia has some untapped rare earth deposits, their yields could easily be exported to the US by sea in the event of a New Détente.
Two Russian experts recently interviewed by publicly financed TASS are of a similar opinion. According to Dmitry Zavyalov, head of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Logistics and dean of the Higher School of Economics faculty at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, China might be interested in this megaproject, but “the scale of the costs, their distribution among the project participants, and geopolitical risks reduce the potential benefits.”
Alexander Firanchuk, a leading researcher at the Presidential Academy’s International Laboratory for Foreign Trade Research, pointed out that “Alaska is cut off from the main US rail network, while Chukotka is thousands of kilometers of permafrost and mountains from the nearest Russian rails. Any ‘saving’ of a couple of days’ travel compared to the sea instantly vanishes against the monstrous costs of building thousands of kilometers of new tracks, bridges, and tunnels in the harshest climates on the planet.”
Nevertheless, the aforesaid infrastructure projects might also be what Dmitriev has in mind, perhaps envisaged as a Russian version of FDR’s “New Deal” for keeping the economy hot and helping veterans find work once the war ends. Putin recently approved high-speed rail projects for connecting Moscow with major cities in European Russia, which could be employed to this end, but the tunnel proposal would help develop and settle the Far East-Arctic region per the vision that he shared in September.
Putin also proposed building a new veteran-led Russian elite last year, and some of its most aspirational members could cut their political teeth by working on these projects and then running in regional elections, after which they might rise to national renown. Among the comparatively less aspirational majority, they might be content to live out their lives in the rural Far East-Arctic region after working on projects there, especially if they were traumatized by the war and struggle to reintegrate into society.
With this insight in mind, the Bering Strait tunnel idea that Dmitriev just revived would actually be quite beneficial to Russia, but not for the reasons that many might have assumed. Even so, the total costs of this megaproject and all the associated infrastructure that would have to be built in the Far East-Arctic region would be enormous and arguably beyond the national budget’s means to fund in full, and foreign investors might not consider any of this to be profitable. The tunnel might thus remain a pipe dream.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.
#BeringStraitTunnel #DonaldTrump #FarEast #Geopolitics #Russia #TheArctic #USA
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DUK: Dani Urbane Kulture 2015×2025
Image courtesy of DUKWhen you think about the cultural landscape of Serbia, it’s far too easy to get tunnel vision and focus solely on Belgrade. But if you’ve been paying attention to the cracks in the pavement and the vibrant colors crawling up the grey concrete of the provinces, you know that the real revolution has been brewing elsewhere. Specifically, in Čačak. For a decade now, the DUK (Dani Urbane Kulture) Festival has been rewriting the DNA of this town. To celebrate this milestone, they’ve released DUK: Dani Urbane Kulture 2015×2025, a monograph that simultaneously serves as a victory lap and pure example of community building. Right off the bat, the physical presence of this book immediately grabs attention. It’s a remarkable red hardback with the DUK logo imprinted on the front. It feels significant, heavy in the hand like a brick pulled from a crumbling wall, but instead of being a weapon of destruction, it’s a tool of documentation and reconstruction. Inside, the design is flawlessly executed. We often talk about easy-to-read books, but here, the layout actually helps the narrative flow. It’s a chronological journey that guides you through the evolution of an idea, from a small group of enthusiasts with a dream to a full-scale cultural movement that has turned Čačak into one of the most significant street art hubs in the Balkan region. The aesthetic is clean, professional, and yet maintains that street edge that reminds you where this all started.
The heart of this book lies in full-color shots of murals that literally changed the face of the town. But, while the primary focus is on the murals, you’ll also notice many photos dedicated to the people who contributed to the cause in one way or another. It captures that specific, lightning-in-a-bottle energy of their decade-long campaign that actually worked because the community believed in it. It documents the transition of neglected, decaying urban spaces into a massive open-air gallery that now features more than 130 murals. What I love about this monograph is how it refuses to be just a pretty picture book. It’s an in-depth look at the significance of graffiti art and its socio-cultural impact. It explains how DUK emerged from a desperate need for urban creativity and solidarity in a place that could have easily succumbed to the Rust Belt apathy seen in many post-industrial towns. By including the festival lineups over the years, the book also acts as a historical record of the music that soundtracked this change. You see the names, you remember the nights, and you realize that this was a planned intervention. It’s a story of how youth enthusiasm can overcome institutional stagnation through sheer force of will and a collective DIY mentality.
The book excels at showing the behind-the-scenes reality of the festival. It’s one thing to see a finished mural that looks world-class, but it’s another to see the scaffolding, the buckets of paint, and the locals stopping to chat with artists who flew halfway across the world to paint a wall in Central Serbia. This monograph celebrates the work, volunteering, and shared contribution that made it all possible. It’s a celebration of ten years of urban culture, and honestly, it makes me wonder what the next ten will look like. DUK gave this town a new identity, and this book is the definitive visual proof of that legacy. It’s a mandatory addition to the library of anyone who still believes that art can change the world, or at least, the world within their own city limits. Beyond the visuals, the text provides a necessary context for why this matters. In 2015, the idea of hosting a massive urban culture festival in Čačak might have seemed like a pipe dream. Fast forward to 2025, and the town is a destination. The book tracks this progress with its intentional, profound, chronological pacing. It highlights the importance of international cooperation, showing how artists from different continents brought their unique perspectives to the Serbian streets. This exchange of ideas is what keeps a scene from becoming stagnant, and the DUK team clearly understood this from day one. The monograph honors that spirit of openness and global connection, demonstrating that even a local cause can have a global resonance.
The inclusion of the festival lineups is a particularly nice touch for the music nerds among us. It allows you to trace the shifting trends in indie, alternative, electronic, and underground music over the last decade, from the heights of hardcore and punk rock to the rise of electronic and hip-hop influences that have permeated the DUK stages. It also serves as a rock-solid proof that music and visual art are inseparable in the world of urban culture. DUK: Dani Urbane Kulture 2015×2025 exemplifies the power of the community, and that’s everything possible when there are people to stand behind the good cause. The houses, communal buildings, and abandoned spaces of yesterday are the galleries of today because a group of people decided that good enough wasn’t good enough. As you close the red hardback cover and look at that imprinted logo one last time, you’re left with the feeling that this is exactly what cultural change looks like. It’s messy, colorful, loud, and thanks to this monograph, it is now immortalized for the next generation of enthusiasts with spray cans and big ideas to follow.
Order DUK: Dani Urbane Kulture 2015×2025 directly through festival’s Instagram page by clicking HERE
#ALTERNATIVE #BOOK #BOOKS #DANIURBANEKULTURE #DOCUMENTARY #DUK #ELECTRONICMUSIC #ELECTRONICA #GRAFITTIART #HARDCORE #HIPHOP #INDIE #LITERATURE #MUSIC #PUNKROCK #REVIEW #REVIEWS #STREETART -
At this point, I've got two #hamradio #antenna choices:
1) Rebuild the fan #dipole, taking the load coils off the 80m legs and allowing the ends to fold down and hang towards the ground, and making sure I've got a couple of extra feet/inches (based on band) on each end of each band's dipole for tuning "oopses"
2) Put up an #OCFD, which will also have ends which will need to droop towards the ground.The reason for these choices is this: I don't have room for anything bigger. I've got room for a 100' (50 feet on each side) dipole, at most. The OCFD would give multiband performance, but I'm not sure if it'll out-perform the fan dipole.
I'd love to have room for a set of stacked loops, but that's a pipe dream at this point, I think.
I'm also considering laying out a ground based #receive antenna to try to avoid some of this QRM from broadcast stations which don't seem to care that they're interfering with every other service around them... but that's another thought for another time.
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Sorry for the delay in replying! Let’s be clear upfront: we can’t build a fully operational space elevator with today’s technology.
But history shows us that what seems impossible today can become reality tomorrow. When President John F. Kennedy set the goal of landing a man on the Moon in 1961, many thought it was a pipe dream. Yet less than a decade later, the Apollo program succeeded, proving that with determination, innovation, and investment, the impossible can be achieved. So, while ambitious, a space elevator is a plausible future project.
Trying to be as objective as I can, here’s a more nuanced take on feasibility — starting with economics. A space elevator would be expensive; estimates vary, but it’s safe to say it would be a multi-billion-dollar project. To put that in perspective: SoFi Stadium cost $4.9 billion, and the Apollo program cost about $203 billion (adjusted to 2015 dollars). Expert analyses estimate the cost of the first space elevator between $6 billion and $100 billion depending on design and infrastructure included. So financially, it’s ambitious but plausible, especially as a long-term infrastructure investment with transformative potential for space access and sustainable resource use.
The technical challenges are immense, but so are those of every large, unprecedented undertaking. Picture a tether anchored to a mobile ocean platform, gently swaying with the waves, while robotic climbers ascend and descend, carrying cargo and passengers to the stars.
Several organizations, including the International Space Elevator Consortium, are actively developing the technologies and infrastructure needed. While we’re far from the finish line, the potential benefits—significantly reduced launch costs, increased space access, and large-scale space-based solar power—are exciting.
A key technical hurdle is finding a material with sufficient tensile strength. Though it might sound counterintuitive, a space elevator is more like a suspension bridge to space than a giant tower. The concept evolved from building “bottom-up” to a “top-down” approach, where a geostationary satellite deploys a cable down to Earth. Currently, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) are leading candidates for tether materials. For example, Shizuoka University in Japan is prototyping and testing high-tensile-strength materials in space. The key issues remain: producing suitable materials like carbon nanotubes at scale.
In conclusion, while we can’t build a fully operational space elevator today, overcoming the technical difficulties in the near future is possible. With continued advances in materials science, engineering, and technology, we may soon see the space elevator shift from futuristic fantasy to game-changing reality.
I’m no space engineering expert, so I welcome corrections and insights.
---References & Further Reading
- Edwards, Bradley C. “The Space Elevator.” https://nss.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2000-Space-Elevator-NIAC-phase1.pdf
- Gao, Tianrui. “The Feasibility Analysis of a Space Elevator.” https://ijetch.org/2024/IJET-V16N4-1290.pdf
- International Space Elevator Consortium — Annual Studies https://www.isec.org/studies/#ApexAnchorRecommended Videos
- Space Elevators: Strategies & Status — https://youtu.be/V0ju74IqW0A
- Clean Energy From Space? — https://youtu.be/iNqCAvL1T1Y
- Asteroid Mining — https://youtu.be/3-3DjxhGaUg
- Everyone is Wrong About Asteroid Mining — https://youtu.be/p3hlnL2JN8ECC: @cy @isecdotorg @sorceressofmathematics @goodmirek @tiotasram @Ifrauding @Elrick_Winter @tiotasram @davidtheeviloverlord
#SpaceElevator #FutureTech #SpaceExploration #Innovation #ScienceFiction #Engineering #SpaceTravel #CarbonNanotubes #UHMWPE #FeasibilityStudy #SpaceAccess #SustainableTech #SpaceResearch #SpaceEngineering
#SpaceTechnology #SpaceEconomics #SpaceInnovation #SpaceDevelopment
#megaprojects #SpaceTower #Megastructure -
#askfedi #printer #print is there such a thing as a good printer on the market for home / small business use?
Inkjet or Laserjet is fine, monochrome is fine. It has to have a scanner with an ADF.Other than that, we don't need a lot - reliability and longevity.
Repairability is probably a pipe dream, right?
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#Facebook front office grabbed great publicity from its bold #billion dollar public #pledge to help solve the #BayArea #housing crisis, then after the cameras, clicks and likes disappeared so did it's phony commitment, as #Meta quietly cut the funding teat and #ghosted the topic.
Money did flow at first , as public entities provided matching funds, but #Zuggerfugger's #PaloAlto #SocialMedia #boardroom backed shills quietly cut and run, committing far less than a quarter of the publicly pledged total. The vast majority of money from Meta, a company lacking a corporate charitable arm, came back to their HQ, repaid as low 2% interest rate loans of up to $15m to developers, not actual donations.
5 years after the flurry of #publicity, the unfulfilled propaganda pipe dream went deferred, projects were few and far between, impacts largely lost and untold in a region still desperately in need of more affordable housing.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/23/meta-affordable-housing-donation/?share=sfsrsw3uc3tc3wn0term #GiftLink #SharedStory #SiliconValley #HousingCrisis
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@purism I happened to be reading the blog and this is the exact #linux #hacker #modder kind of thing I love.
The prospect of 3d printing a back plate with VESA mount means that this size or style device could theoretically be used as add-on displays and double as a grab and go device. I saw someone on #fedi working on the software for such a concept not long ago and even the #valve #steamdeck oled model linked up the decks in a similar way as demonstrated in their killer trailer
https://yewtu.be/watch?v=_vTsZMvjJ-A
I do love the sleek aluminum style and premium feel of the #librem11 but I also feel like this kind of 3d mod is catnip to the Linux community.
In unrelated news I would love to 3d print a Librem 5 back plate or make one out of copper someday, its half pipe dream but if the STL files ever are released with the needed nub clip details I could see those being techie catnip in a sense too. So cool to see mods 😄👍
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Elon Musk has merged X (formerly Twitter) with xAI in an all-stock deal, valuing the combined entity at $113 billion. This merger promises to leverage advanced AI capabilities and distribution. Almost certainly this AI will be trained on X posts, resulting in an extremely biased AI. Just another step towards Elon's #EverythingApp pipe dream.
https://decrypt.co/312221/elon-musk-x-xai-113-billion-juggernaut
#AI #ElonMusk #SocialMedia #ArtificialIntelligence #XAI #TwitterX
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Last Week Today! S2024E1&2
In the tradition of those of us who can’t do the daily “my day be like” journaling posts, there’s the tradition of the weekly post that sums up what happened the week before. In my nod to one of my favorite TV shows, Last Week Tonight, I’m swashbuckling (🏴☠️) the hell out their title and using it on this blog series. Shiver me timbers! And, I’m ripping off my buddy James with the formatting here. Walk the plank!) Also I’m late AF as two whole weeks of January already passed. GyattDayum 2024 is already faster than ’23. OK, let’s dive in.
🎄So Xmas came and went with little fanfare other than the usual merriment of a Japanese/Afro-American family with very little time and money can make on such occasions. We exchanged gifts with each other, everyone got generally what they wanted but most of all just was glad to be able to enjoy time off with each other, my mom and oldest brother.
🛣️ Big Ass Hank (our RV) got some time on the road — we hustled down to Orlando for some R&R in a warmer place than metro Atlanta. We used our Boondockers Welcome privileges for a nice layover spot in Live Oak, FL when traffic got too much and continued on down the next day. Normally this is a 6 hour drive, but sometime between 2008 and now, about 5 million more people decided to move into the space between us and Central Florida, making I-75 look like a 320 mile urban expressway complete with crack-ups and speed traps every 20 miles. A train between ATL and ORL is needed.
👨👩👧👦 Once in Orlando, we kinda didn’t do much except be in awe of our campsite on Lake Dora (a COUNTY park with cheap camping that blows some of the really expensive sites away) and Old Town Orlando’s Eola Park area. Orlando is a nice town even if you’re not visiting the theme parks; worth the visit just to hang out and chill for 2 days.
👨🏾💻 I actually only took a few days off for the holiday; my on-call shift usually has nothing going on this time of year and I work from home. But there were some bonkers edge cases coming into my queue and I really wish I could talk…vent about them here. I’m compiling them elsewhere, and someday dammit…someday I’m gonna sing like Dionne Warwick!
😷 Of course in the middle of all this, my entire household got sick! It wasn’t COVID but, that didn’t stop my doctor from probing my schnoz…
🎌 There’s lots of Japanese related stores around our part of Atlanta, and we kinda never visit them… So since the kiddos had their Xmas/お年玉 money burning holes in their pockets, we decided to check out Tokyo Kuma (which seemingly got TikTok’d and Instagrammed to death in the last 4 months) and Kinokuniya Atlanta (which has been a 20 year pipe dream ’til now because I swear they were 6 months from opening a location in Buckhead in 1999, but it didn’t happen. Were those just rumors?) Needless to say, I’m glad these are a little out of the way for me, else I’d be treating it like the Daiso or DonKi I so miss and desparately want over here.
🚊 I’ve decided to try my best to advocate officially for bringing a good transport solution to at least my part of Atlanta and Northern Georgia. The ATLTrains concept along with Beltline Lightrail and I-285 BRT concepts need to be combined somehow. Going down to central Florida and seeing Brightline along with SunRail, Lynx and the fledgling but strong grassroots changes in THAT area makes me think we still have a fighting chance up here. And Atlanta ain’t doing nothing but getting bigger. It’s high time we all started thinking regionally and collectively about solutions not just involving 2 ton machines on asphalt all the time.
And that kinda catches us up! If you read this far, you’ve got stamina. Or you’re just really bored. Either way, thank you and see ya next week!
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RE: https://urbanists.social/@Streetsweeper/116341614455296369
Zoning laws do function like this -- they increase car dependence. But that's not all they do. Laws are tools, and tools only very rarely have just one capability. Tools created to solve one problem are often repurposed to solve many others. For instance, hammers were invented hundreds of thousands of years before nails, but now driving nails is a common use of hammers.
Laws are different from hammers in at least one important sense. Almost everyone who has a problem that a hammer can solve has access to hammers and the ability to use them. Laws, on the other hand, can only be created and can only be used by a very small group of people -- the ruling class. [1]
So as in this article, the ruling class uses zoning to increase car dependence because they make money from it in a variety of ways -- car sales, gasoline sales, oil, etc. But car dependence serves other purposes -- it makes people easier to track, to control, etc
And increasing car dependence is not the only ruling class solution provided by zoning. Zoning laws prevent people from running businesses out of their homes, increasing the likelihood that they'll have to work for wages -- without wage laborers capitalism would collapse. Zoning laws also prevent tenants from sharing rentals to the full extent possible, so more rental units get rented. Without a steady supply of tenants the landlord business -- quintessential capitalism -- would collapse.
Zoning laws also allow local governments to take houses away from their putative owners -- can't afford to fix your fences, keep your lawn mowed, keep your house painted, etc, and the city will fine you until you comply. Can't afford to pay? They'll take your house. Eventually it gets sold to someone else and both the city and your mortgage holder make money.
I'm sure that many of these uses weren't foreseeable when modern zoning was invented, but as I said, tools are continually repurposed to solve new problems. Since effectively only the ruling class is able to create laws and to use them effectively they get repurposed for their benefit.
Attributing purposes to tools rather than to those who wield them is a common fallacy, and it leads to serious analytic errors. When people say that the purpose e.g. of police is to protect people and that we just need to get them back to this original use -- in other words advocating for reform -- they're falling into this trap. Look at the capabilities of police, remember that those capabilities can be directed in many ways and only the ruling class is able to decide how the police are used, and it becomes clear that reform is a pipe dream.
#Zoning #ZoningLaws #ACAB #Abolition #Tools #ToolTheory #Capitalism #WageLabor #Landlords
[1] Sometimes people who aren't in the ruling class manage to use laws to their advantage, but these are edge cases. Not only that, but the very possibility of non-rulers using laws serves as one of capitalism's many safety valves. When it does happen it relieves pressure from below and capitalism lives another day. Such cases are also examples of the ruling class using the laws
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The White House Just Casually Floated a Move That Would Be Traitorous to the Very Idea of America – Esquire
SAUL LOEB / Getty Images
News Politics With Charles P. Pierce
The White House Just Casually Floated a Move That Would Be Traitorous to the Very Idea of America
Despite what Trump advisor Stephen Miller may believe, habeas corpus is a core legal right—not a revocable privilege.Z
By Charles P. Pierce, Published: May 12, 2025 1:55 PM EDT
“The Constitution is clear and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus could be suspended in time of invasion,” said Stephen Miller, White House aide, and now a confirmed traitor to the American idea. “So that’s an option we’re actively looking at.”
Unless every other elected official in this country stands up against even the consideration of this extremist pipe dream, there is no point of being a citizen of this country any more. It would be as empty a title as that of the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Despite whatever is rattling around Miller’s febrile cabeza, habeas corpus is not a revocable privilege. It is a right guaranteed to everyone incarcerated. In calling it a “privilege” that “could be suspended” to suit the whims of his boss, Miller proves himself to be a traitor not only to the American idea but also to the freaking Magna Carta (!), the 39th clause of which states, “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned … except by the lawful judgment of his equals and by the law of the land.” Miller is proposing to reverse all English-speaking jurisprudence since 1215. I think if you find yourself on the wrong side of human rights from John Lackland, it’s time for us to be quite done with you.
Read more: The White House Just Casually Floated a Move That Would Be Traitorous to the Very Idea of America – EsquireSource Links: Stephen Miller Says Trump Considering Suspending Habeas Corpus
#Considering #CoreRights #Esquire #HabeasCorpus #HumanRights #RuleOfLaw #StephenMiller #Suspending #Trump
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«A new study has warned that if global temperatures rise more than 1.5°C, significant crop diversity could be lost in many regions»
Are we not sufficiently AT the 1.5°C mark that this dance in reporting is ludicrous? I keep seeing reports (several quoted by me here below) that we averaged above that in 2024, so I find this predication on a pipe dream HIGHLY misleading.
Even just wordings suggesting that the crossing of some discete boundary will trigger an effect, but that not crossing it will not, is misleading. It's not like 1.49°C will leave us with no loss of diversity, but 1.51°C will hit us with all these effects.
What needs to be said more plainly is this: significant crop diversity is being ever more lost in real time now, and this loss is a result of global average temperatures that are dangerous and getting moreso. That they are a specific value on an instantaneous or rolling average basis gives credibility and texture to this qualitative claim, but no comfort should be drawn from almost-ness nor from theoretical clains that action could yet pull us back from a precipice that there is not somilarly substantiated qualitative reason to believe we are politically poised to make.
Science reporting does this kind of thing a lot. Someone will get funding to test whether humans need air to breathe but some accident of how the experiments are set up will find that only pregnant women under 30 were available for testing so the report will be a very specific about that and news reports will end up saying "new report proves pregnant women under 30 need air to breathe", which doesn't really tell the public the thing that the study really meant to report. Climate reporting is full of similarly overly specific claims that allow the public to dismiss the significance of what's really going on. People writing scientific reports need to be conscious of the fact that the reporting will be done in that way and that public inaction will be a direct result of such narrow reporting.
In the three reports that I quote below, the Berkeley report at least takes the time to say "recent warming trends and the lack of adequate mitigation measures make it clear that the 1.5 °C goal will not be met." We need more plain wordings like this, and even this needs to have been more prominently placed.
There is a conspiracy, intentional or not, between the writers of reports and the writers of articles. The article writer wants to quote the report, but the report wants to say something that has such technical accuracy that it will be misleading when quoted by someone writing articles. Some may say it's not an active conspiracy, just a negative synergy, but the effect is the same. Each party acts as if it is being conservative and careful, but the foreseeable combination of the two parts is anything but conservative or careful.
- - - - - Temperature references follow - - - - -
«The global annual average for 2024 in our dataset is estimated as 1.62 ± 0.06 °C (2.91 ± 0.11 °F) above the average during the period 1850 to 1900, which is traditionally used a reference for the pre-industrial period.
…
A goal of keeping global warming to no more than 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above pre-industrial has been an intense focus of international attention. This goal is defined based on multi-decadal averages, and so a single year above 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) does not directly constitute a failure. However, RECENT WARMING TRENDS AND THE LACK OF ADEQUATE MITIGATION MEASURES MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE 1.5 °C GOAL WILL NOT BE MET. The long-term average of global temperature is likely to effectively cross the 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) threshold in the next 5-10 years. While the 1.5 °C goal will not be met, urgent action is still needed to limit man-made climate change.
»
https://berkeleyearth.org/global-temperature-report-for-2024/
(CAPS mine for emphasis)- - - - -
«WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial level
…
The global average surface temperature was 1.55 °C (with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.13 °C) above the 1850-1900 average, according to WMO’s consolidated analysis of the six datasets. This means that we have likely just experienced the first calendar year with a global mean temperature of more than 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average.»
https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-confirms-2024-warmest-year-record-about-155degc-above-pre-industrial-level- - - - -
«Temperatures Rising: NASA Confirms 2024 Warmest Year on Record
…
NASA scientists further estimate Earth in 2024 was about 2.65 degrees Fahrenheit (1.47 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-19th century average (1850-1900). For more than half of 2024, average temperatures were more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the baseline, and the annual average, with mathematical uncertainties, may have exceeded the level for the first time.»
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/temperatures-rising-nasa-confirms-2024-warmest-year-on-record/#climate #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ClimateReporting #journalism #ethics #collapse #heat #GlobalAverageTemperatures #ExcessHeat #crops #CropDiversity #food #FoodSecurity #FoodInsecurity #sustainability #environment #ClimateEmergency
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Move over, Earth-bound servers! Google's Project Suncatcher is exploring putting AI installations (TPUs) in low-earth orbit for endless solar energy.
Mitigates carbon, but radiation and interstellar data links are a cosmic headache. Is this the future of eco-friendly compute, or just a pipe dream?
#AI #SpaceTech #CloudComputing #ProjectSuncatcher #TechNews
https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-contemplates-putting-giant-ai-installations-in-low-earth-orbit-123025256.html?src=rss -
The Warriors
by #SnottyNoseRezKids"I don't rock 'n' roll, nah, I stand and rock (Standin' Rock, yi)
I think there's something in the water, here's some food for thought
Is it really a felony for wanting my water clean?
Expect us not to rage against the machine
We ain't movin' like Rosa P, nope
You know why, 'cause this dreamcatcher's catchin' your pipe dream
Look what happened to Flint
No disrespect, but the same happens to village kids that sip water from the tap
And they're dyin' to live from the cancer it gives
Where's the state of emergency for them?
Act like you know the story
Broken treaties, unholy matrimony
One nation under the creator, homie
All my relations, mni wiconi"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyZlj1GrTs
#WaterIsLife #WaterProtectors #StandingRock #StandWithStandingRock #MniWiconi #PutYourFistUp #WereReadyForTheZone #WarriorsComeOutAndPlay #FridayNightMusicVideos #FridayNightMusic #FridayNightJukebox #NativeAmericanMusicians #NativeAmericanMusic
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#Trump appears to be building an unprecedented #SpyMachine that could track Americans
A new report shines light on contracts with tech company #Palantir, which could create data profiles of Americans to surveil and harass them.
By Ja'han Jones
May 30, 2025, 4:25 PM EDT"The push has put a key Palantir product called #Foundry into at least four federal agencies, including #DHS and the Health and Human Services Department. Widely adopting Foundry, which organizes and analyzes data, paves the way for Mr. Trump to easily merge information from different agencies, the government officials said. Creating detailed portraits of Americans based on government data is not just a pipe dream. The Trump administration has already sought access to hundreds of data points on citizens and others through government databases, including their bank account numbers, the amount of their student debt, their medical claims and any disability status. Mr. Trump could potentially use such information to advance his political agenda by policing immigrants and punishing critics, Democratic lawmakers and critics have said."
Read more:
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-palantir-surveillance-americans-rcna210017#HHS #KristiNoem #BigBrother #authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #SilencingDissent #SilencingJournalism #SurveillanceState #Orwellian #TechnoFascism
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#Facebook front office grabbed great publicity from its bold #billion dollar public #pledge to help solve the #BayArea #housing crisis, then after the cameras, clicks and likes disappeared so did it's phony commitment, as #Meta quietly cut the funding teat and #ghosted the topic.
Money did flow at first , as public entities provided matching funds, but #Zuggerfugger's #PaloAlto #SocialMedia #boardroom backed shills quietly cut and run, committing far less than a quarter of the publicly pledged total. The vast majority of money from Meta, a company lacking a corporate charitable arm, came back to their HQ, repaid as low 2% interest rate loans of up to $15m to developers, not actual donations.
5 years after the flurry of #publicity, the unfulfilled propaganda pipe dream went deferred, projects were few and far between, impacts largely lost and untold in a region still desperately in need of more affordable housing.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/23/meta-affordable-housing-donation/?share=sfsrsw3uc3tc3wn0term #GiftLink #SharedStory #SiliconValley #HousingCrisis
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#Facebook front office grabbed great publicity from its bold #billion dollar public #pledge to help solve the #BayArea #housing crisis, then after the cameras, clicks and likes disappeared so did it's phony commitment, as #Meta quietly cut the funding teat and #ghosted the topic.
Money did flow at first , as public entities provided matching funds, but #Zuggerfugger's #PaloAlto #SocialMedia #boardroom backed shills quietly cut and run, committing far less than a quarter of the publicly pledged total. The vast majority of money from Meta, a company lacking a corporate charitable arm, came back to their HQ, repaid as low 2% interest rate loans of up to $15m to developers, not actual donations.
5 years after the flurry of #publicity, the unfulfilled propaganda pipe dream went deferred, projects were few and far between, impacts largely lost and untold in a region still desperately in need of more affordable housing.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/23/meta-affordable-housing-donation/?share=sfsrsw3uc3tc3wn0term #GiftLink #SharedStory #SiliconValley #HousingCrisis
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It’s Official: Mamdani Defeats Cuomo
Three lies the election shattered (I believed them)from #KenKlippenstein
Jul 01, 2025
"In a paragraph, let’s review: A machine politician, former governor and scion of a political dynasty lost to a 33-year-old #Muslim, #immigrant, and #socialist who is unapologetically critical of #Israel. The political ruling class and the news media assumed #AndrewCuomo, but more than that, they dismissed the people’s choice, assembling their pipe dream on the it’s-the-party-elder’s-turn proposition.I didn’t expect #ZohranMamdani to win. I thought the Party machinery was unbeatable. I was wrong. I’ve learned some mind-bending lessons.
* Money Doesn’t Decide.
* Young People Do Vote.
* Saying Controversial Things is Okay"#USA #US #USPolitics #NYC #NewYorkCity #DemocraticSocialist
#news #press #politics