I’ve been playing 5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel it’s remarkably easy to understand, all considered. It’s only partially mind bending.

For most governments it’s enlightened self interest. Completely screwing over their population for short term gain is akin to cutting off your feet to save money on shoes.

As an Englishman, the IRA were fairly critical to the political results. They kept the UK government from running roughshod over the Irish political parties.

The IRA proved they were willing to cross critical lines (bombs aimed at large scale civilian damage on English soil etc). They also demonstrated restraint. They often provided warnings ahead of time. They focused on disruption not casualties. The underlying threat was clear however. If you (UK government) escalate too far, it’s simple to switch from a bomb aimed at destroying a high street of shops, to one aimed at killing a high street of Christmas shoppers.

The end result was that Irish politics stayed in the public eye, and the government took the safer path of negotiating in good faith. No-one was particularly happy with the results, but no-one was excessively unhappy with them either. Often the best you can hope for.

In short, the credible threat is required to keep all parties honest. Most smart governments will see an escalating trail of protests as part of that. Unfortunately, the current US leadership doesn’t seem that smart.

I’m not going to knock her putting them to good use! It’s done well by her so far. 👍

Some places do electricity costs in 30 minute periods. If you know cost will spike when everyone gets home, and the sun sets, then running early makes sense. Other times, holding off for an hour might be more useful.

Just most sources of power. Photovoltaic, wind and hydro aren’t steam based.

Be careful with the taking average mindset. It’s a default human one, and it’s being abused. A lot of media outlets (particularly American right wing) are mouthpieces for the same few groups or people.

Instead, try and look at their biases. Do they have a reason to mislead you. What akin do they have in a particular game. E.g. the BBC is still fairly unbiased on a lot of world news. They are far less unbiased on middle eastern politics now.

It’s an annoyingly complex problem to solve, on the fly.

Both my wife’s and my stuffed teddies have now been retired. They now sit, cuddled together, overlooking the bedroom. On a shelf, in pride of place. Their tour of service done, but not forgotten.

They are the largest polluter primarily because we outsourced our polluting manufacturing to them. The politics of that part are a separate issue, but the results need to be factored in. A lot of Chinese pollution is western pollution, outsourced.

They also appear to actually have a coherent plan that seems on track. Could it be a lot better? Of course! It’s still a lot better than a lot of the world is doing.

Please show me somewhere making large scale improvements that aren’t built upon China’s right now.

Edit to add.

Unfortunately, my standards really are that low. The fact that China is still the only large country/group hitting them says more about the rest of the world.

Could china be doing more? Yes. Are they doing considerably better than everyone else? Also yes.

Currently china is leading the charge on renewable energy. They are installing more than any developed country, by most measures. They are also flooding the market with solar panels etc. The mass solar adoption happening worldwide is powered by China.

It’s also worth noting they are leading the way in fusion research. I believe they have started/about to start construction of the first viable fusion reactor.

China has a lot of problems, but complaining they should be doing even more on renewables is hypocritical from almost all other countries.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

As an aspie, we still flirt. We just (sometimes) flirt differently.

Data rot is a serious problem.

I suspect that our time period will end up as an information dark age to future historians.

I can’t see it as anything but white and gold. However, other photos clearly show it is black and blue.

Interestingly, if I’m scrolling past, my brain will sometimes perceive it as black and blue for a fraction of a second. I can normally flip optical illusions at will. This one jams me in the wrong viewing mode.

I saw a talk on the subject about a year back. It was discussing tokamak reactors, from an engineer working on them. The small ones can’t sustain a break even state, but they are affected by the inverse square law to a larger degree. I believe China is about to start/has started construction on a power station sized test reactor.

The pellet sort are a different type. They have different pros and cons.

Some companies are still trying.

I’ve got a ulefone 27T. It’s the phone equivalent of a tank. It also includes thermal and night vision, and underwater video modes. I would also give it good odds of surviving being used as a self defence weapon.

Downside is it’s a relatively unknown Chinese brand.

They are down to 2 main problems now. The main one is (the cost of) scaling up. Fusion reactors will be more effective then bigger they are. The tiny test ones are already past break even.

The other is wall material. Apparently the radiation has an annoying ability to transmute the elements making up the wall of the reactor. They are working out a material that can maintain its bulk mechanical properties, even with random elements appearing in its internal structure.

Unpicking your personal maladaptations helps a lot. This is how therapy and medication are so useful, particularly in tandem.

Two of my big maladaptations were using stress to drive me through, and berating myself when I didn’t do as well as I knew I could. It turns out that this is quite corrosive to your wellbeing, and that wellbeing is the foundation supporting your self driven. I was consuming myself for fuel.

I’ve gotten a lot better at redirecting my irritation. I don’t get mad at myself for not doing the washing up. I get mad at the washing up for existing. It’s a subtle, but powerful difference. I still do both, far too much, but I’m getting better at it.

Lastly, remember to bask in your glories. We tend to forget to enjoy the results of our effort. We just move on, and so don’t get the dopamine hit. Set aside at least 10% of the time taken to bask and feel proud of yourself. To show off and enjoy. Suddenly your brain has a positive reason to power through, rather than just avoiding a negative.

A second vote for brother lasers.

I upgraded my old printer about 6 months ago. Laser is far superior, and no longer particularly expensive. I also discovered they have solved the photo printing quality issue at some point (laser’s only real weakness). I ran off a photo and it came out near/at inkjet quality.

Welcome to the future! 🤢

I initially thought this was a satire comment, on a satire product.

The fact it is real makes something feel fundamentally wrong with the world.