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Cake day: February 1st, 2024

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  • While neat, this is not self-sustaining — it’s taking more energy to power it than you’re getting out of it. (You can build a fusion device on your garage if you’re so inclined, though obviously this is much neater than that!)

    One viewpoint is that we’ll never get clean energy from these devices, not because they won’t work, but because you get a lot of neutrons out of these devices. And what do we do with neutrons? We either bash them into lead and heat stuff up (boring and not a lot of energy), or we use them to breed fissile material, which is a lot more energetically favorable. So basically, the economically sound thing to do is to use your fusion reactor to power your relatively conventional fission reactor. Which is still way better than fossil fuels IMHO, so that’s something.


  • That’s the American experience.

    That may be your American experience, but it’s not everyone’s. We are a huge country, and while there’s of course truth behind the stereotypes, the glib “'Murica dumb” sentiment doesn’t exactly capture everyone’s experience.

    My city (San Francisco) has been continuously improving bike infrastructure and is actively closing streets off to cars, we have a diverse food culture, we don’t allow gun stores in the city, and our de facto recreational drug is weed, not coke (though yes, the city does have a fentanyl problem). And I use metric units in lab for my California-based employer.

    To address OP’s question, I’ll add a +1 to all the Ken Burns recommendations. Not an exhaustive history, but it’s a great start!



  • The amount of money you save (and invest) isn’t accurately depicted with this though. Living expenses don’t necessarily grow with take home, if you keep lifestyle creep to a minimum.

    So what this means is that if you make $100k and save $10k/year, if you start making $200k you can save the same $10k/year, plus the entire additional $100k after taxes (let’s just say that’s $50k+). So you doubled your salary but your savings went up 6x+.




  • qjkxbmwvz@startrek.websiteto196@lemmy.blahaj.zoneglow rule
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    5 days ago

    “Chain migration” is how many people — myself included — get jobs.

    I went to a very good school, and while I like to think the quality of education is what makes a school “good,” let’s be honest — the value is largely in your connections. Friend lands a good job, recommends you when there’s an opening, and bam, you’re already at the top of the pile of the CVs (better yet, they’re the hiring manager).

    Friends from school — peers and mentors alike — are a great place to start, if you can. Ask to grab a coffee and chat about their career, and be clear that you’re in the market. Most people are happy to chat (at the very least, it’s flattering).

    It’s the way the world works…




  • The USA is huge, and individual states are huge. San Francisco and Los Angeles are both in California, but you’re not going to do a day trip from one to the other.

    Our beer is great! Probably stay away from the big brands (unless Sierra Nevada is considered a big brand — they’re still great IMHO). Try to find something from a local brewery — it can be hit or miss, but more fun than finding one you like and sticking to it.

    We have a lot of social services that aren’t necessarily through the federal government. Food banks come to mind — some are “proof of assistance required,” others are open to anyone who feels they need the service. There is not afaik a single interface for navigating these services though, so it can be a real pain, from what I’ve heard. But services often do exist, if you have the time to track them down.

    Libraries! Free wifi is common.

    If you don’t like it here, try a different part of the country. Rural town in the south is completely different than a “blue city.”