Recent submissions

Comment · 9 years ago
So it the car is the problem, what if you could build out new train rails everywhere and get people to use them?

What if people refuse to use the train because it's scary, dirty, stinky, etc.? What if you could re-imagine trains where everyone can bring their own private mini-car and add it to the train? Then the car can be private, clean, luxurious, cheap, or whatever the owner wants. Would people adopt it then?

Yeah. that's pretty zany. As long as I'm not forced to pay for it, why criticize? I'm curious to see which zany idea out there proves itself.

Comment · 9 years ago
You know what you might do if you were a problem solver like Elon? You would identify the problem you just described, then you would start a company that operates van-sized buses that could easily use the Boring company's tunnels. You pick up 4-10 people and carry them through the tunnels and let them out.

For bonus points, your vans could be autonomous.

Or, you could, you know... complain that tunnels aren't a complete solution.

Comment · 9 years ago
Comment · 9 years ago
I was amused to visit Capitol Reef National Park and enjoy a tour of a small canyon where a boardwalk lets you see the names of some 19th century folk carved into a cliff face. Along the way were signs warning you of the criminal prosecution that would result if you carved your own name into the cliff.

I have seen significant preservation efforts regarding a name scratched on a hillside near the Grand Canyon. The author was still living down the street from me, but the scratching was 50 years old.

The abandoned houses across town are blight, but the one in Yosemite is a national treasure. My child's mud hut is a safety hazard, but the one up the cliff is a sacred Anasazi artifact.

On the other hand, I have seen a small local wilderness area turn from a fun spot for a family Easter egg hunt to a regional ATV attraction so crowded the local Boy Scouts could no longer camp there.

Balancing the past, present, and future is always a subjective thing. When the BLM actually does its job, it does land management. But that is a hard job. It is often easier to just close everything down and not let anyone in. That is not management. But when pressure on a wilderness grows from a couple hundred visitors a year to a couple hundred visitors a day, a policy of "anything goes" is also not management. Management can be expensive.

The people in the best position to observe and propose solutions are always local. But BLM struggles to build local partnerships. They try to manage through a multi-layered bureaucracy that ultimately makes decisions from Washington, D.C. The result can often look like the United Airlines video--constructing and enforcing a policy in a manner that doesn't fit the local situation. There are any number of ideas that could get the job done cheaper and with more sensibility.

Comment · 9 years ago
For many, the question is which public hands should hold the public land. Why should the federal government bring staffers from Arizona to manage the Everglades? Why is the Grand Canyon "governed" by Vermont? Why can't Bears Ears be managed by the state of Utah, or perhaps better yet, San Juan County?

Is a hot spring in Arkansas really so remarkable that it should belong to the people of California?

Comment · 9 years ago
How does this work with rkt?
Comment · 9 years ago
I don't understand why you would be hit by significant monthly fees just because you can't prepay.

You mean that you can't prepay when you think currency exchange would benefit you? Well, if you think you're in a currency exchange sweet spot, go ahead and exchange. Then just leave the money in your bank account for next month's bills.

What's that? Your bank won't let you hold a balance in another currency? That sounds like a problem with you bank, not you hosting service.

Comment · 9 years ago
Did you notice what happened to the original whistleblower that exposed Theranos in the first place?
Comment · 9 years ago
Wells Fargo seems ok in your experience??!! Is that a joke? Your account is wide open to any of thousands of employees who conspire against you. You're ok with that?

It's people like you who keep companies like that in business and encourage such atrocious activity.

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