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[Great Order]

I think helium's in a spot of bother, but that's just because you literally can't create helium. Gotta extract it from rock and recycling it's a bit impossible once it's out in the environment, unlike stuff like plastics or metal which can be gathered up.

[Sirus]

How difficult can creating helium be? Stars do it all the time! Just start fusing that hydrogen already, it's easy, gosh!

/j

[Eric Blank]

Yes, the only industrially viable source of helium is pockets of the stuff trapped underground, in dome-shaped layers of rock that are impermeable enough that almost none of it gets through, which is reasonably rare. It's coming from radioactive decay in the Earth's mantle and core, the gas escapes upwards through the rocks, and only a tiny fraction gets trapped in pockets like that. Those pockets are limited, and resupplying them takes millions of years.

[Great Order]

Might be one of the best exports if we get a moon base set up, from what I understand.

[Duuvian]

In response to the price caps, it's been a long time since I read about them but one thing I know is that like tariffs they are extremely complex and will take significant understanding and focus to do properly, For example, providing evidence to the US people and presenting it in an effective manner of the need for price controls based on solid and well researched evidence. Done incorecctly, like tariffs, they can cause a bigger problem than what they are trying to fix. Max Spin's point also should not be completely disregarded in consideration of risk of abuse of price controls favoring one interest over another.

I propose that after this election the general left cease co-operation with the centrists by refusing to vote in general elections.

This, though, is just about the worst idea you can possibly propose. When you stop voting, you stop getting listened to, flat out and without exception, and the american left doesn't have nearly the numbers to make that effective for doing anything but fucking themselves.

What you have to do is push primaries (intensely, consistently), build and maintain networks that aren't primarily electoral (mutual aid, gotv stuff, media, on and on), educate and push ballot measures, so on and so forth. That's what works, to the extent anything built on a minority influence does in an ostensibly majoritarian system, to push the party and nation towards whatever your political inclinations are. It's not easy, it's not quick, but it's at least capable of accomplishing something, whereas withholding your vote does exactly fuckall.

Listen, proposal defeated. However I do think you are wrong on a few points. The second paragraph I completely agree with, and it does work until centrist obstructionism and turncoating occurs because money. However the first paragraph I think really underestimates the effect of losing even a small number of votes does, (using only as an example) unless this election turns out to be more of a blowout than is currently forecast, which would make sense when looking at the issues rather than the polls and using common sense (which apparenly is a risky thing to assume). For example right now the Michigan NPR radio station is carrying a whole bunch of stuff on the Middle East. It looks like Michigan will be up in the air unless it's farther than the polls suggest.

One thing that is being suggested is a complete arms embargo. Here is why I think that's a bad idea. It's not because I like the 41k casualties of both terrorist group members and civilians. It's because who do you think Israel might buy weapons from if the US bails out? I want you to understand, people in charge of things LOVE selling weapons. People who need them are desperate for them. It's usually the most dire of situations, and the turnaround is just insane in such circumstances and frankly, it drives men mad. Being angry that weapons are sold is a righteous and noble position, but expecting it to end in the current situation is kind of a sort of madness and is something to be worked at over a long period of time if this is the path that humanity would prefer to take over industrialized warfare. Israel will most certainly continue to buy weapons, I do not have the power to forbid it or to direct their application as I see fit and at best could expect, through actual and yes difficult competence, to be some sort of honored advisor as history suggests is attainable. Now. Do we think Israel buying weapons from Vladimir Putin is better? Possibly China? Do we think Europe will be happy to go against US policy to do this, or will it have incoherent policy on the matter? I do think the US should do a much better job on procurement in general instead of poo-pooing away criticisms. Remember the LCS ships? Guess who criticized the LCS ships? I did, and the resident conservative militarist of the time said I was a goofball. Well what happened with the LCS ships? Did the hovercraft at least go to Ukraine? C'mon now

EDIT: I tried the ol' forum search for where I talked about LCS ships to make sure I actually didn't say something silly like "That whole dang thing is cool" instead of "The hovercraft is cool but probably will suffer from issues and it costs too much and why so many when you could also stimulate shipyards with other things" like I sort of recall doing somewhere at least.. I thought it was here. Maybe it was placed somewhere else on my '00s and '10s-era internet odyssey, I dunno. Oops I guess, sometimes that could be useful but ah well. However, the forums search feature doesn't work well so it might be that. I hope if Toady ever shuts the forum down or migrates it, that posts could be maintained and searchability could be restored. Otherwise it would be tough to brag one day to Gen Z+1 about the time I yelled over the internet at oil executives during the BP oil crisis and they suddenly had a solution suspiciously like my ramshackle drawing of a solution that I posted on a now basically defunct website called Photobucket, which is now in the control of outrageous, nearly if not EXTORTIONARY bandits because, again, money. Yes, I paid $5 for that! Government, why didn't you have my back on this one!? <-- I'm going to be using this punctuation lots now

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Maximum Spin]

In response to the price caps, it's been a long time since I read about them but one thing I know is that like tariffs they are extremely complex and will take significant understanding and focus to do properly, For example, providing evidence to the US people and presenting it in an effective manner of the need for price controls based on solid and well researched evidence. Done incorecctly, like tariffs, they can cause a bigger problem than what they are trying to fix. Max Spin's point also should not be completely disregarded in consideration of risk of abuse of price controls favoring one interest over another.

Yeah this is ultimately the thing. The economy is complicated, and, what have the people who would be in charge of enacting anything into law and executing it done to seem capable and trustworthy about this so far?

[Duuvian]

Probably more than your usually unhelpful, contradictory advice that's designed to cause a political win for you in the short term but force bad policy on both you and me. Again... for money. I mean, you are probably the best forum troll I've seen, but also there are chatbots now and it's easy...

Now, I've re-read that and since it'll probably be ironically reflected back at me (remember, I was a goofball once!) I'll go ahead and say the difference is that I don't give a rats ass who ends up as top figurehead as long as the policy is respectable and decent instead of endless looting and pillaging of hapless bastards. You could also do a helluva lot more SHIELDING these hapless bastards too, you incorrigible jerks, instead of setting snares for them. I also have made $0 afaik. I tried once to make weed legal but the old people fucked it. Now people like Max Spin should absolutely, positively never be heeded about that issue because they will fuck it up for money instead of just setting up a system that allows poor people to grow this valuable ass plant in their backyard in limited quantities. So therefore I did the things and I still can't profit from my difficult labor, because again... money... and then here is this. What generation forum troll is this? I sure wish the search function worked so I could find evidence of my championship defeating of people like Max Spin over the course of a generation. While I am indeed tired by this I also pretty much am like some kind of skilled person at this and I do have the utmost confidence that I will continue to just simply shine brighter than such as Max Spin. I am sorry Max Spin, I cannot help myself. I wish that we could be friends, but, I think, again, money...Such things this money does! 41k casualties, Max Spin doesn't know what he's doing because the chatbot can't spit out my old ideas back at him (lol at that and highfives all around) Really at some point I would expect people may in fact begin listening and coming to the conclusion that perhaps this 20 years of effort was not a complete, mockable waste of time after all. 

[Starver]

How difficult can creating helium be? Stars do it all the time! Just start fusing that hydrogen already, it's easy, gosh!

/j

Think bigger...

[Kagus]

I mean, yeah, we just need to get fusion power plants down and we should be gucci on making our own funny gas! No sweat!


In unrelated news, the JT-60SA tokamak has apparently managed to hit 160m³ of plasma, breaking its previous records.

[Duuvian]

Anybody know a country flush with cash? No promises, I dunno how it works.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-markets-reopen-with-roar-after-week-long-break-2024-10-08/

I simply read the article and placed it gently upon this thread.

EDIT: How does one Stream baseball here in the future with merely one payment and platform?

Wednesday, Oct. 9
Game   Time (ET)   TV/Live stream
Game 3: Tigers vs. Guardians   3:08 p.m.   TBS, truTV, Sling
Game 4: Mets vs. Phillies   5:08 p.m.   FS1, Fubo
Game 3: Royals vs. Yankees   7:08 p.m.   TBS, truTV, Sling
Game 4: Padres vs. Dodgers   9:08 p.m.   FS1, Fubo
Thursday, Oct. 10
Game   Time (ET)   TV/Live stream
Game 4: Tigers vs. Guardians   6:08 p.m.   TNT, Sling
Game 4*: Royals vs. Yankees   8:08 p.m.   TBS, truTV, Sling

* - if necessary
Note: If there is only one game, it will start at 8:08 p.m. ET on TBS and truTV
Friday, Oct. 11
Game   Time (ET)   TV/Live stream
Game 5*: Phillies vs. Mets   4:08 p.m.   FS1, Fubo
Game 5*: Dodgers vs. Padres   8:08 p.m.   Fox, Fubo

* - if necessary
Note: If there is only one game, it will start at 8:08 p.m. ET on Fox
Saturday, Oct. 12
Game   Time (ET)   TV/Live stream
Game 5*: Guardians vs. Tigers   4:38 p.m.   TBS, Sling
Game 5*: Yankees vs. Royals   8:08   TBS, Sling

* - if necessary

Here is a funny story. I finally convinced my old man to cut the cable cord. Do you know what happened? The Tigers beat Cleveland in the playoffs. NPR had speculated that this may, statistically, be the first time this has ever happened in all the millenia of ballgames. My old man couldn't watch it because of me! What the hell, universe!?

Now, I'm a Bally Sports man and always will be. Before that I was a Fox Sports Detroit man, because this regional sports network was somehow always the absolute peak of sports broadcast at any given time. For the Tigers and Red Wings broadcast, I think part of it was this man with how many emmies? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keating_(sportscaster) )

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In 2019, Keating won his 16th local Emmy from the Michigan chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If this is going away at end of contract or something, the Detroit sports teams may benefit from colluding and obtaining this broadcast team for a potential Detroit streaming service. I think there is a football team giving that a try, not sure. That would certainly be of interest of my boomer dad to have the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and Pistons on the same streaming network.

Now, I don't know what the hell is going on with Bally Sports now. It vanished from the television, which sternly warned me that Bally was at fault in some way. Since I had automatically entered my commercial trance in which I refuse all details of the outside world I cannot remember what this message said exactly. However I convinced my old man to buy a subscription to Bally Sports instead of the cable bill, and it finally happened and the cable news was gone forever. I've watched this streaming service. There are sports that were formerlly nameless to me, such as floorball. Did you know this is an organized sport? I always thought it was calvinball with hockeysticks when I was little. I played this in elementary school in a loosely organized league. Knowing the name of such a thing seems like progress to me. Here is the league, I'm not sure where they play. Look at this! I think they are even paid a minimum wage! I'd totally play this sport.

https://www.jomboymedia.com/p/team-baggage-vs-love-yas-game-6-floorball

Note I don't know anything about the people running this. It's probably somehow connected to gambling somehow, but I don't care about that. I saw them on the ol' Bally Sports and was absolutely fascinated and filled completely with urge for floorball.

I think I would be a heel though if they let me. My backstory would be back in first grade we played floorball in gym class and I grew enraged by unfair shin whacking that continued after a request to stop. You see, professional hockey players at the time hit each other in the shins all the time in that era of the NHL, and my opposing winger merely assumed this was normal for floorball. It would be then that I assumed my floorball anti-hero status (remember it was the '90s) and bonked the kid on the back of the head. Of course, I thought I had killed him (he was ok) and immediately began crying. This may have saved my ass, but I also was never allowed to handle a hockey stick for the rest of my educational process. I know they normally played floor hockey too! My gym classes weren't ever able to! I even asked to play floor hockey and we couldn't! This naturally turned me into a heel. My supernatural talent at floorball would remain mysterious.

[Doomblade187]

In response to the price caps, it's been a long time since I read about them but one thing I know is that like tariffs they are extremely complex and will take significant understanding and focus to do properly, For example, providing evidence to the US people and presenting it in an effective manner of the need for price controls based on solid and well researched evidence. Done incorecctly, like tariffs, they can cause a bigger problem than what they are trying to fix. Max Spin's point also should not be completely disregarded in consideration of risk of abuse of price controls favoring one interest over another.

Yeah this is ultimately the thing. The economy is complicated, and, what have the people who would be in charge of enacting anything into law and executing it done to seem capable and trustworthy about this so far?

Somehow, more trustworthy than corporate america.

It's a really low bar, okay?

[Maximum Spin]

Somehow, more trustworthy than corporate america.

It's a really low bar, okay?

I guess the underlying point is that I don't see them as two different things. It's one ecosystem.

Duuvian, I'm not even gonna bother reading that.

[anewaname]

Michigan AG making announcement and taking questions, the short of it is 3 election workers and 4 voters conspired to commit voter fraud. The voters voted by mail then arrived to vote in person. The people working the frontline saw that those voters were flagged as having mail-in ballots, they contacted the office and the election workers cleared the ballot conflict on the machine so the second votes could be cast.

This is in one of the swingiest counties in the swingy state. I'm not sure even if these 7 were masked in red or blue paints.

[Doomblade187]

Somehow, more trustworthy than corporate america.

It's a really low bar, okay?

I guess the underlying point is that I don't see them as two different things. It's one ecosystem.

Duuvian, I'm not even gonna bother reading that.

It's not "one ecosystem", you're talking about regulatory capture and corruption. Which are not normal processes of a government, and shouldn't be even when the government is clearly on the side of defending capital.

[McTraveller]

RE: Michigan voter fraud stuff:  Well, that's definitely one way to kill democracy: make it so nobody trusts the result of the elections.  What a mess.

RE: "the ecosystem": I'm not entirely sure how people think that any institution run by people would be immune from corruption or self-serving interests. It takes significant diligence to be able to resist corruption - both in governments and in corporations. And it's likely more difficult in larger organizations, just due to institutional culture and inertia.  I guess as optimistic as I am, I just can't see how a monolithic government is fundamentally different from corporations; the issue to me is how the organization operates, not what it's called.