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CerebralHawks

@ cerebralhawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com

Posts
3
Comments
782
Joined
1 yr. ago

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • It isn't propaganda. The site I mentioned that showed me the price said 41 minutes charging. Maybe "close to an hour" is an exaggeration and I apologise if you read it as anti-EV propaganda. Read my comments, I'm actually kinda pro-EV here. The thing is, I don't own one. I'm cautiously optimistic about the future, and that's the truth as best I can tell it.

    I will grant you I've heard of faster charging. I was just going off of what I read. Which IIRC was covering a newer electric vehicle — the new Subaru?

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • Nah, like I said, the Mustang EV is fine, but like you said, it shouldn't have been called a Mustang. I suggested the Galaxy name. I think with a different name I would have been fine with it. The Mustang has had a few identity crises over the years, from Pinto look in the 70s to the boxy look in the 90s, to this pseudo-retro look from 2005... but it has never been a mom-mobile for a soccer team. No, an SUV/crossover isn't a minivan, but it's close. And I liked Ford's minivan, the Aerostar. I can't speak to its mechanical capabilities, but I liked the look of it. The one whose front is a straight ramp from the top of the grille to the roof. A lot of people didn't like them. I thought they were neat (looking). Even wanted one, at one point. Figured I'd take out the seats and turn the back into a living/hangout area. Some people actually did that, mostly with full size vans. I only thought about it.

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • I don't own an EV either, nor do I have any financial (or otherwise) stake in any EV company or technology. Actually, I don't have any financial stake in any company, except the one I work for because they employ me, so it's in my interest... anyway, I'm getting off track.

    Point is, on your road trip, you had to stop for food. The idea is, you'd refill and eat at the same time. Unless you were really picky about your food, you could just eat at the gas station (which also has chargers). That's the idea they're going for with these "rest area charging stations".

    You make a lot of trips, which means you spend a lot in gas. Again I'm not saying you should buy an EV. What I am saying you should do is, try to find out what that trip would cost you in fuel and in charging. I bet you pay less than half for the charging. $10 vs $20 (assuming USD because you said miles) isn't nothing, but it's not a vehicle purchase decision. $100 vs $200 isn't really a purchase decision either, but it's a bit more substantial. If you had a way to figure out your fuel costs over a year and then figured out what those miles would cost to recharge in an EV, it would at the very least be some interesting numbers to look at.

  • Do you like scrollbars that instantly jump to the destination when clicked?

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  • Sounds like you’re asking about Linux but the comm isn’t OS specific.

    At work I found that Windows can make scroll bars always show. Auto hide is so annoying. I’m not a “Windows user” but I do use it at work. I don’t hate the corporate version of Windows 11 so much. I have it set up the way I want and it doesn’t shove AI or gaming up in my face like the Home and Pro versions do (Pro to a lesser extent).

    On iOS, some scroll bars do jump down on tap, but I think the developer has to enable that. The real killer feature is tapping the top of the screen to jump to the top. One developer, Christian Selig (he’s a public figure, not throwing his full government out for no reason), made his app (Apollo for Reddit, now retired) let you tap the top of the screen a second time to jump back to where you were. Super cool.

  • Brave is charging $60 to remove features it added in the first place

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  • Rude. But not inaccurate. Brave pretends to be better than Chrome and Google, but also Mozilla and Firefox at the same time, though Firefox has always done it better and has never contributed to the chromium monopoly. Greed over diversification of the Web and competition between browser engines to effect real change. The least Brave could do is make their own engine.

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • Charging stations are getting more and more common.

    I was reading that a lot of gas stations are transitioning from "stop and go" (or "stop and convenience store and go") to a more "rest area" format. As in, there will be things to do there while your EV charges. Brands like Sheetz and Wawa and Buc'ees that already provide food (and, by some accounts, it's better than your typical "gas station" fare) are looking into other things to keep you hanging around. Before, gas stations wanted you to leave ASAP so you free up a pump for another customer. But now if you have to take an hour to charge, they want to keep you fed and entertained so your time is not wasted. (But, by the same token, they're going to want you to vacate your charging port once you're done, so another customer can charge. Imagine waiting not only to charge, but for a charger to open up.)

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • That's awesome. We've needed increases and advancements in battery since smartphones got popular almost 20 years ago (thanks iPhone) but EVs seem a bit more important, especially since that EV is also likely charging your phones while you drive.

    And yes, I've heard that over time, battery prices and EV prices have come down.

    The next person to reply to me mentions Americans and, more relating to your comment than theirs, I was just reading about how despite how Tesla had to push back against the gas-powered car industry to get a foothold, now that they're established, they're doing the same thing to keep competition out, namely China's BYD, which is "threatening" to undercut everybody, so they don't want that. If China can sell an EV for $10k less than the Americans are selling theirs (and Elon Musk, who isn't exactly American, not that it's about nationality per se), then Americans can certainly sell theirs for less and get more people buying. Apparently at this point it's cheaper and more profitable to fight competition than it would be to allow competition in the industry. To be clear though, it's not just Tesla and BYD, it's Tesla and all the other automakers fixing the price and BYD is saying you can get an EV for much less than that. Fortunately, more and more people are listening to BYD. Cheaper EVs is what we need to get more people driving them.

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • No, they make sense, and I thank you for being transparent with your biases. That’s not common online, but it’s a standard I strive for and respect.

    The same kind of person who prefers manual transmission would prefer a gas engine. Let’s look at Mustang drivers. Nuff Said. (For those who don’t get it, Google “1969 Mustang Eleanor” and “Mustang EV”. One is a work of art. The other is a crime against automobile style or at least should never have been called Mustang — would have been a great opportunity to revive the Ford Galaxy brand.)

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • Clarification: in many areas, cats are expected to last so many miles or kilometers per tank/charge so you can’t be stranded between refills/charges. I think it’s 300 miles but I’m not sure. Less efficient vehicles, thus, need larger gas tanks or batteries.

    So while, in theory, some cars will be able to get more miles before they die from running out of gas or charge, the consumer can typically expect a reasonable minimum.

    Also, call it dystopian, but a great option would be to charge at work. Charge slowly over the course of a shift. They take it right out of your check. Pre-tax if you’re lucky (I’ve heard government jobs can do this? Not sure about private sector). Then you just don’t worry about it because it happens when you’re not there. You just always have charge. Charge a little every day or all at once on Friday, either way. As opposed to charging at home, I mean, for people who can’t install the charger at home for whatever reason.

  • Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss

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  • We know they’re better, we just can’t afford them.

    Better analogies would be automatic vs manual transmission, power steering vs not, and CarPlay/Google Maps vs a paper atlas.

    I think a lot of people know you have to pay to charge and that charging can take nearly an hour and they don’t see the point. I didn’t know what it cost to charge an EV before. I saw an article yesterday where someone charged, if I read it correctly, 89% of their capacity (they were down to 11%), for $13.99. Get a petrol driver to figure out their capacity, multiply it by 0.89, then multiply that by the cost of petrol in their area. Then convert to US Dollars and see which is cheaper. Guarantee it’s electric.

    Of course, that leaves another variable. Batteries, being consumable devices. How much is the EV’s battery to replace (including labour) and how long does the OEM part last?

  • What would be your perfect (reusable) water bottle?

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  • Yeah, I dunno. I thought it it was just mould, it would wash off. I've taken some pretty harsh chemicals and scrubbers and they don't give any. But the black dots that form on the rubber gaskets when they're exposed to moisture weirds me out. If it's not mould, even discolouration would be strange.

  • What would be your perfect (reusable) water bottle?

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  • Yeah, I dunno. I thought it it was just mould, it would wash off. I've taken some pretty harsh chemicals and scrubbers and they don't give any. But the black dots that form on the rubber gaskets when they're exposed to moisture weirds me out. If it's not mould, even discolouration would be strange.

  • What would be your perfect (reusable) water bottle?

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  • 20 ounce or 600mL (about the same), insulated, and easy to clean.

    I like the Zojirushi, but the rubber parts get mouldy quick. Even if you clean it a couple times a day, people say no, you got to clean it more. No, I'm not cleaning the thing several times a day to keep it food safe. That's just a losing battle.

    Stanley makes a nice one, too (and green, so, bonus) and while it's got a lot of complex moving parts, it's very easy to clean with brushes. Mine fell wrong and the trigger popped out and there was so much mould inside, it was nasty. There's no way to disassemble this part, but also, nothing in there touches the water. Still gross. I just threw it in the trash (it was unfixable anyway).

  • When your search engine is a trekkie

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  • Same. Didn't do it for Worf, though.

  • Why and how do you lemmyscroll(or fedi-interact in general)?

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  • No, no, dbzer0's disengage policy is great, I've just never had cause to use it. I mean I have one of my own that I've had longer than I've been on Lemmy.

    My original policy (which is just a personal policy that helps keep me sane online) was, if someone responds rudely, they get one chance if I feel like giving it, but beyond that I will stop engaging with them entirely. I don't block, I just walk away. Usually they leave it alone at that. Some people will follow you, vote bomb you... that worked on Reddit. Not so much here where votes don't matter as much. And I hide them entirely where I can. I don't mean my disengage policy is in any way related to theirs. Just a similar name. Nothing more.

    The only thing I really don't fully agree with dbzer0 on is AI. I'm not 100% for it, but neither am I 100% against it. My wife is 100% against it. I have ChatGPT on my phone, and she doesn't like that. She has Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on her phone, and I don't much like that. It's not really a point of contention. She says "you have ChatGPT and AI steals from artists." I say "you have Twitter and it's run by Elon Musk and his AI generates CSAM." She says "I was here before him" and that usually ends that. And it's never really a sore spot. But I'm not 100% for AI. They are. I understand why and I can respect their position. And I would not disagree with them in a dbzer0 comm. Here on a Lemmy.world comm I will say my point of view, but as I am a member of their instance, I will not disparage theirs.

  • Why and how do you lemmyscroll(or fedi-interact in general)?

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  • Let’s see. Went with dbzer0 because I liked some things about them. Some things are weird but not disagreeable or offensive. I like how they’re mostly for freedom of speech and I feel they’re mostly like minded individuals. Just felt it was a good fit. Maybe not for everyone though.

    I use Mlem on my phone and I just use the browser (Safari) on my computer. I’m a longtime Firefox user, but Firefox and Lemmy don’t get along well. Always runs like shit here; Safari doesn’t and I don’t hate it. It’s not like Edge on a Windows machine, which I couldn’t do.

    I browse /all, sub to comms that interest me and block ones I never wanna see. Like it’s not personal, I browse /all to see what’s there but some stuff I just don’t wanna see. So I don’t.

    Lastly, there’s my personal disengage policy. Not to be confused with dbzer0’s. Basically I don’t engage with vitriol, and if a conversation heads that way, depending on my mood, I’ll try to turn it back towards civility, or simply ignore. No block, no downvote, I just walk away and let them have the last word.

  • Why do AI models use so many em-dashes?

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  • My guess is, those that do are trained from forum posts where intelligence, including the knowledge of how and the wisdom of when to use non-standard punctuation marks, like en and em dashes, the semicolon, and others, were considered valuable. These people would seem, on the surface, to know more about what they're talking about and would provide better training data for the LLM. Those people used em dashes, so, so too do the AI models based on them.

    Also, sorry (not sorry). I am a religious em dash user and have been for over 30 years. I'm not saying I'm smarter than anyone about any one thing, but it is entirely possible some of my forum posts were used to train LLMs. I didn't get paid for it though; hence the "not sorry" part. If it trained on my posts after the fact, I won't take any blame for that. But, people were using em dashes long before AIs were.

  • Removed Locked

    36 Pedophiles/enablers voted AGAINST a Child Marriage Ban that passed in Oklahoma.

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  • All for going after our leaders for supporting CSA, but in the meantime we could go after people posting fauxbait (porn of adults made to look like children... with some children thrown in and you don't really know) on the Fediverse. I browse /all and I see some of it, I downvote, but there's not really much you can do. I feel like we should clean our own house (though fedinsfw is its own instance) first... and I feel like people will defend these guys because they're on the Fediverse. I don't like any paedophiles and I'll state it plainly.

  • Are there any communities where people have real intellectually honest discusions?

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  • Depends what the topic is, but generally you want forums. Forums are more geared to this. Reddit (and Lemmy, which is based on the Reddit model) tried to replicate and decentralise forums (whereas on a forum you have a small set of mods and an admin or two; on Reddit, each sub would have its own mods; Lemmy improves upon this with instances (for example, the one I'm on is more freedom of speech/anarchy)), but forums still exist. A lot of them have died out. One forum that tries to take itself pretty seriously is Ars Technica's. They can be a bit of a clannish bunch and they're a little distrusting of newcomers, but some of them have been there for 20 years.

    https://arstechnica.com/civis/

    Worth noting, when they say forum, they lean pretty heavily into the original definition of a gathering place where people would gather and talk, so there are similar themes throughout the site. But, if you like tech stuff and science, that's their thing (their name is Latin for "The Art of Technology").

    I'm not a member. I was, a very long time ago. I had issues with some long standing members and they basically ran me off. But it was like 10-12 years ago. So who knows. Things change. People change. And I don't even remember what I was called then. But, for what it's worth, I would imagine if Arsians have a social network they use, it's probably Lemmy/Piefed, though I imagine it's more Reddit.