ELECTION RESULTS DISCUSSION, GO DOWN ONE POST. This is for all the *other* comments, which are not election-related, because this is a full-service blog &etc.
Thought about saving this for tomorrow dawn, but wottahell, we could all use some positivity right now. From the AP, “Navajo robotics team heads to international competition”:
A team of Navajo high school students from a remote town in southern Utah is building a robot to represent North America in an international robotics competition.
The teenagers have worked all summer on the project, scheduling meetings between long drives to jobs far from the red rock and sage country of Navajo Mountain, where there is little paid work, said teacher Heather Anderson.
The team was specially invited to compete in the First Global Challenge that starts Aug. 14 in Mexico City. Teams from more than 190 countries will create robots for energy generation, especially renewable power. Teams hail from countries ranging from Congo to Ukraine, and also include separate teams representing specifically the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Team Naatsis’aan, a Navajo name that translates to Navajo Mountain, has been competing for two years in Utah and ranks among the best in the state at that level, said Chelsey Short, the regional director for FIRST Robotics. They got started after an Australian team reached out online and supportive coaches kept it going, but sustaining the program at a high school with a total of 30 students has been challenging…
Team member Jason Slender, 16, said he grew up repairing laptops and phones, skills that came in handy when it comes to building robots. “The best part was brainstorming how we should design the robot, and managing to all agree on one,” he said Tuesday. He’s taking his first plane ride for the event.
Each of the teams heading to Mexico City is building a robot capable of feeding power plants to scale and an efficient transmission network. The Navajo team will have to work in alliances with other teams to score points in the challenge organized by the robotics nonprofit First Global. Since they speak different languages, they’ll use a system of hand gestures to communicate, Bitsinnie said…
rikyrah
This is so awesome
EBT
For people keeping track of the kidnapping and subsequent legal issues I have been periphery too; the kid’s dad has a lawyer the grandmother bought him. So likely he is going to win his way because of that.
Mnemosyne
@EBT:
If your housemate doesn’t have a lawyer, she needs one, pronto. Most family courts prefer to keep the kid with the mom, but she can’t count on that if she has no legal representation and he does.
EBT
@Mnemosyne: The lawyer we saw today wants a 5K retainer. That’s kinda way out of what can be afforded here.
Droppy
I, for one, welcome our Native American Robot Overlords (NARO) – I’m sure they’ll be perfectly gentle with us middle-aged white midwestern dudes.
Mnemosyne
@EBT:
And, yes, I realize that her relationship to you is more complicated than “housemate,” but that’s probably the easiest way to keep the conversation focused on the child custody issues. ?
Amir Khalid
Maybe I’ve been hanging out here too long, but my first thought was that the Trump administration is probably thinking hard in search of a way to fuck these kids over.
Mnemosyne
@EBT:
Start Googling “pro bono” and your town’s name. You should also contact the local law schools to see if they can put you in touch with people willing to work pro bono.
Major Major Major Major
Wow, cool!
Thanks for the Other thread.
Felanius Kootea
This is really great. Go Team Naatsis’aan!
Bill Arnold
Since it’s open thread, here’s the runaway climate change study that has been making the news:
Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene )(August 6, 2018) (pdf)
Worth a read for understanding how fucked we are. (Shorter, just look at figures:
Fig 1, Fig 2, Fig 3)
Sample:
Mnemosyne
@Amir Khalid:
Sometimes people who live on reservations in the US and/or Canada have a tribal passport rather than a US or Canadian one. That would be one area where they could be messed with, but hopefully their school already dealt with that issue.
chris
@Amir Khalid: “We only accept coal-fired robots.” Rick Perry
MisterForkbeard
@EBT: I know we’ve had some blog blegs recently for various jackals, but this sounds like it might be a good use of that power. Assuming Cole is receptive, of course.
If you do that or set up a GoFundMe let us know.
MisterForkbeard
@Bill Arnold: Welp, that’s terrifying.
Ohio Mom
@EBT: I have to agree with Mnem, you need to do some more looking. Not necessarily because it will increase your chances of success but because of the message it will send the kid, that he/she (I admit I’ve forgotten all the details) is worth fighting for.
That said, your family of choice is in a tough spot. I’m sorry.
Bill Arnold
@MisterForkbeard:
Part of the political dynamics we’re see re immigration controls are to normalize effective militarization of our southern border s to block north-migrating climate refugees. (Nobody talks about it in public, so I presume it is considered impolite to talk about letting millions of future refugees die.)
Long term, most of the continental US becomes basically uninhabitable in these worst-case runaway scenarios. This image has been making the rounds, credited to New Scientist: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Di94GbEWwAAUCtO.jpg
EBT
@Ohio Mom: Of course we are still fighting. Everyone is looking to see what they can liquidate to get someone.
HinTN
This ain’t election results so here goes…
Hey Cole, the Rude Pundit’s got yer number:
ETA: Yay Navajo robotics team! I volunteer with FIRST and I’m here to testify that this is a big Biden deal.
MisterForkbeard
@Bill Arnold: Oh pish. I’m sure Elon Musk will save the Bay Area, right?
Hold on, I rolled my eyes hard enough I sprained something.
rikyrah
Kanye’s Conservative BFF, Candace Owens, Was Harassed at a Coffee Shop, Claims Racism
Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
Today 2:31pm
BWA HA HA AH AH HA AH HA HA HA HA AH HA
debbie
@rikyrah:
Christ, I hate Paris Dennard.
HinTN
@HinTN: dang, ran out of time
ETA: They’re picky about the italics.
Bill Arnold
@MisterForkbeard:
There’s a lot I find irritating about Elon Musk (and he needs to up-level his sci-fi tastes :-), but at least he’s seriously interested in being a big player in renewables technologies (solar, grid storage, electric cars).
Tata
Puzzled that article included no way to support the team.
chris
@Bill Arnold: Damn. There goes Nova Scotia. I need to upload my consciousness soon!
Steeplejack
Speaking of jackals in need, has anyone seen occasional commenter Lalophobia recently? He/she posted a timorous not-quite-bleg last month and got some advice, as well as a fair amount of skepticism and criticism. I haven’t seen anything since and would like to know if I missed an update.
RedDirtGirl
@Bill Arnold<That co@Bill Arnold: Damn. @Bill Arnold: DAMN.
Major Major Major Major
@Bill Arnold: “and he needs to up-level his sci-fi tastes”
What’s wrong with Iain Banks?
Mnemosyne
@EBT:
Also, see if you can get in touch with Lambda Legal or a similar group that handles LGBTQ+ legal cases. Calling the nearest support group might give you some leads. It could be helpful to get some of that expertise on board since it wil probably come up that she’s a lesbian living with her wife in a complicated household.
Brachiator
@Bill Arnold: Great study. We are so fucked.
Mnemosyne
Random comment: I am more likely to buy a paper copy of a book I want if it comes with a free or low-cost digital copy. People need to do more of that.
EBT
@Mnemosyne: Both genetic parents are trans too.
Bill Arnold
@Major Major Major Major:
Nothing at all (my favorite sci-fi writer to be honest, re-reading The Hydrogen Sonata ATM, reasons), he just was recently caught misinterpreting the post-scarcity Culture on twitter.
A Ghost To Most
@EBT: Is GoFundMe an option? Or at least a GoFuckYourself for the Texans?
MagdaInBlack
@Mnemosyne:
Fellow Luddite here: I only buy books, always used. I just prefer the feel of a book ?
ETA: or perhaps you meant “do more of ” including digitsl copies?
Nevertheless, I’m still a book Luddite ?
Major Major Major Major
@Bill Arnold: doesn’t mean he needs better taste, he just needs to learn how to read!
@MagdaInBlack: used copies don’t show up in the author’s sales figures FWIW, so if you really want to support a writer you should buy their books new :)
Brachiator
@Bill Arnold:
RE: This image has been making the rounds, credited to New Scientist.
So, basically we take over Canada. Should be pretty easy.
BTW, there was a recent BBC news story about an intense 5 year drought in Australia. An official interviewed said she had seen droughts before, and dismissed the idea of climate change as a contributing factor.
Still difficult to change some minds about this issue.
Eric S.
For no other reason than it is an open thread: It’s not when in time, it is where in time.
Mnemosyne
@EBT:
Yeah, if you can find one, it may be helpful to have a lawyer who specializes in LGBTQ+ custody issues. You don’t want a lawyer to get caught flat-footed by what the other side brings up.
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
I saw Candace Owens (for the first time) on Ari Melber’s show tonight, and she was nuts! The segment ended with her and a liberal (male) guest talking nonstop over each other and Melber talking over both of them to get to the commercial break.
Holy shnikeys! It’s already on YouTube. For anybody interested, check out her first tirade and then skip to about a minute from the end. Or watch the whole thing if you enjoy gawking at a car wreck.
Bill Arnold
@Bill Arnold:
To be clear, I just wish he would put most of his focus on tech for helping to save the earth, rather than on side projects to provide fantasy escape paths for billionaires. (If he started us on a path towards a solar shield at L1 (would need self-replicating assembly apparatus with asteroid feedstock probably), my respect would be huge.)
MagdaInBlack
@Major Major Major Major:
I would be delighted to, had I the budget for..new.
(Owen Barfield prob isnt too concerned)
Mnemosyne
@MagdaInBlack:
I like both ebooks and paper books, so I like to have one of each when I can, especially with nonfiction books. When it’s a research or craft book, sometimes it’s easier to flip to the part you want than to try and do a digital search.
Major Major Major Major
@Bill Arnold: slight OT: I was interviewing today at a place that had financial news playing in the bathrooms, and from what I heard in between each round, Musk had one hell of a day.
p.a.
@Mnemosyne: This is a continual issue for the Iroquois Confederation at international lacrosse competitions. Passport issues, they arrived one day before round robin play. They just finished 3rd at the quadrennial championship in Netanya Israel. 1 US, 2 Canada, 3 6 Nations, 4 Australia. (Championship Division)
Some games on youtube. The US/Canada round robin game was pretty nasty.
Omnes Omnibus
@EBT: Check with your local legal aid people.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Major Major Major Major:
Yeah, The Culture series sounds pretty cool. I have to start reading it.
Steeplejack
@Bill Arnold:
I like Banks a lot, but I thought The Hydrogen Sonata sucked.
No offense to you, but I thought it was really bad, and you sort of triggered a knee-jerk reaction.
A Ghost To Most
@Steeplejack: christian fascism is not wholly a white people problem.
Bill Arnold
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
I started with Use of Weapons, which was a mistake probably (bizarre story, and story structure too) but it hooked me.
Player Of Games is probably the most gentle start. People actually argue about optimal reading order for the Culture novels.
Bill Arnold
@Steeplejack:
Out of curiosity, what’s your favorite? (I kinda like Look to Windward, then Excession.)
TheMightyTrowel
@Bill Arnold: Excession. No question. (also I bloody loved Hydrogen Sonata)
Caphilldcne
Thirsted or fourthed. I’ve lost track of the lambda legal Rex’s but you should go here. My experience is that they will respond and at least provide you a list of lawyers in your state who are willing to take on lgbtq cases.
https://www.lambdalegal.org/helpdesk
What is the Help Desk?
Lambda Legal’s Help Desk provides information and resources regarding discrimination related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and HIV status.
Lambda Legal selects cases that will have the greatest impact in protecting and advancing the rights of LGBT people and those with HIV. While we are not able to take every case, the Help Desk can discuss your legal issue with you, and can provide useful information. This assistance may include follow-up discussions with Lambda Legal attorneys or contact information for an attorney in your area or for other organizations that may directly assist you. We are not legal aid, calls will not be initially answered by an attorney and help desk analysts cannot give legal advice.
How do I contact the Help Desk?
You may email the Help Desk by filling out this online form.
Alternatively, select your state below to see the telephone number of the Lambda Legal Help Desk nearest you.
We do not accept walk-in inquiries at any office.
dexwood
Walk in beauty, Team Naatsis’aan.
Steeplejack
@Bill Arnold:
Jeez, I’ll have to check his bibliography for titles. I binge-read them all in a block (except for The Hydrogen Sonata, which I think came out later), and they sort of run together in my mind. Well, not that; it’s more that I can’t associate some titles with which specific plots they go with.
I’m in the middle of multitasking some stuff, so it’ll be half an hour or so.
ETA: Okay, just took a quick look, damn it. I think my favorite might be Excession. Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games and Use of Weapons are the big three, of course, but I liked the sort of sideways look at the Culture in Excession, and I seem to remember that it had more interplay among the (super-)smart starship AIs, which I liked a lot.
Another Scott
Silverman bait – Krebs on Security updates us on Florida Man:
Gotta be careful out there…
Cheers,
Scott.
Dan B
@Bill Arnold: This is an “interesting” map for New Scientist. Much of Siberia and Canada is nearly barren soil so it would take a lot of time to make it fertile sustainably. A lot is permafrost that’s already melting into lakes and bog so wild rice could be it. Then the disruptions to the jet stream would mean wildly extreme weather. Some years would be warm as would some winters. Others would be the opposite. Without a large temperature differential between the poles and the mid latitudes the jet stream slows and meanders, much like the Mississippi from Missouri to the Gulf. So the idea that agriculture could be successful in the far north (and I mean North – there’s not much South) is iffy. Perhaps it coukd be done in greenhouses. Even these would be doubtful since storms would be powerfully destructive, see ‘Storms of My Grandchildren’. Add in the trauma of going from 8 billion humans to 100 million or less, and millions of species to tens if thousands (and not the nicest ones, see: jellyfish,cockroaches, rats, mosquitoes, and locusts). Things like medicine would be very limited while demagogues and charlatans would flourish.
4C is unlikely to see solar PV in the Sahara unless the maintenance staff lived underground during daylight hours. Extreme weather is not for humanity. Catastrophically extreme weather is definitely not.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Bill Arnold:
I was actually going to ask about the reading order. Would it be better to start chronologically as the books were written and published?
Major Major Major Major
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: chronological is fine but you can also skip the first.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Bill Arnold:
I can’t imagine NE Ohio, where I live becoming an uninhabitable desert. Not that I disbelieve just that it’s a terrible image to contemplate. I hope I’m dead before if/when it happens. To think I ever wanted to live forever?
Is it sad that the late 20th/early 21st century is probably going to be considered humanity’s peak, the closest we ever collectively got to utopia?
Major Major Major Major
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: some contend that pre-agrarian coastal tropical cultures were pretty nice.
Bill Arnold
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
I’m a hard-core optimist, but many of the likely pathways are pretty grim. There are a lot of tech wildcards; Biotech is probably the main one IMO, probably our descendants will not be Homo Sapiens Sapiens and those of us current humans left will need retrofits to participate.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bill Arnold: Homo Richards Cockroach?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Major Major Major Major:
So hunter-gatherer societies? Eh.
Long-term, we have to escape Earth and protect it at the same time. I’ve also always felt that humanity has a moral duty to protect life on Earth, which includes safegauarding our species’ survival. Life may be common in the universe, but there’s no evidence to suggest that intelligent life is. We could be all there is.
Also, it depends on what your definition of utopia is, I guess. Mine is a post-scarcity democratic socialist civilization. So Star Trek, basically. I just wish we had more time. With absolutely no training in economics, I think we’re fairly close to achieving post-scarcity. A few centuries at most.
Steeplejack
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Sort of what Major^4 said. I’d read the second one, The Player of Games, then read the first one, Consider Phlebas. After that, chronological is fine, I think.
Looking at Banks’s Wikipedia article, I am reminded that there are big patches in some of his books that are a hard slog. So he’s not an unalloyed delight from end to end.
Ohio Mom
@Major Major Major Major: Those pre-agrarian cultures wouldn’t be so great for those of us old enough to have chronic medical conditions.
I have to agree with Goku, for those of us in developed nations, this is as good as it’s ever going to get.
It actually gives me a new view of my life, I’m living in a golden age. Much better than a thread ago, when I was living in stupid Ohio.
Major Major Major Major
@Ohio Mom: @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: I didn’t say it was *my* contention. I agree that for roughly everybody alive things are better now than at any other point.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Major Major Major Major:
Didn’t mean to imply it was. Like I said, I think we’re so close to post-scarcity. I just wish we had more time. I wonder if other alien civilizations have ended at around the current technological level we possess? They just burned fossil fuels until their planet became a furnace?
Major Major Major Major
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: we have plenty of time, just not in our current configuration. Humans aren’t going anywhere. ETA neither is most of our technical knowhow.
Steeplejack
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Well, Mr. Science Fiction Guy, that’s one of the proposed answers to the Fermi Paradox. Intelligent life arises throughout the galaxy but always manages to kill itself off before it meets anyone else.
Major Major Major Major
@Steeplejack: I like the variation that sufficiently intelligent societies invent, and then destroy their biosphere mining, cryptocurrencies.
Bess
We now have the technology to leave fossil fuels behind and they have just recently become inexpensive (affordable in the case of EVs). We have no real excuses for not quitting fossil fuels. It might take 20 years or a bit more. The job of replacing about 65% of the electricity we now generate with fossil fuels and essentially all our petroleum vehicles with battery powered vehicles is huge.
We are already getting hurt by climate change and the pain will grow. But it’s up to us now as to how bad the hurt will get. The faster we move the less pain we will have to endure.
Bill Arnold
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
This is one of the Fermi Paradox “filters” that has been discussed. (Including with Weird twists.)
If you want some optimism, look at some of the papers on paths to decarbonization of the global economy (additionally with carbon capture of the hundreds of gigatons of fossil carbon that we’ve already injected into the atmosphere and perhaps some short-term geoengineering during the many decades while the nuclear-powered CO2-sequestration-engines are running. Or maybe biotech engines. :-) )
e.g. A roadmap for rapid decarbonization or Accelerating sociotechnical transitions
for deep decarbonization.
Steeplejack
@Major Major Major Major:
Funny/not funny.
Steeplejack
@Bill Arnold:
Aw, man, warning on PDFs, please! The phone and tablet just download them, and then I have to hunt them down and erase them.
Bill Arnold
@Major Major Major Major:
Or that the idea of cryptocurrencies is injected, by extraterrestrial actors, into a judged-pathologically-greedy capitalistic world, to indirectly and deniably destroy it/as a test/to force a transformation away from greed/whatever. (What, you think Satoshi Nakamoto is human? :) )
Bill Arnold
@Steeplejack:
Noted, will be careful in the future, did not realize that that was a problem.
Steeplejack
@Bill Arnold:
Usually I press and hold the hyperlink, which displays it so I can see where it’s going, but with PDFs the browser just skips that step and downloads the file (Chrome on Android).
sgrAstar
@Steeplejack: Great Filter vs Dark Forest.
Tehanu
@Steeplejack: I’d also recommend Surface Detail and Excession, and the non-Culture The Algebraist. The thing about Banks is, at least for me: I can’t say I love any of his books in themselves, but the universe he creates is quite possibly the greatest conception ever in science fiction. I wish I could see the human race develop into anything as wonderful as The Culture.