iirc he has liberal tendencies mixed in w the libertarianism
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 15:28 (ten years ago) link
xp I heard him speak and he seemed not crazy and to have some kind of social or at least environmental conscience, unlike the usual libertarian types, but maybe he's just better at hiding it
(I like him too fwiw and right now he seems one of the most likely "crackpot genius billionaires" to solve some hard problems which are overdue for solving, so I hope he carries on with that. Also hoping that one day I'll get to see/read his computer game that appeared in some 8-bit micro type-in listings mag in the 80s)
― the supreme personality of Godhead : a summary study (a passing spacecadet), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 15:35 (ten years ago) link
he's not as bad as some of the other silicon valley libtards, I'll give him that.
nonetheless, this is a stupid proposal
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 15:35 (ten years ago) link
do tell
curious to read a critique that amounts to more than 'hyperlol'
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 15:48 (ten years ago) link
I think it's dumb that he's throwing around numbers when he doesn't even have a working prototype. It just seems like he's hoping to derail the other project. I also think the "open source" thing is pretty silly since it's not like code where an individual can make some kind of improvement and test it out to see if it works. I guess an open source design is an interesting idea after the fact if he actually gets it working and other people want to build his design, but it still seems basically irrelevant.
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:15 (ten years ago) link
Didn't he make his fortune with Peter thiel?I don't know if that is "guilt by association" or "looking better by comparison"
― Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:15 (ten years ago) link
It just seems like he's hoping to derail the other project
^^^
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:18 (ten years ago) link
A key part of his criticism of the other rail plan is that it's "more expensive to operate (if unsubsidized)." I'd like to see some more detailed numbers on that though. Why would we count the cost of unsubsidized rail against air travel which is heavily subsidized? All that really matters is cost to the traveller, and unlike airlines, I'm assuming the high speed rail system is not going to be run as a for-profit business. He also makes no comparison of the environmental costs of air flight vs. the planned high speed rail system.
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:26 (ten years ago) link
markers, here are some of the people that were entertainingly scathing: kalebhorton, quartzcity, tcarmody, mikesonn
― eris bueller (lukas), Monday, August 12, 2013 11:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I'm generally contemptuous of futurists, primarily because they seem to think energy and climate change problems will just sort themselves out, but a mass transit system that relies on solar power and transports people across one of the busiest stretches of highway in America is a good thing. I looked at the first two feeds you suggested and they seemed to just be saying this is just a toy for rich people, which is afaict completely unsupported by his proposal. He's not suggesting a magic carpet for billionaires; it's mass transit that uses solar power. This is a good thing! Maybe it's completely impossible hogwash, but I'd like to see actual engineering criticism of it instead of casual dismissals based on suspicion of ideas from rich people.
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:41 (ten years ago) link
the main challenges are not engineering-related, their political
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:43 (ten years ago) link
anybody who is over the age of 25, has lived in a city for any length of time, and paid a modicum of attention to the world around them knows that these kinds of massive public works projects tend to be underbid by shady contractors and then they go wildly over the original schedule and budget. so the fact that he's coming in saying he can do it so much cheaper with a totally new and untested technology is a huge red flag. to me it immediately suggests that the whole thing is not serious.
if he honestly thinks this is a feasible plan he should raise some funding and build a private line from LA to Vegas.
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:54 (ten years ago) link
It's transparently unserious in that he doesn't want to do it himself and "regrets even mentioning it"
― Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:08 (ten years ago) link
right, that aspect has been p funny
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:10 (ten years ago) link
haha, I missed that part
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:11 (ten years ago) link
ya seems like he said something offhandedly then realized abt his celebrity
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:12 (ten years ago) link
a mass transit system that relies on solar power and transports people across one of the busiest stretches of highway in America is a good thing.
people don't commute the LA to SF corridor though. i have a hard time believing a transit system would fill the role of the 5 freeway. it's mostly trucks anyway.
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:13 (ten years ago) link
You know what would do really well in transportation corridors like that? Plain old freight trains.
I swear, the interstate highway system and the fact it's mostly used for semi truck freight is the biggest money hole in our post-WW2 car-dependent wonderland
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:15 (ten years ago) link
there already are freight trains
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:16 (ten years ago) link
people don't commute the LA to SF corridor though.
?! they most certainly do. there are these things called commuter flights, they are booked solid all the time.
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:17 (ten years ago) link
there are a lot more trucks xp
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:17 (ten years ago) link
what exactly are you proposing?
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:20 (ten years ago) link
a solar powered superhighway paved with bitcoins duh
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:21 (ten years ago) link
that we subsidize more public transport of freight in addition to passengers? or at least reallocate money away from interstate highways
idk, iatee and his ideas about gas prices to thread
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:21 (ten years ago) link
HOOS otm
ah, ok. I thought maybe there was a problem with CA's existing freight lines. I don't really know anything about them but I do see freight trains going up and down the state all the time.
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:24 (ten years ago) link
If this thing actually worked the political will would develop pretty quickly. If the Acela line was shipping people 400 miles in 30 minutes every state would want one.
Which is why yeah, he should just fucking build one. I wonder what a good demonstration distance would be.
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:30 (ten years ago) link
L.A. to S.D.?
― cops on horse (WilliamC), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:52 (ten years ago) link
http://www.humancannonball.us/IMAGES/photos/017.jpg
― HOOS next aka won't get steened again (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:53 (ten years ago) link
what are the possible operating failure modes on one these loops
― you're better off in a supersonic jet (Hunt3r), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:56 (ten years ago) link
giant pillow deployment
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:57 (ten years ago) link
halp im stuck in a tube inside of a tube
― you're better off in a supersonic jet (Hunt3r), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:58 (ten years ago) link
*giant sucking sound*
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 17:59 (ten years ago) link
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj176/rsjem23/HomerWaterslide.jpg
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:01 (ten years ago) link
homerloop
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:14 (ten years ago) link
i don't understand why this would be a good alternative to commuter flights
I'd rather see the money spent on suburb-to-city trolley lines
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:18 (ten years ago) link
commuter flights are very carbon-intensive, for one thing
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:23 (ten years ago) link
There are ways.
http://opinion-forum.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/airplane_hybrid.jpg
― Here's the storify, of a lovely ladify (Phil D.), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:25 (ten years ago) link
wouldn't even a dependable normal rail line be comparable to commuter flights by the time you figure in airport screening and boarding times and shit?
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:33 (ten years ago) link
n/m, I am being way optimistic about rail speeds
there is a rail line that runs the California coast, it's called Amtrak
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:34 (ten years ago) link
http://www.amtrak.com/coast-starlight-train
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:35 (ten years ago) link
best described as "leisurely"
kind of forget the massive size of California, from now on I'll think of the distance from LA to SF being about the same as the distance from me to Chicago
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:38 (ten years ago) link
about distance from the border to austin! i didn't realize it was that far.
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:40 (ten years ago) link
now we've got some common terms here
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:41 (ten years ago) link
mostly slow because they have to give freight trains the right of way or something like that iirc
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:41 (ten years ago) link
yep. it's an enjoyable ride, but not for commuters, it's way too slow. granted I haven't ridden it in 25 years
― OH MY GOD HE'S GOOGLY (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:41 (ten years ago) link
so the freight lines are pretty congested, you're saying
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:43 (ten years ago) link
they're full of hobos
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:44 (ten years ago) link
if planes are carbon intensive why not build solar planes? about as doable as a solar rail vacuum tube
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:46 (ten years ago) link
Personally intervening to give an update on restoring the account of someone who was banned for posting a picture of a child being horribly abused is definitely a choice
― Cemetry Gaetz (DJP), Thursday, 27 June 2024 16:27 (six days ago) link
and its not even the first time
― lag∞n, Thursday, 27 June 2024 16:28 (six days ago) link
You know Elon has terabytes of CSA on a hard drive labeled “epic wow”.
― Gigi Allen (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 27 June 2024 16:36 (six days ago) link