Nostr notes by simonbp

Your Friday thought: I bought a fancy Japanese rice cooker in the ...

2026-10-30T15:00:50Z

Your Friday thought:

I bought a fancy Japanese rice cooker in the space year 2019. It still has a sticker on it (because it's hard to remove) proudly proclaiming that it uses "Fuzzy Logic" to cook the rice. I think that just means it has a PID loop.

I wonder what terms from the current boom (into bust) will survive into the future? Will every machine that breaks be called "hallucinating"?

The press conference was Tuesday, but here's Matt Holman ...

2026-10-29T16:10:55Z

The press conference was Tuesday, but here's Matt Holman (Harvard/Smithsonian CfA) presenting the science talk on the discovery of dwarf planet candidate #2026ED138 at #dps2026

The size so far is just a guess, unfortunately albedo is a strong function of size, so it's hard to tell. But it's definitely big.

Mostly postcards to family, when traveling. Half the fun is ...

2026-10-29T14:15:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…nftn
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Mostly postcards to family, when traveling. Half the fun is figuring out how a post office works in a new country.

I think the last one I sent was from the Vatican post office.

Pal for Haumea; it's in almost the same orbit as Haumea...

2026-10-29T02:17:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…x58m
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Pal for Haumea; it's in almost the same orbit as Haumea...

Ooof, that one's rough. Star mag 15.9, just barely visible in ...

2026-10-28T17:37:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…3l2f
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Ooof, that one's rough. Star mag 15.9, just barely visible in Ecuador low of the horizon.

There's a much better one in May of next year.

FWIW, #2026ED138 is pretty far south (-44 deg Dec), which is why ...

2026-10-27T23:58:12Z

FWIW, #2026ED138 is pretty far south (-44 deg Dec), which is why it was missed before. And there are precoveries going back to 2016, so it was in older data, people just didn't notice it before.

Also, it's on a fairly inclined orbit (24 deg to the Ecliptic), which isn't that unusual for larger objects. Most dwarf planets formed around where Uranus/Neptune are today, got pushed out by giant planet migration, and the pushed out orbits are more inclined/eccentric than when they started.

At any rate, I spent my afternoon being nerd sniped on this.

A 6 m wide, 500 m long casino/oil refinery is at least ambitious ...

2026-10-27T01:50:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…sad9
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A 6 m wide, 500 m long casino/oil refinery is at least ambitious quackery.

A 1099 on the Mariazellerbahn in July this year. The open car was ...

2026-10-26T17:04:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…wlwr
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A 1099 on the Mariazellerbahn in July this year. The open car was great fun.

Yesterday was another "Incongruous Trains in N Scale ...

2026-10-25T16:09:23Z

Yesterday was another "Incongruous Trains in N Scale Colorado" Saturday, this time a Frecciarossa 1000 (just soldered a speaker into it, so now it speaks Italiano) and BR Britannia with Blood 'n Custard coaches.
#trains #nscale #modeltrains

Our old guy used to do the temperature control paw too. He'd ...

2026-10-25T15:11:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…pcnf
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Our old guy used to do the temperature control paw too. He'd crawl into his oven-like cat house with a heating pad, and throw one paw out for temperature regulation.

DUIs for cyclists are common around ASU; I recall multiple grad ...

2026-10-24T00:52:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…ysjd
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DUIs for cyclists are common around ASU; I recall multiple grad students who got one.

From everything I've read, owls are just flying cats.

2026-10-24T00:05:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…33pz
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From everything I've read, owls are just flying cats.

(Though seeing Hollywood types having to sit next to the wild ...

2026-10-23T23:26:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…tuka
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(Though seeing Hollywood types having to sit next to the wild pack of high schoolers on the bus will be amusing)

Oh wonderful, my bus that I rode every workday (because work ...

2026-10-23T23:24:25Z

Oh wonderful, my bus that I rode every workday (because work gives me a free bus pass) is one of the ones *blessed* by Sundance....

I rather intend to just work from home that week.

https://coloradosun.com/2026/10/23/rtd-sundance-free-bus-rides/

For no reason, some trains from the Finnish railway museum, ...

2026-10-23T23:06:38Z

For no reason, some trains from the Finnish railway museum, Hyvinkää, from last year.

ANTenna port

2026-10-23T17:53:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…0t9u
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ANTenna port

Yeah, they are basically using the two-launch double lunar ...

2026-10-23T13:26:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…gu77
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Yeah, they are basically using the two-launch double lunar rendezvous scenario that NASA should've picked during the ESAS study in 2006, but didn't because Mike Griffin wanted a big Shuttle Derived rocket.

There's a nominal configuration in the 2006 ESAS report that's almost identical to the Chinese lunar landing program, except it uses US-built copies of the Russian RD-180 engine.

LOX is relatively easy, they have been making their own for ...

2026-10-22T22:13:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…u592
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LOX is relatively easy, they have been making their own for Falcon for over a decade.

It's helium that's the killer. You can't just make that.

Back in 2021, it was the best option NASA had (other than ...

2026-10-22T22:11:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…kqpy
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Back in 2021, it was the best option NASA had (other than reopening the call). The original Blue/LM "National Team" proposal literally did not close (would not have actually worked even on paper), and the Boeing design was apparently even worse (and got a senior NASA official fired for warning Boeing that their proposal was bad).

Bezos sueing for and eventually obtaining a second HLS contract was very sketchy, but also wouldn't have succeeded if NASA weren't highly skeptical of SpaceX. And good on Blue for not just proposing the same thing, but rather a much better overall design.

And FWIW, the Blue Origin lander is way less risky. It requires ...

2026-10-22T21:55:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…ff43
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And FWIW, the Blue Origin lander is way less risky. It requires far fewer launches, is a generally much more well thought out design, and will be tested with a sub scale version first, unlike Starship.

If they hadn't had a New Glenn detonate on the pad, they'd already have a test lander on the Moon by now.

LOLOLOL. Apparently each Lunar Starship now requires 22 ...

2026-10-22T21:49:56Z

LOLOLOL. Apparently each Lunar Starship now requires *22* Starship tanker flights. That means you'd need to launch the world's largest rocket once a day for *more than three weeks* before each landing. And there's never three solid weeks of good weather on the Gulf.

All this is because 1) Musk forced SpaceX to propose a lunar lander that's way too big because he wanted NASA to fund his Mars fantasy, and 2) Starship has way less performance than advertised, due to requiring much heavier structures and heat shields than the initial optimistic design. This is at least partly due to its garbage aerodynamics, because Musk wouldn't let them optimize the shape.

In other words, Starship ain't never gonna land on the Moon. Not in '28, not never.

The "reverse flap" spoilers on the outbound surfaces are ...

2026-10-22T05:35:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…sr8c
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The "reverse flap" spoilers on the outbound surfaces are interesting. I guess that's the only airbrake they've got.

(Blucifer is the statue of a blue horse outside Denver airport, ...

2026-10-21T20:15:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…gx2m
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(Blucifer is the statue of a blue horse outside Denver airport, known for its ominous glowing red eyes and for killing someone during installation)

Blucifer himself has counted my vote! I'm not sure if I ...

2026-10-21T20:08:47Z

Blucifer himself has counted my vote! I'm not sure if I should be worried about that.

Nostr event nevent1qqs9fg340lz44m9y8kgut5gtglf9sv50dmvp2w2mjx0mfr0vw7qf8ngzyplvl2sgd9gp8088lqy44jzyfgahu29u6rehnm7hp80q9kvrvc74qudtjga

2026-10-19T19:48:39Z

Beautiful launch! Go #MMX ! On to Phobos!

I remember last year's office holiday party, where three ...

2026-10-18T22:57:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…hdyt
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I remember last year's office holiday party, where three different people independently volunteered that they'd recently bought a Kia or Hyundai electric. It certainly seems the most popular "I want an EV that isn't embarrassing" option. (Which ironically was the market position that created Tesla)

Every October, my little town has school kids paint supposedly ...

2026-10-18T22:15:39Z

Every October, my little town has school kids paint supposedly Halloween themed art on the windows of businesses on the main street. The fun is always in the diversity.

Colorado has a similar tracker, since all ballots are by mail by ...

2026-10-18T00:01:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…z08v
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Colorado has a similar tracker, since all ballots are by mail by default. Always reassuring that they actually got it.

On efficacy, I'm not quite sure what they have achieved other ...

2026-10-17T19:54:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…8njg
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On efficacy, I'm not quite sure what they have achieved other than being a social club for people who were going to vote a particular way anyway.

Musk has always wanted to be a defense contractor (Falcon 1 was ...

2026-10-17T17:38:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…n4y0
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Musk has always wanted to be a defense contractor (Falcon 1 was largely funded by the USAF after the first flights failed), but has never really understood what that means.

Raytheon or LM or NG (for example) is hardly a paragon, but I could never imagine them self-sabotaging this bad.

A reminder that Crew Dragon was originally designed to ...

2026-10-17T00:20:44Z

A reminder that Crew Dragon was originally designed to propulsively land using its Super Draco escape rockets.

This was cancelled after the Super Dracos kept blowing up on the test stand. And because the toxic hypergolic exhaust completely contaminated the landing site.

I saw a cleaning robot the other week at a very rural Walmart. It ...

2026-10-17T00:04:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…htcc
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I saw a cleaning robot the other week at a very rural Walmart.

It really felt like a movie scene where they want it to be the "near future", and so insert a touch of sci fi tech into an otherwise recognizable scene.

In theory, for marketing purposes. But based on the chicken ...

2026-10-15T17:56:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…qrmk
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In theory, for marketing purposes. But based on the chicken farmers I've known, there's no consistency to that.

Often they have darker yokes, which is just a sign that the farmer gave the chickens some chilli peppers (chickens love chilli peppers) in addition to just corn.

No, on the lower end. The fancy eggs have not come down in price ...

2026-10-15T17:24:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…acpp
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No, on the lower end. The fancy eggs have not come down in price as much as the bulk generic eggs though, meaning you might pay 2-3x as much for the fancy eggs. Given the sorry state of the FDA, it's not entirely clear if the fancy eggs aren't just the same eggs from the same farm, with a fancier package.

Nostr event nevent1qqsyrr9r4p4mdv0ajm267eu3j9p8cjnr3623f3pjhmtmlmxx0jygk8gzyplvl2sgd9gp8088lqy44jzyfgahu29u6rehnm7hp80q9kvrvc74q57g6w2

2026-10-14T19:53:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…xnap
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Nostr event nevent1qqszpulk7pxhqt4fdph8garzlvfy3c9xdzc522u0dsydqfnwuc0sexczyplvl2sgd9gp8088lqy44jzyfgahu29u6rehnm7hp80q9kvrvc74qrlu3pn

2026-10-14T19:52:43Z

#QuestionableModelRailroadAccessories

I honestly wonder how many even understand what cancer is? Does ...

2026-10-14T17:13:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…vkwf
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I honestly wonder how many even understand what cancer is?

Does the "cure" involve regrowing lung tissue?

Of the fusion startups, I do respect this one saying basically, ...

2026-10-14T15:56:02Z

Of the fusion startups, I do respect this one saying basically, "screw it, we're gonna be a tritium factory". Most fusion energy production designs don't work because they leak too much energy in the form of high energy neutrons. Those same neutrons are exactly what you need to enrich deuterium (easy to extract from seawater) into tritium.

Though the article doesn't discuss it, the prime buyer of tritium today is the US DoE, to keep the American H bombs fueled up...

https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/cambridge-heavy-industries-has-been-quietly-building-a-desktop-fusion-device/

Technically Clyde Tombaugh already did it. There's an Altoids ...

2026-10-13T14:59:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…8vup
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Technically Clyde Tombaugh already did it. There's an Altoids can worth of his remains on New Horizons, in one of the balance weights.

Agreed

2026-10-12T19:34:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…t2mk
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Agreed

Given the extremely poor quality of recommendations, it's not ...

2026-10-12T19:18:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…387v
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Given the extremely poor quality of recommendations, it's not a very good profile.

I mean, if you're going to sell to me by spying on me, at least try harder.

The history of the Thunder Bay factory is complicated, but ...

2026-10-11T19:48:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…xa67
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The history of the Thunder Bay factory is complicated, but basically it was it owned by a series of British firms, then the Ontario government in the 1980s, then (begrudgingly) Bombardier, who finally sold it to the French a few years ago.

And proudly advertising new fangled "Bluetooth"

2026-10-08T17:54:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…y7sw
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And proudly advertising new fangled "Bluetooth"

"I have decided to change my name. From this point, you ...

2026-10-07T12:58:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…lt9q
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"I have decided to change my name. From this point, you should call me the new name, and update the database accordingly. My new name is Robert'); DROP TABLE Employees;--

Mmmm hot corn sludge

2026-10-06T00:52:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…6dj7
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Mmmm hot corn sludge

Somehow I don't think this is related to Australian Red ...

2026-10-04T18:31:25Z

Somehow I don't think this is related to Australian Red Rooster

The tiny glacier that you could see on a clear day from Boulder ...

2026-10-04T14:25:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…nh87
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The tiny glacier that you could see on a clear day from Boulder is finally completely gone this year.

In circa 1982, my parents visited San Diego with my father's ...

2026-10-04T14:17:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…y6en
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In circa 1982, my parents visited San Diego with my father's parents. They went to a tiny pizza joint and my grandmother, from a proper family of English civil servants, was appalled at the idea of eating pizza with your hands. She insisted on a knife and fork. They found a fork somewhere, but the best they could do for a knife was a full sized kitchen knife.

100% the guys in the pizza shop told everyone after that about English people only eating pizza with a knife and fork.

Didn't take as much pictures on the return, but lighting was ...

2026-10-04T03:03:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…xlhz
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Didn't take as much pictures on the return, but lighting was very nice.

On return the dome comes with a (California) Champagne toast. ...

2026-10-03T22:38:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…ljck
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On return the dome comes with a (California) Champagne toast. Much better than real pain.

The steam locomotive is 2-8-2 that was built by Baldwin in 1928 ...

2026-10-03T22:19:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…p6gr
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The steam locomotive is 2-8-2 that was built by Baldwin in 1928 for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. It's been running at the canyon since 1996. Since 2009, it's been running on used cooking oil from the park's kitchens. It does kinda smell like french fries.

Canyon was pretty good, too. Weirdly, the steam train is the most ...

2026-10-03T22:13:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…tqsk
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Canyon was pretty good, too.

Weirdly, the steam train is the most sustainable way to visit the canyon right now, since you can use the train's toilets and not use the South Rim's currently limited fuel supply (flooding knocked out the main water pipe).

Grand Canyon Railway was running steam today, and the dome car is ...

2026-10-03T21:09:13Z

Grand Canyon Railway was running steam today, and the dome car is totally worth it.
#trains

Group 1 Rally was literally Racing for Psychopaths.

2026-10-03T03:11:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…r4e0
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Group 1 Rally was literally Racing for Psychopaths.

From an account named tlarence_chomas"

2026-10-03T02:38:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…wen8
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From an account named tlarence_chomas"

Tried to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad today, but the train was ...

2026-10-03T02:01:11Z

Tried to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad today, but the train was cancelled because their freight locomotive broke down on the line, blocking the passenger service. Such is life.
#trains

One thing to keep in mind about the US is that all elections are ...

2026-10-02T15:24:17Z

One thing to keep in mind about the US is that all elections are organized locally, a holdover from the original pre-Constitution United States that were more like the modern EU than a single unified country. Which is why I get a polite email from the state that the county has mailed me a ballot for the federal election. While meanwhile, you should expect to see news coverage of people in places like Texas forced to queue for hours to vote in person.

Regardless, this will be one of the consequential midterm elections of my lifetime. And not just because I hope the Colorado train tax passes.

It's actually really close to a Railjet, though.

2026-10-02T06:11:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…fs6m
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It's actually really close to a Railjet, though.

It previously took almost 2 hours and at least one transfer from ...

2026-09-28T14:50:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…5jtk
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It previously took almost 2 hours and at least one transfer from Lafayette to DIA. Now it's one bus, 45 min on the schedule, 30 min in regular traffic yesterday.

I imagine the speedup is even more dramatic for Longmont.

AL https://app.rtd-denver.com/route/AL/schedule

2026-09-27T21:35:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…c9hf
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AL
https://app.rtd-denver.com/route/AL/schedule

On the swanky new bus (literally only started running today) that ...

2026-09-27T20:34:20Z

On the swanky new bus (literally only started running today) that goes directly from a stop that's a 10 min walk from my house to the third most busy airport on the continent. It exists because of weird rules that make it way easier to get airport public transport funded than any other public transport, but I'll take it.

Also, easy to get #1 on the line in the Transit app when no one else has ridden it.

#transit

Fun is often inversely proportional to track gauge.

2026-09-27T13:52:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…t20s
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Fun is often inversely proportional to track gauge.

Yeah but nobody is going to give money to a poor nazi. The whole ...

2026-09-25T23:45:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…anaf
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Yeah but nobody is going to give money to a poor nazi. The whole thing is based on greed, fomo, and not looking too closely at the man behind the curtain.

That's true. But it's also true that local models, simply ...

2026-09-25T23:23:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…x078
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That's true. But it's also true that local models, simply by their very existence, completely destroy the entire business model of both the "labs" selling model access and the data centers running their models. Even Nvidia doesn't come off clean, considering their power hungry chips are far from ideal for local models.

Congrats to (14331) Alyankovic, and he be safe in the knowledge ...

2026-09-25T21:28:10Z

Congrats to (14331) Alyankovic, and he be safe in the knowledge that we try not to name potentially hazardous asteroids after real people (mostly).

https://www.popsci.com/science/weird-al-yankovic-asteroid/

Somehow both of my work workstation and home desktop are running ...

2026-09-25T15:20:23Z

Somehow both of my work workstation and home desktop are running GNOME now. I don't know how it became the least-bad DE that actually works with Nvidia's broken Wayland support, but here we are.

(Laptop is stock Pop/Cosmic, and I'm kinda used its quirks now.)

#Linux

Reading the actual article, it feels more like because his sister ...

2026-09-25T13:52:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…cr6q
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Reading the actual article, it feels more like because his sister has a PhD in classics (and was probably considered the smart one growing up), he just equates knowing about ancient Rome to being smart.

It could still be related in as much as if something breaks on ...

2026-09-24T21:43:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…djed
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It could still be related in as much as if something breaks on the old cars, they're not going to fix it on something about to retire, and will just remove it from service. So, capacity has probably been slowly declining for a while now.

An Amtrak Superliner (double decker) in full roomette config fits ...

2026-09-23T14:49:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…qv2w
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An Amtrak Superliner (double decker) in full roomette config fits 15 roomettes upstairs and four downstairs, so that's a theoretical max capacity of 38. Half of the downstairs is devoted to toilets, showers, and luggage storage.

Amtrak Viewliner single level sleepers have 11 or 12 roomettes plus 3 larger bedrooms per car. That seems more like what Nox are going for. Notably, the Viewliner IIs were designed and built by CAF (Spain).

But that's almost irrelevant, because the real question isn't the theoretical max capacity isn't nearly as important as load factor, i.e. how many cabins are sold out on an average trip. And private roomettes are way better at that than any shared compartment.

Heh. You can tell the founder was very influenced by his time in ...

2026-09-23T13:29:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…tvvc
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Heh. You can tell the founder was very influenced by his time in the US. It's very much based on the layout of Amtrak's 50 year old "roomette" cars, but substantially modernized. Table needs the built in chess board, though.

It's a compromise on capacity, but also means you're more likely to fully sell out the carriages. That's not a bad thing for an independent operator, as they can set the price accordingly. From personal experience, a roomette is worth a premium over an old fashioned European couchette or NightJet's coffin capsules.

I cannot imagine a better name for a Eurocrat than that. True ...

2026-09-22T19:16:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…ne8j
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I cannot imagine a better name for a Eurocrat than that. True nominative determinism. 10/10, no notes.

(Personally, I'm behind renaming AI to Super High ...

2026-09-22T19:08:22Z

(Personally, I'm behind renaming AI to Super High Intelligence Thingy)

There is a point where I honestly wonder how much more efficient ...

2026-09-22T18:22:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…6gqf
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There is a point where I honestly wonder how much more efficient it would be to just replace all LLM output with a low paid contractor in a developing country.

I should note that they claim that any other location would ...

2026-09-22T16:49:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…ys8j
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I should note that they claim that any other location would increase registration fees by 75-100%. This seems dubious at best, and likely points to structural inefficiencies in the host organization (LPI).

The other big planetary conference (DPS, associated with the larger AAS) moves every year, and is typically as large as LPSC. It will likely continue to grow at the expense of LPSC.

One of the two big US planetary science conferences, LPSC, has ...

2026-09-22T16:42:47Z

One of the two big US planetary science conferences, LPSC, has been under fire in recent years that it should really should move on from the suburban Houston conference center they have used for two decades. Last year, attendance was down considerably, as people decided to use their limited travel funds somewhere else.

And then today, after getting proposals for 23 other locations, they announced that they aren't going to change the location for 2027. So attendance will continue to decline, and the conference will continue its slip into obscurity.

"Baby throwing knife for sale, never used."

2026-09-21T20:19:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…lmsm
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"Baby throwing knife for sale, never used."

There's flesh there, but the spirit is long gone.

2026-09-19T17:16:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…ja70
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There's flesh there, but the spirit is long gone.

Purlemon, because R and L are cognates in Japanese

2026-09-14T05:06:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…5u2l
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Purlemon, because R and L are cognates in Japanese

The Jets program to replace Gatorade with canola oil was ...

2026-09-13T22:02:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…wg0p
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The Jets program to replace Gatorade with canola oil was controversial, but is paying dividends.

TBF, the long distance fleet uses imported Korean DMUs (other ...

2026-09-11T15:51:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…xuug
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TBF, the long distance fleet uses imported Korean DMUs (other than the Dublin-Belfast train that uses Canadian locos).

Looking forward to KTX Galway.

The trick is to be ugly enough that the AI pin overloads and ...

2026-09-11T06:11:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…n3pc
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The trick is to be ugly enough that the AI pin overloads and catches fire.

Well yes, I hope so. Next thing you'll be telling me that ...

2026-09-11T02:05:43Z

Well yes, I hope so.

Next thing you'll be telling me that modern pilots have it a lot easier than first world war pilots with life expectancy of weeks...

Chicken Fried Steak Fried Fungi

2026-09-10T04:49:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…6f4u
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Chicken Fried Steak Fried Fungi

I'm actually supposed to be on a United 777 out of Denver ...

2026-09-10T00:58:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…2q0c
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I'm actually supposed to be on a United 777 out of Denver shortly after this was supposed to happen. There is a significant chance my aircraft was supposed to do the flyby.

Today in catastrophically stupid things that almost happened, ...

2026-09-09T23:24:20Z

Today in catastrophically stupid things that almost happened, United Airlines cancels 9/11 flyover escorted by fighter jets
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/denver-warns-public-911-flyover-passenger-plane-escorted-by-fighter-jets/73-2fadacc3-82ee-4e95-a826-0845c23a07b3

"Before this decade is out, we will glue a rock to a pizza. ...

2026-09-09T19:22:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…t7x5
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"Before this decade is out, we will glue a rock to a pizza. No because it is easy, but because of the five Rs in strawberry"

"This is all back tested, it's all robust" (30 sec ...

2026-09-09T18:44:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…5y05
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"This is all back tested, it's all robust"

(30 sec later)

"There's like 30,000 lines of code and I have no idea what's in there"

The Boulder Lunch Experience: Listening to two techbros, one ...

2026-09-09T18:42:03Z

The Boulder Lunch Experience: Listening to two techbros, one talking about his spiritual experience with psychedelics and the other his most recent vibe coded app. Not sure which sounded more obsessed.

(The beef noodle soup was good tho)

"I was too incompetent at corruption" is a hell of a ...

2026-09-06T13:31:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…kem2
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"I was too incompetent at corruption" is a hell of a defense for a wannabe PM.

Proctologist Yellow

2026-09-05T00:54:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…42as
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Proctologist Yellow

Imagining the vending machine that would dispense that.

2026-09-05T00:28:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…pv80
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Imagining the vending machine that would dispense that.

Yes, though it's not quite as acute as when I moved here in ...

2026-09-05T00:21:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…tvyk
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Yes, though it's not quite as acute as when I moved here in 2014. A lot of Subarus have been replaced with *every electric car sold in the US*. Honestly curious if Boulder County has the highest number of Rivians per capita in the country.

Yeah, I had great hopes that online Office would mean that I ...

2026-09-02T01:44:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…8e23
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Yeah, I had great hopes that online Office would mean that I could make presentations that Just Work at conferences. Nope! Now I just make it in Libre office and either export to PDF or find a windows machine to reinsert videos.

Even in Europe, conferences seem rarely to have Libreo office on presentation computers

looks like following the dwarf mini model, which does allow for ...

2026-09-01T01:20:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…e7nq
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looks like following the dwarf mini model, which does allow for faster optics than the older models

Not really anymore. It's a software company with a space ...

2026-08-30T08:24:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…gjrh
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Not really anymore. It's a software company with a space brand.

Starship isn't a real commercial product yet, and won't ...

2026-08-29T23:31:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…cwe4
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Starship isn't a real commercial product yet, and won't be for several years yet, at least. But don't say that to anyone in SpaceX management.

Should add that SpaceX management is desperately trying to kill ...

2026-08-29T23:25:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…25yz
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Should add that SpaceX management is desperately trying to kill Falcon ASAP, despite it being one of the most successful launch vehicles in history.

This is supposedly for Starship, one of the biggest wet farts in the recent history of space launch. And with recent events, space launch is almost irrelevant to SpaceX as a company.

I remember when Falcon Heavy was formally announced at Space ...

2026-08-29T22:52:47Z

I remember when Falcon Heavy was formally announced at Space Access 2011 by Shotwell herself, though it had been in the SpaceX customer guide since circa 2006 as the "F9S9" (as opposed to the F9S5 that used five engine boosters). Much like Delta IV, it was originally supposed to use crossfed boosters, so the core was full at booster separation (like Delta IV was supposed to do, b/c Falcon 9/Heavy was largely designed by ex-McDD Delta guys).

Good to see FH continuing to launch high value NASA science missions, rather than the much more troubled Starship...

The thing about entropy is, if the tea starts too hot, you can ...

2026-08-28T19:25:07Z

The thing about entropy is, if the tea starts too hot, you can always wait for it to cool off.

#DeepThoughts

It was probably cracked dry corn rather than syrup, since ...

2026-08-28T01:15:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…xh9f
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It was probably cracked dry corn rather than syrup, since that's cheaper and you can use it directly. Which is exactly how bourbon is made (>50% corn, >20% malted barley, rest other starches/sugars).

Bud Light uses rice instead, which is good to reduce residual sugars, and American rice is cheap, but cleaner in flavor than corn.