Give me a read only username and password. 😬

Thirty-ish years ago, my grandfather said he felt sorry for me because of the state of the world.

Human nature is to say things are going to shit, everything is terrible, and things were better in some non-existent past.

Yeah, things suck now. But they also sucked thirty years ago and 100 years ago. The difference is that we know the outcome to (some) of the problems people faced then. And (generally) the worst case scenario didn’t happen.

Yeah, we need to fight the rich on climate change. But we will. And we’ll mitigate the problems we can. And we’ll tell our grandkids that we don’t envy their future.

In total, the median prompt—one that falls in the middle of the range of energy demand—consumes 0.24 watt-hours of electricity, the equivalent of running a standard microwave for about one second. The company also provided average estimates for the water consumption and carbon emissions associated with a text prompt to Gemini.

What about Monsanto (Roundup) and Philip-Morris (lol)? You could probably include Dole. As well as the East India Company.

ow

They weren’t exactly harsh in their criticism of Trump’s original threats:

there has been no direct public condemnation by allied leaders and it seems — in the face of Trump — we find ourselves alone.

…

Beyond the keep calm and carry on approach of NATO allies, there has been a deafening silence from the Commonwealth, in particular the United Kingdom, a country with which we share deep historical, social and institutional ties.

an assault on Canada is very unpopular with US citizens and troops and all of the states that border Canada will refuse to turn into battlegrounds

That puts a lot of faith in the US population to (a) care, and (b) act on it.

I suspect any invasion would be structured as a rescue of some victimized population (Albertan separatists? Teens receiving gender affirming care? Anglos in Quebec?), and would yoink something of value (water? oil?) so it wouldn’t be a broad based invasion.

If any countries came to Canada’s aid with their own military force then it would get even uglier.

The US remains the world’s largest economy and biggest military spender.

I’m sure there would be a strongly worded proclamation from the UN General Assembly, and NATO would perform some mental gymnastics to avoid article 5.

This deserves to be higher.

maybe you should ask

This is a blatant PR stunt by a small player looking to differentiate it’s established competition. And I love it.

This is what people miss. If you’ve experienced a chronic condition that doctors don’t know what to do with, then trying alternatives seems pretty attractive.

This is good shit:

Ortega is poised to receive a record dividend of €3.1bn (£2.7bn) this year from his shares in Zara’s parent group, Inditex. He is reportedly racing to spend the windfall, which would otherwise be subject to wealth taxes. Sources close to Pontegadea told the Guardian it was not investing to avoid tax, but following its mandate “to create wealth from the original assets, maintain it, make it grow, and consolidate it over generations”.

…

What is clear is that, two years on, a predicted exodus of the rich, trumpeted in endless alarmist headlines, has not materialised. Forbes counted 26 Spanish billionaires in 2021. This year, it lists 34, with a combined net worth comfortably over $200bn.

…

So far, there is no sign that it has affected growth. Spain was the world’s fastest-expanding major advanced economy last year, outpacing even the US, with GDP up 3.2%. By contrast, growth in the UK and France last year barely scraped above 1%. On the balconies of the Planeta building, and in the country at large, the green shoots are alive and well.

The article states that “modern” rent caps allow a reasonable price increase every year. The Ontario cap looks like it averaged around inflation.

At the same time, the federal government used to provide pretty reasonable tax incentives for purpose built rentals. They’re supposed to be reinstated, but I’m not sure if it happened yet.

Despite the persistence of the myth that rent controls kill supply, evidence demonstrates the contrary. In 2020, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) analyzed the impact of rental controls enacted after 1971. The key finding of this study: “There was no significant evidence that rental starts were lower in rent control markets than in no rent control markets.” Recognizing that current debates on rent controls resemble long discredited arguments against minimum wage increases, 32 U.S. economists signed a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency concluding that “there is substantial evidence that rent regulation policies do not limit new construction, nor the overall supply of housing.”

I think the article mentions that’s standard elsewhere.

I really enjoyed Eye of the World, and I faithfully read the next seven or eight books when they came out.

But I tried to read it again a few years ago and it didn’t keep my interest.

I wonder how much of the facilities boom came from the economic growth of the 50s, and 60s. Every city I’ve lived in has a few facilities named “Centennial” that were built in 1967. They’re still in use.

Meanwhile, the 25 year old cut-off used in the article kinda corresponds to the austerity of the 1990s. The facilities I’ve seen built since then (in Ottawa, at least) seem to be municipally required largesse from developers.

I’m glad Nova Scotia is taking the fire risk seriously.

In addition to climate change, the risk is exacerbated by the shitty forestry practices allowed by the NS government. I hope they revisit those regulations soon - there are going to be lots more summers like this ahead.

It would be fantastic if our other GHG-producing activities were held to the same level of criticism as AI.

You’re gonna get downvotes defending AI on Lemmy - our Overton window is ^*tiny*.

A ChatGPT prompt uses 3 Wh. This is enough energy to:

Leave a single incandescent light bulb on for 3 minutes.

Leave a wireless router on for 30 minutes.

Play a gaming console for 1 minute.

Run a vacuum cleaner for 10 seconds.

Run a microwave for 10 seconds

Run a toaster for 8 seconds

Brew coffee for 10 seconds

Use a laptop for 3 minutes. ChatGPT could write this post using less energy than your laptop uses over the time you read it.

I feel like comments are the most valuable. They validate the OP, and they give other Lemmites something to reply to.

If you’re nervous about contributing, I suggest starting with posts you like. Comment on the thing you like about it. What is it you like about the image? What’s something interesting about the link? What did you learn from the video?