There are a bunch of flexible and squishy humans that run this publication, and sometimes we make small or silly mistakes. Usually, it’s something like extra punctuation, an unfinished sentence, or, in my case, duplicated sentences. But sometimes, the errors are just funny.
Something I’m happy about is that all of you are a forgiving bunch. Today, Thomas wrote about how the Audi E-Tron GT has experienced shocking depreciation. But he made a tiny error. DialMforMiata:
“However, because the badge on the front consists of three rings”
THERE. ARE. FOUR. RINGS!
Here’s the Star Trek reference:
Meanwhile, Brian wrote about how a reckless driver destroyed someone else’s beautiful Mazda MX-5 ND. EVDesigner:
Perhaps his front tire pressures were off by 1.5psi.
Here’s the reference! (Click Here.)
Matt wrote a Morning Dump, and at the end of it, asked where he should take his Australian friends for dinner. Sploch:
Waffle House is the obvious answer. Bonus points if you take them late at night.
Jdoubledub:
Applebee’s. Always disappointing. Even when it’s the only place open after 10pm and the alternative is starving or gas station food.
I agree. For the true American dining experience, it has to be a mediocre chain restaurant.
In that Morning Dump, Matt also noted how Ethiopia is banning gas-powered car imports. Younork makes a great comment:
That Ethiopia story is really cool. It’s much easier to generate electricity than to obtain fuel, so the path to energy independence is much faster. And if you don’t have a domestic auto industry to prop up, why not just go with the cheapest bidder?
The YouTuber Technology Connections, who usually makes videos about 80s consumer electronics, recently made a video about solar power and electric cars. I found it rather convincing. His main argument is that it is wild that we spend all this money to find, drill, extract, refine, and transport fuel just to burn it once. Solar panels, on the other hand, are now cheap to produce and last upwards of 25 years. After purchase, a solar panel will produce nearly free power for decades. Whereas fuel is one and done.
He then did a case study on his Nissan Cube with 180,000 miles. And how, for a little more than 1 year’s worth of fuel for the Cube, he could’ve bought solar panels and gone the same mileage in his Ioniq5. The Cube has been costing that same amount year after year, whereas after that first year, the Ioniq5 would be running off basically free electricity.
(Click here if you cannot see the embed.)
Have a great evening, everyone!
Top graphic images: Star Trek: The Next Generation; Audi
Oh good, you linked the full length version of the video, aka (I’m stealing this from the comments): Technology Connections talks about solar and then goes nuclear
This video is so good it prompted me to sign up for his Patreon, despite the fact that I’ve been watching his videos for years at this point.
Technology Connections is the best. I really do get cleaner dishes out of my dishwasher because of him and my house is always perfectly humidified in the winter now too.
His heat pump education and advocacy meant that when I needed to replace my air conditioner, I just got a heat pump instead. Now when the temperature isn’t below -12.5° C (the pump can work down to -15°, but it takes forever to get heat out of air that cold), the furnace just sits there not drawing a truly staggering amount of electricity. My dishwasher works a lot more effectively too thanks to his advice!
Ah! Yes, my Air-Con is going to need replaced here within the next year or two as well. I am looking forward to upgrading to a heat pump. 400% thermal efficiency is unreal!
Huge props for the shoutout to Tech Connections. Alec’s enthusiasm for consumer technology is sincere and his research is bang on.
I’ve been preaching the solar gospel for years but I don’t have that kind of media presence, and unfortunately some of the naysayers have even more than Alec does (hello, Felon In Chief). But the facts are real: solar works, it pays for itself fairly quickly both in terms of money and energy consumption. Sure, there’s some emissions involved with making them – compared to the emissions associated just with extracting the oil to generate a single gallon of gasoline, it’s barely a rounding error. And yes, they’re hard to recycle. But not impossible, and so far nobody has managed to recycle gas. As you say: one and done.
The oldest solar panel I’ve heard of was over 40 years old at the time of writing and it was producing about 50-60% of its original rated output – though the owner confessed he hadn’t cleaned it in about three years.
Nobody really knows what the ultimate service life of a solar panel is.
I’ve had solar power since 2015. My payments for purchasing my solar panels is $182/month, the average electric bill for the prior 24 months was $210 (this was by my math and not from a salesman, also it’s important to keep in mind power rates have definitely not gone down in the past 10 years) and my monthly connection fee is $13/month. I’ve only had to pay more than the connection fee maybe a dozen times out of the past almost 130 months. It isn’t hard to see where the benefit is if you’re actually willing to accept how math works.
I’ve been a big fan of Technology Connections for some time (I actually shared the link to the “abridged” version (IYKYK) of that video in another discussion on here. He’s convinced me to take the leap to replace my HVAC with a central heap pump when the time comes. I have some other projects in progress at the moment, but I’m planning to handle the install myself when the time comes. When I compare the likely savings to what it costs to have it done, I figure I can screw-up twice and still be money ahead…
I had to share one of my favorite descriptions of Technology Connections from the YT comments:
Everyone: “You need Reels and short form videos now, nobody wants long videos.”
Alec: “Here’s a 2 hour deep dive on automatic coffee makers…”
Woo hoo, COTD hat trick! I would like to thank Mercedes, Thomas, and all the crew of the Enterprise D for making this possible…
The Autopians would be fit in better with the crew of The Protector in Galaxy Quest.
One of my favorite movies of all time!
“It’s much easier to generate electricity than to obtain fuel…”
Ugh. It drives me crazy that so many people don’t acknowledge that. I had that conversation with my folks a couple years ago when I made the mistake of saying electric cars are a better product for most people. They already have solar. Heck, a significant percentage of their very rural neighbors own Model Ys or such since they’re so well suited to that use case: buzzing around a small farm town with occasional trips to a city 40 miles away.
“Well, we don’t like having it forced on us,” they said. “There should be alternatives.”
“Electric cars are an alternative. I don’t get it. An alternative to what?”
“Gasoline,” they said. “What if the power goes out?”
“Well in that case, you won’t be pumping gas.”
Also, shout-out to YouTuber Alec… after I watched my first Technology Connections videos I caught myself realizing I’d just happily blown more than an hour geeking out on dishwashers and the detergents they use. He even vindicated the “run hot water first” trick.
You could burn more fuel to create electricity to be able to pump more fuel. Unlimited power cycle. Checkmate.
And the Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Spiked Lemon!
““However, because the badge on the front consists of three rings”
THERE. ARE. FOUR. RINGS!”
No.
There are five.
https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Star-Trek-Aliens-Cardassians.jpg
This post has the approval of Kim Cardassian…
RIP David Warner. He was a real G, whether as a Cardassian or a regular Swedish granddad or demented brain surgeon.
Don’t forget Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI. He was all over Star Trek.
So are you, Mr Data.
Hey, that’s our Damar! Just keep him a steady diet of chili dogs and root beer
Love technology connections, isn’t that the one where Alec goes on a rampage at the end?
The video with him and Robert from aging wheels is also great
H&I is airing this exactly TNG episode tonight!
Did you specify that Captain Picard is from Star Trek for David’s benefit?
Haha I had the same thought!
Don’t worry, Jason’s probably explaining what Star Trek (and maybe science fiction) is to David in the Slack right now.
“You see David, ‘fiction’ is where we make up pretend stories to entertain others.”
“Oh, like a story about what if the FC became the popular civilian jeep instead of the MB!!!!” *shower spaghetti slurping noises*
“….yeah, like that” *battery chainsawing noises*
The Technology Connections guy is the one who convinced me to go buy a vintage Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster. Every day a little better when a chrome 1940s robot makes you a perfect slice of toast to start the morning.
https://youtu.be/1OfxlSG6q5Y
I have one of those toasters! Got it in the 90s; still works great, but it got sidelined when kids came into the picture and a 4-slice toaster was necessary. About a decade ago we found a Breville 4-slice toaster which does the same thing — automatically lowering/raising the toast instead of using a lever and popping it up. Although it works using an electric motor, not the nifty balancing act of the levers and thermal expansion/contraction of the nichrome heater wires.
I have two – they’re amazing!
I prefer the Dualit toaster, where after some practice you can slan down the lever, launch the toast a foot out of the toaster, and grab it in mid-air.
It’s great when you have mastered the move and want to impress small children who will probably go home and wreck their parents’ toaster.
You will probably make a huge mess in your kitchen getting the moves down, swatting bread into unlikely places with crumbs all over and generally it is best to master the art in private, but it’s as impressive as putting a tee shirt on while smoking a cigar and healthier too.
I think I wanna party with you, Mr. Life of the Party!
My son gave me one for Christmas! It is so damn cool.
Me reading the title of that video: Clickbait BS
Me after watching the video: He was right