I'm back!

 Sorry about the long hiatus. I had log-in problems and just stopped trying until today.

I'll resume regular posting here.

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Tesla robotaxis aren’t coming any time soon

The idea of a robotaxi appeals to me. The day is not far off when someone—my wife, my daughter—will tell me I’m no longer safe behind the wheel. It would certainly be handy to call or text a robotaxi to drive to the grocery store, a show or a dentist appointment. So is that happening? “It turns out not even the people building Tesla’s self-driving tech trust Elon Musk’s extravagant claims about the company’s autonomous vehicles. “New reporting by Reuters interviewed nine former data labelers and a former self-driving engineer about their take on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode. The results were overwhelmingly negative, with seven of the data specialists admitting they wouldn’t ride in a Tesla in FSD.” *snip* “ In recent months, Tesla operating on FSD move have driven riders   into lakes ,   off bridges , and even into the path of   oncoming trains   — and those are just the incidents that get media exposure. Given these insiders’ direct access to terabytes’ worth of p...
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On the meanings of the word "Christian"

I was raised Roman Catholic, which as much as any religious system can claim to be Christian. But ever since I was in high school, I disagreed with the RC teaching on abortion. To be Christian, it seems to me, is to claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus was silent on the topic of abortion. Accordingly, I felt the RCC teachings against abortion were outside the remit of the Church and felt free to dissent. While I understand why a Christian might oppose abortion, it is not a Christian belief, it is simply a personal belief. Same with homosexuality and gay marriage. Jesus was silent on those topics as well. To follow Jesus' example would mean being silent on the topics of abortion, homosexuality and gay marriage. I'm ruminating on this topic in the wake of the Christianity Today brouhaha, in which the outgoing editor called for Trump to be removed from office. While I agree with this editorial, my agreement isn't moored in evangelical Christianity, or Christian...
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Climate change: what will it take to avoid the worst?

"A cold-blooded dedication to stopping climate change means having the willingness to step away from our comfortable shibboleths, accept the criticism that comes with that, and place ourselves squarely behind a plan that has a chance of working. Building out renewable energy will get us part of the way there, but we’ve got more to do and not much time to do it. This isn’t a rosy-hued proposal. You can find plenty of naysayers for every project I propose funding. Solar presents problems of geography. Wind presents land-use problems. Carbon sequestration requires mammoth infrastructure. Nuclear produces radioactive waste. Biofuels have been unable to overcome technical problems even after decades of effort. Fusion power has always been 30 years in the future and still is. Geoengineering is just scary as hell. Ultimately, massive R&D might fail. But unlike current plans, it has one powerful benefit: At least it’s not guaranteed to fail." Kevin Drum has a long piece on ...
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