• =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=9CElon_Musk_pivots_SpaceX_to_moon_from_Mars_as_IPO?= =?UTF-8?Q?_approaches=E2=80=9D?=

    From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Feb 9 17:15:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars.
    The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and
    Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is probably not possible.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Feb 9 20:52:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/9/2026 5:15 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from- mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars.
    The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and
    Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard.-a However, a self supporting city on the Moon is probably not possible.

    Lynn

    BTW, the number one problem with a self supporting city on the Moon (or
    in space) is the lack of nitrogen for the air. Two books have been
    written about this that I know of are rCLFallen AngelsrCY by Pournelle,
    Niven, et al, and rCLArtemisrCY by Andy Weir.

    https://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Larry-Niven/dp/067172052X

    https://www.amazon.com/Artemis-Novel-Andy-Weir/dp/0553448145

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 10 05:36:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than
    Mars. The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO)
    fast approaches.rCY

    Bum. If anybody deserved to be eaten by the Mysterons, it would have
    to be Elon Musk ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 10 11:10:07 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lawrence DOliveiro wrote:

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:


    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once
    SpaceX's (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the
    moon rather than Mars. The pivot comes as the company's
    initial public offering (IPO) fast approaches.rCY

    Bum. If anybody deserved to be eaten by the Mysterons, it
    would have to be Elon Musk ...

    Did the Mysterons actually eat people?! I must have missed that
    episode! ;-)
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan@tednolan to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 10 13:27:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <xn0plv2uygxf610002@post.eweka.nl>,
    Blueshirt <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:
    Lawrence DOliveiro wrote:

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once
    SpaceX's (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the
    moon rather than Mars. The pivot comes as the company's
    initial public offering (IPO) fast approaches.rCY

    Bum. If anybody deserved to be eaten by the Mysterons, it
    would have to be Elon Musk ...

    Did the Mysterons actually eat people?! I must have missed that
    episode! ;-)

    Well, there were 96 Tears!
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 10 07:17:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/9/2026 9:36 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than
    Mars. The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO)
    fast approaches.rCY

    Bum. If anybody deserved to be eaten by the Mysterons, it would have
    to be Elon Musk ...

    Pretty sure they already ate his brain.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Tony Nance@tnusenet17@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 10 10:35:54 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/10/26 8:27 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <xn0plv2uygxf610002@post.eweka.nl>,
    Blueshirt <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:
    Lawrence DOliveiro wrote:

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:


    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once
    SpaceX's (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the
    moon rather than Mars. The pivot comes as the company's
    initial public offering (IPO) fast approaches.rCY

    Bum. If anybody deserved to be eaten by the Mysterons, it
    would have to be Elon Musk ...

    Did the Mysterons actually eat people?! I must have missed that
    episode! ;-)

    Well, there were 96 Tears!

    I see what you did there!
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Thomas Koenig@tkoenig@netcologne.de to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 10 18:30:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> schrieb:

    BTW, the number one problem with a self supporting city on the Moon (or
    in space) is the lack of nitrogen for the air. Two books have been
    written about this that I know of are rCLFallen AngelsrCY by Pournelle, Niven, et al, and rCLArtemisrCY by Andy Weir.

    https://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Larry-Niven/dp/067172052X

    https://www.amazon.com/Artemis-Novel-Andy-Weir/dp/0553448145

    Artemis had a grand finale that... well, you're a chemical engineer,
    *spoiler*

    you probably know about selectivity when making chlorinated methane derivatives. It does *not* come out as 100% chloroform. The air
    ventilation system on that base was also something to behold -
    everybody gets a high enough chloroform to get unconcious at the
    same time, nobody dies from an overdose.

    Anything producing large amounts of chloroform would also have produced
    a large amount of HCl, wrecking the base through corrosion, even
    discarding its effect on people.
    --
    This USENET posting was made without artificial intelligence,
    artificial impertinence, artificial arrogance, artificial stupidity,
    artificial flavorings or artificial colorants.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 11 13:20:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/10/2026 1:30 PM, Thomas Koenig wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> schrieb:

    BTW, the number one problem with a self supporting city on the Moon (or
    in space) is the lack of nitrogen for the air. Two books have been
    written about this that I know of are rCLFallen AngelsrCY by Pournelle,
    Niven, et al, and rCLArtemisrCY by Andy Weir.

    https://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Larry-Niven/dp/067172052X

    https://www.amazon.com/Artemis-Novel-Andy-Weir/dp/0553448145

    Artemis had a grand finale that... well, you're a chemical engineer, *spoiler*

    you probably know about selectivity when making chlorinated methane derivatives. It does *not* come out as 100% chloroform. The air
    ventilation system on that base was also something to behold -
    everybody gets a high enough chloroform to get unconcious at the
    same time, nobody dies from an overdose.

    Anything producing large amounts of chloroform would also have produced
    a large amount of HCl, wrecking the base through corrosion, even
    discarding its effect on people.


    Weir's 'hard science' needs to be taken with a grain of salt. If you
    run the numbers, "The Martian"'s potato farm just doesn't work.
    There's insufficient power to run the lights needed.

    pt


    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The Horny Goat@lcraver@home.ca to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Feb 23 23:52:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    oElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approacheso

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    oElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars.
    The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast >approaches.o

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and
    Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a >self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take >"20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is >probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 08:26:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:52:18 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
    wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    oElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approacheso
    >>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    oElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's >>(SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars. >>The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast >>approaches.o

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and >>Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a >>self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take >>"20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is >>probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.
    I suppose it all depends on what is wanted.
    A permanent Moon base -- which, in my mind, would be staffed at all
    times, just with different people at different periods -- would be
    possible until, of course, Congress falls into the hands of people who
    want to cut the fat. Imagine what would have happened if such a base
    already existed ... and was DOGEd.
    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).
    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 11:39:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:52:18 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars. >>> The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and
    Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a
    self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take >>> "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is >>> probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suppose it all depends on what is wanted.

    A permanent Moon base -- which, in my mind, would be staffed at all
    times, just with different people at different periods -- would be
    possible until, of course, Congress falls into the hands of people who
    want to cut the fat. Imagine what would have happened if such a base
    already existed ... and was DOGEd.

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.


    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not
    sustainable.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 16:47:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:52:18 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars. >>>> The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and >>>> Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a
    self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take >>>> "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is >>>> probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suppose it all depends on what is wanted.

    A permanent Moon base -- which, in my mind, would be staffed at all
    times, just with different people at different periods -- would be
    possible until, of course, Congress falls into the hands of people who
    want to cut the fat. Imagine what would have happened if such a base
    already existed ... and was DOGEd.

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.


    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Not to mention dooming the children born on the moon, who would
    likely never be physically able to visit the earth. That's
    assuming that a child can be carried to term in such a low
    gravity environment without ill effect.

    Like many places on earth, interesting to visit, but one may
    not wish to live there.


    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not >sustainable.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan@tednolan to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 16:57:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <FCknR.883532$%qca.398473@fx14.iad>,
    Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:52:18 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars. >>>>> The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and >>>>> Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a >>>>> self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take >>>>> "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is >>>>> probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope >>>> to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suppose it all depends on what is wanted.

    A permanent Moon base -- which, in my mind, would be staffed at all
    times, just with different people at different periods -- would be
    possible until, of course, Congress falls into the hands of people who
    want to cut the fat. Imagine what would have happened if such a base
    already existed ... and was DOGEd.

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.


    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Not to mention dooming the children born on the moon, who would
    likely never be physically able to visit the earth. That's
    assuming that a child can be carried to term in such a low
    gravity environment without ill effect.


    Well, I mean that's the norm of human history: Never seeing anything
    outside your village.

    Certainly there is plenty of SF exploring that. Quaddies come to mind.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 12:36:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.

    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not >sustainable.

    THAT is the first step... getting to a post-scarcity society. That is not impossible.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 12:12:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 11:36 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.

    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not
    sustainable.

    THAT is the first step... getting to a post-scarcity society. That is not impossible.
    --scott

    Yes, a post scarcity society is impossible. There is infinite demand
    for free stuff.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 12:14:32 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 1:52 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars.
    The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and
    Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a
    self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take
    "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is
    probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suspect that Musk finally did the back of the envelope calculations
    for fuel and realized that all of the trips from Earth to Mars are one
    way. Manufacturing fuel on Mars will be dadgum difficult with the
    challenges for food and energy.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 20:02:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 11:36 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly >>>> producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.

    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not
    sustainable.

    THAT is the first step... getting to a post-scarcity society. That is not
    impossible.
    --scott

    Yes, a post scarcity society is impossible. There is infinite demand
    for free stuff.

    Actually, a post scarcity society is certainly possible. It won't
    be based on friction, consumption or private equity. The current
    belief that consumption can grow infinitely will eventually find
    a hard stop.

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 14:10:55 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 2:02 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 11:36 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly >>>>> producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at >>>>> least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base, >>>>> however well-staffed.

    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not
    sustainable.

    THAT is the first step... getting to a post-scarcity society. That is not >>> impossible.
    --scott

    Yes, a post scarcity society is impossible. There is infinite demand
    for free stuff.

    Actually, a post scarcity society is certainly possible. It won't
    be based on friction, consumption or private equity. The current
    belief that consumption can grow infinitely will eventually find
    a hard stop.

    Nope. That way lies madness and mass killings like every other wannabe
    utopia that has existed to date.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 17:03:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 1:52 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html


    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars. >>> The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and
    Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a
    self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take >>> "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard.-a However, a self supporting city on the Moon is >>> probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suspect that Musk finally did the back of the envelope calculations
    for fuel and realized that all of the trips from Earth to Mars are one
    way.


    More likely he read calculations done by other people. Done repeatedly,
    over the past few decades, and until now ignored by Musk.

    William Hyde



    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 17:22:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 12:10 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 2:02 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 11:36 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer-a <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples
    earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at >>>>>> least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base, >>>>>> however well-staffed.

    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not
    sustainable.

    THAT is the first step... getting to a post-scarcity society. That
    is not
    impossible.
    --scott

    Yes, a post scarcity society is impossible.-a There is infinite demand
    for free stuff.

    Actually, a post scarcity society is certainly possible.-a It won't
    be based on friction, consumption or private equity.-a The current
    belief that consumption can grow infinitely will eventually find
    a hard stop.

    Nope.-a That way lies madness and mass killings like every other wannabe utopia that has existed to date.

    I think its more likely that what will prevent a post-scarcity society
    is that some people don't WANT everyone to have what they want. Too
    many want to control everyone else and having a post-scarcity society
    makes that much more difficult if not impossible.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 17:23:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 2:03 PM, William Hyde wrote:
    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 1:52 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-
    mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than
    Mars.
    The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and >>>> Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a
    self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would
    take
    "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard.-a However, a self supporting city on the
    Moon is
    probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suspect that Musk finally did the back of the envelope calculations
    for fuel and realized that all of the trips from Earth to Mars are one
    way.


    More likely he read calculations done by other people.-a Done repeatedly, over the past few decades, and until now ignored by Musk.

    That sounds familiar....
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 19:32:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 7:22 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 12:10 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 2:02 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 11:36 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer-a <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples
    earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years
    for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research >>>>>>> base,
    however well-staffed.

    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids >>>>>> greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time >>>>>> on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not >>>>>> sustainable.

    THAT is the first step... getting to a post-scarcity society. That
    is not
    impossible.
    --scott

    Yes, a post scarcity society is impossible.-a There is infinite demand >>>> for free stuff.

    Actually, a post scarcity society is certainly possible.-a It won't
    be based on friction, consumption or private equity.-a The current
    belief that consumption can grow infinitely will eventually find
    a hard stop.

    Nope.-a That way lies madness and mass killings like every other
    wannabe utopia that has existed to date.

    I think its more likely that what will prevent a post-scarcity society
    is that some people don't WANT everyone to have what they want.-a Too
    many want to control everyone else and having a post-scarcity society
    makes that much more difficult if not impossible.

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas
    and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool. And I want them for free.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 19:34:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/24/2026 4:03 PM, William Hyde wrote:
    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 1:52 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-
    mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than
    Mars.
    The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and >>>> Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a
    self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would
    take
    "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard.-a However, a self supporting city on the
    Moon is
    probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suspect that Musk finally did the back of the envelope calculations
    for fuel and realized that all of the trips from Earth to Mars are one
    way.


    More likely he read calculations done by other people.-a Done repeatedly, over the past few decades, and until now ignored by Musk.

    William Hyde

    However, everything that Musk has built: electric cars, spaceships,
    tunnel borers, solar power, batteries, etc, translates to the Moon from
    Mars. All of the aforementioned are needed in either place.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 25 17:36:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 7:22 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 12:10 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 2:02 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 11:36 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer-a <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples
    earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years >>>>>>>> for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research >>>>>>>> base,
    however well-staffed.

    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids >>>>>>> greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time >>>>>>> on childcare.

    Unless you've gotten to a very much post-scarcity society, its not >>>>>>> sustainable.

    THAT is the first step... getting to a post-scarcity society. That >>>>>> is not
    impossible.
    --scott

    Yes, a post scarcity society is impossible.-a There is infinite demand >>>>> for free stuff.

    Actually, a post scarcity society is certainly possible.-a It won't
    be based on friction, consumption or private equity.-a The current
    belief that consumption can grow infinitely will eventually find
    a hard stop.

    Nope.-a That way lies madness and mass killings like every other
    wannabe utopia that has existed to date.

    I think its more likely that what will prevent a post-scarcity society
    is that some people don't WANT everyone to have what they want.-a Too
    many want to control everyone else and having a post-scarcity society
    makes that much more difficult if not impossible.

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas
    and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool. And I want them for free.

    Lynn


    From Wikipedia:

    Post-scarcity does not mean that scarcity has been eliminated
    for all goods and services. Instead it means that all people
    can easily have their basic survival needs met along with some
    significant proportion of their desires for goods and services.

    Writers on the topic often emphasize that some commodities will
    remain scarce in a post-scarcity society.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 25 14:21:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:39:02 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 11:26 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:52:18 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    oElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approacheso

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from-mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html

    oElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than Mars. >>>> The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.o

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and >>>> Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a
    self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would take >>>> "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard. However, a self supporting city on the Moon is >>>> probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope
    to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suppose it all depends on what is wanted.

    A permanent Moon base -- which, in my mind, would be staffed at all
    times, just with different people at different periods -- would be
    possible until, of course, Congress falls into the hands of people who
    want to cut the fat. Imagine what would have happened if such a base
    already existed ... and was DOGEd.

    But what /I/ want is a /colony/. Staffed by breeding couples earnestly
    producing new colonists at the rate of, say, one every 2 years for at
    least 20 years (for each couple).

    And the same for Mars: a colony, not just a scientific research base,
    however well-staffed.


    The demographic profile would be disastrous, with non-working kids
    greatly outnumbering adults, and half the adults working full time
    on childcare.
    When I actually did some think on this, what I came up with was:
    one rocket/month with 10 breeding couples + 5 old hands
    for the first twenty years.
    The "old hands" would be administrators and PhD scientists. The latter
    could, when the time came, help make new PhDs -- that is, approve
    dissertations and grant degrees.
    The goal was that, after a few decades, colonies could be planted on
    Mars from Luna. Well, provided the colonists could be adapted to Mars'
    gravity, of course.
    And, yes, there would be a lot of children: this would be one of those creche-based societies, where specialists raised the kids. And were
    well-paid, BTW, unlike daycare etc today. Or everybody took a
    six-month turn at it from time to time.
    Teenagers would have to be very much controlled. It is one thing for a
    bunch of them to turn over a portapotty and drive off; it is something
    else for them to collapse a dome and kill half the colony.
    The medical profession would be severely warped: ob/gyn would be a
    major focus, and pediatrics even more so. But probably also trauma
    care, as expanding a colony is likely to be quite dangerous.
    Education would also be stressed, but it could grow with the oldest
    kids. That is, until you have 7th graders, you don't need Jr High
    School; until you have 10th graders, you don't need High School (note
    that I am using the terms of my youth, the deitails can certainly be
    different but the point remains). You don't need a College (never mind
    a University) or a Trade School until you have High School Graduates.
    The few considered appropriate for Grad School could probably attend
    lectures from Earth. Yes, the time lag would be a problem.
    Note that the reproductive push can tailor off as the people produced
    locally mature, if that seems like a good idea.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 25 14:28:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:32:16 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    <snippo -- too bad this is not what the Wikipedia article cited
    elsewhere says it means, but I'll go with this for now>
    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas
    and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool. And I want them for free.
    Fusion energy. In every home.
    Matter transformers. In every home.
    And that, and a bunch of matter (which is, of course, a bunch of
    energy -- why has no one responding to the "God created the world out
    of nothing" statement pointed out that "nothing" could mean "energy"
    with very little nudging?), is all you would need to achieve your
    goal.
    The tech is conceivable. The problem, of course, is acquiring it.
    There we do indeed have a problem.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 25 16:38:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/25/2026 4:28 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:32:16 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snippo -- too bad this is not what the Wikipedia article cited
    elsewhere says it means, but I'll go with this for now>

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas
    and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool. And I want them for free.

    Fusion energy. In every home.
    Matter transformers. In every home.

    And that, and a bunch of matter (which is, of course, a bunch of
    energy -- why has no one responding to the "God created the world out
    of nothing" statement pointed out that "nothing" could mean "energy"
    with very little nudging?), is all you would need to achieve your
    goal.

    The tech is conceivable. The problem, of course, is acquiring it.
    There we do indeed have a problem.

    I've got a 38 kW gennie in my back yard that cost me $25K installed in
    2021. It uses $30 of natural gas a day when it runs for 24 hours. I
    suspect that the fusion generator is going to cost WAY more.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 25 17:35:56 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/25/2026 2:28 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:32:16 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snippo -- too bad this is not what the Wikipedia article cited
    elsewhere says it means, but I'll go with this for now>

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas
    and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool. And I want them for free.

    Fusion energy. In every home.
    Matter transformers. In every home.

    And that, and a bunch of matter (which is, of course, a bunch of
    energy -- why has no one responding to the "God created the world out
    of nothing" statement pointed out that "nothing" could mean "energy"
    with very little nudging?), is all you would need to achieve your
    goal.

    The tech is conceivable. The problem, of course, is acquiring it.
    There we do indeed have a problem.

    I suspect the laws of thermodynamics will also want a word or two.
    Probably two. "Waste heat" at a guess.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bobbie Sellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 25 17:45:04 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written



    On 2/25/26 17:35, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 2:28 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:32:16 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snippo -- too bad this is not what the Wikipedia article cited
    elsewhere says it means, but I'll go with this for now>

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas >>> and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool.-a And I want them for free.

    Fusion energy. In every home.
    Matter transformers. In every home.

    And that, and a bunch of matter (which is, of course, a bunch of
    energy -- why has no one responding to the "God created the world out
    of nothing" statement pointed out that "nothing" could mean "energy"
    with very little nudging?), is all you would need to achieve your
    goal.

    The tech is conceivable. The problem, of course, is acquiring it.
    There we do indeed have a problem.

    I suspect the laws of thermodynamics will also want a word or two.
    Probably two.-a "Waste heat" at a guess.


    No problems with waste heat in a cold fusion reactor and we have
    had more that one scientist confirm it happen, (cold fusion).
    But core taps drawing on the heat of the deep earth are much
    simpler to implement. I envisage a multi-stage setup using the nasty
    stuff from deep to heat exhangers closer to the surface to bring up
    to a steam turbine generator condensed steam recycled..
    Notice that simple water is the ultimate working fluid.
    This will avoid the problems with complicated compounds
    that will cause more problems with equipment. This is like
    a nuclear reactor with none of that nasty neutron flux.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Feb 25 21:08:58 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    I suspect the laws of thermodynamics will also want a word or two.
    Probably two. "Waste heat" at a guess.

    That's the problem with any energy source, though. It's the exact same
    worry with fusion as with steam engines, just scaled up a bit.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Chris Thompson@the_thompsons@earthlink.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 00:01:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 4:03 PM, William Hyde wrote:
    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 1:52 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 17:15:52 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    rCLElon Musk pivots SpaceX to moon from Mars as IPO approachesrCY
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-pivots-spacex-to-moon-from- mars-as-ipo-approaches-152228074.html


    rCLElon Musk is moving the goalposts back to what was once SpaceX's
    (SPAX.PVT) top target, with sights now set on the moon rather than
    Mars.
    The pivot comes as the company's initial public offering (IPO) fast
    approaches.rCY

    "In a Sunday post on X.com right before the Super Bowl, the SpaceX and >>>>> Tesla (TSLA) CEO said the rocket company "shifted focus to building a >>>>> self-growing city on the Moon," arguing that doing so on Mars would >>>>> take
    "20+years.""

    Reality is hitting hard.-a However, a self supporting city on the
    Moon is
    probably not possible.

    Lynn

    Musk probably wants objectives that can be met in our lifetime. I hope >>>> to see a permanent Moon base in my lifetime - but no way is a Mars
    base happening in my timeframe - my 3 year old granddaughter probably
    but not me.

    I suspect that Musk finally did the back of the envelope calculations
    for fuel and realized that all of the trips from Earth to Mars are
    one way.


    More likely he read calculations done by other people.-a Done
    repeatedly, over the past few decades, and until now ignored by Musk.

    William Hyde

    However, everything that Musk has built: electric cars, spaceships,
    tunnel borers, solar power, batteries, etc, translates to the Moon from Mars.-a All of the aforementioned are needed in either place.

    Lynn


    Yeah. Given Musk's penchant for spontaneously disassociating spacecraft,
    his safety record and utter disregard for things like proper disposal of hazardous waste, letting him anywhere near a space colony is a
    guaranteed catastrophe. I'd make sure I was on the opposite side of the asteroid belt from any colony he was involved in.

    Chris
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 08:14:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:38:43 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 4:28 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:32:16 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snippo -- too bad this is not what the Wikipedia article cited
    elsewhere says it means, but I'll go with this for now>

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas >>> and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool. And I want them for free.

    Fusion energy. In every home.
    Matter transformers. In every home.

    And that, and a bunch of matter (which is, of course, a bunch of
    energy -- why has no one responding to the "God created the world out
    of nothing" statement pointed out that "nothing" could mean "energy"
    with very little nudging?), is all you would need to achieve your
    goal.

    The tech is conceivable. The problem, of course, is acquiring it.
    There we do indeed have a problem.

    I've got a 38 kW gennie in my back yard that cost me $25K installed in
    2021. It uses $30 of natural gas a day when it runs for 24 hours. I >suspect that the fusion generator is going to cost WAY more.
    If you really wanted to distribute Teslas to your neighbors, no amount
    would be too high to pay.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 16:32:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> writes:
    On 2/25/2026 2:28 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:32:16 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snippo -- too bad this is not what the Wikipedia article cited
    elsewhere says it means, but I'll go with this for now>

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas >>> and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool. And I want them for free.

    Fusion energy. In every home.
    Matter transformers. In every home.

    And that, and a bunch of matter (which is, of course, a bunch of
    energy -- why has no one responding to the "God created the world out
    of nothing" statement pointed out that "nothing" could mean "energy"
    with very little nudging?), is all you would need to achieve your
    goal.

    The tech is conceivable. The problem, of course, is acquiring it.
    There we do indeed have a problem.

    I suspect the laws of thermodynamics will also want a word or two.
    Probably two. "Waste heat" at a guess.

    Indeed:

    Armed with Eq. 1.11, we can now estimate the impact
    of waste heat on Earth's equilibrium temperature. Using the solar input as a baseline,
    we can add increasing input using the exponential scheme from the
    previous section: starting today at 18 TW and increasing at 2.3% per
    year (a factor of 10 each century). It is useful to express the human
    input in the same terms as the solar input so that we can just add to
    the numerator in Eq. 1.11. In this context, our current 18 TW into the
    projected area adds 0.14 W/m2 to the solar input (a trivial amount,
    today), but then increases by a factor of ten each century. Taking this
    in one-century chunks, the resulting temperatures - adding in the 33 K
    from greenhouse gases - follow the evolution shown in Table 1.4. At
    first, the effect is unimportant, but in 300 years far outstrips global
    warming, and reaches boiling temperature in a little over 400 years! If we
    kept going (not possible), Earth's temperature would exceed the surface
    temperature of the sun inside of 1,000 years!

    https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9js5291m#page=20
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 16:36:54 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> writes:


    On 2/25/26 17:35, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 2:28 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:32:16 -0600, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snippo -- too bad this is not what the Wikipedia article cited
    elsewhere says it means, but I'll go with this for now>

    No, in a post scarcity society, I want to get a few dozen model S Teslas >>>> and give them to my neighbors so that we can all drive model S Teslas
    and look cool.-a And I want them for free.

    Fusion energy. In every home.
    Matter transformers. In every home.

    And that, and a bunch of matter (which is, of course, a bunch of
    energy -- why has no one responding to the "God created the world out
    of nothing" statement pointed out that "nothing" could mean "energy"
    with very little nudging?), is all you would need to achieve your
    goal.

    The tech is conceivable. The problem, of course, is acquiring it.
    There we do indeed have a problem.

    I suspect the laws of thermodynamics will also want a word or two.
    Probably two.-a "Waste heat" at a guess.


    No problems with waste heat in a cold fusion reactor and we have
    had more that one scientist confirm it happen, (cold fusion).

    That doesn't appear to be the case. There haven't been any
    documented confirmations of the pons-fleischmann style cold
    fusion.

    Even if it were possible, the consumpion of any electricity
    produced by soi disant cold fusion would of course generate
    waste heat.

    But core taps drawing on the heat of the deep earth are much
    simpler to implement. I envisage a multi-stage setup using the nasty
    stuff from deep to heat exhangers closer to the surface to bring up
    to a steam turbine generator condensed steam recycled..

    TANSTAAFL. Consumption of energy creates waste heat.

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 22:08:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/25/2026 11:01 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:
    ...
    However, everything that Musk has built: electric cars, spaceships,
    tunnel borers, solar power, batteries, etc, translates to the Moon
    from Mars.-a All of the aforementioned are needed in either place.

    Lynn


    Yeah. Given Musk's penchant for spontaneously disassociating spacecraft,
    his safety record and utter disregard for things like proper disposal of hazardous waste, letting him anywhere near a space colony is a
    guaranteed catastrophe. I'd make sure I was on the opposite side of the asteroid belt from any colony he was involved in.

    Chris

    Wow, what a load of horse manure. Prove me wrong.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Chris Thompson@the_thompsons@earthlink.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 23:21:39 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 11:01 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:
    ...
    However, everything that Musk has built: electric cars, spaceships,
    tunnel borers, solar power, batteries, etc, translates to the Moon
    from Mars.-a All of the aforementioned are needed in either place.

    Lynn


    Yeah. Given Musk's penchant for spontaneously disassociating
    spacecraft, his safety record and utter disregard for things like
    proper disposal of hazardous waste, letting him anywhere near a space
    colony is a guaranteed catastrophe. I'd make sure I was on the
    opposite side of the asteroid belt from any colony he was involved in.

    Chris

    Wow, what a load of horse manure.-a Prove me wrong.

    Lynn


    "Environmental regulations are, in my view, largely terrible."
    - - Elon Musk

    Now there's an attitude you really want on a space colony, especially a
    domed one.

    Utter disregard for proper waste disposal in the Nevada tunnel:

    https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-boring-company-violations-fines-vegas-loop

    And I guess you missed those 5 Space-X rockets that blew up. Don't go on
    about how much you learn from an exploding rocket. Those projects should
    have been well out of the sandbox stage.

    He's a legend in his own mind.

    Chris

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 22:27:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/26/2026 10:21 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:
    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 11:01 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:
    ...
    However, everything that Musk has built: electric cars, spaceships,
    tunnel borers, solar power, batteries, etc, translates to the Moon
    from Mars.-a All of the aforementioned are needed in either place.

    Lynn


    Yeah. Given Musk's penchant for spontaneously disassociating
    spacecraft, his safety record and utter disregard for things like
    proper disposal of hazardous waste, letting him anywhere near a space
    colony is a guaranteed catastrophe. I'd make sure I was on the
    opposite side of the asteroid belt from any colony he was involved in.

    Chris

    Wow, what a load of horse manure.-a Prove me wrong.

    Lynn


    "Environmental regulations are, in my view, largely terrible."
    - - Elon Musk

    Now there's an attitude you really want on a space colony, especially a domed one.

    Utter disregard for proper waste disposal in the Nevada tunnel:

    https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-boring-company-violations- fines-vegas-loop

    And I guess you missed those 5 Space-X rockets that blew up. Don't go on about how much you learn from an exploding rocket. Those projects should have been well out of the sandbox stage.

    He's a legend in his own mind.

    Chris

    I like how you ignore the hundreds of safe flights that SpaceX has run.
    https://spacexnow.com/stats

    Starship is in an intense experimental phase. Call me when someone gets
    hurt. Building a spaceship to go to outer space or another planet is
    not easy, ask NASA.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Woodward@robertaw@drizzle.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Feb 26 21:52:32 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <10nr64m$27km0$1@dont-email.me>,
    Chris Thompson <the_thompsons@earthlink.net> wrote:

    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 11:01 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:
    ...
    However, everything that Musk has built: electric cars, spaceships,
    tunnel borers, solar power, batteries, etc, translates to the Moon
    from Mars.-a All of the aforementioned are needed in either place.

    Lynn


    Yeah. Given Musk's penchant for spontaneously disassociating
    spacecraft, his safety record and utter disregard for things like
    proper disposal of hazardous waste, letting him anywhere near a space
    colony is a guaranteed catastrophe. I'd make sure I was on the
    opposite side of the asteroid belt from any colony he was involved in.

    Chris

    Wow, what a load of horse manure.-a Prove me wrong.

    Lynn


    "Environmental regulations are, in my view, largely terrible."
    - - Elon Musk

    Now there's an attitude you really want on a space colony, especially a domed one.

    Utter disregard for proper waste disposal in the Nevada tunnel:

    https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-boring-company-violations-fines-v
    egas-loop


    You could have a point here.

    And I guess you missed those 5 Space-X rockets that blew up. Don't go on about how much you learn from an exploding rocket. Those projects should have been well out of the sandbox stage.

    But not here. Everybody have rockets blowing up on them even when they
    are just scaling up. At least none of the Starship rockets have blown up
    on the launch pad.
    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. rCo-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Fri Feb 27 18:41:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 11:01 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

    Yeah. Given Musk's penchant for spontaneously disassociating spacecraft,
    his safety record and utter disregard for things like proper disposal of
    hazardous waste, letting him anywhere near a space colony is a
    guaranteed catastrophe. I'd make sure I was on the opposite side of the
    asteroid belt from any colony he was involved in.

    Wow, what a load of horse manure. Prove me wrong.

    The downside of the "go fast, break things" philosophy is that in the
    process you break a lot of things. This can be good or it can be bad, depending on the application.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Chris Thompson@the_thompsons@earthlink.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Feb 28 00:08:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/26/2026 10:21 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:
    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 11:01 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:
    ...
    However, everything that Musk has built: electric cars, spaceships, >>>>> tunnel borers, solar power, batteries, etc, translates to the Moon
    from Mars.-a All of the aforementioned are needed in either place.

    Lynn


    Yeah. Given Musk's penchant for spontaneously disassociating
    spacecraft, his safety record and utter disregard for things like
    proper disposal of hazardous waste, letting him anywhere near a
    space colony is a guaranteed catastrophe. I'd make sure I was on the
    opposite side of the asteroid belt from any colony he was involved in. >>>>
    Chris

    Wow, what a load of horse manure.-a Prove me wrong.

    Lynn


    "Environmental regulations are, in my view, largely terrible."
    - - Elon Musk

    Now there's an attitude you really want on a space colony, especially
    a domed one.

    Utter disregard for proper waste disposal in the Nevada tunnel:

    https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-boring-company-violations- fines-vegas-loop


    And I guess you missed those 5 Space-X rockets that blew up. Don't go
    on about how much you learn from an exploding rocket. Those projects
    should have been well out of the sandbox stage.

    He's a legend in his own mind.

    Chris

    I like how you ignore the hundreds of safe flights that SpaceX has run.
    -a-a https://spacexnow.com/stats

    Starship is in an intense experimental phase.-a Call me when someone gets hurt.-a Building a spaceship to go to outer space or another planet is
    not easy, ask NASA.

    Lynn


    Someone got hurt, I'm calling you. The worker is no longer in a coma
    (that lasted more than 2 years) but is unable to work or live independently.

    https://futurism.com/the-byte/wife-sues-spacex-husband-coma

    Other articles detail hundreds of accidents and injuries at SpaceX,
    along with pressure on the injured to not report them. The reason, of
    course was pressure from the top because they were so far behind schedule.

    https://futurism.com/space/spacex-lawsuits-worker-injury

    Meanwhile, over at Tesla, an engineer who raised a critical safety issue involving brakes was told her team would be deported if she didn't
    resign immediately. Now there's a culture you want to encourage in a
    space colony, eh? No?

    https://futurism.com/tesla-engineer-elon-musk-deport-team-safety

    And since you mentioned ignoring things, I notice you sorta slid right
    past that whole hazardous waste disposal issue. I guess you wouldn't be bothered by things like cadmium in your water supply. Right on.

    I realize there's a segment of the US political spectrum for whom Musk
    is the darling golden-haired child. The fact is, he's a shitty boss, a
    shitty engineer (he's not trained as an engineer but believes he's
    brilliant), and a shitty human being. But people think because he's
    amassed such a fortune he must be something special. The fact is that he started out with enough money that no matter what he did he couldn't
    bankrupt himself; his wealth was going to increase no matter what.
    (Someone I know of who bankrupted several casinos is in exactly the same situation. Their personal incompetence is limitless, but they can't go
    broke no matter what.

    Chris


    Chris
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Thomas Koenig@tkoenig@netcologne.de to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Feb 28 10:58:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Chris Thompson <the_thompsons@earthlink.net> schrieb:

    Someone got hurt, I'm calling you. The worker is no longer in a coma
    (that lasted more than 2 years) but is unable to work or live independently.

    https://futurism.com/the-byte/wife-sues-spacex-husband-coma

    This is where I like the German system very much.

    As an employer has to take mandatory liability insurance for
    workplace accidents, through the "Berufsenossenschaften" (BG),
    which are part of the public system of insurance.

    A worker who is injured at the workplace or on his way from or
    to work gets the best possible medical care (much better than
    standard medical insurance) with the aim of full restitution.
    This is why medical practicioners like these cases very much.
    It is also an incentive that, after an accident, for the worker
    to have this treated as a BG case.

    It is not possible for a worker to sue his company (unless his
    case has been thrown out), so the employer is protected as well.
    If the worker is unable to continue working after the accident,
    he gets a lifelong pension.

    HOWEVER, this does not mean that employers can act with impunity.
    if they have lots of accidents, or if their practices are found
    to be unsafe in inspection, the insurance premiums go up, A LOT.

    On the whole, it works quite well.


    Other articles detail hundreds of accidents and injuries at SpaceX,
    along with pressure on the injured to not report them. The reason, of
    course was pressure from the top because they were so far behind schedule.

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?
    --
    This USENET posting was made without artificial intelligence,
    artificial impertinence, artificial arrogance, artificial stupidity,
    artificial flavorings or artificial colorants.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Feb 28 20:23:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:
    Chris Thompson <the_thompsons@earthlink.net> schrieb:

    Someone got hurt, I'm calling you. The worker is no longer in a coma
    (that lasted more than 2 years) but is unable to work or live independently. >>
    https://futurism.com/the-byte/wife-sues-spacex-husband-coma

    This is where I like the German system very much.

    As an employer has to take mandatory liability insurance for
    workplace accidents, through the "Berufsenossenschaften" (BG),
    which are part of the public system of insurance.

    A worker who is injured at the workplace or on his way from or
    to work gets the best possible medical care (much better than
    standard medical insurance) with the aim of full restitution.
    This is why medical practicioners like these cases very much.
    It is also an incentive that, after an accident, for the worker
    to have this treated as a BG case.

    It is not possible for a worker to sue his company (unless his
    case has been thrown out), so the employer is protected as well.
    If the worker is unable to continue working after the accident,
    he gets a lifelong pension.

    HOWEVER, this does not mean that employers can act with impunity.
    if they have lots of accidents, or if their practices are found
    to be unsafe in inspection, the insurance premiums go up, A LOT.

    On the whole, it works quite well.


    Other articles detail hundreds of accidents and injuries at SpaceX,
    along with pressure on the injured to not report them. The reason, of
    course was pressure from the top because they were so far behind schedule.

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's
    in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for
    real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Thomas Koenig@tkoenig@netcologne.de to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 12:06:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's
    in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?
    --
    This USENET posting was made without artificial intelligence,
    artificial impertinence, artificial arrogance, artificial stupidity,
    artificial flavorings or artificial colorants.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 09:00:31 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:06:18 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig
    <tkoenig@netcologne.de> wrote:
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's
    in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for
    real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?
    You appear to be falling into the trap of believing that /any/
    fatalities from self-driving cars can be acceptable.
    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill
    or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.
    [1] OK, OK, if someone hits one with a LAW or equivalent, then that
    wouldn't count against the self-driving car itself.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 13:32:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 2/28/2026 11:23 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:
    Chris Thompson <the_thompsons@earthlink.net> schrieb:

    Someone got hurt, I'm calling you. The worker is no longer in a coma
    (that lasted more than 2 years) but is unable to work or live
    independently.

    https://futurism.com/the-byte/wife-sues-spacex-husband-coma

    This is where I like the German system very much.

    As an employer has to take mandatory liability insurance for
    workplace accidents, through the "Berufsenossenschaften" (BG),
    which are part of the public system of insurance.

    A worker who is injured at the workplace or on his way from or
    to work gets the best possible medical care (much better than
    standard medical insurance) with the aim of full restitution.
    This is why medical practicioners like these cases very much.
    It is also an incentive that, after an accident, for the worker
    to have this treated as a BG case.

    It is not possible for a worker to sue his company (unless his
    case has been thrown out), so the employer is protected as well.
    If the worker is unable to continue working after the accident,
    he gets a lifelong pension.

    HOWEVER, this does not mean that employers can act with impunity.
    if they have lots of accidents, or if their practices are found
    to be unsafe in inspection, the insurance premiums go up, A LOT.

    On the whole, it works quite well.


    Other articles detail hundreds of accidents and injuries at SpaceX,
    along with pressure on the injured to not report them. The reason, of
    course was pressure from the top because they were so far behind
    schedule.

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours.-a At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately.-a That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's
    in "self-drive" mode.-a Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for real this time coming in the next update.-a That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Yeah, I'd like you to remind me. How many fatal accidents have there
    been involving Teslas driving with FSD V14 (the latest, since
    October last year). Cite your sources.

    Self-driving cars have accidents. The question should be "Do they
    have more accidents than human drivers?"

    Part of the problem for Tesla is that there isn't much
    transparency. There's good data for Waymo, but Teslas are
    individually owned, and reporting is voluntary. Tesla
    claims that Teslas with FSD have 1/7th the rate of major
    collisions, and 1/5 the rate of off-highway collisions
    compared to manual driving, but I'd like to see a lot
    more data.

    Speaking from personal experience, FSD v12 (which
    I have) already drives far better than expected,
    and I use it constantly. There are places where
    I take over, most often because it is overly
    cautious, or where it makes a mistake (picking
    the wrong lane at an intersection is the most
    common). I *prefer* to let it do things like
    merge onto a highway, over doing it myself.

    [FWIW: When I bought my car, Greta Thunberg
    was driving a Tesla, and Elon was the poster boy for
    decarbonization. I'm as pissed off with his face/heel turn
    as anyone here.]

    pt







    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 13:37:19 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:06:18 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig <tkoenig@netcologne.de> wrote:

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's >>> in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for >>> real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?

    You appear to be falling into the trap of believing that /any/
    fatalities from self-driving cars can be acceptable.

    Why do you feel this is a 'trap'? The goal is to reduce
    road fatalities as much as possible.

    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill
    or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Thomas Koenig@tkoenig@netcologne.de to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 18:51:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> schrieb:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:06:18 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig
    <tkoenig@netcologne.de> wrote:

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's >>> in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for >>> real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?

    You appear to be falling into the trap of believing that /any/
    fatalities from self-driving cars can be acceptable.

    Why is it a "trap" to accept a reduction in fatalities? Do you
    prefer that more people are killed[1] rather than fewer, because
    you insist on perfection?

    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill
    or injure anyone [1].

    That is a very callous attitude. I hadn

    Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Argued like a US injury lawyer.

    [1] Assuming the figures show that, which I don't know.
    --
    This USENET posting was made without artificial intelligence,
    artificial impertinence, artificial arrogance, artificial stupidity,
    artificial flavorings or artificial colorants.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 17:23:29 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill
    or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    Says the market, unfortunately. People don't want to hear that it's
    safer than the average human, because everybody driving is convinced
    that they are much safer than the average human driver,

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    Unfortunately this is the way the market is.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 15:47:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 3/1/2026 4:06 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's
    in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for
    real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?

    It wasn't a comment on the safety of Tesla's. It was a comment on how
    Musk runs companies.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 20:15:54 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 3/1/2026 5:23 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill
    or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    Says the market, unfortunately. People don't want to hear that it's
    safer than the average human, because everybody driving is convinced
    that they are much safer than the average human driver,

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    Unfortunately this is the way the market is.


    The market is such that as soon as self driving cars are
    demonstrably safer than humans, the insurance companies
    will start hiking premiums for people foolhardy enough to
    insist on driving themselves.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 21:09:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 3/1/2026 7:15 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 5:23 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer-a <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill >>>> or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    Says the market, unfortunately.-a People don't want to hear that it's
    safer than the average human, because everybody driving is convinced
    that they are much safer than the average human driver,

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    Unfortunately this is the way the market is.


    The market is such that as soon as self driving cars are
    demonstrably safer than humans, the insurance companies
    will start hiking premiums for people foolhardy enough to
    insist on driving themselves.

    pt

    John Varley addressed this subject thoroughly in his "Red Thunder" book
    as a side issue.
    https://www.amazon.com/Red-Thunder-Lightning-Novel/dp/0441011624/

    Lynn


    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Chris Thompson@the_thompsons@earthlink.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Mar 1 22:43:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Thomas Koenig wrote:
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's
    in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for
    real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?


    I think that what's more important than the number of accidents is the pressure brought to bear on the injured workers to not report the
    accident. I cited an article that detailed that upthread.

    Chris

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Thomas Koenig@tkoenig@netcologne.de to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Mar 2 07:05:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Chris Thompson <the_thompsons@earthlink.net> schrieb:
    Thomas Koenig wrote:
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's >>> in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for >>> real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?


    I think that what's more important than the number of accidents is the pressure brought to bear on the injured workers to not report the
    accident. I cited an article that detailed that upthread.

    Yes, this kind of thing is wrong; although (truth be told) I didn't
    read the article.

    And no, the primary thing is to have fewer (actual, not reported)
    accident. Would you rather have more reported accidents than
    fewer non-reported ones?

    Another couple of points: In the US lawyer culture, where lawyers
    aim for maximum and ludicrous amounts of money for themselves,
    and incidentally for their clients, such claims might well be
    made because they further their business interests.[1][2] Also,
    the current political climate might well lead to such articles
    being more likely to be printed than similar articles about $ANOTHER_BIG_COMPANY.

    Again, to avoid misunderstandings: Misreporting workplace accidents
    is clearly wrong.

    [1] I remember the "Don't be a victim twice" billboards well that
    I saw driving along US interstates. It left a lasting implression
    on me, and not a favorable one.

    [2] See how the current US health secretary made his money,
    by suing Bayer (I don't work for them, BTW) over ludicrous
    claims about Glyphosate.
    --
    This USENET posting was made without artificial intelligence,
    artificial impertinence, artificial arrogance, artificial stupidity,
    artificial flavorings or artificial colorants.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Mar 2 06:59:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 3/1/2026 5:15 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 5:23 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer-a <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill >>>> or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    Says the market, unfortunately.-a People don't want to hear that it's
    safer than the average human, because everybody driving is convinced
    that they are much safer than the average human driver,

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    Unfortunately this is the way the market is.


    The market is such that as soon as self driving cars are
    demonstrably safer than humans, the insurance companies
    will start hiking premiums for people foolhardy enough to
    insist on driving themselves.

    Or poor enough to not be able to afford a new car.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Mar 2 09:09:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 13:37:19 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:06:18 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig
    <tkoenig@netcologne.de> wrote:

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> schrieb:
    On 2/28/2026 2:58 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:

    The sheer number of accidents does not mean a lot, it is the number
    per work hours that counts.

    At the company I work for, the target is 0.3 recordable accidents
    per 200 000 employee-hours. At 1600 hours of work per year,
    that makes one recordable accident every 400 years per worker,
    approximately. That number is LOW, and also difficult to reach.

    Are there numbers for SpaceX to compare against?

    I feel the need to remind people of all the fatal accidents with Tesla's >>>> in "self-drive" mode. Which Musk kept claiming for years was really for >>>> real this time coming in the next update. That is when he couldn't
    cover the incidents up anymore.

    Again, number comparisions. Do they have more or fewer accidents
    than people who drive for themselves? Are there statistics?

    You appear to be falling into the trap of believing that /any/
    fatalities from self-driving cars can be acceptable.

    Why do you feel this is a 'trap'? The goal is to reduce
    road fatalities as much as possible.

    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill
    or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
    I am not "moving the goalposts". I am stating the only goal that can
    justify the tech.
    When mistakes can kill people, the perfect is the /only/ acceptable
    criterion (note exception noted above, which you snipped).
    You are siding with the FAA analysts who, faced with a new Boeing
    plane model dropping out of the sky on its own initiative, used
    statistics to show that only 10 more of these would happen before the
    pilots figured things out -- and that that was an acceptable price.
    Of course, neither they nor their families would ever fly on that
    model. No sudden death for them!
    One of Trump's successes in his first term was forcing the FAA to ban
    that airplane in the USA, despite having been taken over by the
    manufacturer. (His other success was the pandemic vaccine program. He
    hasn't succeeded yet in anyting in his second term, and his using his
    own attack on Iran to try and get the Dems to fund DHS suggests that
    his successes are all behind him.)
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Mar 2 09:12:04 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 20:15:54 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 5:23 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill >>>> or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    Says the market, unfortunately. People don't want to hear that it's
    safer than the average human, because everybody driving is convinced
    that they are much safer than the average human driver,

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    Unfortunately this is the way the market is.


    The market is such that as soon as self driving cars are
    demonstrably safer than humans, the insurance companies
    will start hiking premiums for people foolhardy enough to
    insist on driving themselves.
    Thus begging for the regulators to regulate them even more.
    Particularly during the period that the "self-drive" cars are priced
    so that most people cannot afford them without starving their families
    or living in the street.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Mar 2 09:20:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 18:51:15 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig
    <tkoenig@netcologne.de> wrote:
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> schrieb:
    <snippo>
    You appear to be falling into the trap of believing that /any/
    fatalities from self-driving cars can be acceptable.

    Why is it a "trap" to accept a reduction in fatalities? Do you
    prefer that more people are killed[1] rather than fewer, because
    you insist on perfection?
    It is a logical trap.
    It is like the local rapid transit agency (which I have supported with
    my vote each and every time they asked for it, BTW) trying to obscure
    the fact that, when they say "traffic in 30 years will reduced 50%"
    (actual figures/dates are different in reality, but the claim is the
    same) what they are saying is that level of traffic, the number of
    cars on the road, will be /more than there are now/ but the number
    would be twice as large without the rapid transit. IOW, rapid transit
    is /not/ a solution to the increasing number of cars whizzing about.
    So saying that self-driving cars will reduce fatalities /in the
    future/ by 50% is saying that the increase in traffic will raise the
    number of fatalities by half as much as it will anyway. There is no
    guarantee that the /actual number/ of fatalities as experienced now
    will drop.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Mar 2 18:10:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> writes:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 13:37:19 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:



    Why do you feel this is a 'trap'? The goal is to reduce
    road fatalities as much as possible.

    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill
    or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    I am not "moving the goalposts". I am stating the only goal that can
    justify the tech.

    Please elaborate on why zero deaths is the only goal that can justify
    the self driving technology?

    There are many factors that play into fatalities (a percentage of which are
    the fault of the driver or an external factor such as another
    driver or even a deer, not the car).

    "Traffic fatality rates in the U.S. have generally declined
    over the long term, with a 95% reduction in deaths per 10,000
    registered vehicles since 1913, falling from 33 to 1.57 by 2023."


    You are siding with the FAA analysts who, faced with a new Boeing
    plane model dropping out of the sky on its own initiative, used
    statistics to show that only 10 more of these would happen before the
    pilots figured things out -- and that that was an acceptable price.

    Cite please.

    (His other success was the pandemic vaccine program)

    Trump had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the
    success of the pandemic vaccine program.

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Titus G@noone@nowhere.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Mar 3 17:25:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 01/03/2026 17:23, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky dirty old man

    What is stopping you from achieving what appear to be simple but now
    years old objectives?
    (Self achieved without the doing good part.)
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Titus G@noone@nowhere.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Mar 3 17:25:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 03/03/2026 06:12, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 20:15:54 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 3/1/2026 5:23 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 12:00 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill >>>>> or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    Says the market, unfortunately. People don't want to hear that it's
    safer than the average human, because everybody driving is convinced
    that they are much safer than the average human driver,

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    Unfortunately this is the way the market is.


    The market is such that as soon as self driving cars are
    demonstrably safer than humans, the insurance companies
    will start hiking premiums for people foolhardy enough to
    insist on driving themselves.

    Thus begging for the regulators to regulate them even more.

    Particularly during the period that the "self-drive" cars are priced
    so that most people cannot afford them without starving their families
    or living in the street.

    Why can't they live in their car?
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Mar 3 06:40:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 3/2/2026 8:25 PM, Titus G wrote:
    On 01/03/2026 17:23, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man

    What is stopping you from achieving what appear to be simple but now
    years old objectives?
    (Self achieved without the doing good part.)

    What makes you think I haven't?
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Mar 3 08:31:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:10:38 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
    wrote:
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> writes:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 13:37:19 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:



    Why do you feel this is a 'trap'? The goal is to reduce
    road fatalities as much as possible.

    The whole /point/ of self-driving cars has to be that they cannot kill >>>> or injure anyone [1]. Any lesser standard is simply a marketing
    gimmick.

    Says who? If deaths are reduced even 50%, isn't that a good and
    desirable result.

    You're moving the goalposts to an infinite distance, and not
    arguing in good faith.

    Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

    I am not "moving the goalposts". I am stating the only goal that can >>justify the tech.

    Please elaborate on why zero deaths is the only goal that can justify
    the self driving technology?

    There are many factors that play into fatalities (a percentage of which are >the fault of the driver or an external factor such as another
    driver or even a deer, not the car).

    "Traffic fatality rates in the U.S. have generally declined
    over the long term, with a 95% reduction in deaths per 10,000
    registered vehicles since 1913, falling from 33 to 1.57 by 2023."
    Blah blah blah.
    You are siding with the FAA analysts who, faced with a new Boeing
    plane model dropping out of the sky on its own initiative, used
    statistics to show that only 10 more of these would happen before the >>pilots figured things out -- and that that was an acceptable price.

    Cite please.
    Sorry, it is from memory. Note that I did not even venture to give the
    model number, since that would be from memory and possibly wrong.
    (His other success was the pandemic vaccine program)

    Trump had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the
    success of the pandemic vaccine program.
    I didn't say he had anything to do with it's success, merely that he
    deserves credit for having started it.
    You almost make me beleive that TDS is not restricted to MAGA (the
    sheeple of MAGA are surely the worst sufferers).
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Mar 3 17:28:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> writes:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:10:38 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
    wrote:


    I am not "moving the goalposts". I am stating the only goal that can >>>justify the tech.

    Please elaborate on why zero deaths is the only goal that can justify
    the self driving technology?

    There are many factors that play into fatalities (a percentage of which = >are
    the fault of the driver or an external factor such as another
    driver or even a deer, not the car).

    "Traffic fatality rates in the U.S. have generally declined
    over the long term, with a 95% reduction in deaths per 10,000
    registered vehicles since 1913, falling from 33 to 1.57 by 2023."

    Blah blah blah.

    Cogent reply noted.


    You are siding with the FAA analysts who, faced with a new Boeing
    plane model dropping out of the sky on its own initiative, used >>>statistics to show that only 10 more of these would happen before the >>>pilots figured things out -- and that that was an acceptable price.

    Cite please.

    Sorry, it is from memory. Note that I did not even venture to give the
    model number, since that would be from memory and possibly wrong.

    The issue to which you refer was an issue with latest version
    of the 737-8 (aka 737 MAX).

    Boeing needed to respond to the new Airbus A321neo (New Engine
    Option) which was eating their lunch on the high-end. Rather
    than a new design, they decided to update the 737 (first flight
    1967) with new engines. The original 737 was designed to
    allow use on short runways using external stairs (airport jetways were
    rare in the 1960s) with the turbofan engines available at
    the time (low-bypass, minimal diameter). The resulting design
    had minimal ground clearance to support the airstair requirement.

    The fuel efficiency requirements for the MAX8 required a modern
    high-bypass turbofan engine to get the required range and
    fuel efficiency to be competative with the A321neo. Unfortunately,
    the diameter of such engines was large enough that they would
    not fit under the wing. The options to Boeing were:
    1. Clean sheet design of a new single-aisle airliner
    2. New landing gear and associated structural reinforcements
    3. Move the engine forward on the pylon to create clearance

    Boeing management (leftovers from the McDonnell Douglas
    acquisition), being financially strong but engineering
    weak, chose option 3 as the most expediant option.

    Option (3) changed the center of gravity of the aircraft
    which changed the flight characteristics adversely. To
    ameliorate this, new flight control software (MCAS) was developed
    to monitor (and correct if necessary) the pitch of the
    aircraft (the new engines had a tendency to cause the pitch
    to go up in certain flight regimes, so the new software
    would automatically pitch down to correct).

    The flight manual was updated with instructions to the
    pilot on how to handle MCAS intervention during flight.

    The FAA certified this system (although at the time, most
    of the certification was done by Boeing and the FAA was
    rather hands-off, sadly).

    There were subsequently two 737 MAX-8 crashes caused by
    the MCAS system with loss of life. While the MCAS system
    was the primary cause, the lack of pilot training
    contributed to the two crashes.

    The aircraft was grounded until certified fixes to the
    flight control software could be fully tested, approved and
    documented.

    There were many failures on both Boeing's part as
    well as the FAA, starting with Boeing's top executives
    prioritizing profit ahead of safety.


    (His other success was the pandemic vaccine program)

    Trump had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the
    success of the pandemic vaccine program.

    I didn't say he had anything to do with it's success, merely that he
    deserves credit for having started it.

    Both Moderna and Pfiser had the basic vaccines in development,
    primarily funded by Europe.

    "The development of the Pfizer- BioNTech COVID vaccine began
    when BioNTech founder and CEO U\u011fur \u015eahin while at
    his home in Mainz on Friday 24 January 2020, was checking out
    his regular websites when he noted a report in the science
    section of Der Spiegel website about a novel respiratory
    illness that had affected approximately 50 people in Wuhan."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer%E2%80%93BioNTech_COVID-19_vaccine

    Trump is most noted for suggesting intraveneous bleach and using
    an anti-parasite drug called Ivermectin, which has no effect on
    Covid-19. To his credit, he did not veto congress funding the
    vaccine development.

    He did nominate RFKjr, which erases _all_ the good he might
    have accomplished in 2020/2021.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Woodward@robertaw@drizzle.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Mar 3 10:38:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <ISEpR.240915$UtT5.49666@fx02.iad>,
    scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote:

    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> writes:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:10:38 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) >wrote:



    (Snip!)


    You are siding with the FAA analysts who, faced with a new Boeing
    plane model dropping out of the sky on its own initiative, used >>>statistics to show that only 10 more of these would happen before the >>>pilots figured things out -- and that that was an acceptable price.

    Cite please.

    Sorry, it is from memory. Note that I did not even venture to give the >model number, since that would be from memory and possibly wrong.

    The issue to which you refer was an issue with latest version
    of the 737-8 (aka 737 MAX).


    Not necessarily. The earlier 737NG models encountered a weird problem
    with the actuators for the rudder that caused several crashes.

    Boeing needed to respond to the new Airbus A321neo (New Engine
    Option) which was eating their lunch on the high-end. Rather
    than a new design, they decided to update the 737 (first flight
    1967) with new engines. The original 737 was designed to
    allow use on short runways using external stairs (airport jetways were
    rare in the 1960s) with the turbofan engines available at
    the time (low-bypass, minimal diameter). The resulting design
    had minimal ground clearance to support the airstair requirement.

    The fuel efficiency requirements for the MAX8 required a modern
    high-bypass turbofan engine to get the required range and
    fuel efficiency to be competative with the A321neo. Unfortunately,
    the diameter of such engines was large enough that they would
    not fit under the wing. The options to Boeing were:
    1. Clean sheet design of a new single-aisle airliner
    2. New landing gear and associated structural reinforcements

    This would had been almost as big of job as a clean sheet design. The
    landing gears had to be attached further out on the wing and the
    resulting design changes would had involved moving several body
    bulkheads.

    3. Move the engine forward on the pylon to create clearance


    and up (the nose landing gear was lengthen as well).

    Boeing management (leftovers from the McDonnell Douglas
    acquisition), being financially strong but engineering
    weak, chose option 3 as the most expediant option.

    Option (3) changed the center of gravity of the aircraft
    which changed the flight characteristics adversely. To
    ameliorate this, new flight control software (MCAS) was developed
    to monitor (and correct if necessary) the pitch of the
    aircraft (the new engines had a tendency to cause the pitch
    to go up in certain flight regimes, so the new software
    would automatically pitch down to correct).

    The pitch up was an unexpected development and since 737MAX was marketed
    as having the exact same flight characteristics as the NG (thus avoiding retraining pilots), MCAS was developed to avoid explaining to the
    customers that the 737MAX didn't meet promises.
    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. i-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Titus G@noone@nowhere.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Mar 4 15:50:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 04/03/2026 03:40, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 3/2/2026 8:25 PM, Titus G wrote:
    On 01/03/2026 17:23, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky >>> dirty old man

    What is stopping you from achieving what appear to be simple but now
    years old objectives?
    (Self achieved without the doing good part.)

    What makes you think I haven't?

    Your claim that you _want_ to be cranky and dirty suggests you are still working on it. Time to upgrade to something like, Now I'm tired, angry
    and smelly? (Perhaps on alternate days?)
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Mar 4 08:33:07 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:28:08 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
    wrote:
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> writes:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:10:38 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) >>wrote:
    <snippo>
    <previous snips showing who is speaking with ">>>" and ">>>>" not
    restored>
    You are siding with the FAA analysts who, faced with a new Boeing
    plane model dropping out of the sky on its own initiative, used >>>>statistics to show that only 10 more of these would happen before the >>>>pilots figured things out -- and that that was an acceptable price.

    Cite please.

    Sorry, it is from memory. Note that I did not even venture to give the >>model number, since that would be from memory and possibly wrong.

    The issue to which you refer was an issue with latest version
    of the 737-8 (aka 737 MAX).

    Boeing needed to respond to the new Airbus A321neo (New Engine
    Option) which was eating their lunch on the high-end. Rather
    than a new design, they decided to update the 737 (first flight
    1967) with new engines. The original 737 was designed to
    allow use on short runways using external stairs (airport jetways were
    rare in the 1960s) with the turbofan engines available at
    the time (low-bypass, minimal diameter). The resulting design
    had minimal ground clearance to support the airstair requirement.

    The fuel efficiency requirements for the MAX8 required a modern
    high-bypass turbofan engine to get the required range and
    fuel efficiency to be competative with the A321neo. Unfortunately,
    the diameter of such engines was large enough that they would
    not fit under the wing. The options to Boeing were:
    1. Clean sheet design of a new single-aisle airliner
    2. New landing gear and associated structural reinforcements
    3. Move the engine forward on the pylon to create clearance

    Boeing management (leftovers from the McDonnell Douglas
    acquisition), being financially strong but engineering
    weak, chose option 3 as the most expediant option.

    Option (3) changed the center of gravity of the aircraft
    which changed the flight characteristics adversely. To
    ameliorate this, new flight control software (MCAS) was developed
    to monitor (and correct if necessary) the pitch of the
    aircraft (the new engines had a tendency to cause the pitch
    to go up in certain flight regimes, so the new software
    would automatically pitch down to correct).
    The system was not "new". It was a scaled-down version of a sysem
    developed for the military. Civilian-grade rather than military-grade.
    The flight manual was updated with instructions to the
    pilot on how to handle MCAS intervention during flight.

    The FAA certified this system (although at the time, most
    of the certification was done by Boeing and the FAA was
    rather hands-off, sadly).
    At the time, the relevant part of the FAA had been wholly captured by
    Boeing and did whatever Boeing wanted it to.
    This is why Trump had to intervene: the FAA was forbidden to by
    Boeing.
    There were subsequently two 737 MAX-8 crashes caused by
    the MCAS system with loss of life. While the MCAS system
    was the primary cause, the lack of pilot training
    contributed to the two crashes.
    No pilot training was supposed to be needed.
    And solutions like "grab an axe, sever this cable, and fly manually"
    are not really solutions at all.
    The actual problem was that one of the sensors was acting badly, and
    the system could neither ignore it on its own or be instructed to do
    so. IIRC.
    The aircraft was grounded until certified fixes to the
    flight control software could be fully tested, approved and
    documented.
    But, in the USA, only after Trump so directed.
    As I said, this is one of Trump's true achievements in his first term.
    There were many failures on both Boeing's part as
    well as the FAA, starting with Boeing's top executives
    prioritizing profit ahead of safety.
    That's what top executives are paid to do: maximize dividends for the stockholders under the direction of the Board.
    Are you sure you know how capitalism works?
    (His other success was the pandemic vaccine program)

    Trump had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the
    success of the pandemic vaccine program.

    I didn't say he had anything to do with it's success, merely that he >>deserves credit for having started it.

    Both Moderna and Pfiser had the basic vaccines in development,
    primarily funded by Europe.

    "The development of the Pfizer- BioNTech COVID vaccine began
    when BioNTech founder and CEO U\u011fur \u015eahin while at
    his home in Mainz on Friday 24 January 2020, was checking out
    his regular websites when he noted a report in the science
    section of Der Spiegel website about a novel respiratory
    illness that had affected approximately 50 people in Wuhan."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer%E2%80%93BioNTech_COVID-19_vaccine

    Trump is most noted for suggesting intraveneous bleach and using
    an anti-parasite drug called Ivermectin, which has no effect on
    Covid-19. To his credit, he did not veto congress funding the
    vaccine development.
    I never said anything else he did was commendable. Indeed, what I
    /have/ said elsewhere is that his failure to unite the country behind
    him in the struggle against COVID, preferring instead to attack each
    and every group that was not MAGA, resulted in his loss in 2020.
    Had he behaved as a competent political leader, he would have won
    handily. Not, perhaps, as handily as Tricky Dicky in 1972, but at
    least as handily as in 2024.
    An interesting article pointed out that we are in a war of attrition
    with Iran -- not attrition in manpower, but attrition is missiles and antimissile systems. The hope is that we will destroy /all/ their
    launchers before we run out.
    He did nominate RFKjr, which erases _all_ the good he might
    have accomplished in 2020/2021.
    It does not erase his support of very fast vaccine development.
    But, as I have said, he hasn't done /anything/ good in his second
    term. Heck, he hasn't even done anything Presidential.
    You'd think being President for four years would at least have
    suggested to him what the job is, but evidently not.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2