In other news...

[Hermit]

43 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

As if Haiti didn't have enough trouble, what wit their recent presidential assassination, comes this news:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-massive-earthquake-hits-haiti-thousands-feared-dead?%3Futm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dwtwitter

 

7.2 earthquake with a number of aftershocks.

 

 

Man, that poor country can't catch a break

[Ternaugh]

8 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

I really don't trust EVs.  I drive Loooong distances, often. I'd be happy with a 1930 Model A, and ear buds even today, rather than an EV.

 

Have you considered a hybrid?

[unclevlad]

1 hour ago, Tjack said:

     Weren’t there similar problems about getting gasoline and such during long trips at the start of the automobile trip for pleasure era?   Things eventually work themselves out.

 

I'm sure there were.  The problem is the timeline.  The goal, that will never be reached, is all-electric car sales by 2030.  

 

And some of the issues, like charging at an apartment, have no analogous case with gas.  The issue is simply time.  Filling your gas tank takes a few minutes;  a full charge on the EV takes MUCH longer.  For several years, I had, IIRC, about a 30-35 mile drive each way from my apartment to work.  Charging at the apartment would've been VERY problematic at best;  at the work site, it wouldn't exist, and probably wouldn't be installed.  

[Scott Ruggels]

2 hours ago, Ternaugh said:

 

Have you considered a hybrid?

I have actually. Expensive but useful though I would need something with 4WD and ground clearance as I am in a somewhat rural area now. 

[Ranxerox]

2 hours ago, unclevlad said:

 

I'm sure there were.  The problem is the timeline.  The goal, that will never be reached, is all-electric car sales by 2030.  

 

And some of the issues, like charging at an apartment, have no analogous case with gas.  The issue is simply time.  Filling your gas tank takes a few minutes;  a full charge on the EV takes MUCH longer.  For several years, I had, IIRC, about a 30-35 mile drive each way from my apartment to work.  Charging at the apartment would've been VERY problematic at best;  at the work site, it wouldn't exist, and probably wouldn't be installed.  

 

I don't know.  The goal that they are shooting for is 50% percent of sales.  My daughter has a Chevy Spark, and it works for her because she lives in an urban area and never has to drive more than eighty miles in a single day.  So the question is what percentage of drivers are like my daughter.  If the answer is 50% or more then the sales goal is doable.  Remember, two car families a very common, so unless both adults drive a lot on a daily basis they can have a vehicle strictly for short commutes and another vehicle for all longer trips.

 

You would need to do a deep dive into driving statistics to know if the goal is achievable and I am much too lazy to do so.  Hopefully someone in the Biden administration did crunch the number before the sales goal was announced.

[Pariah]

7 minutes ago, Ranxerox said:

 

I don't know.  The goal that they are shooting for is 50% percent of sales.  My daughter has a Chevy Spark, and it works for her because she lives in an urban area and never has to drive more than eighty miles in a single day.  So the question is what percentage of drivers are like my daughter.  If the answer is 50% or more then the sales goal is doable.  Remember, two car families a very common, so unless both adults drive a lot on a daily basis they can have a vehicle strictly for short commutes and another vehicle for all longer trips.

 

We are a two-car family. Lady P primarily drives a minivan, as it makes it easier for her to get the kids where they need to go. I mostly drive a 20-year-old sedan with no air conditioning that we spent $1,000 on 5 or 6 years ago. I can count the number of times I've driven it somewhere other than to work and back over the past year on one hand. I could certainly make an electric vehicle work, and would love to do so if I could find one that was affordable.

[Pariah]

There's now an evacuation order for one of the canyons east of Salt Lake City due to a fast moving fire. To complicate matters, it's the canyon through which Interstate 80 comes into the city. The interstate is down to one lane in each direction, which will not help with the evacuation.

 

Our air quality has been horrible this summer--we had the worst air quality in the world one day a couple of weeks ago, I read--due to half of Western North America being on fire. But we haven't had any big fires nearby until now. Not an encouraging development.

[Ranxerox]

41 minutes ago, Pariah said:

 

We are a two-car family. Lady P primarily drives a minivan, as it makes it easier for her to get the kids where they need to go. I mostly drive a 20-year-old sedan with no air conditioning that we spent $1,000 on 5 or 6 years ago. I can count the number of times I've driven it somewhere other than to work and back over the past year on one hand. I could certainly make an electric vehicle work, and would love to do so if I could find one that was affordable.

 

My daughter got her Chevy Spark lightly used for $12K.  Biden and the democrats will likely try to bring back the cash for clunkers program, in which case they might be willing to give you $2500 for your sedan.  So maybe you could get a car like my daughter's (which is actually fairly nice) for $9500 at some point in the future.  I don't know if that works for you, but it is probably about a good a deal as the Biden administration will be able to swing.

[unclevlad]

3 hours ago, Ranxerox said:

 

I don't know.  The goal that they are shooting for is 50% percent of sales.  My daughter has a Chevy Spark, and it works for her because she lives in an urban area and never has to drive more than eighty miles in a single day.  So the question is what percentage of drivers are like my daughter.  If the answer is 50% or more then the sales goal is doable.  Remember, two car families a very common, so unless both adults drive a lot on a daily basis they can have a vehicle strictly for short commutes and another vehicle for all longer trips.

 

You would need to do a deep dive into driving statistics to know if the goal is achievable and I am much too lazy to do so.  Hopefully someone in the Biden administration did crunch the number before the sales goal was announced.

 

Thought I saw different, but it's not a big deal.  Let's say 50%.  Statista says an average of 17 million light vehicles were sold a year between 2015-2018.  OK.  A lot of these may be fleet vehicles.  Let's say that 20% of them are EVs for personal/household use.  That's still around 10 million of em....it won't be 3 million suddenly in 2030 alone.  So the infrastructure development has to take place VERY quickly.

 

I figure *no one* expects to reach those numbers.  They're put out for motivational and political reasons;  the aim is to *push* auto makers and buyers, and you don't do that with easily achievable goals.

 

Pariah brings up 2 points.  A big aspect is affordability, to be sure.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's a big push for rebates and/or tax breaks.  The other aspect is more subtle.  The early adoptees will slant to those who can make the switch easiest.  But that means they' re probably far below average annual mileage...so the emissions reductions won't be all that great.  So if the goal is to replace 50% of miles driven, in new cards, by EVs...THAT seems far harder than 50% of new car sales.

[tkdguy]

Game designer and creator of Runequest Steve Perrin has passed away.

[Scott Ruggels]

26 minutes ago, tkdguy said:

Game designer and creator of Runequest Steve Perrin has passed away.

I last saw him at the 40th anniversary of Champions,  July 3rd.  I am bummed.

[Cygnia]

‘People think you’re an idiot’: death metal Irish baron rewilds his estate

[Duke Bushido]

16 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

I have actually. Expensive but useful though I would need something with 4WD and ground clearance as I am in a somewhat rural area now. 

 

 

If I remember correctly, there is (or was) Toyota's RAV 4 as a hybrid.  That might fight the bill.

 

I have hopes for a hybrid truck myself-- something I can still use as a one-ton truck but burn way less fuel.  No one seems interested in creating anything like that though, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.    I mean, just copy / paste the design of the locomotives we've been stamping out for just how many years now?

 

 

[Ternaugh]

19 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

If I remember correctly, there is (or was) Toyota's RAV 4 as a hybrid.  That might fight the bill.

 

I have hopes for a hybrid truck myself-- something I can still use as a one-ton truck but burn way less fuel.  No one seems interested in creating anything like that though, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.    I mean, just copy / paste the design of the locomotives we've been stamping out for just how many years now?

 

 

 

RAV 4 hybrid lists AWD on its page. https://www.toyota.com/rav4hybrid/2021/

[death tribble]

Gerd Muller German footballer dies aged 75

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58222495

[Scott Ruggels]

1 hour ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

If I remember correctly, there is (or was) Toyota's RAV 4 as a hybrid.  That might fight the bill.

 

I have hopes for a hybrid truck myself-- something I can still use as a one-ton truck but burn way less fuel.  No one seems interested in creating anything like that though, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.    I mean, just copy / paste the design of the locomotives we've been stamping out for just how many years now?

 

 

About 100 and change years.  Diesel electric locomotives are remarkably efficient and economical, and get better over time (even though Local rail service is still using former  Southern Pacific locomotives like GP-9's GP-35s, and SD-45s for freight service. Only the long routes get the large new ones.

As to  what I need. A full size Pickup wont fit in my driveway. More looking into something Subaru Forrester, or Nissan pathfinder type thing. something I can actually open the door in my car port and get out

[unclevlad]

And so it begins....

 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/16/us/lake-mead-colorado-river-water-shortage/index.html

 

 

 

 

[assault]

Western Australia will install electric vehicle (EV) stations at 45 new locations, creating a fast charging network spanning more than 3,000kms.

[wcw43921]

Wonder how long before this shows up on Ebay at 2X retail?

[archer]

I thought for a moment the "wonder how long it will take to show up on Ebay" was talking about those EV charging stations which had originally been placed along those lonely stretches of road in Western Australia.

[BNakagawa]

On 8/14/2021 at 8:44 PM, tkdguy said:

Game designer and creator of Runequest Steve Perrin has passed away.

What really stings is that DunDraCon 44 was the last time I shared a game table with him. Had it happened, DDC 45 would have marked the 40th anniversary of Champions. (sort of) and there had been talk of trying to arrange a bunch of commemorative games and events to mark the occasion. Steve was in charge of DunDraCon's seminar scheduling and I'm sure something would have been arranged with hopefully a reunion of as many of the original Heroes as could be managed, but well, Coronavirus happened, so none of these plans panned out. DDC 45 was scheduled to be the first con back on the peninsula after a long stretch of events in Oakland and then San Ramon and it was going to be held at a hotel with much more capacity for attendees and events, too.

 

But what really bums me out as a Champions player is that Steve ran what was kind of an old timers game with a very limited invite list and anyone from the OG hero team the Guardians always had an invite. Whenever they were available, Dove and IceStar made fairly regular appearances and once in a while we got Marksman too. The players for Force and Gargoyle had passed away some time ago and the players for Rose and Mercenary were no longer in California. So DDC 45 marked the best opportunity to gather what remained the majority of the first hero team in Champions history and due to the pandemic, it didn't happen and now it probably never will.

 

Another thing I learned just recently - in the summer of 2019, Steve had a story published in Joker Moon, the latest collection of short stories set in the Wild Cards universe. The last convention we were at was in the spring of 2019, and while it hadn't hit the shelves yet, he had to have known that it was accepted and probably going through final edits prior to publication. He never mentioned it to us. He ran the seminars, he ran several Champions games. He was the most humble Secret Master of Gaming I ever knew.

 

about 30 years ago, I had just graduated from UCSC. I had played at Steve's table on a small handful of occasions, as he always welcomed visitors. He could run groups of up to a dozen without flinching. He was working as a technical writer and game designer at a computer game company at that time and when an opening in the art department came up, he got me an interview there and changed my life. I can't believe he's gone.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Sean Lock, British comedian, died from cancer. 😢

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58254859

[Cygnia]

...I can't even begin to imagine this...

 

Remote hiking area where Northern California family was found dead treated as a hazmat site

[Cygnia]

Sonny Chiba, Martial Arts Legend and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor, Dies at 82 of COVID Complications

[death tribble]

May he rest in peace