Hey now, if a fellow freedom-haver from east of Colorado asks where I’m from, I just say north of Seattle, because they both do not care and also do not know anything about my state. If I say I’m from the “South Vancouver Trader Joe’s unincorporated district”, there is a better chance of a Canadian knowing where I am from than even someone from Seattle…

The people pushing AI don’t care if AI works or not. They will keep making money while the consumers and workers suffer.

100% - I started writing a second paragraph about John Deere’s fuckery, but deleted it. You are spot on.

Manufacturers try really hard to stop their proprietary software from getting out into the world, because when it does this is exactly what happens.

Case in point: I have a $35 phone app that lets me change software configurations on my BMW, and it is great. Can’t change anything related to engine, aftertreatment, or safety though…which is a good thing.

Propane is way less energy dense per volume than diesel, so it isn’t feasible for long-haul trucking. CNG/LNG is more energy dense than propane, but still nowhere near that of diesel fuel, which is why you see it in busses and garbage trucks. I know a few massive fleets (UPS comes to mind) that use CNG for some of their local routes, but that is probably more for the “green” optics than anything else.

Wer früher stirbt ist länger tod (english title: Grave Decisions) is an absolutely incredible movie. It won a ton of awards, but is relatively unknown in the US.

Wiki summary. “The film is about an 11-year-old Bavarian boy (Sebastian Schneider) who feels responsible for his mother’s death, who died during his birth, and naively attempts multiple ways to reach immortality (procreation, reincarnation, sanctification, rockstardom) to prevent his tenure in hell.”

While this description may sound somewhat dark and serious, it is a light-hearted, inspiring movie with great music, visuals, and proper Bayrisch dialect (I have to use German subtitles to understand any of it).

Side note - if any EU folks here can help a brother out with getting an electronic copy with proper English subtitles, I would be very grateful. I’ve been wanting to show it to all my friends, but only have a German-subtitled version.