Interesting Links for 07-10-2016

[andrewducker]

Startup makes residential solar panels twice as efficient (tags: solarpower ) If you haven't played One Finger Death Punch then you really should (tags: games review ) 23 Photos That Will Make Anyone Who Works In IT Satisfied Or, frankly, anyone who likes tidiness
(tags: Technology viaSwampers ) Legally, can Holyrood "block" Brexit? (tags: uk

Comments

23 Photos That Will Make Anyone Who Works In IT Satisfi

[cartesiandaemon]

Although now I'm thinking "if they have to change one of those wires, which of those set-ups will be equally organised afterwards and which won't"?

RE: 23 Photos That Will Make Anyone Who Works In IT Satisfi

[skington]

Most of them had fairly obvious labels on the end (hopefully both ends), so at the very least they know what they've unplugged when they unplug something. But yes, it a cable in the middle of one of those bundles actually physically breaks they could be in trouble.

You can register your child’s name in any language prov

[cartesiandaemon]

I don't really understand the phrasing of the original instruction.

I *think* it means, "you can use a name in any language, as long as it's in unicode". Which is probably sensible. I would rather allow everything and only prevent stuff if it seems to be a problem. (Well, unless there's an easy way of allowing "stuff that might plausibly ever be written" and not "other screwy stuff")

I do doubt that you can really make the unicode version of the name stick as distinct from "how it looks when printed out".

[gonzo21]

This is a concerning statement in the solar panel story though:

"For residential systems, solar panels accounted for less than 20% of total installation costs in the United States in 2015. Even if the solar panels were free, this would not always offset the system's cost. Currently, most of the margin earned by solar energy developers comes from subsidies. Yet these subsidies are declining."

Even if the panels were free, it would not offset the system cost? So even with how expensive electricity is, solar still isn't cheaper? Which, I guess means the technology still has a very long way to go until it's competitive?

[andrewducker]

Installation costs are very expensive for a lot of home installations.

Industrial installations are a while other ballgame.

[gonzo21]

Right, so that's talking about the cost of having a couple of guys in a van come out and clamber about on your roof for a couple of days installing half a dozen panels.

[danieldwilliam]

Exactly - installing a solar panel as a retrofit on an existing roof which wasn't designed for it requires a couple of guys in a van with scaffolding larking about on your roof with drills and hammers. Installing them as part of a new build housing project is a different matter. A completely different proposition is having them installed on the ground in flat deserts.

[bart_calendar]

Ok. I'm generally super against prosecuting teens for sending pictures of themselves, but in this case the family has left the prosecutor no choice but to do so and are being super assholes

[bart_calendar]

Oh, and her family saying she didn't violate the law is total bullshit.

The second you take a picture - even if you don't transmit it - that has an underage nipple in it you have violated the law. And you can't tell me this girl got a perfect picture of her hair covering her nipples on the first try.

Also if the boyshorts shot showed any cameltoe it's also a violation and I'm betting that it probably did.

[naath]

Ah, sexist nipple rules. I bet BOYS can put photos of their nekkid chests anywhere they like no problemo...

Camel toe in tight shorts is a Thing That Happens. People go outside looking like that. They don't get arrested for public indecency. How is that porn???

[bart_calendar]

nobody except an old law that nobody wants to enforce in this situation says it's porn.

[danieldwilliam]

I've been to Port Augusta where the Sundrop Farm is. Arid doesn't begin to cover it.

I've been intrigued by their technology for a while. If I recall correctly the original idea was to use the damp cardboard as the only means of extracting fresh water from seawater and the de-salination plant is new.

My observation of that part of the world having trekked up and down the road through Port Augusta more times than I care to remember is that there is plenty of space and sunshine and if you could find a way to grow anything there's lots of room. There's maybe a thousand kilometers of coast which backs on to desert west of Port Augusta where farming is difficult. I can't get my head around the economics of this type of farm out there. It might be that the best option is just to stick up solar panels and power a de-sal plant in Adelaide.

But it's nice that they've started production.

[pennski]

I'm pretty sure that this is the company a colleague of mine has just left to go and join. She is very excited about it, as you can imagine.

[danieldwilliam]

That is pretty cool. The very best of luck to her.

Do you know what she's doing?

And is she going to be based out near Port Augusta?

[pennski]

She will be organising the Financial processes but I have no idea where she will be based.