Non Forbes

Pick a pseudonym if posting without logging in

Submitted by brad on Sat, 2022-10-15 09:09

I have changed the site so that the default name for anonymous posters on comments (Anonymous) is now blocked. Users may still post without authenticating, but it is requested they pick a pseudonym so readers can see when the same person is posting. Otherwise threads become very difficult to read. You can change your pseudonym when you want if desired. If you want your own protected name, contact me for a login.

Topic:

Announcements

Could AI art generators involve copyright violation?

Submitted by brad on Mon, 2022-09-19 11:29

Martin Bogomolni uses Stable Diffiusion to quickly make drawings of Star Trek Characters akin to Seuss. If he did this commercially, could it be a copyright infringement?

Oh, the cases you'll know!

Topic:

Futurism

Intellectual Property

Cruise expands to Phoenix and Austin

Submitted by brad on Mon, 2022-09-12 14:17

Cruise announced today it would expand robotaxi operations to Phoenix and Austin and was able to do so very easily. They plan to have $1B in revenue by 2025 and even sell cars to consumers by then.

More details at Cruise expands to Phoenix and Austin

Topic:

Robocars

Maybe the USA should get a king?

Submitted by brad on Sat, 2022-09-10 14:13

The USA threw off its king almost 250 years ago, and hereditary monarchy is of course a silly idea, and the remnant of an evil idea.

Yet the King that the UK, Canada and various other countries have is not without value. But there can be much more value that what you may be thinking of, namely saving the actual head of government from ceremonial work.

Topic:

Governance

New Democracy

The design of the Nimbus mini-EV and why it's different from other cars

Submitted by brad on Sat, 2022-08-27 18:10

Nimbus mini-car has 3 wheels and fits in the space of a motorcycle, with most of the advantages of a car

Topic:

Going Green

Timeline of lost luggage at Heathrow

Submitted by brad on Tue, 2022-07-12 10:33

For my story of this summer's airport chaos, I describe a nightmare at Heathrow with luggage lost by Lufthansa. The main story on Forbes.com is about what airlines could be doing better when overloaded, but this sudebar will outline a timeline of all the things going wrong.

Topic:

Air Travel

Intentional communities in European towns in decline

Submitted by brad on Wed, 2022-06-08 10:00

You may have seen news coverage of various towns (mostly in Italy) that are selling houses for one Euro. There are even web sites to search for them.

This happens because many small towns face migration of their population to big cities. As population drops, houses get abandoned. These can become a blight on the city, possibly worsening its decline. To stop this, the cities seize the houses and give them away -- with some big catches.

Topic:

Futurism

Breaking Banks/Futurist Podcast on Keens and Stewards, Exploiting brain bugs and more

Submitted by brad on Sat, 2022-05-28 10:46

I recently did an episode of the Breaking Banks/Futurist Podcast. We go over many topics, and I hope you will like it all, but in particular I delve into two topics I have yet to complete my writings on. The first is my model of the great tribal war between the Keens (future-loving, more secular, liberal) and the Stewards (Past defending, less secular) which the Keens will win but are being dicks about.

Topic:

Brad's Rant

Futurism

I wish internet providers sold backup service

Submitted by brad on Tue, 2022-04-19 13:49

Comcast has been having a lot of outages this month. Since, like many, internet is vital to work and many things in the home, I would like to be able to have two internet providers, and fail over to the 2nd one when the first is out. I don't want to just have to pay double to have this -- I want to pay the backup provider much less because I am almost never using them. I want to pay them if I use them a lot, and better still I want my 1st provider to pay them if the 1st provider goes out.

Topic:

Internet