[drewprops]

Save it. We have plenty else to talk about that doesn't put you in any awkward situations.

Like the war of tweets between Trump and Musk.

...

[Matsu]

Originally Posted by kscherer I think some people think Musk is a buffoon who has no idea what he's doing, but the success of SpaceX and Tesla tell me he knows a lot more than people may think. He's very intelligent (he taught himself orbital mechanics, after all), and this entire show may be orchestrated for an as-yet unseen purpose.

Market manipulation, and not the first time he's been guilty of that.

[709]

Originally Posted by kscherer (he taught himself orbital mechanics, after all)

I too have spent time in Kerbal Space Program.

[709]

Originally Posted by drewprops Like the war of tweets between Trump and Musk.

When an unstoppable ego meets an immovable man-child.

[chucker]

I don't see how this is any more complicated than the board calling Elon for his bluff. (Why? Because otherwise, stockholders could sue.)

[turtle]

Latest I read was Twitter is concerned Musk's oil was data to create a competing platform. Wouldn't that be an interesting twist to this.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by turtle Latest I read was Twitter is concerned Musk's oil was data to create a competing platform. Wouldn't that be an interesting twist to this.

That may be what he's trying to do, but… all the money in the world can't launch a competing social network.

(Remember Google Buzz?

Probably not — because it was that unsuccessful.)

[turtle]

Heh, look at Truth Social (or whatever it is called) in the more recent. I'm sure it is still going, but even with lots of loyal followers that joined day one, I'm guessing it gets used as much as Buzz did (which I do not remember).

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by turtle Latest I read was Twitter is concerned Musk's oil was data to create a competing platform. Wouldn't that be an interesting twist to this.

Twitter would be happy for him to take his stans and crypto dorks to another platform.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by turtle Latest I read was Twitter is concerned Musk's oil was data to create a competing platform. Wouldn't that be an interesting twist to this.

Musk, because being pathetic as usual? Check.

Never understood why people liked the guy.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by turtle Latest I read was Twitter is concerned Musk's oil was data to create a competing platform. Wouldn't that be an interesting twist to this.

There are already alternatives to Twitter. None have been as successful in drawing as many professional users, but Yahoo was once the search engine of choice as well.

Twitter is a usability nightmare. Half the time I see someone replying to a tweet and can't click to find out what the original tweet was. It's great for journalists to get real time news reactions, which is why politicos spend so much time there.

But it's never going to be a place for the majority of people. Too mean and toxic, and that's baked into the platform.

Originally Posted by PB PM Musk, because being pathetic as usual? Check. Never understood why people liked the guy.

Because he's a genuine genius, in the mold of Steve Jobs. Yes, he's made much off government subsidies and programs. But his work at Tesla and SpaceX is truly groundbreaking. He can look at a situation and correctly analyze the key problem, even if he can't always visualize the correct solution. [Hyperloop, The Boring Company]

Like Jobs, Trump, Bezos and others, his fervent pursuits often make him a nightmare of a boss. But he understands how to get things done. It's not simply about having money. The Biden and Pelosi families, for example, exemplify the Washington insider circus who have amassed huge fortunes giving them access to hundreds of millions of dollars in capital funding, and they don't seem to be able to do anything substantial with it other than consumption for personal benefit.

Musk went into a highly regulated, unionized and well-connected industry and revolutionized it. That's not easy, and everyday I see more and more Teslas on Toronto roads. Their showcase store at Sherway Gardens continually tells me that their solar roof isn't yet available here.

And whatever Tin Pot Trudeau is saying about climate change this week, the truth is that we won't see a true next-generation electric grid in Canada for 50 years, and even then it's going to have to be championed by thinkers and doers like Musk, not third-rate managerial types like Tin Pot.

[PB PM]

I don’t dislike Musk for his politics or business, I just don’t care about him. There is nothing special about anything he’s done, IMO.

[drewprops]

He pulled off Tesla and Space X, which I feel are incredible accomplishments. As a person, he's a troll.


...

[chucker]

Originally Posted by PB PM I don’t dislike Musk for his politics or business, I just don’t care about him. There is nothing special about anything he’s done, IMO.

It’s hard to say how much can be attributed to him, but Tesla pulled off defying the prevailing wisdom in the auto industry, and making a BEV that doesn’t suck, forcing basically the entire competition to rapidly change their roadmap.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by drewprops He pulled off Tesla and Space X, which I feel are incredible accomplishments. As a person, he's a troll. ...

SpaceX. Come on, it's not like he invented the rocket or something, it's just another rocket company. I guess it's special because it has a touch screen interface for the crew?

Originally Posted by chucker It’s hard to say how much can be attributed to him, but Tesla pulled off defying the prevailing wisdom in the auto industry, and making a BEV that doesn’t suck, forcing basically the entire competition to rapidly change their roadmap.

Meh, just another auto company. The only real thing going for them is that they found a way to get around state laws about direct sales to customers (Musks deep pockets likely have something to do with this). Other than that, meh. Power plant change sure, but special, I don't really think so. It's not like he invented the BEV, he just dumped tons of money into the hands of smart people and said make something that will make me more money.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by PB PM It's not like he invented the BEV, he just dumped tons of money into the hands of smart people and said make something that will make me more money.

Invent it, no. Prove that it's ready for the mass market at a time when competitors were poo-pooing the idea as impractical? Yeah, kind of.

How much of that was on him personally vs. the company, I'm not sure. Even with Tesla, there's kind of a bad taste to it — he retroactively declared himself "founder".

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by PB PM SpaceX. Come on, it's not like he invented the rocket or something, it's just another rocket company. I guess it's special because it has a touch screen interface for the crew?

Um, what? Was landing and reusing rockets a regular thing before SpaceX first did it in 2015?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Frank777 Um, what? Was landing and reusing rockets a regular thing before SpaceX first did it in 2015?

It wasn't.

I guess the question is whether NASA would've eventually developed it if it hadn't been budget-starved. (But then the bigger philosophical question is whether this sort of thing should be publicly owned or privatized.)

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by Frank777 Um, what? Was landing and reusing rockets a regular thing before SpaceX first did it in 2015?

It was not. Although some will claim that recovering the Shuttle and its SRB's was exactly that. It wasn't. The SRB's splashed down in the ocean, suffered major damage from impact and salt water penetration, and had to be completely rebuilt prior to each launch. Meanwhile, the cargo pod of that system glided back to Earth and landed on a runway before requiring a major overhaul prior to the next launch. And, while a Space Shuttle launch cost ~$1.2 billion, a Falcon 9 launch costs ~$50million.

SpaceX also got U.S. dependency on Russian rockets canceled — and just in time, too — when NASA was demonstrating an inability to do so.

Has SpaceX done anything? Uh, yeah!

Originally Posted by chucker I guess the question is whether NASA would've eventually developed it if it hadn't been budget-starved. (But then the bigger philosophical question is whether this sort of thing should be publicly owned or privatized.)

If it hadn't been for Space X, as of today the U.S. would have absolutely no manned space program at all (as had been the case for a decade)! And with current sanctions on Russia, the U.S. would be looking to China to get its astronauts off the ground. I'll take privately owned any day, since publicly owned got its collective ass kicked!

[Frank777]

NASA built a manned shuttle that blew up in front of my eyes and scarred my teenage years.

The shuttle program was still using 5.25" floppy drives in the early 2000s.
The Bondi Blue iMac, which eschewed the use of the 3.5" disc drive debuted in 1998.


I vote for privately-run with public oversight and accountability.

[Ryan]

Whether or not he's a great engineer has zip to do with his ability to run a social network. Twitter's problems are not about engineering, they're a matter of human nature.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by Ryan Whether or not he's a great engineer has zip to do with his ability to run a social network. Twitter's problems are not about engineering, they're a matter of human nature.

The only thing Musk seems good at is running his mouth. I doubt he could run a mile without someone holding his hand, let alone a social network.

[turtle]

... and the deal is back on again. Apparently Musk doesn't want to go to trial. At least that is what all the major finical news outfits are reporting.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by Ryan Twitter's problems are not about engineering, they're a matter of human nature.

I disagree with this. Twitter is often a UI nightmare.

A lot of times I read a response and can't for the life of me find out what the original Tweet said.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Frank777 Twitter is often a UI nightmare. A lot of times I read a response and can't for the life of me find out what the original Tweet said.

Honestly, this is a huge part of why I can't get into Twitter. I just get lost whenever I try to follow things. I'm sure that's by design, but it's frustrating to me. Guess I'm not ADHD enough to be the target audience.

[Ryan]

It's not by design. The site legitimately is just buggy.

[drewprops]

I am Spartacus.


...

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by turtle ... and the deal is back on again. Apparently Musk doesn't want to go to trial. At least that is what all the major finical news outfits are reporting.

It's called he knows he'll lose, so he has to go through with it.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by Ryan It's not by design. The site legitimately is just buggy.

Makes sense. Hitting the Tweet header to find the original Tweet does work much of the time for me.


'Legitimately buggy' makes you wonder why none of the alternatives so far have gotten traction. I think Parler so far is the leading alternative. I reserved a handle on Gettr just in case it became worth the time. Have no interest at all in Truth Social.

But I would like to see Twitter succeed. I want a place where both sides can talk (or even yell) at each other. As many are aware, I don't mind mixing it up online over politics or religion or other worldview discussions. I don't even mind people getting worked up as long as things don't spill into threats or violence.

[drewprops]

And it's done.

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