I think part of the illusion of success with Threads was Meta reporting sign-ups as new users when in reality many Instagram users were just reserving their username and never meaningfully interacting with Threads. Never underestimate people's desire for clout and acquiring scarce items (remember NFTs?). Threads does not have the valuable network effect that Twitter does. The Instagram network is not conducive to text-based media IMO (vanity seekers vs. niche information seekers w/Twitter).
RE: Boring topics
I recently had soil from my lawn analyzed. Now I am deep in the weeds (pun totally intended) of learning the complex ecosystem of topsoil and how to achieve a healthy balance of acidity, nutrients, organic matter, and capacity to convert materials to nutrients. It is absolutely fascinating to me!
They are not just for farmers anymore! A $30 test will probably save me hundreds down the road in needless fertilizers. Turns out I have really good soil once I bring down the PH by amending with elemental sulfur. More acidity, unlocks more nutrients in clay soil like I have.
”if you live somewhere with little sun and low electricity costs (and an already clean grid, like in Quebec and Ontario), then solar makes no sense at all”
I’d like to see them as complementary. The CO2 emissions from solar cell manufacturing is recouperated within months, and as long you are grid connected to any production plant that causes emissions you are offsetting those. Nuclear can’t be regulated fast enough for grid stability, so if you aren’t blessed with hydro there will be some emissions from some plant somewhere.
I live in Sweden at a latitude eq to Fairbanks, Alaska and was part of commissioning a 36 kW roof solar project back in 2018, and even with low Swedish energy prices we have gotten a sound return in these 5 years. We are also situated within a few miles from Swedens largest hydroelectric plant. Conditions may be different in Canada, but here it made sense and continue to do so. We are however beginning to see the effects of increasing solar and wind production, with sometimes negative electricity prices early summer when spring flood forces hydro plants to produce at the same time as wind and solar does. Hydroelectric pump and grid tie battery storage projects are under way to tap into that arbitrage. The market will find a way to accommodate emissions free energy production one way or the other.
I am nevertheless a big fan of nuclear. Sweden has decomissioned half of its nuclear reactors the last two decades, the majority of them due to stupid political decisions. The effects have been obvious since the last decommissioning in 2020 with high volatility in pricing.
These aren't the numbers I've seen. The energy payback on solar panels can be years, especially at norther lattitudes like in Germany or Sweden. You can look up the extremely hot furnaces powered by natural gas used to melt and purify the polysilicon used to makethe panels, they are very energy intensive. Then there's the materials used around the panels (steel, concrete for large scale farms).
The energy packback on building a nuclear power plant is around 6 weeks.
"Nuclear can’t be regulated fast enough for grid stability, so if you aren’t blessed with hydro there will be some emissions from some plant somewhere."
I don't understand this, but I don't think it's correct. Nuclear tends to be used as baseload so is rarely needs to load follow, but it's a myth that it can't, as it has been load following in France for decades. It's just not the ideal way to use most nuclear power plants because in most places they don't have the majority of the grid nuclear, so it's better to load follow with natural gas or hydro.
Most places don't have large hydro reservoirs like Quebec and Scandinavia. Places that do are lucky to have more flexibility, but lots of other places have run of the river hydro.
Solar is great, but the idea places where it should go first are not necessarily where panels are being deployed these days, which is wasteful. And the ideal amount to have on a grid is probably in the 20-30% range, not the 80%+ range that some would like to see.
I highly recommend the Decouple Podcast, they have interviews with all kinds of energy experts (wind power experts from Denmark or Taiwan, nuclear engineers, grid operators, researchers, etc):
Regarding Midjourney: Is there a way to downplay the attractiveness of the AI generated persons? Or is this an inherent limitation from all the training data on model photography? Impressed as I am of the output, most images you see seem to be of the 99th percentile of 21-25 year olds on an attractiveness scale.
You absolutely can, even though the generative model is tuned for pleasing aesthetics generally, so that applies to landscapes and people. But you can fine tune what they call the "stylize" level to turn that to zero and you can prompt for all kinds of people.
What you see here is what I happened to want to create for those series at the time, but you are not constrained much and whatever you prefer, you can probably make (especially since you can use photo prompts, not just text prompts).
What you see more generally is not that surprising considering evolutionary psychology. We have evolved brains, and they are by definition attracted to attractive people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Great edition Liberty.
RE: Threads
I think part of the illusion of success with Threads was Meta reporting sign-ups as new users when in reality many Instagram users were just reserving their username and never meaningfully interacting with Threads. Never underestimate people's desire for clout and acquiring scarce items (remember NFTs?). Threads does not have the valuable network effect that Twitter does. The Instagram network is not conducive to text-based media IMO (vanity seekers vs. niche information seekers w/Twitter).
RE: Boring topics
I recently had soil from my lawn analyzed. Now I am deep in the weeds (pun totally intended) of learning the complex ecosystem of topsoil and how to achieve a healthy balance of acidity, nutrients, organic matter, and capacity to convert materials to nutrients. It is absolutely fascinating to me!
Good points, Jake!
Soil analysis, I had never even thought of that one (outside of doing science, I mean -- but at home?).
They are not just for farmers anymore! A $30 test will probably save me hundreds down the road in needless fertilizers. Turns out I have really good soil once I bring down the PH by amending with elemental sulfur. More acidity, unlocks more nutrients in clay soil like I have.
Very cool -- precision always beats wild guesses and randomly trying things
This is an excellent introduction to the topic of soil for lawn and gardens if you’re curious.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLcczJwR8s4AFvOrKccJhH_X3EeeBDxrZ
A top-notch edition. Had not heard about the new "maps" project until now!
Liquid rock does seem like a pretty ridiculous invention. There we go again, not marveling enough at the genius creations all around us 🙄.
Thank you Tiko! 💚 🥃
Loved every part of this edition Liberty - thank you!
Thank you for reading and for the kind words, Alex, I really appreciate the feedback!
I'm going on vacation soon, but at some point after that we should do a call, it's been too long! 💚 🥃
Enjoy the vacation! I'll be here when you get back :)
”if you live somewhere with little sun and low electricity costs (and an already clean grid, like in Quebec and Ontario), then solar makes no sense at all”
I’d like to see them as complementary. The CO2 emissions from solar cell manufacturing is recouperated within months, and as long you are grid connected to any production plant that causes emissions you are offsetting those. Nuclear can’t be regulated fast enough for grid stability, so if you aren’t blessed with hydro there will be some emissions from some plant somewhere.
I live in Sweden at a latitude eq to Fairbanks, Alaska and was part of commissioning a 36 kW roof solar project back in 2018, and even with low Swedish energy prices we have gotten a sound return in these 5 years. We are also situated within a few miles from Swedens largest hydroelectric plant. Conditions may be different in Canada, but here it made sense and continue to do so. We are however beginning to see the effects of increasing solar and wind production, with sometimes negative electricity prices early summer when spring flood forces hydro plants to produce at the same time as wind and solar does. Hydroelectric pump and grid tie battery storage projects are under way to tap into that arbitrage. The market will find a way to accommodate emissions free energy production one way or the other.
I am nevertheless a big fan of nuclear. Sweden has decomissioned half of its nuclear reactors the last two decades, the majority of them due to stupid political decisions. The effects have been obvious since the last decommissioning in 2020 with high volatility in pricing.
Hi Martin,
These aren't the numbers I've seen. The energy payback on solar panels can be years, especially at norther lattitudes like in Germany or Sweden. You can look up the extremely hot furnaces powered by natural gas used to melt and purify the polysilicon used to makethe panels, they are very energy intensive. Then there's the materials used around the panels (steel, concrete for large scale farms).
The energy packback on building a nuclear power plant is around 6 weeks.
"Nuclear can’t be regulated fast enough for grid stability, so if you aren’t blessed with hydro there will be some emissions from some plant somewhere."
I don't understand this, but I don't think it's correct. Nuclear tends to be used as baseload so is rarely needs to load follow, but it's a myth that it can't, as it has been load following in France for decades. It's just not the ideal way to use most nuclear power plants because in most places they don't have the majority of the grid nuclear, so it's better to load follow with natural gas or hydro.
Most places don't have large hydro reservoirs like Quebec and Scandinavia. Places that do are lucky to have more flexibility, but lots of other places have run of the river hydro.
Solar is great, but the idea places where it should go first are not necessarily where panels are being deployed these days, which is wasteful. And the ideal amount to have on a grid is probably in the 20-30% range, not the 80%+ range that some would like to see.
I highly recommend the Decouple Podcast, they have interviews with all kinds of energy experts (wind power experts from Denmark or Taiwan, nuclear engineers, grid operators, researchers, etc):
https://www.decouplemedia.org/
Speaking of Sweden, I just saw this: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-09/sweden-needs-to-treble-nuclear-power-as-electricity-demand-soars
Regarding Midjourney: Is there a way to downplay the attractiveness of the AI generated persons? Or is this an inherent limitation from all the training data on model photography? Impressed as I am of the output, most images you see seem to be of the 99th percentile of 21-25 year olds on an attractiveness scale.
You absolutely can, even though the generative model is tuned for pleasing aesthetics generally, so that applies to landscapes and people. But you can fine tune what they call the "stylize" level to turn that to zero and you can prompt for all kinds of people.
What you see here is what I happened to want to create for those series at the time, but you are not constrained much and whatever you prefer, you can probably make (especially since you can use photo prompts, not just text prompts).
What you see more generally is not that surprising considering evolutionary psychology. We have evolved brains, and they are by definition attracted to attractive people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
marques brownlee is awesome and that video in particular was excellent!
Yes, he's OG! He was so young when he started YouTube, check out his first videos!
Are you on Threads as a matter of interest?
Great piece btw
I am. My account is @liberty_rpf over there:
https://www.threads.net/@liberty_rpf