rgmerk

@[email protected]
2 Followers
222 Following
92 Posts
NameRobert Merkel
BioUsed to teach software engineering, now do it.
Show threadrgmerkNov 18, 2022
@drvolts @TheOtherJH some of them run to routes, but there’s also a lot more flexibility than government-run bus services. Wikipedia has a good article on the topic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_vans_in_the_New_York_metropolitan_area
Dollar vans in the New York metropolitan area - Wikipedia

Show threadrgmerkNov 17, 2022
@Transportist @drvolts also agricultural machinery and small boats. In all cases bio/synfuels likely the most viable option.
rgmerkNov 17, 2022
david robertsNov 17, 2022

Can I tell you a fun story? It's a little braggy, but it's also about the power of journalism, so, indulge me.

In his latest (sadly subscriber-only) newsletter, @[email protected] writes about @[email protected], the new system of satellites meant to track GHGs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/opinion/environment/surveillance-state-climate-change.html

Opinion | The Global Carbon Surveillance State Is Coming

The conventional picture of climate change and what is causing it is about to change.

Show threadrgmerkNov 17, 2022
@TheOtherJH @drvolts dollar vans are basically small buses, as I understand it.
rgmerkNov 17, 2022
kcarruthersNov 17, 2022
Yes! "The Morrison government sat on a Privacy Act review for two years. Now is the time for action. The Medibank, Optus and NDIA mass data breaches demand urgent rights-based change which could be summarised in a five-point plan, including an individual right" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/17/australian-companies-dont-value-keeping-our-data-safe-because-they-have-little-to-lose-our-laws-need-to-change-that?CMP=share_btn_tw
Australian companies don’t value keeping our data safe because they have little to lose. Our laws need to change that

Our nation’s data security practices have been so sloppy that recent major data breaches could have been avoided with simple protections

The Guardian
Show threadrgmerkNov 17, 2022
@timhollo I’d read it. Not sure I’d agree with all of it. But I’m just a lowly code monkey so whether I read it or not is largely irrelevant 😜 by the way, I have feels about your book, hopefully by the weekend I’ll have finished writing some of them down.
Show threadrgmerkNov 17, 2022
@liamvhogan also works when dealing with heritage buildings, most of the time…
rgmerkNov 17, 2022

It’s still incredible to me how problems can go from intractable to straightforward on any number of dimensions, by what from the outside seem the subtlest reframings.

Not new or original, I know, but still an underappreciated point. #softwareengineering #engineering

Show threadrgmerkNov 16, 2022
@ajsta and they have two separate tax-advantaged retirement savings vehicles. And that’s even before we get into trusts and the wonderful world of offshore bonds. All perfectly legal and respectable, all making a mockery of the marginal tax rates.
rgmerkNov 16, 2022
@ajsta for a start, the ability to stick 9,000 pounds a year in a fund for your kid, with no tax payable on dividends or capital gains.