I’m all for high speed rail in the US, but comparing the land area of the two countries is not really that relevant.

China’s network is really focused on about a third of the land area. US could do the same, but the big population hubs are separated and on opposite sides of the country, so it’s less ideal - lot of track to connect the two. It’s like 2-3x the distance to connect LA/NYC vs Chongqing/Shanghai.

China also has 4x the population of the US. So the cost/benefit to build this out is simply much more favorable for china.

Most importantly, China’s autocratic government can clear the red tape to get big projects like this done. Just getting the land rights to build the right track could kill a transcontinental project in the US. But that decision is consolidated in the Chinese government. This cuts time and cost immensely.

I have the premium lite or whatever. If a video is coded as a “music video”, they still have commercials.

Total bullshit. First, why is that a distinction? I should get commercial free regardless of the type of video.

Second, they consider a lot of normal videos to be “music videos”. Basically if there is a substantial amount of music, it’s a “music video”. This includes visualizations with generic music in the background.

Third, I’ve still gotten some ads on mobile for some reason. It’s crazy to me.

Oh I’m not talking about those gambling sites. That’s just my personal view on the odds for this race.

Lot of support for Talarico - I’ve seen maybe 30+ Talarico signs for every Paxton sign (I’ve seen only one Paxton sign so far…)

But I just still think the guy with an R next to his name will win.

I’d say it’s the best chance in decades, but Talarico is still <50%.

I’ve used GIMP in the past. I don’t understand it, but it’s free and can do stuff so I’m not going to complain.

But I’d also say that using/being good at GIMP is solidly not “normal” lol. And being on Lemmy is even less normal, so here we are.

It is not, in fact, mathing.

It’s not a technicality. We’re discussing whether chess is a “solved game” or not.

That’s a much different standard than whether Stockfish can reliably beat Magnus Carlsen. Of course the engines are better than humans. They have been for a long time at this point.

Chess is not a solved game. If there was a bot that could provably always draw, that would mean it’s solved (as a draw). To be clear, I’m not saying that the bot would just have a perfect drawing record - I’m saying that it literally could never lose, even when playing against the absolute best possible moves.

And N should be Not (Knot) or Nome (Gnome)

No there is no algorithm that can guarantee a draw.

Get a leash! You want another gorilla to get shot?

I have never viewed it as a truck stop. It’s just an inconveniently oversized and busy gas station with very nice bathrooms.

It’s a great place to stop if you need to be assured a clean toilet. It’s crazy overhyped as a destination in and of itself though. And a ton of the stuff there is overpriced.