Linkblog/2025/03/10
Theory of Elons, El Salvador’s wild crypto experiment ends in failure, National Radio Astronomy Observatory Old Cars.
Steve Randy Waldman - A theory of Elons
Over the years, I’ve struggled with how to understand Elon Musk.
A decade ago, it was easy. I admired him. Tesla had proven electric cars could be more than golf carts, that they could be adequate or even superior replacements to gasoline-powered vehicles. When Musk proposed out-of-left-field ideas like the hyperloop and The Boring Company, transportation experts dismissed and maligned him. I remained curious and cut Musk some slack. Maybe he really was a genius who would prove the naysayers wrong.
The years have not been kind to my admiration. The experts were right about The Boring Company and the hyperloop. The more Musk engaged on Twitter, the harder it was to concede him any kind of genius. […]
The Musk of social media is obviously an idiot, at least if you take his tweeting at face value rather than as cynical propaganda. Yet it strains credulity to say he just lucked into the accomplishments of both Tesla and SpaceX. There must be some competence or competences he does contribute.
I hate the amount I talk about Elon here, but I like this article, I feel like touching on the points of what Elon was once viewed as with the way he acts at the moment in mind, with regards to both acknowledging what he is genuinely good at, but his consistent lack of morals going back his entire career.
El Salvador’s wild crypto experiment ends in failure (archive.is link)
Who knew (attempting to) rehaul an entire countries monetary system to Bitcoin, is not a great idea?
Raoul Pop - Chasing RFI Waves – Part Seven
The cars used on the NRAO campus are different from what you might expect. You’ll see photos of them below, and in case you’re wondering why they look so old, let me explain.
Gasoline-powered cars generate more RFI than diesel-powered cars because they have spark plugs. That meant that NRAO had to purchase diesel cars when they bought their original fleet, and by the way, these cars are part of that original purchase. When NRAO wanted to renew their fleet, they found out they couldn’t, because the newer diesel-powered cars on the market were all using chips and various other electrical equipment (seat belt buzzers, door buzzers, etc.) that generated unwanted RFI. […]
What an interesting solution to a problem only an entity like the National Radio Astronomy Observatory would run into!