@stshank@mstdn.social
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stshank

@stshank@mstdn.social

Head of Content at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a startup developing zero-carbon power plants to help fight climate change. Former science and technology journalist at CNET.

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design_law, to random
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deleted_by_author

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    stshank,
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    @design_law I wear a mask for airplane partly because I want it to look ordinary.

    stshank, to science
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    Wicked smart scientists calculate how long volcanoes on Jupiter moon Io have been active. Measure relative abundance of 2 sulphur isotopes belched into the atmosphere then reprocessed as crust — bias toward heavy sulphur. Compare ratio to early solar system meteorites. https://www.science.org/content/podcast/very-volcanic-moon-and-better-protections-human-study-subjects

    stshank, to random
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    It's hard to expose a photo to see both the overall scene and details on the surface of the sun like these monster sunspots. Lovely photo. https://social.beachcom.org/@nasa/112433839153217936

    stshank, to space
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    Unexpected benefit of working at a fusion energy startup: plasma emoji already preloaded into Slack for appreciating people's aurora photos.

    stshank, to TeslaMotors
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    "Instead of competing, [Western automakers would] rather just shut out competition entirely. The concerns about cybersecurity don’t address the elephant in the room here: Your product sucks, compared to what China is putting out now." https://insideevs.com/features/719015/china-is-ahead-of-west/

    stshank, to random
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    New power lines are a big deal for renewable energy. More grid interconnection means areas where it's sunny or windy can supply more juice to other areas, cutting back on the tragedy of curtailment. Also more resilience generally. https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-initial-list-high-priority-areas-accelerated #EnergyTransition #Renewables

    stshank, to random
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    I and my peers had a childhood of such privation and hardship that we all burst into tears when we lost our balloons to the sky. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/climate/florida-balloons-outdoors-ban.html

    stshank, to internet
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    Direct messaging coming to Bluesky in coming months. This is a shortcoming of other Twitter alternatives IMO, so I'm pleased to see it. No word about end-to-end-encryption but it's starting with 1:1 chat, where that's easier. https://bsky.social/about/blog/05-07-2024-product-roadmap
    #SocialMedia #E2EE #messaging #BlueSky

    stshank,
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    @mackuba Thanks for the extra info! Seems a not unreasonable approach. You don't want to screw up your E2EE with a hasty implementation.

    stshank, to MIjazz
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    Batteries are growing on the grid to handle evening power use surges when solar peters out. California just hit 7GW out of 10GW capacity. Our house is battery powered from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will be part of a virtual power plant soon.

    Today batteries help with daily peak shaving; longer gaps in solar/wind production are harder. #FusionEnergy could help with that but is only one part of the overall solution. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/07/climate/battery-electricity-solar-california-texas.html

    #Fusion #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #Battery

    stshank, to TeslaMotors
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    WashPo on the increasingly partisan issue of buying EVs.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/05/06/ev-polarization-republicans-electric-cars/

    #EV #EnergyTransition

    stshank, to Texas
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    New energy storage company came out of stealth today: Base Power. Batteries in your home, but the company owns and operates them. https://www.basepowercompany.com/#FAQ #EnergyTransition #EnergyStorage #Battery #Texas

    stshank, to random
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    Glad to see Apple breaking out RAM levels for the new iPad Pro models. 8GB or 16GB, depending. As usual, the profit margin on the flash memory storage is plumper than plump — $200 premium to go from 256GB to 512GB. https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-ipad/ipad-pro

    stshank,
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    @my_actual_brain Apple can legitimately claim some success democratizing personal computing technology by making it easier to use IMO. But they are a premium brand, and there are limits to just how much democratizing they're willing to do, absent used/refurbished devices. I don't think we'll ever see a $500 Mac.

    stshank, to Health
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    Because methane is a potent greenhouse gas, the climate is a good reason to replace your gas stove with an induction cooktop. But health risks could be even more motivating. Pollution reaches bedrooms. Asthma and death rates rise. And I bet you don't use your fume hood much.

    https://news.stanford.edu/2024/05/03/people-gas-propane-stoves-breathe-unhealthy-nitrogen-dioxide/

    stshank, to photography
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    A bighorn sheep — a younger ram from a mini-herd that dropped by to eat the yard when I was staying in New Mexico a month ago — walking behind a cholla cactus in the middle of a spring snowstorm. #NaturePhotography #NewMexico #Photography #Snow #Sheep #Wild

    stshank,
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    @ThatBlairGuy Not sure — maybe pay off some corrupt official at the state fish/game/wildlife department to helicopter in a few to establish a new population?

    stshank,
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    @pocketpixels Spring in New Mexico is wacky that way. The bighorn sheep have a pretty broad dynamic range, though.

    wesgeorge, to random

    My kid sent me this reel showing several different ways that people hold their fingers to count to 10 which I guess is somewhat culturally derived, I responded by sending them a video of someone counting to 31 in binary using 5 finger "bits" and pointed out that with 10 "bits" one can count to 1023, kinda blew their mind and they immediately tried it. When trying some of the weirder finger arrangements they said, "this is like speed running carpal tunnel!"

    stshank,
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    @wesgeorge I do this with my kids! But you have to be very careful the number four, speaking of cultural considerations

    stshank, to MIjazz
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    Hard to express just how impressed I am with the breadth and depth of the CFS operations, manufacturing, and planning that I glimpsed of here at the #CFSShowtime all-hands. Mind 70% expanded, mind 30% blown. #fusion #fusionenergy #power #EnergyTransition

    stshank, (edited ) to Energy
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    "Lithium-ion battery prices have declined from USD 1,400 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to less than USD 140 per kilowatt-hour in 2023, one of the fastest cost declines of any energy technology ever, as a result of progress in research and development and economies of scale in manufacturing."

    https://www.iea.org/reports/batteries-and-secure-energy-transitions/executive-summary

    stshank,
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    @NaturaArtisMagistra I blame European styling but yeah, comma missing by my rules, thanks.

    stshank, to Birds
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    Red-tailed hawk No. 2 enters the chat, trying to steal a Botta's pocket gopher that red-tailed hawk No. 1 caught. Pillar Point north of Half Moon Bay, California.

    stshank, to Energy
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    California power grid now has batteries that can supply 10GW of power, which is a lot. Yesterday they peaked at 4GW vs. total power demand of 25GW in the evening, when solar peters out, per CAISO. (Power demand gets much higher in summer with air conditioning.)

    #Energy #RenewableEnergy #Battery #Grid #ClimateChange https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/04/25/california-achieves-major-clean-energy-victory-10000-megawatts-of-battery-storage/

    stshank, to MIjazz
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    Big personal news: after 25 years at CNET, I’ve joined Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a startup developing zero-carbon power plants to help fight climate change. As head of content, I'll work to make knowledge of fusion mainstream as the technology proves itself worthy. Questions? Hit me up! Details: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7187102636267995138/

    stshank,
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    @Bryan not that soon, nor furled with banana peels. We're aiming for the early 2030s for power on the grid.

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