Favorite Rejects 2023-02-02

David Roberts @drvolts

Today on Volts: electrolyzers! A decarbonized energy system needs lots & lots of green (zero-emissions) hydrogen, which is made using electrolyzers. Today we dig in to what they are, how they work, and how their costs can rapidly be driven down.

volts.wtfWhat’s the deal with electrolyzers?Hydrogen is expected to play a big role in a decarbonized energy system, but the only way to make it without greenhouse gas emissions is through electrolysis. I talk to the CEO of a company that is trying to radically drive down the costs of green, renewable hydrogen by perfecting electrolyzers.

City of Mountain View @MountainViewGov

Join the City of Mountain View for an update on the Transit Center Grade Separation and Access Project on Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. at 157 Moffett Blvd. Staff will present highlights and seek input on the architectural elements and materials for the project. Visit MountainView.gov/depts/pw/proje…

Timothy B. Lee @binarybits

This seems remarkably naive about the ways the Chinese government could use control over TikTok to influence American public opinion. There are obviously smarter ways to do it than force-feeding users videos about how great Xi is. reason.com/2023/01/26/tik…

Laura Foote 🌇 @NeverSassyLaura

I just cannot believe there are people spending their time asking our government to force a business to have chairs. Like... of all the ways to spend the precious hours of your life. This is what you choose. This.

The Frisc @TheFrisc

An architectural historian reiterates that it's not the "presence of seating," but that the seats are a character-defining feature. Commenter with deep roots in #SF construction bemoans the loss of theaters and their handiwork. Generations have sat in those seats, she says. https://t.co/TWXGno5V0S

Max Cohen @maxpcohen

New: @SenatorBennet is writing to Apple and Google and calling on the companies to remove TikTok from their respective app stores. Bennet argues TikTok poses “unacceptable security risks,” citing CCP connections and data collection.

punchbowl.news02.02.23 Bennet Tik Tok Letter_final_signed - Punchbowl News

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

If you step back for five minutes it’s genuinely hilarious that OpenAI created the world’s most impressive intelligent agent and it has the politics of a hardcore MSNBC fan.

Aaron Carr @aaronAcarr

“Large landlords filed evictions 186% more often and medium landlords filed 55% more often than small landlords.”

housingmatters.urban.orgDo Large Landlords’ Eviction Practices Differ from Small Landlords’?How and why do landlords vary in their use of eviction filings? This study focuses on how different types of landlords respond to social and institutional pressures and put tenants at risk of eviction.

William J. Luther @WilliamJLuther

We are so f*<%ing rich. From @mattyglesias’s Slow Boring:

Keith Humphreys @KeithNHumphreys

Racial/ethnic disparities in women's imprisonment have nearly disappeared over a generation.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

We need to make Manchin, Tester, and Brown saving gas stoves from the libs be *the* main political story of the next two years.

Igor Bobic @igorbobic

the story that just keeps on giving inbox: Cruz, Manchin Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Stop the Federal Government from Banning Gas Stoves

🌐🇺🇦 Mar G-O @MariGO2thepolls

How did the “thirteen colonies declared independence to preserve slavery” take ever get popular? It’s so obviously incorrect

Science Is Strategic @scienceisstrat1

Google and Microsoft publish more AI research than Stanford Cc: @erikbryn @DigEconLab @Noahpinion @nfergus

East Bay YIMBY @yimbyeastbay

Single Stairs to be studied in #Oakland!

Market Urbanism @stephenjacobsmith@mastodon.social @MarketUrbanism

Oakland's housing element draft says the city will study changes to the building code to allow taller single-stair buildings, in order to pressure California into changing the state building code https://t.co/pKfLjgEAVN https://t.co/9dTCks8bwq

Timothy B. Lee @binarybits

This is hilariously stupid. I don't think actual source code transparency would address concerns about TikTok, but making people travel to LA and sign an NDA to see source code definitely shouldn't convince anyone. platformer.news/p/a-visit-to-t…