2019.02.14 01:00 - The Overton Window

The Guardian for this meeting was Wol Euler.

Wol Euler: good morning, Qt
Qt Core: Hi Wol, Bert
Bertram Jacobus: hey qt - and so sry : i have to leave because in the house where i live is now action and gathering ! ... so sry ...

--BELL--

Wol Euler: enjoy the day, lead them well :)

Qt Core: Ok, no problem
Bertram Jacobus: ty friends ! all the best for all ! *wave* ...
Wol Euler: how are you today?
Qt Core: up and going since 7:30, already did half of the saturday shopping, you ?
Wol Euler: up since 7:30, done nothing but SL and facebook - and made coffee
Wol Euler: lazy day so far
Wol Euler: naps will be a feature of the day
Wol Euler: it's a sunny day, if it's warm too I may walk down to the river

Qt Core: that is my way to gain the right to go to watch Alita tomorrow morning (on sunday mornings movie are some 50% less pricey)
Wol Euler: haven't done that in many months
Wol Euler: is that a new film?
Qt Core: yes, quite warm, like 2C last week and 16C yesterday
Qt Core: yes, check it out
Wol Euler looks
Wol Euler: ah, battle angel, right :)
Wol Euler: just watched the trailer again

Qt Core: my sister and i started going see movies way more since discovering that between she being disabled and the sunday morning offer the price for a movie for two persons go sown from 18 to 5 euros
Qt Core: then we spend those 13 euros and some more as we usually end up eating out ;-)
Wol Euler: wow :)
Wol Euler: excellent plan :)
Qt Core: we mostly go see sf/fantasy/superheroes movies... and she usually ends up favoring the bad guys, the evil girl!
Wol Euler: heheheheh

--BELL--

Wol Euler: I watch those on the plane, usually on somebody else's screen
Qt Core: SO Elon Musk may have seen all movies released in 2018: https://www.wimp.com/elon-musks-jet-...sound-effects/ (just saw it a few minutes ago)
Wol Euler: heh
Qt Core: He needs to invents star trek transporter way more than electric cars
Qt Core: but that would be selfish ;-)
Wol Euler: that was amazing :)
Wol Euler: what was his score at the end? around 200k miles?
Wol Euler: no, "only" 159k
Qt Core: wondering how much of those were on private planes, if he ever has one
Wol Euler: good question
Qt Core: (especially for the brief flight (or maybe in the US are so frequent one can catch them like a subway
Wol Euler nods
Qt Core: (but then a good bullet train would be more effective and probably way cheaper and environmentally nice)
Qt Core: brb
Wol Euler: ok

--BELL--

Wol Euler: I am pleased that high-speed trains are at least being spoken about in the US now
Wol Euler: what's the expression? something like "moving the Overton Window"
Wol Euler: expanding the list of things that one is allowed to talk about, or the range of opinions that one is allowed to have
Wol Euler: "The Overton window is the range of ideas tolerated in public discourse, also known as the window of discourse."
Wol Euler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

Qt Core: back, mmm, i think that i lately read that california is stopping its bullet trains plan
Wol Euler: that would be shitty
Wol Euler: because looking at that dense triangle in Musk's flightpaths, that would be ideal for high-speed rail
Qt Core: yham there is all the mess with italy backing out from the european plans for bullet train
Qt Core: *then
Wol Euler nods
Qt Core: (the Torino-Lion line)
Qt Core: it seems one of the deciding factor of the last, improved costs/benefits analysis out government got (that says it is not a good thing) is the lost revenues from road tolls and gas taxes
Wol Euler: lol
Qt Core: (the gas taxes the parties in current government promised to cut, a lot)
Wol Euler: so it's not just corrupt and stupid people who think that dying tomorrow is fine it it means a profit today
Wol Euler: but corrupt and stupid governments too
Wol Euler: well, it fairness, we knew that
Qt Core: the two parties of current italian government are mostly on opposite sides on this

--BELL--

Qt Core: i never used a bullet train, need to try one... and maybe using it to visit Rome (another think i never did)

Wol Euler: wow
Wol Euler: I've been on the ICE in Germany and the medium-fast trains in Japan, not the very fastest
Wol Euler: but it was still very much faster than ICE
Qt Core: Milano - Roma is around 2:40 hours for some 450 km
Wol Euler: that would be worth it :)
Wol Euler: oh and also on the Mistral in France (TGV), that was odd because it has tiny little horizontal-slit windows, you can hardly see anything
Qt Core: from city center to city center, while on a plane you depart and arrive outside the city or way outside the city
Wol Euler: right
Wol Euler: and spend two hours in the security theatre, and wait for your bags to arrive etc
Qt Core: those are the intern of one of the two choice for high speed train in itali: Italo: https://www.google.it/search?client=...30.EH-4mU8j6s8
Qt Core: so big wondows
Qt Core: *windows
Wol Euler: nice

Wol Euler: really long nose
Wol Euler: like the japanese super-fast trains
Qt Core: Those trains go at 250 kmh, the new models go up to 350 (but italian railways ar no up to that standards and it seems the last tests are above 500!
Wol Euler nods.
Qt Core: but then it seems italy isn't going to upgrade the railways, not even up to 350
Wol Euler: I've been at 300kmh in the newest ICEs, on some stretches
Qt Core: then one would wonder if it is a sane idea to have railways for over 300 kmh (and the precision that needs) on earthquake prone areas like... California, Italy and Japan too
Wol Euler: heheheheh
Wol Euler: it seems to work, the Japanese have had them for decades already
Wol Euler: I guess you just have to do regular detailed maintenance
Wol Euler: which is anathema to some countries
Qt Core: i've read that the entire japan railways sistem can react to earthquakes in less than a couple seconds stopping all of them \
Wol Euler: that's one answer :)
Qt Core: (that is starting to slowing down)
Qt Core: and having maintenance train always around that ensure the track have less than 1 millimeter discrepancies

--BELL--

Wol Euler nods
Qt Core: Sometimes i wonder... that in a little less than half the time i would need to go from Milano to Roma (450 km) on a bullet train ... i may get to my office (at some 20 km from home) by regular public transport ;-)
Wol Euler: ha
Wol Euler: yes there is that really strange stretching effect
Wol Euler: that I could get from Heathrow to Hamburg faster than from central London to Heathrow
Qt Core: like the weird sensation one has when getting out from highways and coming back to local road speed
Wol Euler nods.
Qt Core: wow i need to get a move or i lose points for tomorrow movie
Qt Core: bye Wol, have a nice weekend!
Wol Euler: bye qt, take care
Wol Euler: and enjoy the film :)
Qt Core: :-)