Japan still has a higher density of population and far less landmass to cover. My nearest neighbor is over a mile away. Are you going to build a bus route or light rail just for me? Or through county, state, and federal forest lands? Logistics is a bitch.
That’s why governments exist - for societal sanctioned killing. And you will never get away from that.
Yep. I live the same life in a very rural and somewhat remote area also. Population density is very low making modern conveniences non-existent and not ever likely to exist in such places.
Other things to consider: Kids often ride a school bus for an hour or more to and from school. Nearest hospital is 40 miles away. And it’s a Level 3. This means it’s pretty much a bandaid station. I used to work as a medic up here. The number of times I had to literally turn the lights on in the ER and wait for the doctor to get out of bed and drive to the hospital would shock you. Nearest ambulance is 20 miles away and you better hope they aren’t already busy when you dial 911. Because if they are, it could be several hours before they can get to you. The US Postal Service will NOT deliver mail to my home. I need to pay $160 a year for a post office box, (no free delivery for me!), and drive the 12 mile round trip to town, (Pop: 150), just to get my mail.
So how does rail solve the Last Mile problem? It does no good to say “take the train” if the nearest train station is 60 miles away. And is it the best use of a train to run tracks to a town/village with a population 150 people or less?
I hate pagers. I carried one everyday all day and night. My life was ruled by one 24/7/365 for over 20 years. First as a volunteer EMT and firefighter then as a full time medic. Just listening and waiting for those tones to drop.
I can still hear them.
Most tradesmen DON’T use a 250 Super Duty unless they really need one. They prefer the standard 1/2 ton base models because they are cheaper and “good enough”.
Kei trucks, while they do have their place and uses in some cities, are NOT the “perfect vehicles” for most tradesmen in many parts of the world. They do not carry enough items and tools for most tradesmen to make all the repair calls they may need to do in one day. They often need to drive well over 100 miles a day to get to all the appointments they can have. And the design of the those little trucks are patently unsafe at highway speeds.
Vans are sometimes popular, but they are just weird looking trucks. And they can be difficult to access tools and items from. Requiring you to either unload a bunch of stuff to get at something or you need to crawl over everything.
I prefer Trabant.
The best way to avoid getting into an accident is to see it long before you get there. But situational awareness is not something the vast majority of drivers actually practice or have…
Let’s ignore the lack of crush zones, air bags, seat belts, re-enforced door panels and cabin pillars, for a moment. (The lack of any safety features is why they are mostly illegal to operate on roads in the US.)
How far do you think that roller skate could pull my empty 24,000lbs tandem axle tilt bed trailer? Or even my 4000lbs trailer? On a highway at highway speeds.
Ahh, you are a manly man and ready for Duke Cannon Naval Supremacy bar soap or perhaps Victory! is more for you.
***Google Duke Cannon for an amusing marketing strategy of men’s products. Who doesn’t want a Big Ass Bar of Soap?
I use Phind solving computer problems. It does cite the sources it uses. At least for distro and general Linux issues. So far, it’s been a very good resource when I’ve needed it.
Snap could have been great. Except it wasn’t very good…
Variety - a silly taskbar program that changes my background randomly from my own selected sources with added random quotes. I have it set to change my background every 3 hours and the quotes every hour I think. I just can’ live without it anymore.
While I tend to think Taylor Swift could best serve the world by simply sticking to flying her private jet down to the local 7-11 to get a carton of milk and a pint of ice cream while keeping her mouth shut, she has the right to say she will vote for Harris. And I fully support her right to make that choice and statement.
But I also firmly believe that celebrities should not use their notoriety or fame to push agendas. There are far too many easily swayed people out there who will follow the lead of famous people who espouse an idea that is dumber than cow shit simply because hey are famous - See Andrew Tate or a number of disgraced BBC reporters.
“Saints should be presumed guilty until proven otherwise”
You need to find a better restaurant than Red Lobster.
A proper kitchen will crack open and loosen the meat before service.
Greed and jail is keeping him in the race. Followed by narcissism and the drive for power. (The last 2 are a requirements for a politician of any stripe).
No one elected Musk.
Tax the hell out of him.
Reject all you want. It does nothing to change the outcome.
The issue is the complexity of the bespoke design of drive trains. It’s nigh on impossible to design a “one size fits all” or even “fits a majority” of solutions for a conversion kit that isn’t stupidly expensive.
See: Edison Motors. A Canadian heavy haul truck manufacturer startup that is trying to offer electric conversions for commercial light and medium duty trucks.