Tom

I’m am saddened by the incredible amount of bad takes by my autistic community on the RFKjr announcement about researching the causes of autism. It’s a SPECTRUM people. It’s in the name. If you are aware enough to understand his speech, be offended by it, and whine about it, he WASN’T talking about you! Great job if you are functional enough to support yourself and pay taxes. There is another end of the spectrum where kids are non-verbal and will likely need the support of society their whole lives. That is what we need to figure the cause, stop the increasing rate, and hopefully start to prevent. How about that becoming a special interest? Human genetics don’t change that quickly and the rate of diagnosis doesn’t explain the rapid rise of numbers. That leaves environmental.

@LonewolfDusk @fandompulse The potential exists they could do both. The mature characters could reminisce about their exploits and flash back to play out their early adventures. Animation makes doing that easy.

@fandompulse I don’t disagree with the reasoning but I also would’ve loved to see these characters in their more mature years

Nathan Fillion explains why the animated series is set between the TV show and Serenity. "You can’t bring back Firefly without bringing back all of Firefly. We toyed with the idea of spending some time in the show after the events of Serenity, and I honestly have no interest. I think Serenity was our wonderful farewell to what was an incredible opportunity. Had we only had one more chance to do something, that was it, and it was beautiful. I can’t compete with that. But what I can do is go back in time, bring the gang back together, and give people what they want, which is more Firefly. After Serenity, it’s not the same. I didn’t want to do this without my buddy Alan. And you know that’s a reason why animation is key, because Ron Glass is no longer with us. I like to think, in my heart of hearts, that this is something that he would have wanted." Is this the right thinking?

@fandompulse Animation addresses a number of issues. It allows the story timeline to maintain the living main characters and side steps their aging. Probably significantly cheaper than live action science fiction.

@AlexTran677026 MMA has sort of ruined movie martial art scenes for me. Because MMA showed that actually effective physical combat is not this flashy. Kung Fu and karate aren’t actually that effective.

One of the most beautiful martial arts fight scenes in cinema. Michael Jai White shows off his impressive fighting choreography, combining karate, taekwondo, and kickboxing in Blood and Bone (2009)

@elonmusk @MichaelAArouet @wil_da_beast630 We really need to differentiate legal immigrants from asylum seekers from illegal aliens. Anyone with a shred of decency is against illegal immigration as the process, at least in the US, is brutally controlled by cartels.

@MichaelAArouet @wil_da_beast630 But difference

There is a popular myth that Poland enjoys its economic miracle because it didn’t accept immigrants. In reality, it did let them in, but unlike Western Europe, Poland offers no lavish welfare. Most immigrants work, integrate, and contribute to society. That’s the difference.

This is a stretch. Packaging power electronics is a complicated thing but rather niche in the full span of semiconductor packaging. I don’t agree with the Electrek premise that Tesla has no semiconductor manufacturing experience as you can’t design complex processors without understanding their fabrication. But this isn’t much of a compelling example.

Yeah, Fred has been horrifically biased against Musk for a long time. It warps his perceptions. To say Tesla has no semiconductor experience is simply not accurate. They have deep design expertise and that has to involve aspects of fabrication. Musk attracts talented engineers because he enables them to solve important problems. Tesla has the cash to buy the technology they don’t innovate themselves.

People like this need to shut the fuck up. We see the same story year after year and every single time they are proven wrong. Why do these people not learn? "SpaceX's Starlink ambitions ignore the lack of experience with satellites" "SpaceX's reusability ambitions ignore the total lack of experience with flying rockets" "Tesla's FSD ambitions ignore the total lack of experience with AI"

@OwenGregorian Given the rapid advances in autonomous drones, the future need for pilots will be very reduced.

Sen. Jim Banks Warns About Chinese Pilots Getting U.S. Training | Amy Furr, Breitbart Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) is sounding the alarm regarding Chinese nationals training in the United States to become pilots, a fact that was first revealed in New York Times bestselling author and Breitbart News Senior Contributor Peter Schweizer’s new book, The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon. He is sending a letter to the Transportation Security Administration about the issue, National Review reported Friday, because those trainees could become assets to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military and meet its demand for pilots. Banks wrote in the letter: Each Chinese citizen trained at an American flight school helps break through China’s pilot bottleneck. While many of these students will go on to civilian and not military careers, the Chinese Communist Party, through its Military-Civil Fusion strategy, has foreclosed our ability to view this training with the benefit of a doubt. The more Chinese citizens there are with aviation training, the more options the Chinese military has to recruit pilots and instructors for its malign purposes. Schweizer detailed in The Invisible Coup how the CCP is using America’s “openness and generosity against us” by sending thousands of trainees to the United States to become pilots. Breitbart News reported in January: “The People’s Republic of China has a pilot problem,” the investigative journalist writes in The Invisible Coup. “Beijing needs five thousand pilot cadets every year to meet the demand for both military and civilian pilots. Because the Chinese military tightly controls the country’s airspace, it can domestically produce only about 1,200 pilots a year. So, Beijing quietly erected a system to train three thousand of them a year in the United States.” “Across the US, at least sixteen flight schools, operating out of taxpayer-funded airports, are training Chinese cadets—sometimes without disclosing their foreign military ties,” he continues. “They do so by sending future military pilots to the United States posing as civilians to learn how to fly.” During an interview on “The Alex Marlow Show” in January, Kingsley Wilson, the press secretary for the Department of War, spoke about the book and said it is “unacceptable” America is training Chinese pilots. “That kind of behavior is unacceptable. And we, of course, work in concert with our interagency partners, whether it’s the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security, to make sure that if we uncover any of that activity, we refer it quickly to law enforcement authorities that can act on it,” she said. Banks concluded his letter by stating: Therefore, I respectfully request that TSA update the Flight Training Security Program to preclude individuals from foreign adversary nations, such as China, from attending flight training schools in the United States. We must ensure that American flight training programs serve American interests—not Xi Jinping’s dreams. In a social media post on Friday, Schweizer praised Banks’ decision to take action: “Fantastic to see Senator Jim Banks take up the threat I mentioned in ‘The Invisible Coup’: the fact that Chinese pilots are being trained in the United States at private flight schools,” he wrote in the post. breitbart.com/national-secur…

Lithium isn't particularly rare in geological terms—it's present in the Earth's continental crust at an average concentration of around **20–35 ppm** (parts per million by weight), making it roughly as abundant as elements like chlorine (on an atomic basis in some estimates) or more common than metals such as copper (~60 ppm), zinc (~70–80 ppm), lead (~14 ppm), tin (~2–3 ppm), or silver (~0.08 ppm). This places lithium around the 25th–35th most abundant element in the crust, far from true scarcity like gold (~0.004 ppm) or platinum-group metals. Global identified lithium resources now exceed **100–150 million tonnes** (LCE equivalent, per recent USGS and IEA assessments as of 2025–2026), with ongoing exploration continuing to expand known deposits in places like the Lithium Triangle (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile), Australia, the US, and emerging clay-based sources. There's physically enough lithium atoms in the ground—and vastly more in seawater—to support decades or centuries of projected demand for batteries, renewables, and electrification, even under aggressive transition scenarios, especially when factoring in recycling and efficiency improvements. The real constraints aren't raw elemental rarity but the **economics of extraction** (viable deposits require specific concentrations, favorable geology, and low-cost methods like brines or hard-rock pegmatites, while newer sources like clays face technical hurdles) and especially **refining capacity**. China dominates global lithium processing into battery-grade chemicals (lithium carbonate and hydroxide), controlling roughly **70%** or more of refining capacity, creating geographic, geopolitical, and logistical bottlenecks—even when mining output diversifies. New mines and projects take 7–15 years to develop due to permitting, capital, and environmental factors, while refining infrastructure remains concentrated and capital-intensive. In essence, lithium supply chains face "peak investable/refinable capacity" challenges rather than running out of the element itself.

A $1.5 Trillion Lithium Deposit In An Ancient Volcano Could Reshape U.S. Battery Supply | Wonderful Engineering Geologists have identified what could be one of the largest lithium deposits in the United States within the McDermitt Caldera, a large volcanic basin formed millions of years ago near the Oregon Nevada border. Early estimates suggest the deposit could contain between 20 million and 40 million metric tons of lithium, a resource that plays a central role in modern battery technology. The deposit has attracted attention due to its potential economic value and implications for domestic battery supply chains. Some assessments place the potential value of the lithium resources at more than $1.5 trillion depending on market conditions and extraction feasibility. Geological surveys indicate that lithium rich claystone sediments formed within the ancient volcanic basin may contain unusually high concentrations of the metal, according to a study published in Minerals. Lithium is widely used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and large scale energy storage systems. As demand for electrified transportation and renewable energy infrastructure increases, countries are seeking to secure reliable supplies of the metal to support battery manufacturing. The McDermitt Caldera formed approximately 16 million years ago during a period of intense volcanic activity. Over time, mineral rich ash and sediment accumulated in the basin, eventually transforming into clay deposits that now contain lithium. Unlike lithium brine deposits commonly found in South America, the material in the caldera is contained in claystone formations that require different extraction and processing methods. Processing lithium from clay deposits typically involves chemical extraction techniques such as acid leaching to separate lithium from surrounding minerals. These methods can be technically complex because clay materials bind lithium more tightly than brine deposits, requiring higher processing temperatures or chemical treatment. Geologists studying the caldera note that the concentration of lithium in these sediments could make the site one of the most significant lithium resources in North America if extraction proves economically viable. Exploration projects in the region have focused on mapping the extent of lithium bearing clays and analyzing their chemical composition. The location of the deposit in a semi arid high desert environment also presents engineering considerations related to water use, dust control, and waste management during potential mining operations. Large scale extraction would likely involve open pit mining, drilling, and material processing facilities designed to separate lithium from the surrounding clay. Environmental scientists have also examined the ecological characteristics of the region. The caldera basin supports desert wildlife including pronghorn antelope and sage grouse, species that rely on the open high desert habitat. Groundwater management is another factor, as large scale mineral processing operations can require significant water resources. In addition to ecological concerns, the region holds cultural and historical significance for several Indigenous communities. Local stakeholders have emphasized the need for careful environmental review and consultation before large scale mining projects proceed. Proposals currently under discussion include exploration drilling programs and geological testing to determine the size, grade, and accessibility of lithium resources within the basin. These early stage surveys help determine whether the deposit can be developed using economically viable mining and processing techniques. If proven feasible, the McDermitt Caldera deposit could contribute significantly to domestic lithium production and reduce reliance on imported battery materials. However, researchers emphasize that geological potential alone does not guarantee commercial development, as economic, environmental, and technical factors will ultimately determine whether the resource can be extracted. wonderfulengineering.com/a-1-5-trillion…

@dvorahfr The sound of the foot steps is impressive.

You know a technology is good when you don't even realize you've used it. For this scene, - I created the character as an image with Grok Imagine, then the landscape with Grok, and combined everything using Grok Imagine's image references. - I then used video extensions to avoid cuts and style changes. The character is perfectly integrated into the scene, proportions respected and style preserved.

Moderation is still very random and uneven. It’s annoying how out of sync the moderation criteria is with the generation side. If using a built in option like “spicy” which is left up to the generation to interpret, why are so many results still moderated? Generation should be perfectly aligned with moderation when the prompt is deliberately ambiguous leaving the interpretation up to the generation side. The moderation interpretation of R rating is very random too. Interesting, Grok tends to frequently generate images of bare female breasts even when not specifically prompted for topless images of women.

The human race is doomed. 😂 Why deal with the complexities of real humans when beautiful ones can be generated as you like? It won’t be too long until the Grok companion depictions are generated by AI instead of premade animations. Their conversation skills are already impressive.

@ExtinguishedEng @DivergentZen @thomas_garrard I liked the Shadow books. The other perspectives were interesting. I felt stylistically they were much more like Ender’s Game than the direct sequels. The Ender’s Game sequels were all heavily philosophical and less action narratives to becoming almost pure philosophical.

I agree. The book after Speaker for the Dead injected a big dose of Mormonism, where the Buggers all have souls that exist in some spirit realm waiting for bodies. I didn't care for Ender's Shadow. It felt like retconning the original book to make a big deal out of a minor character.

I just had a conversation with Grok about one of my all time favorite books “Ender’s Game” I had to talk to Grok, because I’ve never met anyone who’s read it, besides me. Lol. It’s a great book, though, if you’re ever so inclined.

🚨 In a recent analysis for The Motley Fool, author Ryan Vanzo explains why he is "avoiding Lucid stock like the plague", specifically highlighting how the company struggles to compete with the sheer scale and technological lead of $TSLA 🔥 The core of Vanzo’s argument is that while Lucid has a smart strategy on paper, it is effectively being "out-teched" and out-resourced by the industry leader 🔥 🏎️ The tech-first strategy gap Lucid’s plan is to transition from a vehicle manufacturer into a technology supplier to lower capital needs and increase margins. However, Vanzo notes that Tesla has already mastered this "tech-first" approach. 🚀 Tesla has spent years vertically integrating its hardware and software, creating a level of efficiency and "stickiness" that Lucid is only just beginning to attempt. 🚀 Tesla’s brand recognition and massive capital allow it to scale these technological visions in a way that Lucid simply cannot match right now. 🤖 Tesla's massive lead in autonomy and AI A major reason for Vanzo’s bearish stance on Lucid is Tesla’s dominance in the artificial intelligence space. 🧠 Tesla’s focus on AI and self-driving technology positions it to capture a robotaxi market that experts estimate could be worth between $5 trillion and $10 trillion. 🧠 While Tesla develops its own proprietary software stack for its own massive fleet, Lucid’s attempts to enter the autonomous space look much weaker by comparison. ⚠️ Lucid's hardware-heavy partnership with Uber Vanzo points out a significant "red flag" in Lucid’s partnership with Uber that reinforces Tesla’s superiority. 🛑 Although Lucid struck a deal to supply vehicles to Uber’s robotaxi arm, Uber is actually looking to other firms for the autonomous software. 🛑 This suggests that even Lucid’s partners view them primarily as a hardware manufacturer rather than a leading software or AI provider. 💰 Scale and execution matter The author concludes that from an investment standpoint, there is "simply no room for Lucid" when compared to Tesla’s established market "might". 📉 Tesla’s $1.2 trillion market cap is backed by actual technology deployments and global scale. 📉 Lucid, valued at only $3.2 billion, lacks the financial cushion and proven execution needed to survive in an industry rife with failures.

@OwenGregorian The whole teen description is bizarre. They are adults.

FBI Conducts Court-Ordered Raids in Pennsylvania After Improvised Explosive Device were Thrown at NYC Protest — Teen Extremists Linked to Foreign Radical Networks | Jim Hᴏft, The Gateway Pundit Federal authorities launched court-ordered raids in Pennsylvania after a violent protest in New York City escalated into a potential terror incident involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This comes just one day after two teenage Muslim extremists hurled improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during a protest outside the mayor’s residence at Gracie Mansion in Manhattan. As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the chaos unfolded on Saturday when 18-year-old Amir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Nick, allegedly launched homemade bombs during an anti-Islam protest organized by former January 6 political prisoner Jake Lang, who was pardoned by President Trump last year. According to the New York Post, authorities said the homemade device was constructed using sports drink bottles packed with triacetone triperoxide (TATP)—a highly unstable explosive widely favored by terrorists and often referred to as the “Mother of Satan.” Due to its extreme volatility, officials noted that TATP can detonate with minimal disturbance and typically does not require a fuse to explode. Miraculously, the device failed to detonate. Had it exploded, officials say it could have killed or severely injured people in the crowd. The explosive device itself is being analyzed at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, where specialists are working to determine its exact composition and origin. Video footage captured the second suspect, Ibrahim Nick, screaming “Allahu Akbar!” as he was arrested outside Gracie Mansion, the residence of far-left New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced the arrests of Balat and Nick, along with four other unidentified counter-protesters from the pro-Islam side. “The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death. Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device. Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi were arrested on scene yesterday and are in custody in connection with this matter. The NYPD is working on this investigation with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI through our Joint Terrorism Task Force. I want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD who ran towards the danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects.” But now, federal authorities are digging deeper, revealing that these aren’t just misguided kids, they’re part of a broader network with alarming links to foreign radicals. Fox 29 reported: The FBI and local police are investigating two Bucks County homes Sunday afternoon in connection with protests in New York City on Saturday where two people were arrested for allegedly trying to set off improvised explosive devices. Officials are serving warrants at two homes in Bucks County — one near Durham Road and Frosty Hollow Road in Middletown Township, the other near Stoopville Road and Clymer Street in Newtown Township. Officials said there was no threat to the public at either location, but asked that people stay away from the areas while teams investigated. Law-enforcement sources say both suspects had become self-radicalized in recent years and had consumed extremist propaganda online. Investigators believe the pair also traveled internationally, including trips to Turkey and other regions that have historically served as transit points for jihadist networks. The suspects allegedly admitted they carried out the attack after becoming enraged by protesters they believed had insulted their religion, according to the Post, citing sources close to the investigation. Authorities are now working to determine whether the suspects were connected to larger extremist networks or operating independently. CBS reported: Investigators are looking into the overseas travel for Balat and Kayumi. Balat left the U.S. for several months and traveled to Istanbul from May 6 to Aug. 26, 2025. He most recently traveled back to the U.S. from Turkey in January of this year. Meanwhile, Kayumi traveled to Istanbul for several weeks in July and August 2024 and to Saudi Arabia in late March of that year. Federal investigators have also been interviewing family members of Balat and Kayumi as part of their investigation, as well as looking at their online communications. Balat’s parents were born in Turkey and were naturalized as U.S. citizens in 2017. Balat is a U.S. citizen and has been living with his family in a large two-story home in Pennsylvania. A woman at the residence confirmed to CBS Philadelphia that Balat lived at the house. Kayumi’s parents are originally from Afghanistan. They became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2004 and 2009. It is unclear if Kayumi was living with them at the time of the incident Saturday. thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/fbi-co…

@justalexoki It used to be called Australia. In “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, it’s the moon.

i think we can figure something out where we incarcerate violent criminals forever. like just put them in an alternate society. they should still have a worthy life, and have all the basic human rights, they just can't be a part of regular society anymore

@elonmusk @Anc_Aesthetics @nikitabier It’s probably too late but how about the major video platforms encrypting water marks to say a clip is real world footage and the major ai platforms tagging modified or generated video?

@Anc_Aesthetics @nikitabier We are actively working on shutting down bullshit. Fighting the supersonic tsunami that is AI-generated content is a tough battle.

Some of these sources are as bad as mainstream media with delayed reporting and their own biases. This story popped up days ago in focused Ukraine reporting on X and by all indications was a legitimate funds transfer. The seizure of a legitimate shipment is the actual story more than the funds themselves.

Hungarian Counter Terrorism Forces Arrest 7 Ukrainians Suspected of Money Laundering, Seize $80 Million and 9 Kilograms of Gold | Paul Serran, The Gateway Pundit The money and gold were headed to Kiev. The conflict between Hungary and Ukraine saw an explosive development today, as 7 Ukrainians, including a former intelligence general, were arrested by Hungarian counter terrorism forces. The arrested Ukrainians were trying to transport $80 million and 9 kilos of gold from Vienna, Austria, to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. The men, employees of the state-owned Oschadbank, are suspected of money laundering. Ukrainian vehicles carrying $40 million Dollars,€35 million Euros, and approximately nine kilograms of gold were detained by Hungarian police. As one would expect, Ukraine protested the arrests. “Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the seven Ukrainians were transporting funds between Austria and Ukraine as part of a routine banking operation when Hungarian authorities stopped the convoy in Budapest. ’In fact, we are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money’, Sybiha wrote on X. ‘If this is the ‘force’ announced earlier today by Mr. Orbán, then it is the force of a criminal gang. This is state terrorism and racketeering’.” “Oschadbank said two armored vehicles were detained during a regular transfer between Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank and the Ukrainian state lender. ‘These are funds entrusted to the bank by citizens and businesses of Ukraine. They were transported from Austria for further use in circulation and saturation of the cash market of Ukraine. The total amount of Oschadbank funds, the fate of which is currently unknown, is 40 million US dollars, 35 million euros, 9 kg of gold’, the bank said in a statement.” thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/watch-…

@art_muse @elonmusk It would be cool if the AI, revision, and prompt were optionally stored as meta data with the image or video.

Goodnight 🌖💫

@Will_Tanner_1 @elonmusk It’s culture not genetics. He’s a politician not an evolutionary biologist.

Stephen Miller is 100% right here The high culture that made the West so superior to everywhere else on Earth only came because Western Europe executed ~1% of each generation for centuries In weeding the crime gene out of the population through centuries of capital punishment for everything from larceny to murder, Western Europe made itself a paradise, and blossomed into the greatest high civilization the world has ever seen over the 18th and 19th centuries So, as he said, "The West only achieved the place that it did in human history because it spent previous centuries eradicating the criminal elements within it’s territories. The West that we came to know that had the great music and architecture and science and the most powerful economy had spent centuries previous to that establishing order first." That is 100% true. High civilization requires order, and requires the pruning of the tree of civilization to achieve it