Cassandra

I'm picturing the reveal now, camera focused on Q for the technobabble of the nanomachines rebuilding Bond and Q finishes up by asking "Did we get everything right?" and then the camera shifts down to show the mirror held by Charlize Theron.

"Looks good to me"

A Chinese high speed rail map comparison between 2008 and 2024. 2008 has 4 high speed rail lines between 8 cities. 2024 has thousands of miles of high speed rail connecting hundreds of cities.

A few.

"6-7"?! Boy I say boy you gen alpha kids cant be doin' that! Your signifiers need signs boy! You've laid a rhetorical claim to an empty space son! You're creatin' a nihilistic dialectic! Your broccoli hairs obfuscatin' some much needed communication! Find some MEANIN', kid!

Example #4732 of why microtransit doesn't work because it doesn't scale.

Attribute not to stupidity what can be equally attributed to malice

Patricia Kosmowski, listed salary of 96,385.20 in 2025

broadview-il.gov/media/nj0lfn...

A very ominous photo of the Juno Parlour of the Nebraska Zephyr 225. One chair is turned towards the camera and has an embroidered hankerchief draped over the top

RETVRN

Okay, words eaten:

www.illinois.gov/news/release...

Same with LEDs. The promise was that we'd need to produce fewer lights thanks to the longevity and energy efficiency of LEDs. Turns out we just manufacture and install more LEDs (Vegas Sphere as an example).

Some photos from when these tracks were in use
bsky.app/profile/wren...

I'll eat my words if the notice appears tomorrow, ofc.

A screenshot of a Flag Honor bulletin stating: The Department of Central Management Services has received notice from Governor JB Pritzker that all persons or entities covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act are to fly the flags at half-staff in honor of: Governor Jim Edgar Please lower the United States flags and the State flags at all buildings occupied by your agency's personnel from: Sunrise, Monday, September 15, 2025 until the day of Governor Jim Edgar's interment More information is available at https://www.illinois.gov/about/flag-honors.html

I think it's fake, the Flag Honors are recorded here: www.illinois.gov/about/flag-h...

and there hasn't been one since mid September. Also, the formatting is off compared to the most recent one honoring a deceased Governor. Flag lowerings don't usually start until sunrise the next day.

I made a spreadsheet a while back that would take the ComEd usage csv and pull the lowest daily prices to see what the cost/benefit looks like for a powerwall. It doesn't make any sense right now with my daily usage and electricity prices, but I check back in about once a year.

I'm at 350kw/h per month in a 1000sqft condo, but in my defense, a lot of that is probably the server.

"I'm not overly focused on a break-even moment today. I know if I had to get to break-even, I have a healthy enough margin structure that I could do that by pulling back on investment." - OpenAI CFO

I hope I get a front row seat to this break-even moment.

Colocate it with the Jazz Showcase in Dearborn Station, there's already a bunch of memorabilia on the walls there and Dearborn Station has a bunch of vacant space on the first floor

A photo of the Engineer's Club of Chicago building located at 315 S Federal

Engineer's Club of Chicago

The bill text of SB2111 as enrolled 10/31/25: "Zero-emission vehicle" means a fuel cell or electric vehicle that: (1) is a motor vehicle; (2) is made by a commercial manufacturer; (3) is manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways; (4) has a maximum speed of at least 55 miles per hour; (5) is powered entirely by electricity or powered by combining hydrogen and oxygen, which runs the motor; (6) has an operating range of at least 100 miles; and (7) produces only water vapor and heat as byproducts. (b) The Authority may not enter a new contract to purchase a bus that is not a zero-emission bus for the purposes of a Service Board's transit bus fleet. (c) For the purposes of determining compliance with this Section, the Authority shall not be deemed to be in violation of this Section when failure to comply is due to: (1) the unavailability of zero-emission buses from a manufacturer or funding to purchase zero-emission buses; (2) the lack of necessary charging, fueling, or storage facilities or funding to procure charging, fueling, or storage facilities; or (3) the inability of a third party to enter into a contractual or commercial relationship with the Authority that is necessary to carry out the purposes of this Section.

There's a pretty restrictive definition of zero-emission vehicle and an escape hatch clause that allows the Authority to continue purchasing diesel vehicles as long as no zero-emission vehicle meets the standard set by the definition.

That said, I'm 100% in favor of transit accessible hunting areas under my prior policy proposal of "kill all deer".

Probably the funniest inclusion in SB2111 is the Transit to Trails Grant Program, as it specifically allows for grants to projects providing transit access to hunting areas.

It's illegal to carry or transport firearms on public transit vehicles in the state of Illinois.

"do you honestly expect me to ride the bus to get food"

yes

Hell yeah

Amusement surcharge of $5/day for events if held at a venue with >10k capacity, but the surcharge provides a daily transit pass to the ticketholder!

20% recovery ratio systemwide. RTA use tax going from 1%->1.25% in Cook, 0.75%->1% in collars.

State-wide amusement tax levied at 7%, and mandated new stations at Cicero/Laramie (Blue), and Englewood (Green). Mandatory implementation of a pilot to improve transit access to Will and southern Cook Counties on the RI. Study on extending the ME Univ Park to Kankakee.

A section of SB2111's text reading: Article 3 Section 3-1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Extremely High Wealth Mark-to-Market Tax Act. References in this Article to "this Act" mean this Article.

per page 201, any tax collected under this provision will be deposited into NITA if the individual resides in the NITA service area, and the Downstate Public Transportation fund if not.

The updated SB2111 just dropped, Article 3 is a doozy

ilga.gov/documents/le...

A photo of a tabby cat sitting in the bottom drawer of a dresser with his head poking out

hell yeah

The economic losses to the Chicago region are estimated by TX A&M to exceed 11 billion, whereas the losses in 2020 were 4 billion. Policies that center car usage as the primary means of transportation increase these losses year over year and will continue to do so until we make different choices.