I am going to have to reluctantly agree with you here. A lot of people are concerned that vacuum leaks will somehow be catastrophic. They won’t be. They will be an ever-present, T-800 level persistent, maintenance-money black hole. The death by 1000 paper cuts.

My arguments don’t care if the vacuum is 15psi or 5psi. The corona discharge comes from the mag-lev and propulsion systems. The ROW issue will take years and millions of dollars. This endeavor will run out of money before they can win those fights.

As long as they are spending other people’s money. I have no idea who or why people are investing in this albatross. Cult of Musk.

Positive pressure is way easier to deal with. Any leaks just mean that dust and debris get pushed out. Vacuum is way harder as any leak introduces dust and contaminants into your system. The tube needs to be in a vacuum while the vehicle has to maintain atmospheric. Right away your costs are jacked because you have to…

I am no genius. These are the technical challenges that they know of and willing to tell people about. Who knows what enormous roadblocks they haven’t thought of yet.

I attended a presentation by their chief engineer recently. The obstacles this company faces are huge.
How do you maintain vacuum system integrity, cost-effectively, in a system this size. Any here had the joy of chasing vacuum leaks?
How do you ensure human safety in a vacuum environment?
How do you suppress…

If it had three pedals, I would be begging for this kid’s phone number. <sigh>

You gotta have that TruCoat or you’ll get oxidation problems.

First point - there is way too much rage packed into this post. You will have an easier time being understood if you stick to one grievance at a time.
Second - You answered your own question within the article. Immigrant/1st generation kids don’t have a connection to their parents culture. They have more in common…

Sounds like you’ve got a sweet gig. You got lucky with getting girls first. 1-2-3-4 are boys, 5 is a girl, and 6 is another boy. My oldest has Aspberger’s and is pretty damn useless. Numbers 2 and 3 are lazy, 4 has more enthusiasm than sense (for now) and the girl is a noisy adorable PITA.
Ditto on the debt free. I…

A fair bit of nuclear, actually.

Resources are limited, you can either invest past or the future. You can put a few kids through college for the cost of Grandma’s dialysis.

Are kids the new status symbol? I mean when every other couple is DINK driving their luxury German automobile and nice apartment, how else can you stand out. Anyone can go out and buy a large dog for their 5th Ave condo. To truly flash the cash, you need 3 or more kids.

I have six kids between 10 and 5 months. We do it on my single income (high five figs). We have two cars - 12 passenger van and compact SUV. We don’t take nearly as many vacations as you, but I suppose that is because we don’t have teenagers yet. We do take the kids to the zoo and aquarium and recently put the four…

It will also lead to economic and social collapse as demand for consumer goods will tank (18-44 demographic drives consumption) and every resource will be bound up in health care rather than productive sectors of the economy. If the social-welfare state continues, national debts from the health burden will stifle…

I make high 5 figures and support my wife and six kids in gloriously expensive California. It’s a matter of priorities.

Post-industrial nations have set themselves up to where they have to import labor from countries with incompatible cultures. In a generation or two, there won’t be any ethnic Europeans left, just Arabs and South Asians in their place. The next 50 years are going to be a bumpy ride.

Then clearly your employer isn’t offering competitive salaries.