Yes. For a non space-tier power. Their utility for space/LEO comms are valuable, but peripheral. Never going fully high tech, keeps the legacy systems in use and in current practice. Whereas a power like the US doesn’t do shit without a LINK net established and maintained, because we’ve forgotten/are unwilling to use the old methods.

It’s the Ukraine-Russo problem in the Black Sea, but applied to space. Denial is easier than presence, and even easier than dominance. If you can’t compete, why let them use it they way they want, or at all?

There’s a lot of strife inside the tech world from people who work for both big multinationals and startups, over their company’s continued dealing with Israel, and especially so with their armed forces. It’s not well covered, because tech journalism is - frankly very corporate friendly - because it relies on access to sources, and so is very subject to access journalism that self-censors and chills dissent or criticism.

Someone who joined on to work on population mapping for vaccine coverage planning, or a cloud service engineer, may strongly object to their work being contorted and sold off to enable and supercharge a genocide.

This is so mind bogglingly insidious to actually roll out because Delta is a regional hub monopoly and major common carrier nationwide, they very well could be the market setters for this kind of AI-price scalping. Like, we’re just going to throw out the concept of serving ‘a market segment’ and trying to land on a certain price:offering ratio to capture market share via demand curve plotting, inherently leaving space both at the fringes and center for competition.

Now there is no competition. How does American or United price compare on routes or seat category, when there is no public price, but a personalized formula to maximize value extraction from each person? It’d be like trying to price compare at a close-envelope auction - you can’t.

There already is a lot of opacity in the buying process like phased seat releases creating artificial scarcity, but this is next level. I can absolutely see Delta holding back seats instead of selling them to ‘low value’ individuals who have very elastic demand, and releasing seats early/only for those who’ll pay the fees. Want peace of mind knowing you locked in your flight 6-9mo ahead? Pay up 🔫

It’s unbelievably hot when you’re getting blown with enthusiasm though… Slurping away like my dick is the last ice cream cone they had at the store during an August heatwave is sublime, even a mid grade delivery gets upgraded when it’s clearly desired instead of a choice or foreplay obligation.

I have yet to hear a real argument for lifting a truck whilst keeping the straight axle. The very, verrry marginal clearance gains for approach/departure angle while off-roading can usually be better achieved with a bumper delete instead, which doesn’t ruin the driving performance or increase your chance of rollovers. And instead of thousands spent upfront and extra maintenance cost later, removing parts is free.

Now, put some double wishbones and universal joints, that’s an immediately justifiable capability to pursue. But these mall crawlers with the magic pop-out steps are for emotionally stunted manchildren who are transparently buying into someone else’s idea of what a man is.

During COVID when nobody able to spray for mosquitoes there was a really cool resurgence - even in the suburbs. Came home from a bicycle ride late one evening, and swear every tree had Christmas lights strung up, they were chilling out and just glimmering in every branch.

I pushed the bike home that night and watched the show in the trees, a lovely coda to the day