My poop hole is the size God made it, sir.

That’s a first-rate hunker.

In 2003 Liftport forecast they would build the first space elevator by 2018. Since then, nobody has been able to solve the problem of catalysts gradually degrading, and other issues that limit the length of carbon nanotubes to about half a meter. So research has mostly given up on trying to make really long nanotubes tubes and is focused on weaving shorter ones together into a “yarn”. But the yarn has only 1 or 2% of the tensile strength of individual nanotubes - too weak to be a tether material.

So it’s not like there’s a steady stream of progress. The field seems to be waiting for a new revolutionary nanotube making process that avoids the original problems. Recent forecasts I’ve seen don’t expect the tech to get here until near the end of this century. With climate change becoming a more pressing issue (finally) my bet is more like well into the next century. That’s what makes me think better, cheaper rocket propulsion will come along sooner.

Actually tho, that’s the exact way uppity assholes operate.

In other words, don’t be like Seinfeld’s night guy and morning guy. “Every guy has two guys living inside him - night guy and morning guy. Night guy constantly screws morning guy over - stays out til 3am, spends all his money on booze… then morning guy has to go to work with a hangover and can’t afford an oil change. And morning guy can’t do a thing about it, except lose his job so night guy doesn’t have any money to go out.”

I really don’t think that’s the book’s fault.

Alright! Alright! It was me! I killed him! [uncontrollable sobbing]

Good advice. I think the trick is to keep the questions open-ended and somehow related. A series of simple factual questions feels like an interrogation.

Especially if the reason you smell something is that you did something.

bonus: makes the people who live there think they have a poltergeist.

This is actually a fairly well known acting technique. Avoiding direct eye contact helps suppress your own natural reaction to saying uncomfortable things the real you wouldn’t say.

I learned the same general thing through doing theatre. I reframe the interview so it’s not an interview at all - I already work there and it’s my first day back from some kind of sabbatical. I’m really looking forward to seeing the old group again. We get along great and our manager is awesome. Can’t wait! So when I walk in I’m in that character and feel genuinely glad to be there and happy to see everybody. Cultural fit kicks in right away. I feel like I belong there and so do they. Works great.

When I can’t find something in the house after searching for a few minutes, I make a conscious decision to give up and take another approach - go buy the missing tool again, use a different material, whatever. The point is to decide it doesn’t matter where the thing is. Most of the time I immediately look right at whatever I was looking for - as in within a few seconds. Family members are used to hearing me say out loud, “I’m just gonna go to Tru-Value and get another - Oh, here it is!” It works that fast and is very reliable.

My theory about this is that part of my brain knows where the item is all along, but enjoys the treasure hunt and won’t let the information come to the conscious level. But once I sincerely decide to give up the search - it has to be a genuine decision, there’s no faking it - that part of my brain knows the game is over and reveals where the thing is. But who knows, I’m no psychologist.

No big mystery if that’s AI’s real network room.

The rent on that place is pretty low but the cleaning fee is outrageous.

At this point I don’t think he’s aware of much beyond that 2pm is pudding time.

Onlookers have known there’s something wrong with Bonespurs for a long time.

TBF it’s not “already under investigation” as if something bad already happened. It and other robo-cabs are being evaluated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for conformance to new safety standards designed to accommodate self-driving cars - such as not requiring them to have steering wheels or brake pedals.

Cue the pedophile threadjack.

Likewise, if the terms are “all you can eat” they should let the guy do that.