Hawaiian Electric was inspired by a King
I saw this post on Mastodon and went to do my own research (as we all should do.) Specifically it was around the electrification of Hawaii prior to the US taking it over:
I found a number of partial articles via IEEE, but this linked one is more of a PR piece about the Hawaiian Electrical company.
Hawaiian Electric may be the only electric utility in the United States - perhaps in the world - inspired to go into business by the vision and enthusiasm of a king.
That king was David Kalakaua, a monarch with a technical and scientific bent and an insatiable curiosity for modern devices. In an era of gas lamps, Kalakaua was shrewd enough to recognize the potential of "electricity," and helped pioneer its introduction in the Hawaiian kingdom. His vision led to the formation of Hawaiian Electric and the services it has since provided for over a century have paralleled the economic growth and modernization of the State of Hawaii.
It was the late 1870s, and "electricity" was the talk of society. The king had heard and read about this revolutionary new form of energy, but he needed further evidence of its practical application. Who better to get this information from than Thomas Edison, inventor of the incandescent lamp? Kalakaua arranged to meet Edison in New York in 1881 during the course of a world tour.
It's important to realize that non-indigenous history doesn't always properly reflect the reality of the conquered people. And, more directly, that often it benefits the narrative to belittle and talk-down the technology and civilization of those people.
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"‘I didn’t steal funds’ says former crypto titan Bankman-Fried"
Sam Bankman-Fried seems like the kind of guy who, whenever someone disagrees or is upset with him, rather than dropping things he doubles down believing if he just explains things better they will come around. Dude is out of prison on a quarter billion bail and is blogging and continuing to plead his innocence in the public eye. His legal team must be screaming at him to shut up and just wait for the trial and court process to happen.
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David C. Lowery defines the exact problem with our current era of AI
OpenAI: The same Silicon Valley monopoly pseudo capitalists that have given you all the other monopoly platforms. Start with Sequoia capital. Go from there. Now it's important for the scam to present it as something that is "open" to the public as if they are creating something like a public park or library (one of SVs favorite Trojan horses). Because what they are really doing is taking private property (copyrights, TM, ROP) that rightfully belong to artists (big and small, professional and hobbyist) without permission and converting it to a private company owned by the same people who brought you the current monopoly platforms. The trick works cause commentators (especially tech journalists) willfully repeat the framing that a public good is being created. Not the next Google.
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Minx reportedly moving to Starz after it was canceled and removed from HBO Max
Minx was a show I called out as liking but which was canceled last year. Rumor is now that it will be coming to Starz with Season 2 (which had already been shot when HBO Max canceled it.)
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Interview with Janelle Monae
I just said this about Jonathan Majors, but Janelle Monae also has the distinguishing feature that I will go see whatever she is in. I've enjoyed her music since Metropolis and I've seen almost all of her movies. I haven't seen Moonlight yet, but knowing she is in it is a positive mark for me.
One of my dreams is to write, direct, star in, and create the soundtrack to a big sci-fi thing.
Oh yes, please. Hollywood, throw money at her. Let her make whatever she wants.
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