Photo by freigabetaste on STTS

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8300075

I went inside TAILG’s @TAILG.Global manufacturing operation to see how these electric vehicles are actually built — not the marketing, the reality. From extreme testing labs to high-speed production lines and fully automated warehouses, this is a deep dive into the systems behind large-scale manufacturing. Then in Dongguan, things step up again with next-generation AGV production. This isn’t about hype — it’s about understanding how consistent, high-volume production really works, and whether it holds up under pressure. Because in the end, the real story isn’t what a company says… it’s what it can actually build.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8291183

Shenzhen, China feels like a city built in fast-forward.

In this video, I explore how a small fishing town became one of the most advanced cities on Earth — with driverless taxis, delivery drones, electric buses, AI, robotics, smart traffic systems, and tech woven into everyday life.

From Futian, Nanshan, Huaqiangbei, DJI Sky City, and Tencent’s Seafront Tower to Shenzhen Bay, Shekou, Qianhai, OCT-LOFT, Nantou Ancient Town, and Queen Spa, this is a journey through a city that often feels years ahead of the rest of the world.

If you’re into China, futuristic cities, urban planning, technology, and travel documentaries, this one’s for you.

The discussion is an enduring internet classic of people who have seen horses in The Last of Us ascribing near magical powers to it vs. everyone who ever worked with horses saying this is the worst idea imaginable which is fun.

I'm posting this here on account of the amusing amount of comments that presuposse a horse is a car that runs on dirt and just self heals broken bones

EDIT: Bonus points for "a horse can carry so much more" which is demonstably untrue unless you want the poor thing to die real early or strap a cart to it, at which point you have both horse and bicycle problems

Abstract: The paper starts from the premise that it is vitally important to recognize that the rapid rate of planetary urbanization is the main driver of environmental change. Indeed, the ‘sustainability’ of contemporary urban life (understood as the expanded reproduction of its socio-physical form and functions) is responsible for 80% of the world’s use of resources and most of the world’s waste. We wish to highlight how these urban origins are routinely ignored in urban theory and practice, and how feeble techno-managerial attempts to produce more ‘sustainable’ forms of urban living are actually heightening the combined and uneven socio-ecological apocalypse that marks the contemporary dynamics of planetary urbanization.

This paper is, therefore, not so much concerned with the question of nature IN the city, as it is with the urbanization OF nature, understood as the process through which all forms of nature are socially mobilized, economically incorporated and physically metabolized/transformed in order to support the urbanization process.

First, we shall chart the strange history of how the relationship between cities and environments has been scripted and imagined over the last century or so. Second, we shall suggest how the environ- mental question entered urban theory and practice in the late 20th century. And, finally, we shall explore how and why, despite our growing understanding of the relationship between environmental change and urbanization and a consensual focus on the need for ‘sustain- able’ urban development, the environmental conundrum and the pervasive problems it engenders do not show any sign of abating. We shall conclude by briefly charting some of the key intellectual and practical challenges ahead.

A really nice Marxist urban socioecology paper.

Finally got a pair of prescription sunglasses for summer, but apparently polarised lenses are potentially dangerous for cyclists according to Redditors due to light playing weird tricks on you. On my first day wearing them the only interesting thing I noticed was my phone screen shimmering like a foil trading card

Africa’s biggest businesses are quietly walking away from the grid… but why?

In Part 1 of this series, we break down the real reasons behind the shift to solar energy in Africa — from unreliable electricity and frequent power outages to rising energy costs and failing national grids. Discover how companies are turning to solar power, renewable energy, and off-grid solutions to stay operational and profitable.

This isn’t just about energy. It’s about control, survival, and opportunity in Africa’s rapidly changing business and energy landscape.