“Oswald Spengler would likely view Elon Musk as the quintessential embodiment of Faustian man at the late, hyper-technical stage of Western civilization.”

“If the radical social critic and philosopher Ivan Illich were alive today, he would likely view Elon Musk not as a visionary savior of humanity, but as the ultimate architect of hyper-industrial counterproductivity and technocratic dependency.”

“In the 19th century, the U.S. government granted Southern Pacific roughly 11.58 million acres of federal land in California alone (about 11% to 12% of the state’s total land area) to subsidize track construction.”

Billionaires call this “capitalism.” I call it MONOPOLY.

“In Montecito (served by Southern California Edison and Santa Barbara Clean Energy), electricity is generally cheaper at night during the summer, but cheaper during the day in the winter.

“Summer (June-September): Electricity is cheaper at night and during the day (off-peak) and most expensive during the evening peak window (typically 4:00 pm-9:00 pm or 5:00 pm-8:00 pm, depending on your specific plan). Running heavy appliances or charging an EV is much cheaper overnight or earlier in the daytime.

“Winter (October-May): Electricity is actually cheapest during the middle of the day (often classed as ‘super off-peak’ from roughly 8:00 am-4:00 pm) because the electrical grid is flooded with solar energy. Late-night and overnight rates can sometimes be slightly higher than midday winter rates.”