As a deaf person I am using Ava [0] which uses IBM's speech to text service [1] as its backend AFAIK. I am always impressed by how it picks up on context clues to make corrections in realtime and capitalizing proper nouns (Incredible Pizza for example). However, it does not work with multiple speakers on a single microphone.
You are correct. Total # of masks for a modern IC can be 30-50 or possibly more. And with double and even quad patterning on the critical layers, that's 2 or 4 masks for a single layer.
Dies are one dimensional, making multi dimensional dies is the next challenge in IC manufacturing.
Today we do use 2.5D transistors AKA FinFets but that's still as single layer.
Multiple masks are used however as creating the feature size expected today with the wavelengths we have requires multiple patterning which means multiple masks are used.
14nm today still uses the same 193nm lithography from 65nm if not earlier, the only way to create features which are actually smaller than the wavelength of the light is by using multiple hard mask and resist layers.
For binocular vision, you can adjust the distance the object appears at virtually. Oculus gives a guideline of 0.75-3.5m for rendering objects that will have long term gaze (UI, etc). The screen itself is at a focal distance of about 1.3m, which is what your eyeballs need to focus on individually (flexing the lens itself).
To be clear, the Jones Act allows other countries to use their ships to go direct to PR, but they can't use their ships to ferry goods from the US mainland to PR.
This reddit comment thread [1] explains the issue well.
In short: most households get grid-tied solar power setups with no batteries. If the main grid is off, it creates islands of power where the units can't safely backfeed to the grid. However, you can legally get a battery setup which costs more money and use that when the grid is down.
Ok, they're not entirely harmless (e.g. if you fly into an hailing embedded thunderstorm at low altitude). But overflying one at cruising altitude is 100% safe.
E.g. the plane in this story flew through the eyewall of a hurricane at 1,500 feet. A commercial jet flies at a cruising altitude of up to 45,000 feet.
[0] https://www.ava.me/
[1] https://www.ibm.com/watson/services/speech-to-text/