DanBC's recent activity
-
Comment on In streaming milestone, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery team on bundle featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max in ~tv
-
Comment on In streaming milestone, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery team on bundle featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max in ~tv
DanBC LinkI used to understand the offer: Disney = kid friendly, family friendly, mix of high quality film, and then some decent enough to watch sequels, and some tv shows that were hot garbage. HBO = home...I used to understand the offer:
Disney = kid friendly, family friendly, mix of high quality film, and then some decent enough to watch sequels, and some tv shows that were hot garbage.
HBO = home of great tv for adults
Hulu = I've never understood Hulu.
Now Disney is family friendly, mixed with adult only, and it's got to the point where they're paying money on adverts to teach people how to set age restrictions. And that, to me, is the point where they should have said "what on Earth are we doing to our carefully cultivated brand?" Having a place that's safe for children is important to many adults. Sure, you should monitor what they're watching, and off-loading the monitoring to Disney (with their particular culture and values) is problematic. But still, it's weird.
The entire Max thing is also baffling to me. Maybe it makes sense in tv land.
-
Comment on ‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair in ~enviro
DanBC Link ParentThis is surprisingly difficult. I've posted this example before, so apologies if you've seen it already. Which is better? Disposable nappies ("diapers"), or reusable cloth nappies? The UK...Trying to figure out what I can do to mitigate as much damage as I can
This is surprisingly difficult. I've posted this example before, so apologies if you've seen it already.
Which is better? Disposable nappies ("diapers"), or reusable cloth nappies?
The UK government did some research. Life Cycle Assessment of
Disposable and Reusable Nappies
in the UK It is 400 pages long and the conclusion is almost "eh, we dunno"."For the three nappy systems studied, there was no significant difference between
any of the environmental impacts – that is, overall no system clearly had a better or
worse environmental performance, although the life cycle stages that are the main
source for these impacts are different for each system."UK government was unhappy with that result, so they re-ran the study and tightened some things up and they got this: An updated lifecycle assessment study
for disposable and reusable nappies. It's much shorter and much more readable.The report highlights that the manufacture of disposable nappies has greater
environmental impact in the UK than their waste management by landfill.For reusable nappies, the baseline scenario based on average washer and drier use
produced a global warming impact of approximately 570kg of carbon dioxide
equivalents. However, the study showed that the impacts for reusable nappies are
highly dependent on the way they are laundered.Washing the nappies in fuller loads or line-drying them outdoors all the time (ignoring
UK climatic conditions for the purposes of illustration) was found to reduce this figure
by 16 per cent. Combining three of the beneficial scenarios (washing nappies in a
fuller load, outdoor line drying all of the time, and reusing nappies on a second child)
would lower the global warming impact by 40 per cent from the baseline scenario, or
some 200kg of carbon dioxide equivalents over the two and a half years, equal to
driving a car approximately 1,000 km.In contrast, the study indicated that if a consumer tumble-dried all their reusable
nappies, it would produce a global warming impact 43 per cent higher than the baseline
scenario. Similarly, washing nappies at 90°C instead of at 60°C would increase global
warming impact by 31 per cent over the baseline. Combining these two energy
intensive scenarios would increase the global warming impact by 75 per cent over the
baseline scenario, or some 420kg of carbon dioxide equivalent over the two and a half
years.It's not the sort of analysis we can expect individuals to do. Especially because this is one single product. There's clothing, bedding, feeding, etc etc. We need governments to do it, and then put out an small infographic about what's best.
-
Comment on Behold, the $400 red pineapple in ~food
DanBC LinkDoes creating and selling a $400 pineapple help with the science of creating crops that are useful for most of the world who live on not much money? From 2018 there's this piece that says 48% of...Does creating and selling a $400 pineapple help with the science of creating crops that are useful for most of the world who live on not much money? From 2018 there's this piece that says 48% of the world population live on less than $5.50 per day.
Is there any science fiction about people in those countries either ignoring the IP, or doing their own engineering?
-
Comment on Expanding upon other peoples' thoughts in discussions in ~talk
DanBC LinkI think repeating what someone has just said can be helpful to avoid misunderstanding. I feel concepts like Appreciative Inquiry could help the discussion - something like "so what are the...I think repeating what someone has just said can be helpful to avoid misunderstanding.
I feel concepts like Appreciative Inquiry could help the discussion - something like "so what are the strongest benefits of this approach?", "which method are you most comfortable with, and could you say why that is? These are highly context dependent and may not be at all suitable for your meetings. Sometimes people do just need the details and then get out of the meeting. I feel for breakout groups this can reassure people - "this person isn't calling me an idiot, they're not telling me I'm wrong, they're engaged with what I'm saying, they see me as an expert and they're asking me for more information".
Don't forget that sometimes some people need the uncomfortable silence. If you just let it sit someone will fill it. I feel that your approach is inclusive, and is supporting people join the discussion, and that's a powerful positive. I've been to a few meetings where the quiet people just don't get to join in and that's sub-optimal.
For breakout groups especially some people don't do well "off the cuff", and if they haven't had time to prepare it'd be nice to have some kind of method for them to submit ideas later.
(And if anyone wants to make a small amount of money here the English NHS, and local authorities in England, would want something like JamBoard but self-hosted where the information stays local to the organisation.)
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DanBC LinkI have been playing Six Sided Streets by Chris Klimowski on Itch.Io It's a fun puzzle game. You "place trios of hexes to grow your town outward from the TOWN CENTER". You score points by...I have been playing Six Sided Streets by Chris Klimowski on Itch.Io
It's a fun puzzle game. You "place trios of hexes to grow your town outward from the TOWN CENTER".
You score points by connecting street hexes together, and more points if they connect to a port. You score points by joining parks together. Wind turbines like to be on a hill, but also like to be alone, so don't join wind turbines to other wind turbines.
I'd be really interested in other similar low key puzzle games with tile placement. Nothing too hard, simple to pick up, easy to play. (Any console, too, especially if it's PS1 or older).
-
How do I fix my (stupid) use of excessive punctuation?
In online forums I use far too many punctuation marks. I especially use dashes - to separate clauses that don't need a dash (and sometimes I'll add brackets like this because, well, I dunno). And...
In online forums I use far too many punctuation marks. I especially use dashes - to separate clauses that don't need a dash (and sometimes I'll add brackets like this because, well, I dunno). And sometimes I'll start a sentence with "and" when it doesn't need to be there. My comma use is wild and uncontrolled, but I feel it's a bit more controlled than these other marks.
Importantly: I do not care how other people use punctuation.
But I would like to try to fix, or perhaps just improve, my punctuation use. Like the way I just start a new paragraph at random.
I feel like my posts are the same as those flyers that use 7 different fonts, with bolds and underlines and italics (and combinations of them), and with some words in red and some in green and some in black and there's no rhyme or reason to it.
I do like a casual tone but I feel that I go far too far in the informal direction. English is my first, and my only, language. (I love Europe, but I am a bad European. "Please look after our star" we said, and most of us said it in English because most of us who said it don't know other European languages)
Do you have any advice? I'd be interested to hear about books, or videos, or courses, or podcasts, or anything at all that can help. I'd even pay for this. But not Eats Shoots and Leaves please
28 votes -
Comment on I'm at a loss on what to do about my backyard grass situation in ~life.home_improvement
DanBC Link ParentSo, yes, but in the UK I haven't been able to keep up with mild maintenance and now the garden is full of blackberry (we keep a few strands to feed pollinators and birds), dock, and buddleia. It's...tremendously easy solution to the problem: do nothing. The easiest native plants to grow are the ones people consider weeds.
So, yes, but in the UK I haven't been able to keep up with mild maintenance and now the garden is full of blackberry (we keep a few strands to feed pollinators and birds), dock, and buddleia. It's used to be full of other stuff that people would sometimes consider to be weeds, but the other things are good for insects and pollinators and birds, but these are now being crowded out by less useful plants.
We kept it a bit relaxed, but now it's super relaxed.
-
Comment on Sultans of Ping FC - Where's Me Jumper? (1992) in ~music
DanBC LinkIt's 2:20am here and I needed a pick me up and this is one of the songs on that playlist. Sultans of PingIt's 2:20am here and I needed a pick me up and this is one of the songs on that playlist.
The Sultans of Ping are an Irish band formed in 1988 by Niall O'Flaherty, Pat O'Connell, Paul Fennelly and Ger Lyons. [1] The band's name is a play on the 1978 Dire Straits song "Sultans of Swing", dating from a time when "it was sacrilege to say anything whatsoever funny or nasty about Dire Straits".[2]
-
Sultans of Ping FC - Where's Me Jumper? (1992)
9 votes -
Comment on The biggest box office bombs of 2023; Disney leads with four entries in ~movies
DanBC LinkEh, there's a bunch of films that failed at the box office that had long afterlives. Blade Runner, Donnie Darko, Shawshank Redemption, etc etc.Make no mistake: Films that fall down at the box office don’t have afterlives.
Eh, there's a bunch of films that failed at the box office that had long afterlives.
Blade Runner, Donnie Darko, Shawshank Redemption, etc etc.
-
Comment on Critical psychiatry and the political backlash against disabilities: a closer look at James Davies in ~health.mental
DanBC LinkThere's a small but popular anti-psychiatry movement in the UK. They claim that the medical model is not just flawed, but is completely broken. They'll claim that eg bipolar doesn't exist. It's...There's a small but popular anti-psychiatry movement in the UK. They claim that the medical model is not just flawed, but is completely broken. They'll claim that eg bipolar doesn't exist. It's pretty extreme.
This article talks about neuro-diversity, and how anti-psychiatry is being used by the UK right to push politicians to remove supports for autistic people and people with ADHD / ADD.
-
Critical psychiatry and the political backlash against disabilities: a closer look at James Davies
11 votes -
Comment on The psychopharmacology of cannabis and its impact on mental health - a primer in ~health.mental
DanBC LinkI'm posting this because it's a calm and sensible look at how THC can possibly cause psychosis, and it does a nice job of talking about the problems of the evidence and the complications of...I'm posting this because it's a calm and sensible look at how THC can possibly cause psychosis, and it does a nice job of talking about the problems of the evidence and the complications of causality.
It's a detailed technical document though.
IS CANNABIS CAUSALLY RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS?
There are a number of confounding factors that need to be considered when interpreting any association between cannabis exposure and mental health outcomes.
-
The psychopharmacology of cannabis and its impact on mental health - a primer
13 votes -
Comment on Instagram's Nudify [non-consensual fake nude photo generator] ads in ~tech
DanBC Link ParentYou can bet if the datasets had been trained on men, and images released were male politicians, that laws would have been passed rapidly. This feels like Yet Another Thing that men don't take...You can bet if the datasets had been trained on men, and images released were male politicians, that laws would have been passed rapidly.
This feels like Yet Another Thing that men don't take seriously because it's mostly not happening to them.
-
Comment on Movie of the Week #26 - Aliens in ~movies
DanBC Link ParentYes! Another detail (but from Alien) to make things look bigger is using children in space suits in the Space Jockey scene.Yes! Another detail (but from Alien) to make things look bigger is using children in space suits in the Space Jockey scene.
-
Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
DanBC Link ParentIf you have a really good loaf of bread, tearing a hunk off and just eating it, maybe with butter, maybe dunked in soup, is really tasty! I do it, but I live alone so I'm the only one who has to...If you have a really good loaf of bread, tearing a hunk off and just eating it, maybe with butter, maybe dunked in soup, is really tasty! I do it, but I live alone so I'm the only one who has to deal with the rest of the loaf.
-
Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
DanBC LinkI am working on a lasagne recipe (lentils and mushrooms) but I want to get a regular lasagne nailed first. I've been watching all the Italia Squisita videos and they're sometimes a little bit...I am working on a lasagne recipe (lentils and mushrooms) but I want to get a regular lasagne nailed first. I've been watching all the Italia Squisita videos and they're sometimes a little bit intimidating. I've started by trying to get the best bechamel. I've never made fresh pasta, so that will be fun to try. Obviously I'm not going to be able to match Michelin star cooking, but it's nice to push my limits.
Here's the playlist of videos I've been watching:
Lasagna (Vincisgrassi): Web Star Benedetta Rossi vs. Two Michelin Star chef Moreno Cedroni
Pesto Lasagne recipe by Pina Beglia
Lasagne in the oldest Michelin restaurant in Italy - Arnaldo Clicia Gastronomica
Lasagna in an Emilian Michelin restaurant with Massimo Spigaroli - Antica Corte Pallavincina
Lasagne: Bolognese vs Neapolitan style with chefs Patrizia Nanni and Antonio Sorretino
-
Comment on The internet used to be ✨fun✨ in ~tech
DanBC LinkI sometimes like to post this link to a page about some online systems from 1988, because the costs are pretty high, but also because it talks about what it was like. And the next page is about...on the glory days of the early internet,
I sometimes like to post this link to a page about some online systems from 1988, because the costs are pretty high, but also because it talks about what it was like. And the next page is about BBSs. (The whole book is interesting and Internet Archive have got a good scan.)
Page 75 of Signal, a Whole Earth Catalogue .
$10USD in 1988 is about $26USD today.
Compuserve = $11.75 per hour
The Source $8.40 per hour
Delphi $6.60 per hour
Byte Information Exchange $9 per hour
Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link $8 per month plus $2 per hour
There's some great tv. The problem for me is that it's scattered over so many services. Apple TV+ has lots of great original content, and they buy some good shows too. Amazon tv has some good content. I'm not so fussed about Netflix, but Love Death and Robots is particularly good (especially seasons 2 and 3). Peacock has had some good content. HBO or Max has great content.
I'm not subscribing to all of these, so I pirate the things i want to watch.
They need to work out an a la carte pricing model that isn't ridiculous.