balooga's recent activity
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Comment on US President Donald Trump isn't building a ballroom in ~society
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Comment on Aliens on a napkin: Fifty years ago today, the birth of '2001' in a polynesian restaurant in New York in ~movies
balooga LinkComing up on 62 years ago, actually — this writeup was published February 17, 2014. Just in case anyone else was having trouble making sense of the math. Interesting piece! It’s fascinating how...Coming up on 62 years ago, actually — this writeup was published February 17, 2014. Just in case anyone else was having trouble making sense of the math.
Interesting piece! It’s fascinating how people networked and made deals before the digital era. I love that tiki bar restaurant kitsch, it’s totally culturally insensitive but very distinctive of that era. I can vividly picture the scene.
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Comment on Jon Stewart is our only hope in ~society
balooga Link ParentI like his response while noting that he didn’t actually answer the question. I’ve always wrestled with the tension between wanting good people to be in charge, and knowing that the deck is...I like his response while noting that he didn’t actually answer the question.
I’ve always wrestled with the tension between wanting good people to be in charge, and knowing that the deck is stacked in favor of the bad ones. Good people don’t want to be president. It’s the worst job in the world! The constant decision fatigue, the pressures of weighing one imperfect proposal against another with lives and livelihoods always hanging in the balance, knowing no matter what you do half of the country’s going to curse your name anyway. POTUSes physically age like two decades over a 4-year term. And I can’t even begin to imagine what terrifying national secrets keep them up at night. You couldn’t pay me enough to do it, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
But the job still, somehow, does appeal to certain types of people. People who crave power, fame, and legacy, people who see opportunity to punish their enemies and enrich themselves. People whose consciences aren’t burdened by ethical compromise at scale. People who understand that government is a monopoly on violence and think, yeah, I could get into that.
I’m not saying every president leans so hard into that. The current one definitely does. In my estimation most others did to a lesser degree too, though they were still constrained by quaint things like reputation, respectability, norms, and legal checks and balances. I’m not sure any of those restraints can be put back in place now that the precedent is set. The worst candidates are even more incentivized to seek election now that they know what’s up for grabs. They’ll come like moths to the flame.
What truly good, kind, empathetic, humble servant leader is going to want to take charge of a nation of dismantled and hollowed-out agencies, scientific brain drain, trashed alliances, radicalized constituents, impotent legislature, partisan judiciary, and so on? Only an idiot or a masochist would volunteer to try to fix that at this point.
Look, maybe I’m being too pessimistic. I’m sure there are noble people capable of forming coalitions to take on the hard work. Maybe they’re even patriotic enough to throw themselves in the meat grinder to make it happen, for the sake of America, personal costs be damned. But I wouldn’t blame Jon Stewart for weighing these things himself and concluding with a resolute nope!
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Comment on Saudi funded 3SIX9 Studios reveals slate including Woody Allen, John Boyega, Maxi Iglesias and Arnaud Desplechin films in ~movies
balooga Link ParentNovelty, maybe? His neurotic, naturalistic style was pretty different from the Hollywood norm. I think people found that relatable and quirky. There are better, newer models that scratch a similar...Novelty, maybe? His neurotic, naturalistic style was pretty different from the Hollywood norm. I think people found that relatable and quirky. There are better, newer models that scratch a similar itch today without the baggage. It was a different time.
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Comment on Guitar Center institutes 72-hour waiting period [Satire] in ~life
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Comment on Guitar Center institutes 72-hour waiting period [Satire] in ~life
balooga Link ParentWhen you criminalize musical instruments, only criminals will have musical instruments.When you criminalize musical instruments, only criminals will have musical instruments.
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Comment on Lord of the Rings Extended Editions returning to theaters with a 4D twist in ~movies
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Comment on Prior Lake woman arrested with bag of drugs labeled ‘Definitely not a bag full of drugs’ in ~news
balooga LinkHoly shit, everything in that article is insane. In all seriousness, that woman clearly needs help and I hope she finds it. I’m not sure that a $100,000 fine and 15 years in prison are going to...Holy shit, everything in that article is insane. In all seriousness, that woman clearly needs help and I hope she finds it. I’m not sure that a $100,000 fine and 15 years in prison are going to solve any of her problems though, yikes.
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Comment on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy S1E1 - "Kids These Days" in ~tv
balooga Link ParentIt’s pretty terrible, starting with the Elastigirl VO in the very beginning. Pass. I’d like to think it’s just an Alex Kurtzman problem but I’m sure it runs deeper than that. It’s unbelievable how...It’s pretty terrible, starting with the Elastigirl VO in the very beginning. Pass.
I’d like to think it’s just an Alex Kurtzman problem but I’m sure it runs deeper than that. It’s unbelievable how many times TPTB at Paramount have completely fumbled the Star Trek franchise. Honestly the volume of the crap probably outnumbers the good stuff at this point. I still reflexively call myself a Trekkie but I haven’t truly enjoyed any new media bearing that name since the late ‘90s. Get off my
lawnbridge. -
Comment on Help with 1bed, WFH apartment layout! in ~life.home_improvement
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Comment on YouTube is now the largest digital library of Sesame Street content in ~tv
balooga Link ParentTwo conflicting ideas in superposition. You are Schrodinger’s Fae. Definitely, and Definitely Not, until an observer takes a measurement and the wave function collapses.Two conflicting ideas in superposition. You are Schrodinger’s Fae. Definitely, and Definitely Not, until an observer takes a measurement and the wave function collapses.
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Comment on Help with 1bed, WFH apartment layout! in ~life.home_improvement
balooga (edited )Link ParentCame here to suggest this. “KVM” (Keyboard/Video/Mouse) is probably the term you’re looking for if you’re not familiar with it. It’s a hardware switch, a little box you install between your PCs...Came here to suggest this. “KVM” (Keyboard/Video/Mouse) is probably the term you’re looking for if you’re not familiar with it. It’s a hardware switch, a little box you install between your PCs and your I/O devices. Could be useful for avoiding the “multitasking” temptation since you won’t be able to use the gaming PC without switching away from the work machine.
However! Possible caveats. I’m not up on the latest KVMs but I think they probably still expect wired inputs. If you have a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard, that complicates things. Also, AFAIK these things are not typically used for gaming setups. There’s a chance it will introduce input lag which, depending on how you game, could be an issue. Lastly, be advised that KVM switching is not instantaneous. It’s basically simulating unplugging the mouse and keyboard from one computer and plugging them into the other. It can take a few seconds, longer if the machine you’re switching to is asleep or powered down… probably just annoying enough that you won’t want to do frequently. And expect occasional glitches of the sort that might arise on any machine where peripherals are often added and removed.
New KVMs might have this stuff sorted out. Even if they don’t, they might still be worth looking into for your particular use case.
Edit: @Aran posted about KVMs specifically three minutes before I posted. Don’t mind me!!
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Comment on YouTube is now the largest digital library of Sesame Street content in ~tv
balooga Link ParentI’m pretty sure your assessment was correct. The UI doesn’t make this super obvious, but these videos list Sesame Workshop as their “creator” which is distinct from their uploaders (who are just...I’m pretty sure your assessment was correct. The UI doesn’t make this super obvious, but these videos list Sesame Workshop as their “creator” which is distinct from their uploaders (who are just random individuals). Many of these explicitly call out that they were scraped from YouTube by whoever uploaded them to TIA.
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Comment on YouTube is now the largest digital library of Sesame Street content in ~tv
balooga Link ParentThe stuff in the Internet Archive is an inconsistent mix. Videos vary in quality, resolution, length, language, and metadata completeness. If there's a particular episode you're looking for, it's...The stuff in the Internet Archive is an inconsistent mix. Videos vary in quality, resolution, length, language, and metadata completeness. If there's a particular episode you're looking for, it's gonna take some effort to locate it in the big haystack. And of course those videos weren't uploaded with permission from Sesame Workshop.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a hugely awesome preservation effort and I don't care about the copyright stuff (just pointing out that it's legally gray, and therefore somewhat precarious). The significant things about the YouTube channels are that they're officially blessed, and high-quality.
Though I just looked through there and they suffer from similar metadata problems. The most recent full episode on the Classics channel, for example, is titled
Elmo's New Doll | Sesame Street Classics Full Episode. Its description mentions that it's from season 18, but that's all you get. The episode posted before that one was from season 5, so they're just releasing these at random. You're even less likely to find what you're looking for here, if you have something specific in mind.Makes me wonder what Sesame Workshop's internal episode vault looks like. Do they even possess all the episodes? Ideally, since Sesame Street episodes are compilations of many segments stitched together, each bit would be timestamped, tagged, and searchable. TBH even if they possess great HD transfers of every episode, getting all that extra meta annotated (and standardized) would be a tremendous effort with little ROI. That kind of thing is probably better left to the fan community. Metadata consistency will always be a problem though.
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Comment on George Carlin - We Like War! (1992) in ~society
balooga Link ParentJournalist resistance has waned a lot the past year, but I do appreciate little things like this, and how basically no one adopted the “Gulf of America” change either. I mean, I’d like the press...Journalist resistance has waned a lot the past year, but I do appreciate little things like this, and how basically no one adopted the “Gulf of America” change either. I mean, I’d like the press to show some actual backbone but nevertheless it’s still gratifying to see refusal to play along with Trump’s newspeak rebranding attempts.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump isn't building a ballroom in ~society
balooga LinkHey, this looks familiar! 😉 I debated whether I should make a full post about this, when I came across it last month. Ultimately decided not to because it appears so... nutty. But it's really...Hey, this looks familiar! 😉
I debated whether I should make a full post about this, when I came across it last month. Ultimately decided not to because it appears so... nutty. But it's really compelling, and supported by a ton of actual evidence. At this point I'd say I'm won over. Not sure she's 100% right but there's certainly enough here to cast suspicion on the official narrative.
TBH though I'm just burned out on conspiracy theories since, I guess, when QAnon went mainstream and turned everybody's parents into MAGA brainrot and the evil elites decided to start doing their most evil stuff right in the open because, it turns out, nobody really cares enough to stop them anyway. Actually diving into a grounded, receipts-carrying new theory feels almost quaint these days. It reminds me of when I got into Loose Change and the 9/11 truth stuff 20 years ago. I'm still embarrassed about that, so I guess I don't want to be too quick to sign up for another of its ilk.
I'd feel a lot better if a credible news org picked up the story and did some proper journalistic investigation into this. I tried to tip off one of them, actually, but they never wrote me back.
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Comment on Why the renovation of US Federal Reserve headquarters costs $2.5 billion in ~finance
balooga Link ParentI'm not sure what to do with this but there's a person on Substack and YouTube who goes by The Drey Dossier, who has put together a compelling argument that the ballroom is actually a cover story...I'm not sure what to do with this but there's a person on Substack and YouTube who goes by The Drey Dossier, who has put together a compelling argument that the ballroom is actually a cover story for a secret subterranean data center buildout.
As always when you see stuff like this, please conspiracy theorize responsibly.
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Comment on Why the renovation of US Federal Reserve headquarters costs $2.5 billion in ~finance
balooga Link ParentYou mean like the east wing of the White House?You mean like the east wing of the White House?
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Comment on One formula that demystifies 3D graphics in ~comp
balooga LinkThis was surprisingly up my alley, as I've played around with exactly this sort of basic 3D rendering in a 2D canvas context on a few occasions. It's been a few years but it was fun to watch as a...This was surprisingly up my alley, as I've played around with exactly this sort of basic 3D rendering in a 2D canvas context on a few occasions. It's been a few years but it was fun to watch as a refresher. I don't have any kind of background in 3D modeling, game engines, or even math really. I vaguely recall the important bits from a geometry + trigonometry class I took more than two decades ago but honestly I've never been more than a dabbler. It's fun though.
Although I wasn't familiar with Tsoding I thought he was great at explaining this material... I'll have to check out his other videos! The speed that he's able to jump around without losing his train of thought was humbling and really flared up my impostor syndrome, lol. Maybe some of that's just tight editing, not sure. He exuded confidence with the subject matter, either way. Of course I have to gripe about his point of referencing a DOM element by its
iddirectly withoutdocument.getElementById()😱 and his use ofsetTimeout()instead ofrequestAnimationFrame()😬😞 — YIKES!! -
Comment on Recommendations needed: Favorite “comfort” movies in ~movies
balooga Link ParentI was literally about to post this when I refreshed the page and saw you beat me to it! So it is down to you, and it is down to me. No joke, I watched it (again) just two nights ago. Never gets old.Princess Bride <- how am I the only person to mention this movie!? For shame Tildes, for shame!
I was literally about to post this when I refreshed the page and saw you beat me to it! So it is down to you, and it is down to me.
No joke, I watched it (again) just two nights ago. Never gets old.
This is what I’ve been waiting for! Here’s hoping now that CNN is on the beat, other outlets will pick it up too. I know true Top Secret details aren’t going to leak but it’s gratifying that sources exist who are willing to confirm the basics.