balooga's recent activity
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Comment on 4 × 3 in ~games
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Comment on Signs you're a dangerous terrorist: using Signal, moving zines in ~society
balooga Link ParentYou’re both right, and I was stretching too far to suggest there was no crime committed. I’m sympathetic to Song and the others but they did some reckless, irresponsible shit. Not 100 years...You’re both right, and I was stretching too far to suggest there was no crime committed. I’m sympathetic to Song and the others but they did some reckless, irresponsible shit. Not 100 years reckless and irresponsible, but still criminal.
At the same time, I expect the person whose murder Song averted is grateful to still be alive. There’s no legal path to intervene meaningfully against impending police abuse.
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Comment on 4 × 3 in ~games
balooga LinkI love this! Thanks for sharing it. Some of the special scoring rules crack me up: 4 × 3 June 24, 2026 -100 points • RULE BREAKER 💀 🟪🟪🌟 🟨🟨🌟 🟦🟦🌟 🟩🟩🌟I love this! Thanks for sharing it. Some of the special scoring rules crack me up:
4 × 3
June 24, 2026
-100 points • RULE BREAKER 💀
🟪🟪🌟
🟨🟨🌟
🟦🟦🌟
🟩🟩🌟 -
Comment on Re-watched the Bourne Trilogy after several years, I understand now why it was so influential in ~movies
balooga Link ParentIIRC the shaky camera was introduced by Paul Greengrass when he took over as director for the second and third movies. The first was directed by Doug Liman and had much steadier camerawork.IIRC the shaky camera was introduced by Paul Greengrass when he took over as director for the second and third movies. The first was directed by Doug Liman and had much steadier camerawork.
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Comment on Signs you're a dangerous terrorist: using Signal, moving zines in ~society
balooga Link ParentI've been reading up on it since @KapteinB posted about the sentencing yesterday. There is video of the incident. I've only seen it by way of these "What Really Happened" clips which are an...- Exemplary
I've been reading up on it since @KapteinB posted about the sentencing yesterday.
There is video of the incident. I've only seen it by way of these "What Really Happened" clips which are an unfortunate combination of cringe + LLM-backed conspiracy theorizing + some legitimately decent armchair detective work. Mostly they're hampered by too much squinting at the terrible-quality videos and filling in details about them that may or may not be defensible. The primary sources are a faraway security camera and the body cam of the officer who was shot, neither of which is very enlightening.
The video shows a series of impacts from suppressive fire hitting the ground well away from the officer, targeted across his path but not aimed at him. That corroborates this statement from Benjamin Song:
When I saw Lieutenant Thomas Gross stop pursuing and point his gun at the back of a running, unarmed protester, like he testified, I was terrified. As a firearms instructor and a United States Marine Corps veteran, I understood what I was seeing. I knew what it meant for someone to lean forward into a gun, like he testified, to prepare for recoil.
As the evidence shows, I did not want to hurt anyone. I never had the intent to hurt anyone. I tried my best to avoid hurting anyone.
It's not clear how the officer was injured. It seems perhaps he was hit by a ricochet from from the suppressive fire. It's possible Song also shot him deliberately but that seems at odds with what's shown in the video and Song's defense. A video on that page I linked speculates (irresponsibly, I think) that the officer also fired accidentally, and it was his own shot that ricocheted into his shoulder — a self-inflicted injury. There's a single frame in the video that appears to show a muzzle flash from the officer's gun and some handwavey suggestions about how the officer contorted himself to be in his own bullet's path. I don't find that argument compelling but either way his wounds were not serious and Song clearly didn't intend to kill.
Benjamin Song was sentenced to 100 years for the following...
- Riot with intent to commit violence
I see no evidence of a riot having occurred.
- Providing material support to terrorists
"Terrorists" only because of the Trump administration's political crusade against the non-existent "organization" Antifa.
- Conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and using/carrying an explosive during a riot
As far as I can tell, these were typical fireworks of the sort millions enjoy every 4th of July. This incident happened on the 4th of July, which is why the fireworks were there. These weren't weapons of terror, as they've been construed.
- Attempted murder of officers and employees of the United States
A single person received a non-fatal gunshot wound from an indeterminate source, with abundant evidence that the intent was suppressive fire in defense of others.
- Discharging a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence.
A meaningless point-multiplier in light of the other charges.
You don't have to search very hard to find the rabble cheering on this 100-year sentence, which is extremely disheartening. Anyone acting in good faith should be able to see plainly that the punishment was not even remotely commensurate to the crime. I think it's debatable whether there even was a crime other than being leftist. But even assuming the absolute worst about Song and the others — that they were violent terrorists with premeditated murderous intent, etc. — a sane person would never be able to justify even a 10-year sentence for what actually occurred. This was a complete miscarriage of justice, executed by an unaccountable farce of a kangaroo court.
These are real people's lives, tossed into a trash heap to score political points with the MAGA morons because of inane culture war nonsense. Disgusting.
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Comment on Signs you're a dangerous terrorist: using Signal, moving zines in ~society
balooga Link ParentIt’s like we’re all just supposed to forget that Signalgate was a thing.It’s like we’re all just supposed to forget that Signalgate was a thing.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of June 22 in ~society
balooga Link ParentStatement from Benjamin Song, sentenced to 100 years (excerpted)People are being treated as if their lives do not matter. All of this is bigger than me. I know I am the person standing here. I know I am the person being judged. But I also know that a case like this can become a warning to everyone else: that if you speak, if you protest, if you try to protect someone, if you are associated with the wrong idea, you can be turned into a symbol instead of treated like a human being.
The government, in its secret motion to give me a life sentence, calls me the embodiment of Antifa. What does that even mean? I am not a member of a group called Antifa. I am not part of any terrorist organization. There is no group called Antifa. Everyone knows that, but this government is so blinded by hate, they’ve arrested 22 good people for nothing. They want to bury me with an idea. This idea that they hate is the very idea of being against fascism.
What kind of people are not against fascism?
When they killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, they went on TV and they called them domestic terrorists, the same day, within the hour.
What will you do in this time of great failures and great injustices? What will you do?
How will you help each other?
How will you help yourselves?
Statement from Benjamin Song, sentenced to 100 years (excerpted)
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of June 22 in ~society
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Comment on In memory of the man who put red and green squiggles under words in ~comp
balooga LinkOkay that’s a touching tribute. And I’m a sucker for all things Penn & Teller, I appreciate the cute anecdote with them. Weird Al, too! As a frontend engineer for many years, it’s nice to see my...Okay that’s a touching tribute. And I’m a sucker for all things Penn & Teller, I appreciate the cute anecdote with them. Weird Al, too! As a frontend engineer for many years, it’s nice to see my usually unsung peers get some recognition.
I have plenty of criticism for the red squiggles but I’ll save that for a more appropriate place. RIP.
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Comment on SpaceX stock tumbles 23% from its high as average investor sees gains wiped out in ~finance
balooga Link ParentInvesting is gambling. We’re so far down the road of normalizing it that it’s an extreme thing to point that out. Personally I view that as a sickness of this society… it’s distasteful to me that...Investing is gambling. We’re so far down the road of normalizing it that it’s an extreme thing to point that out. Personally I view that as a sickness of this society… it’s distasteful to me that so much of the modern world is structured around it, that people have to depend on it for their futures, that not participating is considered financial illiteracy. The whole economy is structured around a cultlike belief in endless growth, the purpose of a corporation is said to be maximizing shareholder returns. Perverse incentives everywhere.
Of course I have a portfolio too. I hate it but you have to play the game. I’ve got mouths to feed. I still think it’s good to be clear-eyed about what we’re doing. Not “investment involves risk” like the legal disclaimers in Robinhood ads say, but “investing is actually a form of gambling.” I feel like the kid pointing out that the emperor’s naked when I type that.
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Comment on How to tie a tie, animated in ~life.style
balooga LinkPersonally I’ve always found it hard to translate this perspective (looking at the knot from the front) to my own point of view (looking down at the knot while tying it around my own neck). While...Personally I’ve always found it hard to translate this perspective (looking at the knot from the front) to my own point of view (looking down at the knot while tying it around my own neck). While this is helpful, I think I’d prefer a similar resource with illustrations from that angle.
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Comment on Britain and Canada join Australia in banning social media for children under 16 in ~tech
balooga Link ParentI’m in my 40s and I believe in democracy, and I’ve never felt so disconnected from government decision-making. Feels like we’re just spectators watching news unfold through a screen. Headlines...- Exemplary
I’m in my 40s and I believe in democracy, and I’ve never felt so disconnected from government decision-making. Feels like we’re just spectators watching news unfold through a screen. Headlines (like this one) show up in our feeds, and we react to them online which feels cathartic but does nada to change anything. We’ve traded effective civil unrest for ranting online, actual political action for a harmless digital facsimile.
I think that’s the broader phenomenon but it doesn’t explain everything. I try be an involved citizen. I vote — rarely for the winner. Feels futile. I go to protests — nothing changes. But you know who is winning these days? Look at the smirking captains of the ship, they’re all birds of a feather. Aligned in their goals of ignoring the will of the people, perpetuating mass delusions and conspiracy theories that deny reality as a vehicle for constantly enriching themselves. Constructing a world of surveillance, disenfranchisement, and passive entertainment, engineered to siphon wealth from the poor to the ultra-rich with staggering efficiency.
I can post about it until my fingers bleed but the architects of this new world are undeterred. Resistance is futile.
I think the internet has created the perfect environment for fascism (or whatever THIS is, actually) to thrive. The fearmongering and sowing of mistrust and division are both an accelerant and a distraction. Social media gives dissenters an illusion of influence that’s completely toothless. The infinitely scrolling videos lull us into complacency. And the surveillance and the technical mechanisms that actually drive the self-enrichment schemes are too complicated for most to articulate any meaningful objections to. Those of us who understand what’s happening are an insignificant buzzing mosquito to them.
We’re living through an utterly sociopathic takeover of society, an engineered cultural regression toward the cruel and decadent, and a project of wealth extraction/stratification on an unprecedented scale. Most people are oblivious to it. It’s not even possible for those who are paying attention to follow all the moving pieces. There’s too much to keep track of, too much news to ingest, too many zone-flooding lies, too much jargon and technical complexity, too much economic precarity for regular people, and too many comically evil schemers in power with no accountability. I think the textbooks are going to have a really damning name for this era in history, and everyone’s going to be scratching their heads wondering how people back then (us) ever let it get so bad.
I’m not even going to comment on the social media ban. What else is there to say? Obviously social media is a net negative for society, but this isn’t the solution. It’s yet another misguided, fingers-in-ears denial of how digital technology works, that ultimately fails to achieve its stated goals while causing us to lose even more ground in our losing battle against constant tracking and surveillance. That so many countries appear to be coordinated in this rollout is telling. I’m so tired.
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of June 14 in ~games
balooga Link ParentIf there are any old school fans of the original Genesis / Mega Drive era Sonic games, who haven’t yet played Sonic Mania, ya gotta. It’s a love letter to the ‘90s. It’s a beautifully realized...If there are any old school fans of the original Genesis / Mega Drive era Sonic games, who haven’t yet played Sonic Mania, ya gotta. It’s a love letter to the ‘90s. It’s a beautifully realized entry to the series right after, say, Sonic & Knuckles. Feels authentic, unlike other later nostalgia-bait 2D Sonic games that couldn’t nail the art style or the physics were too floaty or whatever. It’s nearly perfect. The level design is great, if you’re familiar with the classic levels you’ll be returning to them but with a twist. I found myself giggling with glee to see how stuff I remembered vividly from back then was expanded on or subverted. Felt like the game was winking at me the whole time.
I don’t know if there are many of us around these days with the same level of affection for Sonic 1 - S&K that I have, but if that’s you, Sonic Mania sees you. Give it a whirl, two bucks is such a deal for it, it’s almost criminal.
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Comment on What do you think the top three most used apps on your phone for the past week are? in ~tech
balooga LinkMy daily app usage is pretty routine: I start each day with a suite of seven daily game apps* that help me wake up while I drink my coffee. The rest of the day is mostly Safari and ChatGPT (with...My daily app usage is pretty routine: I start each day with a suite of seven daily game apps* that help me wake up while I drink my coffee. The rest of the day is mostly Safari and ChatGPT (with periodic checking of communication apps like Messages, Mail, and Discord). My usage metrics reflect this, though Messages ranked higher than I expected. I don’t really text that much. I wonder if it’s including time the app is working in the background? On my Mac I always leave the Messages app open in its own space, and that communicates heavily with the iOS version, so I wonder if that’s skewing the stats.
*For the curious, my daily game apps (in this order, which I’m weirdly compulsive about) are:
- Flow Free (3,411 day streak and counting!)
- Flow Free: Shapes (533-day streak)
- Flow Fit: Sudoku (2,380-day streak)
- LinkedIn Games (this one surprised me, I can’t stand LinkedIn but their games are decent; I made an iOS shortcut that opens the app directly to them so I can save some taps and skip the feed)
a. Wend
b. Patches
c. Zip
d. Queens
e. Crossclimb
f. Pinpoint - NYT Games (I’m not a subscriber but their freebies are good enough for me)
a. Categories
b. Wordle
c. Spelling Bee - Noun Sense (by Gametje, from Tildes’ own @jmpavlec; it’s a PWA that I use as an app)
- Catfishing (also a PWA I use as an app)
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Comment on Denali Puppy Cam in ~life.pets
balooga LinkAww! This takes me back to a more innocent era of the web. We need more cute live cams!Aww! This takes me back to a more innocent era of the web. We need more cute live cams!
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Comment on Epic Games announces Lore open-source version control system in ~tech
balooga LinkAfter many years of exclusively using git (and before that, svn and cvs, so I concur with DrStone) I’m gonna need some time to wrap my head around the conceptual differences. I haven’t used...After many years of exclusively using git (and before that, svn and cvs, so I concur with DrStone) I’m gonna need some time to wrap my head around the conceptual differences. I haven’t used Perforce or the other tools mentioned in this thread. In this comment I’m speculating naively about something I don’t understand, so forgive my ignorance…
Am I reading correctly that the CLI is just a client that communicates with the local
loreserver, which has to be running? Maybe not, since there’s also a.lore/directory created in the project root? I’m not clear on how/where the actual data is stored and mutated. Ifloreserverhas read/write access to the whole filesystem that could be a concerning security risk but I assume it’s better engineered than that.I think one advantage of a server-based design could be that it doesn’t need to draw a distinction between local repos and remotes. That might make the mental model simpler, as well as the underlying architecture, but I wonder if it complicates the ideas of “upstream” and “downstream” or of having canonical repos contributors push to.
I’ll need to read more about it, these are just my initial thoughts and they’re probably all nonsense.
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Comment on Smartphones arrived just before the US fertility rate plunged. One study says it’s a direct cause. in ~health
balooga Link ParentYou don’t have to censor that word. You can say “porn.”You don’t have to censor that word. You can say “porn.”
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
balooga Link ParentI’m a big fan of most food options in Georgetown. Katsu Burger, Fonda La Catrina, Maruta Shoten, Donburi Station, Kauai Family Restaurant, Matcha Man, Fran’s, Hangar Cafe… such an unassuming...I’m a big fan of most food options in Georgetown. Katsu Burger, Fonda La Catrina, Maruta Shoten, Donburi Station, Kauai Family Restaurant, Matcha Man, Fran’s, Hangar Cafe… such an unassuming industrial neighborhood but so much deliciousness! That whole area is one of Seattle’s best kept secrets.
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
balooga Link ParentOoh I hadn’t even considered pulled pork! That’s a great choice!Ooh I hadn’t even considered pulled pork! That’s a great choice!
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
balooga LinkThere’s a place called Grillbird in Seattle that makes a katsu chicken sando with shredded cabbage, pickles, and honey mustard on a Hawaiian roll. So good! By the time I saw this thread all my...There’s a place called Grillbird in Seattle that makes a katsu chicken sando with shredded cabbage, pickles, and honey mustard on a Hawaiian roll. So good!
By the time I saw this thread all my other answers had been said by others, so good on you all for your excellent taste! Reading through this is making me hungry!
For the record my other faves are the bahn mi, reuben, grilled cheese, Cuban, and croque madame/monsieur. Philly cheesesteaks make me feel guilty but they’re darn tasty too.
Sounds like he’s not confident about publishing new daily puzzles over the long term. I hope he can! They’re tricky to design well!
Because I wouldn’t expect any one person to commit to so much for a (free) puzzle game, I wanted to see how good ChatGPT is at designing puzzles for it. I used the same prompt three times to see if it would produce unique ones or if it would keep revisiting the same themes. That’s too small of a sample size but I’m still impressed with what it came up with. Formalizing a list of previously used words/categories to exclude would probably help.
Puzzle 1
Answers
Purple — Compulsory military recruitment
DRAFT, CALL-UP, CONSCRIPTION
Blue — Preliminary versions or plans
DRAFT, SKETCH, OUTLINE
Green — Beer terms
DRAFT, STOUT, LAGER
Yellow — Air currents
DRAFT, BREEZE, GUST
Hub word: DRAFT.
Puzzle 2
Answers
Purple — Minecraft product/edition names
JAVA, BEDROCK, EDUCATION
Blue — Indonesian islands
JAVA, BALI, SUMATRA
Green — Programming languages
JAVA, PYTHON, RUBY
Yellow — Coffee slang
JAVA, JOE, MUD
Hub word: JAVA.
Puzzle 3
Answers
Purple — Mononymous musicians
SEAL, PRINCE, STING
Blue — Official marks or emblems
SEAL, STAMP, CREST
Green — Close a bottle/container
SEAL, CORK, CAP
Yellow — Marine mammals
SEAL, WALRUS, SEA OTTER
Hub word: SEAL.
I think all three of these are pretty solid. Each took an average of 2:15 to generate with GPT-5.5 which is way faster than it would’ve taken me (and presumably also Hank, his intelligence notwithstanding).
The prompt I used
Create a new puzzle for Hank Green’s 4x3 puzzle game.
This is similar to the NYT Connections game, but there are only 9 words instead of 12. One of those words is the “hub” word, which appears in all four categories. All of the other words only fit into a single category. Each category contains only three words. Care must be taken to ensure that the categories are specific enough and mutually exclusive, so that no word fits into multiple categories (except the hub word, which fits in all of them).
What I need from you:
For our puzzle purposes, “words” are usually but not always single words; sometimes they are two or three words long but always as brief as possible. Proper names are allowed, as are occasional word fragments or words in foreign languages.
The categories themselves follow the same rules as those of Connections, which can vary quite a bit. Research examples of common category types in that game to understand the conventions that players expect.
Be clever! The best puzzles are the ones with red herrings, where two words that are not in the same category have something unrelated in common, suggesting a relationship between them, but no third word is present that would complete that set.
Before presenting your puzzle to me, double-check it thoroughly to ensure that all the requirements have been satisfied. Make sure each category has exactly three matching words, and that the hub word appears once in every category. Check for category specificity, accuracy, and overall puzzle cleverness.