gary's recent activity
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Comment on Weekly Israel-Hamas war megathread - week of May 13 in ~news
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Comment on Weekly Israel-Hamas war megathread - week of May 13 in ~news
gary Link ParentIn the new numbers, men are dying at 2x the rate women are. If you apply the 2x rate to the old numbers, you would see it couldn't be possible. Therefore, if you assume the new numbers are more...In the new numbers, men are dying at 2x the rate women are. If you apply the 2x rate to the old numbers, you would see it couldn't be possible. Therefore, if you assume the new numbers are more accurate, then it's likely women were over counted in the old numbers. Unless the distribution has changed a lot recently, which is why I'm saying we can't know.
Do the math.
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Comment on Weekly Israel-Hamas war megathread - week of May 13 in ~news
gary Link ParentOr lower. Your "probably" is based on nothing. We just don't know. What we do know is that the UN has changed the proportion of casualties and in the new breakdown, more men have died than in the...There might very well be (and probably are) the same number or higher in each category as before.
Or lower. Your "probably" is based on nothing. We just don't know. What we do know is that the UN has changed the proportion of casualties and in the new breakdown, more men have died than in the old breakdown. But it could very well be that more women and children have died recently than in the beginning of the war, so it may end up the same like you're saying, but we just don't have enough information right now.
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Comment on Is Emacs or VIM worth learning in today's day and age? in ~comp
gary Link Parent@tauon answered better than I could. I agree with everything they said, and would like to add that adding in LSP stuff is way easier on helix (just install the language server; no config needed...@tauon answered better than I could. I agree with everything they said, and would like to add that adding in LSP stuff is way easier on helix (just install the language server; no config needed most of the time).
The biggest reason I use helix is the polish. It lacks in features, notably no plugin system yet, but what it does have works better than vim plugins I've used. Global file search, a picker window for those results, and also fuzzy finding files are components I rely on constantly at work. Telescope and fzf worked on vim but there was often a slight lag that would drive me crazy. I would mess with configuration and waste time without fixing the issue. It just works on helix without the lag.
The LSP stuff I mentioned earlier? Yeah I got it working in vim with a bunch of config. They make it "easier" now but the damn steps are so boilerplate that they might as well bake it in with an easy install option rather than have you copy paste config you're not really reading until something is broken and you have no idea why. They have batteries included "distros" of vim now and maybe they solve the above problems.
My helix config file minus empty newlines is 14 lines long, of which 5 of those lines is setting the section the setting applies to. I haven't touched it since the first week I started using helix; it just works.
Every release brings substantial improvements and I feel a lot of joy reading these changelogs 2 or so times a year. The features probably all exist in vim through a plugin, but the curation and polish aspect make me happier than hunting for something I'm not even aware exists.
Vim is great! I will always love vim and use vi/vim on a system that isn't mine. I'm just too busy these days to tinker with my config files and like things with sane defaults, fast, and good enough.
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Comment on Chinese police officers will soon be on patrol in Hungary in ~news
gary LinkIs this something actually worrisome or are the comments here knee jerk reactions? Why should we believe it's any more out of the norm than what Hungary does with Croatia and Austria as noted in...Is this something actually worrisome or are the comments here knee jerk reactions? Why should we believe it's any more out of the norm than what Hungary does with Croatia and Austria as noted in the article? Or China and Serbia?
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Comment on Is Emacs or VIM worth learning in today's day and age? in ~comp
gary LinkAs a competent but not expert vim/helix user, I'd say less the editors themselves and more their keybinds. The editors are powerful, but my enjoyment comes from flying around the editor and vim...As a competent but not expert vim/helix user, I'd say less the editors themselves and more their keybinds. The editors are powerful, but my enjoyment comes from flying around the editor and vim keybinds are practically universal at this point. Try it out! Force yourself to use it for a while and manipulate text with it beyond just inserting.
I mentioned helix because I like helix more these days. Their keybinds aren't supported in many editors though.
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Comment on Musi’s free music streaming app is a hit with thrifty teens. The app claims to tap content on YouTube, but some in the music industry question the legitimacy of that model. in ~music
gary Link ParentDid it take Musi to show us that people want both free and convenient options?Did it take Musi to show us that people want both free and convenient options?
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Comment on Hey GM: If you want to beat Apple, give people the buttons CarPlay can’t in ~transport
gary Link ParentEh, the UI for Mazda's non-touch CarPlay is serviceable, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's incredible. It's fundamentally solid, but the UI was not designed for the Mazda-style rotary knob...Eh, the UI for Mazda's non-touch CarPlay is serviceable, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's incredible. It's fundamentally solid, but the UI was not designed for the Mazda-style rotary knob and it shows. The latest version of CarPlay has a terrible colorscheme for showing which button element is selected. The default buttons that are selected in apps like Maps is not great either; there's not enough predictability and also navigating to the one you want can require way too many turns.
If you're using Maps and switch into Music, half a second later a banner will pop up showing you the directions that you have already just seen, and also putting your knob focus onto the button that returns you to Maps. Stealing focus is bad; stealing focus on a delay is bad; stealing focus to navigate you back to an app you just made a conscious decision to leave is mind mindbogglingly bad. You can tell no one at Apple actually dailies a car with a knob based UI.
Lastly, the Music app itself is frustrating. If you want to scroll your queue, it will only load X songs. Sometimes it loads X+Y songs, but then the OS remembers it's only supposed to show X songs, so it then removes the Y songs from the UI. Why..? And if you pick the last song in a queue, have fun going back to the queue and starting at the bottom of the list, because for some reason no one at Apple has figured out that selecting a song at the bottom of the queue means that you necessarily haven't seen the new songs populating your queue. Maintaining position in a list when the list changes based on your choice is stupid.
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Comment on Sony backed down from the PSN requirement to play Helldivers 2. How will this change how the community reacts to game changes? in ~games
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Comment on Sony backed down from the PSN requirement to play Helldivers 2. How will this change how the community reacts to game changes? in ~games
gary LinkI attribute Sony's defeat more to Steam's delisting of the game and their refunding. I'm sure Steam was not happy to be refunding so many players for a mistake that Sony made (removing the PSN...I attribute Sony's defeat more to Steam's delisting of the game and their refunding. I'm sure Steam was not happy to be refunding so many players for a mistake that Sony made (removing the PSN requirement temporarily without stating it was temporary). Sony also would have had to face headaches from players that purchased the game in countries where PSN isn't offered. Fake reviews you can suffer through, but the largest store blackballing your game is a whole nother tier of hurt.
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Comment on Illinois Democrats speedily change candidate law; Republicans call measure ‘election interference,' "undemocratic" in ~news
gary Link ParentIt seems like some of the discontent has to do with the Democrats introducing it at this specific point in time, changing the rules of the upcoming election with not enough time for Republicans to...It seems like some of the discontent has to do with the Democrats introducing it at this specific point in time, changing the rules of the upcoming election with not enough time for Republicans to get candidates to primary because they were expecting to use the slate process. If the Democrats were going to pass this bill, they should have introduced it earlier to appear fair.
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Comment on California junk fee ban could upend restaurant industry in ~food
gary Link ParentI think I understood, but let me know if I'm not still. I meant that in most restaurants, under most circumstances, there is no tip on the receipt. It's not a required part of the bill. But people...I think I understood, but let me know if I'm not still. I meant that in most restaurants, under most circumstances, there is no tip on the receipt. It's not a required part of the bill. But people feel compelled to give 15-22%, so even though it's not required, there is great social pressure to regardless of actual service level.
There are some restaurants that do charge you a mandatory tip. It's usually for groups of 5+ in my experience, and they'll tell you ahead of time or there will be a sign. This part is enforced, since they tell you ahead of time.
BOTH scenarios are problems though, in my opinion. The first situation is close to what you experience in the Czech Republic, although the amounts are higher here and it's more expected, but it's not good to have a system where voluntary fees really aren't voluntary.
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Comment on California junk fee ban could upend restaurant industry in ~food
gary Link ParentEnforced tipping is not the default in the States. The default here is what you described, but with 15-22%.Enforced tipping is not the default in the States. The default here is what you described, but with 15-22%.
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Comment on California junk fee ban could upend restaurant industry in ~food
gary Link ParentNo, it's different. In other states, employers make up the difference only if you don't make minimum wage. In California, you get minimum wage plus tips.No, it's different. In other states, employers make up the difference only if you don't make minimum wage. In California, you get minimum wage plus tips.
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
gary Link ParentThe latter is not relevant until a hot war occurs, but you have to prepare before the hot war occurs. Russia, the EU, and Nordstream as an example of not preparing. Maybe China-Taiwan is enough to...The latter is not relevant until a hot war occurs, but you have to prepare before the hot war occurs. Russia, the EU, and Nordstream as an example of not preparing. Maybe China-Taiwan is enough to convince people at that time that TikTok can be banned. But what about situations that aren't as clear cut?
If China at least played by a similar ruleset as the US, then I would agree with you, but they don't. You can't let another country ban you from bringing in information while they get to export whatever they want. It's a no-win-only-lose scenario for the US if they did so.
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
gary Link ParentThat you use the word "regulate" tells me that we see the US's fears here differently. Europe being successful or not with regulating TikTok is not the beacon that the US should be looking toward....That you use the word "regulate" tells me that we see the US's fears here differently. Europe being successful or not with regulating TikTok is not the beacon that the US should be looking toward. Sure, there's some concerns about data collection and regulating where data is stored helps alleviate, but not eliminate, the potential that personal data on a massive scale can be used for targeted blackmail. The real fear, however, is that TikTok's reach right now and in the future can enable the Chinese government to push an agenda.
If the owners of TikTok were subject to US jurisdiction, then they could be held liable for any egregious acts. If TikTok remains owned by a foreign government that has repeatedly demonstrated that they do not want to conduct business on reasonable terms, then what will we do when TikTok is used for propaganda in the future? If we wait even longer to ban it, the backlash becomes greater. It's best to nip it in the bud now while we still can.
Put another way, TikTok can be regulated all you want up until there's a China-Taiwan showdown and then it can be flipped to spewing propaganda. What then, and how did regulations between now and that future help?
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
gary Link ParentEurope is a collection of like-minded democracies that we can negotiate and compromise with. China is not. We have lost many times in the past with intellectual property, foreign ownership of...Europe is a collection of like-minded democracies that we can negotiate and compromise with. China is not. We have lost many times in the past with intellectual property, foreign ownership of companies, and Facebook being banned. This would not have been any different.
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Comment on The startup offering free toilets and coffee for delivery workers — in exchange for their data in ~tech
gary Link ParentPublic restrooms can get quite disgusting. Having some barrier to entry helps reduce the number of times a worker has to deal with biohazard level messes.Public restrooms can get quite disgusting. Having some barrier to entry helps reduce the number of times a worker has to deal with biohazard level messes.
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
gary Link ParentIt was a very simplified dig, but it's somewhat how banking works. The inflation rate is not necessarily the cost to borrow, but the inflation rate impacts how the Fed thinks about yield on bonds,...It was a very simplified dig, but it's somewhat how banking works. The inflation rate is not necessarily the cost to borrow, but the inflation rate impacts how the Fed thinks about yield on bonds, which ends up affecting banks. The point is that if there's secretly shadow inflation of 15% instead of 5%, we should expect that mortgage loans end up being closer to 15% than 5%.
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
gary Link ParentThey probably eat better than they did 20 years ago. I remember having steak as a rarity growing up, but they seem to have it much more frequently now. They also buy from Costco for a lot of their...They probably eat better than they did 20 years ago. I remember having steak as a rarity growing up, but they seem to have it much more frequently now. They also buy from Costco for a lot of their items now rather than buying from the ethnic grocery stores that have lower prices but less consistent goods.
I don't think the data doesn't exist. Inflation is studied hard in this country and every other developed country in the world. None of the ideas we spoke about are new and some great realization; it's just foreign to us who don't work with it every day.
Nothing in your original comment was clear about discussing numbers in the context of a greater than 35k denominator. If you want to compare to all deaths, reported and unreported, then you are not comparing like for like which is the point of the change in the UN numbers being reported. In which case why are you even discussing these UN numbers? It shouldn't matter to you then if 9k women died (old numbers) or 4.5k women died (new numbers) since there's an unknown amount that adds up to neither of those.