papasquat's recent activity
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Comment on Leave the phone, take a camera in ~tech
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Comment on PornHub extorted after hackers steal Premium member activity data in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentYeah true. But lets be real. The VAST majority of congress watches porn too.Yeah true. But lets be real. The VAST majority of congress watches porn too.
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Comment on PornHub extorted after hackers steal Premium member activity data in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentSomething like 70% of Americans view porn. It's almost everyone you meet on a day to day basis. The issue is that almost everyone is ashamed of it to some degree, so we have these weird Mexican...Something like 70% of Americans view porn. It's almost everyone you meet on a day to day basis. The issue is that almost everyone is ashamed of it to some degree, so we have these weird Mexican standoffs regarding it, where everyone pretends they don't watch it, and thus are ok with legislation that puts porn users at risk.
It's a really weird situation where everyone votes to do things that hurt themselves, but they pretend they won't actually be effected by it.
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Comment on Meet the biggest heat pumps in the world in ~engineering
papasquat Link ParentWell, the bigger a pipe is, the more efficient it is. As the diameter goes up, the volume increases far higher than the surface area of the pipe where you experience losses. Bigger heating systems...Well, the bigger a pipe is, the more efficient it is. As the diameter goes up, the volume increases far higher than the surface area of the pipe where you experience losses.
Bigger heating systems in general are a lot more efficient than smaller ones, so while you will lose some energy delivering heat to houses, in many cases you make up for that loss by having one big, efficient furnace that stores heat very well, and eliminate the need to go door to door to deliver fuel.
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Comment on EU drops 2035 combustion engine ban as global electric vehicle shift faces reset in ~transport
papasquat Link ParentThe thing that pisses me off about EVs is that they're considered "tech" at all. Auto makers act like electric motors and batteries are some new, cutting edge fancy technology that requires...- Exemplary
The thing that pisses me off about EVs is that they're considered "tech" at all. Auto makers act like electric motors and batteries are some new, cutting edge fancy technology that requires extremely expensive computer boards, an internet connection, constant software updates, and specially certified experts to maintain.
They're not. At all. They're far less complicated than an ICE engine. Wind some wire around a stator, slap some magnets on a rotor, apply voltage and you get locomotion.
It's dead simple technology that's been in use for literally over 200 years. We never needed to send golf carts back to their manufacturers to get fixed, or required always on internet connections or constant software updates, so why do we need them for EVs.
That's not at all inherit to the technology, it's just that any time "new" technology comes out, the manufacturers that make it get horny about requiring a companion app, ads, tracking, and all kinds of other garbage.
It makes me wonder what's going to happen when someone invents a warp drive. You're going to have to sign up for 10 years of a subscription account that beams ads directly into your brain to use it.
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Comment on Jeffrey Epstein emails show close connection with MIT's Noam Chomsky in ~society
papasquat Link ParentIronically, I think Chomsky would say the same thing.Ironically, I think Chomsky would say the same thing.
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Comment on Jeffrey Epstein emails show close connection with MIT's Noam Chomsky in ~society
papasquat Link ParentIt's slightly more complicated than that. His work as a linguist kind of inheritely bled into politics. He developed a lot of theories and research about how the human mind inheritely shaped the...It's slightly more complicated than that. His work as a linguist kind of inheritely bled into politics. He developed a lot of theories and research about how the human mind inheritely shaped the development of language based on its biological structure, and vice versa, how language shapes human perception. There's significant bleed over into politics there by default. He then wrote manufacturing consent, which introduces the propaganda model. That book posits that most democracy under capitalism is mostly just a way to get people to be ok by being ruled by corporate interests who use language to shape people's perceptions. A lot of his work since then has concerned those ideas surrounding mass media.
I think he'd be more accurately described as a political philosopher and cognitive scientist rather than just a linguist, especially towards the latter part of his career. After manufacturing consent, he's just "famous leftist guy" to most people though.
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Comment on I don't care much for symbolism in ~creative
papasquat Link ParentIs that symbolism, or is that just leaving detail to the readers imagination? I remember in the empire strikes back, Lando tells Han that the millennium falcon used to be his ship. Neither of them...Is that symbolism, or is that just leaving detail to the readers imagination?
I remember in the empire strikes back, Lando tells Han that the millennium falcon used to be his ship. Neither of them expanded on this and it let you as a viewer imagine this wild and rich history between the two of them, colored by your own experiences (I guess Disney later walked everyone through this story letter by letter eventually, but that's besides the point). That's not really symbolism though, it's just the implication of a richer world.
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Comment on Your phone is a fake house in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentHah, I came straight to the comment section to say the same thing. Halfway through the article where he compared phone=home versus computer=work was an instant giveaway that the author was very...Hah, I came straight to the comment section to say the same thing.
Halfway through the article where he compared phone=home versus computer=work was an instant giveaway that the author was very young.
The kind of relationship he has with his phone is the relationship techy millennials, and gen Xers had (have?) with their computers.
I use my phone as a tool in my pocket, nothing more. If it got destroyed, I'd get a new one and not miss this one, even if all of its settings went back to default.
When I sit down at my computer, it feels much more like coming home. There's more of a ritual involved, it's more immersive, I can do more engaging and entertaining things on it.
More importantly for me, my computer doesn't nag me every ten minutes because some horrible app decided I wasn't engaged enough.
Pretty much all of the domestic metaphors he cites in phones came from prior computing anyway. Unix had the concept of home directories long before anyone ever thought putting a computer many times more powerful than contemporary supercomputers in your pocket was possible.
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Comment on The iconic ‘Home Alone’ house is being renovated by its new owner (The interior is being restored to match its appearance in the original 1990 film) in ~movies
papasquat Link ParentYeah. I've heard the same. Makes sense I guess. Still makes me sad though.Yeah. I've heard the same. Makes sense I guess. Still makes me sad though.
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Comment on The iconic ‘Home Alone’ house is being renovated by its new owner (The interior is being restored to match its appearance in the original 1990 film) in ~movies
papasquat Link ParentI don't think this is that uncommon, but to me it feels almost the opposite. The original home alone house feels like people live there. People with fantastic maids and great organization, but...I don't think this is that uncommon, but to me it feels almost the opposite. The original home alone house feels like people live there. People with fantastic maids and great organization, but people nonetheless. The current interior feels completely staged and sterile. It was designed by someone that feels completely afraid of making any sort of choice. Sort of like people's work personalities versus real personalities. No opinions are expressed, no risks are being taken, and painstaking care is being taken to tiptoe around and avoid possibly offending anyone for any reason. It doesn't really feel like a home to me, or even a house. It feels like a facility.
The home alone house has some clashing or garish choices (personally I think the green tile on the island is kind of bad), but the people that designed it DID make choices.
There's something charming about that sort of authenticity in both people and interior design.
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Comment on How Europe is gearing up to follow Australia's teen social media ban in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentI don't know why you're lumping social media age verification with all of these other issues. That feels like painting with a very overly broad brush. There is a lot of age verification...I don't know why you're lumping social media age verification with all of these other issues. That feels like painting with a very overly broad brush. There is a lot of age verification legislation that has been passed in blue states, sponsored by Democrats. It's not always the same people who are voting against LGBTQ rights or child welfare in general.
It makes sense to criticize these efforts because their implementations often compromise privacy, or because you think the issue of childhood exposure to social media algorithms is overblown, or because of other specific issues that make the costs not outweigh the benefits.
Criticizing it just because similar justifications have been used by other harmful laws strikes me as fallacious though.
Passing the ACA and destroying it were both done under the guise of making healthcare affordable, after all. One of those clearly does address the stated goal, and one does not. That doesn't mean that any law with the justification of making healthcare affordable is automatically bad or disengenous though.
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Comment on The iconic ‘Home Alone’ house is being renovated by its new owner (The interior is being restored to match its appearance in the original 1990 film) in ~movies
papasquat Link ParentI don't know, I was a middle class kid when home alone came out, and it was very obvious to me at the time that there's no way my parents or anyone I knew could afford a house that massive and...I don't know, I was a middle class kid when home alone came out, and it was very obvious to me at the time that there's no way my parents or anyone I knew could afford a house that massive and nice.
I imagine something like that would go for close to a million dollars in 1990 where I lived. I'd never even seen a million dollar house up close until I was an adult.
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Comment on The iconic ‘Home Alone’ house is being renovated by its new owner (The interior is being restored to match its appearance in the original 1990 film) in ~movies
papasquat LinkThe original interior was, as a kid, what I always imagined the inside of rich people's houses looked like. Even when I was little, I could tell how wealthy Kevin's family was. The interior now...The original interior was, as a kid, what I always imagined the inside of rich people's houses looked like. Even when I was little, I could tell how wealthy Kevin's family was.
The interior now looks like literally every other luxury apartment for sale anywhere. The ultra white minimalist look just won't die. I don't know why so many people apparently want to live inside a cleanroom.
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Comment on How Europe is gearing up to follow Australia's teen social media ban in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentJust because a justification has been used in disingenuous or harmful ways doesn't mean it's always used that way though. Surely there are some laws ostensibly passed to protect children from harm...Just because a justification has been used in disingenuous or harmful ways doesn't mean it's always used that way though.
Surely there are some laws ostensibly passed to protect children from harm that were actually passed to protect children from harm, and there are some proposals that are raised for the same reason.
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Comment on How Europe is gearing up to follow Australia's teen social media ban in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentI'd say "authoritarian social control" is a technically correct, but very uncharitable way to put it. Restricting alcohol to over 21, r rated movies, child welfare laws and tons of other things...I'd say "authoritarian social control" is a technically correct, but very uncharitable way to put it. Restricting alcohol to over 21, r rated movies, child welfare laws and tons of other things would fall under that category as well on a technical basis.
Maybe some of these proposals are being brought up because it gives government more control to surveil people for reasons other than what's being publicly stated, but I think most of them are aiming to do just what they're being promoted as; protecting kids from harmful or exploitative content. As far as it being part of project 2025, maybe? But proposals like this in the US have come up before as well, and sometimes by Democrats, so I don't think the argument that in the US it's solely a conservative power grab really holds a lot of water.
I agree though, in practice it would be very difficult to implement without compromising anonymity on the internet.
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Comment on These travel influencers don’t want freebies. They’re AI. in ~travel
papasquat Link ParentThere's a pretty important distinction between Anthony Bourdain, Steve Ricks, people who vlog about their personal travel, and even your personal Instagram feed versus a "professional influencer"....- Exemplary
There's a pretty important distinction between Anthony Bourdain, Steve Ricks, people who vlog about their personal travel, and even your personal Instagram feed versus a "professional influencer".
Namely, the former is doing what they do either because they enjoy it, and they're not getting compensated for it, or they're getting compensated for it by some independent party that just wants to produce interesting content.
Travel influencers aren't doing that. They're getting paid by the hotels they say to visit. They're getting paid by the airlines they say to travel with. They're getting paid by the bathing suit company they say to buy the products of.
It's the difference between making a decision of where to visit because you saw a travel review saying it's a good value versus deciding to go there because you saw an ad on tv.
Professional travel influencers aren't reviewers. They're marketers. The only thing that their endorsement means is that whatever brand they're endorsing had the money to pay them.
I don't know if that statistic makes that distinction, but to me, it's the most important one there is when determining whether or not someone is an "influencer".
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Comment on These travel influencers don’t want freebies. They’re AI. in ~travel
papasquat Link ParentThe mentality of the general public in the past few decades seems to have shifted from viewing taking a principled stand on things being a virtue, to getting the bag by any means necessary being a...The mentality of the general public in the past few decades seems to have shifted from viewing taking a principled stand on things being a virtue, to getting the bag by any means necessary being a virtue.
People would accuse bands, celebrities, politicians and so forth of being sellouts for blatantly hawking brands in the past. It's hard to imagine that kind of criticism towards any sort of mainstream public figure nowadays.
The side hustle of selling your popularity for money seems to be something that's normalized, accepted, and even encouraged by most people nowadays.
I don't know what that says about the world we currently live in, but it's pretty disturbing to me.
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Comment on Meet Pebble Index 01 - External memory for your brain in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentIn the product category, as in wearable tech, I'd agree that basically everything is disposable, but that's not true of all tech. I have 30 year old speakers that still sound great, and barring...In the product category, as in wearable tech, I'd agree that basically everything is disposable, but that's not true of all tech. I have 30 year old speakers that still sound great, and barring any accidents as long as they're cared for, should still sound great for the rest of my life.
I have an IBM model M keyboard that I've used almost every day for the past 15 years. It's older than I am; built in 1985.
I think it would be hard to make a wearable ring that's not disposable, but it wouldn't be impossible. That's also a big reason why I don't have a smart ring, or wireless earbuds, or anything like that. The idea that you're going to pay 100 dollars or more for something that will absolutely just stop functioning one day in a few years just really rubs me the wrong way.
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Comment on These travel influencers don’t want freebies. They’re AI. in ~travel
papasquat Link ParentI think at this point, most of the people making a living being an influencer are doing that for a living because that's what they set out to do. It may have been true a few years ago that there...I think at this point, most of the people making a living being an influencer are doing that for a living because that's what they set out to do. It may have been true a few years ago that there were some people just posting their personal travel pictures on Instagram because they're passionate about the places they're visiting who got offered brand deals after some time. Nowadays, there's a set strategy for the types of pictures you need to post to get noticed by brands, influencers proactively reach out to them, or hire management companies that do so for them, and the whole pipeline has become a business. They're just small ad agencies focused on a single person as the public face, there's nothing grassroots about them anymore.
There really is not a great reason to have a separate camera unless you're really, really serious about photography as a hobby.
Flagship phones will take better pictures than basically any camera unless you invest a lot of time into learning what you're doing, and even then, it will still take pretty damn good pictures.
I'm generally an advocate of owning fewer things, carrying fewer things, and having fewer things around me in general, so even if my phone can only do 90% of the quality of a reasonably priced camera, that's a fine price to pay for not owning an extra expensive thing.