Arshan's recent activity

  1. Comment on Til Death do us Blart podcast in ~movies

    Arshan
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    This is a yearly, eternal podcast that reviews Paul Blart Mall Cop 2.

    This is a yearly, eternal podcast that reviews Paul Blart Mall Cop 2.

    4 votes

  4. Comment on Pour one out for the Steam Controller, now on closeout sale for just $5 plus shipping in ~games

    Arshan
    Link
    Like a lot of people, I just bought one, becuase $13 is cheap enough. I have intermittant RSI issues, so I have always been interested in one. Could also be fun to hack around with.

    Like a lot of people, I just bought one, becuase $13 is cheap enough. I have intermittant RSI issues, so I have always been interested in one. Could also be fun to hack around with.

  5. Comment on Tesla "Cybertruck" Unveiling Livestream: Event starts 8PM PT in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link
    I kinda like the look... I definitely wouldn't call it a good looking car, but it is a crazy, fun type of ugly. I wouldn't buy one, but I wouldn't buy any truck.

    I kinda like the look... I definitely wouldn't call it a good looking car, but it is a crazy, fun type of ugly. I wouldn't buy one, but I wouldn't buy any truck.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on Joe Biden's verbal stumbles have voters worried about his mental fitness. Maybe they’d be more understanding if they knew he’s still fighting a stutter in ~news

    Arshan
    Link
    I wouldn't consider his mispeaking problems to be a stutter. I have always considered a stutter to be either repeating words or adding in gibberish noises during speaking. Biden's gaffes appear to...

    I wouldn't consider his mispeaking problems to be a stutter. I have always considered a stutter to be either repeating words or adding in gibberish noises during speaking. Biden's gaffes appear to be a deeper issue; the ones I have seen are largely focused on him seeming to forget when he is. I am deeply concered with Biden being the democratic canidate because I don't see him being able to beat Trump.

    5 votes

  7. Comment on Interpol plans to condemn encryption spread, citing predators, sources say in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link
    If I said that we should outlaw private conversations and all in-person conversations should be recorded and accessible to law enforcement, I would be stunned if any person would agree with me....

    If I said that we should outlaw private conversations and all in-person conversations should be recorded and accessible to law enforcement, I would be stunned if any person would agree with me. And come on, think of all the children that would be protected if the police could monitor all IRL conversations. In-person privacy is considered sacrosanct because it is easy to understand by anyone. Digital privacy is attacked because it is not immediately apparent to a layman the issues caused by policies proposed by the article. An encryption scheme with a backdoor for police will eventually be a scheme with a backdoor for anyone. Do you really want technically savvy pedophiles being able to read your children's messages? Public safety must be balanced with human rights.

    9 votes

  8. Comment on What's a "sore thumb" for you? in ~talk

    Arshan
    Link
    Inconsistent / Terrible UI One program that is an internal tool at the company I work at is the one that haunts / fills me with blind fury. It represents whether a sensor is toggled on, i.e....

    Inconsistent / Terrible UI

    One program that is an internal tool at the company I work at is the one that haunts / fills me with blind fury. It represents whether a sensor is toggled on, i.e. seeing an object, or toggled off, not seeing an object. Some sadistic fuck made part of the UI be "[On/off indicator] Object NOT in location". Every time I see it I want to smash something becuase it is so unecessary. The interface has other sensors that are designed in the sane way, "[on/off] Object is at location". Also the program hasn't been upgrade in 20 years, but everyone in my department uses at least once a day.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on What is/are your favorite quote/s? in ~talk

    Arshan
    Link
    "If God has made us in his image, we have returned him the favor." "A witty saying proves nothing." Voltaire

    "If God has made us in his image, we have returned him the favor."

    "A witty saying proves nothing."

    • Voltaire
    4 votes

  10. Comment on Re-Licensing Sentry in ~comp

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    I also generally prefer the AGPL, but it it doesn't block a significant risk for open source companies that offer hosted versions of their software. Yes, the APGL blocks third parties from...

    I also generally prefer the AGPL, but it it doesn't block a significant risk for open source companies that offer hosted versions of their software. Yes, the APGL blocks third parties from modifying the code and running it without providing the code to the public. It does not prevent a company from just running the code unmodified and selling that as a service. AWS is notoroius for doing this, see elasticsearch for one example. The economies of scale that AWS already has means they can offer the identical service at a lower price and likely higher reliability. The smaller companies cannot compete with the big cloud providers in that arena. The BSL prevents any of the cloud providers from offering a comparable service. For many open source companies, they need this protection if their software gets remotely popular.

    4 votes

  11. Comment on Re-Licensing Sentry in ~comp

    Arshan
    Link
    I personally believe licenses like the BSL are a necessary step for any open source software, and I do consider it open source, in the AWS / GCP world order. Open source software made the modern...

    I personally believe licenses like the BSL are a necessary step for any open source software, and I do consider it open source, in the AWS / GCP world order. Open source software made the modern cloud possible, but now those same cloud providers have the clout to just steal your work. AWS just hosting a black-box version of your project will demolish your business; they can drastically outprice you. I do think open source licensing could use more attention, but the BSL is a step in the right direction for many projects.

    10 votes

  12. Comment on The math for Warren’s health-care plan adds up if you accept its ludicrous premise in ~finance

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    I don't have a specific problem with generally lower pay for medical staff. Clearly, the rest of this first-world doctors are doing fine on the pay they are recieving.

    I don't have a specific problem with generally lower pay for medical staff. Clearly, the rest of this first-world doctors are doing fine on the pay they are recieving.

    5 votes

  13. Comment on The math for Warren’s health-care plan adds up if you accept its ludicrous premise in ~finance

    Arshan
    Link
    I find the economic arguments against the medicare-for-all debate to be disingenious at the best. Firstly, comparable healthcare systems already exist and are economically viable. Canada and the...

    I find the economic arguments against the medicare-for-all debate to be disingenious at the best. Firstly, comparable healthcare systems already exist and are economically viable. Canada and the U.K. are two examples; you could look at Germany or Norway. It is a non-argument to state that universal healthcare is economically impossible.

    Secondly, it is a question that is at an enormous scale. The healthcare industry, using a quick duckduckgo and napkin math, is an ~$30,800,000,000,000 in 2018 USD, using the OECD average, worldwide, yearly business. The problem is that capitalism doesn't optimize at this scale. Markets optimize internally. Theortically, an American could move to a country with universal healthcare, but that is an insane assumption to build a theory around.

    Now, I will insert my dangerous idea; maybe removing the profit mechinism from the healthcare industry will save money. The healthcare industry has many different areas of specialization, and each firm in that specialization has a sales and HR department, managers and investors to payoff; none of these groups CREATE value. They may find profits, but profit is not value. If healthcare was nationalized in the US and the nationilized insitution wasn't run as a psuedo-business, all dead-weight groups could be either consalidated or eliminated entirely. The "price" of each healthcare good could also be a simple reflection of the costs to create it. Both of these changes have the possibility of drastically reducing the dollar cost of healthcare. Now, nationalized healthcare in the US is a BIG dream, but I would argue that it would be an economically advantageous policy.

    20 votes

  14. Comment on Let's talk bags in ~talk

    Arshan
    Link
    I got the Aer Daypack a few months ago, and I have been really happy with it. It is the only backpack I have ever used that can consistently sit upright. The straps are on the thicker side with...

    I got the Aer Daypack a few months ago, and I have been really happy with it. It is the only backpack I have ever used that can consistently sit upright. The straps are on the thicker side with nice padding. It is on the smaller side, but it has enough space for all my day to day things. I keep an old thinkpad x250, a notepad and my current book in it. I also keep chargers and everything like that in it as well. Overall, a great backpack if you can get it, it sells out alot.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Who's making good films? in ~movies

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    I have seen a few of their videos, but I haven't seen that series yet. Thanks!

    I have seen a few of their videos, but I haven't seen that series yet. Thanks!

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Who's making good films? in ~movies

    Arshan
    Link
    If you enjoy movies like The Room or Birdemic, I cannot recommend Fateful Findings more. It makes The Room look well made, and I am not exagerating. It is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

    If you enjoy movies like The Room or Birdemic, I cannot recommend Fateful Findings more. It makes The Room look well made, and I am not exagerating. It is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on What's one thing you HAVEN'T been able to find online, no matter how hard you tried? in ~talk

    Arshan
    Link
    Well for a college paper, I was trying to find all releases of the CIA World Factbook. I wanted to get economic information on Middle Eastern countries since the 60s, and the factbook was the only...

    Well for a college paper, I was trying to find all releases of the CIA World Factbook. I wanted to get economic information on Middle Eastern countries since the 60s, and the factbook was the only possible aource I could find. But the main CIA archive only goes back to 2000. The internet archive had the 90s and 80s, but just a few in the 70s. At this point I was curious, so I tried to find physical copies. I looked through Ebay, rare book stores and a few other auction sites, but I could never find all of them. I believe it was 1968, 1971 and 1979 that I never found, but it was a while ago. So if anyone here knows where a copy of these books are, I would love to know.

    12 votes

  18. Comment on What are people’s thoughts on Edward Snowden? in ~talk

    Arshan
    Link
    I believe he was put into an incredibly difficult position and that he made one of the better possible decisions. I personally have no patience for the "but now were less safe" argument. If...

    I believe he was put into an incredibly difficult position and that he made one of the better possible decisions. I personally have no patience for the "but now were less safe" argument. If intelligence agencies NEED the level access they had/have to protect against <insert boogeyman>, why don't they take more control, so we can be even safer? And since Snowden's whistleblowing, I haven't heard any specific incidents that occurred that could have been prevented if Snowden kept quiet.

    5 votes

  19. Comment on Lee Pace, Jared Harris to Star in Apple’s Isaac Asimov Series ‘Foundation’ in ~tv

    Arshan
    Link
    I hope they do the series justice; it is easily Asimov's biggest work. It will be challenging to portray it faithfully and also keep good pacing. At least the cast so far looks honestly perfect. I...

    I hope they do the series justice; it is easily Asimov's biggest work. It will be challenging to portray it faithfully and also keep good pacing. At least the cast so far looks honestly perfect. I hope they get a director with serious sci-fi chops.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Website Reader Friendly Fonts? in ~design

    Arshan
    Link
    I use inter as my main font. I personally find it to be very readable, except at very large sizes. It is a Sans-Serif font that was designed for UIs, but it is still very nice for documents. As a...

    I use inter as my main font. I personally find it to be very readable, except at very large sizes. It is a Sans-Serif font that was designed for UIs, but it is still very nice for documents. As a general recommendation, I second Practical Typography as a solid, if opinionated, resource on typography in a wider sense. It is free, but the author does request donations if that is possible for you.

    9 votes