Arthur's recent activity
-
Comment on 12-year-old student opened fire at a secondary school in southern Finland on Tuesday morning, killing one and seriously wounding two other students, police said in ~news
-
Comment on Germany legalizes recreational cannabis use in ~news
Arthur Link ParentI definitely agree, it is silly. I wonder if there's any official guidance as to what to do if (when) you do exceed those numbers? Are you supposed to throw it away (is having more than 50g of...I definitely agree, it is silly. I wonder if there's any official guidance as to what to do if (when) you do exceed those numbers? Are you supposed to throw it away (is having more than 50g of cannabis in your trash illegal?), or is there some government sanctioned way to dispose of excess? If not, even growing one plant could be illegal, and as you say, could be used nefariously to punish/detain/get a warrant for unrelated issues.
-
Comment on Germany legalizes recreational cannabis use in ~news
Arthur Link ParentThat's interesting, and those are numbers I would roughly expect. 1kg seems like a lot of cannabis though, so I can understand why they don't have it that high. Hopefully the 50g rule is more code...That's interesting, and those are numbers I would roughly expect. 1kg seems like a lot of cannabis though, so I can understand why they don't have it that high. Hopefully the 50g rule is more code for "if we suspect you're illegally profiting from this we'll punish you", and not "if you have 51g (or say, 250g) we'll punish you"
-
Comment on Germany legalizes recreational cannabis use in ~news
Arthur (edited )LinkI don't use cannabis, never have, and probably never will. But still, I'd love for my country to introduce a law like this just because I think I'd quite enjoy growing a cannabis plant, even if I...Under the new legislation, put forward by Germany’s ruling coalition party, adults can cultivate up to three plants for private consumption and be allowed to possess 50g at one time at home, and 25g in public, starting from April 1.
I don't use cannabis, never have, and probably never will. But still, I'd love for my country to introduce a law like this just because I think I'd quite enjoy growing a cannabis plant, even if I never did anything with it. If I did have cannabis plants I'm sure I'd try it, but it's really more for the pleasure of growing it anyway. Also, limiting to 50g seems quite small, especially if you have 3 plants. I'd assume that the total yield from 3 plants would be more than 50g, so hopefully nobody gets done for that. (Perhaps this revealing my ignorance on the whole process)
-
How have you embarrassed yourself recently?
Perhaps this is a bit of an odd conversation topic, but I just humiliated myself by dropping a bottle of red wine (for no reason whatsoever, I just cant hold thigs apparently) that I'd just paid...
Perhaps this is a bit of an odd conversation topic, but I just humiliated myself by dropping a bottle of red wine (for no reason whatsoever, I just cant hold thigs apparently) that I'd just paid for as I left the store.
The loud gasp from a nearby woman and the man singing 'red red wine' were both objectively funny, but I couldn't help but feel humiliated as I scrambled to clean it up. I'd also like to give a special shout-out to the man who came to help me clean it up.
I'm coming to you Tildes in an effort to feel less shame. What have you done recently, by accident or on purpose that has embarrassed you?49 votes -
Comment on Jet Lag | Season 9 trailer : Hide and Seek across Switzerland in ~hobbies
Arthur Link ParentAs a Brit, Doug and rug do rhyme? How do Americans pronounce Doug that it doesn't rhyme with rug?Zug:
... it rhymes with Doug, not rug.As a Brit, Doug and rug do rhyme? How do Americans pronounce Doug that it doesn't rhyme with rug?
-
Comment on Nearly 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ, Gallup survey finds in ~lgbt
Arthur (edited )Link ParentAre you queer yourself, if you don't mind me asking? From my own experience, I can confirm that being 'non-heterosexual' was 100% absolutely not a choice. As a child, I begged and prayed for years...Are you queer yourself, if you don't mind me asking?
From my own experience, I can confirm that being 'non-heterosexual' was 100% absolutely not a choice. As a child, I begged and prayed for years not to be. I don't know any queer people who claim it was even 1% a choice.there's obviously a difference between what you feel and what you do
Of course there is, but choosing to not act on gay thoughts doesn't mean you're not gay. It just means you're choosing not to act on it.
Gen-Z is responding to that pressure differently than previous generations, and i think that is partly to do with how positively fucked the world is becoming.
To be honest I don't agree. At least in my experience, Gen-Z are coming out more and more because it is becoming more socially acceptable to do so, not because they're rejecting social norms or because of anxieties about the world being fucked.
-
Comment on Nearly 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ, Gallup survey finds in ~lgbt
Arthur Link ParentSorry if I'm misunderstanding you here, but are you suggesting people are choosing to be LGBT because the world is getting more complicated? As in, making an active decision to be queer in the...Sorry if I'm misunderstanding you here, but are you suggesting people are choosing to be LGBT because the world is getting more complicated? As in, making an active decision to be queer in the same way you might choose not to have children or deciding not to learn to drive?
-
Comment on Children to no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, NHS England confirms in ~lgbt
Arthur Link ParentWe're not called TERF island for no reason. Our support for LGB people has been mediocre (for western nations). We've allowed same sex marriage and civil partnerships before many, but not as early...We're not called TERF island for no reason. Our support for LGB people has been mediocre (for western nations). We've allowed same sex marriage and civil partnerships before many, but not as early as a others. I've brought this up several times on Tildes but we still haven't banned conversation therapy, despite being promised it over 5 years ago. However, generally speaking, if you're LGB in the UK, you won't face too many obstacles. Being trans is a whole different story.
We have some of the world's loudest 'gender critical' TERFs. I've heard trans people who have gone on record saying they felt more comfortable 15 years ago than they do now. Public discourse and media portrayals of trans people have shifted quite negatively. The Scottish government attempted to make trans people's lives easier and this was shot down by unprecedented action by the UK government. The leader of the opposition has either been silent on the issue or has been negative towards trans people, so things won't get too much better after the General Election later this year.
TERFs whine and moan about how children are too young to make such big decisions in their life. Puberty blockers are the clear solution to this "issue", as it allows the children time to be sure about their transition before they begin it. If TERFs actually cared about children's wellbeing they would be the biggest supporters of puberty blockers. Instead, they're being banned because of concerns about 'bone density' and consent (because taking away all options is the best way to solve issues of consent /s). I'm almost certain TERFs oppose puberty blockers because it means they'll have a harder time 'clocking' trans people, and will have to face the fact that trans people are just like other people (Of course there are plenty of trans people already that they can't 'clock' but you'll rarely find them admitting that).
-
Comment on Denmark has pledged to put up more statues of women, with the country's culture minister saying the capital has “more statues of mythical beasts and horses” in ~life.women
Arthur (edited )LinkI do think it's a good thing they're trying to correct this imbalance, the statistics are pretty shocking. I find it pretty funny though that 99% of people who could name a statue in Copenhagen...I do think it's a good thing they're trying to correct this imbalance, the statistics are pretty shocking. I find it pretty funny though that 99% of people who could name a statue in Copenhagen could only name one, and it's a statue of a woman. (Although actually does the Little Mermaid count as a woman or a 'mythological beast', the article doesn't mention).
-
Comment on After George Galloway’s triumph in Rochdale, urgent questions loom for Keir Starmer – and the left, too in ~misc
Arthur Link ParentI don't think this is entirely true. The 'centre-leftification' of Labour seems to me to be the inevitable result following the 2019 election. Jeremy Corbyn, the outspoken and eccentric leftist...I don't think this is entirely true. The 'centre-leftification' of Labour seems to me to be the inevitable result following the 2019 election. Jeremy Corbyn, the outspoken and eccentric leftist was unable to draw the country in. Labour suffered a landslide defeat, even after 10 years of Tory rule. He was expelled from the party and we got a centrist as a replacement.
Despite the results of this by-election, Labour is still holding a strong lead in the polls, which they've held for quite some time. We've seen large conservative majorities overturned by Labour in recent by elections.
Labours strategy is so far working great for them. Keeping small, having no real opinions, and being the 'not conservative' party is working for them. I doubt it will work in the future, but for now it doesn't have to.
As others have said in this thread, this by-election was uniquely set against Labour, and I don't think too much can be read into it.
For what it's worth, I wish I could say Labour should be concerned about the lack of support from the left. I myself am currently deciding whether or not to vote Labour in the next GE for a number of reasons (trans issues, Palestine, etc.), but the vast majority of the British public aren't left leaning. Those that are face the same struggle I do in deciding who to vote for. Do I vote for Labour to ensure that the Tories are ousted (hard), or do I vote for the candidate I actually want, splitting the vote and risking another conservative (or god forbid Reform) victory.
-
Comment on Ant geopolitics in ~enviro
Arthur LinkI'm not really sure I have a point with this, but reading the part about the ant wars (15 million ant deaths) really reminded me of this quote from the BFG: Like I said, I don't really have a...I'm not really sure I have a point with this, but reading the part about the ant wars (15 million ant deaths) really reminded me of this quote from the BFG:
Giants isn't eating each other either, the BFG said. Nor is giants killing each other. Giants is not very lovely, but they is not killing each other. Nor is crockadowndillies killing other crockadowndillies. Nor is pussy-cats killing pussy-cats.
'They kill mice,' Sophie said.
'Ah, but they is not killing their own kind,' the BFG said. 'Human beans is the only animals that is killing their own kind.'
'Don't poisonous snakes kill each other?' Sophie asked. She was searching desperately for another creature that behaved as badly as the human.
'Even poisnowse snakes is never killing each other,' the BFG said. 'Nor is the most fearsome creatures like tigers and rhinostossterisses. None of them is ever killing their own kind. Has you ever thought about that?'
Sophie kept silent.
'I is not understanding human beans at all,' the BFG said.' You is a human bean and you is saying it is grizzling and horrigust for giants to be eating human beans. Right or left?'
'Right,' Sophie said.
'But human beans is squishing each other all the time,' the BFG said. 'They is shootling guns and going up in aeroplanes to drop their bombs on each other's heads every week. Human beans is always killing other human beans.'
He was right. Of course he was right and Sophie knew it. She was beginning to wonder whether humans were actually any better than giants. 'Even so,' she said, defending her own race, I' think it's rotten that those foul giants should go off every night to eat humans. Humans have never done them any harm.'
'That is what the little piggy-wig is saying every day,' the BFG answered. 'He is saying, "I has never done any harm to the human bean so why should he be eating me?'"
'Oh dear,' Sophie said.
'The human beans is making rules to suit themselves,' the BFG went on. 'But the rules they is making do not suit the little piggy-wiggies. Am I right or left?'
'Right,' Sophie said.
'Giants is also making rules. Their rules is not suiting the human beans. Everybody is making his own rules to suit himself.
Like I said, I don't really have a point here. I mean Roald Dahl (the BFG) was wrong, ants kill other ants of the same species. I'm sure cats kill other cats. With all the war in the world, it does make you think though, is our tendency for war just because we, like the ants, are biologically wired for conflict? We are no doubt worse than the ants though because we have reason and empathy and still wage war.
Maybe sombody else can come up with the coherent thought that I'm trying to come up with here. It just made me think.
-
Comment on GMs: Collaborative worldbuilding in ~games.tabletop
Arthur LinkYou've clearly thought this through a lot so I'm not sure if I can really give you any more ideas, but here's what I've thought of. Some of the US's most iconic landscapes/landmarks fall (roughly)...You've clearly thought this through a lot so I'm not sure if I can really give you any more ideas, but here's what I've thought of. Some of the US's most iconic landscapes/landmarks fall (roughly) in the midlands.
Yellowstone National Park springs immediately to mind. Perhaps a settlement began there because it's one of the least radioactive areas around. I mean who's going to bomb a national park? There's nothing there to destroy. This leads to an interesting culture within the city-state. Survivors in and around Yellowstone were campers, self sufficient, and nature aware. Perhaps they have created some kind of nomadic community based on self reliance. Or maybe it's a bunch of smaller 'tribes' who are constantly battling with each other for resources. Though there is no established hierarchy, the area itself is incredibly dangerous as fighting between groups can get messy.
Mt Rushmore is a other one you can play with. How has this iconic feature interacted with society. Is there some hidden secret behind the faces built in by the US government all those years ago?What kind of monsters might spawn here? Giant rocky titans? Or, being a sacred place for some Native Americans, has it been reclaimed, the rocks literally defaced?
I note that Arizona is part of the Christian States of America, but I wonder if there's anything you could do with the grand canyon. How does such a huge natural rift divide people living there?
I've gone with famous landmarks because 1. I'm not American and don't know much about the US, and 2. Because I've always loved seeing how these things get changed and used in dystopian futuristic speculation.
I've really enjoyed looking through what you've written, though I must admit I've not read through in detail, so I'm not sure what I've suggest has specifically fit the vibe of what you're doing for but I've enjoyed thinking about it nonetheless.
-
Comment on Compensating compassion | Too few people donate their organs, dead or alive. How can we make it easier to donate, but avoid the abuses that some fear from cash payments? in ~health
Arthur Link ParentCan't speak for OP but for me it's a few things. The needle is significantly bigger. Blood has to be taken and returned in the same needle, so a larger needle is required. It takes much longer....- Exemplary
Can't speak for OP but for me it's a few things.
- The needle is significantly bigger. Blood has to be taken and returned in the same needle, so a larger needle is required.
- It takes much longer. I'm fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to be able to give a triple donation, most people only give a double, and rarely, a single. For me the whole process can take a about 2 hours, but the actual donations part takes 70-85 minutes.
- You lose more liquid than you do in a regular donation, so it's really important to keep hydrated. If you have a morning appointment, this means drinking 2 litres of water in the couple hours since you've woken up. They also try to get you to consume a lot of drink during the donation. In my experience, it's not uncommon for people to rush to the toilet right after the donation because they're busting for a wee.
- This one seems to mostly be a me problem, but the donation process cycles from withdrawing and returning blood into one vein. During the withdrawal phase, the vein empties out and your blood pressure drops, to combat this, you may need to squeeze your hand, or the machine will stop the donation process and a technician will have to check up on you. During the return, you shouldn't squeeze at all as the pressure may be too high. My veins seem especially susceptable to the highs and lows, so I have to spend the entire time carefully looking at the rate of flow. Most people don't seem to have to do this.
The next factors aren't physically uncomfortable specifically, but they do make donating platelets more awkward.
- You can go more often. Instead of every 8 weeks, you can go every 2 weeks. You don't have to, or course, but it does make it more inconvenient.
- You're asked to avoid eating fatty foods before the donation as the fat can cloud up the platelets and they don't like to use these donations.
- Platelet donation centres are fewer and further apart than regular blood donation centres. Travel to and from can take even more time out of your day.
My list makes it sound awful, but it really isn't all that bad. If you're okay with needles and blood, I would really recommend anyone who can donate (whole blood or platelets) to do so if you can. A triple platelets donation can help three adults or twelve children, for example, and just knowing that is so rewarding. In the UK, donors are notified to which hospital your donation ended up at. Receiving that email is the highlight of the process to me and makes all the other awkwardness worth it.
-
Comment on AI firm [Midjourney] considers banning creation of political images for 2024 elections in ~tech
Arthur Link ParentI've used image generators a fair bit, for personal use, but obviously never tried to generate violent images. I do know that the filters are pretty strict, I've had multiple attempts to search...I've used image generators a fair bit, for personal use, but obviously never tried to generate violent images. I do know that the filters are pretty strict, I've had multiple attempts to search for a trans character been deemed as problematic content. (Which is a topic for discussion on its own) That made me wonder just how good they are at filtering questionable content out. I've just spent the last 15 minutes playing around with generating images containing 'ketchup', 'cranberry juice', 'velvet cake', etc. Here are my findings
~6/10 times the prompt was blocked entirely.
Of the 4/10 prompts that were shown to me, about 75% were silly and couldn't be construed as violent. For example, when I asked for a man holding ketchup on the end of a stick, it showed me a man holding a branch with a poop emoji squirt of ketchup on it.
Of the 25% that could be perceived as violent, about half were violent only without context of the rest of the image. For example, a woman who had been in a 'velvet cake food fight' was covered in a blood-like substance but was also clearly eating a slice of cake. This image could have been cropped and that would have made it quite graphic.
The last few images I was honestly shocked got past the system. There was nothing excessively violent, but there were about 3 images that couldn't really be construed as anything other than a violent image of a person covered in a blood-like substance (including one image which had a knife in it).
I'm definitely on a list somewhere now, but I found it quite interesting that the filters aren't nearly as good as I thought they would be. If I can casually produce 3 violent (although not photorealistic) images on my first try within about 15 minutes, I have no doubts that even with the filters people can produce questionable content even on the moderated platforms.
-
Comment on Finnair is now weighing passengers to update weight and balance calculations – identity of the volunteers remains anonymous in ~transport
Arthur LinkThe article doesn't mention this at all, but wouldn't the fact that all people being weighed are volunteers make the data less useful? I have to imagine that certain demographics are more likely...The article doesn't mention this at all, but wouldn't the fact that all people being weighed are volunteers make the data less useful? I have to imagine that certain demographics are more likely to volunteer to be weighed than others. Are people of a 'normal'/healthy weight more likely to volunteer because they don't feel conscious of their weight, for example? Or perhaps people who are overweight are more likely to volunteer because people who are a 'normal' weight don't feel like their input will be helpful as they're just 'average' anyway.
-
Comment on My marriage is non-monogamous, and I am considering approaching a friend to propose a relationship with him. I would appreciate some advice from monogamous people (and reasonable people in general.) in ~life
Arthur Link ParentI'm still friends with one of my exes, and my partner is fine with that. Many of my queer friends also remain friends with their exes, although that is probably because our community is much...I'm still friends with one of my exes, and my partner is fine with that. Many of my queer friends also remain friends with their exes, although that is probably because our community is much smaller (and, a lot of us start off as friends and then become romantically involved, so there's already that base of friendship).
Maybe this is just me, but I would actually consider it a little bit of a red flag if a future partner wanted me not to be friends with an ex. If my ex is the kind of person I spent x amount of years with, they're probably sombody who I like and deeply value. Of course, I think it would be important to put up some walls between our relationship that don't exist with people I'm just friends with, but I really can't see a problem in remaining friends with an ex if the breakup was healthy and/or mutual.
-
Comment on The debate over subtitles, explained in ~tv
Arthur (edited )Link ParentIt's interesting that culture and history play such a big part in dubbing. As a Chinese language learner, I'm often extremely frustrated by the lack of mandarin dubs available in streaming...It's interesting that culture and history play such a big part in dubbing. As a Chinese language learner, I'm often extremely frustrated by the lack of mandarin dubs available in streaming services, such and Netflix and Amazon. It seems there's a Spanish or German dub on absolutely everything, but rarely a mandarin dub. When there is, it's almost exclusively reserved for cartoons and family films.
This has always surprised me because Chinese is the second most spoken language on Earth. I always put it down to the fact that most Chinese speakers live behind the great firewall and it probably isn't worth it for streaming services to create dubs in Chinese. However, what does baffle me is that there are plenty of films that I know for a fact have official/good dubs in Chinese because I've watched them before in that dub, but can't find them anywhere on streaming services. Plenty of Disney films have official Chinese dubs but aren't listed on Disney+, which I just can't understand. Perhaps it's because there just isn't a culture for it in Chinese speaking people.
When I lived in Taiwan, Taiwanese Netflix had plenty of media dubbed in Chinese. Moving back to the UK, most of this had been removed. I can't understand this. If Netflix already owns the dubbing, it can't cost that much more to run that dubbing in multiple regions, can it?
-
Comment on Vibrating capsule developed as an obesity treatment in ~health
Arthur LinkNot sure it's worth making a new thread, but I have just seen this on the BBC. Curious as to what people think about this approach instead, especially @spit-evil-olive-tips as it seems to address...Not sure it's worth making a new thread, but I have just seen this on the BBC. Curious as to what people think about this approach instead, especially @spit-evil-olive-tips as it seems to address some of the concerns you had. (Battery free, 4 month active time rather than 4 days)
-
Comment on News sources or other subtitled media in Traditional Chinese? in ~humanities.languages
Arthur Link ParentNamewee's Wikipedia page says this about his name: I'm not sure I get the pun? Can sombody explain this to me?Namewee's Wikipedia page says this about his name:
His stage name is a bilingual pun on his first name, the English term for 'name'
I'm not sure I get the pun? Can sombody explain this to me?
According to this article by the CNN, by March 6, 2024 the US had already had 16 school shootings. Last year, there were a total of 82, and the year before that, 79. Granted, the size difference makes the two difficult to compare, but in any case, the difference is almost mind-blowing.