Blakdragon's recent activity
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Comment on Monsanto products potentially cause cancer in ~health
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Comment on Grape glut: Too much wine across the world leaves tons of US grapes rotting this crush season in ~food
Blakdragon Link ParentAh so this even further implies that it's not global wine supply, like the article suggests (thought it does hit on tariffs for one sentence). It's just that the global market isn't buying...Ah so this even further implies that it's not global wine supply, like the article suggests (thought it does hit on tariffs for one sentence). It's just that the global market isn't buying American anymore.
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Comment on Grape glut: Too much wine across the world leaves tons of US grapes rotting this crush season in ~food
Blakdragon LinkI do wonder if this less to do with global supply, and more to do with Canada still not doing business with the US alcohol business. The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) is the single...I do wonder if this less to do with global supply, and more to do with Canada still not doing business with the US alcohol business. The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) is the single largest purchaser of alcohol in the world, and has fully stopped buying any alcohol from the US since annexation and tariff threats earlier this year.
Are other parts of the world experiencing this much of a downturn?
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Comment on Musings on "Developer Mode" in ~comp
Blakdragon LinkI'm an android developer.... my phones are always in developer mode lol. I turn it on so I can connect my phone to android studio and get logcat output. Sometimes I use some of the extra settings...I'm an android developer.... my phones are always in developer mode lol. I turn it on so I can connect my phone to android studio and get logcat output. Sometimes I use some of the extra settings (like showing layout bounds, or having activities die immediately) to produce or track down bugs. Honestly didn't realize it was so interesting.
TBH I don't use most of them, ever. If you want to break a fuck-ton of apps, turn on "Don't keep activities" lol. I don't actually recommend this for real-life use. It just means that your apps won't stay alive in the background ever, forcing developers to recover appropriately.
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Comment on Don't sleep on Kpop Demon Hunters in ~movies
Blakdragon LinkI'm fully obsessed with this movie right now. I think a lot of the plot utilised ideas that might be less familiar to western audiences, but I've learned some of it though social media osmosis...I'm fully obsessed with this movie right now.
I think a lot of the plot utilised ideas that might be less familiar to western audiences, but I've learned some of it though social media osmosis haha. My favourite is the Minhwa paintings that give context to the tiger and the magpie. He made the hat for the tiger, but the bird keeps stealing it!
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Comment on I have now donated five full gallons of blood products! in ~health
Blakdragon LinkI can't lie, I feel like having O- blood is a bit of a superpower. I have no idea how much I've donated. But I absolutely made myself anemic, and AFTER that Canadian Blood Services changed the...I can't lie, I feel like having O- blood is a bit of a superpower.
I have no idea how much I've donated. But I absolutely made myself anemic, and AFTER that Canadian Blood Services changed the recommended donation schedule for women?? Like I literally cannot believe that it took until the mid 2010s for them to realize women had less iron and less blood, but whatever. I'll take some iron supplements before and after a donation, and now I know the symptoms of anemia lol.
I donate when there's an event near enough to me! It's honestly the easiest thing for me to give back to humanity. I'm donating in Canada, where you don't get paid or anything, just cookies and chips and juice.
My mom actually can't donate anymore, because she was once tested in a batch that tested positive for HIV? But she then obviously tested negative for HIV.... but still can't donate. Seems wild honestly, that she DEFINITELY DOES NOT have HIV, but they won't let her donate her O- anymore. 😂
Oh and my grandmother was recently diagnosed with hemochromatosis. (Too much iron.) Guess I'll keep up my donations!
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Comment on Most US exhibition execs think traditional moviegoing has less than twenty years as ‘viable business model,’ according to new survey in ~movies
Blakdragon Link ParentI can't believe I, a woman with bladder anxiety (don't worry I'm mostly over it), wrote a whole rant and forgot about this. 😂 If you're movie is 3 hours long, it better be god damn engaging that...So the fact you're stuck in place for 3+ hours with no way to pause if you need to use the bathroom
I can't believe I, a woman with bladder anxiety (don't worry I'm mostly over it), wrote a whole rant and forgot about this. 😂 If you're movie is 3 hours long, it better be god damn engaging that whole time. I literally do not understand the idea of 3-hour-long-lowest-common-denominator-movies. Are people watching those???
Apparently not.
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Comment on Most US exhibition execs think traditional moviegoing has less than twenty years as ‘viable business model,’ according to new survey in ~movies
Blakdragon LinkExecs don't have a lot of creativity, IMO. If they made going out to a movie an actually nice experience, instead of an exercise in parting people from as much money as possible, maybe more people...Execs don't have a lot of creativity, IMO. If they made going out to a movie an actually nice experience, instead of an exercise in parting people from as much money as possible, maybe more people would go? Maybe people don't like weird predatory experiences, and capitalism is finally realizing the ends of its reach.
Like I realize I'm a huge introvert who dislikes large events in the first place, but holy crap theatres are the fucking worst. You want me to go watch a screen that's literally too big, with sounds that are sometimes literally too loud (unexpectedly, to counterbalance the normal sound range of course) with snacks that are absurdly fucking expensive and nothing special. I've gone to a theatre once in the last... oh god I don't even know. 7 years? I went for the Boy and the Heron.
I don't know, make a business model that doesn't fucking suck. Doesn't seem that hard. It's not the cost that's bothering me. It's that it's a cheap as fuck experience that isn't good. Figure it out. 🙄
ETA: Here's my real, less cynical, suggestions. Smaller theaters. You don't have to show literally every movie all the time. If sound balance could be less bombastic... I'd like that. I'm not spending $20 on popcorn or pop. Please get real on that. That's all.
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Comment on Victories and challenges: An A[u]DHD community and support fortnightly thread #1 in ~health.mental
Blakdragon Link ParentI've always felt way more comfortable with animals than people. (Or mammals, at least... I get out of my depth real quick once we start looking at reptiles) There's a simplicity to them. Animals...I've always felt way more comfortable with animals than people. (Or mammals, at least... I get out of my depth real quick once we start looking at reptiles) There's a simplicity to them. Animals don't lie to you. Or if they do, it's really easy to understand why. (Fear, pain, or performing for a reward, etc.)
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Comment on Victories and challenges: An A[u]DHD community and support fortnightly thread #1 in ~health.mental
Blakdragon LinkI've been exploring the idea that autism seems to explain a lot of how I've experienced life for a while now. It's not something I'm really sharing with anyone except my husband and friends who...I've been exploring the idea that autism seems to explain a lot of how I've experienced life for a while now. It's not something I'm really sharing with anyone except my husband and friends who also fall along that spectrum. (Which is ... all of them. I don't have any real life close friends, but my husbands friend group, and my online group of friends, all absolutely contain neurospicies.)
Part of this has been finding out all the things I never realized I was missing out on, so I'm really curious for a broader perspective on this particular thing:
I feel like I can read a ton of body language in dogs. I've had a few dogs in my life! I've got two right now. But I can read pretty darn well if they're anxious or happy, or reserved, or being polite but are actually kind of over whatever interaction they're currently in. All sorts of things! Most people seem pretty bad at reading dogs, which I guess isn't surprising.
I cannot read these things in people at all. Do people emote like this?? I never thought there was much to read in human body language. But when I realized how much I can read in dogs, I wondered if actually I was missing a huge piece of the human puzzle. 😂
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Comment on HBO’s Harry Potter series casts Harry, Ron and Hermione in ~tv
Blakdragon Link ParentI don't think they are deliberate at all, they're just a part of her world view, which is why I find it so damning myself, personally. One moment that sticks out to me in this way from the books,...I don't buy the claim that a lot of these things are deliberate
I don't think they are deliberate at all, they're just a part of her world view, which is why I find it so damning myself, personally.
One moment that sticks out to me in this way from the books, is when Harry is attempting to get the memory from Slugworth. Slugworth mentions something about testing all his wine for poison by having the castle house elves try it. So he's just ... okay with poisoning the house elves. And HARRY'S response to this is to just shrug to himself and think "better not tell Hermione about that".
Another thing I find rather telling is how much time is spent on the racism aspect of magical creatures not being allowed wands, and not really having any rights. And at the end of the books... none of that has changed. It's not addressed at all. Nobody made anything better, they just killed Voldemort, and then went back on their merry way in the world where magical creatures are lesser.
It's not commentary from Rowling, it's just the way things are. And she doesn't care to question it.
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Comment on My thoughts on Dropout streaming service in ~tv
Blakdragon LinkSo fair warning, I'm a huge fan of Dimension 20 and dropout, so I have bias. I think they must have changed this practice explicitly because of Burrows End. Episode 2 has content warnings in the...So fair warning, I'm a huge fan of Dimension 20 and dropout, so I have bias.
woefully lacking content and trigger warnings descriptions
I think they must have changed this practice explicitly because of Burrows End. Episode 2 has content warnings in the description, and everything since then has had pretty detailed content warnings in the episode descriptions. Dimension 20 episodes now starts with a little prelude that mentions this.
I think being fully invested in this content sphere kind of helps. I have some complaints with the technology side of the streaming platform, but I don't care because I know it's a very small production when compared to other streaming platforms. Like it's basically 1 dude and a group of friends bought CollegeHumour and turned it into what it is today, and they still don't have outside investors.
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Comment on How did you learn to read? in ~humanities.languages
Blakdragon LinkI remember my dad teaching me how to read before I started Kindergarten, and always loved reading! I remember in 4th grade we had this board we could pin things on for every book we read, but they...I remember my dad teaching me how to read before I started Kindergarten, and always loved reading! I remember in 4th grade we had this board we could pin things on for every book we read, but they had to be minimum 100 pages long or something. Except the books I was reading were like Redwall, that were separated into 3 "books", and I asked if I could use each of those as a book since each "book" was more than 100 pages. 😂
But anyways, he taught me to read just by sounding out letters and practicing with me. I guess it came pretty naturally.
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Comment on Temu and Shein are raising their US prices next week in ~finance
Blakdragon Link ParentThis sounds more like a failure of clothing to fit people, than it is a failure of people who buy clothes. Like I'm a short but otherwise very typically sized woman, and clothing sizes are fucking...This sounds more like a failure of clothing to fit people, than it is a failure of people who buy clothes. Like I'm a short but otherwise very typically sized woman, and clothing sizes are fucking bonkers and make no sense.
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Comment on ‘The terror is real’: an appalled US tech industry is scared to criticize Elon Musk in ~tech
Blakdragon Link ParentFor sure, I don't think your wrong, which is why I included that disclaimer. However, that wasn't the structure of my argument, just an anecdote. My frustration with people who have power and...For sure, I don't think your wrong, which is why I included that disclaimer. However, that wasn't the structure of my argument, just an anecdote.
My frustration with people who have power and influence, and attended the inauguration, still stands.
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Comment on ‘The terror is real’: an appalled US tech industry is scared to criticize Elon Musk in ~tech
Blakdragon (edited )LinkIt's been very frustrating to watch SO MANY people just... let Trump and his admins do whatever the fuck they want. So many people who DO have power in this situation have just laid back and been...It's been very frustrating to watch SO MANY people just... let Trump and his admins do whatever the fuck they want. So many people who DO have power in this situation have just laid back and been complicit. Especially tech execs. I watched Obama say to GWB "How do we stop this?" (This was from a tiktok video of a deaf person lipreading their interaction at Trumps latest inauguration). How do you stop this? DON'T FUCKING SHOW UP. Your just here to play nice and hand the reigns to someone we KNOW is intent on destroying democracy? The literal LEAST you could do is NOT SHOW UP FOR THE TEA PARTY. THREE PREVIOUS PRESIDENTS. FUCKING DO LITERALLY ANYTHING. Biden shakes Trumps hand and gives him the keys. You could just have not shown up.
And I understand individuals not feeling like they can speak up and do what's right. Your livelihood is at risk. And anyone you're responsible for, your family. Our collective power has been systematically destroyed for multiple generations at this point. We've been headed for bad times for decades. I guess it's finally time to pay up.
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Comment on What if we made advertising illegal? in ~tech
Blakdragon Link ParentRegulations don't have to be one size fits all though. Like if you're spending under 100k a year on advertisements, that could just be unregulated, and you only start regulating once you start...Regulations don't have to be one size fits all though. Like if you're spending under 100k a year on advertisements, that could just be unregulated, and you only start regulating once you start spending more.
I don't know shit about advertising, but it doesn't seem like an insurmountable problem to regulate advertising without hurting smaller businesses.
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Comment on Stremio is an impressive program in ~tech
Blakdragon Link ParentI was using it both before and after whatever debacle happened. It was down for a few days during that, but otherwise, I haven't noticed a difference. Works great!I was using it both before and after whatever debacle happened. It was down for a few days during that, but otherwise, I haven't noticed a difference. Works great!
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Comment on US teen creates memecoin, dumps it, earns $50,000 in ~finance
Blakdragon Link ParentThey reported on the one person who got really lucky. This is how the whole scheme works. Make it sound like its a great investment. Hype up the success stories. Draw in the masses. It's just...They reported on the one person who got really lucky. This is how the whole scheme works. Make it sound like its a great investment. Hype up the success stories. Draw in the masses. It's just gambling.
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Comment on OSRS Leagues: Trailblazer Reloaded in ~games
Blakdragon Link ParentYes, I don't believe there's any f2p access.Yes, I don't believe there's any f2p access.
I used to be a big fan of Astrum. And then recently, they posted a video about the alien talks that were happening in the US government last year? And it just felt so off and different from all the other content they've ever posted. I was literally trying to fall asleep, and decided to turn off the video it was so bad. There was no real science at all in it.
Then I found out they were acquired as well... really disappointing.