Boaty_McBoatyson's recent activity
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Comment on What are some words or usage that became more prominent in 2024, either in your life or in general? in ~talk
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Comment on What are some words or usage that became more prominent in 2024, either in your life or in general? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson LinkPlease everyone haven't you noticed also here on the tildes twin epidemics have been raging: Using 'literally' as all-purpose emphasis in any context at all Putting question marks at the end of...Please everyone haven't you noticed also here on the tildes twin epidemics have been raging:
- Using 'literally' as all-purpose emphasis in any context at all
- Putting question marks at the end of sentences that are not questions
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Comment on What are some words or usage that became more prominent in 2024, either in your life or in general? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentThanks for saying this.Thanks for saying this.
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Comment on MasterCard sells my transaction data in "anonymised" form; but I get targeted spam related to credit card use. How does it work? in ~tech
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentYour comment is very useful. I'll keep this in mind when researching the topic further.Your comment is very useful. I'll keep this in mind when researching the topic further.
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Comment on MasterCard sells my transaction data in "anonymised" form; but I get targeted spam related to credit card use. How does it work? in ~tech
Boaty_McBoatyson LinkRecently changed my credit card provider to MasterCard, then I started getting some quite pertinent and well-timed spam emails related to my use of the credit card. I discovered MasterCard is...Recently changed my credit card provider to MasterCard, then I started getting some quite pertinent and well-timed spam emails related to my use of the credit card.
I discovered MasterCard is selling it's customer transaction data online - in an anonymised form. I'm not a data scientist, but from some brief research I get the impression it's quite easy to de-anonymise a large dataset. See for example this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puQvpyf0W-MFrom a privacy perspective, is there anything to the implied privacy of 'anonymised data' or is it mostly a fig leaf to allow businesses to sell my data and still comply with, for example European GDPR privacy requirements? Would love to hear the thoughts of those well-versed in law and/or tech. Thank you.
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MasterCard sells my transaction data in "anonymised" form; but I get targeted spam related to credit card use. How does it work?
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Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
Boaty_McBoatyson LinkThe title of the post lead me to believe you were abandoning Kagi because you found the service of Yandex to be superior. Yandex' reverse image search works very well, I use it often to trace the...The title of the post lead me to believe you were abandoning Kagi because you found the service of Yandex to be superior. Yandex' reverse image search works very well, I use it often to trace the origins of images. Overall searching on Yandex gives me way better results than other mainstream non-paid search engines.
As a left leaning non-US citizen watching the developments in the US it appears to me any major differences between the Russian and US political system are shrinking, corporate wellfare and the corporate capture of the political system.
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Comment on How do you listen to your favorite obscure music that never made it onto any streaming platforms? in ~music
Boaty_McBoatyson LinkThere are peer-to-peer filesharing networks such as Soulseek http://www.slsknet.org/news/ Strong community of users digitizing music that never will make into the walled gardens of streaming services.There are peer-to-peer filesharing networks such as Soulseek
http://www.slsknet.org/news/Strong community of users digitizing music that never will make into the walled gardens of streaming services.
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Comment on Operating on good faith in a bad faith environment—the implications in ~society
Boaty_McBoatyson LinkQuick thanks to OP and everyone commenting on this topic for creating an oasis of sanity on the www.Quick thanks to OP and everyone commenting on this topic for creating an oasis of sanity on the www.
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Comment on Grokking KOReader in ~books
Boaty_McBoatyson LinkNice to see some KOreader appreciation here on tildes. If any of you have had the experience of fast battery drain with a Kobo ebook reader (mine is KOBO LIBRA H2O) + KOreader AND succesfully...Nice to see some KOreader appreciation here on tildes.
If any of you have had the experience of fast battery drain with a Kobo ebook reader (mine is KOBO LIBRA H2O) + KOreader AND succesfully solved it I would absolutely LOVE hearing from you.
I loved KOreader, but it wasn't useful in practice since it drains 8-10% a day while idle. There were a some posts about it on an ebook forum but none of the suggestions solved it for me.
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Comment on Ideology of news-selling and its critique in ~humanities
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentI find scheerpost.com to be a decent amalgamation of various single-person news sources. Openly egalitarian-leftist.I find scheerpost.com to be a decent amalgamation of various single-person news sources. Openly egalitarian-leftist.
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Comment on Atheists of Tildes, what alive religions do you find fascinating, excluding Abrahamic ones and Buddhism? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentYour recommendations are of great help and I've already passed them on to some of my friends. Thanks for sharing and showing up with excellent comments whenever there is an introspective mental...Your recommendations are of great help and I've already passed them on to some of my friends. Thanks for sharing and showing up with excellent comments whenever there is an introspective mental health question on tildes.
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Comment on For every month a person completes their monthly exercise challenge in the Fitness app, Apple should give them a free month of the 50GB iCloud plan in ~tech
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentI was unaware of this connection btw. insurance and smart watches. The critical side of me sees social norms being paved toward a social credit scheme and health surveillance. I have a very bad...I was unaware of this connection btw. insurance and smart watches. The critical side of me sees social norms being paved toward a social credit scheme and health surveillance. I have a very bad feeling for the technological naivety of older generations, those I know seem so incredibly gullible.
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Comment on For every month a person completes their monthly exercise challenge in the Fitness app, Apple should give them a free month of the 50GB iCloud plan in ~tech
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentJust because they love you they removed the 'select all' button from the online interface of iCloud. Have fun clicking your 1.000+ photos off one by one when trying to escape their little fiefdom.Just because they love you they removed the 'select all' button from the online interface of iCloud. Have fun clicking your 1.000+ photos off one by one when trying to escape their little fiefdom.
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Comment on Atheists of Tildes, what alive religions do you find fascinating, excluding Abrahamic ones and Buddhism? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentWonderful stuff user ShamedSalmon. A lot to return to later, will start with Daoism Explained. Books are piling up here. So much to read. A pleasure. If you don't mind me asking: are you...Wonderful stuff user ShamedSalmon. A lot to return to later, will start with Daoism Explained. Books are piling up here. So much to read. A pleasure.
If you don't mind me asking: are you academically involved in this topic or is it some sort of heavy duty spiritual hobby? :-)
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Comment on Do you believe the world is controlled by competing interests, or do you think there is a "power elite" that controls the world from the background? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentReagan wanted very much to avoid a well-educated proletariat and for this reason created what you might call selection bias and sunk cost in making college educations more expensive. I appreciate...Reagan wanted very much to avoid a well-educated proletariat and for this reason created what you might call selection bias and sunk cost in making college educations more expensive.
I appreciate all your examples of resistance to self-reliance. I would add how fossil fuels were chosen over solar energy because of how solar energy might become a decentralized grid. Examples abound in Perlin's book on solar energy 'Let it Shine'.
I think the world is driven by greed.
You might be right. It is the assumption of neo-liberalism. I do often find myself wanting to challenge this: most people I have the privilege to know are collaborative, decent, sharing. Sure, when we look up and examine vast power structures it appears very much to be driven by greed. My pet theory is that we get a combination of 'career sunk cost' and 'selection bias' in those people who aspire to positions of power in the system. But that most people are not well described by the basic assumption of human nature according to neo-liberalism. Homo sapiens would have died out long ago if we weren't more collaborative than competitive. I'm in no way married to this belief, but it gives me great solace to think way better of people than neo-liberalism does.
Are you aware of this concept? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal%E2%80%93agent_problem
A pretty spot-on description of self-interest in institutional hierachies / transactional situations.Since this topic is 'your jam' please do send me a PM if you want to exchange resources or discuss further. I don't have any more pet theories, just a willingness to listen to what else you've discovered from your interest in this question.
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Comment on Do you believe the world is controlled by competing interests, or do you think there is a "power elite" that controls the world from the background? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentIt's called 'folklore' I believe :-) It's been around for a good while. BTW, did you know the sun moves across the sky because it is being pulled by a little golden wagon?innate desire for people to have simple answers to complex problems
It's called 'folklore' I believe :-)
It's been around for a good while.BTW, did you know the sun moves across the sky because it is being pulled by a little golden wagon?
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Comment on Do you believe the world is controlled by competing interests, or do you think there is a "power elite" that controls the world from the background? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentGenerally I've come to the same conclusions you're summing up here. The analysis of many conspiracy theories are correct but most often their conclusions are wrong. Conspiracy theories makes it a...Generally I've come to the same conclusions you're summing up here. The analysis of many conspiracy theories are correct but most often their conclusions are wrong.
Conspiracy theories makes it a little bit harder to create a broader awareness of the power imbalances of the world, because some of the only structural critique many people hear about ends with ... = aliens. Still, the background theory of a power imbalance is correct.
It is my personal belief that the real conspiracy is that the world governments are truly incompetent when it comes down to it and letting people believe they are more powerful than they are gives them power by fiat.
Why are the governments incompetent though? The stance I currently take is that they are incompetent because a succesful career in politics is impossible without funding from private interests. Upside to the those in favour of corporatism is that the governments are allways to blame for poor services, while the reason the services are poor (too little funding) is because of privatization of public services and funds, a citizenry brainwashed by business-friendly political messaging. "It's my turn to become a millionaire next time if only I work hard enough".
My confidence in the statement above is by no means absolute. Your critique and counter-examples are appreciated.
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Comment on Atheists of Tildes, what alive religions do you find fascinating, excluding Abrahamic ones and Buddhism? in ~talk
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentSuch effort and clarity. This response collects some threads I've been trying to gather after reading the Tao Te Ching in two different languages. Specifically the obtuseness appeals to me, never...Such effort and clarity. This response collects some threads I've been trying to gather after reading the Tao Te Ching in two different languages. Specifically the obtuseness appeals to me, never understood why before reading your post.
For general purpose daoist reading what would be suggestions for a next after Tao Te Ching?
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Comment on "Tildes as community radio" examples of hybrid social media? in ~tech
Boaty_McBoatyson Link ParentListening now. This is more or less exactly the kind of concept I was hoping to discover. Will listen over the next few weeks to get a feel for the dynamic of the open-ended approach to...Listening now. This is more or less exactly the kind of concept I was hoping to discover. Will listen over the next few weeks to get a feel for the dynamic of the open-ended approach to broadcasting. Please send me a PM if you come across similar concepts in the future. Thanks!
Re: literally
OK, I guess I'm confused and very much not an authority on daily usage since I'm not living in an English speaking country and English is not my first language. We have an equivalent word to 'literally' in My CoUnTrY and It would look veeeeery stupid if you used it in the same way as 'literally' in amr. English.
Yeah I find this written uptalk distracting and a bit lazy. You could phrase yourself to imply being unsure instead of just slapping a question mark at the end. You begin a reading a sentence that turns out becoming a question and it just feels like ... betrayal???