Cycloneblaze's recent activity
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Comment on Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 – 4.2.2025 in ~games
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Comment on What if we made advertising illegal? in ~tech
Cycloneblaze LinkI think a world without advertising would be so obviously better than the world we are in now that I don't know why we aren't trying to figure it out. I often think of it idly, and it's easy to...I think a world without advertising would be so obviously better than the world we are in now that I don't know why we aren't trying to figure it out. I often think of it idly, and it's easy to raise the objection "but what is advertising? where do you draw the line?" But that's true of a lot of things, and if we're truly determined to reject the money that comes from advertising business, we can figure it out. Or we could get part of the way there, and still have made life much better for virtually everyone.
On a different note, one thought I had for a definition of advertising was something like "paid promotion". Basically, attack the money - it makes for a very bright line. But I wonder would we then see illegal advertising (basically people being bribed to advertise)? Would we still see completely free promotion by "advertisers"? Weird sorts of in-kind payments to try and get around laws? I'm curious what kind of a hydra it would be.
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools' Day 2025 on the internet in ~talk
Cycloneblaze Link ParentUnless you're under a flight path, you don't really notice. And even then you have to be near enough to an airport (so that the planes aren't at cruising altitude) to be disturbed. But yeah, it's...Unless you're under a flight path, you don't really notice. And even then you have to be near enough to an airport (so that the planes aren't at cruising altitude) to be disturbed. But yeah, it's a lot of planes in a small area!
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Comment on Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentIt still had a skip button for me earlier this year. Do some people not see that? I don't understand why a workaround with a hidden script is needed otherwiseIt still had a skip button for me earlier this year. Do some people not see that? I don't understand why a workaround with a hidden script is needed otherwise
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Comment on Pixel Buds Pro 2 help - frequent disconnects from phone in ~tech
Cycloneblaze LinkI had a similar problem (buds A, and it happened while playing music too) but what helped was, I had a Pixel Watch which was usually connected to my phone, but if I put the watch into aeroplane...I had a similar problem (buds A, and it happened while playing music too) but what helped was, I had a Pixel Watch which was usually connected to my phone, but if I put the watch into aeroplane mode, the buds never disconnected. I guess my watch's bluetooth radio was causing some kind of interference? I actually got the buds replaced at first because of this and the new set were no different at all. I ended up having the watch replaced for unrelated reasons and it stopped being a problem after that. Do you have anything else connected via Bluetooth when you're using the buds?
Now very occasionally the buds do do what you describe, but it's so infrequent that it doesn't inconvenience me.
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Comment on Against addressing root causes in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link(I reposted my comment, since I edited it and it got a lot longer) I agree with the basic argument and I appreciate that it's made clearly. I don't agree that it fundamentally supports effective...- Exemplary
(I reposted my comment, since I edited it and it got a lot longer)
I agree with the basic argument and I appreciate that it's made clearly. I don't agree that it fundamentally supports effective altruism, the author is eager to make that argument. And that leads into, here and in a few of the author's other posts - I can't say that I'm impressed with someone who takes down foolish arguments by inventing hateable left-wing characters to propose them.
The foolish argument here is that individual harms caused by systemic problems require systemic solutions (like, to adopt the framing, abolishing capitalism totally) so individual solutions are a waste of time and money. Obviously that's foolish, as the author argues, in that addressing individual harms is a good thing to do in and of itself and it would be cruel to ignore those harms when they're what you really want to address in tackling a systemic problem, anyway.
But I also reject the framing that to criticise inaction against systemic problems ("root causes" in this framing) is to callously permit the ongoing harm. You could only think such a thing if you consider systemic problems to be unsolvable monoliths on which society is built, making trying to solve them pointless and futile. The way the author contrasts the problems caused as a natural result of capitalism with the problems (malaria and smallpox) caused by, uh, literal natural selection is telling about this view. It is foundationally conservative.
You can give people malaria nets, and when that stops them from catching malaria and dying, that's laudable. You can also change the way our societies and economies, our international distribution of resources, is structured so that they never needed you to buy the net for them in the first place. I dare say that would be even better. It would take a lot of hard, concerted effort, but hey, so does developing a vaccine to eradicate the smallpox virus with. The author is however very happy to convince his readers that working towards such large structural changes is not only misguided but foolish and embarrassing, the preserve of ignorant elites. Like I said - I'm not impressed.
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Comment on Only about 40% of the Ted Cruz "woke science" US database is woke science in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentAlexander is far, far too credulous about things like "woke science" existing.Alexander is far, far too credulous about things like "woke science" existing.
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Comment on What is the purpose of government? in ~society
Cycloneblaze LinkI've always thought of government as, shortly, "how we do things" - the means by which we, a society, can do things on that scale. I don't like how people like to pit themselves against, or worse...I've always thought of government as, shortly, "how we do things" - the means by which we, a society, can do things on that scale. I don't like how people like to pit themselves against, or worse find themselves excluded by, the government because the government is us, at least when working as intended (though it too often doesn't). It's not something apart from us, it's made up of fellow people.
Less shortly, government - a state - is the way for a group of people to pool resources, collectively decide on responsibilities, and organise tasks in ways that could not be done by ad-hoc gatherings and that achieve things to benefit that entire group of people. I want people to think of government positively, as a structure and a tool that we can turn to our benefit, as a way to focus and organise collective action. I want people to strive to ensure that the people in any level of government, leaders or civil servants, work for that bigger picture.
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Comment on Jailed for four years for a non-violent climate protest – this is my prison diary in ~enviro
Cycloneblaze Link ParentWorry not, you said what I was thinking better than I could have!Worry not, you said what I was thinking better than I could have!
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Comment on Jailed for four years for a non-violent climate protest – this is my prison diary in ~enviro
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI don't know, it doesn't seem any more justified to me after reading.I don't know, it doesn't seem any more justified to me after reading.
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Comment on What's your take on capital and corporal punishment? in ~talk
Cycloneblaze LinkLeaving aside the unfair and uncharitable, not to mention unrealistic (you throw out "no chance of being wrong" awfully casually), assumptions here I object to the wishes for violent punishment....Leaving aside the unfair and uncharitable, not to mention unrealistic (you throw out "no chance of being wrong" awfully casually), assumptions here I object to the wishes for violent punishment.
Threats of harsh and severe punishment are often not actually a deterrent for violent crimes because the person comitting the violent act in the first place is not weighing all the possibilities and options when they do it. That's just plainly not how people work, especially when they're doing impulsive, rash, passion-driven, desperate things, or when they're not of sound mind in the first place. (You want to talk about people rationally weighing incentives and deliberately choosing an antisocial course of action, look at white-collar crime...)
Even if they were, I think it is wrong and bad for our society to visit these harms on people, not much less wrong than the crime was in the first place. I think the state killing and threatening to kill criminals makes our society a more unforgiving place. It performs violence as a way to solve problems. It gives people tacit approval to use violence to solve their problems. I don't think that stoning people or feeding them into a tyre shredder does anything to stop crime or improve society, I don't think it would make Bradford a safer place, and I think it only serves to feed a bloodlust that we should starve.
That's to say: even if it was always applied to people who were truly guilty, and even if it did actually deter crime, I still would not want it to happen.
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Comment on Amazon to close Quebec facilities, insists it's not because of new union in ~tech
Cycloneblaze LinkThis is a real limitation of collective action vs. regulation, in my eyes. Amazon is plenty big enough to close an entire set of warehouses and sacrifice the quality of its operations for a while...This is a real limitation of collective action vs. regulation, in my eyes. Amazon is plenty big enough to close an entire set of warehouses and sacrifice the quality of its operations for a while to spite this union. And this is real spite, real scorched-earth tactics - 1,700 jobs is a staggering number!
What's more is it's such an effective tactic. Only 300 of the 1700 had unionised, according to the article, but all of them lose their jobs, and they can all very well see the cause and effect. Amazon might not be able to fire the union activists or members, but they can certainly fire everybody, and that's the same thing. The long-term trend might still be against Amazon, but the short-term effect is that you lose your job. Why would you even let anyone talk about a union if that's a guaranteed consequence? How do unions defend against this tactic (and that's not a rhetorical question)? They are definitely morally right, but you can't eat morals. As far as I'm concerned, it will take the power of national governments to push back against Amazon's intransigence on their workers' rights.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden won't enforce TikTok ban in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentAnd you square that with Meta's total capitulation to Trump as he comes into power?American companies aren't pushing agendas based on what the government tells them to do.
And you square that with Meta's total capitulation to Trump as he comes into power?
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI was a bit surprised considering Molly is an advocate for having your own website as an online presence - having looked, I guess it's a limitation of the publishing software she's using. The name...I find it mildly ironic that on the author's homepage, her only point of contact listed is her Twitter profile
I was a bit surprised considering Molly is an advocate for having your own website as an online presence - having looked, I guess it's a limitation of the publishing software she's using. The name on that page does link to her website.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
Cycloneblaze Link ParentAbsolutely none of the other proposed age verification measures will do anything either, so I'm not sure what your point isI don't see why on the internet sites distributing pornographic content get a free pass to not verify that someone is of a legal age to view this content in accordance with federal law. A "scout's honor" verification button doesn't do anything.
Absolutely none of the other proposed age verification measures will do anything either, so I'm not sure what your point is
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Comment on US Congress' age debate reignites over member living in retirement home in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI don't know how fundamental a democratic right that is, especially when we're largely talking here about people who already have had the chance to hold public office. They can still vote like...I don't know how fundamental a democratic right that is, especially when we're largely talking here about people who already have had the chance to hold public office. They can still vote like everyone else (I don't think I missed anyone calling for an upper age limit on voting, anyway I don't support one).
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Comment on US Congress' age debate reignites over member living in retirement home in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentAgreed - I'm not really confident in the idea of age limits as a way of assuming a level of mental decline, I think that's tricky to do well and it admits a whole host of discriminatory arguments...Agreed - I'm not really confident in the idea of age limits as a way of assuming a level of mental decline, I think that's tricky to do well and it admits a whole host of discriminatory arguments that extend beyond just age even if done well. But I think as a policy we should not want people to accumulate power and influence for such a long time. An age limit is a good way to ensure that young (or even middle-aged!) people with fresh perspectives actually get the chance to wield power and shape the future on the public's behalf, and to prevent our government's policies being shaped by a past that is long gone and poorly remembered anyway. But it's also a good way to ensure that nobody can get too powerful simply by playing the game for a long time. Like wealth, political power is something we must try to distribute fairly, and not let become concentrated in people or dynasties. It's not a personal possession. It is not a reward or a prize. Its exercise is a duty.
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Comment on German authorities find large chat groups focused on exchanging advice re how to effectively drug and rape women in ~news
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI'm also not surprised, but for a different reason - I first learned of Telegram when I met some German friends who used it, and anecdotally, continually noticed it being fairly popular in Germany...I'm also not surprised, but for a different reason - I first learned of Telegram when I met some German friends who used it, and anecdotally, continually noticed it being fairly popular in Germany vs. elsewhere in western Europe. I don't so much know about eastern Europe but I know it's popular in Ukraine too and that connection makes more sense.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~society
Cycloneblaze Link ParentI'm kind of wondering why the onus should be on people like snake_case to figure out what the Democrats could be doing to at least look like they oppose Trump and the Republican party, or want to...I'm kind of wondering why the onus should be on people like snake_case to figure out what the Democrats could be doing to at least look like they oppose Trump and the Republican party, or want to protect their ostensible base, instead of on the party itself.
Do you feel like they did the most they could, either with the power they undeniably did wield, or towards winning the election, to vindicate people's rights?
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Comment on US President Joe Biden administration grants California waiver to ban gas car sales in 2035 in ~transport
Cycloneblaze (edited )Link ParentIt is ridiculous that out of all the very good points about very bad policies that scroll-lock makes in this long long comment the top, highly-upvoted reply excerpts one small part to complain...It is ridiculous that out of all the very good points about very bad policies that scroll-lock makes in this long long comment the top, highly-upvoted reply excerpts one small part to complain about rhetorical framing. Your priorities are absurd. God forbid that anyone get emotional about an important topic or, worse, decide to use it to be convincing!
What if I don't use Discord? Why do I have to create a separate account for a separate American company to use voice chat on my Nintendo console? It's not like anyone I'm chatting with isn't also going to have a Switch 2.
From Nintendo's point of view I can also see them being very leery of tying chat on their console to some other company's service.