Ephemere's recent activity
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
Ephemere LinkI've been listening to Grimes' Miss Anthropocene, which has been kind of mixed as mood music goes. I've been trying to be more productive at work this week and it's fantastic for programming away,...I've been listening to Grimes' Miss Anthropocene, which has been kind of mixed as mood music goes. I've been trying to be more productive at work this week and it's fantastic for programming away, but perhaps less fantastic for having stuck in your head when you should be sleeping.
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Comment on Professor loses landmark legal battle after claiming it’s ‘free speech’ to deliberately misgender trans students in ~lgbt
Ephemere LinkSeems like a just ruling. The fundamental argument of the plaintiff, that they have a first amendment right to insult or verbally harass their students and that the university can’t prevent them...Seems like a just ruling. The fundamental argument of the plaintiff, that they have a first amendment right to insult or verbally harass their students and that the university can’t prevent them from verbally harassing their students is both despicable and bizarre.
Here’s hoping Ms Doe encounters fewer such assholes in the future.
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Comment on Boy Scouts of America file for bankruptcy due to sex-abuse lawsuits in ~finance
Ephemere LinkIt seems like the BSA, and possibly other organizations are in a kind of radiation-exposure-esque walking dead state where wrongdoing in the past is going to kill them in the present and there is...It seems like the BSA, and possibly other organizations are in a kind of radiation-exposure-esque walking dead state where wrongdoing in the past is going to kill them in the present and there is nothing they can do about it. Though that’s perhaps glib, owning land seems quite beside the BSA’s core mission so perhaps they can go on after liquidating some of these assets to compensate victims.
It’s a bit of a shame, the victims deserve recompense, but this does nothing to punish those in the hierarchy who shielded abusers in the past. Though I again suppose lawsuits such as these help keep youth organizations from making similar bad decisions in the future.
Yeah. I don’t know what to think. I was a Boy Scout myself, which perhaps colors my opinions.
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Comment on You must time-travel to any time before 1799 and never come back. Where do you go? in ~talk
Ephemere LinkI think I'd enjoy going back to Rome during the reign of perhaps Trajan or Hadrian, so I could wander around and at least see what everything looked like during a time of relative magnificence....I think I'd enjoy going back to Rome during the reign of perhaps Trajan or Hadrian, so I could wander around and at least see what everything looked like during a time of relative magnificence.
Not that I'm really laboring under any delusions over how long I might last there. Not being able to communicate would probably lead to a swift bad end, assuming that other disease didn't first. Though maybe I'd manage some brief sympathy by virtue of my extremely well crafted and unusual clothing.
If I actually wanted to survive I imagine england in 1799 would probably be ideal, I could probably do some modest development involving electricity which could manage an income.
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Comment on Let's talk about humorous podcasts in ~talk
Ephemere LinkI've been listening to The Greatest Generation for a number of years now, it's a Star Trek podcast run by two film production professionals who mostly use the episodes as an opportunity to riff...I've been listening to The Greatest Generation for a number of years now, it's a Star Trek podcast run by two film production professionals who mostly use the episodes as an opportunity to riff on, but who also bring an interesting perspective to the craft of putting together a TV show. Their sense of humor is a little juvenile, though I've obviously enjoyed it enough to put in the suggestion here that someone else might. They started the podcast discussing Star Trek: The Next Generation, ran through it's full set of episodes, and are now 2/3rds of the way through Deep Space Nine.
And if you like their sense of humor, they have two other podcasts. The Greatest Discovery as the name suggests is about Star Trek: Discovery and the soon to be released Picard series, and Friendly Fire is a war movie podcast where they do pretty much the same thing, with the addition of a third host.
So yeah, I downloaded a podcast once and a few years later realized I've been listening to them for hundreds of hours. Funny how that works.
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Comment on Sweden dodged a bullet by not building this nuclear submarine – the reactor had an insufficient amount of nuclear shielding in ~humanities
Ephemere LinkThat’s a pretty neat idea.The A-11A’s initial design had six torpedo tubes in a rotating launcher — firing two at a time like a double-barreled revolver — which could not reload. That was a limitation, but the design saved on space since there was no torpedo room.
That’s a pretty neat idea.
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Comment on “Join Reddit to keep reading” - an account is now required to read comment threads on the mobile website in ~tech
Ephemere LinkIf the 'this is to force people into the mobile app' is true, I'm surprised they're not hindering alternative programs. I believe most of the reddit viewers available on ios and android are simply...If the 'this is to force people into the mobile app' is true, I'm surprised they're not hindering alternative programs. I believe most of the reddit viewers available on ios and android are simply using API calls, and I haven't noticed any obvious adds via them. I suppose they could pull a twitter and do that all of a sudden, but I would expect them to pursue a similar slow degredation strategy there as well.
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Comment on What are the best and the worst purchases you've recently made? in ~talk
Ephemere Link ParentI’ll testify to that. I’ve used mine religiously for twelve years now. It probably should be replaced, but it seems to be doing its job just fine.last for years
I’ll testify to that. I’ve used mine religiously for twelve years now. It probably should be replaced, but it seems to be doing its job just fine.
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Comment on Jury finds that Elon Musk did not defame British cave explorer Vern Unsworth when he called him “pedo guy” in an angry tweet in ~news
Ephemere LinkI’m honestly surprised. From some of Musk’s comments beyond the tweets it seemed to me like he was very interested in destroying the diver’s reputation with a fiction. Maybe the jury heard...I’m honestly surprised. From some of Musk’s comments beyond the tweets it seemed to me like he was very interested in destroying the diver’s reputation with a fiction. Maybe the jury heard something different.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
Ephemere LinkI've been playing around a lot with neural style quite a bit as a way to enjoy some artistic expression merged with some light programming. I've not been terribly happy with my results, but I...I've been playing around a lot with neural style quite a bit as a way to enjoy some artistic expression merged with some light programming. I've not been terribly happy with my results, but I learned just this past week that there are quite a few other models to choose from, and I'm very much looking forward to playing around with them.
The thanksgiving holiday has, of course, completely eliminated any free time to do any such thing, so it's nice to be back to normalcy.
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Comment on The Mandalorian | S01E03: The Sin in ~tv
Ephemere Link ParentYeah, it's just something that you seem to do in Star Wars, and I agree, it doesn't make a ton of sense. For me, the strangest moment was when the tribe came together to save Mando, and then just...Yeah, it's just something that you seem to do in Star Wars, and I agree, it doesn't make a ton of sense.
For me, the strangest moment was when the tribe came together to save Mando, and then just told him to run off. They were all going to have to go somewhere else, why not go somewhere else together? It's not like Mando had anywhere in particular to actually go himself.
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Comment on Tesla "Cybertruck" Unveiling Livestream: Event starts 8PM PT in ~tech
Ephemere Link ParentYeah, I couldn't agree more than the design choice is bold. I can't say it really appeals to me personally, but I suppose in general I like the thought of different people trying different things,...Yeah, I couldn't agree more than the design choice is bold. I can't say it really appeals to me personally, but I suppose in general I like the thought of different people trying different things, so good for them for taking a risk.
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Comment on Blame Over Justice: The Human Toll of the US Navy’s Relentless Push to Punish One of Its Own in ~misc
Ephemere LinkThat was really dramatic. I expected just from the headline for it to be about Eddie Gallagher, but obviously it isn't. I can't really disagree that a charge of homicide or manslaughter seems...That was really dramatic. I expected just from the headline for it to be about Eddie Gallagher, but obviously it isn't. I can't really disagree that a charge of homicide or manslaughter seems ridiculous. He was asleep at the time of the accident, and while he may in some sense be responsible for the actions of his subordinates, he clearly didn't take any direct cause for this to happen.
I suppose I'm convinced by the article, it's a damn shame that the navy is trying to shift the blame for policy failures onto the captains on the spot.
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Comment on Discussion: Top 10 Stupidest Things US Fed Govt has done in ~talk
Ephemere Link ParentJust out of curiosity, what do you take to be the high water mark of American government? I'm presuming it would have to be some time in the late 20th century, but that's just my personal bias...Just out of curiosity, what do you take to be the high water mark of American government? I'm presuming it would have to be some time in the late 20th century, but that's just my personal bias that the united states was fundamentally unjust until the passage of the 19th amendment to the constitution and the civil rights act. That said, while I imagine those might count as 'remedies' to a fundamental injustice, I think we can all agree that the civil rights act did not propel American blacks immediately into a state of perfect equity, and that if there is a high water mark, it must have come some time afterwards. Do we count marriage rights for gay people as a necessary civil right? If so, then the high water mark of the republic must be very recent indeed.
I suppose I personally disagree with the fundamental premise of your question. There are aspects of the present which are shameful, wrong headed, cruel, avaricious and pointless, but I don't see us as being on a downward trajectory.
I'm of course not a historian, and the above is all just my vague sense.
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Comment on It’s time to get US nukes out of Turkey in ~news
Ephemere LinkI was all primed to disagree with the article, but after reading it I think I've had a change of heart. I'm of the opinion that tactical nuclear bombs are pointless for the US, in that any use of...I was all primed to disagree with the article, but after reading it I think I've had a change of heart. I'm of the opinion that tactical nuclear bombs are pointless for the US, in that any use of them will immediately escalate into a strategic exchange. I'm presuming here of course that the US would never have any need to use nuclear bombs on a non-nuclear state, which seems to me at least to be fairly likely.
Given that, these B61 bombs serve the US no purpose, and offer the Turks an extremely slim chance at obtaining nuclear arms themselves. Might as well remove and decommission them.
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Comment on What terminal emulator do you use? in ~comp
Ephemere Link ParentI think the biggest advantage is the lack of friction when popping back and forth between buffers. I tend to split my window numerous ways, typically with a few buffers containing subfiles of the...I think the biggest advantage is the lack of friction when popping back and forth between buffers. I tend to split my window numerous ways, typically with a few buffers containing subfiles of the program I'm working on and an eshell to execute tests. Eshell allows you to easily hop back and forth without having to shift from line to char mode, which I constantly forget to do when I'm using terminal mode.
So I suppose that might be faint praise, but I've found it to be well worth dealing with eshell's other eccentricities.
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Comment on Police owe nothing to man whose home they blew up, appeals court says in ~news
Ephemere Link ParentEspecially if you contrast it to the police response if you otherwise report a theft, which is "Sure, we'll write down that something was stolen from you."Especially if you contrast it to the police response if you otherwise report a theft, which is "Sure, we'll write down that something was stolen from you."
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Comment on What terminal emulator do you use? in ~comp
Ephemere LinkI've been using eshell quite a bit these days, though it's alternate hotkeys does take some getting used to. The main advantage is that it's very easy to manipulate the shell output without taking...I've been using eshell quite a bit these days, though it's alternate hotkeys does take some getting used to. The main advantage is that it's very easy to manipulate the shell output without taking one's hands off of the keyboard.
When not using that, I usually use a bash shell within an emacs term. Advantage: You can run commands which capture the keyboard in char mode in the term, while still skipping back to an easily editable text mode. This is super useful if I'm working on someone else's environment and a command launches vi, for instance. It works just fine within the emacs term.
And when not using that, I'm pretty partial to konsole. It seems nicely configurable, tabbed and so forth. The 'nicely configurable' is mostly necessary when you make the mistake of trying to run linux on a 4K monitor, and suddenly all the assets are microscopic. I'm sure gnome-shell probably has similar advantages.
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Comment on Alan Smithee - the director who doesn't exist in ~movies
Ephemere LinkMy favorite Alan Smithee film is the extended version of Dune. Mostly because I love the theatrical cut of that film, it was jaw dropping how bad it was. Directorial disablement well deserved.My favorite Alan Smithee film is the extended version of Dune. Mostly because I love the theatrical cut of that film, it was jaw dropping how bad it was. Directorial disablement well deserved.
I've been (very slowly) working on a standalone device to take a picture of the analemma of the sun. The general plan is to have a raspberry pi zero w and camera, powered by a solar panel and a battery. Of course a pi zero w consumes far too much power to be supported solely by a solar panel, so I'm looking to have an Amtega328P wake it up once daily to take the picture, and copy/SSH it to a combination server elsewhere.
I have a testbed in current operation using a similar solar panel+battery using a nodemcu board, though it is sampling once every ten minutes and seems to lack the juice to keep going through extended series of cloudy days. It's been fun to play with, at least.