Fiachra's recent activity

  1. Comment on New Zealand has a new official language — English in ~society

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    The Irish constitution lists Irish as "first official language" and English as a second official language, similar phrasing might work here.

    The Irish constitution lists Irish as "first official language" and English as a second official language, similar phrasing might work here.

    3 votes

  2. Comment on Italy reimposes border controls on Spain after Ceuta migrant surge in ~society

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Apparently Ceuta is a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, so imagine your scenario took place because a wave of migrants had crossed over not into Florida, but Guantanamo Bay.

    Apparently Ceuta is a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, so imagine your scenario took place because a wave of migrants had crossed over not into Florida, but Guantanamo Bay.

    4 votes

  3. Comment on “Hope is a method: If I do something about this situation, I might change it enough so that I can do something else about this situation.” -- Cory Doctorow in ~humanities

    Fiachra
    Link
    I have two personal mottos that align well with this essay: "hope is a political choice" and "doomerism is a form of procrastination".

    I have two personal mottos that align well with this essay: "hope is a political choice" and "doomerism is a form of procrastination".

    9 votes

  4. Comment on OpenAI and Anthropic endorse call for US government to "pace" AI progress in ~comp

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    My guess is that the arms race is forcing them to spend an unsustainable amount on R&D, and this is an attempt to get that under control without falling behind their competitors.

    My guess is that the arms race is forcing them to spend an unsustainable amount on R&D, and this is an attempt to get that under control without falling behind their competitors.

    13 votes

  5. Comment on US schools are adding pepper-spraying drones to help combat active shooters in ~society

    Fiachra
    Link
    Some shithead teacher is going to take the first schoolyard fight that breaks out as an excuse to test this.

    Some shithead teacher is going to take the first schoolyard fight that breaks out as an excuse to test this.

    3 votes

  6. Comment on Pepsiman Recompiled Webport in ~games

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    I was curious about this Shrek game so I went digging: you seem to be referring to Shrek Super Party. Doesnt have good reviews but I might try it anyway based on this story.

    I was curious about this Shrek game so I went digging: you seem to be referring to Shrek Super Party. Doesnt have good reviews but I might try it anyway based on this story.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on the power of CHOICE (a short film to motivate you) in ~life

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    On the same note, the fact that both scenarios she ate pizza in bed, the only difference was the one who procrastinated felt guilty about it. The one who exercised and got all her shit done, it...

    On the same note, the fact that both scenarios she ate pizza in bed, the only difference was the one who procrastinated felt guilty about it. The one who exercised and got all her shit done, it was just a treat.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness’ in ~society

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    The book Catch-22 does something similar in both directions. There's The Dead Man in Yossarian's Tent who is actually killed in war but considered alive on paper due to an admin error, so one bed...

    The book Catch-22 does something similar in both directions. There's The Dead Man in Yossarian's Tent who is actually killed in war but considered alive on paper due to an admin error, so one bed and locker must be kept vacant for him. Then later there's a soldier who is declared KIA despite being alive, who winds up living on the outskirts of the base like a wild animal because the quartermaster won't issue him rations, and when he succeeds in contacting his wife everyone assures her he's an opportunistic impersonator. Very funny book.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on US Federal Communications Commission approves test of space mirror to light night sky despite outcry in ~space

    Fiachra
    Link
    It's kind of amazing when they greenlight stuff like this despite the fact that it's kind of obvious it won't work as described. Like, as much as it feels like you should be able to pull some...

    It's kind of amazing when they greenlight stuff like this despite the fact that it's kind of obvious it won't work as described. Like, as much as it feels like you should be able to pull some magic with angles and placement, you're simply limited by how much light shines on the mirror. To illuminate city streets or power solar panels you would need a completely impossible number of satellites. Maybe you could illuminate some rescue efforts but... torches and spotlights are a superior solution. I assume they're just pulling a kickstarter-style scam on their investors.

    3 votes

  10. Comment on Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness’ in ~society

    Fiachra
    Link
    Somewhere out there is a democrat voter with a magic lamp who's saving their last wish for trump.

    Somewhere out there is a democrat voter with a magic lamp who's saving their last wish for trump.

    8 votes

  11. Comment on US Federal Communications Commission approves test of space mirror to light night sky despite outcry in ~space

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    They haven't read them. Most of them probably haven't seen the movies in years, with the exception of short form video edits.

    They haven't read them. Most of them probably haven't seen the movies in years, with the exception of short form video edits.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson finally explains his decision to bid $3.2B for parking meters before walking away in ~transport

    Fiachra
    Link
    The last decade of worldwide political shenanigans have made me much less tolerant of the old "oh shucks, guess there's nothing we can do" attitude. People elect mayors to run their city. If...

    The last decade of worldwide political shenanigans have made me much less tolerant of the old "oh shucks, guess there's nothing we can do" attitude. People elect mayors to run their city. If parking meters or anything else are run badly they leverage their vote to pressure leaders to do better. Now one guy signs it away and it's tough shit to the public for 75 years? Unacceptable.

    Frankly I would like to see them at a high level just not allow cities to sell off public infrastructure. Any existing deals voided. This corp has already made more than their money back so I'm sure they'll take it well /s.

    19 votes

  13. Comment on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson finally explains his decision to bid $3.2B for parking meters before walking away in ~transport

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Yet another illustrious win for privatisation.

    Yet another illustrious win for privatisation.

    7 votes

  14. Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    I've recently arrived at the conclusion that a huge number of people are literal screen addicts and will desperately rationalise the state of affairs in any way they can. Not necessarily any...

    I've recently arrived at the conclusion that a huge number of people are literal screen addicts and will desperately rationalise the state of affairs in any way they can. Not necessarily any different than an alcoholic or a cocaine user insisting they actually function better with the right amount of buzz.

    17 votes

  15. Comment on Sports entertainment makes me angry in ~talk

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    I did actually find your post insulting in places: Implying parody is easy and appeals to people who think (usually wrongly) that they're clever. Implying this post didn't require much thought and...

    I did actually find your post insulting in places:

    Parodies are commonly shared on social media because it's easy and people think it's clever. Sometimes it actually is clever!

    Implying parody is easy and appeals to people who think (usually wrongly) that they're clever.

    With a bit more thought, it might be possible to figure out something meaningful to say

    Implying this post didn't require much thought and didn't say anything meaningful, which I found quite audacious when you were replying to (but ignoring) my explanation of why it was effective parody.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on Sports entertainment makes me angry in ~talk

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Actually, no. The thrust of the parody is that, for the initial second that you believe it's genuine, you experience the knee jerk feeling of "eye roll someone is angry that sports exist" before...

    And that couldn’t have been done in the comments?

    Actually, no. The thrust of the parody is that, for the initial second that you believe it's genuine, you experience the knee jerk feeling of "eye roll someone is angry that sports exist" before you realise that it's related to the other post and that it therefore might have a similar level of merit. If it was posted in the thread your guard would be up, so it wouldn't illicit a genuine reaction and wouldn't have made its point.

    which explicitly calls out the OP?

    Unless the post has been edited since posting it doesn't appear to explicitly mention OP at all.

    This is basic bullying

    I genuinely don't see how you came to this conclusion. It responds (validly) to the argument of the original post, doesn't mention the original poster at all, doesn't link to the original post, doesn't personally insult the OP, in fact the only people it personally insults are athletes and only in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

    I personally found the original post far meaner because it does earnestly engage in personal attacks: calling anyone creating modern art a scammer and (implicitly) anyone enjoying modern art as a scammee. That means it most definitely did directly personally insult Tildes users who read it.

    9 votes

  17. Comment on Sports entertainment makes me angry in ~talk

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Like how this post implied some sports are better than others? Face it,you are the second parody.

    Like how this post implied some sports are better than others?

    Or swimming. Come on. That's just plain lazy and disrespectful to even call this a sport and put it on the same level as soccer or tennis

    Face it,you are the second parody.

    6 votes

  18. Comment on Sports entertainment makes me angry in ~talk

  19. Comment on Sports entertainment makes me angry in ~talk

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Hilariously you're engaging in similar logic as both posts. You fail to see the subjective value in parody and so you react with annoyance to what you see as simple low-brow meanness, when in fact...

    Hilariously you're engaging in similar logic as both posts. You fail to see the subjective value in parody and so you react with annoyance to what you see as simple low-brow meanness, when in fact there's far more there if you're willing to engage with it.

    9 votes

  20. Comment on Sports entertainment makes me angry in ~talk

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    I'm reminded of the Onion's description of parody in their famous amicus brief I think the post is an effective use of parody to demonstrate the point. By posting it in a way that the reader...

    I'm reminded of the Onion's description of parody in their famous amicus brief

    tricking readers into believing that they’re seeing a serious rendering of some specific form [...] and then allowing them to laugh at their own gullibility

    I think the post is an effective use of parody to demonstrate the point. By posting it in a way that the reader initially takes it as genuine, it lets us fully feel the absurdity of getting angry at a thing just because you don't see why other people like it.

    That's right, I just cited the US supreme court's website in an argument about whether reductio ad absurdum counts as online bullying

    6 votes