Fiachra's recent activity
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Comment on What’s something you’re personally proud of from this year? in ~life
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Comment on Tenant unions are coming. US landlords aren't ready. in ~life
Fiachra Link ParentSeems that that situation would in turn create a more direct incentive for the government to solve the actual issue by increasing housing supply. Rather than the current equally unsustainable...Seems that that situation would in turn create a more direct incentive for the government to solve the actual issue by increasing housing supply. Rather than the current equally unsustainable situation where the burden of the system's failure is falling disproportionately on the lower end of the income scale.
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Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk
Fiachra Link ParentThey had the real shit back then. Laudanum was a Victorian medicine that was just opium dissolved in grain alcohol.They had the real shit back then. Laudanum was a Victorian medicine that was just opium dissolved in grain alcohol.
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Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk
Fiachra Link ParentJust gotta go back to the 1800s when everyone was self medicating with cocaine extracts and other stimulants. I've seen arguments that science at that time benefitted greatly from neurodivergent...Just gotta go back to the 1800s when everyone was self medicating with cocaine extracts and other stimulants. I've seen arguments that science at that time benefitted greatly from neurodivergent people having access to things like that.
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Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk
Fiachra Link ParentThat's a point I should keep in mind more often. Here's a reformulation: in what year in the past would your knowledge/skills be considered revolutionary? My favorite tidbit is knitting, though I...That's a point I should keep in mind more often. Here's a reformulation: in what year in the past would your knowledge/skills be considered revolutionary?
My favorite tidbit is knitting, though I don't know anything about knitting myself. But it was surprisingly only invented around 1000AD in Europe. Before then they didn't have stretchy fabrics. A single person who knows how to knit could revolutionise textiles and cause fashion styles that never existed in our actual history.
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Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk
Fiachra LinkYou can be sent in a time machine to any historical time and place, no objects can come with you. Where/when could you pick so that your knowledge would make you the most famous and influential,...You can be sent in a time machine to any historical time and place, no objects can come with you. Where/when could you pick so that your knowledge would make you the most famous and influential, and how would you do it?
It's a good one for discussion because you can pick apart each others' ideas, and it tends to draw in people's niche hobbies and interests.
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Comment on Luigi Mangione prosecutors have a jury problem: 'So much sympathy' in ~society
Fiachra Link ParentIn stable times people tend to forget, systems of governance can't stop human impulses, they can only redirect them down a peaceful path by making it worth their while to engage with the system....In stable times people tend to forget, systems of governance can't stop human impulses, they can only redirect them down a peaceful path by making it worth their while to engage with the system. Impulses like a desire for justice, fairness, safety etc.. Every person has a range of options, and if the illegal ones for too many peole are more effective or less costly than the legal ones, that system will fail. And then there's no bounds on what people might do. You cannot disallow things, you can only make it preferable to get those things in the form the system is offering. So it better start offering some justice and fair dealing to people, before things get any uglier.
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Comment on Luigi Mangione and the making of a modern antihero – the support for the alleged shooter is rooted in an American tradition of exalting the outlaw in ~society
Fiachra Link ParentRather than compare mangioni to these outlaws, they might try comparing the outlaws to him: how much of their mystique came from a similar resentment of the rich they were perceived as targeting?Rather than compare mangioni to these outlaws, they might try comparing the outlaws to him: how much of their mystique came from a similar resentment of the rich they were perceived as targeting?
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Comment on What are your predictions for 2025? in ~talk
Fiachra LinkSocial media will continue to fragment. The former twitter userbase will finish dividing itself between Bluesky and X along the conservative/progressive divide. Mastodon will remain but out of the...Social media will continue to fragment. The former twitter userbase will finish dividing itself between Bluesky and X along the conservative/progressive divide. Mastodon will remain but out of the mainstream. Tiktok's misinformation will continue getting it into trouble and if Instagram reels and Youtube shorts don't poach that market another company will launch to try and fill that niche. At least one of the "AI friend" apps will grow to prominence and take some of the doomscroller demographic. Discord will remain strong despite further enshittification pissing off its user base. In totality, more social engagement online will shift to siloed platforms like Whatsapp and Discord, but we will find out later that every word of private conversation has been taken to train AIs the entire time.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Fiachra Link ParentI was the opposite! I was only barely paying attention to the numbers, and when I kept losing at around the same point the last thing I wanted to do was start crunching numbers to evaluate strategies.I was the opposite! I was only barely paying attention to the numbers, and when I kept losing at around the same point the last thing I wanted to do was start crunching numbers to evaluate strategies.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Fiachra LinkI gave balatro a go this week because I'm off work minding my newborn and needed something I can follow easily while I have to randomly pick it up and put it down. It's a catchy well-designed...I gave balatro a go this week because I'm off work minding my newborn and needed something I can follow easily while I have to randomly pick it up and put it down.
It's a catchy well-designed game, and I can see how people wind up playing hundreds of hours of it. There's very little in it to trigger a stoppage in the player, the only candidate really is losing a run in a frustrating way. Makes me happy that a relatively low-tech game can still go mega-big on the back of solid game design and unique art style.
I personally haven't found myself want to play it for very long, so it either isn't addictive for me or I haven't given it long enough to take root yet. We shall see.
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Comment on Medicare for all would save 68,000 US lives per year and reduce costs by $450 billion in ~health
Fiachra Link ParentWow, maddening. Beyond the obvious fact that tying it to productivity like that is gross, you provided that value to society already. People don't seem to understand that old and young people...His position was effectively that if you are old and no longer provide the value to society that would grant you healthcare then you should not have it.
Wow, maddening. Beyond the obvious fact that tying it to productivity like that is gross, you provided that value to society already. People don't seem to understand that old and young people aren't separate groups, they're the same group at different stages of life. You generated a lifetime of labour and tax revenue. Much of that worked to the benefit of less productive people at the time, so now it's your turn.
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Comment on Mystery drones over New Jersey spark concerns as FBI investigates in ~transport
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Comment on ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ revived for new episodes on Disney+ with Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek in ~tv
Fiachra LinkSPOILERS FOR END OF MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE The last episode of Malcolm ends on the quite poignant note that his entire family feel with great certainty that he would go on to be president one day,...SPOILERS FOR END OF MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
The last episode of Malcolm ends on the quite poignant note that his entire family feel with great certainty that he would go on to be president one day, specifically because the harsh grinding life he leads would make him empathetic to the people in the world who most need help.
I feel like the fact that we don't see if this admittedly unlikely destiny ever comes through is part of the magic: we get to hope that they were right, even though we know they probably weren't and he wound up successful in a boring career that doesn't change anything.
The age of spinoffs has not been kind to poetic ambiguity.
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Comment on ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ revived for new episodes on Disney+ with Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek in ~tv
Fiachra Link ParentThey also are revealed at the end of the very last episode to be pregnant againThey also are revealed at the end of the very last episode to be pregnant again
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Comment on What’s something that you weren’t supposed to see/hear, but did? in ~talk
Fiachra Link ParentOh I have a similar one, the public number for the bank call center I worked at was one digit different from the number of a hospital ward in the same city (I think it was A&E or something...Oh I have a similar one, the public number for the bank call center I worked at was one digit different from the number of a hospital ward in the same city (I think it was A&E or something similarly serious). This was a busy call center with long wait times, so this hospital ward was being inundated with misdials. The nurses actually called in to complain and I was the one they got through to. A funny one to have to relay to my team leader, but I don't think the bank did anything about it.
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Comment on What’s something that you weren’t supposed to see/hear, but did? in ~talk
Fiachra LinkI used to work at a bank and the guy in the cubicle next to me happened to have the same first and last name as a high-up executive in the same bank. He got an email one day that was clearly not...I used to work at a bank and the guy in the cubicle next to me happened to have the same first and last name as a high-up executive in the same bank. He got an email one day that was clearly not intended for him, so he called the floor manager over. Our bank had a colour-code system for how sensitive emails were: red, orange, yellow, green. This email was purple, a colour we didn't even know existed in this system. The floor manager read a few lines, turned to him and said "I shouldn't even be seeing this. Delete that email and never speak about this again."
Whatever he might have glimpsed in that email, he wouldn't tell me.
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Comment on Are DEI programs at work pointless or actually accomplishing the opposite of what they are meant to? in ~life
Fiachra (edited )LinkBy this standard, manual handling training is also a waste of time. I've had to do it three times at different jobs and each time some unmotivated outside consultant read the information sheets in...By this standard, manual handling training is also a waste of time. I've had to do it three times at different jobs and each time some unmotivated outside consultant read the information sheets in a droning voice while we struggled to stay awake. Nobody was willing to engage with feedback or questions.
But in reality a poor implementation doesn't cast doubt on the idea that teaching factory workers how to safely lift heavy boxes is a good thing.
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Comment on Chatbots urged teen to self-harm, suggested murdering parents, Texas lawsuit says in ~tech
Fiachra Link ParentIMO they should be as age-gated as any porn content and advertising them as an aid to mental illness, loneliness or grief shouldn't be allowed. We require licenses for therapists for a reason, and...IMO they should be as age-gated as any porn content and advertising them as an aid to mental illness, loneliness or grief shouldn't be allowed. We require licenses for therapists for a reason, and the suggestion that these bots meet any standard of care whatsoever is absurd.
It'd be like advertising whiskey as a treatment for depression... in the days before alcohol standards were regulated. You don't know what you're getting and even if it's the good stuff, is it getting you better or just an unhealthy coping strategy?
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Comment on Chatbots urged teen to self-harm, suggested murdering parents, Texas lawsuit says in ~tech
Fiachra LinkJesus those screenshots are grim... And I'm not sure there's an airtight way for a company to ensure their bots aren't saying something crazy like this. My guess is that since bots are prone to...Jesus those screenshots are grim... And I'm not sure there's an airtight way for a company to ensure their bots aren't saying something crazy like this.
My guess is that since bots are prone to agree with the human chatter, even when corrected on something nonsensical, it can remember what you say at your lowest and then repeat the sentiment back to you later. So the bot might have been telling this kid "your parents aren't the kind of people to trust with that" because he had previously vented to the bot about how alienated he feels from his parents.
People might effectively be teaching the bot their pain points and, in trying to agree with the human customer, the bot unknowingly strikes those pain points later and derails a more positive train of thought.
And even if this was just a once in a billion glitch, intimate details of a teenager's mental health struggles are an incredibly dangerous piece of data for a company to have.
Got married in February, offer on a house was accepted in the summer, and our first child was born in November. Settling down speedrun complete. The wife, house and son are all beautiful and perfect and going to last forever. I honestly don't know how two of the most disorganized people I know managed to pull off so much in a single calendar year, but we did it.