Hamartia's recent activity
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Comment on Sultans of Ping FC - Where's Me Jumper? (1992) in ~music
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Comment on ‘The science isn’t there’: do dating apps really help us find our soulmate? in ~life
Hamartia LinkIrony of ironies. The Guardian used to promote a subscription dating app called Guardian Soulmates. I joined about 14 years ago. I got plenty of dates and met way more people than I otherwise...Irony of ironies. The Guardian used to promote a subscription dating app called Guardian Soulmates. I joined about 14 years ago. I got plenty of dates and met way more people than I otherwise would have in a new city. I had a few relationships that lasted 5-6 months then I met my current partner. We've been together for over 10 years now.
I think it was only as good as it was for me because I continuously worked on improving my profile and I was open to chatting with and meeting people I wouldn't normally have.
The chatting I especially liked and there were a few people that I never met up with but communicated with for years. Mostly we'd chat about our experience on the platform and about some of our more disastrous dates. This I found addictive. Especially as it was the main way that I socialised in this new city outside of work and studies. After I met my current partner I was still chatting away with my 'friends' until she found out and put her foot down. If she hadn't found out I probably would have continued chatting with them until the subscription ran out.
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Comment on "The university campus is rapidly becoming a locus of infantilizing social control that any independent-minded student should seek to escape" in ~life
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Comment on "The university campus is rapidly becoming a locus of infantilizing social control that any independent-minded student should seek to escape" in ~life
Hamartia (edited )Link ParentEh.. Not at all. I was saying that vocal resistance to lockdowns was a partisan issue on some obtuse libertarian angle. The lockdowns themselves were the best advice at the time by epidemiologists...Eh.. Not at all. I was saying that vocal resistance to lockdowns was a partisan issue on some obtuse libertarian angle. The lockdowns themselves were the best advice at the time by epidemiologists given a relatively unstudied virus in full pandemic.
And the other point I was saying that the 'authoritarian' solutions to providing education can lead to understanding collective responsibility. I'm not presenting some kind of dichotomy where the left are behaved and the right are not. For one students, like most adults, aren't crystalline politically resolved entities that act wholely in consideration of their political outlook. And secondly, any number of different view points can end up at the same conclusion of being respectful in class.
My contention is that some on the right dislike the potential for empathic critical thinking so are often attacking higher education for its 'wokery' and that this article is a nuanced example of such.
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Comment on "The university campus is rapidly becoming a locus of infantilizing social control that any independent-minded student should seek to escape" in ~life
Hamartia Link ParentI work in a UK University so my experience was slightly different. Inasmuch that the government was more ideologically against lockdown than even the university executives so it's hard to say at...I work in a UK University so my experience was slightly different. Inasmuch that the government was more ideologically against lockdown than even the university executives so it's hard to say at what point they would have pushed for reopening on their own. Though when the government decreed we open we didn't see much by way of full-blooded resistance from the executives.
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Comment on "The university campus is rapidly becoming a locus of infantilizing social control that any independent-minded student should seek to escape" in ~life
Hamartia Link ParentI have a little bit of sympathy for the concerns about strict social controls over more nebulous, and sometimes abused, issues but the overall picture painted here is leaning into objectivism....I have a little bit of sympathy for the concerns about strict social controls over more nebulous, and sometimes abused, issues but the overall picture painted here is leaning into objectivism.
Yes, Universities are a bit authoritarian. They mass together a huge number of kittens (young adults) and try to create an environment that tries to benefit as close to all of them as possible with the funds allowed. If we hypothesized the ultimate university learning experience for a single student with all the facilities, resources, tuition, support, nutrition, social life, etc tailored to their needs and rhythms: Then scaled that up to facilitate every student in a large university the costs would be astronomical. I imagine the GDP of a medium sized European country. So instead of a one-on-one tutorship, 40 -70 or more students are timetabled into a lecture theater. Instead of getting handed every library resource you require to keep for the rest of your life you are loaned for a short period a copy, if available, if in the library's holdings. Etc etc.. For universities to work within their budgetary constraints and strive towards the ideal situation for all requires students to bear a certain amount of collective responsibility. To turn up to lectures on time. To not disturb others in class. To return books to the library in time. To treat other students with respect. To treat staff with respect. To maintain shared resources such as labs and workshops. Etc etc..
This however creates a problem for the Right. Students that can appreciate collective responsibility and the benefits of a collective society have a much greater chance of respecting: civil rights and gender equality; that people that have suffered intergenerational injustice need a more proscribed environment so that they can have something approaching an equal opportunity of outcome; the benefits of unionizing; global inequalities and injustices. etc etc.. The right doesn't like this potential. They'd rather students were taught to be objectionists to a degree or inculcated into the prevalent inverted totalitarianism. Insulated in their own meritocracy. Appreciative of the righteousness of a hierarchy that they have good prospects in. And that the weak fall to the gutter (rather than have a letter written for them by their house dean - which could be catalyzed by any number of unfortunate private circumstances).
Ultimately, they really undermined all of the subtleties of their efforts by tying their attack on the natural collective sensibility, engendered by the administration of a University within budget, in with resistance to lockdowns. Universities are potentially one of the worst places to be in a pandemic, for various well documented reasons, so a tight lockdown is imperative to prevent them from becoming a wellspring of infection for the cities they reside in. That lockdowns became such a political football, is to my mind, emblematic of a deeply cynical partisanship. I would even go so far as to say, because of the lives lost to these crude political calculations, that its denunciation should have been treated as a criminal act.
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Comment on “Between the hammer and the anvil” – The story behind the New York Times October 7 exposé in ~misc
Hamartia LinkI know that these and other false reports had a worryingly pervasive effect on my perception of the events of Oct 7th. I would consider myself a lot more open to the concerns of the Palestinian...I know that these and other false reports had a worryingly pervasive effect on my perception of the events of Oct 7th.
I would consider myself a lot more open to the concerns of the Palestinian people because of my understanding of the fits and starts of grinding eradication that occur in long colonial projects like we experienced in Ireland. But, like the frog in boiling water, it's easy to forget that they have such a strong control of the narratives telling us the temperature is normal.
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Comment on Extreme metal guitar skills linked to intrasexual competition, but not mating success in ~science
Hamartia Link ParentHave you considered that Poe only created this law to impress and/or intimidate other heterosexual men with his skills.Have you considered that Poe only created this law to impress and/or intimidate other heterosexual men with his skills.
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Comment on Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and a MAGA meltdown in ~society
Hamartia Link ParentIt's obvious now that you mention it. NFL - NASA Faked Landings.It's obvious now that you mention it. NFL - NASA Faked Landings.
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Comment on Can doctors in England detain you under the Mental Health Act if they've only met you in MS Teams? (No, not any more) in ~health.mental
Hamartia Link ParentThe flip side of this concern is the perilously low funding to the NHS's mental health provision. For them to to be willing to expend some of their scant resources you would need to be so far over...The flip side of this concern is the perilously low funding to the NHS's mental health provision. For them to to be willing to expend some of their scant resources you would need to be so far over the line of legitimate concern that there's little chance of erroneous committal.
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Comment on AlbumLove (November 2023): 1990-1994 in ~music
Hamartia LinkThe 1993 album Incunabula by Autechre for me. It still holds up as a great electro album these thirty years later. Perfect for hiking about the hills with your headphones on or working in the...The 1993 album Incunabula by Autechre for me. It still holds up as a great electro album these thirty years later. Perfect for hiking about the hills with your headphones on or working in the studio. Dreamy, mysterious, futuristic, a little bit edgy, some bubbling energy, a feast for the ears and mind.
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Comment on What are you favourite grim, dark, atmospheric films? in ~movies
Hamartia LinkIf you find all the dark noir movies getting you on edge then watch Dead men don't wear plaid. It's a great film noir parody with Steve Martin with lots of characters and footage from old film...If you find all the dark noir movies getting you on edge then watch Dead men don't wear plaid. It's a great film noir parody with Steve Martin with lots of characters and footage from old film noir movies spliced into the story
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
Hamartia Link ParentWolf Hall is another favorite of mine that should scratch that itch too. I don't think there's a series I've rewatched as much.Wolf Hall is another favorite of mine that should scratch that itch too. I don't think there's a series I've rewatched as much.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
Hamartia LinkI’m not sleeping much at the moment so I've taken to rewatching episodes of 'I Claudius' and 'Rome' each night as a contrast of rendering a historical period. 'I Claudius' has dated quite a bit...I’m not sleeping much at the moment so I've taken to rewatching episodes of 'I Claudius' and 'Rome' each night as a contrast of rendering a historical period.
'I Claudius' has dated quite a bit (it was made in the mid 70s by the BBC) but still has some clever intrigues and machinations. It looks, by today's standards, quite low budget (the makeup in particular is glaringly bad) but the excellent ensemble of actors gives it wings. The theme music in particular stands out as a childhood memory of mine, there's just nothing else like it.
'Rome', the 2005 HBO and BBC hit, is likely well known here. It covers the travails of a broad section of roman society, as opposed to 'I Claudius' which only really observes the very top, and as a consequence gives all the characters much greater depth of motivation.
In particular I am amused by the different renderings of Octavian/Augustus, the only character common to both shows. In 'Rome' we see him as a child prodigy, cunning tactician/politician. And in 'I Claudius', much later in life to the point that his succession is a major theme of the show, he's this very ordinary man buffeted about by the ambitions and scrabbling of those around him.
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Comment on Windows Phone gets revenge on YouTube from the grave by helping users bypass its ad-blocker-blocker in ~tech
Hamartia Link ParentI hear you. I would pull the trigger on a Pinephone if they had a high end camera. If they had a bigger screen too I'd be happy paying twice the cost of a standard flagship privacy destroyer.I hear you. I would pull the trigger on a Pinephone if they had a high end camera. If they had a bigger screen too I'd be happy paying twice the cost of a standard flagship privacy destroyer.
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Comment on Windows Phone gets revenge on YouTube from the grave by helping users bypass its ad-blocker-blocker in ~tech
Hamartia Link ParentI still use my HP Elite X3 to access reddit as Baconit still works. Mostly. The battery life still holds up amazingly to for a six year old smart phone. I probably would have kept on using it as...I still use my HP Elite X3 to access reddit as Baconit still works. Mostly. The battery life still holds up amazingly to for a six year old smart phone.
I probably would have kept on using it as my primary phone if the camera hadden't stopped focusing a couple of years ago.
Pretty much all of the apps are gimped by the lack of support and the edge browser is not liked by a lot of websites. :(
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Comment on Israel's Gaza evacuation order could breach international law [by forcibly transferring civilians] in ~news
Hamartia Link ParentI grew up in the 70s in the troubles of Northern Ireland. I have few illusions in this sphere. Beyond the moral implications, if you can't see clearly on that point, it's exactly this type action...I grew up in the 70s in the troubles of Northern Ireland. I have few illusions in this sphere. Beyond the moral implications, if you can't see clearly on that point, it's exactly this type action that made the troubles worse, drove paramilitary recruitment and solidified community support of the paramilitaries.
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Comment on Israel's Gaza evacuation order could breach international law [by forcibly transferring civilians] in ~news
Hamartia Link ParentKnowingly killing civilians is killing civilians, no matter how you try to qualify it, no matter what the history is, no matter what scores are being settled. It's immoral to even quibble over it.Knowingly killing civilians is killing civilians, no matter how you try to qualify it, no matter what the history is, no matter what scores are being settled. It's immoral to even quibble over it.
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Comment on Israel's Gaza evacuation order could breach international law [by forcibly transferring civilians] in ~news
Hamartia Link ParentIf you can't distinguish between civilian and military targets you don't fire. You don't wring your hands and say the opponent is pulling the trigger. You are pulling the trigger. You are pulling...If you can't distinguish between civilian and military targets you don't fire. You don't wring your hands and say the opponent is pulling the trigger. You are pulling the trigger. You are pulling the trigger and killing civilians.
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Comment on Supporting an artistic child in ~creative
Hamartia Link ParentMost of the shows are around the end of the academic year. In the UK that's june /July. So there may not be much on for a while jist keep an eye on their news feed.Most of the shows are around the end of the academic year. In the UK that's june /July. So there may not be much on for a while jist keep an eye on their news feed.
I saw them playing in the Mandela Hall in Belfast in 92. Their live show had a really energetic chaotic irreverence. Jumper was not lost.