Happy_Shredder's recent activity
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Comment on Sharp Knives - 'But At Least We've Changed Our Lives' in ~music
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4 votes
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Comment on Facebook bans Louis Farrakhan, Milo Yiannopoulos, InfoWars and others from its platforms as 'dangerous' in ~tech
Happy_Shredder Link Parent I'm pretty sure piracy sites have been blanket banned for years.I'm pretty sure piracy sites have been blanket banned for years.
2 votes -
2 votes
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Comment on Move back to your dying hometown. Unless you can’t. in ~life
Happy_Shredder Link Parent Yes, CBD is central business district. It is an initialism.Yes, CBD is central business district. It is an initialism.
2 votes -
Comment on Should I go to college for computer science? in ~talk
Happy_Shredder Link You may be interested in the MIT open courseware. It's no replacement for a real course (there is so much value in dedicated study, surrounded by driven people and good teachers) but the material...You may be interested in the MIT open courseware. It's no replacement for a real course (there is so much value in dedicated study, surrounded by driven people and good teachers) but the material is great.
4 votes -
Comment on Differentiating between comments collapsed via noise versus user-actioned & old collapses in ~tildes
Happy_Shredder Link I'd be a fan of lightening noisy etc comments like HN does. Leave collapsed threads as they are.I'd be a fan of lightening noisy etc comments like HN does. Leave collapsed threads as they are.
2 votes -
Comment on Can anyone help me remember a sci-fi short story about disintegrating weapons and nuclear winter? in ~books
Happy_Shredder Link Parent Nah, I reckon that must be from something else. I can't think of what, thoughNah, I reckon that must be from something else. I can't think of what, though
2 votes -
Comment on Can anyone help me remember a sci-fi short story about disintegrating weapons and nuclear winter? in ~books
Happy_Shredder Link Sounds like "The Trigger" by Arthur C. Clarke. If not, it's a good book anyway, I'd recommend.disintegrate all weapons ...
Sounds like "The Trigger" by Arthur C. Clarke. If not, it's a good book anyway, I'd recommend.
5 votes -
7 votes
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Comment on American asking - how does your country's healthcare system perform for you? in ~health
Happy_Shredder Link Much the same story here in Australia, as in EU & UK. If you're sick, you call up your GP for an appointment in the next few days. If it's an emergency, call the ambulance, and you'll be in the...Much the same story here in Australia, as in EU & UK. If you're sick, you call up your GP for an appointment in the next few days. If it's an emergency, call the ambulance, and you'll be in the hospital as fast as possible. In both cases treatment costs nothing, and pharmaceuticals are cheap and sometimes free. It's liberating.
There are private hospitals and GPs that may offer 'better' or more 'personal' services. Dental and optical typically aren't covered, which sucks. Private insurance exists, but it's a little hard to justify having it. It can cover dental and optical, and private health service providers. Actually, the public service, Medicare, is run technically as a health insurer. Service providers charge Medicare in much the same way as they do private insurers. However, the government mandates how much Medicare can be charged --- there's a big book of prices for every possible medical service.
I never worry about health. Of course I don't want to be sick or hurt, but if I am treatment is available and won't bankrupt me.
6 votes -
Comment on How do you guys deal with alcohol? in ~health
Happy_Shredder Link I like alcohol. I like the varieties, and their various tastes. It can cool you down or warm you up. A cold one's a great way to unwind after a hard week. Sometimes it's nice to go out with mates...I like alcohol. I like the varieties, and their various tastes. It can cool you down or warm you up. A cold one's a great way to unwind after a hard week. Sometimes it's nice to go out with mates and just forget about everything for a night. Sure there are health consequences, but there is a scale. Drinking large amounts every day or binging every week has serious consequences. I used to work with a bloke who drank himself to death in his mid 30s.
Drinking compulsively --- doing anything compulsively, potentially --- is dangerous, because you're not in control. If you're in this scenario, then maybe find some help. There's plenty of it.
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Comment on What are some things other people dislike that you quite enjoy? in ~talk
Happy_Shredder Link Parent Yeah there's just so much energy in grind it can be exhausting. But that's what's so awesome: particularly the original punk-based stuff, so much concentrated fury.Yeah there's just so much energy in grind it can be exhausting. But that's what's so awesome: particularly the original punk-based stuff, so much concentrated fury.
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4 votes
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Comment on I'm downsizing my digital life. Do you listen to a lot of music? How do you archive it? in ~tech
Happy_Shredder Link I download flac when I can, mp3 otherwise, all onto a big hard drive. The only streaming I do is Bandcamp. I have a little Sandisk mp3 player (8gb internal+32gb sd card) afk. It does play flac,...I download flac when I can, mp3 otherwise, all onto a big hard drive. The only streaming I do is Bandcamp. I have a little Sandisk mp3 player (8gb internal+32gb sd card) afk. It does play flac, but I tend to just compress anyway to put more on it.
2 votes -
Comment on There’s a Vanishing Resource We’re Not Talking About - humans are losing our cultural diversity even faster than we’re destroying the planet. in ~humanities
Happy_Shredder Link Parent Yeah this is a perspective that bothers me too. I often see this implication that culture is some static feature of people (which is nonsense) and when this concept is coupled to ethnicity or...Yeah this is a perspective that bothers me too. I often see this implication that culture is some static feature of people (which is nonsense) and when this concept is coupled to ethnicity or nationality it tends towards racist dog-whistles. So there's two issues here: ill-defined, intellectually void ideas; and the real, practical consequences of racism.
I should note that I think that culture can be characterised more objectively. We could talk about how groups of people develop distinct language, fashion, art, philosophies, values, traditions, and so on. These arise due to inter-people interactions, and interactions between people and the environment and people and technology. As people are born and die, leave and join, as technologies evolve, and the environment changes, so will culture. It must be dynamic, and a cursory examination of history shows this.
9 votes -
Comment on What are your views on the use of profanity on Tildes? in ~tildes
Happy_Shredder Link Yeah nah cunt, swear words give language bloody colourYeah nah cunt, swear words give language bloody colour
24 votes -
Comment on Is there a book that you'd like to see made into a movie or series? in ~books
Happy_Shredder Link I'd love to see a series of short films based on the Poetic/Prose. A lot of the material can be difficult to read, but I feel that many of the stories are still relevant and compelling. Hence it...I'd love to see a series of short films based on the Poetic/Prose. A lot of the material can be difficult to read, but I feel that many of the stories are still relevant and compelling. Hence it is well placed for an adaptation, especially considering the success and production quality of GoT and Vikings.
On the mythological side, there tales of the world's creation, battles with giants, contests of wit, and the ever present thread of Loki shitstirring, culminating with Hermod's ride to Hel and Ragnarok.
On the heroic side, the Volsungasaga and Niflung poems have been treated before --- famously by Wagner, and Tolkien drew much influence from here too --- and it's such a rip-roaring collection of battles and betrayals I think it would fit very well on screen as a short series.
2 votes -
Comment on Privacy and Politics in ~talk
Happy_Shredder Link One of the characteristics of US politics I find quite sad is the off-the-shelf, binary way it is presented. You're liberal or conservative. Democrat or Republican. And whichever you are means you...One of the characteristics of US politics I find quite sad is the off-the-shelf, binary way it is presented. You're liberal or conservative. Democrat or Republican. And whichever you are means you believe this and that and the other thing. There's a whole world of politics beyond these options: what do you want from an economy? what is the nature of the state? how should a society interact?
I'm an anarchist. I want to live in a stateless, classless society. This is essentially because equality is the basis of freedom and I want to be free --- I want everyone to be free --- free, in a particular well defined way.
Privacy use deep importance to me because it's related to power. When states take our privacy away of we give it to corporations we lose power and they gain it. They gain the power to manipulate elections, to control policy debate, to hide policy. To control what we see, and believe, and know. This hints to why whistleblowers are so vital: they take power from the elite and give it back to us.
A brief comment on Islam. One characteristic of a free society is the free exchange of ideas. People may be equal (more explicitly, have equal rights, respect, and opportunities) but ideas aren't. Some ideas are well formed, reasonably argued and supported by evidence. Some ideas are based on faith and feelings, hope and guesswork. Some ideas lead to a free and fair and wonderful society, while others lead to genocide and slavery. Criticising Islam (or any religion, politics, and so on) is fine, as far as I'm concerned. All ideas are up for debate. What's not fine is declaring all Muslims to be criminals, or rapists, or dole bludgers, or terrorists --- this betrays the idea that all Muslims are subhuman degenerates, which is closely linked both to hierarchical, non-free ideas about society, and real, unjustified violence and abuse against Muslims.
1 vote -
Comment on Is Sunscreen the New Margarine? in ~health
Happy_Shredder Link Parent Well, summers are longer and hotter now than 20 years ago. Heatwaves are harder too. Living in a concrete jungle doesn't help much either, and neither does getting older :)Well, summers are longer and hotter now than 20 years ago. Heatwaves are harder too. Living in a concrete jungle doesn't help much either, and neither does getting older :)
2 votes
No worries! It's a ripper album, aye. I've been on a bit of a folk punk kick lately; I love the flamenco edge on this record, it's a nice contrast to Celtic or Americana folk. Plus it's a composed a bit better technically, making it an interesting listen.
We the Heathens has been on heavy rotation for me.