Kilgore_Trout's recent activity
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Comment on How much of an echo chamber is Reddit/the internet, really? in ~tech
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Comment on How much of an echo chamber is Reddit/the internet, really? in ~tech
Kilgore_Trout Link ParentSpeaking as a man dead smack in the middle of what they call Gen X .... I'm not going to tell you to go fuck yourself. I really didn't. I said I wouldn't. I haven't. A friend of mine, who is also...Honestly, I wonder what happens when the boomers and maybe genXers finally die off. Will mass market mailing continue to be effective?
Speaking as a man dead smack in the middle of what they call Gen X .... I'm not going to tell you to go fuck yourself.
I really didn't. I said I wouldn't. I haven't.
A friend of mine, who is also Gen X, called us the "bridge generation". It's a great term. It means I have dialed a rotary phone and also used one to connect a 14.4 modem to the internet we had.
Oh, he said that on usenet. Do you know what that is?
Anyway you're talking about boomers and Gen X being the reason for mass mail. As if we ever wanted this crap.
What about younger generations building data centers to host videos of some idiot doing something stupid for views?
The content of those mass mailings is worthless. But nobody asked for it. Marketing people decided it was potentially a way to make money and they did it.
Same for tiktok and all the other crap. The content is equally worthless, but how much water/energy will they use to host the stupid videos?
Is it better or worse or just the same and not really anyone's fault?
Except for the ones doing it. The ones who don't care about the planet or our resources or anything aside from their short term profit.
Blame boomers if you like, blame Gen X. We'll never care.
Or blame the species and get things done. If you can. I doubt we’ll ever change.
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Comment on My father died suddenly in ~life.men
Kilgore_Trout LinkMy father was also an alcoholic. He was actively drinking for most of my life. He was sober, for 8-10 years, before he died. He was sort of a weird alcoholic. He's drink like a fish for 3-4 days...My father was also an alcoholic. He was actively drinking for most of my life. He was sober, for 8-10 years, before he died. He was sort of a weird alcoholic. He's drink like a fish for 3-4 days then sober up and work like a demon for a week or so and rinse and repeat. He was described by a good friend of both of ours, who was sober and in AA for a very long time as "The hardest working man in the program." He tried very hard even though he kept failing.
I suspect he was hypomanic. Before he sobered up someone diagnosed him as Manic-Depressive and put him on medication for it.
I remember when he told me that I said:
"You've never been depressed a day in your life!"
He said "I know kid, but the pills work."
"Then keep taking them."He did, they kept working, he stayed sober until the end. He died where he wanted too. He literally picked the place. I suspect he knew it was coming. He was on vacation, working on someones house, when he fell over dead. He was in the city/country he was born in and doing what he wanted and he went quick. All things considered.. I am happy with the outcome.
But none of that matters. Here is what does:
I also feel like I don't know how to fully be there for my mother who just lost her partner of 30+ years; I can't imagine the scale of her grief. Any words of wisdom are appreciated.
Just be there. Be present. Let her know you're there and she is not alone. That means if you can, stop by, if you can't make the phone call. It doesn't have to be much, it doesn't have to be eloquent.
"How's everything?"
"You need anything?"If you can stop by it's better but do what you can. Don't try to get into helping her grieve. That's not your job. If she wants to talk about it she'll talk about it. You won't have to help. If she doesn't that's fine. Just be present and be there. And keep it up.
Make sure she knows she's not alone.
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Comment on Smartphones arrived just before the US fertility rate plunged. One study says it’s a direct cause. in ~health
Kilgore_Trout Link ParentCorrelation does not imply causation Colloquially it's often "Correlation is not causation." Anyone who has taken an intro Logic, Sociology or Statistics class knows this. Hopefully they...Again, I don't disagree with the general idea of what things are linked, but this is so overly-simplified. I can't really take it seriously.
Correlation does not imply causation
Colloquially it's often "Correlation is not causation."
Anyone who has taken an intro Logic, Sociology or Statistics class knows this. Hopefully they understood it. Often they do not.
"Dinosaurs couldn't read. Now they are extinct." is a true statement. Do we really think these facts are related?
Smartphones and lowered fertility may correlate. Is one the cause of the other? To say "Yes" without some serious proof is a logical fallacy. There are so many other variables. This analysis ignores them, because it's stupid.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #9: How optimistic are you about the future? (Results) in ~talk
Kilgore_Trout (edited )LinkI answered "very pessimistic" for each question. My reason is simple and sad and irrefutable. I hate it. I accept it. When my mother was born the world population was 2.5 billion. When I was born...I answered "very pessimistic" for each question.
My reason is simple and sad and irrefutable. I hate it. I accept it.
When my mother was born the world population was 2.5 billion. When I was born it was 4 billion. When I got out of high school is was 5.6 billion. Today they say it's 8.6 billion.
I think that number is low but hey.. I may be stupid.
What I know is that when we can't make enough food for everyone we won't get together and make a plan and do the right thing. I know someone will decide to just kill the other people so we can survive.
Them and us. Someones tribe will kill someones else's tribe.
I'd like to say I am above this but I know I am not. It'll be them, not us.
I know I'm not one of the good people. I'm just normal. That's the problem.
Edit: Them and us. Not: "Then and us." Dyspellia is a real thing that I made up. My apologies for suffering from it.
Bulk mailing? Sure, it will go away the moment it stops showing a return. I don't think younger generations will be less susceptible to bulk mailing though! You may think they will be but .... What's your sample? The stupid, impressionable and easily manipulated are normal better technology doesn't make them go away.
Now they can be reached through their phones and tablets and computers, true. They can still be reached by bulk mailings. They are going to open the mailbox eventually and look at the stuff in there if only to throw it away. A percentage of those mailings will work. They go away when the percent is no longer cost effective, not before. Who knows when that will be.