Malle's recent activity
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Comment on Finland will review whether to reintroduce antipersonnel land mines for improved defenses against Russia on the NATO defense bloc's longest land border with its main adversary in ~society
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Comment on A liar who always lies says “All my hats are green.” in ~science
Malle Link ParentThey also recently released a book with Lateral questions, made to help people play the game as they do on the podcast.They also recently released a book with Lateral questions, made to help people play the game as they do on the podcast.
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Comment on Sweden's wind power industry risks becoming a victim of its own success – rock-bottom energy prices are cooling renewable investment in ~enviro
Malle (edited )Link ParentFor context, I can't really recommend that page because it is not accurate in its descriptions. Spot prices are what the utility companies pay for the electricity. On top of this, end consumers...There's a site here that shows customers' spot prices per kWh in different parts of Sweden
For context, I can't really recommend that page because it is not accurate in its descriptions.
Spot prices are what the utility companies pay for the electricity. On top of this, end consumers will pay a higher price to cover various extra costs (trading fees, source certifications, etc.), as well as 25% VAT on all of those costs including the spot price.
The page you linked lists spot prices with VAT included and calls it the spot prices, which is misleading given the proper terminology. It also doesn't show end cost for consumers. For actual spot prices, see for instance Fortum (Swedish, but just click on one of the regions to get a graph).
The average price of electricity across the day (yesterday?)
Spot prices are determined a day in advance, which means they can show today's prices. After 2 pm Swedish time you will be able to see tomorrow's spot prices on Fortum, linked above.
For a more holistic view, Statistiska centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden, the government agency for statistics) collects statistics on actual prices customers pay for electricity, and you can look at that data on SCB's website.
For comparison, the first half of 2024, average consumer prices were generally between 205.95 öre/kWh and 306.15 öre/kWh, including all costs (spot price, surcharges, fixed costs, taxes, etc.). That's 18 to 27 euro cents kWh at current exchange rates.
During the same period, average marginal prices (i.e. the total cost per additional kWh used) were between 92.55 and 161.47 öre/kWh, or 8 to 14 euro cents / kWh.
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Comment on Follow up on the username thread: What Tildes users do you recognize when browsing and, without being rude or inflammatory, what is your impression of them? in ~tildes
Malle Link ParentOf course they're confused, they have to listen to Danes trying to speak!Of course they're confused, they have to listen to Danes trying to speak!
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Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes
Malle LinkNo, it's not inspired by Wall-E. Nor is it meant to be Mall E. No, I'm not really into French film. And I'm not a Danish catfish. I'm not from a certain municipality in Belgium. It didn't come...No, it's not inspired by Wall-E.
Nor is it meant to be Mall E.
No, I'm not really into French film.
And I'm not a Danish catfish.
I'm not from a certain municipality in Belgium.
It didn't come from a certain Captain but I certainly don't mind the association, and it has helped cement how I pronounce it in English.
No, I was maybe 10-12 years old, well over two decades ago. At that point I didn't really have much of a wider online presence, much less a consistent handle. I was playing the 1998 game Phobia II with my older brother. Cooperative game, sure, but I kept consistently scoring better than him. When I managed to get the high score, sibling rivalry being what it is, I felt pretty cocky so I tried entering that as my name, albeit in my native language. That word is six characters long, but the game only allowed five at most. Truncate, make it sound better in my language, and that's how I got from "mallig" to Malle.
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Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes
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Comment on Space-based solar power to be beamed to Iceland by 2030 in ~space
Malle Link ParentFrom my cursory glance that's an affirmative. Or at least a "major health concerns" ray.From my cursory glance that's an affirmative. Or at least a "major health concerns" ray.
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Comment on Space-based solar power to be beamed to Iceland by 2030 in ~space
Malle Link ParentThe danger depends at least in part on how dense the energy is. Just some quick and dirty maths to get a sense for things for my own sake if nothing else: Looking for any indication of acceptable...The danger depends at least in part on how dense the energy is. Just some quick and dirty maths to get a sense for things for my own sake if nothing else:
Looking for any indication of acceptable levels of microwave exposure, the first thing I found was that UC Berkeley lists "f/1500" mW/cm² (300 MHz to 30 GHz) or 5 mW/cm² (30 GHz to 300GHz) for non-occupational exposure.
I'm not sure how to interpret the f/1500. If it's the frequency in Hz then it would be 200 000 mW/cm² or more, which seems like a huge difference? So I'll just use the 5 mW/cm² figure.
That means a 30 MW beam would need to be spread out across at least 600 000 m² (0.6 km², 0.232 square miles) to be able to fall below these guidelines. That's a square with side length of about 775 meters or 850 yards.
I sincerely doubt that they intend to make such a large receiver for 30 MW of power. My not-at-all-to-be-blindly-trusted gut instinct says probably more like one to three orders of magnitude smaller, so one to three orders of magnitude higher density in the power.
Three orders of magnitude also seems to line up with the statement that if all electricity were to be supplied this way the receiver would be the size of Manhattan island. At the "safe" level, the 30 MW receiver is roughly about 1% of the size of Manhattan. At three orders of magnitude more dense, that would be 100 000 receivers of 30 MW each, for a total of 3 TW. Run that for a year and it's roughly 26 000 TWh. Google indicates yearly worldwide electricity generation was 28 548 TWh in 2021. A bit off, but in the same ballpark.
The UC Berkeley guideline indicates the exposure should be averaged over half an hour. At 1000 times the continuous level, you could spend a grand total of 1.8 seconds per half hour within this area.
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Comment on Moldova narrowly votes to secure path toward EU membership after accusing Russia of interference in ~society
Malle Link ParentWhether by action or inaction people are dictated to live one way or the other. The main difference is only if they are forced to continue to do so or forced to change. That said, I agree that...Whether by action or inaction people are dictated to live one way or the other. The main difference is only if they are forced to continue to do so or forced to change.
That said, I agree that there is an argument to be made for having higher thresholds or required margins to change the status quo in complex hard-to-reverse issues — that's the hysteresis I mentioned — but I firmly disagree that that removes any "forcing" in the situation.
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Comment on Moldova narrowly votes to secure path toward EU membership after accusing Russia of interference in ~society
Malle Link ParentShould the 49.5% then be allowed to dictate that the 50.5% shall live outside the EU? Is it perhaps more about what is required to force changes on people, rather than forcing people in general? A...Should the 49.5% then be allowed to dictate that the 50.5% shall live outside the EU? Is it perhaps more about what is required to force changes on people, rather than forcing people in general? A type of democratic hysteresis to minimize going back and forth between different options when the opinion is evenly split.
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Comment on Nintendo goes after the YouTube channel RetroGameCorps and many others in ~games
Malle Link ParentIt is law in the US, specifically 17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use with a plain text version accessible through the download link on that page. It starts as such: The...- Exemplary
Fair Use is not law. It's an affirmative defense against an accusation of infringement
It is law in the US, specifically 17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use with a plain text version accessible through the download link on that page.
It starts as such:
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.
The law may be used as an affirmative defense because the defendant may affirm they committed the alleged acts but still succeed in their defense by proving some set of facts.
Specifically, if a defendant is accused of having used copyrighted material without permission — a crime under general circumstances — the law of fair use provides an affirmative defense: "Yes we used your copyrighted material without permission, but it was fair use so it is legal". Affirm, defend.
It is true that whether a specific use of copyrighted material without permission is fair use or not is muddy and up to evaluation so to some extent subjective, but there will always be some level of subjectivity in law. That, however, does not mean it is entirely arbitrary. Over time court cases regarding fair use have built up precedent and helped shape the four-factor fair use test by providing guidance, not part of the US code, on how to adjudicate whether something is fair use.
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Comment on Thoughts on the friendzone in ~life
Malle Link ParentThank you for clarifying your perspective. I don't exactly agree with everything you've said, but accepting that this is what it means to you (and maybe to the OP of this thread as well) makes the...Thank you for clarifying your perspective. I don't exactly agree with everything you've said, but accepting that this is what it means to you (and maybe to the OP of this thread as well) makes the original comment significantly more reasonable to me.
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Comment on Thoughts on the friendzone in ~life
Malle Link ParentHonestly, I'd like people to try to define more concisely what they mean by "friend zone" because I don't recognize all the baggage many people seem to attribute to it, and find my understanding...Honestly, I'd like people to try to define more concisely what they mean by "friend zone" because I don't recognize all the baggage many people seem to attribute to it, and find my understanding of it to be a very real thing.
So, here's my take on it, which at least to me holds a useful definition. Reasonable people may completely disagree.
Saying you are "in the friend zone" of someone is a short hand for saying that
- you both have enjoyed being friends
- with respect to general sexual and/or romantic orientation, you are both "compatible" with each other
- you would like to explore a romantic or sexual relationship with them
- they are not willing to explore the possibility of a romantic or sexual relationship with you
That is, it describes a situation of unreciprocated want to presently explore romantic or sexual relationships between two friends who, considering only their romantic and/or sexual orientations, are compatible.
The reason they are not willing to explore a romantic or sexual relationship doesn't matter for the definition. They might just not be attracted to you specifically in that way. They might be in a committed monogamous relationship. They might be too stressed to deal with a relationship right now.
People being angry or violent over admitting to being attracted to a long-term friend and hearing it's not mutual is an unhealthy reaction to being in the friend zone, not a requirement for the descriptor to be apt.
People who mislead others with respect to whether they are in the friend zone by maliciously keeping the prospect of such a relationship on the table in order to extract some benefit (attention, gifts, services, etc.) are abusive people manipulating the perception of whether someone is in the friend zone for personal gain.
People may or may not know whether they are in the friend zone, and they may react in different ways to finding out, but unless they can control who they are attracted to, who they would like more intimate relationships with, they can't choose to leave it.
I probably think of it this way because it is very much a real thing in my life, and I have been on both sides of such relationships. I am someone who generally speaking
- can feel strong sexual attraction at first sight
- can most often only feel romantic attraction after getting to know someone over several months if not a couple of years
- only really wants an intimate relationship when I am both sexually and romantically attracted to someone
- do not want to string along someone I've recently met into an intimate relationship when it could be years before I even know if I want it
and as such your last paragraph is incredibly demoralizing. I don't seek to avoid rejection by getting to know people first, I seek to build the requisite foundation for me to actually desire an intimate relationship with them without leading them on about the prospects of what a relationship may entail when we've recently met.
Yes, if we have been friends for a long time, and I develop a romantic attraction, it can hurt a friendship. It can even kill it. But if I feel a torrent of emotions every time I see you and know that there's no healthy way for me to express it, then as much as it sucks to lose a friend it's not feasible for me to stay around them.
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Comment on Are mandatory arbitration agreements the new normal? in ~talk
Malle Link ParentI understand if you feel that, but I see nothing in their reply that even implies it. I'd much rather make the mistake of assuming they don't know and contribute what information I can reliably...I understand if you feel that, but I see nothing in their reply that even implies it. I'd much rather make the mistake of assuming they don't know and contribute what information I can reliably source, than assume they do know and be wrong about that. In the worst case I think I come across as patronising, and I can live with that if it means I actually manage to assist in some more cases
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Comment on Are mandatory arbitration agreements the new normal? in ~talk
Malle Link ParentIt is part of what they were asking for, specifically the part I quoted to indicate that that was what I was replying to. I am not able to provide an answer to the rest. Should I not have contributed?It is part of what they were asking for, specifically the part I quoted to indicate that that was what I was replying to. I am not able to provide an answer to the rest. Should I not have contributed?
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett in ~books
Malle Link ParentThere's also the reason that they generally work as stand alone books, and there's multiple different "plotlines" of books. I can't vouch for it's full accuracy (I've read maybe a dozen of them...There's also the reason that they generally work as stand alone books, and there's multiple different "plotlines" of books.
I can't vouch for it's full accuracy (I've read maybe a dozen of them and it was some time ago), but on the wiki page for Discworld there's an image of a Discworld reading order guide (.jpg). If you just want some guidance on where to start, pick one of the "starter novels" you think sounds interesting, then either keep going down that branch or jump around as you like and you'll be fine.
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Comment on Are mandatory arbitration agreements the new normal? in ~talk
Malle Link ParentMandatory arbitration clauses are as far as I can tell unenforceable in the EU. Not being familiar with Swedish law on the subject I looked it up, and mandatory arbitration clauses are essentially...I would also be interested to hear which countries [...] are progressive enough to have legislation against this [...]
Mandatory arbitration clauses are as far as I can tell unenforceable in the EU.
Not being familiar with Swedish law on the subject I looked it up, and mandatory arbitration clauses are essentially only allowed between companies. The Swedish arbitration act of 1999 states (my translation):
If a dispute between a business and a consumer concerns a good, a service, or any other utility which is provided for primarily individual use, an arbitration agreement may not be enforced if it was agreed to before the dispute arose.
Original Swedish for reference: Lag (1999:116) om skiljeförfarande, §6.
The origin of this seems to be the EU council directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts
Article 3
1. A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.2. A term shall always be regarded as not individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term, particularly in the context of a pre-formulated standard contract.
TERMS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 3 (3)
1. Terms which have the object or effect of:
[...]
(q) excluding or hindering the consumer's right to take legal action or exercise any other legal remedy, particularly by requiring the consumer to take disputes exclusively to arbitration not covered by legal provisions, [...] -
Comment on Looking for a clean, simple phone in ~tech
Malle LinkI don't know about most phones so definitely look into this on your own if it's interesting, but I used a Sony Xperia 10 III for about three years before switching just a week ago to an Xperia 10...I don't know about most phones so definitely look into this on your own if it's interesting, but I used a Sony Xperia 10 III for about three years before switching just a week ago to an Xperia 10 VI.
I'd say it's mostly free from bloat? Other than mostly google stuff, it came with Facebook and LinkedIn, which can be disabled in settings, and supposedly removed using Android debug bridge although I have not tried.
The only thing I remember the old version nagging about was installing system updates, and restarting the phone after it had been been on for 28 days or more, and even then it was dismissable notifications. Oh and enabling backing up photos to google drive, I think?
I bought mine new the other week for the equivalent of 310€, although it was marked as discounted by 130€.
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Comment on What is a software you wish existed? in ~comp
Malle Link ParentThank you for letting me know! I guess discord is doing some access management on the attachments. Reuploaded them to imgur so should now be available. They're very basic, but still.Thank you for letting me know! I guess discord is doing some access management on the attachments. Reuploaded them to imgur so should now be available. They're very basic, but still.
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Comment on What is a software you wish existed? in ~comp
Malle (edited )Link ParentI'm with you on this. I tinkered with something very basic along similar lines a couple of years ago, but as so many things I don't have the time/energy/will/drive to see it through. The goal was...I'm with you on this. I tinkered with something very basic along similar lines a couple of years ago, but as so many things I don't have the time/energy/will/drive to see it through.
The goal was slightly different, in that I was aiming for automatic layouting to minimize input, as I would primarily use it for trying to understand more complex connected networks of related items.
I also wasn't using NLP but just setting up a natural language syntax for it.
I got so far I could take input files like this:
A exists B exists A is connected to B B is connected to C D exists D is connected to A E is connected to A D is connected to E F is connected to E G is connected to Fand automatically turn it into something like this: image
Differentiating implicitly and explicitly defined nodes was an important aspect for me at that time, which is why the nodes have different styling and why I declare them explicitly in the input.
You were able to configure your own set of instructions (here: "<x> exists" and "<x> is connected to <y>") and how the elements they affected would be styled (e.g. shape of node, type of line, arrows for directed connections, etc.)
As far as I remember though, with the tool I used for the layouting (graphviz dot language), having more explicit control on exactly how objects are placed relative to each other isn't really possible, or at least it's very much not trivial to automate.
One thing I did use it for was mocking up a flowchart for my understanding/interpretation of basically the state machine underlying stealth rules in D&D 5e, as a basis for discussing this with some of my players: image. Not the prettiest, and I'm sure it's not fully accurate to the rules, but it helped me reach a mutual understanding with the person mostly using stealth in that campaign as to how we would use it.
Here's two alternative sources from Finnish news (Yle). First Citizens' initiative calls on Finland to withdraw from the Ottawa landmine treaty and then Finland will evaluate potential reintroduction of landmines, Stubb says.
In short, my impression in my own words: they are contemplating reviewing the use of land mines and a withdrawal from the Ottawa convention, particularly in the context of their viability in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Finnish parliament may be required to debate it because of an ongoing citizens' initiative (even if it was started in part by a defence industry lobbyist).