MimicSquid's recent activity

  1. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    There's mods out there that broaden the dodging windows beyond the defaults in the game. I highly recommend them.

    There's mods out there that broaden the dodging windows beyond the defaults in the game. I highly recommend them.

  2. Comment on Third spaces: What do we want, and how do we get them? in ~life

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Right? I hate inconveniencing people. But it's part of being human. Friendship includes friction. A perfect friendship/relationship isn't one that is never difficult at all, it's one that brings...

    Right? I hate inconveniencing people. But it's part of being human. Friendship includes friction. A perfect friendship/relationship isn't one that is never difficult at all, it's one that brings joy and continues to be worth it despite the challenges. So when you're the difficult one, accept it and try to be better. Don't retreat, improve.

    6 votes

  3. Comment on Third spaces: What do we want, and how do we get them? in ~life

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    My wife have started to say "friends are inconvenient." And on its surface it's both true and depressing. But we use it as shorthand to say "the inconvenience of socialization is not the point,...

    My wife have started to say "friends are inconvenient." And on its surface it's both true and depressing. But we use it as shorthand to say "the inconvenience of socialization is not the point, but is an understood cost that is still dwarfed by the joys that come with social interaction." People are inconvenient. An AI friend will provide a frictionless and unsurprising facsimile of friendship, but to get the joys of real interactions, accept the friction as well.

    14 votes

  4. Comment on Third spaces: What do we want, and how do we get them? in ~life

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    If we can agree that they need to be funded, there's three ways there can be more third spaces. The government can run them through infrastructure development to provide gathering places and...

    If we can agree that they need to be funded, there's three ways there can be more third spaces. The government can run them through infrastructure development to provide gathering places and ongoing funding to care for and run them, a for-profit entity can create and maintain one with the expectation that it'll increase their revenues more than it costs to maintain, or a non-profit can provide and run one (though it'll probably be in infrastructure built by one of the other two unless your local Masons, Shriners, or other old school social club has a hall that's available for other purposes.)

    Note that all three of those cases have something in common: infrastructure. For there to be a third place, there must first be a place. And both governmental and for-profit organizations mostly haven't been prioritizing public infrastructure since the New Deal a century ago. So it's another one of those things where we talk about it as if it's something individuals can change while ignoring the choices regarding our built environment that makes our individual choices for us. In the current US, where governments at every level are hamstrung by competing for the lowest tax rates in the vain hope of drawing businesses to them and where businesses broadly want to extract as much value as possible for the minimum investment, no one is likely to build what would make third places easy.

    I don't know what the solution is for society. As it is, I try to throw minimal-pressure potlucks with a broad range of times people are welcome to show up and no requirement to contribute, go to social events in person and support the businesses that make those events possible, and advocate for higher tax rates and better politicians to perhaps one day have a local government that doesn't just act like they're there to provide a minimally disruptive workforce for whatever corporation will whisper sweet nothings into their ear.

    6 votes

  5. Comment on Third spaces: What do we want, and how do we get them? in ~life

    MimicSquid
    Link
    There's a pub in my area that has an activity every night of the week. Music, dancing, poetry, trivia, local bands, you name it. For years I'd go dancing there weekly, and met a lot of people....

    There's a pub in my area that has an activity every night of the week. Music, dancing, poetry, trivia, local bands, you name it. For years I'd go dancing there weekly, and met a lot of people. Because you could get a drink, or food, or nothing and just enjoy the activity, lots of people showed up regularly. It was good times, and as my health improves enough to go dancing again, I'm going to go back.

    I think that "free" in this context can only mean "free at point of entry." Every venue needs money to maintain the facilities at the very least. Even if it's happening in an empty dirt lot, somebody's got to pay something along the way. I do think that it being a sliding scale fee is good, or supported by voluntary donations, so that people who want to come and can't pay aren't excluded.

    A third space provides the opportunity for community. A place for fortuitous happenstance, where you run into friends, or make new ones. A place to find common ground on shared issues, to get a perspective you might not have considered. A place where there are no hosts and guests, but people together sharing something.

    I think that they should be run by people who care about the community. This doesn't exclude for-profit organizations, but definitely constrains the kinds and sizes of business that can do it. A pub with a single location that's been run by the same family for 100 years? They care about the community. An international firm? They're detached from any one neighborhood.

    As far as drawing people in, you've gotta offer something that people want to do first and foremost, and then the people will come. There can't be "the third place" advertised in a vacuum without any activities. Whether it's something to eat or do or experience, with a more robust urban fabric and diversity of experiences comes more reasons for people to get out and do something of interest. And that in turn leads to community and connection.

    12 votes

  6. Comment on Lithium plume in our atmosphere traced back to returning SpaceX rocket in ~space

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    There's pork barrel spending for their districts, and thus electoral security. That's plenty of reason for them to interfere endlessly.

    There's pork barrel spending for their districts, and thus electoral security. That's plenty of reason for them to interfere endlessly.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on 17th century Swedish Navy shipwreck buried underwater in central Stockholm for 400 years has suddenly become visible due to unusually low Baltic Sea levels in ~humanities.history

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    There's always some variation in sea levels over time; the moon drifts closer and further from Earth, leading to stronger and weaker tides. At particular moments when the moon is closer, but on...

    There's always some variation in sea levels over time; the moon drifts closer and further from Earth, leading to stronger and weaker tides. At particular moments when the moon is closer, but on the opposite side of the earth, the tides will be exceptionally low. It's uncommon but not concerning.

    4 votes

  8. Comment on Top twenty worldwide with social-engineering and a cheat that's still undetected in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    At what point along the way was the point where what they were doing harmful? Well after figuring out how to do it. The creation of the tool wasn't harming the community. It was in the usage of...

    At what point along the way was the point where what they were doing harmful? Well after figuring out how to do it. The creation of the tool wasn't harming the community. It was in the usage of it, and the process through which they started fucking around with things that actually mattered to people. If they'd made a mediocre bot that never cracked the top 1000, that also wouldn't have been harmful to any significant degree. Someone's score dropping from 12,365 to 12,366 wouldn't change anything. It was when they started to engage in the social engineering to avoid detection that came with increased scores that it was harmful, and in my reading that was the part they were less happy about.

    Ti be clear, I'm not saying they weren't doing something wrong. I'm saying that doing a technical solve of a problem and then running aground on the real world consequences of being clever at a thing where they should have been sensible is a very relatable thing, and them stopping and discussing the vulnerability is, to me, a sign that they weren't assholes, they just went too far trying to solve a problem that didn't need solving.

    5 votes

  9. Comment on How a WhatsApp group for DC parents broke apart over politics in ~society

  10. Comment on South Korea's ex-president jailed for life over martial law attempt in ~society

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    May the USA be as sensible.

    May the USA be as sensible.

    16 votes

  11. Comment on Top twenty worldwide with social-engineering and a cheat that's still undetected in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Have you never felt joy at being clever? At figuring out something no one else has done? Have you never taken a joke a little too far before realizing that it had gone wrong somewhere along the...

    Have you never felt joy at being clever? At figuring out something no one else has done? Have you never taken a joke a little too far before realizing that it had gone wrong somewhere along the way?

    Frankly, I'm glad they posted about it rather than just hiding it. I'm not sure what the community is going to do with the information that it's feasible to provide human-indistinguishable gameplay from a machine in a way that's unprovable? Probably through further expectations of player-cams? I know that especially in strongly-contested speedrunning categories, a separate camera/feed for your hands/controller is a strong proof of personal skill.

    6 votes

  12. Comment on Drinking two-three cups of coffee a day tied to lower dementia risk in ~health.mental

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    If you can't remember, you probably need a cup of coffee.

    If you can't remember, you probably need a cup of coffee.

    18 votes

  13. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 16 in ~society

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    No, I mean that either Republicans hold control of government and we descend further into facism, or Democrats win. But if they do, any attempt to reclaim the previous status quo will be rebuffed...

    No, I mean that either Republicans hold control of government and we descend further into facism, or Democrats win. But if they do, any attempt to reclaim the previous status quo will be rebuffed broadly. By the voters, by previous trading partners, by the other members of NATO. Prices won't magically drop to where they were even if tariffs are reversed. Trust won't just come back.

    5 votes

  14. Comment on Pandora's Legacy: An escape-room style jigsaw puzzle in ~games.tabletop

    MimicSquid
    Link
    That looks delightful. I may pick that up to provide family entertainment for the holidays, where there's lots of active people cooped up with slightly too little to do for slightly too long.

    That looks delightful. I may pick that up to provide family entertainment for the holidays, where there's lots of active people cooped up with slightly too little to do for slightly too long.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 16 in ~society

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    It's very blatant political favoritism. Very. With everything the current administration is doing, it's so clear that whatever comes next, it absolutely will not be a return to the previous status...

    It's very blatant political favoritism. Very. With everything the current administration is doing, it's so clear that whatever comes next, it absolutely will not be a return to the previous status quo. No one will go back to that state when it's so clear the stability was based on everyone being honorable enough, and so many people have shown they aren't.

    7 votes

  16. Comment on The mega-rich are turning their mansions into impenetrable fortresses in ~finance

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    No, if you look at the topic log, you can see that hungariantoast changed it to the original link, as tildes is a Canadian site and Canada has some clear laws about sites assisting users in...

    No, if you look at the topic log, you can see that hungariantoast changed it to the original link, as tildes is a Canadian site and Canada has some clear laws about sites assisting users in bypassing paywalls. The comments are what they are, but the posts can't be directly to an archive.

    6 votes

  17. Comment on The "AI god" narrative is actually a corporate power grab in ~tech

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    And if you combine anecdotes of alien abductions being real with anecdotes of Elvis still being alive you get nonsense. Trying to find the middle ground between two anecdotes does nothing to...

    And if you combine anecdotes of alien abductions being real with anecdotes of Elvis still being alive you get nonsense. Trying to find the middle ground between two anecdotes does nothing to determine the actual truth.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on The mega-rich are turning their mansions into impenetrable fortresses in ~finance

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Oh, sure. It's unreasonable for basically anyone to build and entertainment venue just so that it's always available when they want it. It's a waste. I can understand why people do it, but it's...

    Oh, sure. It's unreasonable for basically anyone to build and entertainment venue just so that it's always available when they want it. It's a waste. I can understand why people do it, but it's such a waste.

    6 votes

  19. Comment on The mega-rich are turning their mansions into impenetrable fortresses in ~finance

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    It worked when there were military forces too fragmented to siege, before cannon, mortars, or other explosives, with internal sources of water and deep stockpiles of food. Not saying that it's...

    It worked when there were military forces too fragmented to siege, before cannon, mortars, or other explosives, with internal sources of water and deep stockpiles of food. Not saying that it's impossible to make a residence actually secure today, but most of the security on these mansions is likely more in the range of defending against a kook or two rather than border reavers or actual military force.

    6 votes

  20. Comment on The mega-rich are turning their mansions into impenetrable fortresses in ~finance

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Assuming that the individual pools aren't like Olympic swimming pools it's possible that each one starts to feel overcrowded after a half-dozen people. So, yeah, somewhere in the 50-200 person...

    Assuming that the individual pools aren't like Olympic swimming pools it's possible that each one starts to feel overcrowded after a half-dozen people. So, yeah, somewhere in the 50-200 person range? I'm just a regular joe, but I know that many people I wouldn't mind inviting to a party if I had a venue and money to host that kind of thing. Especially if I extend it to people who I've ever worked with or might expect to want to work with in the future, I could see the value of owning a venue where I can be the host. It's a giant networking flex on top of everything else. It's wasteful as a house, but if you think of it as a small private party venue on top of a residence it stops seeming quite so absurd.

    6 votes