NaraVara's recent activity
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Comment on United Kingdom, Australia and Canada officially recognize a Palestinian state in ~society
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Comment on Fossil fuel decline, though still nascent, is already hitting countries leading the electric vehicle boom like China and Norway in ~enviro
NaraVara LinkGod America could have been getting in on this but we chose to be idiots instead. 600k barrels per day is about half a percentage point of global consumption. So there’s still a ways to go though.Electrification, as an indisputable — and nearly sole, apart from demographics — driver of demand destruction, will reduce crude oil consumption by almost 600,000 barrels per day this year alone.
God America could have been getting in on this but we chose to be idiots instead.
600k barrels per day is about half a percentage point of global consumption. So there’s still a ways to go though.
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Comment on Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens? in ~finance
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Comment on iPhone 17, 17 Pro and Air announced in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentFor a while I used to keep my phone in a wallet that snapped shut with two snap buttons. I found even that tiny amount of friction was enough to reduce my screen time by some crazy amount. The...For a while I used to keep my phone in a wallet that snapped shut with two snap buttons. I found even that tiny amount of friction was enough to reduce my screen time by some crazy amount. The temptation to pull it out when, for example, waiting in line for something went away instantly.
Eventually the phones got too big to fit and that company went out for business so I went back to normal cases and the habit crept back in. I think the only thing I really missed was inability to select music and podcasts without taking it out of the wallet.
That’s still a bit of a problem with the Apple Watch, but mostly because it’s hard to differentiate between interacting with files ON the watch vs. the watch being used as a control interface for the phone as they beam audio to my wireless earphones.
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Comment on iPhone 17, 17 Pro and Air announced in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThis will teach me to type when on a conference call. IP6X lol.This will teach me to type when on a conference call. IP6X lol.
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Comment on iPhone 17, 17 Pro and Air announced in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThis is true, but I’m increasingly becoming team cellular Apple Watch with the phone staying in a bag if I really need it. I guess that’s team “big phone” since, at that point, the size doesn’t...Modern life happens through our phones
This is true, but I’m increasingly becoming team cellular Apple Watch with the phone staying in a bag if I really need it. I guess that’s team “big phone” since, at that point, the size doesn’t really matter. But I’m growing to resent the amount of time and attention the phone sucks out of me.
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Comment on iPhone 17, 17 Pro and Air announced in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentNo it doesn’t. The clamshell phones leave a slight gap when they close because, if they didn’t, closing it with a grain of sand inside would crack the screen. But then that gap with a grain of...That's a benefit of a clamshell, though. it naturally protects its screen when folded up
No it doesn’t. The clamshell phones leave a slight gap when they close because, if they didn’t, closing it with a grain of sand inside would crack the screen. But then that gap with a grain of sand inside when it compresses will scratch the shit out of the screen. They’re naturally quite fragile. It is genuinely surprising how much sand and random dirt can end up in a jeans pocket.
That’s not to say it couldn’t work. The latest Google one does meet IPv6 dust proofing standards, but that’s technically only for the inside of the device, not the screen when it’s closed (which is still technically the outside of the device).
I think a display that bites it after 2-3 years is doable, but only if it’s actually treated as a wear item and replacement is cheap and easy. I feel like batteries ought to be treated the same way. They don’t need to be user replaceable, but they do need to be easily replaceable by the sort of licensed professional that you should be able to find in any medium sized town or mall.
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Comment on Full text of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's speech on reported Donald Trump military plan for Chicago in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentI live in DC. It’s not even just this, they’re using Guardsmen as meat shields to protect the ICE goons from blowback for their lawless assaults on immigrant communities.This isn't that. Guardsmen are being foisted on people against their will to do a job they're largely not trained to do.
I live in DC. It’s not even just this, they’re using Guardsmen as meat shields to protect the ICE goons from blowback for their lawless assaults on immigrant communities.
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Comment on I had an idea for a Crusader Kings, but about rich families in Victoria-Modern Era. What could go wrong? in ~games
NaraVara LinkI have no game development experience myself, but what you’re describing seems to be a very system heavy game. One bit of advice I’ve gotten about independently developing a game is to try to...I have no game development experience myself, but what you’re describing seems to be a very system heavy game. One bit of advice I’ve gotten about independently developing a game is to try to first work out the systems as a card game or board game before you even worry about anything technical. Once you understand what kinds of rules and systems you’re going for you’ll have a better idea of what sorts of trade offs are best to make with your choice of engine. And also, you’ll have a better idea of whether the game itself is workable and fun before you burn a bunch of time on yak shaving to start development.
It seems like a lot of what you’re describing could be simulated with character sheets, a deck of “event” cards, and some dice.
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Comment on Does anyone have a digg invite code I can get ? in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentI was in a discord community of people who switched to Lemmy/Hexbear after they did the API thing. I definitely saw them progressively get more and more unhinged as they spent time on those pages....I was in a discord community of people who switched to Lemmy/Hexbear after they did the API thing. I definitely saw them progressively get more and more unhinged as they spent time on those pages. It’s just a deranged filter bubble of stuff that just works themselves up into being angry and contemptuous of others all the time.
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Comment on 7/11 closing down 444 locations in ~finance
NaraVara LinkI feel like a lot of 7/11’s packaged food and drink offerings are behind the times for big chunks of the US market. I’ll believe what they currently have is the right product mix for gas stations...I feel like a lot of 7/11’s packaged food and drink offerings are behind the times for big chunks of the US market. I’ll believe what they currently have is the right product mix for gas stations and strip malls.
But the mental picture of what a convenience store ought to be hasn’t really changed in decades even as culture and food preferences have. I think for locations meant to serve more affluent or urban/yuppie markets they should summon the US people back to Japan and have them take notes. These are largely not people who are going to buy a hot dog that’s been rolling under a heat lamp for 3 hours. They need lighter, healthier snacks and meals on offer.Even Wawa has a better following and healthier food options. So they wouldn’t even need to go to Japan necessarily. I just want a sandwich that isn’t 1,000 calories. Or, like, an onigiri. But the ones around me don’t even have gas stations sushi, something even dodgy gas stations have now.
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Comment on Derek Thompson article: "the anti-abundance critique on US housing is dead wrong" in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentYeah it’s fine as a set of policy principles, but the Abundance folks frame it as the one simple trick that will save the Democrat brand and I find that framing on policy agendas extremely...Yeah it’s fine as a set of policy principles, but the Abundance folks frame it as the one simple trick that will save the Democrat brand and I find that framing on policy agendas extremely tiresome. It’s tiresome when socialists do it and it’s tiresome when centrists do it. There isn’t one basket of policies to apply in every constituency across every level of government by every candidate that will guarantee a permanent Dem landslide. The policy doesn’t matter, soaking people’s brains in your agenda is what builds movements and nobody seems to have a serious plan for that.
People like Ezra Klein like to center wonky policy discussions because they’re policy wonks and it’s what they, personally, enjoy thinking and talking about. But it’s not the actual thing that wins power and centering it as the focus of the strategy is a mistake.
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Comment on Meta’s flirty AI chatbot invited a retiree to New York in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThe problem is an adult talking to a child in romantic/sensual ways is extremely inappropriate even if you’re not getting explicit about it. We’re more okay with it (still not okay) when two kids...The problem is an adult talking to a child in romantic/sensual ways is extremely inappropriate even if you’re not getting explicit about it. We’re more okay with it (still not okay) when two kids do it with each other because they’re both equally naive and it’s less likely that one is going to take things in twisted directions (though the possibility is still there hence why it’s still not okay).
The chatbot is not a person, so our instinctive disgust of picturing it as an adult isn’t as strong maybe. But it is a statistical model trained on every bit of smut and slashfic off AO3. Even if it’s self censoring it’s inherently bringing in a lot of very mature concepts, including circumstances in its training data involving abusive and manipulative relationship dynamics, to a chat with kids. It is entirely inappropriate and if you can’t prevent it then the tool should not exist. You don’t get to just shrug and go “whaddayagonnado!?”
One glimmer of hope is that I’ve heard the attrition rate on this team was 100% over the 5 years it’s been active. Everyone who touches this seems to be disgusted by it except for Facebook’s senior management, the sorts of people who write “motivational” speeches about how the Rohingya genocide was worth it because it’s part of their mission to “connect people.” Absolute ghouls and amoral monsters every single one.
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Comment on Derek Thompson article: "the anti-abundance critique on US housing is dead wrong" in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentI have seen it here and there but I think Derek is basically fighting with a straw man here*. The primary critique of the Abundance narrative I see is that it doesn’t really address the underlying...I have seen it here and there but I think Derek is basically fighting with a straw man here*. The primary critique of the Abundance narrative I see is that it doesn’t really address the underlying political dynamics that cause the political gridlock around inefficient regulatory burdens and obstructionism. The argument is that, practically speaking, it’s just going to be used as a pretense to gut necessary environmental and social justice protections and tilt political dynamics in favor of large real estate developers to engage in the sort of terrible cheaply built, environmentally destructive, and unsustainably financed development patterns they’ve inflicted on the urban sprawl districts of America.
In theory we could have a good regulatory state that imposes good development patterns but all their criticisms are against the obstructionism with only vague hand waves in the direction of achieving the intended goods the rules were put in place for. A big part of that problem is that achieving that intended good would require doing a ton of work to completely rebuild and reorient the regulatory state, making it much better staffed with real expertise and teeth to enforce requirements. But all of that is basically a political non starter in the current climate and unless they have a solution to that conundrum (they don’t) it’s all just faffing about.
*This is actually a new type of strawman, I think. Where you’re not making up a weak argument, you are actually addressing an argument that’s out there but you’re intentionally engaging primarily with the dumbfucks to make your position seem reasonable in comparison and relegating the nuanced critiques to the side to deny them oxygen.
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Comment on Social media probably can’t be fixed in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentOh then we'll also get the fun puzzle of how personal vectors might change as the training data updates. For example, suppose I tell an LLM personal assistant to emulate Neil Gaiman. And then at...There has been interesting research into “persona vectors.” I wonder if there’s a vector for “someone who makes lots of mistakes” that they could suppress to fix this?
Oh then we'll also get the fun puzzle of how personal vectors might change as the training data updates.
For example, suppose I tell an LLM personal assistant to emulate Neil Gaiman. And then at some point the training data updates with a whole lot of new quotes from Neil Gaiman that shift the personality from a dark gothic fantasy writer to being that of a serial sexual abuser. All of a sudden my LLM shifts over? If you asked the virtual assistant why it's being rapey it would deny it because Gaiman denies it!
Just a thought experiment obviously. I doubt the news stories would be enough to significantly shift the tone. But another example might be picking J.K. Rowling off a training corpus that stops at 2010 and then having your assistant start getting really weird as you add more years.
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Comment on The troubling decline in conscientiousness [especially in younger Americans] in ~life
NaraVara Link ParentI don't think this is going to be a productive conversationYou are claiming that if they did not have these tools they would bet better at math
I disagree.
By your very own point these are EXTREMELY simple skills, and yet they have not bothered to learn them. By what evidence do you think that had these tools not existed that they'd suddenly be MORE willing to practice and learn, rather than find a different path of least resistance.I don't think this is going to be a productive conversation
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Comment on The troubling decline in conscientiousness [especially in younger Americans] in ~life
NaraVara Link ParentNo I’m sorry but this is complete nonsense. I am talking about the rudiments of very basic numeracy here, simple addition and subtraction. Anyone without a learning disability can do this. It’s...No I’m sorry but this is complete nonsense. I am talking about the rudiments of very basic numeracy here, simple addition and subtraction. Anyone without a learning disability can do this. It’s not some esoteric skill or knowledge gap, it is pure atrophy of core competencies due to overreliance on a crutch and it has made them objectively worse at their job. It’s not adding to the pool it’s just making everyone in it perform worse.
They absolutely would be better at mental math if they did it at all because it’s a skill developed through practice. It is absolutely not “good enough” because I already demonstrated that they are causing inefficiencies in being able to budget and strategize by not being quick enough to keep up in a meeting.
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Comment on The troubling decline in conscientiousness [especially in younger Americans] in ~life
NaraVara Link ParentIt’s literally their job. I have no idea what you’re trying to say here. That a professional accountant shouldn’t put a bit of effort into keeping their accounting relevant skills, such as basic...It’s literally their job. I have no idea what you’re trying to say here. That a professional accountant shouldn’t put a bit of effort into keeping their accounting relevant skills, such as basic mental arithmetic, sharp?
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Comment on The troubling decline in conscientiousness [especially in younger Americans] in ~life
NaraVara Link ParentI don’t think they would have because arithmetic isn’t some inherent ability it’s just a matter of practice. They’re out of practice so their brains don’t work anymore. If they did practice they’d...I don’t think they would have because arithmetic isn’t some inherent ability it’s just a matter of practice. They’re out of practice so their brains don’t work anymore. If they did practice they’d be fine.
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Comment on Social media probably can’t be fixed in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentWhat confused me is why the spelling and grammar start to fall apart. It makes sense that it would get repetitive and make less and less sense, but it’s odd that it starts making typos.What confused me is why the spelling and grammar start to fall apart. It makes sense that it would get repetitive and make less and less sense, but it’s odd that it starts making typos.
While I agree, this is also the predictable outcome of Israel going completely feral. There’s an alternate universe where the Israeli response was more measured, with realistic war goals and an articulated strategy that didn’t just revolve around blanket immiseration of the population until Hamas is “destroyed,” whatever that means for an irregular terrorist group.
I was not among those who thought Israel was committing genocide earlier on, though war crimes did abound. And I was generally sympathetic to the broad strokes of something like the “generals plan” where they’d set up a safe zone, filter who gets in, and steady expand that zone.
But once they cut off all aid with no realistic plan for how people were going to eat it became clear there’s no concern for preservation of life and the scale tipped over to ethnic cleansing. How long should people tolerate this sort of barbarity for fear of validating Hamas’ strategy?