Omnicrola's recent activity

  1. Comment on US President Donald Trump rolls back tariffs on dozens of food products in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    If reality and rational arguments were able to penetrate people's cognitive dissonance and collapse it, we wouldn't have most major religions.

    If reality and rational arguments were able to penetrate people's cognitive dissonance and collapse it, we wouldn't have most major religions.

    4 votes

  2. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 17 in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link
    In a shift, Trump says House Republicans should vote to release Epstein files ... is the game here "pretend to be in favor of it for publicity sake while silently telling GoP allies to continue...

    In a shift, Trump says House Republicans should vote to release Epstein files

    President Trump now says that House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files "because we have nothing to hide."

    In a Truth Social post Sunday evening, he again called the issue a "Democrat Hoax" intended to "deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party."

    ... is the game here "pretend to be in favor of it for publicity sake while silently telling GoP allies to continue blocking it in Congress" ?

    4 votes

  3. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 10 in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Confirmed: 41.7 million in 2024, or 12.3% of Americans. With some rather large swings between individual states. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail?chartId=55416 So...

    Confirmed: 41.7 million in 2024, or 12.3% of Americans. With some rather large swings between individual states.

    https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail?chartId=55416

    So 186,000 is a 0.44% error rate. Which seems like a very reasonable for a system as huge as SNAP.

    4 votes

  4. Comment on Epstein-Barr virus appears to be trigger of lupus disease in ~health

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Layman question: since according to this article EBV integrates itself into DNA and B cells, what kind of vaccine would be helpful for someone who's already been infected? Wouldn't triggering a...

    Layman question: since according to this article EBV integrates itself into DNA and B cells, what kind of vaccine would be helpful for someone who's already been infected? Wouldn't triggering a strong immune response via vaccine likely cause the immune system to go haywire and attack itself, just like it's doing with someone who has lupus?

    3 votes

  5. Comment on The spy who came in from the WiFi: Beware of radio network surveillance! in ~comp

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    I think you've answered your own question!

    foil this sort of thing.

    I think you've answered your own question!

    4 votes

  6. Comment on Disrupting the first reported AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    No doubt state actors have or very soon will have built their own LLMs with comparable (or at least, sufficient) capabilities. I wonder if part of the reason for using Claude instead of an...

    No doubt state actors have or very soon will have built their own LLMs with comparable (or at least, sufficient) capabilities.

    I wonder if part of the reason for using Claude instead of an internal LLM is that it is less likely raise red flags with US based companies? Assuming any agents/MCPs are also based inside the US network.

    5 votes

  7. Comment on James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers in ~science

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    #offtopic Is this an actual reference? Because I find it a chuckle-worthy example but can't Google up a reference for either of them.

    #offtopic

    This is how you get stuff like brain surgeons who can't change printer paper(Ben Carson/Dr Oz style),

    Is this an actual reference? Because I find it a chuckle-worthy example but can't Google up a reference for either of them.

  8. Comment on Is 67 just brain rot? in ~humanities.languages

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    It is actually a lyric from the David Bowie song "Changes", which was also featured in the beginning of the film "The Breakfast Club".

    It is actually a lyric from the David Bowie song "Changes", which was also featured in the beginning of the film "The Breakfast Club".

    3 votes

  9. Comment on 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' movie review by Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel (1982) in ~movies

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    By this do you mean the introduction of the Queen as a concept? I agree, the very same narrative goal that I think she serves (personifying the Borg and making them more relatable for the...

    (first contact, among other sins, ruined the strongest original idea introduced in the next generation and on that basis doesn't deserve a place at the table)

    By this do you mean the introduction of the Queen as a concept? I agree, the very same narrative goal that I think she serves (personifying the Borg and making them more relatable for the audience) also serves to dilute what fundamentally makes the Borg a scary enemy. They *aren't * relatable, you can't understand them.

    First Contact is a great action movie. It's a mediocre Star Trek movie. I do love it though. But I will never forgive it for giving us the concept of the Queen, which Voyager then ran with, and made the most dangerous enemy the Federation had into an easily manipulatable egotistical enemy.

    7 votes

  10. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of October 27 in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Well fuck. Somehow, I'm still able to be shocked/horrified by what this deranged madman does. Time to go call some congressional offices and scream in terror.

    Well fuck. Somehow, I'm still able to be shocked/horrified by what this deranged madman does. Time to go call some congressional offices and scream in terror.

    5 votes

  11. Comment on US President Donald Trump has begun demolishing the east wing of the White House, without approval in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link
    Who's approval does he need exactly? The title here does not match the article title (currently, I know this often changes after initial posting) and the article does not mention needing approval,...

    Who's approval does he need exactly? The title here does not match the article title (currently, I know this often changes after initial posting) and the article does not mention needing approval, or who would need to give it.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on Grand Theft Auto made him a legend. His latest game was a disaster. in ~games

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    100% this. Others have mentioned the great man theory, but that isn't quite what is happening here. People like Benzies (who I did not know before... 10 min ago) are often legitimately great at...

    100% this. Others have mentioned the great man theory, but that isn't quite what is happening here.

    People like Benzies (who I did not know before... 10 min ago) are often legitimately great at what they do, but only because of certain constraints. They were great because they were not in charge of certain decisions, other competent people formed guardrails that kept the team focused and reigned in the wilder ideas. Remove creative people from the constraints that helped make them successful, and it's little wonder they fail to produce the same level of quality.

    7 votes

  13. Comment on Lazy Sunday storytime - One for the Trekkies in ~tv

    Omnicrola
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    I like this, I'd watch it. I think the only major quibble I have with it also appears to be your main thesis. This is also something I would like to believe, but current times have left me jaded...

    I like this, I'd watch it. I think the only major quibble I have with it also appears to be your main thesis.

    I would like to hope that if a deep truth got sent out into the world it would mean something, so that's what's in what I wrote here.

    This is also something I would like to believe, but current times have left me jaded and cynical for obvious reasons. I 100% agree that having Star Trek resolve a plot like this works though, it's the hopeful aspirational kind of thing that I deeply love about the franchise.

    Along the same lines, if you choose to refine this at all and get more into character details, it would be very on theme to see main characters interact with people off-ship that they have close relationships with, gradually turn against them as misinformation spreads. Watching the crew discuss and deal with the emotional fallout of that would be very poignant.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on Lazy Sunday storytime - One for the Trekkies in ~tv

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    It deals with some similar themes eg: security state, threats from within, disinformation, etc. That's not a criticism though, just a coincidence. B5 is one of my favorites, but so it's DS9, and...

    It deals with some similar themes eg: security state, threats from within, disinformation, etc. That's not a criticism though, just a coincidence. B5 is one of my favorites, but so it's DS9, and for similar reasons.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on This site is fast in ~tildes

    Omnicrola
    Link
    I have the same thought frequently, whenever browsing around sites that you would think would have a high focus on speed. Like YouTube. It's baffling to me that I can click on a YT link, and click...

    I have the same thought frequently, whenever browsing around sites that you would think would have a high focus on speed. Like YouTube. It's baffling to me that I can click on a YT link, and click the play button fast enough in regular use, that the video won't play correctly.

    The other one that gets me is Home Depot. If I'm standing in their store, ready to buy thing, and I load up their website to try and find an isle location, it is infuriating slow, even on wifi.

    21 votes

  16. Comment on Pete Hegseth announces Qatar will build air force facility at US base in Idaho in ~society

    Omnicrola
    Link
    On the one hand, the US does train pilots from other countries like this all the time (this article mentions that, others I've read today have neglected to mention it). So that in and of itself is...

    On the one hand, the US does train pilots from other countries like this all the time (this article mentions that, others I've read today have neglected to mention it). So that in and of itself is not that unusual.

    But the continuing cozying up to Qatar is definitely unusual, and seems at odds with US interests.

    8 votes

  17. Comment on Sora gives deepfakes 'a publicist and a distribution deal.' It could change the internet. in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link
    That last one got me. This is basically "if we didn't build the Torment Nexus, someone else would have, so I guess we have to".

    "It's as if deepfakes got a publicist and a distribution deal," said Daisy Soderberg-Rivkin, a former trust and safety manager at TikTok. "It's an amplification of something that has been scary for a while, but now it has a whole new platform."

    "When there's an unregulated version with no safety rails, it will be used to generate synthetic child sexual abuse material that bypasses current detections," said Rodericks, whose employer, Blueaky has leaned into customizable content moderation to set it apart from platforms like X, where there are fewer rules. "You'll see state-sponsored actors fabricating realistic news segments and propaganda to legitimize false narratives."

    "We're already at the point where we can't tell what's real and what's not online, and OpenAI and other tech companies will have to solve around that," said the former OpenAI engineer, using tech lingo for finding a solution to a problem. "But that's not an argument for not trying to dominate this market. You can't stop progress. If OpenAI didn't release Sora, someone else would have."

    That last one got me. This is basically "if we didn't build the Torment Nexus, someone else would have, so I guess we have to".

    26 votes

  19. Comment on Amazon's Prime Day deals could actually cost you more in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    A number of years ago I recognized this pattern (buying really cheap Steam games and never playing them) that I instituted a rule for myself: I can never buy a Steam game unless I am going to play...

    A number of years ago I recognized this pattern (buying really cheap Steam games and never playing them) that I instituted a rule for myself: I can never buy a Steam game unless I am going to play it right NOW. This also applies to pre-orders. Several years later, I have no regrets. Every game that I've bought since doing this I've gotten at least a few hours of entertainment out of, well worth the $1 - $20 of most of them. A few of them like Monster Hunter and Clair Obscura were more expensive but I also got way way more hours of entertainment out of them.

    I generally apply this to a lot of physical purchasing as well, though it becomes a lot more difficult when trying to deal with shipping logistics and trying to time things for gifts, crafting complex projects, and house DIY things. All of which require varying degrees of advance purchasing and planning, which I'm generally kind of terrible at.

    12 votes

  20. Comment on Robin Williams' daughter pleads for people to stop sending her AI videos of her dad in ~tech

    Omnicrola
    Link Parent
    Maybe this is the reason why The Matrix's internal timeline was set to the 90s.

    Maybe this is the reason why The Matrix's internal timeline was set to the 90s.

    5 votes