Onomanatee's recent activity
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Comment on If you could travel back in time and bring one thing back to the modern day, what would it be? in ~talk
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Comment on If you could travel back in time and bring one thing back to the modern day, what would it be? in ~talk
Onomanatee Link ParentDepends on how you look of it. What is "real value", or "tangible value"? In a Marxist viewpoint, value is labour. An amount of iron has value based on the amount of labour spend in extracting it...Depends on how you look of it. What is "real value", or "tangible value"?
In a Marxist viewpoint, value is labour. An amount of iron has value based on the amount of labour spend in extracting it from the earth. When melted into ingots, it gets more valuable because someone spent labour on it, and that additional value continues all the way until it becomes a wrench or whatever. (There is way more nuance to that...)
Gold requires quite a lot of labour since it is so very rare. It is also easy to transport, easy to standardize, does not easily degrade, and has not much real use value. The perfect thing to compare other values to then.
In other words, value is always a social construct, relative and dynamic. It is always a construct. The most basic currency perhaps is food itself. In many east Asian cultures, rice was used to pay taxes to the government, and thus all other barter was easily calculated in terms of rice. Is rice a currency?
I read a theory once: At some points, early governing structures discovered the need for actual armies. Wherever this need developed historically, it was always in tandem with the local invention of a standardized currency, i.e. money. The government needed to convince people to become soldiers, so they needed to pay them. Giving them food and lodging, plus perhaps the spoils of war, was not enough to motivate a standing army. You can organise a revenge raid with that, one step above a mob, but not much more. So what if you pay them with something that, by your own law, only you can create? Of course, just by you saying a bronze coin with a hole in it and your name on it has value, doesn't mean a farmer would willingly give a sack of rice to a soldier in exchange for it. But if you then demand that all your farmers pay their annual tax in those coins instead of the usual sacks of rice, suddenly there is a demand for those coins. And the ones who enforce those laws are, of course, the people who are directly paid those coins from the newly created treasury. A cycle of supply and demand is created, and we see this pattern emerge in mesopotamia, in china, etc...
Sorry for rant, I like thinking about these things.
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Comment on If you could travel back in time and bring one thing back to the modern day, what would it be? in ~talk
Onomanatee Link ParentDamn, hard choice. Probably Nestle, I feel like their acts, especially with the baby formula and water supply stuff, are the most egregious when proven to be premeditated and thought out. The...Damn, hard choice. Probably Nestle, I feel like their acts, especially with the baby formula and water supply stuff, are the most egregious when proven to be premeditated and thought out. The others are a bit more nebulous and can hide behind the nebulous concepts of long-term future damage. Winning a court case against nestle seems actually possible, though it might just turn out into another Chevron v Donziger story.
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Comment on If you could travel back in time and bring one thing back to the modern day, what would it be? in ~talk
Onomanatee Link ParentIt wouldn't necessarily be about retribution. Like, it's definitely a delicious part, but the main hope would be to drive the creation of organisations, laws and societal change that can prevent...It wouldn't necessarily be about retribution. Like, it's definitely a delicious part, but the main hope would be to drive the creation of organisations, laws and societal change that can prevent these things.
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Comment on If you could travel back in time and bring one thing back to the modern day, what would it be? in ~talk
Onomanatee LinkAudio and/or video recordings of the board room meetings in which Chevron, BP, DuPont, Nestle and all those other blights upon humanity decided their various crimes, to serve as ammunition against...Audio and/or video recordings of the board room meetings in which Chevron, BP, DuPont, Nestle and all those other blights upon humanity decided their various crimes, to serve as ammunition against them in court and kickstart reparations, dismantling and prevention.
Now how I would get those recordings is another matter of course, but one can dream.
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Comment on If you could travel back in time and bring one thing back to the modern day, what would it be? in ~talk
Onomanatee Link ParentAbout the bitcoin one, and I might be wrong about this, but I think that incidentally, bitcoin is the only 'currency' we have that would be somewhat timetravel-proof. The bitcoin you'd get from...About the bitcoin one, and I might be wrong about this, but I think that incidentally, bitcoin is the only 'currency' we have that would be somewhat timetravel-proof. The bitcoin you'd get from the past would probably not be valid on the chain, depending on the time travel shenanigans. If it does the avenger's thing and creates a branching timeline (see Mona Lisa example), then those specific bitcoins still exist, have probably already been moved, and are thus no longer valid for you to trade. In essence, you just took a copy of the blockchain at a point in time and have the private key for it, but, well, anyone can do that without time travel. You can't trade a bitcoin twice.
Now if it's a different kind of time travel and that hard drive actually got removed and you have the private key and all for it, it would basically just be the same as keeping it in cold storage I guess, so that would work. -
Comment on Business idea and feedback thread in ~talk
Onomanatee Link ParentI feel like the Company/values idea (which I really like by the way) would only really make sense from a more activist point of view. Of it's a profit driven company which has the companies...I feel like the Company/values idea (which I really like by the way) would only really make sense from a more activist point of view. Of it's a profit driven company which has the companies themselves as the client, there's a strong incentive to misrepresent values. And of course, even if you manage to resist those incentives, I think users of your app would be wary of that possibility.
So I think approaching it like an independent journalistic outlet would make more sense, depending on user donations and upholding lots of transparency. A very hard thing to do of course, but I do think it's the more sustainable solution for creating something that relies so heavily on trust.
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Comment on Pathfinder 1: The airship that could usher in a new age just had its first outdoor flight in ~transport
Onomanatee Link ParentWhen last I heard about this, I remember people talking about it being a good solution for hard to traverse terrain. Cities with a mountain range in between them could easily be connected this...When last I heard about this, I remember people talking about it being a good solution for hard to traverse terrain. Cities with a mountain range in between them could easily be connected this way, and it can be used as a sort of transportation leapfrogging for areas with underdeveloped infrastructure.
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Comment on From beginner to conversational in three months of learning Russian: My takeaways in ~humanities.languages
Onomanatee Link ParentYeah, I tried learning it last year and bounced off hard on the grammar. In English, you can kinda just ditch grammar and make a word salad with basic vocabulary combined with hand signals and,...Yeah, I tried learning it last year and bounced off hard on the grammar. In English, you can kinda just ditch grammar and make a word salad with basic vocabulary combined with hand signals and, well, it won't be pretty, but you get by. In Czech on that level you're just making vaguely Slavic sounding noise.
But after living here for a while, I'm starting to pick up on some of the logic in an almost unconscious way. The specifics and exceptions still make no sense (fuck pronouns and their declensed horror) but at least it doesn't feel like all the words have random gibberish attached to them anymore. And in a way it's nice that many of the gotchas are very up front instead of years of advanced English/French suffering.
Maybe I should move out of Prague though, everyone here is way too eager to jump to English.
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Comment on From beginner to conversational in three months of learning Russian: My takeaways in ~humanities.languages
Onomanatee LinkWell this was very timely. I'm hyping myself up to do a deep dive in Czech, and this post has given me some motivation (and just some really nice tips in general!) It would be amazing if I could...Well this was very timely. I'm hyping myself up to do a deep dive in Czech, and this post has given me some motivation (and just some really nice tips in general!) It would be amazing if I could get to a conversational level in a year, and even if it takes longer, you've given me some hope!
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Comment on Jailed for four years for a non-violent climate protest – this is my prison diary in ~enviro
Onomanatee Link ParentIt's an interesting problem. When you're contemplating where the line is, you need to also consider that the point is to cross that line. Everything that is legal is just part of the general...It's an interesting problem. When you're contemplating where the line is, you need to also consider that the point is to cross that line. Everything that is legal is just part of the general public debate. And as we all know, there's plenty of public debate going on about climate change, most of it on the legal side of the law. Obviously, all of that has not amounted to any real systemic change that would be enough to counter the current crisis. So what do you do if you feel deeply about the issue and want to advocate for more change, but don't have the power to implement change? You cross the line, to intensify the debate.
So I think part of this idea of figuring out where the line is, is recognising the necessity for some people to cross it. Moving the line will not necessarily change this. Imagine if we make blocking the highway perfectly legal, but then... Nothing changes... Big oil keeps polluting, politicians keep promoting short-term economic gains over ecological stability and we all keep facing the spectre of global climate collapse. What would happen? People cross the next line.
Now on the one hand, if you take that logic, you can advocate for the justice in locking these people up for so long. Because if the status quo needs to be upheld and we don't want to care about climate change or the future, then we can definitely not allow these types of protests to escalate to the point of more damaging acts. From the point of view of a conservative content with the current status, harsh punishments make sense. (Even though many of the good things in the current status, such as weekends, have been fought and bled over through illegal protests) For someone with a progressive viewpoint, it would be important to not punish public dissent to harshly, but also to not move that line indefinitely. A balance would be required.
Now, for me, the really interesting thing about all this is how there is way more debate and opinion about this then there is about punishing the corporation's responsible for climate change. There is a big discourse about people blocking a highway causing some annoyance, and the potential harm they cause by blocking emergency services. Valid! But somehow we can't have a similar public debate about what punishment would be justified for BP executives manipulating public opinion and weaponizing fake science to increase profits while knowing, with studies they conducted themselves, that they are causing increased natural disasters and untold global suffering. Somehow, that debate is ridiculous, radical, naive and frivolous. And I think that has everything to do with the vast imbalance of power on display here. These people have basically no power. It's easy to jail them, to punish them, and to experiment with morality on them. Punishing Shell or BP? That would require a much more difficult debate.
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Comment on My hair is thinning. Tips and tricks, please! in ~life.style
Onomanatee LinkI used to have a luscious, thick head of hair. I looked like a hippy around the age of 18, hair down to my ass. It was great and I loved it. (Later in life I've discovered I'm a bit more of a...I used to have a luscious, thick head of hair. I looked like a hippy around the age of 18, hair down to my ass. It was great and I loved it. (Later in life I've discovered I'm a bit more of a feminine-oriented person and dislike being thought of as a manly man, so in hindsight that makes more sense)
Then, around age 20, I started aggressively balding in the front. I fought it with rogaine for a year or two, but it was an uphill battle. It kinda of worked I guess, but frankly, it just made me more aware of my imminent balding. I obsessed over it, and having a bad hair day was a reason to lock myself up in my room. It wasn't great for my mental health or self esteem.
At around 23, I. Decided to shave it all off. It felt incredibly vulnerable at first and not at all like me. I started growing a beard to even things out, and I'm still having that same look 12 years later.
It's not... The best thing ever. If there was a magical pill to get my long hair back, sure. But it is what it is, and accepting that this is what my body just happens to look like and leaning into it a bit has made me more self confident and happy. I dress colourfully and occasionally wear jewelry to soften my bald/bearded look, which helps me feel like me. And that's enough for me.
I'm not giving this as advice, because these choices and the way we deal with what nature has decided for us is a deeply personal matter. I hope you figure out what works best for you and that you find a way to feel comfortable with how you look. That, I think, is the bottom line of it all. Hair or not, your looks will definitely align with someone's tastes, and personality always matters more. As long as you can have some confidence and comfort in yourself, you'll be fine.
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Comment on Discussion for Malazan Book of the Fallen: The Bonehunters (Spoilers through book 6) in ~books
Onomanatee LinkI adore the Malazan series. Fantasy in general is a comfort for me, something to wind down with in bed every night. I've read a lot of it over the years, and the Malazan series is one of those...I adore the Malazan series.
Fantasy in general is a comfort for me, something to wind down with in bed every night. I've read a lot of it over the years, and the Malazan series is one of those that stand out. I'm always hankering for more unique fantasy series, series that push the genre a bit. Far too often a fantasy series is just an excuse to write overly long Tolkien-adjacent series with one or two little twists. This one, however, is firmly it's own thing.
I recently re-read Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates. Erikson really does grow as a writer. Gardens especially is such a stark difference in quality, even though you can see the ambition is there. I'm eager to do a full re-read now, though I might skip the ones written by Esslemont. They're fine, but a bit messy, and I don't quite have the same desire to reread as I do with the main Malazan series. On that note, does anyone here have an opinion on the newer sub-series? The Kharkanas one and the Path to Ascendancy? Those weren't out yet when last I read the Malazan series.
Side-note: I'm currently immersed in China Miéville's New Crobuzon series. (Perdido Street Station - The Scar - Iron Council) Highly recommended, it scratches a similar itch for me. It doesn't have Malazan's depth of world building, but more then makes up for it with sheer inventiveness. It's a true fantasy series in every meaning of the world, taking the serious tone of the contemporary genre, the complexity of a Malazan world, and the utter weirdness of what a fantasy novel can be outside of Tolkien's vast shadow.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Onomanatee Link ParentYes I did! Was just the most amazing feeling, finally figuring that out.Yes I did! Was just the most amazing feeling, finally figuring that out.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Onomanatee Link ParentThis is very high on my list of games I wish I could play again for the first time. Amazing experience. I think I got about 95% of everything in the game, the only puzzles I skipped where the too...This is very high on my list of games I wish I could play again for the first time. Amazing experience. I think I got about 95% of everything in the game, the only puzzles I skipped where the too obscure ones that just didn't seem fun to solve. At the end, I had like 10 pages of scrawled notes scattered around me.
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Comment on Thoughts on Donald Trump, America and what this all means in ~society
Onomanatee Link ParentI'm always very bothered by the 'history has ended' statements. (Don't feel attacked by this though, I realise not everyone thinks about it like I do and that's fine) The statement encapsulates,...I'm always very bothered by the 'history has ended' statements. (Don't feel attacked by this though, I realise not everyone thinks about it like I do and that's fine)
The statement encapsulates, for me, a mode of thinking in which we consider ourselves 'above' history. A thinking in which our modes of government, our ethics and politics and economy, are all somehow the best they can ever be. There can be no further progress apart from technological progress. The culture is 'done'. Do not attempt to change it. Representative democracy in a globalised neo-liberal framework won and it's the best we can ever get, so any attempt at change is misguided naive idealism at best, regressive foolhardiness at worst.
A dangerous thought. I'd rather think of us as situated firmly within the ever-flowing river of history. Our current system will eventually just be one among the vast tapestry of human societal experiments. Perhaps it will turn out to be the best there is. Or maybe just particularly good at some areas. Or maybe it will be a quaint and strangely backwards system to the people of the future. We don't know, and the humbleness of not knowing and the willingness to keep thinking, pushing and experimenting is, to me, incredibly important.
Apologies for a sudden rant on your choice of words.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Onomanatee Link ParentOh can it? I've just started with the scar, and I suppose it can. But I'm happy for having the background of Perdido. (It was also just a phenomenal page-turner in it's own right) It did...Oh can it? I've just started with the scar, and I suppose it can. But I'm happy for having the background of Perdido. (It was also just a phenomenal page-turner in it's own right) It did immediately enrich the experience. But perhaps that could have gone both ways, interesting!
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Onomanatee Link ParentOh, thank you for this! We're on parallel tracks, it seems. I finished Gideon and Harrow last month, and started on a China Mieville binge now after reading The City & The City and Perdido Street...Oh, thank you for this! We're on parallel tracks, it seems.
I finished Gideon and Harrow last month, and started on a China Mieville binge now after reading The City & The City and Perdido Street Station.
On the Locked Tomb, thanks for motivating me to continue with it. I liked the first one the most, as I found the Harrow the Ninth to be a bit more meandering in a way that didn't vibe with me. Plus I'm often not that into novels where the stakes are that...cosmic. Nona sounds like exactly what I wanted from that world, as I felt a bit detached from it after Harrow.
And Embassytown sounds amazing, can't wait. I think I'll finish the New Crobuzon series first though. (Which I can also heartily recommend!)
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Comment on Rebound effects make car sharing and second-hand phones not as green as they seem in ~enviro
Onomanatee LinkI do feel like putting some extra emphasis on the fact that these things are still positive actions you can take for mitigating climate change. Internet sensationalism often puts people in a kind...I do feel like putting some extra emphasis on the fact that these things are still positive actions you can take for mitigating climate change. Internet sensationalism often puts people in a kind of binary mode of thinking where only the purest, bestest things are worth any effort. Let's avoid that.
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Comment on What the hell is a Typescript or: Creation ideas above my skill level in ~tech
Onomanatee LinkI'm a freelance developer/designer, focused on startups. I basically market myself as a sort of jack of all trades who can help a small scrappy startup get up and running. I'm not an expert on...I'm a freelance developer/designer, focused on startups. I basically market myself as a sort of jack of all trades who can help a small scrappy startup get up and running. I'm not an expert on anything, just a generalist (though leaning more frontend) who can get you up and running and, importantly, knows when and where to get in the experts.
In other words: what you're doing sounds familiar. Many of my clients have an idea, then start researching some fancy tech they encountered on blogs and just try and box something together. And though that process can be very fun and rewarding, it's usually extremely time intensive. Modern apps are hard, and there's a near endless supply of gotchas and minor problems ballooning into massive technical debt.
So one of the first things I usually do, is sit down with my clients and do the painful work of cutting away all the fluff from their idea to arrive at a minimal, lean MVP. We make a roadmap for it, and then figure out all the hard bits. Those are the bits that I can't really put a proper estimation on. Things that require a bit of trial and error or research. Those are the ones that we tackle first with proof of concepts. It's usually at this point that you start figuring out your tech stack and see if it all actually works. Why do you pick specific technologies, what do they do for you, and do they play nicely together?
So, it looks like you got a good thing going with your design phase. But your tech stack choices seem a bit random. I've used most of those myself and they're all fine products, but at the end of the day, the capabilities of the tech you choose are only a small part of the reason. Do they work nicely together? How is the learning curve? Do they offer flexibility where you need it?
Take Next.js for example. It's an excellent tool, I love it and it's my go-to for most projects. That's not because it necessarily creates apps faster or better then others though. The main reason is that I, personally, can prototype in it faster. Sure, there's fun features in there and all kinds of bells and whistles, but if a specific feature is not business critical... Don't sweat it. You can probably make this app you describe in Next.js. Or in Svelte. Or in Laravel. Or Ruby on Rails. Whatever. What matters is the people you find, the work you put in, and how smart you go about planning and testing everything. The parts where you actually notice a difference between Postgres Vs MariaDB or whatever are usually somewhere around year 3-5 of your app being live (IF they ever show up...) It is extremely unlikely you can predict these problems right now. So don't sweat it, and just make sure that you build your app with good coding practices in mind. Having good decoupling and automated testing will allow you to go through the painful process of changing a part of your stack if it's necessary.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble. I'm a bit hungover at the moment. Your project looks interesting though, so feel free to send me a message if you need some help. I'm not sure right now if I have much time available but it sounds like a fun project to contribute on.
Yes, brilliant!
Cooperative time travel actually sounds like such a blast, why don't I know any book/movie/game like that. :o
Like not in a single time machine though, but returning in your own timeline, and cooperatively butterfly-effecting things