TheFireTheft's recent activity

  1. When it comes to USA's future, I'm failing to see any positive outcomes. Please help me.

    TL;DR: I'm trying to work through what the future looks like and my brain has been awash in negativity since last November, so I figure putting something on paper may serve as a form of therapy....

    TL;DR: I'm trying to work through what the future looks like and my brain has been awash in negativity since last November, so I figure putting something on paper may serve as a form of therapy. The long and short of what I've typed below is I'm trying to piece together USA's current geopolitical situation and rationalize what the likely or possible outcomes are.


    I'm posting this through doomscrolling-tinted glasses, so bear with me. But I'll also mention that I've always tried to be empathetic to both sides, understand differing arguments and motives, and generally believe that people act or vote the way they do because it's what they think is best for the country, their communities, and their families.

    I'm afraid I have given too much faith to humanity.

    Overnight, we've just switched our allegiance from Europe/NATO/Ukraine to Russia -- our arch-nemesis for the last century. This comes on the heels of threatening to make Palestine disappear and "punishing" our brothers and sisters to the north and south (and across the Atlantic for that matter) for no apparent reason. The mutual trust and respect we've worked on for so long with our neighboring countries and Europe are vanishing... just like that. Unless there's something huge that I'm missing, we're not playing smart geopolitics here. We're just giving up hegemony for the sake of what... making it easier for rich men to hoard more money and get away with corruption?

    I'm not a single-issue voter, but geopolitical implications have always received the lion's share of my decision-making. We've been able to maintain a relatively* prosperous and safe world order. More importantly, we've been able to keep the M.A.D. lightning in a bottle. Selfishly as an American, I think it's safe to say that our geopolitical situation has afforded us, the citizens, our current luxuries and opportunities. Sure, we have some other MASSIVE issues, but why would you want to take this one away?

    • I know, we've done a lot of bad shit in the past. I'm not going to argue or defend that here.

    So as the threads of democracy unravel in America, what does our path forward look like?

    I believe we are at a crossroads right now. As all of these executive orders are being created – some of which are valid but we don't like them because they're coming from the other side, and others of which are clearly unconstitutional – the judiciary is getting to work making rulings on them, one by one. It is a slow process, but at the end of the day we should have a bunch of directives -- these EO's get to stay, and these other ones are unconstitutional so they must go.

    The left branch of the crossroads is the one where the executive branch chooses to play by the rules. As much as Democrats would hate to admit, I see this as democracy playing out (in the worst possible way, but hey, I'm looking for silver linings). "These EO's can stay, and these EO's have to go." Then, in two years' time, the mid-terms will provide another opportunity for voters to swing the pendulum back toward the middle a bit -- or not. And then we can start the long, slow rebuilding process of restoring relations with our allies.

    The right branch of the crossroads (where the executive branch becomes more and more powerful) is the one that I think we simply call "fascism," and there's plenty of historical research and precedent as to where things go from there. I don't see a clean exit from this. I see the following possibilities, from least to most horrible.

    1. Americans just give in and accept the new government. We turn into a single-party state, corruption grows rampant, basic welfare benefits are taken away, etc. But, because there was no fight or give-a-fuck, we just accept it. And hey, maybe life is still fine for many people. But maybe we watch the indicators slowly tick in the wrong direction -- life expectancy, upward mobility, homelessness, crumbling infrastructure, innovation, general happiness. Given our current state of apathy and lethargy, I believe this is the most likely scenario.

    2. Military intervention from within. If things get screwy enough, there comes a point when the military has to decide whether it's time to step in or not. In general, military interventions are a BAD thing. Furthermore, I believe there is major support for the President within the armed forces. Could there be a clean exit here, one where the military removes the current executive and benevolently allows for a new election? Sure, maybe, but if you think MAGAs believe all blame belongs to "the others" right now, this will be a whole 'nother level. More likely, this would lead to an outcome like most other military interventions historically.

    3. Some flavor of a fractured republic, civil war, etc. The exact opposite of a clean exit. It would also most likely lead to...

    4. Military intervention from outside, a.k.a. war. This is my greatest fear -- that we have now become the "bad guys," and the rest of the world realizes they have to band together to stop the tyranny and restore order. This option almost certainly ends in M.A.D.

    I can't believe I'm typing all of this with any semblance of sincerity. I always subscribed to the thinking that "things always work out in the end," and it has done good for me so far. At this point, I could use some reassurance. Please tell me that I'm completely wrong and am simply being dramatic.

    31 votes
  2. Comment on Bernie Sanders - Trumpism can be defeated! in ~society

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    And everything thereafter...

    And everything thereafter...

    2 votes
  3. I'm a middle-aged man and I want my first tattoo

    I've given a lot of thought to what my tattoo(s) would say. Since they're stuck on me for life, they need to be meaningful. For sure, I know I want a tattoo that says "timshel" which comes from...

    I've given a lot of thought to what my tattoo(s) would say. Since they're stuck on me for life, they need to be meaningful.

    For sure, I know I want a tattoo that says "timshel" which comes from East of Eden by John Steinbeck. There's a whole beautiful verse in the book about the meaning of timshel, which the author explains translates to "thou mayest" -- or, we can choose our destiny. Caveats: I'm not religious, and I understand that Steinbeck didn't get the translation quite right. But I don't care about that -- it's the verse itself and the meaning behind it that is so powerful to me. I want the "Steinbeck timshel," not the actual Biblical translation.

    If there will be a second tattoo in the future, I'm leaning toward "this too shall pass" but I'm not quite as certain on that one.

    Since I'm a tattoo virgin, I have all sorts of questions:

    • Where's the best place to get a "timshel" tattoo?
    • So what do I do, just mock something up in Adobe Illustrator or tell the artist "here's what I want in this font"? Or do they have a bunch of presets?
    • How do I find a good tattoo artist?
    • At this stage in life, should I rethink this scheme altogether?

    EDIT: I want this/these tattoos to serve as reminders for myself, not to show off to other people. Not that I care if other people see them... Not sure if that helps with placement.

    25 votes
  4. Comment on The United States of pizza, mapsplained in ~food

    TheFireTheft
    Link
    I was in Hartford for one night and had an opportunity to jump on the Amtrak and head down to New Haven for some apizza. Ubering to the train station, traffic was so bad that I missed the train....

    I was in Hartford for one night and had an opportunity to jump on the Amtrak and head down to New Haven for some apizza. Ubering to the train station, traffic was so bad that I missed the train. So, I had Frank Pepe's in Hartford instead. It was good, but I don't think it was the real thing.

    For Chicago deep dish, I highly recommend Pequod's instead of the more touristy spots. It's probably the second best pizza I've ever had (behind John's on Bleeker, of course).

    And here in Texas, we're in a sort of dearth of pizza. Sure, there's good pizza here and there. But nothing gets anywhere close to what you can find on every street corner in the north east.

    1 vote
  5. Tildes feels like the last bastion of the Information Superhighway

    (Information Superhighway, for you youngin's, was a term that was thrown around quite a bit in the early days of the internet. See also: "world wide web" and "cyberspace") I'm writing this post to...

    (Information Superhighway, for you youngin's, was a term that was thrown around quite a bit in the early days of the internet. See also: "world wide web" and "cyberspace")

    I'm writing this post to say thanks to the developers, admins, and moderators of Tildes. This is one of the few corners of the internet that hasn't been completely taken over by bots, trolls, shills, or astroturfers. This is a tight-knit community of folks who are good at disagreeing with each other respectfully. It's the way the world should be.

    I'm thankful that I can come here and talk about things that I'm uncomfortable discussing elsewhere on the internet or even in the real world.

    I came from the great Reddit exodus of 2023. For a while, when I was actively watching the Tildes User Growth chart, I started to worry when it looked like user registrations were stagnating. I even created a post asking the community if it was time to accelerate growth. Thankfully, there was pushback from Tildes veterans who understood that bigger is not necessarily better. I now agree with that sentiment.

    Be human, everybody!

    112 votes
  6. Comment on Growing a beard. Tips and tricks, please! in ~life.style

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    I think I'll give that a shot. I never make it that far because it just ends up looking so gross to me in that interim period. I've been growing it for about a week now, but I've also been mowing...

    I think I'll give that a shot. I never make it that far because it just ends up looking so gross to me in that interim period.

    I've been growing it for about a week now, but I've also been mowing it over with a trimmer to keep everything "groomed" if you can call it that.

    3 votes
  7. Comment on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency agents access sensitive US personnel data, alarming security officials in ~society

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    At this point I'm deep into conjecture territory, but my guess would be that it's viewed as the cost of doing business -- the end justify the means and all of that BS.

    At this point I'm deep into conjecture territory, but my guess would be that it's viewed as the cost of doing business -- the end justify the means and all of that BS.

    4 votes
  8. Comment on Growing a beard. Tips and tricks, please! in ~life.style

    TheFireTheft
    Link
    Am I destined to be beardless for the rest of my life? I'm approaching 40 now, and while I can grow a full mustache and hair in the goatee area of my face, the hair on both cheeks is very patchy...

    Am I destined to be beardless for the rest of my life?

    I'm approaching 40 now, and while I can grow a full mustache and hair in the goatee area of my face, the hair on both cheeks is very patchy at best. Can that be solved? I've always wanted a beard, if nothing else, just to try it on.

    2 votes
  9. Comment on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency agents access sensitive US personnel data, alarming security officials in ~society

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    Sadly, I think it's even worse than that. It seems to me that half of the country is cheering this on because (1) "big government is bad" and (2) "look at all those lib tears" or even "stop being...

    no real pushback

    Sadly, I think it's even worse than that. It seems to me that half of the country is cheering this on because (1) "big government is bad" and (2) "look at all those lib tears" or even "stop being dramatic by calling this a coup -- you're just mad because your side isn't doing it."

    The media (old and new) have created so much division and cognitive dissonance that our country is now divided between those crying out in desperation because centuries-old institutions are being dismantled, and those who are actively rooting for the dismantling.

    12 votes
  10. Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    Can you expand on this a bit? I just tried Googling and came up with nothing satisfactory.

    cryptoeugenics

    Can you expand on this a bit? I just tried Googling and came up with nothing satisfactory.

    2 votes
  11. Comment on Are we witnessing the takeover of a country right now? in ~society

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    Just chiming in here to say I love your writing style!

    Just chiming in here to say I love your writing style!

    5 votes
  12. Comment on Book recommendations for regular people living through fascist/authoritarian regimes? in ~books

  13. Comment on Book recommendations for regular people living through fascist/authoritarian regimes? in ~books

    TheFireTheft
    Link
    You reminded me of a book I read a few years ago that I thought I'd crack open again. The Authoritarians -- free download Here's an excerpt from the end of the book, which was actually just...

    You reminded me of a book I read a few years ago that I thought I'd crack open again.

    The Authoritarians -- free download

    The last reason why you might be interested in [this book] is that you might want more than just facts about authoritarians, but understanding and insight into why they act the way they do. Which is often mind-boggling. How can they revere those who gave their lives defending freedom and then support moves to take that freedom away? How can they go on believing things that have been disproved over and over again, and disbelieve things that are well established? How can they think they are the best people in the world, when so much of what they do ought to show them they are not? Why do their leaders so often turn out to be crooks and hypocrites? Why are both the followers and the leaders so aggressive that hostility is practically their trademark? By the time you have finished this book, I think you will understand the reasons. All of this, and much more, fit into place once you see what research has uncovered going on in authoritarian minds.

    Here's an excerpt from the end of the book, which was actually just referring to getting out and voting, so it may be too little too late...

    However Americans have, for the most part, been standing on the sidewalk quietly staring at this authoritarian parade as it marches on. You can watch it tear American democracy apart, bit by bit, bite by bite. Or you can exercise your rights too, while you still have them, and get just as concerned, active, and giving to protect yourself and your country. If you, and other liberals, other moderates, other conservatives with conscience do, then everything can turn out all right. But we have to get going. If you are the only person you know who grasps what’s happening, then you’ve got to take leadership, help inform, and organize others. One person can do so much; you’ve no idea! And two can do so much more.

    But time is running out, fast, and nearly everything is at stake.

    7 votes
  14. Comment on App/browser extension idea if it doesn't already exist: likely bot database in ~tech

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    I'm all for quick and easy starting points. Unfortunately, I have even less experience with extension dev (zero, to be exact). EDIT: uBlock is open source. There are probably a bunch of concepts...

    I'm all for quick and easy starting points. Unfortunately, I have even less experience with extension dev (zero, to be exact).

    EDIT: uBlock is open source. There are probably a bunch of concepts that could be used, including the cross-browser extension builds and how they handle user contributions.

    1 vote
  15. App/browser extension idea if it doesn't already exist: likely bot database

    I just finished reading I hate the new internet post, in which the OP stated: Every social medium is just bots. The front page of Reddit is easily 35% easily detectable bots at least and who knows...

    I just finished reading I hate the new internet post, in which the OP stated:

    Every social medium is just bots. The front page of Reddit is easily 35% easily detectable bots at least and who knows what the rest is comprised of.

    Why couldn't we create a bot database, which I imagine would work similarly to uBlock for ads? There would be a number of signals to attempt to classify users of social media sites (likely human, likely bot, etc.) in addition to user-provided feedback ("I think this person is a bot" or "this account is me -- definitely not a bot").

    An extension could then be attached to the database to provide visual changes to social media platforms ("WARNING! LIKELY BOT!") or simply hide bot posts/comments.

    Off the top of my head, some bot signals:

    • Posting known duplicate posts with political motivation (e.g. on Reddit you see the same exact post about how the tariffs will create a stronger America by different posters) [strong indicator]
    • Usernames that follow the lazy bot format, e.g., Pretentious_Rabbit_2355 [weak indicator]
    • Usage of AI-generated or ripped off profile pictures, post images, etc. [strong indicator]
    • etc.

    On the crowdsourced side, there would have to be some rules in place to prevent profile bombing, etc.

    All in all, I could see something like this adding a bit of human value back to the various social media platforms AND I would think it would lead to higher advertisement click rates (bots will become less valuable over time on a given platform and decide to invest their resources elsewhere, while "human" user engagement increases at the same time).

    If this concept already exists, I apologize. I only did a very quick google.

    15 votes
  16. Comment on Nvidia’s $589 billion DeepSeek rout is largest in market history in ~finance

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    I can't remember where I read it, about a week ago, that this is China's AI playbook -- essentially, let the Western companies spend billions of dollars coming up with the next generation of...

    I can't remember where I read it, about a week ago, that this is China's AI playbook -- essentially, let the Western companies spend billions of dollars coming up with the next generation of models, and then find a way to replicate them and open source them, thereby undercutting the entire "closed source" market.

    13 votes
  17. Comment on Nvidia’s $589 billion DeepSeek rout is largest in market history in ~finance

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    I think the rationale for investors is that if a model like this can do what OpenAI can do at a fraction of the compute, it would lower the demand for costly, scarce NVIDIA GPUs. Of course the...

    I think the rationale for investors is that if a model like this can do what OpenAI can do at a fraction of the compute, it would lower the demand for costly, scarce NVIDIA GPUs.

    Of course the market cap of NVIDIA is not based in reality (as with many other companies historically), but that 589 billion number would be a decrease in investor future earning expectations/potential.

    6 votes
  18. Comment on US President Donald Trump’s executive orders already face pushback, legal challenges in ~society

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    I'm with you, but it seems even the protesting has dwindled (I keep using that word). Didn't we have the largest women's march ever immediately after Trump's first inauguration, or am I...

    I'm with you, but it seems even the protesting has dwindled (I keep using that word). Didn't we have the largest women's march ever immediately after Trump's first inauguration, or am I misremembering? And to your point, it didn't result in any sort of a tide change -- in fact, Roe v Wade was overturned a few years later. The optimist in me wants to believe that protesting, if done properly and at scale, can affect change in this country. It works, sometimes, in other countries.

    To me, the general sense is one of apathy and "what's done is done." (or you feel like you have a target on your back and it's time to either blend in or GTFO).

    I hope I'm just writing all of this from a position of too much doom scrolling. I hope that things are more optimistic outside of our little bubbles.

  19. Comment on US President Donald Trump’s executive orders already face pushback, legal challenges in ~society

    TheFireTheft
    Link Parent
    From my lens, I see the fight dwindling more and more. After the election, the response from those who didn't vote for Trump was oddly quiet compared to 2016 (apathy). Silicon Valley (corporate...

    some

    From my lens, I see the fight dwindling more and more.

    • After the election, the response from those who didn't vote for Trump was oddly quiet compared to 2016 (apathy).
    • Silicon Valley (corporate America as a whole, rather) is buddying up with the new administration.
    • Traditional media outlets are not leaning into the "ragebait," e.g., Elon's nazi salute. It appears to me that they're trying to position themselves favorably.

    I hope I'm way off base on this, but the general sense I get is that people and institutions are preparing for a more fascist America in the future and choosing to fall in line (or blend in) rather than speak up and risk retribution.

    7 votes
  20. Server admins, PHP/Symfony experts: I need your guidance

    I've been the sole developer for my company's website for over a decade now. It's gone through a bunch of evolutions throughout the years, but I've been sidetracked lately and have let things...

    I've been the sole developer for my company's website for over a decade now. It's gone through a bunch of evolutions throughout the years, but I've been sidetracked lately and have let things stagnate as far as maintenance goes. Now, I'm looking to do some upgrades for security purposes and I'm trying to wrap my head around everything.

    Some facts:

    • PHP 8.0.12
    • MySQL 5.7
    • Symfony 5.4
    • Web server is currently Apache only because that's what I've always used. I'm open to nginx or other options.
    • Running on a Google Cloud VPS with Ubuntu 20.04
    • I also use Google Cloud Storage to host thousands of images

    My first thought was to take baby steps and start by upgrading Symfony as much as possible. However, the next major version (6.0) requires PHP 8.0.2. Symfony 6.1 requires PHP 8.1. Symfony 7.2 (the current release) requires PHP 8.2. So, then it just makes sense to upgrade PHP to the latest version.

    However, I am terrified of upgrading PHP in the current (outdated) Ubuntu environment. So I might as well upgrade the distro while I'm at it.

    And then, MySQL 5.7 is no longer supported, so I might as well bring that up to date too (8.0, I believe).

    There will be no baby steps. I'm gonna have to just upgrade everything all at once. Which then leads me to my next question: should I stick with the self-managed VPS, or is it time to look at something like Google App Engine or Fly.io that is a little bit more managed and "locked down" than what I'm doing right now? Should I look into just going with Docker instead?

    Put another way, if I'm going to start from ~scratch, what's the modern best practice to host all of this, given that I'm going to have to upgrade a bunch of different things all at once? (Turns out the "baby step" of upgrading Symfony will actually have to come last since I need to hit these prerequisites first).

    Please let me know if I've left anything out. PS, security is a pretty big concern for us because we manage user auth, so I'm all for anything the cloud providers can do to take some of that responsibility away from me.

    9 votes