Thrabalen's recent activity

  1. Comment on James Webb Space Telescope finds stunning evidence for alternate theory of gravity in ~space

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    If I recall correctly, dark matter was very much a placeholder. It was a "solve for X" thing that just sort of stuck.

    If I recall correctly, dark matter was very much a placeholder. It was a "solve for X" thing that just sort of stuck.

    22 votes

  2. Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes

    Thrabalen
    Link
    I'm pretty sure I participated last year, but I love my handle, so here goes. Way back in the proto-internet, when access was not as widespread an a popular online (an American online service at...

    I'm pretty sure I participated last year, but I love my handle, so here goes.

    Way back in the proto-internet, when access was not as widespread an a popular online (an American online service at that) service charged hourly for access, I was a user of said service. This service (which we'll call AOL because, well, it was) had various chat rooms, and one set of them were for roleplaying. The character I created for this purpose was a fantasy character with a surname I invented to sound vaguely European, very high fantasy, and quite unusual. Her surname was Smith... kidding, her surname was Thrabalen.

    Seeing as how I made the name up, I grew fond of it, and used it for my online identity, and have been doing so for more than two decades. I don't think I'm going to stop anytime soon.

    16 votes

  3. Comment on How Bluesky, the rival of Elon Musk’s X, is seizing the moment in ~tech

    Thrabalen
    Link
    I stuck it out with Twitter until they banned free users from Tweetdeck, because the endlessly scrolling update was a hellscape for me. Only recently did I go to Bluesky (right at the election,...

    I stuck it out with Twitter until they banned free users from Tweetdeck, because the endlessly scrolling update was a hellscape for me. Only recently did I go to Bluesky (right at the election, but before it got suddenly massively plumped.) My take? It does remind me of older Twitter, but in a good nostalgic way. But also in a "not getting harassed" way. It's been incredibly friendly, and while I left Twitter over a year ago without looking back, I discovered again how much I missed the "buckshot of opinions" effect.

    That is to say, I you used Twitter before Manchild acquired it, you know roughly how Bluesky works. If you never liked Twitter, you won't really like Bluesky (unless the toxicity is why you didn't like it, and I totally get that.)

    7 votes

  4. Comment on LGBTQ folks check-in thread - how're you all doing? in ~lgbt

    Thrabalen
    Link
    Treading water, mostly. Where I live used to be blue, but it reddened quite a bit. I'm waiting for crushing despair to hit, especially in the late night hours, but it surprisingly hasn't (as...

    Treading water, mostly. Where I live used to be blue, but it reddened quite a bit. I'm waiting for crushing despair to hit, especially in the late night hours, but it surprisingly hasn't (as someone who has grappled with insomnia due to invasive thoughts, this is welcome!)

    17 votes

  5. Comment on How Donald Trump won, and how Kamala Harris lost in ~society

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    I wouldn't say it's uniquely American. The UK is having its own issues, just to name one example.

    I wouldn't say it's uniquely American. The UK is having its own issues, just to name one example.

    14 votes

  6. Comment on Character.AI faces US lawsuit after teen's suicide in ~tech

    Thrabalen
    Link
    AI chatbots are going to be an immensely interesting tool in our future, as soon as Artificial Intelligence is buoyed by Artificial Maturity and Artificial Responsibility. I'd love it if we also...

    AI chatbots are going to be an immensely interesting tool in our future, as soon as Artificial Intelligence is buoyed by Artificial Maturity and Artificial Responsibility.

    I'd love it if we also worked on the natural versions of those eventually as well.

    (It goes without saying that we've also got to remove the corruption and thievery elements from AI alongside those previously mentioned fixes.)

  7. Comment on Controversial opinion: I don't like "cosmetic armor" being an option in games in ~games

    Thrabalen
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    I feel that appearance items are a necessary evil. Many games gravitate toward a "best in slot" armor, and if it's a multiplayer game, that means that the majority of people are running around...

    I feel that appearance items are a necessary evil. Many games gravitate toward a "best in slot" armor, and if it's a multiplayer game, that means that the majority of people are running around with a limited number of armor options. The lack of variety is maddening without cosmetic items, and the vast, vast majority of players aren't going to be 1% less effective just to look better.

    6 votes

  8. Comment on Historic US ship could soon become the world's largest artificial reef in ~enviro

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    I'm a Philadelphian, and having seen this thing with my own eyes, it's a little painful that I've seen it for the last time, but it least it's going to use.

    I'm a Philadelphian, and having seen this thing with my own eyes, it's a little painful that I've seen it for the last time, but it least it's going to use.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Humble Choice - October 2024 in ~games

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    The games are random, and not always good. But it's good enough for me to subscribe, so take that with a grain of salt.

    The games are random, and not always good. But it's good enough for me to subscribe, so take that with a grain of salt.

    11 votes

  10. Comment on Is my blue your blue? in ~design

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    Which does lead into another avenue of thought... blue is a soothing color, red is a turbulent color, but really, isn't that due to the things that are colored that way? If blue were the color of...

    Which does lead into another avenue of thought... blue is a soothing color, red is a turbulent color, but really, isn't that due to the things that are colored that way? If blue were the color of blood, of fire, of the face of someone enraged, would it still be as soothing?

    There's no point to this line of thought, by the way, it's just something that's been rambling around in the back of my head for years now, and this seemed a good opportunity to let it out for a little air.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Is my blue your blue? in ~design

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    Well, that's kind of my point, is that the color of blood is different from the color of grass and the color of sky, but if someone truly perceived differently (but consistently), I don't think...

    Well, that's kind of my point, is that the color of blood is different from the color of grass and the color of sky, but if someone truly perceived differently (but consistently), I don't think they or we would ever know. Which is the ultimate question, really: is a difference that no one knows is a difference really a difference?

    Put another way... a person completely blind from birth has no concept of the color blue at all, but in the end, is that significant at all?

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Is my blue your blue? in ~design

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    Except what works with camouflage isn't the exact wavelength of color, but the patterning and similarities to the desired environment. Purple and teal camouflage would be very obvious... unless...

    Except what works with camouflage isn't the exact wavelength of color, but the patterning and similarities to the desired environment. Purple and teal camouflage would be very obvious... unless the plant life were also purple and teal.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Is my blue your blue? in ~design

    Thrabalen
    Link
    My score was 187 (apparently, 97% "bluer" than general population.) I'm told by this that "for you, turquoise is green." In and of itself, interesting. Where it dovetails into my thought...

    My score was 187 (apparently, 97% "bluer" than general population.) I'm told by this that "for you, turquoise is green." In and of itself, interesting.

    Where it dovetails into my thought processes, though, is the idea of "is my blue your blue," because even with this information, we have no Earthly idea. Let's say that you have a weird vision disorder, where your visual spectrum is shifted... red is green, green is blue, blue is red. Someone says to you that blue is the color of the sky. You see red, but everything people have ever described as blue is also red to you. So to you, yes, the sky is what people have always called blue, but without being able to see it through another person's eyes, you'd have no idea that the color you see is what they see when they accidentally open a blood vessel.

    I guess what I'm getting at is, reality is a a lot more shared subjectivity than hard objectivity than we like to admit.

    4 votes

  14. Comment on Sol eReader headset in ~tech

    Thrabalen
    Link
    I don't have anything constructive to offer, admittedly, but the design sure brings new meaning to the term "reading glasses", doesn't it? I'm also going to say, too many people want to read but...

    I don't have anything constructive to offer, admittedly, but the design sure brings new meaning to the term "reading glasses", doesn't it?

    I'm also going to say, too many people want to read but have difficulty, and reading is on the decline. If this helps alleviate that, good. I'm not sure the price means it will, but first generation is always a hard sell.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on A tool to determine which US city you should live in in ~life

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    It's bad wording to be sure, but there's really only two classes of restaurants to a number of people... places you go to when you want high quality food, and places you go to because you know the...

    It's bad wording to be sure, but there's really only two classes of restaurants to a number of people... places you go to when you want high quality food, and places you go to because you know the food will be edible and acceptable. They break down further (drive-through vs sit-down), but those are essentially the tiers.

    I do think mediocre is a loaded word, and wish they'd chosen something like "family restaurant."

    3 votes

  16. Comment on A tool to determine which US city you should live in in ~life

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    Honestly, mediocre food is what you get at fast food, pizzerias, chain restaurants. That's likely what they're referring to... non "fine dining". There's no really good term for it... common food,...

    Honestly, mediocre food is what you get at fast food, pizzerias, chain restaurants. That's likely what they're referring to... non "fine dining". There's no really good term for it... common food, maybe?

  17. Comment on An important update on Concord - "At this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024" in ~games

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    No one could seriously expect to outshoot Fortnite (someone will, but no one should expect to.) But you don't have to be the bigger planet to orbit, you simply have to have enough mass that you...

    No one could seriously expect to outshoot Fortnite (someone will, but no one should expect to.) But you don't have to be the bigger planet to orbit, you simply have to have enough mass that you don't slingshot away.

    Simple truth is this: even when a giant dominates a field, you can still succeed without truly competing, you just have to have a strong enough design to be reminiscent. Concord... didn't.

    5 votes

  18. Comment on Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau killed in NJ crash involving suspected drunk driver in ~sports.hockey

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    This is very true, but in many cities, the horse has already left the barn and is well along the countryside. We have a public transportation system in the city I live in, but corruption,...

    This is very true, but in many cities, the horse has already left the barn and is well along the countryside.

    We have a public transportation system in the city I live in, but corruption, ineptitude, and a general disdain for improving the service, along with the cost of the system due to the size and density of the service area, doesn't make a compelling case. Which is a shame, but also not unexpected.

  19. Comment on Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau killed in NJ crash involving suspected drunk driver in ~sports.hockey

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    The biggest problem is its ubiquity. A car is an entirely common sight to anyone living in the U.S. Despite it being a behemoth of a couple of tons of metal propelled at surface street speeds...

    The biggest problem is its ubiquity. A car is an entirely common sight to anyone living in the U.S. Despite it being a behemoth of a couple of tons of metal propelled at surface street speeds faster than we'll ever manage on foot, we treat cars as if they're toys.

    They shouldn't be restricted, but they should be respected.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Batman: Caped Crusader gender-flipped The Penguin as Batman had "a lack of good villains" in ~tv

    Thrabalen
    Link Parent
    I wouldn't mind simply "Freeze," for either version. It's not as important to the overall flow of his name as, say, Mister Fantastic, or Mister Sinister (both Marvel examples, admittedly.)

    I wouldn't mind simply "Freeze," for either version. It's not as important to the overall flow of his name as, say, Mister Fantastic, or Mister Sinister (both Marvel examples, admittedly.)

    1 vote