Timwi's recent activity
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Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
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Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
Timwi Link“Two for the price of one” (or “buy one get one free”) is a scam, as are schemes where two items cost less than twice the price of one item. If a shop can sell you two items for 2.00, it means...“Two for the price of one” (or “buy one get one free”) is a scam, as are schemes where two items cost less than twice the price of one item. If a shop can sell you two items for 2.00, it means that one item costs 1.00; asking 1.50 for it instead is just dishonest markup. Despite, people somehow fall into the fairy-tale mode of thinking where one item costs 1.50 and the shop is somehow charitable to you by charging you less if you're a good customer and buy two. Bullshit.
In mathematics, the ‘=’ (equals) relation is symmetric; if a = b, then b = a. It directly follows that if you can get two for the price of one, it also means that you can only get one for the price of two (because the prices are equal). It's not charity. It's intentionally removing the option of buying one item for its correct price to force you to buy and consume more than you otherwise would.
This practice is manipulative and preys on widespread mathematical and financial illiteracy. It should be illegal, or at least it should be taught in schools what a fraudulent scheme it is.
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Comment on You are a better writer than AI (yes, YOU!) in ~creative
Timwi Link ParentHm, I feel that I'm a counterexample to this. I do crave affirmation, validation and praise because I was raised by narcissistic parents. I even occasionally notice myself getting a minor high...Hm, I feel that I'm a counterexample to this. I do crave affirmation, validation and praise because I was raised by narcissistic parents. I even occasionally notice myself getting a minor high when an LLM prefixes its response to my prompt with something like “that's an astute observation!” or similar. Despite, it doesn't appear to be a “psychological land-mine” for me. I don't go to the LLM to seek it out specifically, and I certainly don't seem to be falling into any kind of psychosis with it.
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Comment on You are a better writer than AI (yes, YOU!) in ~creative
Timwi Link ParentI think the point at which you both lost each other was much earlier in the thread than here.I think the point at which you both lost each other was much earlier in the thread than here.
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Comment on You are a better writer than AI (yes, YOU!) in ~creative
Timwi Link ParentI continue to be astounded how this has become a celebrated feature of human writing, to the point that it's now expected... leading to people who, like me, pay close attention to their grammar...Human writing is full of grammatical mistakes
I continue to be astounded how this has become a celebrated feature of human writing, to the point that it's now expected... leading to people who, like me, pay close attention to their grammar and spelling, are compelled to intentionally insert errors (and eschew proper typography like em-dashes) just to assuage the fear of being accused of using AI to write.
i dont’ get how that's supposed be a good think.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Timwi LinkI'm reading Ein König für Deutschland, lit. “A King for Germany”, by Andreas Eschbach. It deals with election fraud perpetrated by manipulating vote machines. It's embedded in real-world events,...I'm reading Ein König für Deutschland, lit. “A King for Germany”, by Andreas Eschbach. It deals with election fraud perpetrated by manipulating vote machines. It's embedded in real-world events, beginning with the 2000 US presidential election, specifically the Florida recount debacle, and it provides lots of sources for its real-world claims while setting an engaging and captivating story in within them, centered around a programming genius named Vincent Meritt who writes software to manipulate voting machines just for fun and then sees his creation take on a life of its own. I am about halfway through the book and I can't wait to see what's next.
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Comment on What do you leave out for Father Christmas? in ~talk
Timwi LinkI'm from Germany and I don't think we have that tradition here.I'm from Germany and I don't think we have that tradition here.
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Comment on The latrine disaster in Erfurt in ~humanities.history
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Comment on Whatever happened to _____? in ~talk
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Comment on Whatever happened to _____? in ~talk
Timwi Link ParentAs a long-time Star Trek fan who's seen everything at least once, I wholeheartedly concur with the analysis. Discovery is a hot mess for 3 seasons; season 4 is watchable but still doesn't feel...As a long-time Star Trek fan who's seen everything at least once, I wholeheartedly concur with the analysis. Discovery is a hot mess for 3 seasons; season 4 is watchable but still doesn't feel like optimistic Star Trek to me. I'm not a fan of Picard despite the fan service; you can't just bring back old characters, you have to tell good stories too.
Prodigy was great. I'm very confused as to why it was cancelled so abruptly.
Strange New Worlds is what old fans like me have been looking for. It's a great show worthy of the name Star Trek. I hope they will pick up this recipe and do another show like it but set in the 24th century instead of being a prequel.
What my parent commenter didn't mention is Star Trek: Shorts. I'm in two minds on this one. On the one hand, it's a refreshing new idea/format. On the other hand, it kinda references all of the new Trek shows, so it's not super engaging unless you've already seen Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks.
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Comment on You’re probably using the wrong dictionary in ~books
Timwi LinkI wasn't sure if I should even comment — as a non-native speaker I'm not in the target audience of Webster's dictionary. Nevertheless, I have a stake in the discourse as modern English-language...- Exemplary
I wasn't sure if I should even comment — as a non-native speaker I'm not in the target audience of Webster's dictionary. Nevertheless, I have a stake in the discourse as modern English-language dictionaries and thesauruses help me in my writing and reading comprehension in a way that Webster's wouldn't. I come to a dictionary to find out the meaning of a word; thus, I am ill-served by a definition that uses words such as “fitful” and “luster” that are even less familiar to me than the one I'm looking up, or a string of words such as “diversion of the field” where each word individually is technically familiar but their combination is effectively word salad to me. And that is to say nothing about the wealth of new words added to the language (or which have changed their meaning) throughout the last century, which I need to deal with just as much as age-old words, but which would be wholly absent from a dictionary published in 1913.
I also can't help but find the article rather stuck-up and condescending. Or I suppose pompous or pretentious. What irony, then, that it teaches me the word “fustian” to describe it — by showing me the simpler, modern definition which the author decries as “tin-eared and uninspired” but which I can understand.
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Comment on Sergey Brin gifts $1.1 billion in Alphabet stock after AI rally in ~society
Timwi LinkI was already skeptical when the title didn't say who he gave the money to. I was not surprised. He basically gave it to himself to fund a pet project. I'm not saying that the pet project is a bad...I was already skeptical when the title didn't say who he gave the money to. I was not surprised. He basically gave it to himself to fund a pet project.
I'm not saying that the pet project is a bad one. “Research into central nervous system diseases and climate-change solutions” sound like noble goals. Nevertheless, there are plenty of research organizations and non-profits for that already, so I find it very telling that billionaires still can't bring themselves to donate any significant amount of their wealth to those. They just have to stay in control of the money.
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Comment on Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth in ~space
Timwi Link ParentWhile I fully agree with your sentiment, I don't know why we're celebrating a milestone that is still a whole year away...While I fully agree with your sentiment, I don't know why we're celebrating a milestone that is still a whole year away...
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Comment on Strange YouTube watch-tracking behavior in ~tech
Timwi Link ParentYou may be delighted to hear that there are plenty of browser extensions to improve YouTube experience. The most well-known ones are uBlock Origin, SponsorBlock, and DeArrow. There's also YouTube...You may be delighted to hear that there are plenty of browser extensions to improve YouTube experience. The most well-known ones are uBlock Origin, SponsorBlock, and DeArrow. There's also YouTube Anti-Translate for those who sometimes get video recommendations where YouTube decides to translate the title into a different language. Those are the ones I know of; I'm sure there are more that cover smaller annoyances.
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Comment on New ‘Star Trek’ movie in works at Paramount from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) in ~movies
Timwi Link ParentYou put me a bit on the spot there! It's not clear that I can judge season 3 for you if we already disagree on season 2.You put me a bit on the spot there! It's not clear that I can judge season 3 for you if we already disagree on season 2.
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Comment on Advice on Fairphone in ~tech
Timwi Link ParentMany thanks for the information you have provided. It sounds quite hopeful (I don't intend to use the camera much). You talk a lot about alternative operating systems; I'm a little scared of that...Many thanks for the information you have provided. It sounds quite hopeful (I don't intend to use the camera much). You talk a lot about alternative operating systems; I'm a little scared of that personally. I'm liking the open-source idea and I would want to use F-Droid to make use of free software, but I don't know if I can live entirely with F-Droid alone without Google Play.
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Comment on Advice on Fairphone in ~tech
Timwi Link ParentThank you so much for taking the trouble of typing this all out for me. I appreciate your input, although your caveat that it applies to an older product is quite a big one.Thank you so much for taking the trouble of typing this all out for me. I appreciate your input, although your caveat that it applies to an older product is quite a big one.
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Comment on Advice on Fairphone in ~tech
Timwi Link ParentThank you so much for taking the effort to type up this summary. Really appreciate it.Thank you so much for taking the effort to type up this summary. Really appreciate it.
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Comment on New ‘Star Trek’ movie in works at Paramount from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) in ~movies
Timwi Link ParentI'm with you on Discovery and Picard. My feeling about SNW is like a breath of fresh air after those. I feel that SNW is a worthy new Star Trek show; it's what TOS could have been if it had modern...I'm with you on Discovery and Picard. My feeling about SNW is like a breath of fresh air after those. I feel that SNW is a worthy new Star Trek show; it's what TOS could have been if it had modern visual effects and modern social mores.
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Comment on Advice on Fairphone in ~tech
Timwi Link ParentYou're implying I can't just put the SIM card from my old phone in it? I naively assumed that I could just do that. What's the obstacle there?You're implying I can't just put the SIM card from my old phone in it? I naively assumed that I could just do that. What's the obstacle there?
Sweets.
Not saying I don't eat anything sweet anymore, but all those super sweet candies, like Haribo and stuff, as well as bars of chocolate, I've stopped eating because they're too sweet for me now. I used to have a lot of that and believed that I could never get enough of them, but eventually you start realizing that you get tired of all the supersweet and you start enjoying the finer nuances of proper food.