vord's recent activity

  1. Comment on Cornell won't, we will in ~news

    vord
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    I once watched a kid get hit on the boardwalk. I had my very young kids with me, and I did not intervene because I felt I couldn't risk an altercation that would send me to the hospital. I regret...

    I once watched a kid get hit on the boardwalk. I had my very young kids with me, and I did not intervene because I felt I couldn't risk an altercation that would send me to the hospital.

    I regret not doing it then, and I've vowed that I won't be a bystander ever again. My kids are old enough now to watch me get beat to a pulp for standing up for what is right, and maybe learn something for it.

    As DNAF noted, when it comes to medical situations, it's highly effective, and I wager it's because it doesn't also require confrontational bravery. Intervening to stop assault is terrifying, possibly even moreso if you're being singled out to help when you chose not to.

    However, simply being the first bystander to stand up is often enough to get the one or two other brave souls to stand with you. It makes others a bit braver for next time, and socially normalizes calling out that bad behavior.

    6 votes
  2. Comment on Cornell won't, we will in ~news

    vord
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    And by no means to detract, but merely to add: This is also roughly what is meant by only being able to be a racist or an anti-racist. It's not enough to simply not be one of the perpetrators of...

    And by no means to detract, but merely to add:

    This is also roughly what is meant by only being able to be a racist or an anti-racist. It's not enough to simply not be one of the perpetrators of overt racism. Just by ignoring the existing passive (and systemic) racism you are perpetuating and/or benefiting from it.

    This is the same reason all cops are bastards. When faced with the choice of outing a corrupt cop or keeping their mouths shut, almost all choose silence (at best) in solidarity.

    If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

    There is the well-documented bystander effect, where in a crisis like a car accident most people will be dumbfounded and do nothing assuming someone else will do something. One of the first bits of CPR and First Aid training is to instruct you to take charge of a situation, to assign a specific person (not "someone") to call 911, another as an aide, and then to administer aid.

    We need to respond to all of these cultural ills with that level of assertive straightforwardness, or people will fall back on the bystander effect figuring someone else will do it.

    21 votes
  3. Comment on OpenAI halts training of latest models as reports mount of AI agents going rogue in ~comp

    vord
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    My conspiratorial take is that the best-case for OpenAI and Anthropic is that they're "forced" to stop designing next generation models as they prep to IPO, thus cutting down on a lot on those...

    My conspiratorial take is that the best-case for OpenAI and Anthropic is that they're "forced" to stop designing next generation models as they prep to IPO, thus cutting down on a lot on those expenses and making those projected ARR leaks skyrocket.

    The good news is that within a year or so of them going public, we'll have a much better idea of what is/was real.

    4 votes
  4. Comment on Minecraft developer Mojang has announced that the Sift is coming to Java and Bedrock Edition in 2027 – the game's first new dimension in over fourteen years in ~games

    vord
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    Yea, but expect to pay 300 minecoins a month for the feature.

    Yea, but expect to pay 300 minecoins a month for the feature.

    4 votes
  5. Comment on Troy Jackson emerged from nowhere to succeed Graham Platner in Maine's Senate race. Now the establishment is taking control. in ~society

    vord
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    Also, a vast majority of schoolteachers I know out in the semi-rural red register as Independent even though once you get to know them beyond superficially it is obvious they are Democrats. They...

    Also, a vast majority of schoolteachers I know out in the semi-rural red register as Independent even though once you get to know them beyond superficially it is obvious they are Democrats.

    They have to appear outwardly impartial to avoid the drama.

    I only know one reliable flip-flopper, and it's pretty logically sound: They only vote against incumbents.

    Everyone else is pretty firmly separated along the 'gay and brown people are in fact people' divider.

    No amount of "sound economic policy" justifies crossing that line.

    7 votes
  6. Comment on Revealing the details of how OpenAI agents hacked Hugging Face in ~comp

    vord
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    Turns out the AI can hack a bunch of places because they're securing their sensitive data like it's 1994.

    Turns out the AI can hack a bunch of places because they're securing their sensitive data like it's 1994.

    2 votes
  7. Comment on Do you think you're special? in ~talk

    vord
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    When ever I hear the "Men in Women's Sports" line, I ask them to name 3 WNBA players. That tends to short circuit their brain a little bit.

    When ever I hear the "Men in Women's Sports" line, I ask them to name 3 WNBA players.

    That tends to short circuit their brain a little bit.

    2 votes
  8. Comment on Everyday/week seems to fly by as I get older, how to change one's perception? in ~life

    vord
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    Should doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Most gainfully employed people in the US are barely making ends meet, let alone building savings. We're talking something like 65% of Americans living...

    Should doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Most gainfully employed people in the US are barely making ends meet, let alone building savings.

    We're talking something like 65% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, with less than $2,000 in their savings.

    1 vote
  9. Comment on Sheriff broke law by seizing 650,000 ballots, California Supreme Court rules in ~society

    vord
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    Trump's blatant disregard for the law is more or less just the natural end state of never handing out meaningful punishments to the rich and powerful. This sherrif's actions is just the...

    Trump's blatant disregard for the law is more or less just the natural end state of never handing out meaningful punishments to the rich and powerful.

    This sherrif's actions is just the small-potatoes manifestation of that.

    13 votes
  10. Comment on Everyday/week seems to fly by as I get older, how to change one's perception? in ~life

    vord
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    Yea. It's full of magic, wonder, pain, and suffering. It's great. Mostly. Potty training is hell lol.

    Yea. It's full of magic, wonder, pain, and suffering.

    It's great. Mostly. Potty training is hell lol.

    3 votes
  11. Comment on Googlebook revealed and ready for pre-order in ~tech

    vord
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    Yea, and that's sad. I learned the most by mucking around and doing stuff I wasn't supposed to be doing at school. Good old 'net send'.

    Yea, and that's sad. I learned the most by mucking around and doing stuff I wasn't supposed to be doing at school.

    Good old 'net send'.

    3 votes
  12. Comment on Everyday/week seems to fly by as I get older, how to change one's perception? in ~life

    vord
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    The days are long and the years are short. Especially when you throw your back out.

    The days are long and the years are short. Especially when you throw your back out.

    3 votes
  13. Comment on Everyday/week seems to fly by as I get older, how to change one's perception? in ~life

    vord
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    That checks out. Problem is, best I can tell, the vast majority of us are idiots about the majority things until we hit about 26 or so. I mean, we are most of our lives, but I feel it's somewhere...

    18 is the radioactive half-life of a human

    That checks out. Problem is, best I can tell, the vast majority of us are idiots about the majority things until we hit about 26 or so.

    I mean, we are most of our lives, but I feel it's somewhere in our late 20's the truth that we don't and won't in fact know everything fully sets in, enabling us to at least give the appeaeance of not being idiots.

    Normalizing against a minimum age, where we actually remember more than tiny fragments of it into adulthood, would probably give a more accurate number. I'd propose a low-pass filter around 4 or 5.

    3 votes
  14. Comment on Everyday/week seems to fly by as I get older, how to change one's perception? in ~life

    vord
    Link Parent
    That and having repeated arguements about fairness and having to defend basic parenting decisions constantly because you were an idiot that wanted your children to challenge authority and not give...

    That and having repeated arguements about fairness and having to defend basic parenting decisions constantly because you were an idiot that wanted your children to challenge authority and not give blindly to it is a great way to make every waking moment last an eternity.

    I keep telling myself it'll pay dividends in 15 years, but fucking hell I just want to get in the car and drive to the hardware store in less than an hour.

    16 votes
  15. Comment on Googlebook revealed and ready for pre-order in ~tech

    vord
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    Probably because of the intense marketing and discounts to the schools. I'm all for anything that forces OS diversity, but I also know it's the most common business playbook from Microsoft to...

    Probably because of the intense marketing and discounts to the schools.

    I'm all for anything that forces OS diversity, but I also know it's the most common business playbook from Microsoft to Marlboro: get them hooked early.

    10 votes
  16. Comment on The next chapter for Bungie in ~games

    vord
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    Yea. But that's why most games include an "exclude crossplay" button for those who don't want it as an option. The PC gaming world is basically nothing but equipment upgrades. Working within that...

    Yea. But that's why most games include an "exclude crossplay" button for those who don't want it as an option.

    The PC gaming world is basically nothing but equipment upgrades. Working within that bounds rather than trying to prevent it will work better.

    2 votes
  17. Comment on The next chapter for Bungie in ~games

    vord
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    Console players that complain about PC players have 0 comprehension about how much better somebody mildly skilled with a mouse and keyboard can aim, fire, turn 194 degrees, kill a second, and then...

    Console players that complain about PC players have 0 comprehension about how much better somebody mildly skilled with a mouse and keyboard can aim, fire, turn 194 degrees, kill a second, and then turn 270 and kill a third.

    Thumbsticks for camera aim are about as precise as using oven mitts to operate a sewing machine.

    1 vote
  18. Comment on In fighting for every black child, did I forget my own? in ~life

    vord
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    Parents from affluent backgrounds look at you like you have 3 eyes if you're not taking your kids to Disney every year. They don't see their privilege either.

    Parents from affluent backgrounds look at you like you have 3 eyes if you're not taking your kids to Disney every year.

    They don't see their privilege either.

    11 votes
  19. Comment on Ocean death countdown in ~enviro

    vord
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    Well, by my napkin math, based on my January heating bill, is if we used ocean-sourced heat pumps to fulfil the heating needs for 5 billion people, we could cool the Atlantic Ocean by...

    Well, by my napkin math, based on my January heating bill, is if we used ocean-sourced heat pumps to fulfil the heating needs for 5 billion people, we could cool the Atlantic Ocean by approximately 0.2C per winter.

    This would mostly be negated by fulfilling the cooling needs in the summer, however the immense benefit of eliminting that amount of CO2 combustion from natural gas (directly via homes and utilities) year round would be immense.

    If the oceans are defacto dead anyhow in the medium term, might as well leverage it.

    6 votes
  20. Comment on What's the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear? in ~life.style

    vord
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    All my own clothes, bought new: Catch 22 t-shirt from 2000ish Assorted ThinkGeek shirts from 2002. These have all approached EOL, the ThinkGeek shirts having retired about a year ago and the Catch...

    All my own clothes, bought new:
    Catch 22 t-shirt from 2000ish
    Assorted ThinkGeek shirts from 2002.

    These have all approached EOL, the ThinkGeek shirts having retired about a year ago and the Catch 22 shirt approaching cutoff.

    An LLBean 2-layer ski jacket from 1998 I wear every winter. Still going strong. Will probably be able to be passed to my kids when I die in 35-60 years.

    2 votes