WeAreWaves's recent activity

  1. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 7 in ~society

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    The tone and writing style are yelling at my brain that this is satire. How is this official White House communication? Though I guess it’s much better than the social media posts…

    These appliances worked perfectly fine before Biden’s meddling piled on convoluted regulations that made those appliances worse.

    President Trump is slashing red tape and ending Biden’s dumb war on things that work.

    The tone and writing style are yelling at my brain that this is satire. How is this official White House communication? Though I guess it’s much better than the social media posts…

    4 votes

  3. Comment on Pressuring migrants to ‘self-deport,’ White House moves to cancel social security numbers (gifted link) in ~society

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    I find it very hard to believe that these six thousand three hundred people who were legally in the US were all criminals and terrorists.

    the names of more than 6,300 migrants whose legal status had just been revoked were added to the file, according to the documents.

    The initial names are limited to people the administration says are convicted criminals and “suspected terrorists,”

    I find it very hard to believe that these six thousand three hundred people who were legally in the US were all criminals and terrorists.

    14 votes

  4. Comment on What are some examples of media that really captured lightning in a bottle? in ~tv

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    There were complaints in the fandom by season 5 as soon as they were off book…

    seasons 6 and 7 already show a bunch of cracks

    There were complaints in the fandom by season 5 as soon as they were off book…

    2 votes

  5. Comment on Bucking US President Donald Trump tariffs, California will push to maintain global trade independently, Governor Gavin Newsom says in ~society

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    For the record, this is not federal legislation. Congress makes laws, not the president. This is just more usurping of power.

    federal legislation

    For the record, this is not federal legislation. Congress makes laws, not the president. This is just more usurping of power.

    8 votes

  6. Comment on 75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving the country in ~society

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    This was my experience in Switzerland. Everything above undergraduate level was in English and even the undergraduate courses were typically taught in English, though students usually had the...

    This was my experience in Switzerland. Everything above undergraduate level was in English and even the undergraduate courses were typically taught in English, though students usually had the option of submitting assignments in either English or French.

    Life outside work, on the other hand, definitely required relearning French.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on 75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving the country in ~society

    WeAreWaves
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    It doesn't look like the poll differentiated between those, but absolutely answering yes to "Are you a US researcher who is considering leaving the country following the disruptions to science...

    It doesn't look like the poll differentiated between those, but absolutely answering yes to "Are you a US researcher who is considering leaving the country following the disruptions to science prompted by the Trump administration?" could mean anything. They also note that it's a self selected group, so it's almost certainly biased toward people with strong feelings in the affirmative. Still, it's probably indicative of a broad attitude and 75.3% responding yes is pretty wild.

    There are a few quotes worth highlighting:

    Institutions outside the United States are taking advantage of the Trump turmoil, the researcher says. “From what I’m hearing from the places we’re talking to, and other people who are looking to take international jobs, a lot of universities in these countries are seeing this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” he says. “I think it has gone from ‘Can we recruit a few people?’ to ‘How many people can we actually take?’ — because the demand is there.”

    ...

    Another respondent is actively applying only to positions in Europe: “I am transgender, and the 1–2 punch makes it improbable that the life I want to live is a viable option in this country.”

    —————————

    Scientists are already well positioned for being able to move internationally (speaking from personal experience) since academic research is very specialized, the professional community is global, and even small universities and research institutes tend to have the infrastructure to sponsor work visas in a way that private companies are hesitant to.

    In a related article, it's reported that the EU is actively encouraging member nations to recruit from the US:

    ...the European Research Council is planning on doubling the amount of money it offers grantees relocating to the EU, to a maximum of €2 million (US$2.2 million) each.

    ...

    The Netherlands’ government has asked its national research-funding council to establish a fund to attract top scientists who are looking to move because of the changing geopolitical climate. Universities in Belgium and France have advertised specific opportunities for US researchers.

    The director of research where I work (not in the US) recently told me he was pushing the board to try to find ways to recruit from the US.

    It won't be a 75% loss, but I expect that the flow of researchers between the US and other countries will see a pretty dramatic shift over the coming few years. Add to that the realization that the international community can't rely on US data products and things will likely look very different in a decade.

    10 votes

  8. Comment on Hey parents, how many of you read vs. tell stories before bedtime for your kids? in ~life

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    Different minds of course work differently too. I have basically no mental imagery and never have. I still love reading - it just doesn’t involve any visual element whatsoever. So it’s always...

    think that sort of ability to “conjure an image” is a muscle that needs training

    Different minds of course work differently too. I have basically no mental imagery and never have. I still love reading - it just doesn’t involve any visual element whatsoever. So it’s always possible your kid might not have quite the same experience which could affect the kinds of books or activities he’s ultimately interested in.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on An ‘administrative error’ sends a Maryland father to a Salvadoran prison in ~society

    WeAreWaves
    Link
    Am I reading this right?? They’re admitting they arrested an innocent person and sent them to a prison in El Salvador, and are saying “eat shit” to a judge who says they can’t do that?

    Am I reading this right?? They’re admitting they arrested an innocent person and sent them to a prison in El Salvador, and are saying “eat shit” to a judge who says they can’t do that?

    24 votes

  10. Comment on Hey parents, how many of you read vs. tell stories before bedtime for your kids? in ~life

    WeAreWaves
    Link
    My daughter just turned 4 - for Christmas her aunt and uncle gave her The Princess in Black and we’ve been reading them regularly ever since. I actually really enjoy them too. They’re real books...

    My daughter just turned 4 - for Christmas her aunt and uncle gave her The Princess in Black and we’ve been reading them regularly ever since. I actually really enjoy them too. They’re real books with chapters, character development, POVs, and multiple plots, but there are beautiful pictures on each page too. We read 1-2 per night depending on how much time we have. It’s about 20 minutes or so per book.

    We have a couple other series that are similar (Angelina Ballerina, Mercy Watson) but the Princess in Black is the best.

    We tried and failed at books without pictures too.

    3 votes

  11. Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    That’s interesting - I’ve never heard it put quite like that with that thought experiment. I’m honestly not sure what I’d do… It feels like the main reason I’d choose male is because of my...

    That’s interesting - I’ve never heard it put quite like that with that thought experiment. I’m honestly not sure what I’d do… It feels like the main reason I’d choose male is because of my relationships, which gets at what you said about it being more of a social thing rather than being inherently me. Hmm. I’ll have to dwell with this.

    It’s always been harder for me to really consider my gender as something I could change from what I grew up with. I realized a handful of years ago that I’m pretty far down the asexual spectrum, but that was easier to recognize since it feels more akin to a preference than something “me”. But maybe that’s just part of being asexual?

    Clearly I’m still processing all of this.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    Separating like that is one of my least favorite things to do. It’s so tedious and everything has to go into the dishwasher basically one at a time anyway so it’s no extra time to sort it then.

    Separating like that is one of my least favorite things to do. It’s so tedious and everything has to go into the dishwasher basically one at a time anyway so it’s no extra time to sort it then.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    I’ve never really had that happen but have heard about it as a worry. If they’re handle down, I imagine there’s enough water pressure to knock them around a little bit. I pre-sorted for years with...

    I’ve never really had that happen but have heard about it as a worry. If they’re handle down, I imagine there’s enough water pressure to knock them around a little bit. I pre-sorted for years with a basket and never noticed any issues, but now I live somewhere with a drawer at the top.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    What does a “proper breakfast” entail?

    What does a “proper breakfast” entail?

    7 votes

  15. Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk

    WeAreWaves
    Link
    Organize your cutlery in the dishwasher! Sorting a mess of spoons, forks, and knives likely with different sizes, to put them back into the drawer is an awful chore. You can avoid it altogether if...

    Organize your cutlery in the dishwasher!

    Sorting a mess of spoons, forks, and knives likely with different sizes, to put them back into the drawer is an awful chore. You can avoid it altogether if you just have a spot within your basket or drawer in the dishwasher for each type.

    Every time I’m emptying the dishwasher and I scoop up all of the small spoons in one hand and all of the big spoons in another, and put them into their respective slots in the drawer, I feel a little bit better about my day.

    27 votes

  16. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency plans to rebuild Social Security administration codebase in months, risking benefits and system collapse in ~society

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    I mean, they do focus on reducing revenue…

    instead of raising revenue.

    I mean, they do focus on reducing revenue…

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and US influencers bash seed oils, baffling nutrition scientists in ~food

    WeAreWaves
    Link Parent
    This feels like very much the wrong aspect of fast food to focus on….

    This feels like very much the wrong aspect of fast food to focus on….

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Students and their ChatGPT in ~tech

  20. Comment on Why didn't Keynote take off? in ~tech

    WeAreWaves
    Link
    I always preferred Keynote. A lot of features were more intuitive, less clunky, and involved fewer clicks than PowerPoint. I used Keynote for basically all of my presentations from 2009-2021. Then...

    I always preferred Keynote. A lot of features were more intuitive, less clunky, and involved fewer clicks than PowerPoint. I used Keynote for basically all of my presentations from 2009-2021.

    Then I started working at a job that uses PCs fully integrated with the Microsoft system. So now I’ve been 100% PowerPoint for the past four years or so. I still find it frustrating despite many attempts to customize the toolbars and shortcuts in a more efficient way. But that’s me with Microsoft generally. I also think Keynote makes cleaner, more attractive presentations.

    I suspect that’s how it is for a lot of people. Microsoft is just so integrated into the working world that it’s going to dominate, and that often leaves no choice for the user. I would not use Microsoft in any capacity were I not forced to by my employer.

    8 votes