b55t's recent activity
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Comment on How do you guys deal with alcohol? in ~health
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Comment on How do you guys deal with alcohol? in ~health
b55t LinkOh man, this is such a complicated topic with so many facettes. But, let's see if I can't offer some thoughts. First of all, not to one-up you, but, to put into perspective the claim of drinking...- Exemplary
Oh man, this is such a complicated topic with so many facettes. But, let's see if I can't offer some thoughts.
First of all, not to one-up you, but, to put into perspective the claim of drinking earlier making it more likely that one struggles with alcohol, I started at 11 or 12 (can't remember, badum-tishhh). Then, at 14 I told myself I needed to stop and didn't start again until 17.
Whether that actually impacted my relationship with alcohol nowadays, I could not tell you. What I can tell you is that I drink small amounts every second day. That amount has always been within a certain range, but generally under half a bottle of wine or under 1,000ml of beer.
I often think I drink too much, but that's because I think health-wise almost any amount of alcohol is bad. And at my age (31), I start to feel worse and worse (and lost the ability to sleep) when drinking.
When I try to go without alcohol entirely, I am miserable, as I need it to relax. There are now two ways about it: I need some form of intoxication to help me relax. I have tried every trick in the book, I exercise for an hour a day, I eat very healthily and have a good social life. My work isn't overly stressful and I do not have money problems. I have also been in therapy for years. So if anyone tells me I do not have the toolkit to relax, I would contest that view. I do and I am still not relaxed. I am a very anxious person and worry about everything constantly. I know why (childhood), but knowing why doesn't somehow magically make it go away. I talk to my partner, whom I share a wonderful relationship with.
I still want booze. I need it, to relax. I have tried weed, which exacerbates my anxiety so strongly and immediately, that it's not an option. I tried prescribed benzos and those are so addictive and dangerous that I quickly stopped that.
So, I stick with my alcohol intake, as it vastly increases my quality of life. For now. I don't know what kind of price I have to pay for this later on (I am only slightly under what is considered an alcoholic according to health advice in my country (UK), where almost everyone I know is over), but I wonder whether what quality of life I gain now is worth the price. Ask me again in 40 years and I may have changed my mind.
Perhaps try to reduce the binging? I almost never do these days, as it just makes me feel terrible. So that's one step in the right direction.
If you actually are troubled by your alcohol intake, the obvious answer is to seek help.
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Comment on Web developers - What is your stack? in ~comp
b55t LinkPostgres if I need a DB (via an ORM, because lazy), Go is the server, HTML / CSS / Vanilla JS in the frontend. I learned these languages in a weird order and taught myself everything off online...Postgres if I need a DB (via an ORM, because lazy), Go is the server, HTML / CSS / Vanilla JS in the frontend.
I learned these languages in a weird order and taught myself everything off online courses, so what I create is probably any CS-Major's nightmare, but I'm slowly getting some more interesting stuff to work now.
I use libraries for prototyping things quickly and then roll my own where possible. With security I stick to what's established, as I really don't want to mess with that stuff.
I may one day forego the ORM (gorm in my case), when things get more complex, but for simple CRUD it works.
My main struggle is organising my JS code in the frontend in an orderly fashion. Originally, I would have thought that a JS frontend would be much easier to build and maintain than the DB or server. Bizarrely, however, it now turns out that I find the DB / backend stuff to be really well structured and easy to maintain (because Go kind of forces you into good practices as a newbie), while the JS frontend is this crazy nightmare of a million DOM elements, functions that are very hard to DRY, all with special cases and tons of exceptions to whatever patterns you try to establish. I have been trying to structure it well, but I find that very difficult to do.
HTML / CSS feel quite natural. HTML is the easiest thing to work with ever and CSS starts to make sense once you understand its quirks.
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Comment on How do you back up your data? in ~talk
b55t LinkSyncthing coordinated via a server I rent (documents and business files encrypted), distributing certain files to all my machines and backing up phone pics etc Backblaze (10TB or so) for the main...-
Syncthing coordinated via a server I rent (documents and business files encrypted), distributing certain files to all my machines and backing up phone pics etc
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Backblaze (10TB or so) for the main desktop
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Multiple HDDs locally for important files like photography, etc.
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Comment on Survival of the richest - The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind in ~life
b55t Link ParentThat's very true. There is also a good chance something like that ends up being made by corporations or law enforcement, specifically to track such activities. We'd have to obviously make it a...That's very true. There is also a good chance something like that ends up being made by corporations or law enforcement, specifically to track such activities.
We'd have to obviously make it a very strongly anonymised system. But again, a multitude of technologies would have to come together. There has to be a whole support network for this to work and I doubt anybody has the time to create such a thing.
Particularly considering you'd be legislated into oblivion almost immediately. Something akin to darknetmarkets feels like the closest we have gotten in terms of creating a digital freedom kind of movement. But, there's always a very ugly rat's tail of CP, weapon sales and fraud attached with anything on the darknet, making it very easy to discredit and outlaw.
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Comment on Survival of the richest - The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind in ~life
b55t Link ParentAgree with all your points wholeheartedly. So, what surprises me is that the tools needed to organise seemingly don't exist. Where are the strike action or unionising mobile apps, for example? If...Agree with all your points wholeheartedly. So, what surprises me is that the tools needed to organise seemingly don't exist.
Where are the strike action or unionising mobile apps, for example? If that existed, there might be a slight chance to get something started.
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Comment on The endless reign of Rupert Murdoch in ~news
b55t Link ParentI think our best chance are decentralising technologies like cryptocurrencies. What's interesting, is that industries like music and film really suffered because of not keeping up with technology....I think our best chance are decentralising technologies like cryptocurrencies.
What's interesting, is that industries like music and film really suffered because of not keeping up with technology.
But now that decentralised technologies are starting to approach banks and governments, they are actively being dismantled and prohibited. The jury is out on whether that will fix things. Very hard to predict.
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Comment on The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto in ~finance
b55t Link ParentI honestly have begun to consider myself quite the Luddite. What brand spanking new tech or online trend was I actually part of? I don't have FB, never used Twitter, Instagram or Vine. I like...I honestly have begun to consider myself quite the Luddite. What brand spanking new tech or online trend was I actually part of?
I don't have FB, never used Twitter, Instagram or Vine.
I like having discussions online from time to time and I read news for nerds, and that's about it. My interaction has shrunk to a tiny number of websites.
What I enjoy the most is gaming and watching series or films. Other than that, I feel as though I am trying to remove as much technology from my life as possible.
The Luddites were certainly not wrong, even if their attitude seems like yet another form of extremism, and I find all forms of extremism to be misplaced.
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Comment on Survival of the richest - The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind in ~life
b55t Link ParentHmmm, I think it would make a big splash in the news (one would hope). I mean if we're talking LA or NYC, then it would be huge. At the same time, I think there are companies that could survive...Hmmm, I think it would make a big splash in the news (one would hope). I mean if we're talking LA or NYC, then it would be huge.
At the same time, I think there are companies that could survive for quite a long time without workers and are spread far and wide enough to not need the odd town. In fact, there is precedent of whole groups of workers simply being fired in one go for going on strike.
The ATC thing with Reagan is quite famous (https://www.politico.com/story/2008/08/reagan-fires-11-000-striking-air-traffic-controllers-aug-5-1981-012292), and Thatcher also played a pretty brutal game in the face of miner's strikes.
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Comment on The endless reign of Rupert Murdoch in ~news
b55t Link ParentCouldn't agree more. The problem, I guess, is, that regulatory capture is one of the inevitabilities of a capitalist society. So even if we got these regulations back, they would eventually be...Couldn't agree more.
The problem, I guess, is, that regulatory capture is one of the inevitabilities of a capitalist society. So even if we got these regulations back, they would eventually be eroded in the name of financial gain.
What's worse is that many current governments directly benefit from this insanity, so they have little reason to regulate away the thing that keeps them in power.
It's a big problem both in the UK and US.
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Comment on The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto in ~finance
b55t LinkI really want to believe this, but at the moment it feels as though technology has done nothing but set humanity back further and further, by becoming about money, rather than information or...I really want to believe this, but at the moment it feels as though technology has done nothing but set humanity back further and further, by becoming about money, rather than information or cooperation.
The individual has been deified beyond any reason and that cat is not going back in the bag. So long as the internet is controlled by mega corporations for financial gain predicated upon misinformation, I don't see this vision coming true.
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Comment on The endless reign of Rupert Murdoch in ~news
b55t LinkHe is very easy to hate, but I think we also have to take into account who enables him. If we cannot get our shit together as society, then it doesn't matter whether it's Murdoch or someone else...He is very easy to hate, but I think we also have to take into account who enables him.
If we cannot get our shit together as society, then it doesn't matter whether it's Murdoch or someone else pushing all this misinformed bullshit. There will always be the next Murdoch and the next.
We, as a society, need to figure out how to get people to think critically and not just blindly believe whatever insane racist, conspiratory, bigoted, inhumane, stupid, meaningless, anti-progressive drivel some newspaper like the Sun or TV channel like Fox 'News' spews.
If nobody consumed this shit, it wouldn't exit. But people crave this fantasy world confirming their fears and biases. They literally pay money to be served an imaginary fantasy / lie. It's literally just fiction, self-labeling as 'news', but it has nothing to do with news. It's entertainment. Toxic, fucking entertainment. Presenting lies as facts.
And so long as that goes on, shit won't change...
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Comment on Survival of the richest - The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind in ~life
b55t Link ParentThis is a very good point. A strong and determined leader can make a huge difference. I read somewhere that for a group to change, 25% of the group has to be united in wanting that change and the...This is a very good point. A strong and determined leader can make a huge difference.
I read somewhere that for a group to change, 25% of the group has to be united in wanting that change and the rest is network effects ensuring the change happens.
But I am not sure how much that has been proved, or how accurate this is. But, to your point, it would therefore probably take a quarter of working adults. Looks like there's about 200 million of them. So that's 50 million people.
Not sure what it would take for that many people to agree on something and enact change in unison.
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Comment on Survival of the richest - The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind in ~life
b55t Link ParentThe funny thing is, more people would probably be interested, or likely to join a violent revolution than a comparatively peaceful one which simply requires a little bit of cooperation. But like I...The funny thing is, more people would probably be interested, or likely to join a violent revolution than a comparatively peaceful one which simply requires a little bit of cooperation.
But like I said, it's extremely unlikely to happen. Humans simply cannot organise on that scale. Capitalist corporations and militaries (so, the most fascist structures ever created) are the only way to get a large number of people in line. And even then we are "only" talking a few million per entity.
It's just that the principle (capitalism) requires these abusive hierarchical structures, so there are many entities of many millions and that's why we are not getting rid of this.
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Comment on Survival of the richest - The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind in ~life
b55t LinkVery worrying. But to be expected. To be ultra-rich, you must also have some kind of idea of what was required for you (or your ancestors) to get there. You would distruct 'normal' people, because...Very worrying. But to be expected. To be ultra-rich, you must also have some kind of idea of what was required for you (or your ancestors) to get there. You would distruct 'normal' people, because you would think 'normal' people distrust you, because you are rich. Kind of self-reinforcing.
I often wonder how we got here and how this will end.
The problem (I think, partyl, at least) is that society (the non-rich majority) has failed to unite and has failed to use technological progress to stay as united as they once were (during new deal times).
The question is now whether someone can create the tool or vehicle required (be that an app or a website or something similar) to allow people to unite once again.
One of the cornerstones of being able to unite is temporarily being able to support each other while nobody is earning any income.
Because, my friends, that is the only way to affect any change at this point in time. We, as a society, have to stop working, possibly for a very long time, and do nothing other than protest. In the most peaceful and quiet manner imaginable: A longterm general strike.
That is all that is needed. The ability to guarantee that enough of us stop working all at the same time for long enoug that the 'elite' or powerful / rich people are bled out.
That could take months or years. And they would try every strategy in the book to undermine us.
We would have to create some kind of parallel society with its own economy basically. Where people create and trade food among themselves, etc. in order to survive, until this is all over.
The USA is actually uniquely capable of pulling this off. This would be much harder to do in other countries.
BUT, and this is where I see the reason for this never happening, this will mean a drastic reduction in the quality of life for, what, 200 million people? For many months, easily.
All that in order to stay organised through the psychological stress that comes with trying to keep such a gigantic resistance alive for long enough for it to really have a meaningful effect?
There is almost no chance of this happening.
Therefore, the system will have to consume itself. The USA has to turn into 1930-1940s Germany, drag the entire world into a world war and things will be reset afterwards. Whatever remains of humanity at the time gets another stab at establishing a world with safeguards strong enough that this doesn't repeat itself.
The problem is that human nature itself tends to lead to this kind of outcome, because consolidation of power is a natural and almost inevitable process.
It's not like they didn't try setting up bullet-proof, watertight safeguards after the 2nd world war. Those have been eroded through a process of incremental, persistent lust for power and riches by the individual. The cumulative effects of which always point to this situation right here re-emerging.
None of the individuals along that 70 year long, billion-people-strong timeline ever thought they were causing much harm. But each one of them grabbed another small piece of the pie we call progress / individual rights & freedom or liberty, and exchanged it for personal gain.
Done long enough, you end up with this. It will happen again, and again, until a less corruptible system is instated.
The most likely outcome, IMO is Elysium. The ultra-rich finally build a space station to live on, while humanity enslaves itself in their service, until those humans can be eradicated through automation.
Eventually only the rich will remain, who will then tier themselves into 'more rich' and 'less rich', where the less rich are also eventually exterminated and only one, very, very rich person remains for all of eternity.
The end.
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Comment on Best book you've ever read in ~books
b55t LinkThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams writes the most 'compressed' humour I have ever read in any book ever. Every sentence and every paragraph all lead to some kind of punchline...The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Douglas Adams writes the most 'compressed' humour I have ever read in any book ever. Every sentence and every paragraph all lead to some kind of punchline that you did not expect.
I have read HHGTG many times and find something new every time. This also applies to all other books he has written (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and the Salmon of Doubt for example).
Douglas Adams is a one of a kind genius who died far too young. I wish there was more of his writing.
Kids and adults can read his works and all get something out of it. It is timeless in a way that a Bugatti Veyron is. Everyone can see why his writing is amazing. Be that in the now, or 100 years from now. He has a uniquely precise perspective on the human condition and he wrapped it in comedy.
That is nearly impossible to achieve and something I shall forever measure myself by as someone who would love to one day write something similar.
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Comment on Laptops with 128GB of RAM are here in ~tech
b55t Link ParentThe only vendors I know of, that offer laptops with this stuff disabled are System76, Dell (3 products, a rugged tablet and laptop among them) and pur.ism Some of those are quite configurable,...The only vendors I know of, that offer laptops with this stuff disabled are System76, Dell (3 products, a rugged tablet and laptop among them) and pur.ism
Some of those are quite configurable, with up to 64gb of RAM, so I wouldn't be surprised if that goes up to 128gb soon.
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Comment on Notes on structured concurrency, or: Go statement considered harmful in ~comp
b55t LinkDon't channels in go do this exact same thing? You can open channels, close or merge them. So just like the black-box paradigm diagram shows, the control flow sort of 'fans out' and then 'fans in'...Don't channels in go do this exact same thing? You can open channels, close or merge them.
So just like the black-box paradigm diagram shows, the control flow sort of 'fans out' and then 'fans in' again once everything is complete.
This is trivially done with channels. Wait-groups should also address this issue.
The author of course has a point. I still find concurrent programs harder to work with than single-threaded non-concurrent ones. At the same time I feel the 'go' statement is only dangerous if used for the sake of it and without considerations for what happens before and after you split off a function.
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Comment on Programming Challenge: creative FizzBuzz in ~comp
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Comment on KFC Is right, people are gobbling up meat replacements in ~news
b55t Link ParentVery true. This study is in support of that argument. Let me rephrase that point slightly. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/78/3/660S/4690010Very true. This study is in support of that argument. Let me rephrase that point slightly.
That makes sense. I find that with alcohol, or food, just doing it to fill the time or because you are bored is one of the biggest traps. I have found that my thinking of it goes down if I keep busy. Programming was what did it for me :)