balooga's recent activity
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Comment on US President Donald Trump isn't building a ballroom in ~society
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Comment on Why the renovation of US Federal Reserve headquarters costs $2.5 billion in ~finance
balooga Link ParentI'm not sure what to do with this but there's a person on Substack and YouTube who goes by The Drey Dossier, who has put together a compelling argument that the ballroom is actually a cover story...I'm not sure what to do with this but there's a person on Substack and YouTube who goes by The Drey Dossier, who has put together a compelling argument that the ballroom is actually a cover story for a secret subterranean data center buildout.
As always when you see stuff like this, please conspiracy theorize responsibly.
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Comment on Why the renovation of US Federal Reserve headquarters costs $2.5 billion in ~finance
balooga Link ParentYou mean like the east wing of the White House?You mean like the east wing of the White House?
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Comment on One formula that demystifies 3D graphics in ~comp
balooga LinkThis was surprisingly up my alley, as I've played around with exactly this sort of basic 3D rendering in a 2D canvas context on a few occasions. It's been a few years but it was fun to watch as a...This was surprisingly up my alley, as I've played around with exactly this sort of basic 3D rendering in a 2D canvas context on a few occasions. It's been a few years but it was fun to watch as a refresher. I don't have any kind of background in 3D modeling, game engines, or even math really. I vaguely recall the important bits from a geometry + trigonometry class I took more than two decades ago but honestly I've never been more than a dabbler. It's fun though.
Although I wasn't familiar with Tsoding I thought he was great at explaining this material... I'll have to check out his other videos! The speed that he's able to jump around without losing his train of thought was humbling and really flared up my impostor syndrome, lol. Maybe some of that's just tight editing, not sure. He exuded confidence with the subject matter, either way. Of course I have to gripe about his point of referencing a DOM element by its
iddirectly withoutdocument.getElementById()š± and his use ofsetTimeout()instead ofrequestAnimationFrame()š¬š ā YIKES!! -
Comment on Recommendations needed: Favorite ācomfortā movies in ~movies
balooga Link ParentI was literally about to post this when I refreshed the page and saw you beat me to it! So it is down to you, and it is down to me. No joke, I watched it (again) just two nights ago. Never gets old.Princess Bride <- how am I the only person to mention this movie!? For shame Tildes, for shame!
I was literally about to post this when I refreshed the page and saw you beat me to it! So it is down to you, and it is down to me.
No joke, I watched it (again) just two nights ago. Never gets old.
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Comment on Good News Everyone! - the coping with everything edition in ~talk
balooga Link ParentI love this! I didnāt realize Sesame Street did a crayon factory bit, but Iāve watched the Mr. Rogers counterpart so many times. Iām fairly certain How Itās Made directly owes existence to this...I love this! I didnāt realize Sesame Street did a crayon factory bit, but Iāve watched the Mr. Rogers counterpart so many times. Iām fairly certain How Itās Made directly owes existence to this moment in TV history.
My favorite Sesame Street clip will always be the pinball cartoon, followed closely by honorable mention A B C D E F Cookie Monster. Nostalgia overload!!
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Comment on Looking for audio recording advice in ~hobbies
balooga LinkMake sure youāre speaking into the front side of your Blue Yeti, not the top of it. Keep your mouth just a couple inches away from it when you speak. Consider adding a windscreen to the mic if you...Make sure youāre speaking into the front side of your Blue Yeti, not the top of it. Keep your mouth just a couple inches away from it when you speak. Consider adding a windscreen to the mic if you donāt have one, that can help with popping sounds from plosives, and some wet mouthsounds. Not sure if youāre currently doing any post-processing but lots of A/V software these days has noise reduction, low/high pass filters, normalization, etc. These can all be helpful!
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Comment on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoots and kills a woman during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown in ~society
balooga Link ParentI appreciate the precision of the play-by-play and its attempts to be neutral. I think it would benefit from including Reneeās smile and apparent final words, āThatās fine, dude. Iām not mad at...I appreciate the precision of the play-by-play and its attempts to be neutral. I think it would benefit from including Reneeās smile and apparent final words, āThatās fine, dude. Iām not mad at you.ā Also the interaction with Becca, and the actual quote of the other agentās order to āget out of the fucking car.ā Not to mention the āfucking bitchā utterance after shooting her.
For this to be a truly impartial write-up, these details are critical for establishing the contrast in the partiesā demeanors.
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
balooga Link ParentI meanā¦ that oneās on you guys lola place called Bombshells
I meanā¦ that oneās on you guys lol
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Comment on The "why does this movie exist" scene in ~movies
balooga Link ParentReminds me of the snakebite scene from City Slickers 2. Come to think of it, this scene might just be the reason it exists. An otherwise forgettable film but itās embarrassing how often my brain...Reminds me of the snakebite scene from City Slickers 2. Come to think of it, this scene might just be the reason it exists. An otherwise forgettable film but itās embarrassing how often my brain reminds me of this part of it.
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
balooga LinkInteresting retrospective, thanks for posting it. I have two stories about Hooters. One was during a family outing in the mid-ā90s when my dad decided unilaterally that this was where weād be...Interesting retrospective, thanks for posting it.
I have two stories about Hooters. One was during a family outing in the mid-ā90s when my dad decided unilaterally that this was where weād be having lunch. I was probably about ten and my siblings were younger so I donāt remember much, but my mom was not happy about the choice and spent the meal glowering at him. And I remember our server picking up on that and trying to convince her that Hooters was a āfamily restaurant.ā Dad was in the doghouse for a while after that.
My other story was around 2006 when I had my first corporate office job. It was a small tech company with a largely male workforce. They would infrequently dip out for lunch trips to Hooters. I came along once and felt pretty uncomfortable about it (probably replaying that other memory in my head the whole time). Two women from the office joined us. TBH I was probably projecting my own discomfort onto them but I thought they seemed a bit put off and I caught them side-eyeing the waitstaff a couple times.
Neither story is particularly eventful but those are the only times Iāve set foot in Hooters; both experiences linger in my brain for the way their objectification of women unsettled me. It was in the years after that, that #meToo happened and I got into the feminist discourse, which gave me the vocabulary and context to make better sense of those memories.
AFAIK Hooters used a loophole to wriggle out of gender discrimination laws by hiring the women as āmodelsā instead of āservers.ā I believe their job interviews were considered auditions. And (this is blatant, irresponsible speculation) I would not be surprised in the slightest if that process involved a casting couch in at least one of those 400+ locations they had around the world.
Private equity seems to destroy every business it touches, but Iām not shedding any tears for Hooters.
One thing Iām watching with morbid curiosity is the cultural pendulum swinging rightward again in the MAGA (and broader global populist) era. Conservatives backlashed hard against #meToo and anything that smacks of it is now considered woke or censorious. These things trickle into public spaces at different speeds but I do wonder if weāre going to see a resurgence of breastaurants popping up again in the next decade.
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Comment on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoots and kills a woman during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown in ~society
balooga Link ParentJonathan Ross, the shooter, was on his cellphone recording his own video while murdering Renee Good. That video has now been made public. Linking to an Instagram reel with commentary because I...Jonathan Ross, the shooter, was on his cellphone recording his own video while murdering Renee Good. That video has now been made public. Linking to an Instagram reel with commentary because I think it's good, but here's a CNN link if you just want the raw clip.
What's new from this perspective? We see and hear Ms. Good ā smiling and speaking politely to the agent. We see her dog in the back of the vehicle. We hear her wife, in the last seconds before the murder, seeing what's about to happen and shouting to her "drive, baby, drive". And after the agent takes her life, we hear him utter "fucking bitch" as her vehicle careens toward parked cars down the street.
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Comment on Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage at a cybersecurity conference while dressed as the pink Power Ranger in ~tech
balooga Link ParentHa, I'm just joking with you. Like I said, this topic should be totally kosher anyway, assuming people comment responsibly.Ha, I'm just joking with you. Like I said, this topic should be totally kosher anyway, assuming people comment responsibly.
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Comment on Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage at a cybersecurity conference while dressed as the pink Power Ranger in ~tech
balooga Link ParentI was deliberate not to summon his gaze. You brought it on yourself!!I was deliberate not to summon his gaze. You brought it on yourself!!
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Comment on Texas A&M, under new curriculum limits, warns professor not to teach Plato in ~humanities
balooga Link ParentThat's what the far right mean when they use it, because they're trying to imply that people who think that way are "ideologically driven" while people who think like them are not. Transphobic,...That's what the far right mean when they use it, because they're trying to imply that people who think that way are "ideologically driven" while people who think like them are not.
Transphobic, binary gender reductionism is ALSO gender ideology.
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Comment on Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage at a cybersecurity conference while dressed as the pink Power Ranger in ~tech
balooga LinkA different link about this was previously posted on Tildes, and it was deleted by Deimos (which I believe prompted this conversation about topic moderation on the site). AFAIK there wasn't an...A different link about this was previously posted on Tildes, and it was deleted by Deimos (which I believe prompted this conversation about topic moderation on the site). AFAIK there wasn't an issue with the actual content of the link, it was just shut down due to some problematic interactions in the comments section. Personally I don't have a problem with this being posted again today, but thought it worth mentioning that context, which might lead some to perceive it as an attempt to circumvent moderation. I think as long as people comment respectfully it should be fine. Just be aware this topic has the potential for volatility, as we saw before.
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Comment on US Border agents shoot, wound two people in Portland in ~society
balooga Link ParentAlso, when the people confronting you outnumber you and are all wearing body armor and holding assault rifles... well good fucking luck. Her fate was sealed the moment they approached. There was...Also, when the people confronting you outnumber you and are all wearing body armor and holding assault rifles... well good fucking luck. Her fate was sealed the moment they approached. There was no choice she could have made to secure a different outcome.
Edit: Ah jeez, this is the thread about Portland, not Minneapolis. Telling that we have not one but two ongoing threads about this shit.
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Comment on The "why does this movie exist" scene in ~movies
balooga Link ParentOr as the TV edit put it, āIāve had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!ā You see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?Or as the TV edit put it, āIāve had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!ā
You see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
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Comment on Toy Story's villain is a lie in ~movies
balooga (edited )Link ParentJust the first movie. Well there are a few small references to the second one as well. Edit: Oh, apologies, it does mention that we briefly see Sid as an adult in Toy Story 3. But his appearance...Just the first movie. Well there are a few small references to the second one as well.
Edit: Oh, apologies, it does mention that we briefly see Sid as an adult in Toy Story 3. But his appearance is more of an easter egg than anything relevant to the plot, so Iām not even using a spoiler tag for it here.
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Comment on Texas A&M, under new curriculum limits, warns professor not to teach Plato in ~humanities
balooga LinkāDown with censorship!ā they cried. āFree speech!ā they said. āNo more cancel culture!ā they said. Well, itās sure a good thing these defenders of liberty are in charge now. What a relief that...āDown with censorship!ā they cried. āFree speech!ā they said. āNo more cancel culture!ā they said.
Well, itās sure a good thing these defenders of liberty are in charge now. What a relief that weāve finally got principled, consistent, sane leadership to save us from the iron fist of wokeism.
Hey, this looks familiar! š
I debated whether I should make a full post about this, when I came across it last month. Ultimately decided not to because it appears so... nutty. But it's really compelling, and supported by a ton of actual evidence. At this point I'd say I'm won over. Not sure she's 100% right but there's certainly enough here to cast suspicion on the official narrative.
TBH though I'm just burned out on conspiracy theories since, I guess, when QAnon went mainstream and turned everybody's parents into MAGA brainrot and the evil elites decided to start doing their most evil stuff right in the open because, it turns out, nobody really cares enough to stop them anyway. Actually diving into a grounded, receipts-carrying new theory feels almost quaint these days. It reminds me of when I got into Loose Change and the 9/11 truth stuff 20 years ago. I'm still embarrassed about that, so I guess I don't want to be too quick to sign up for another of its ilk.
I'd feel a lot better if a credible news org picked up the story and did some proper journalistic investigation into this. I tried to tip off one of them, actually, but they never wrote me back.