balooga's recent activity
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Comment on Cory Doctorow: Tech-like apps can obfuscate what’s really going on, sloshing a coat of complexity over a business that allows its owners to claim that they’re not breaking the law in ~tech
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Comment on Catfishing - the Wikipedia guessing game in ~games
balooga LinkOh, I just discovered that you get fireworks if you manage to get all 10 right!Oh, I just discovered that you get fireworks if you manage to
use ChatGPT to tell you all the answersget all 10 right! -
Comment on Catfishing - the Wikipedia guessing game in ~games
balooga LinkThis is hard! There are enough that fall into “I know a little about this, maybe I can make a lucky guess” to keep me going, but also a surprising amount of super niche things like 8th century...This is hard! There are enough that fall into “I know a little about this, maybe I can make a lucky guess” to keep me going, but also a surprising amount of super niche things like 8th century nation-states and Romanian tennis stars… things that I’ve never remotely heard of and wouldn’t stand a chance of guessing. But when niche stuff I do know about comes up I get to feel extra smart. It’s kind of like a harder Jeopardy!
I appreciate the endgame stats so you can see that basically everybody’s as unsophisticated as you, afterward.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
balooga Link ParentI don’t think I understand this one. If you want to be pedantic (and it seems like you do) the length of time during which the stopped clock is correct depends on that clock’s precision. So if...I don’t think I understand this one.
the value it gives happens to line up for 1 second twice a day, but it is never correct
If you want to be pedantic (and it seems like you do) the length of time during which the stopped clock is correct depends on that clock’s precision. So if it’s a clock with a second hand, it’s true that it’ll show the correct time for a second. But if it’s a digital instrument accurate to milliseconds or microseconds or nanoseconds, that interval will be shorter.
What is the smallest possible unit of time? Is there a fundamental minimum “tick” size, or is every duration infinitely divisible? Ultimately that smallest unit, the highest-resolution discrete step from one instant to the next, if there is such a thing, is the duration of time that a stopped clock will be correct for. But it’s still “correct,” for that infinitesimal duration, twice a day. That’s what’s confusing me about what you wrote. The idiom holds up.
Now we can really split hairs and debate what “correct” even means here, because that assumes a standard to measure against. I think this is what you were getting at by bringing in a second clock? Of course, timekeeping itself is a construct, it’s not like there is some Platonic “true time” that we’re all just approximating.
the value it last produced can happen to line up with reality
Reality doesn’t have a say here. The whole notion of a correct time and date boils down to consensus and tradition. It’s been refined a lot over the centuries… we have somewhat standardized time zones and atomic clocks and the Network Time Protocol, these things all nudge us into tighter alignment but they’re still just conventions. The cracks are evident in leap years and leap seconds, hacks to correct the discrepancies between our human systems and the physical phenomena they attempt to model. Our systems work well enough for most things, but degrade noticeably once relativity enters the picture.
What’s my point? There’s no such thing as “correct” time but within the framework of timekeeping conventions, the idiom about a broken clock being right twice a day is… still valid. And if you want to disregard that framework, then the whole meaning of “timekeeping” goes poof and the stopped clock is just a meaningless object to which words like “right” and “wrong” don’t apply.
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Comment on Ask not why would you work in biology, but rather: why wouldn't you? in ~science
balooga LinkWell. From that headline I certainly wasn’t expecting a lede about the horrors of urinary catheterization. Consider my loins clenched. I’m not a fan of this piece because (catheters aside) it...Well. From that headline I certainly wasn’t expecting a lede about the horrors of urinary catheterization. Consider my loins clenched.
I’m not a fan of this piece because (catheters aside) it ignores division of labor. Medical research is an important field but it’s not the only field. No medical research would be possible without countless specialists applying themselves in a variety of non-medical capacities. Who feeds the researchers? Who generates the lab’s electricity? Who educates the children while the parents are running clinical trials? It’s silly.
Maybe I missed the point or I’m being needlessly pedantic, but there are tons of reasons one might not work in biology. It doesn’t mean that person’s uninterested in the continuation of our species, or whatever. Regardless of the author’s dismissal of jobs that are “largely useless outside of The Market” (however he defines that), we all have our roles to play.
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Comment on Outrage over American Eagle's 'great jeans' ad was a conservative media creation in ~society
balooga LinkI wonder if there’s a way to perform this sort of analysis faster (say, in realtime) the next time a stupid “controversy” starts swirling online. Figure out who’s promoting it before it’s too...I wonder if there’s a way to perform this sort of analysis faster (say, in realtime) the next time a stupid “controversy” starts swirling online. Figure out who’s promoting it before it’s too late. I think everyone would benefit from automated whistleblowers exposing bad-faith actors as early as possible.
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Comment on A better way to watch YouTube in ~tech
balooga LinkI always (haltingly, with large caveats) recommend FreeTube, a standalone YouTube client app that strips out everything terrible about YouTube. When it works, it’s exactly what I’m looking for....I always (haltingly, with large caveats) recommend FreeTube, a standalone YouTube client app that strips out everything terrible about YouTube. When it works, it’s exactly what I’m looking for. But it’s locked in this cat-and-mouse game where YouTube keeps deliberately fucking with little implementation details to break third-party app compatibility. So I’ll be using it happily for months, then it will suddenly start erroring constantly until the devs can push out a release that fixes it. And sometimes that can take a while… we are currently in one of these periods, so if you download the app today it will not work. No idea when the fix will come.
Besides that the app is rather clunky. The Mac binaries are unsigned so you can’t even run them without approving them in System Settings. Also, videos that require login to view are unwatchable because there’s no way to log in. FreeTube was designed to fallback to Invidious in those situations, but since Invidious is dead now that doesn’t work. But on the plus side, there are no ads, including live reads thanks to SponsorBlock. And you can pretty thoroughly customize what you want to appear in the UI, which is nice.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentWow, 5 hours is a time commitment but that’s pretty cool. I jumped around a bit and noticed the translation is different from the SNES version I’ve been playing. Does anyone know whether they’re...Wow, 5 hours is a time commitment but that’s pretty cool. I jumped around a bit and noticed the translation is different from the SNES version I’ve been playing. Does anyone know whether they’re using the DS text or a fan translation?
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentMe too! I’ve still got the Chrono Symphonic album MP3s. They haven’t aged well (compared to the original SNES score which I’m geeking out to again this month, and has aged very well)… but I love...Me too! I’ve still got the Chrono Symphonic album MP3s. They haven’t aged well (compared to the original SNES score which I’m geeking out to again this month, and has aged very well)… but I love the community that came together there.
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Comment on Elon Musk plans to take on Wikipedia with 'Grokipedia' in ~tech
balooga Link ParentI don’t know anything about how much money Wikipedia has or how it spends it, but just reading the political tea leaves tells me it would be a good idea for them to be building up a rainy-day war...I don’t know anything about how much money Wikipedia has or how it spends it, but just reading the political tea leaves tells me it would be a good idea for them to be building up a rainy-day war chest. For legal defense and technical defense alike. The Internet Archive needs this too, more urgently, as far as I can tell.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
balooga Link ParentThat sounds both lovely and incredibly wasteful. Is there no better material they can use?Fun fact, the cable cars in San Francisco use cedar blocks to grip the cable. You can smell them when they accelerate. They have to be replaced every few weeks.
That sounds both lovely and incredibly wasteful. Is there no better material they can use?
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentWe do, but it's documented as expandable sections rather than spoiler tags. <details> <summary>Spoiler</summary> This is the actual spoiler content, which will be hidden inside a collapsed box....We do, but it's documented as expandable sections rather than spoiler tags.
<details> <summary>Spoiler</summary> This is the actual spoiler content, which will be hidden inside a collapsed box. </details>That produces this:
Spoiler
This is the actual spoiler content, which will be hidden inside a collapsed box.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentI’m not @Whitewatermoose but my go-to for that console has always been Shining Force.I’m not @Whitewatermoose but my go-to for that console has always been Shining Force.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga LinkIt’s been a few years since I last played, and a lot longer than that since I completed it. I started a fresh save today! Haven’t gotten very far yet, I’m about to get to the trial if memory...It’s been a few years since I last played, and a lot longer than that since I completed it. I started a fresh save today! Haven’t gotten very far yet, I’m about to get to the trial if memory serves. I’m playing the SNES version through OpenEmu on a Mac.
One thing I couldn’t remember (and it’s not immediately apparent in-game) is the difference between the two battle modes, so I looked it up. This page explains it well. Sharing in case it’s helpful for anyone else.
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Comment on Adam Conover: Unmedicated in ~tv
balooga Link ParentI saw him just a couple weeks ago as he passed through my town. We had front-row seats and enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know anything about the controversies some have mentioned. The smugness is...I saw him just a couple weeks ago as he passed through my town. We had front-row seats and enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know anything about the controversies some have mentioned. The smugness is true. But he was genuinely really funny and relatable.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentIt’s a little grindy. Enemies can be seen before battles so you won’t randomly be sprung into combat. However they do respawn in many cases so you can expect to fight the same mobs repeatedly if...It’s a little grindy. Enemies can be seen before battles so you won’t randomly be sprung into combat. However they do respawn in many cases so you can expect to fight the same mobs repeatedly if you return to areas you’ve previously cleared.
Apparently the Steam version you have includes an auto-battle feature that alleviates some of that tedium. I haven’t played that version so I can’t vouch for it, but you might want to give it a look.
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Comment on What game is your personal "Silksong"? in ~games
balooga LinkFor me it would have to be Skyrim. I had never played an Elder Scrolls game but I remembered my college roomies being obsessed with Morrowind for a time. I was a huge fan of Fallout: New Vegas,...For me it would have to be Skyrim. I had never played an Elder Scrolls game but I remembered my college roomies being obsessed with Morrowind for a time. I was a huge fan of Fallout: New Vegas, the only Bethesda (technically Obsidian but that’s beside the point) game I’d played and my love for that set in motion the hype cycle for TESV.
Over the years I’ve loved many games but not many of them were ones I allowed myself to get hyped about before launch. I’m more of the patientgamer mindset. Skyrim was different. The teasers and promotions for that game were masterfully done. I was hanging on every word that came out of Todd Howard’s mouth, salivating over every video or screenshot. I was caught up in the hype for probably a full year and a half before it released; it was a day one purchase for me.
And it the clincher is, it didn’t let me down. They absolutely knocked it put of the park with that game. Just amazing world-building, art direction, game mechanics, storytelling, and power fantasy. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. Now there’s no such thing as a perfect game but what I appreciate about Skyrim is that it knows exactly what it wants to be and absolutely delivers on that. Sure, you can quibble about any number of things but at the end of the game it is one of the most cohesive, well-constructed, and rich open world games ever conceived.
It’s a famous meme how they kept porting and re-releasing it but I seriously bought it for three different systems with no regrets. No idea how many thousands of hours I’ve put into it over the years… and still I manage to find things that surprise me. And I haven’t even mentioned the vibrant mod scene. It’s just so good.
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Comment on The rise of 'conspiracy physics' in ~science
balooga Link ParentLove her videos, I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks for linking!Love her videos, I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks for linking!
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Comment on Will an AI actress really become ‘the next Scarlett Johansson’? in ~movies
balooga Link ParentThanks for the context. I still don't get it but at least I have vocabulary for it now, haha.Thanks for the context. I still don't get it but at least I have vocabulary for it now, haha.
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Comment on Donald Trump suggests using ‘dangerous’ US cities as ‘training grounds’ for military in ~society
This recent Guardian “article” (also discussed on Tildes) is another excerpt from Enshittification published like a new opinion piece. Strange to see that happen twice in quick succession. Must be Doctorow’s (publicist’s) strategy for staying in the public eye after a book sales dip.