balooga's recent activity
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Comment on What are some interesting landmarks in your neck of the woods? in ~talk
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Comment on What are some interesting landmarks in your neck of the woods? in ~talk
balooga LinkI’ll avoid doxing myself but I was passing through Tulsa, OK yesterday and checked out a local “interesting landmark” while I was in the area: the Center of the Universe. It’s an acoustic anomaly...I’ll avoid doxing myself but I was passing through Tulsa, OK yesterday and checked out a local “interesting landmark” while I was in the area: the Center of the Universe. It’s an acoustic anomaly of sorts, supposedly if you stand in this spot, people outside the circle will not be able to hear you. And any sound you make will be echoed back (and amplified) to you.
It was a fun little detour to make, and free apart from downtown parking. I definitely observed the phenomenon but it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the stories claim. My voice was oddly echoed back in my ears but not louder than it started. People outside of the circle could hear me clearly.
When I went it didn’t look like all the pictures online. There is construction happening around the site and they appear to be in the middle of resurfacing it. The circle was marked on the ground but there were no bricks around it. I wonder if some of the effects were magnified by reflections off those materials that are no longer present. If I’m ever out that way again I’ll have to swing by to see it it’s been restored to its former glory.
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Comment on Forgot Chrome's unusable, any recommendations? in ~tech
balooga LinkYou should set up Aquafox inside SheepShaver. (This is not a serious suggestion.)You should set up Aquafox inside SheepShaver. (This is not a serious suggestion.)
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of October 13 in ~society
balooga Link ParentI’d be very interested in knowing what those folks said, rather than taking this administration at its word.I’d be very interested in knowing what those folks said, rather than taking this administration at its word.
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Comment on Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in ~society
balooga Link ParentI'm waiting for the inevitable tantrum about how Nobel doesn't mean anything anymore, it's a corrupt organization, nobody cares what they have to say because they're all radical leftists, ad...I'm waiting for the inevitable tantrum about how Nobel doesn't mean anything anymore, it's a corrupt organization, nobody cares what they have to say because they're all radical leftists, ad nauseum. (yawn)
He's probably already posted it but I don't make a habit of watching the Doublethink Social feed cesspool.
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Comment on Donald Trump administration begins layoffs of federal workers amid US government shutdown in ~society
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Comment on Qatar to build air force facility on US base in Idaho in ~society
balooga LinkI think it would be really nice if every country only kept military facilities on their own soil.I think it would be really nice if every country only kept military facilities on their own soil.
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Comment on Naturally occurring nuclear reactor in ~science
balooga LinkThis is interesting, but I don’t really have anything to contribute to the conversation. I just wanted to tag @nukeman because I’m sure he has thoughts about this…This is interesting, but I don’t really have anything to contribute to the conversation. I just wanted to tag @nukeman because I’m sure he has thoughts about this…
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Comment on Meta: AI chat interactions on Facebook and Instagram will be used for ad targeting in ~tech
balooga Link ParentThis. I think humanity crossed a threshold (a few decades ago) where the complexity of our technology far exceeds our ability to casually model or understand it. I think it’s a limit of human...This. I think humanity crossed a threshold (a few decades ago) where the complexity of our technology far exceeds our ability to casually model or understand it. I think it’s a limit of human cognition, like the way we struggle to make sense of large-scale differences like million vs. billion. With training, individuals can learn and come to understanding, but the vast majority of people never will.
I think this has resulted in widespread “autopilot” where people just nod and move on because the mental hurdle is too high to justify the time and effort. I’m including legislators and regulators in that group. Unfortunately that enables a lot of exploitative companies (like Meta) to do terrible things with impunity. I’m not sure there’s a way to make it better… the problem just seems to me to be compounding, generation after generation.
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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
balooga Link ParentThis 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...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.
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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?
Oh nice, that reminds me of the Mystery Spot, whose Wikipedia page links to the generic gravity hill article. Nice primer on these sorts of illusions if anyone’s curious.