barnesjon's recent activity
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
barnesjon LinkFirstly, the majority of ad-tech companies don't actually no much about you. They are mostly making wild guesses and selling their assets based on that. The people who buy ad space know this and...Firstly, the majority of ad-tech companies don't actually no much about you. They are mostly making wild guesses and selling their assets based on that. The people who buy ad space know this and adjust their payments accordingly. The company that by far has the most information about you is Facebook, because most people give the information that advertisers want when they sign up. This is why facebook ads are worth more than most ad tech companies. Google also has a lot of personalized data that's inferred from searches and google services logins.
Secondly, most adtech companies including facebook and google don't hand out very much information. A client will attempt to buy an ad for x dollars with y demographic and get data back on how many impressions, clicks, and conversions they got. They rarely have an idea of who it actually served to.
There is also tracking software on most websites but the tracking technology is often not tied directly to ad tech vendors or even indirectly -- although google and facebook is probably a different story. Often analytics services are used to find out what a websites demographics are for direct ad sales and so that company can target the correct demographic for advertisements they are purchasing elsewhere.
In my opinion the greatest threats to your personal privacy are Google, Facebook, and data breaches.
Google and Facebook know basically everything there is to know about you and are using it as effectively as it can to serve ads and do who knows what else. The main worry with these two companies is that they are so big it's hard to know what they are doing and insane amount of market space they own.
Data breaches are a privacy nightmare because a lot of companies store data in a way that says "we will never get hacked" and then they get hacked. So your name, address, social, and a bunch of other data are often easy to pull down in one big chunk.
If I had to make one law to improve privacy and data protection it would be a law that forces transparency. Users would be able to easily understand how and what their data is being used for. This would probably put the brakes on the most nefarious business practices from the people with the most data and make it obvious how little data most other ad tech companies actually have.
There could also be some kind of rating system that reveals much data a company has. D1 would be the highest level, this would be google or facebook meaning they basically know everything about you. It could go to down to D10 there is zero data.
Side Note: I find it hilarious how people complain about ad tech companies giving them super poorly targeted ads and also complain how much data they have. If they had a lot of data the ads wouldn't be poorly targeted. :)
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Comment on Reflections on past lessons regarding code quality. in ~comp
barnesjon LinkExcellent post. In many cases, software engineers must also compete with the ideals of the organization they work for. I've often found that code quality can be problematic because other team...Excellent post. In many cases, software engineers must also compete with the ideals of the organization they work for. I've often found that code quality can be problematic because other team members and/or leadership do not value it. It's very difficult for a single engineer to maintain code quality when there are 3 - 5 engineers contributing who are not trying to maintain code quality.
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Comment on Maps showing California as an island in ~science
barnesjon LinkWhat on earth had happened? How had such a large piece of America been wrenched free? The Spanish clergyman Antonio de la Acensión played a crucial role. Two decades after sailing along the West Coast in 1602–3, Acensión began arguing in letters and books that California was an (enormous) island. It seems he wanted to extend the Gulf of California a great deal further north and so invalidate Sir Francis Drake’s claim of “Nova Albion” for England (as Acensión’s version would have had Drake landing on the island of California, rather than the mainland).
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Maps showing California as an island
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Comment on Do any of you have blogs? in ~creative
barnesjon LinkMy blog is primarily about coding and gets updated whenever I find something I think is worthy of sharing, sometimes it's a lot and sometimes it's not much. https://theswitchstatement.com/My blog is primarily about coding and gets updated whenever I find something I think is worthy of sharing, sometimes it's a lot and sometimes it's not much. https://theswitchstatement.com/
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Comment on Have any hobbies that are hard to admit? in ~hobbies
barnesjon LinkI recently started lifting weights but I'm in terrible shape from completely neglecting body for 15 years. I really don't want anyone to know. I'm embarassed that I'm such bad shape and I also...I recently started lifting weights but I'm in terrible shape from completely neglecting body for 15 years. I really don't want anyone to know. I'm embarassed that I'm such bad shape and I also just don't want to talk about it. Not interested in advice or supplements. I have all the help I need from youtube.
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Comment on What do you appreciate about your partner(s)? in ~life
barnesjon (edited )LinkI'm 32 years old and have been married for almost 14 years, yes I got married when I was 18. Our relationship has been enormously successful because my wife and I are a team. We have both made...I'm 32 years old and have been married for almost 14 years, yes I got married when I was 18. Our relationship has been enormously successful because my wife and I are a team. We have both made mistakes and had issues, we've both slacked and haven't pulled out weight but we have both been patient with one another. We have allowed each other to grow and to change and we've allowed ourselves to be changed.
The worst advice a young person can get is "You are perfect the way you are", it's 100% false. Firstly, no one is perfect. Secondly, anytime you bring two or more humans to gather in the same area concessions must be made. Things have to be shared, habits have to change, and agreements have to be made.
I believe the definition of a good relationship is two people who care enough to change for another, they actively attempt to serve each other as much as possible, and they are committed to sticking it out through the roughest times.
Extreme caveats: No one should put up with violence physical, emotional, sexual etc. National domestic abuse hotline https://www.thehotline.org/ ( if you are suffering reach out)
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Comment on Siddhartha discussion in ~humanities
barnesjon Link ParentFeel free to steal, glad you found it helpful.Feel free to steal, glad you found it helpful.
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Comment on Siddhartha discussion in ~humanities
barnesjon LinkReading Siddartha helped me to get my first internship. I was interviewing for the internship and the manager explained all their technologies and I had no experience in any of them. She asked...Reading Siddartha helped me to get my first internship. I was interviewing for the internship and the manager explained all their technologies and I had no experience in any of them. She asked what I could offer to the company and I said something like, "I can read, I can learn, and I can work hard". I'm not sure it's an exact quotation from Siddartha but it was inspired by reading it. Apparently, it was a decent answer cause I got the job.
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Better CLI Commands
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Comment on Would you consider it unhealthy to smoke pot twice a day recreationally? in ~health
barnesjon LinkI'm way late to the thread, but excited to give my two cents. I'm pro-legalization and against use. Why Pro? Considering the risk of possible additional crime and the potential health risks of...I'm way late to the thread, but excited to give my two cents.
I'm pro-legalization and against use.
Why Pro?
Considering the risk of possible additional crime and the potential health risks of marijuana use it seems like it's much more expensive for society to stop people from using marijuana via the police than by educating people on negative effects. It should be pursued in the same way cigarettes have been demonized.Why am I against using?
Well, anecdotes.I've personally known 3 people that have used marijuana to treat other mental health problems, smoking made them feel less depressed so they smoked. Which some people might count as positive. However, in all of these cases, the side effects of marijuana caused them way more problems. The lethargy for these folks got intense and they're lives went down the drain. Can't pay the bills, oh well. My kids can't read, no big deal. The car got towed, someone will help me out. It's a bad thing for people to treat their own depression without professional help psychoactive drugs on top of severe mental health issues can be very dangerous.
Your objections might be that it was there mental health problems that caused their lives to go down the drain. But many times I had seen these same people get clean and their lives turned right around every time. You might say it's because they were using other drugs or alcohol and that's probably true. It's really hard to say. But I'm trying to give some background on what's formed my opinion and that's my personal experience with people who use marijuana daily and that experience has been really bad.
Also, it's definitely addictive, maybe not in the same heroin is. I worked with someone at a large retail chain that would smoke all day. Before work, on every break, and after work just non stop high all day. I don't know how he managed to keep his job. He eventually went to rehab to deal with the issues he had that he felt made him want to be high all the time.
So what's my point?
Marijuana has the potential to ruin lives. I would say treat marijuana the same you treat alcohol -- which also ruins lives -- which you consider it too much if someone were drinking twice a day every day? I will leave that up to you.Note: This is me trying to be helpful, don't beat me up. I wouldn't might having a constructive debate though :) .
I guess we know different people, the people I know complain about getting ads that are unrelated to them. I suppose that's the problem with anecdotes over data.