blivet's recent activity
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Comment on The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official teaser in ~movies
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Comment on The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official teaser in ~movies
blivet (edited )Link ParentI'll go see it if it seems like it's fun, but I'm really tired of all this multiverse stuff. I would probably have more patience for it if they had bothered to finish the Kang storyline instead of...I'll go see it if it seems like it's fun, but I'm really tired of all this multiverse stuff. I would probably have more patience for it if they had bothered to finish the Kang storyline instead of just dropping it. I understand that they couldn't continue with Jonathan Majors, but they could have hired another actor.
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Comment on AI is creating a generation of illiterate programmers in ~tech
blivet (edited )Link ParentIt's not a solution, I suppose, but it would be helpful if educators made more of an effort to communicate to their students the actual purpose of the various exercises they are assigned. A lot of...It's not a solution, I suppose, but it would be helpful if educators made more of an effort to communicate to their students the actual purpose of the various exercises they are assigned. A lot of kids have spent their entire academic careers effectively being told that the point is to get an A, rather than, for instance, to learn how to research a topic and write a document laying out their findings.
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Comment on Why are American dogs so obsessed with Lamb Chop? in ~life.pets
blivet Link ParentYeah, I’m quite a bit older than most of my coworkers and I sort of have to watch what I say sometimes. I once made an offhand comment that the next meeting would take place “same Bat-time, same...it still makes me sad to watch in realtime as things I remember are collectively forgotten.
Yeah, I’m quite a bit older than most of my coworkers and I sort of have to watch what I say sometimes. I once made an offhand comment that the next meeting would take place “same Bat-time, same Bat-channel” and got a bunch of blank looks.
I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, but the Batman TV show was a huge cultural phenomenon in its time, and it’s weird to have seen it vanish from the collective memory.
More significantly, there are major historical events that I remember experiencing in real time that young people nowadays are apparently unaware ever happened. I read somewhere recently that most young people have never heard of Bobby Kennedy’s assassination, for example. That’s disturbing for a number of reasons, not all of which have to do with my getting old.
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Comment on She is in love with ChatGPT in ~tech
blivet Link ParentSimilarly, I think it’s funny that image generation algorithms have so much trouble with hands, when that is probably the biggest difficulty human illustrators have in figure drawing.Similarly, I think it’s funny that image generation algorithms have so much trouble with hands, when that is probably the biggest difficulty human illustrators have in figure drawing.
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Comment on Are LLMs making Stack Overflow irrelevant? in ~tech
blivet Link ParentYeah, for me SO primarily serves as an index to or expansion of the poorly organized or skimpy documentation of the systems I use.Almost all SO questions can basically be answered by anyone with a thorough knowledge of the documentation.
Yeah, for me SO primarily serves as an index to or expansion of the poorly organized or skimpy documentation of the systems I use.
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
blivet (edited )Link ParentFingerprint authentication is really frustrating for me. It inevitably stops working after a week, or sometimes less. My skin will become more or less dry depending on the weather, and that’s all...Fingerprint authentication is really frustrating for me. It inevitably stops working after a week, or sometimes less. My skin will become more or less dry depending on the weather, and that’s all it takes for my fingerprint to become unacceptable, I guess. I get really tired of having to set up a new fingerprint that I know isn’t going to work for long.
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
blivet Link ParentYeah, I follow someone on Mastodon who says that he worked at Google and tried without success for years to get them to implement even the most basic customer support for individual accounts. He...Yeah, I follow someone on Mastodon who says that he worked at Google and tried without success for years to get them to implement even the most basic customer support for individual accounts.
He recommends not activating a passkey with Google, because their implementation is difficult to understand and if you get locked out of your account you have no recourse.
Personally I resist using passkeys because none of the entities pushing them has seen fit to explain clearly what they are, how they work, or what to do if they stop working. All I see is, “New! Click here!”
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Comment on Recommend your social/softer science fiction books in ~books
blivet Link ParentHonestly, we are living in a Philip K Dick world. A huckster TV star president leading a political movement that’s entirely divorced from reality is something straight out of one of his novels.Honestly, we are living in a Philip K Dick world. A huckster TV star president leading a political movement that’s entirely divorced from reality is something straight out of one of his novels.
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Comment on How do I cope with/recover from divorce? in ~health.mental
blivet Link ParentJust being able to talk with a therapist during my divorce was enormously helpful to me, so I’m glad to hear you’re doing that. I don’t have a ton of advice to offer, but I will say that in my...Just being able to talk with a therapist during my divorce was enormously helpful to me, so I’m glad to hear you’re doing that.
I don’t have a ton of advice to offer, but I will say that in my case I eventually came to realize that it was for the best that my then-wife wanted out. If the marriage isn’t working it isn’t working.
I get along well with my ex (which is a very good thing since we have a child together) but I’m glad I’m not married to her anymore. All in all I think we weren’t really suited to each other, and it was a mistake to have gotten married in the first place.
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Comment on Why Canada should join the EU in ~society
blivet Link ParentThe Economist is a British publication. The column in question was written by its Brussels bureau chief.The whole thing feels like a typical American speaking on things they have no idea about.
The Economist is a British publication. The column in question was written by its Brussels bureau chief.
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Comment on Meta scrambles to delete its own AI accounts after backlash intensifies in ~tech
blivet Link ParentThis reminds me of when it came to light a few years ago that most of the female users on Ashley Madison were fake. Meta might be able to squeeze a bit more money out of their advertisers by...This reminds me of when it came to light a few years ago that most of the female users on Ashley Madison were fake. Meta might be able to squeeze a bit more money out of their advertisers by simulating an active community to keep their remaining users engaged, but at some point it will break down.
It’s kind of depressing, because there is definitely a market for what Facebook used to be. I’m sure that even young people would like a convenient way to keep in casual touch with the people they know.
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Comment on Elon Musk and the right’s war on Wikipedia in ~tech
blivet Link ParentI have a hard time empathizing with people who feel that diversity initiatives, however misguided, are a bigger threat to the common good than actual fascism.I have a hard time empathizing with people who feel that diversity initiatives, however misguided, are a bigger threat to the common good than actual fascism.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~society
blivet (edited )LinkRIP. I voted for him in the first presidential election I was eligible to vote in, in the long ago year of 1980.RIP. I voted for him in the first presidential election I was eligible to vote in, in the long ago year of 1980.
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Comment on The ugly truth about Spotify is finally revealed in ~music
blivet Link ParentA lot of pop music nowadays is essentially written by committee. To my mind once you’ve got a dozen or so people weighing in on maximizing the appeal of some piece of fluff, you’re not all that...A lot of pop music nowadays is essentially written by committee. To my mind once you’ve got a dozen or so people weighing in on maximizing the appeal of some piece of fluff, you’re not all that far from what an algorithm would generate.
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Comment on Never forgive them - On digital platforms vs users in ~tech
blivet Link ParentThe article is free. It's not reasonable to expect an author to want nothing at all in exchange for their work. The subscription popup didn't appear immediately on page load, and unlike most sites...The article is free. It's not reasonable to expect an author to want nothing at all in exchange for their work. The subscription popup didn't appear immediately on page load, and unlike most sites nowadays you can dismiss it and continue reading.
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Comment on Never forgive them - On digital platforms vs users in ~tech
blivet Link ParentWow, I wish I had known about that back then!Wow, I wish I had known about that back then!
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Comment on Never forgive them - On digital platforms vs users in ~tech
blivet Link ParentNot to downplay the annoyances provoked by the current version of the web, but I don't think anything could top the phenomenon of popups spawning popups spawning popups that you'd get if you...Not to downplay the annoyances provoked by the current version of the web, but I don't think anything could top the phenomenon of popups spawning popups spawning popups that you'd get if you clicked on the wrong link, where you could only make it stop by killing the browser process.
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Comment on What long standalone book is worth its page count? in ~books
blivet (edited )Link ParentIt’s yet another example of Stephenson’s laziness and self-indulgence. He goes on endless info-dump tangents about whatever topic interests him at the moment, and then just stops writing when he...It’s yet another example of Stephenson’s laziness and self-indulgence. He goes on endless info-dump tangents about whatever topic interests him at the moment, and then just stops writing when he gets bored, with only a token effort at wrapping up the story.
I know that for a lot of his readers it’s the journey, not the destination, but I’m not one of those people. I don’t mind the digressions at all, but I expect a professional writer to display a certain level of dedication to their craft. He should grit his teeth and finish the story he started, even if he doesn’t feel like it. After D.O.D.O. and Seveneves I decided I was done with him.
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Comment on Why US Democrats got the politics of immigration so wrong for so long in ~society
blivet Link ParentIt's funny how this statement applies to nearly every political topic.What's maddening is that Democrats proposed legislation that would make progress towards fixing this, and Republicans killed it because they'd rather campaign on the broken system than take steps to fix it.
It's funny how this statement applies to nearly every political topic.
I thought that the idea of Kang always being the same everywhere was OK, because it reinforced the idea that he was special, somehow above and beyond even the multiverse.
I’ll admit that I’m not super familiar with him from the comics, though. I caught mentions of him when I was a kid without actually getting an idea of his overall story. So there may be something I’m missing.
But yeah, I’m sure you’re right that some executive decided that there were just too many problems with that plot thread, and pulled the plug.
I’m not the target demographic, but I enjoyed Quantumania, not least because the character design of the quantum realm denizens was absolutely charming.