blivet's recent activity
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Comment on US mortgage rates back to 7% in ~finance
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Comment on ‘I grew up with it’: readers on the enduring appeal of Microsoft Excel in ~tech
blivet LinkI’m reminded of a dictum about requirements gathering from The Daily WTF to the effect that, no matter what your users say they want, what they really want is Excel. To echo what others have said...I’m reminded of a dictum about requirements gathering from The Daily WTF to the effect that, no matter what your users say they want, what they really want is Excel.
To echo what others have said here, it really seems like Excel has a near-ideal interface. Everyone wants to use it for everything.
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Comment on Severance | Season 2 official teaser in ~tv
blivet (edited )Link ParentYeah, three years is just too long between seasons for a continuing story. I’m in my 60s, and I remember half-seriously wondering if I would live to see the ending of Better Call Saul. Another...Yeah, three years is just too long between seasons for a continuing story. I’m in my 60s, and I remember half-seriously wondering if I would live to see the ending of Better Call Saul.
Another problem with long delays is that the people involved have careers to consider. Apparently Disney has approved it, and everyone involved with The Orville wants to do another season, but it’s been so long that they all have other commitments.
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Comment on Severance | Season 2 official teaser in ~tv
blivet (edited )Link ParentI suspect that the plot point spoiled towards the end of the trailer is from the first episode, so I’m not too bothered. But I’m definitely not going to rewatch the trailer to look for anything else.I suspect that the plot point spoiled towards the end of the trailer is from the first episode, so I’m not too bothered. But I’m definitely not going to rewatch the trailer to look for anything else.
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Comment on Star Trek: Section 31 | Teaser trailer in ~movies
blivet Link ParentYou should watch the linked video. It’s short, and it’s a quite effective demonstration of how newer Star Trek is bad in a different way from the bad parts of the older series.You should watch the linked video. It’s short, and it’s a quite effective demonstration of how newer Star Trek is bad in a different way from the bad parts of the older series.
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Comment on The Electoral College is bad in ~misc
blivet Link ParentOK, so keep the number of Representatives as it is, but allocate Electors without the artificial cap.OK, so keep the number of Representatives as it is, but allocate Electors without the artificial cap.
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Comment on Star Trek: Section 31 | Teaser trailer in ~movies
blivet (edited )Link ParentI'd put it even more strongly, that Section 31 goes against everything Star Trek is supposed to stand for. The idea of a gritty black ops branch of Starfleet that does whatever it takes to get the...section 31 is barely trek to begin with
I'd put it even more strongly, that Section 31 goes against everything Star Trek is supposed to stand for. The idea of a gritty black ops branch of Starfleet that does whatever it takes to get the job done, no matter how dirty, runs exactly contrary to Gene Roddenberry's optimistic view of the future.
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Comment on Steve Klabnik's Tutorial on Jujutsu (git replacement) in ~comp
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Comment on Steve Klabnik's Tutorial on Jujutsu (git replacement) in ~comp
blivet Link ParentThe fact that it impossible to distinguish the Git Manpage Generator from the real thing is a good enough illustration of the problem.The fact that it impossible to distinguish the Git Manpage Generator from the real thing is a good enough illustration of the problem.
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Comment on Passwords have problems, but passkeys have more in ~tech
blivet (edited )Link ParentYeah, I’ve avoided passkeys because none of the vendors that have tried to make me use one can be bothered to clearly explain what they are or how they work. 2FA is bad enough. I got a new phone...Yeah, I’ve avoided passkeys because none of the vendors that have tried to make me use one can be bothered to clearly explain what they are or how they work.
2FA is bad enough. I got a new phone recently and was locked out of my Google account because I couldn’t confirm my login via the Gmail app on my phone. Every recovery method pointed me back to the Gmail app.
I’ve been using the internet since the mid-1990s, and I’ve never had an account compromised. When I have lost access to an account, it was always because of “security” BS.
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Comment on ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ to lose $150 million to $200 million in theatrical run after bombing at box office in ~movies
blivet (edited )Link ParentThere's that, but I also think that there are a lot of people who understand the creator's perspective on the character, but just don't care. They enjoy seeing Homelander in The Boys terrorize and...There are just always people with exceptionally poor media literacy who latch on to these characters without understanding what the author is actually saying about them.
There's that, but I also think that there are a lot of people who understand the creator's perspective on the character, but just don't care. They enjoy seeing Homelander in The Boys terrorize and kill people who get in his way, and ignore the fact that he is unambiguously the bad guy of the story. The events of the past few years have shown pretty clearly that a significant portion of the American public is made up of genuinely bad people who enjoy making others suffer.
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Comment on Routine dental X-rays are not backed by evidence—experts want it to stop in ~health
blivet Link ParentYes, I wouldn't use insurance companies' unwillingness to pay for a procedure as any kind of reliable indicator of whether it is necessary.Yes, I wouldn't use insurance companies' unwillingness to pay for a procedure as any kind of reliable indicator of whether it is necessary.
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Comment on Why we need to fight back against sexy Asian lady robots in ~life
blivet (edited )Link ParentIt’s been a long time since I watched Firefly, but I remember thinking that, given the importance of China to the culture depicted in the show, it was strange that there were no Asian characters...More Asian actors would have helped
It’s been a long time since I watched Firefly, but I remember thinking that, given the importance of China to the culture depicted in the show, it was strange that there were no Asian characters to speak of. In fact, I don’t recall a single one, although as I said it’s been fifteen years or so. I always wondered if it was deliberate, if the idea was that the Chinese had kicked everyone else off Earth or something like that.
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Comment on Open source is neither a community nor a democracy in ~tech
blivet LinkI don’t disagree with DHH’s points, but I would like to know what prompted him to write this piece. It seems like a reaction to something specific.I don’t disagree with DHH’s points, but I would like to know what prompted him to write this piece. It seems like a reaction to something specific.
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Comment on Lefties of Tildes: what are some items where the left handed version is most necessary? in ~life
blivet Link ParentI had similar experiences. One example is that I never learned to tie my shoes correctly. The knot I tie comes undone quite easily. I guess it must be a left-handed version of the standard knot,...I had similar experiences. One example is that I never learned to tie my shoes correctly. The knot I tie comes undone quite easily. I guess it must be a left-handed version of the standard knot, but I ended up solving the problem long ago by tying the loops to make a sort of double knot, so I never did learn the right way.
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Comment on Apple TV+ coming to Amazon Prime Video as an add-on subscription in ~tv
blivet Link ParentI think that figure is just a measure of how long the television is turned on rather than how much time anyone is actively watching a show. Apparently a lot of people just leave the set on in the...I think that figure is just a measure of how long the television is turned on rather than how much time anyone is actively watching a show. Apparently a lot of people just leave the set on in the background all the time.
I used to have a friend who lived alone who told me that he would turn the TV on when he got home just to have some activity around the apartment. I think a lot of people do that but without being as conscious of their motivation as my friend was.
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Comment on Lefties of Tildes: what are some items where the left handed version is most necessary? in ~life
blivet Link ParentMy experience is the same as yours. I found it much more practical to adapt to using the right-handed versions of things.My experience is the same as yours. I found it much more practical to adapt to using the right-handed versions of things.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
blivet Link ParentWould you mind sharing why you hate Rails?Would you mind sharing why you hate Rails?
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Comment on Use plain text email in ~tech
blivet (edited )Link ParentYeah, I used ICQ and another service called PowWow, and as I recall you couldn’t really count on receiving a message if you weren’t signed in when it was sent. Sometimes it would be waiting for...Later, we also had things like AOL instant messenger and ICQ, but we mainly used them for synchronous chat because you had to dial in to access them.
Yeah, I used ICQ and another service called PowWow, and as I recall you couldn’t really count on receiving a message if you weren’t signed in when it was sent. Sometimes it would be waiting for you when you next signed in, sometimes it would show up later on at some point, and sometimes it would just disappear.
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Comment on Use plain text email in ~tech
blivet (edited )Link ParentYeah, this article reminds me of the kind of angry messages listserv admins would send in the 1990s. Even back then I thought it was strange that anyone would consider it desirable to have to...Yeah, this article reminds me of the kind of angry messages listserv admins would send in the 1990s. Even back then I thought it was strange that anyone would consider it desirable to have to scroll past a lengthy chain of older messages to get to what the sender actually had to say.
For us the big problem when rates were low was that any place we could afford that was halfway decent got snapped up before we even had a chance to look at it. The couple of places we did manage to make an offer on had other prospective buyers who were offering way above asking. Once rates went up we finally managed to buy a place we liked, and because the market had cooled off we were even able to haggle a bit on the price.