blivet's recent activity
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Comment on US President Joe Biden pardons son in ~society
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Comment on Bomb threats made against US President-Elect Donald Trump cabinet nominees in ~society
blivet Link ParentI doubt that letting fascists do as they please will save democracy.I doubt that letting fascists do as they please will save democracy.
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Comment on Bomb threats made against US President-Elect Donald Trump cabinet nominees in ~society
blivet Link ParentI’m not sure why you think the US under Trump is going to be a liberal democracy. He and his gang have made no secret of their intention to ensure that it is no such thing.I’m not sure why you think the US under Trump is going to be a liberal democracy. He and his gang have made no secret of their intention to ensure that it is no such thing.
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Comment on Bomb threats made against US President-Elect Donald Trump cabinet nominees in ~society
blivet Link ParentJust because the majority wants something doesn’t make it right. You seem to be arguing that if the majority has voted to violate the rights of some group, that group is obligated to accept it.Just because the majority wants something doesn’t make it right. You seem to be arguing that if the majority has voted to violate the rights of some group, that group is obligated to accept it.
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Comment on Bomb threats made against US President-Elect Donald Trump cabinet nominees in ~society
blivet Link ParentI read an interesting comment once somewhere to the effect that failing to defend yourself against an aggressor is not non-violence, but in fact enables and encourages further violence.I read an interesting comment once somewhere to the effect that failing to defend yourself against an aggressor is not non-violence, but in fact enables and encourages further violence.
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Comment on Great shows with interesting premises? in ~tv
blivet Link ParentI love the conclusion. Apparently at the time viewers were so enraged that McGoohan went into hiding, but anything more straightforward would have been a disappointment, really. And given what had...I love the conclusion. Apparently at the time viewers were so enraged that McGoohan went into hiding, but anything more straightforward would have been a disappointment, really. And given what had come before, what did people honestly expect? The whole thing was at a minimum borderline surreal the entire time.
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Comment on In Northeast D.C., a rancorous post-election fight erupts — over bike lanes in ~transport
blivet Link ParentThat’s probably got something to do with it, but I noticed in myself that I had gotten so used to there being almost no traffic during the lockdown that once it was over I was driving quite...That’s probably got something to do with it, but I noticed in myself that I had gotten so used to there being almost no traffic during the lockdown that once it was over I was driving quite recklessly for a normal level of traffic.
I made a deliberate effort to stop doing that, but I suspect that a certain number of people just felt entitled to keep driving as if there was no one else on the road, because a certain number of people are inconsiderate jackasses.
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Comment on ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ AKA ‘Glicked’ fuel $205m combined weekend, best pre-Thanksgiving frame in eleven years in ~movies
blivet Link ParentI was just looking for a generic term to cover DVDs, streaming, or whatever. I don't see what's so awful about it.I was just looking for a generic term to cover DVDs, streaming, or whatever. I don't see what's so awful about it.
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Comment on ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ AKA ‘Glicked’ fuel $205m combined weekend, best pre-Thanksgiving frame in eleven years in ~movies
blivet Link ParentAs an actually old person who is out of touch with nearly all aspects of contemporary popular culture, it’s a little disappointing when the current batch of big movies has no appeal. I have no...As an actually old person who is out of touch with nearly all aspects of contemporary popular culture, it’s a little disappointing when the current batch of big movies has no appeal. I have no interest at all in either of these. I can usually muster up enough enthusiasm a few times a year to buy a ticket to whatever the current tentpole release happens to be, but I doubt I’ll even bother to watch these when they are available on home video.
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Comment on Daily driving linux (Fedora KDE) - My experiences after a week in ~tech
blivet Link ParentEven Apple hasn’t managed to get sleep to work entirely smoothly, and they have control of the entire environment. I guess it’s a very difficult problem.Even Apple hasn’t managed to get sleep to work entirely smoothly, and they have control of the entire environment. I guess it’s a very difficult problem.
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Comment on Wonder announces acquisition of Grubhub in ~food
blivet Link ParentThe whole idea of having to tip generously beforehand just to convince someone to deliver your order seems completely backwards to me. I wouldn’t use a service like that unless I had to.The whole idea of having to tip generously beforehand just to convince someone to deliver your order seems completely backwards to me. I wouldn’t use a service like that unless I had to.
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Comment on Taylor Swift fans are leaving X for Bluesky after Donald Trump’s US election in ~society
blivet (edited )Link ParentIt’s been a half century since 18-year-olds got the vote. I think 14 presidential elections is enough of a sample to conclude that young people just don’t vote in sufficient numbers to win...Those swifties should have voted then.
It’s been a half century since 18-year-olds got the vote. I think 14 presidential elections is enough of a sample to conclude that young people just don’t vote in sufficient numbers to win elections.
From what I can see, most people make their political decisions based on gut feelings. I think that most young people feel deep down that a choice of which old person is going to run things is pretty much irrelevant to them.
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Comment on LGBTQ folks check-in thread - how're you all doing? in ~lgbt
blivet (edited )Link ParentI may be older than you, and yeah, I felt the same way about her as VP. She was pretty much a nonentity for me. I wouldn't say I got excited about her, but when she stepped in I thought she might...I'm sure I'll get some static over this statement, but Harris honestly was a big zero for a lot of us middle-aged Democrats, myself included, prior Biden stepping aside.
I may be older than you, and yeah, I felt the same way about her as VP. She was pretty much a nonentity for me. I wouldn't say I got excited about her, but when she stepped in I thought she might be able to do it. She had the qualifications and track record without the tarnish of 30 years of Republican mud-slinging that Hillary had. I assumed that compared to Trump, who was clearly not all there anymore, she had a solid chance. But I guess I'm living in my own bubble in a way, caused by the MAGA/Fox News bubble. I have a very hard time seeing the world the way Trump's followers do.
On reflection it seems to me that most voters just go with who they like on a personal level, and the Democratic presidential candidates who have lost in my lifetime have tended to project a supercilious air, or could be seen that way at least. Obama came dangerously close to giving that impression, but neither of his opponents really had the common touch either. One of the complaints about Al Gore well before he became vice president was that he seemed to think he was better than other people, whereas Dubya famously was "a guy you could have a beer with". People didn't know what Trump's policies were, exactly, but they felt like they knew him from seeing him on TV for so long, and he told them he shared their worries about the price of eggs or whatever. If the Democrats are ever going to elect another president, they are going to have to come up with someone like Bill Clinton, who despite being a bona fide intellectual managed to come across as a regular guy.
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Comment on LGBTQ folks check-in thread - how're you all doing? in ~lgbt
blivet (edited )Link ParentWell, I certainly hope so, but the past eight years have seen Trump saying and doing ever more unacceptable things. Reasonable people keep thinking that now finally his followers will see the...Well, I certainly hope so, but the past eight years have seen Trump saying and doing ever more unacceptable things. Reasonable people keep thinking that now finally his followers will see the light, but it never seems to happen. Nothing seems to put a dent in his popularity.
About Harris underperforming, I don’t think the election was rigged or anything like that, but it’s very hard for me to reconcile the stadium-filling rallies, long lines at polling places, and outpouring of donations and volunteer work with her lackluster performance on election day. I myself donated a decent amount, and even wrote postcards to swing states, and I never do things like that. I really don’t get it, especially when you compare her campaign with Trump’s poorly attended rallies, where people walked out on his low energy, aimless speeches. If you had asked me to predict which group of voters would decide that it wasn’t worth the hassle of voting this time around I wouldn’t have picked the Democrats.
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Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society
blivet (edited )Link ParentI don’t disagree with your points, but I happened to run into this brief article about a Democratic Congressional Representative who is on track to win her district handily, and who feels that the...I don’t disagree with your points, but I happened to run into this brief article about a Democratic Congressional Representative who is on track to win her district handily, and who feels that the Democratic leadership is simply not addressing the concerns of ordinary people. At least Trump pretends to.
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Comment on Does the Great Pumpkin really exist in the Peanuts Universe? in ~comics
blivet Link ParentYou may be right that it is a reference to something topical that is now obscure. Schulz would do that from time to time. I remember one strip that I first saw in a compilation. The punchline was...You may be right that it is a reference to something topical that is now obscure. Schulz would do that from time to time.
I remember one strip that I first saw in a compilation. The punchline was “Hyannis Port”, and I had no idea what it meant. My parents explained to me that it was where the Kennedy family spent their vacations.
There was another strip with a gag built around one of the gang seeing a photo of a little girl playing on the White House lawn. It was only many years later that I understood that it was a reference to a famous photograph of Caroline Kennedy.
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Comment on Does the Great Pumpkin really exist in the Peanuts Universe? in ~comics
blivet LinkThis is a fun question. I loved Peanuts when I was growing up back in the 60s and 70s, and I remember a lot of the strips in the article you linked to from when they first ran. I just looked up...This is a fun question. I loved Peanuts when I was growing up back in the 60s and 70s, and I remember a lot of the strips in the article you linked to from when they first ran.
I just looked up the strip for the following day, and it has nothing to do with Halloween, so apparently this issue is never resolved.
My gut feeling is that the Great Pumpkin doesn’t really exist in the Peanuts world. Linus may be the wisest character in the strip, but he’s also neurotically dependent on his security blanket, so he’s not entirely stable. The Great Pumpkin is his delusion.
I also think that it would be very out of character for Charlie Brown to lie to Linus, or tease him.
That leaves the other two in-universe possibilities you laid out.
I think the real explanation is that Schulz was usually pretty good about continuity, but not above contradicting himself for the sake of a gag.
I think it’s much more likely that Schulz would break continuity than have his own self-insert do something so out of character.
Even the idea that a radio broadcast would mention the Great Pumpkin is a bit contradictory, since in other places, the Great Pumpkin is presented as Linus’ invention that only he and the other kids in the gang know about.
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Comment on Reddit is profitable for the first time ever, with nearly 100 million daily users in ~tech
blivet Link ParentI deleted my comments back around the time of the protests, and have spent almost no time there since, but I have visited a few times via search results for programming questions, and I visited a...But with a long, slow bleed of people who actually make the website good (not just mods, but high quality commenters and contributors) the site is doomed to become Facebook or Twitter eventually.
I deleted my comments back around the time of the protests, and have spent almost no time there since, but I have visited a few times via search results for programming questions, and I visited a subreddit devoted to a TV series once to see if there was any interesting discussion. The programming subs didn't provide anything useful and seemed pretty deserted, and the quality of discussion on the TV sub seemed way below what I remembered.
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Comment on AI is killing remote work in ~tech
blivet (edited )Link ParentWhatever you say. My experience working with that type of programmer has been uniformly terrible. People should have some pride in their work, especially if they’re being well paid. I’m sick of...Whatever you say. My experience working with that type of programmer has been uniformly terrible.
People should have some pride in their work, especially if they’re being well paid. I’m sick of people who can’t be bothered to do their jobs.
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Comment on AI is killing remote work in ~tech
blivet Link ParentI think I was clear enough, but yes, I think that there is plenty to be ashamed of in being motivated by nothing but "a love for making a lot of money".I think I was clear enough, but yes, I think that there is plenty to be ashamed of in being motivated by nothing but "a love for making a lot of money".
Agree. The pearl-clutching ITT is ridiculous.