bret's recent activity
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Comment on What are favorite holiday themed TV episodes? in ~tv
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Comment on What possession(s) do you have that continue to delight you every time? in ~talk
bret Linkthis chef knife brings a smile to me everytime i use itthis chef knife brings a smile to me everytime i use it
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Comment on What have you spent "too much time" trying to fix or streamline? in ~talk
bret LinkThe most recent bug at work. In a nutshell, I have an excel file. In column A, each row corresponds to a line of XML code. I created a VBA macro to iterate through each line, update values, and...The most recent bug at work.
In a nutshell, I have an excel file. In column A, each row corresponds to a line of XML code. I created a VBA macro to iterate through each line, update values, and write it to an XML file. Then I use a tool in our application to upload the XML and create a bunch of assignments in our software.
The XML it created didn't have any errors parsing, but for some reason the assignments it created had some corrupted artifacts. After a lot of trial and error, I found something very weird.
If I instead copied everything from column A onto column B, and used the XML from column B, everything suddenly worked fine. If I literally copy-pasted what was then on column B back onto column A, and used the XML from column A - nope, didn't work again.
I tested this multiple times. Same results. I copied into two XML files, one from column A, and one from column B, and compared line by line. Same exact code. I even put it through AI to see if there were ANY differences, including things like leading or trailing spaces or anything like that. Zero difference between the files. Still, the column A file works and the column B file didn't.
After a full day of examining this, I simply updated the macro to copy everything on column A onto column B and use that.
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Comment on Great shows with interesting premises? in ~tv
bret Link ParentJust wanted to let you know I checked out Counterpart because of this post and so far it is absolutely fantastic (just finished s01 ep09).Just wanted to let you know I checked out Counterpart because of this post and so far it is absolutely fantastic (just finished s01 ep09).
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
bret (edited )LinkTwo purchases really surprised me how much I really loved them after buying them: Anker 120w charger - I really love the fact one compact device can fully replace my laptop charger, phone charger,...Two purchases really surprised me how much I really loved them after buying them:
Anker 120w charger - I really love the fact one compact device can fully replace my laptop charger, phone charger, and pretty much anything else I have.
ROCO Minimalist Wallet - had this wallet for YEARS and it holds up incredibly and is just so satisfying. I have not seen anyone with a slimmer wallet, and I just like it
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
bret Link Parentis there any specific knife sharpener you recommend?is there any specific knife sharpener you recommend?
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Comment on Great shows with interesting premises? in ~tv
bret Link ParentAs a huge fan of Christopher Nolan films, I'm surprised I didn't know he had a brother! Definitely checking out Person of Interest nextAs a huge fan of Christopher Nolan films, I'm surprised I didn't know he had a brother! Definitely checking out Person of Interest next
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Great shows with interesting premises?
I was just thinking how many of the TV shows I've been loving recently have a really cool premise about the world (or, at least, the characters world). From - People that enter this town are...
I was just thinking how many of the TV shows I've been loving recently have a really cool premise about the world (or, at least, the characters world).
From - People that enter this town are unable to leave (all roads lead back to town), get hunted by monster-people at night
Silo - 10,000 people live in a silo. Their history has been erased, they know nothing of the outside world.
Severance - People can disconnect their 'work-self' from their 'non-work' self via a mysterious company.
The Leftovers - Two percent of the worlds population vanish instantly.
The Devils Hour - It's hard to not give anything away in this one but the premise at the very start is a woman wakes up at 3:33AM every single day. Has a timelooping premise later on
What are some of your favorite shows in the same vein (interesting premise)?
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Comment on Real-Debrid decides to dock, no more sea sailing in ~tech
bret (edited )Linkgoddamnit. for a few glorious months i had a perfect sea-sailing setup with a chromecast, stremio, torrentio, and real-debrid. it was like if netflix had every movie and tv show known to man and...goddamnit. for a few glorious months i had a perfect sea-sailing setup with a chromecast, stremio, torrentio, and real-debrid. it was like if netflix had every movie and tv show known to man and was basically free.
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Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
bret Link ParentIt kind of depends on the extent of the involvement of those companies. One of the defining characteristics of Russia right now is the heavy amount of corruption involved in doing any business...It kind of depends on the extent of the involvement of those companies. One of the defining characteristics of Russia right now is the heavy amount of corruption involved in doing any business there. And yes, if Trump did something as bad as trying to invade, rape, and pillage another country, I would extend my discrimination to any American company not taking a stand against that.
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Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
bret Link ParentYeah, well I do.We do not discriminate based on current geopolitical issues.
Yeah, well I do.
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
bret LinkI thought the hobbit movies were a two-parter and was super disappointed when the whole desolation of smaug movie never resolvedI thought the hobbit movies were a two-parter and was super disappointed when the whole desolation of smaug movie never resolved
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
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Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society
bret LinkI live in maricopa county, home of all the crazies like Kari Lake and Joe Arpaio... absolutely can't wait for all the deranged political signs to be taken down and the mailers to stopI live in maricopa county, home of all the crazies like Kari Lake and Joe Arpaio... absolutely can't wait for all the deranged political signs to be taken down and the mailers to stop
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Comment on PocketPlay phone case in ~games
bret LinkThis is exactly what I've been looking for but for my android phone :(This is exactly what I've been looking for but for my android phone :(
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Comment on ‘Terrifier 3’ takes over box office as ‘Joker 2’ suffers 82% 2nd weekend drop in ~movies
bret Link ParentI'm the same way. I was just recommended to watch it by a friend. I get that it's cool that it's got that classic gorefest vibe. I like the genre. But I expected some kind of plot or something...I'm the same way. I was just recommended to watch it by a friend. I get that it's cool that it's got that classic gorefest vibe. I like the genre. But I expected some kind of plot or something else it has going for it. I wasn't expecting a good or even mediocre plot, but it didn't even have that.
I've read online that Terrifier 2 has a better plot, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to watch it knowing how much I did not enjoy Terrifier 1.
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Comment on Don't talk to the police in ~life
bret LinkI wrote a reddit post a few years ago that was basically just a recap of this guys book. #YSK The Dangers of Talking to Law Enforcement, Even When Innocent ##Why YSK: Innocent People Can Be Found...I wrote a reddit post a few years ago that was basically just a recap of this guys book.
#YSK The Dangers of Talking to Law Enforcement, Even When Innocent
##Why YSK: Innocent People Can Be Found Guilty, And Overcriminalization (US)###Innocent People Can Be Found Guilty
Police can mistakenly implicate innocent people because police aren't perfect.- Confirmation Bias.
After someone comes to a conclusion, it is very difficult for them to admit that they were wrong. It is much easier and more comfortable for them to convince themselves that they did not make a mistake, and that their initial accusations were correct. Their memories will gladly cooperate in that effort. Even if they are not aware of how it is happening, they might recall nonexistent details to coincide with and corroborate the story they have already begun persuading themselves to believe.
In the case of Earl Ruffin, a police officer brought a copy of his types noted from his interview with him, which he had typed up during their interview three months earlier. But he changed those noted and added three more words that were handwritten that implicated Ruffin, and this was used at trial to convict him. He was exonerated some twenty years later only after DNA evidence exonerated him.
- Imperfect Legal System. The methods law enforcement use to interrogate and gather information is surprisingly effective at getting innocent people to confess to crimes they did not commit. According to one study of 250 prisoners exonerated by DNA evidence, 16 percent of them made what’s called a false confession: admitting their commission of a crime that they did not commit.
You are imperfect.
Misspeaking or saying anything even slightly inaccurate can be devastating to your defense.
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It helps convince the police they have the right suspect, making them less likely to pursue other leads.
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The prosecutor can present that evidence to a jury, and the jury will be instructed that if they believe you knew your statement to the police was false, they are permitted to regard that knowing falsehood as evidence you are guilty.
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You can be prosecuted for the criminal offense of lying to the government. You may be sent to prison for up to five years if you made a single statement to a federal agent that turns out to be false, if the prosecutor and jury could be persuaded that you knew it was inaccurate.
Overcriminalization
You can be convicted and imprisoned for committing a crime even if you had no criminal intent and had zero knowledge that your actions were forbidden by law. There are so many thousands of laws that keep being added to that even the Congressional Research Service[is no longer able to keep count of the is no longer able to keep count of the exact number of federal crimes. ^1
The deck is stacked against you. As Justice Breyer of the United States Supreme Court complained in 1998 -
“The complexity of modern federal criminal law, codified in several thousand sections of the United States Code and the virtually infinite variety of factual circumstances that might trigger an investigation into a possible violation of the law, make it difficult for anyone to know, in advance, just when a particular set of statements might later appear (to a prosecutor) to be relevant to some such investigation.” ^2
Just about everyone, whether they know it or not, is guilty of numerous felonies for which they could be prosecuted. One estimate is that the average American now commits approximately three felonies a day. ^3
In conclusion, as former United States Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson put it:
[A]ny lawyer worth his salt will tell the suspect in no uncertain terms to make no statement to the police under any circumstances. ^4
^(1 Paul Rosenzweig, "The Over-Criminalization of Social and Economic Conduct," Champion, August 2003, 28.)
^(2 Rubin v. United States, 252 U.S. 990 (1998)^) ^Breyer, ^J. ^dissenting ^from ^denial ^of ^certiorari
^(3 Harvery Silverglate, Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent (New York: Encounter Books, 2009)^.)
^(4 Former United States Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, Watts v. Indiana, 338 U.S. 49, 59 (1949)^) ^((concurring opinion)^)
- Confirmation Bias.
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Comment on Huawei announces phone with tri-folding screen in ~tech
bret Link ParentI love mine, but the more I use it the more I am used to just using the front screen and not unfolding it at all haha. I'm kind of at the point where I think I might as well just get a regular...I love mine, but the more I use it the more I am used to just using the front screen and not unfolding it at all haha. I'm kind of at the point where I think I might as well just get a regular phone again.
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Comment on Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris: Who is leading in the US presidential election polls? in ~society
bret Link ParentYeah that's exactly what I said you got me.Are you saying that she will lose significant numbers of voters if she doesn't continue to signal that she will support Israel's genocidal campaign?
Yeah that's exactly what I said you got me.
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Comment on Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris: Who is leading in the US presidential election polls? in ~society
bret Link ParentFully disagree. The group that the 'going full left' appeals to appears much bigger on the internet than they are in reality, and the demographics that actually vote won't show up for it.Fully disagree. The group that the 'going full left' appeals to appears much bigger on the internet than they are in reality, and the demographics that actually vote won't show up for it.
Boopy doopy doo boop sex.