cdb's recent activity
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Comment on The cycling revolution in Paris continues: Bicycle use now exceeds car use in ~transport
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
cdb Link ParentIt's probably my fault for not being more clear. I was writing all that on my phone. There are all sorts of issues with supply and whatnot that are probably more relevant, but I just don't feel...It's probably my fault for not being more clear. I was writing all that on my phone. There are all sorts of issues with supply and whatnot that are probably more relevant, but I just don't feel like discussing. I would like to be able to just talk about one detail at a time, but I end up thinking I have to write a whole book so people don't get the wrong idea about me and switch to arguing things I'm not even talking about. Unfortunately, if you refute something that comes from one "side" then it naturally sounds like you're on the "other side." But then if I try to put all sorts of qualifiers in my comment, it dilutes the point and people start responding to those parts rather than the point I'm trying to make. Economics ends up being a hard subject to discuss, I guess. Kind of a rant, but yeah, It's still on me that I wasn't clearer, and I'm still trying to figure out how to make just one point without giving the impression that I'm making another point.
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Comment on Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient in ~enviro
cdb Link ParentIf you want to play it safe, you still have to draw a line somewhere. I'm responsible for the deaths of many thousands, if not millions, of insects just trying to keep them out of my home. Does...If you want to play it safe, you still have to draw a line somewhere. I'm responsible for the deaths of many thousands, if not millions, of insects just trying to keep them out of my home. Does that make me a monster? I would think that your suggestion makes sense, but I can't figure out how to follow it without logically falling down a slope either towards everything mattering or nothing mattering. The perspective presented here only makes it harder to know what playing it safe even means. What does "play it safe" mean to you, and how did you choose that position?
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Comment on Clothes shopping as a short & fat (trans) guy with narrow shoulders in ~life.style
cdb LinkHave you considered jeans made to measure? There are some relatively cheap online options. Although the cheaper options may not be the most precise with their measurements, it's a hell of a lot...Have you considered jeans made to measure? There are some relatively cheap online options. Although the cheaper options may not be the most precise with their measurements, it's a hell of a lot better than anything off the rack if you have a body type that isn't represented in stores.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
cdb LinkJust finished The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner. Basically, the message is to focus on process rather than results. Not much new, but it's a good reminder. My biggest takeaway from it is the...Just finished The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner. Basically, the message is to focus on process rather than results. Not much new, but it's a good reminder. My biggest takeaway from it is the suggestion to deliberately slow down what you're doing, which helps you be more thoughtful about your actions, which in turn can get you into a flow state more easily. Reminds me of the cliche "slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
Moved onto The Demon Haunted World by Sagan, which seems to be a defense of scientific and rational thinking. So far I'm thinking it's pretty much preaching to the choir, because the only people who would bother reading such a book are likely to already be familiar with such concepts. Even so, I'm hoping it will help me be more open to examining my own beliefs and also make me a better communicator, since Sagan was a pretty well-received science communicator.
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
cdb Link ParentFHA just started offering 40 year mortgage in 2023. I'm trying to talk about trends longer than a year or two. As far as I know, most lenders don't offer 40 year mortgages, and they are very...FHA just started offering 40 year mortgage in 2023. I'm trying to talk about trends longer than a year or two. As far as I know, most lenders don't offer 40 year mortgages, and they are very rarely used.
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
cdb Link ParentFirst and foremost, I am not saying that there is nothing wrong with house prices. I feel like you are assuming that I am, and I am not. Just talking about details. The average household size has...First and foremost, I am not saying that there is nothing wrong with house prices. I feel like you are assuming that I am, and I am not. Just talking about details.
The average household size has decreased over time, even since 2015. Household size defined as number of people living in the same housing unit.
You said "inflation adjusted" and then started talking about price to income ratio. I think affordability is worth discussing, but not by using averages like CPI for all items. Things change in relative price all the time, and that's ok. What's not ok is if homes are unaffordable for most people, which is the current state.
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
cdb Link ParentHere's the definition I'm referring to: So, increased number of roommates would increase the household size.Here's the definition I'm referring to:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a household is considered to be all persons living within one housing unit. This includes apartments, houses, or single rooms, and consists of both related and unrelated people living together. For example, two roommates who share a living space but are not related would be considered a household in the eyes of the Census.
So, increased number of roommates would increase the household size.
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Comment on San Francisco sues Oakland over proposed airport name change in ~transport
cdb Link ParentHmm.. that makes sense. Maybe I'm just not that open minded about the east bay and should try to be more objective. I'm even a Raiders fan, but I've always thought of Oakland as an unpleasant...Hmm.. that makes sense. Maybe I'm just not that open minded about the east bay and should try to be more objective. I'm even a Raiders fan, but I've always thought of Oakland as an unpleasant place to visit.
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Comment on San Francisco sues Oakland over proposed airport name change in ~transport
cdb Link ParentI feel like visiting "The SF Bay Area" for tourism isn't really a common thing. Visiting SF, yes, but other than the Golden Gate, you don't need to be crossing any other bridges. I honestly feel...I feel like visiting "The SF Bay Area" for tourism isn't really a common thing. Visiting SF, yes, but other than the Golden Gate, you don't need to be crossing any other bridges.
I honestly feel like this is just trying to scam people into thinking that the east bay is a reasonable destination to fly into even if you don't have relatives who live in Walnut Creek or something.
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
cdb Link ParentIncreasing house prices is a natural consequence of increasing real incomes. In other words, if income is increasing faster than the price of goods, people will just spend more on housing. In the...Increasing house prices is a natural consequence of increasing real incomes. In other words, if income is increasing faster than the price of goods, people will just spend more on housing. In the US, the average household size has decreased over time, and the average home size has increased, which is a reflection of this. If the main problem was really the price of housing relative to the general inflation rate, people would be demanding smaller homes and more people would be living together, when it's actually the opposite.
Of course, low housing supply and wealth inequality are certainly problems we need to deal with. I'm just trying to explain why inflation-adjusted price is not meaningful when talking about housing.
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Comment on Online shopping - how convenient is it actually? in ~life.style
cdb (edited )Link ParentYeah, the value proposition of Amazon is hard to ignore. Last night during dinner the subject of a cleaning product for the dog came up in conversation. I took out my phone, and after some...Yeah, the value proposition of Amazon is hard to ignore. Last night during dinner the subject of a cleaning product for the dog came up in conversation. I took out my phone, and after some discussion about ingredients, I ordered what we needed. The whole process took about 3 minutes, including the discussion, and it's scheduled to arrive today.
I've come to loathe wasting my time going to the store for things like this, especially not knowing if they'll even have what I want in stock. I've found that there are very few things I actually need to have in hand right away.
edit: Now that I've thought about it a bit, I'm pretty sure I actually get most things sooner with online shopping than physical retail. Usually I have to wait until the weekend or a rare light work day to get the shopping done. If I'm busy, maybe that trip to the store gets delayed for weeks or even months. With online shopping I just order whenever I think about it and it arrives whether I'm busy or not.
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Comment on Why Gen Z is quietly giving up in ~life
cdb Link ParentI think it's on topic and worth discussing how often we're seeing this narrative. Kind of reminds me of how suicides are contagious. It's not that those who committed suicide weren't struggling,...I think it's on topic and worth discussing how often we're seeing this narrative. Kind of reminds me of how suicides are contagious. It's not that those who committed suicide weren't struggling, but maybe it put them over a threshold to have the thought of suicide planted in their head. In the same way I wonder if the thought of hopelessness isn't being planted in people's heads just because it's mentioned so often. Of course there are problems in the world, but if people are being told that many people are giving up on life, it kind of normalizes it. This is in line with the video's point about how social media is affecting us.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Piranesi in ~books
cdb (edited )Link ParentI felt that Piranesi was the only character that had any complexity, which might have been the point. Everyone else was just completely one-track without any information about their motivations....I felt that Piranesi was the only character that had any complexity, which might have been the point. Everyone else was just completely one-track without any information about their motivations. It makes it almost like a children's book, but I guess that's a reflection of Piranesi's mental state, which is basically an adult with the curiosity of a child. However, without more character development, it also made the climax a little hollow for me. Piranesi is telling me that he cares whether the Other dies, but I don't really care since he's just a caricature of a jerk to me. Then despite bits of Matthew peeking out here and there in the middle of the book, at the end it seems like he's just as gone as the beginning.
Other - Neutral Evil
Prophet - Chaotic Evil
Raphael - Lawful Goodedit: Well, that turned out to be kind of a negative comment. I guess I just feel like complaining, and it's easier to talk about negative things than positive things. Otherwise, I enjoyed the the concept and the journey.
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Comment on Truong My Lan: Vietnamese billionaire sentenced to death for $44bn fraud in ~finance
cdb Link ParentYou are assuming too much. The only thing I'm trying to say is the first sentence of each of my previous comments,taken literally. I'm not trying to argue any position other than that the top...You are assuming too much. The only thing I'm trying to say is the first sentence of each of my previous comments,taken literally. I'm not trying to argue any position other than that the top level comment cannot be taken as the default position without further argument or evidence, so I'm asking for some arguments or evidence.
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Comment on Truong My Lan: Vietnamese billionaire sentenced to death for $44bn fraud in ~finance
cdb Link ParentI think it's a perfectly legitimate question to ask why someone thinks their suggestion would be a good idea. This situation isn't slam dunk proof that the death penalty is a bad deterrent, but...I think it's a perfectly legitimate question to ask why someone thinks their suggestion would be a good idea. This situation isn't slam dunk proof that the death penalty is a bad deterrent, but it's some evidence. My main point is that I think we need some evidence (or at least some substantial argument) that expansion of the death penalty would be a good idea, which we haven't gotten yet.
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Comment on Truong My Lan: Vietnamese billionaire sentenced to death for $44bn fraud in ~finance
cdb (edited )Link ParentI was kind of hoping my question would be taken literally. Why would we be better off by instituting that kind of policy? The only reference we have in this thread so far is an example where the...I was kind of hoping my question would be taken literally. Why would we be better off by instituting that kind of policy?
The only reference we have in this thread so far is an example where the presence of the death penalty did not deter the crime. Most of what I've read suggests that increasing penalties has little effect on crime deterrence in general, but I'm sure there are some exceptions, which we could discuss if given some reference material. I think there is some evidence that ascending penalties for repeated offenses like a "three strikes" rule are effective, but that's not really applicable to this kind of situation. If the point is revenge, then I'm opposed to it.
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Comment on Texas is replacing thousands of human exam graders with AI in ~tech
cdb Link ParentI think any automated program that ingests text and spits out a score could be considered some kind of AI. The PDF references papers describing systems using neural networks and modern NLP...I think any automated program that ingests text and spits out a score could be considered some kind of AI.
The PDF references papers describing systems using neural networks and modern NLP techniques like BERT and ELECTRA. If anything is considered AI, this is probably it.
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Comment on Truong My Lan: Vietnamese billionaire sentenced to death for $44bn fraud in ~finance
cdb Link ParentWhy do you think it would help? It didn't deter this person.Why do you think it would help? It didn't deter this person.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
cdb LinkJust finished The Da Vinci Code on audiobook. I had avoided it when it was popular, but one day I saw it while looking for a something to spend my Audible credits on, and I figured might as well....Just finished The Da Vinci Code on audiobook. I had avoided it when it was popular, but one day I saw it while looking for a something to spend my Audible credits on, and I figured might as well. It's sold more copies than most of the Harry Potter books, after all. Well, it ended up being pretty much what I expected: cheesy, but quite entertaining. Every chapter seemed to end on some kind of artificial cliffhanger. Usually something like: "Robert was shocked at what he saw, but I'm not going to tell you what it was until after the next chapter!" It got to the point that I started laughing out loud every time it happened.
Despite somewhat low expectations, I was still a little let down, but I understand its appeal. The book came out around the same time as the National Treasure movie, so I guess these kinds of treasure hunt stories were popular around that time. I certainly enjoyed watching Nick Cage run around deciphering clues while talking "history."
Connecting is such a big issue with bike lanes. There are a lot of bike lanes in between home and work, but not in the busiest and most dangerous areas to ride in. The sidewalks are also poorly maintained in those areas, probably because foot traffic isn't high near freeway entrances and other car-dominant areas. So, a bike commute ends up not being viable if I'm risk-averse. A coworker died in a bike accident recently, and the number of ghost bikes I've seen is not encouraging.