crulife's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
crulife (edited )LinkI'm a bit disappointed at the level of security in 2026. the surface area for supply chain attacks is wide and surprisingly unused (that we know of) every program can generally speaking read and...I'm a bit disappointed at the level of security in 2026.
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the surface area for supply chain attacks is wide and surprisingly unused (that we know of)
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every program can generally speaking read and write the files of every other program, unless you use Flatpaks et al, which remains a bit awkward
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Nix has increased state-of-the-art when it comes to declarative configurations, but I feel like we're waiting for an "Arch Linux" moment, i.e. somebody making it much simpler without diminishing the power too much
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new laptop prices, wow. If I upgraded my X1 Carbon to the latest model with the same ram/ssd specs, I'd pay 5000 euros
Just in everyday usage, things are pretty awesome. Audio and graphics seem solved: Wayland is amazing and so is pipewire. Windows has been made completely obsolete thanks to Valve, and Apple survives (in my mind) only thanks to their amazing hardware.
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Comment on Compact phone in the works for the fans of small phones in ~tech
crulife Link ParentI meant https://commodore.net/store/callback-8020/ -- not the Android phone that's the primary focus in this post.I meant https://commodore.net/store/callback-8020/ -- not the Android phone that's the primary focus in this post.
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Comment on Operation Bluebird launches Twitter.now in ~tech
crulife LinkThis looks like a scam site designed to steal money from people who either hate Elon Musk a bit too much or liked Twitter a little too much.This looks like a scam site designed to steal money from people who either hate Elon Musk a bit too much or liked Twitter a little too much.
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Comment on Software engineers / programmers: how’s it going? in ~comp
crulife LinkI've worked in software-related areas for 25+ years. Things are completely the same as before, i.e. everything changes completely every 5 years. This AI thing is perhaps a bit more radical than...I've worked in software-related areas for 25+ years. Things are completely the same as before, i.e. everything changes completely every 5 years. This AI thing is perhaps a bit more radical than usual, but conceptually kinda the same: everything changes all the time.
I kinda like it. I'm able to make things happen that I could never have 5 years ago. Understanding all of it is becoming more of a challenge, though.
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Comment on Compact phone in the works for the fans of small phones in ~tech
crulife LinkThat's nice -- roughly the size of the iPhone 13 mini, which is 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.65mm. Commodore upcoming flip phone is even smaller though (116 x 66 x 19.4). Completely unproven at this point, of...That's nice -- roughly the size of the iPhone 13 mini, which is 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.65mm. Commodore upcoming flip phone is even smaller though (116 x 66 x 19.4). Completely unproven at this point, of course.
I'll let you know how it is when/if I ever get it. Preorder is in.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
crulife (edited )LinkAngels Fall First, a very interesting PvP scifi FPS that apparently combines space battles with ground battles. I didn't get very deep into it, but I like that people are trying something...Angels Fall First, a very interesting PvP scifi FPS that apparently combines space battles with ground battles. I didn't get very deep into it, but I like that people are trying something different.
Bodycam, an incredibly realistic-looking and -sounding FPS with the focus on technical excellence and attention to detail. They've been hyping a September release that will bring a lot of interesting new stuff, so I decided to buy this and give it a shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YUWQXv0MTk
It was good. The combat is as chaotic as you might imagine it being in real life and the sound design is already amazing without the upcoming new stuff.
KeeperRL. This is a GPL-licensed Dungeon Keeper rogue clone with artistic assets available for a price in Steam. Perhaps the best of its genre, but the mid game is pretty challenging.
Stardew Valley. I'm not really playing this myself at this point, but worth mentioning that I managed to set up a 3 player local co-op for my family with two controllers and a keyboard/mouse combo. This required to create a fake first controller, otherwise the first player would also take the first real controller for themself. Works surprisingly well.
Running a platform for others to play Stardew Valley feels a bit like work. Like it would be a serious catastrophe if their farms got wiped and we didn't have any backups. I guess Steam cloud saves can be trusted... but is that enough, I sometimes wonder.
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Comment on What are your favourite anime and/or manga? in ~anime
crulife LinkI have a soft spot for Madoka, the original 12 episode series. The story, the art and the soundtrack (best thing Yuki Kajiura has done) all were superb. The followups were entirely unnecessary.I have a soft spot for Madoka, the original 12 episode series. The story, the art and the soundtrack (best thing Yuki Kajiura has done) all were superb.
The followups were entirely unnecessary.
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Comment on We economists have done the maths: ‘growth’ is a doomed strategy – there is a better way in ~finance
crulife Link ParentThis implies that socialism creates far weaker economies, if they can be simply sanctioned away. It seems to me that simply "powerful computers" isn't quite the magic sauce that would make those...The USA or allies issue trade sanctions or other unreasonable tarrifs.
This implies that socialism creates far weaker economies, if they can be simply sanctioned away.
The planned economy failed before 1995 when computers began to be able to operate on a worldwide logistics scale.
It seems to me that simply "powerful computers" isn't quite the magic sauce that would make those systems work. But I'm certainly intrigued of the possibility of a deeply planned economy working in the future with the help of LLMs and other new computing things.
That rules out an awful lot of the supposed intrinsic inevitable failure of planned economies.
All economies are essentially planned economies. Socialism is a bit more invasive than that.
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Comment on We economists have done the maths: ‘growth’ is a doomed strategy – there is a better way in ~finance
crulife (edited )Link ParentCould be the inevitable end of our lives that's driving the hurry. It can be trivially denied using data available to anyone. (GDP is nominal per capita) Country GDP 1980 GDP today South Korea...What's the hurry? Seems like it's due to greed and competition.
Could be the inevitable end of our lives that's driving the hurry.
I don't see how anyone could deny that poor countries are severely lacking in economic growth of nearly all kinds.
It can be trivially denied using data available to anyone.
(GDP is nominal per capita)
Country GDP 1980 GDP today South Korea $1,700 $36,000 Taiwan $2,400 $34,000 Ireland $6,400 $105,000 Poland $1,600 $24,000 Romania $1,500 $20,000 Chile $2,500 $17,000 Malaysia $1,900 $12,500 Mauritius $1,150 $12,000 China $195 $13,300 Botswana $1,150 $7,500 Life expectancy has grown by ~20 years in low-income countries. Child mortality has lessened significantly. Literacy, electrification, access to clean water: pretty much everything has become better almost everywhere.
Some countries are waging war or are internally mismanaged so badly (usually due to socialist policies) that they have become poorer. Pretty much every poor country that has been able to avoid war and has adapted sensible free-market, non-kleptocratic liberal policies has grown significantly in every way.
Admittedly, "sensible" is doing a lot of lifting in that previous paragraph. Unfortunately, there's no easy recipe for growth. It's not just "do whatever Milton Friedman suggested", but it still seems rather clear that in a broad stroke the free market approach works very well.
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Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes
crulife Link ParentUsenet had pretty much unrestricted speech in many groups, with *plonk* being the main way to moderate. In many ways, 4chan was its most faithful continuation.Usenet had pretty much unrestricted speech in many groups, with
*plonk*being the main way to moderate. In many ways, 4chan was its most faithful continuation. -
Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes
crulife LinkThis place is remarkable for actually being able to hold people with wildly differing opinions without all of it going to shit. I haven't seen anything like this anywhere else, and I have been...This place is remarkable for actually being able to hold people with wildly differing opinions without all of it going to shit. I haven't seen anything like this anywhere else, and I have been swimming in these things since 1996.
Somehow it manages to work even without a blocking/muting feature. It's not the technology that does it.
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Comment on Which privacy-friendly home appliances exist? e.g. robot vacuum cleaners. in ~tech
crulife LinkKärcher sells pretty decent robot vacuums, but I suspect their software stack is entirely made in China. However, since Kärcher itself is Germany-based, they are bound to some relatively strict EU...Kärcher sells pretty decent robot vacuums, but I suspect their software stack is entirely made in China. However, since Kärcher itself is Germany-based, they are bound to some relatively strict EU privacy laws. Unless they found some loophole around that.
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Comment on What game are you terrible at? in ~games
crulife LinkJust got wiped 4th time in a row in Road to Vostok on my first trip of the game to the village.Just got wiped 4th time in a row in Road to Vostok on my first trip of the game to the village.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
crulife LinkBlindsight by Peter Watts. I really liked how the story was told, and the story itself was quite interesting too. It's another "vastly smarter aliens are contacting us" scenario, but from an...Blindsight by Peter Watts. I really liked how the story was told, and the story itself was quite interesting too. It's another "vastly smarter aliens are contacting us" scenario, but from an interesting perspective. I thought a couple parts of it resonated especially well with the LLMs, essentially alien minds that we're growing.
Available for free here: https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
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Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
crulife (edited )LinkI'm not deeply aware of how the US healthcare system works, so a few questions that might be ignorant follow. Isn't it so that a vast majority (80% or more) of insurance claims are accepted and...I'm not deeply aware of how the US healthcare system works, so a few questions that might be ignorant follow.
Isn't it so that a vast majority (80% or more) of insurance claims are accepted and paid normally? Are the denials done according to a contract that both parties agreed to?
Given how the healthcare resource is not infinite, doesn't there always have to be some kind of rationing? Why is the rationing made by an insurance company that individuals are free to choose worse than rationing made by some central committee?
How is the limited healthcare resource improved by forcing the insurance companies to top up their senior management's security?
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Comment on Elon Musk on tomatoes in ~food
crulife (edited )LinkPerhaps besides the point a bit, but anyone know on what logic do Youtube comments work? If you went to this interview based on just those comments, you'd think that The Economist is shutting down...Perhaps besides the point a bit, but anyone know on what logic do Youtube comments work? If you went to this interview based on just those comments, you'd think that The Economist is shutting down in shame because of how thoroughly Musk won this debate. I watched through the whole thing and obviously nothing like that happened, to either direction, and it wasn't even a debate.
How does one practically commentbomb Youtube with bots? That's gotta be what's happening there, right? Google just allows that?
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Comment on Elon Musk on tomatoes in ~food
crulife Link ParentI mean the smell and taste of homegrown tomatoes is on its own level, but people in countries like Spain and Italy can enjoy similar quality from groceries. I think the point was mostly that...I mean the smell and taste of homegrown tomatoes is on its own level, but people in countries like Spain and Italy can enjoy similar quality from groceries. I think the point was mostly that homegrown tomatoes are about 20 times more expensive in total.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
crulife LinkI got a heart rate monitor and then started doing a lot more exercise biking, because it allowed me to control the intensity better. Turns out that you don't need to kill yourself every exercise...I got a heart rate monitor and then started doing a lot more exercise biking, because it allowed me to control the intensity better. Turns out that you don't need to kill yourself every exercise to gain some benefits.
I need to get back to Taekwondo, but that's a higher mental hurdle to pass. Last proper session was several months ago.
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Comment on Why normal people aren’t using AI agents in ~tech
crulife Link ParentPerhaps it's because old people see death more clearly around the corner, which makes everything that allows doing anything faster valuable.When it comes to AI, old people are more eager to adopt it than young people, which indicates the reasons for adopting it aren't the same.
Perhaps it's because old people see death more clearly around the corner, which makes everything that allows doing anything faster valuable.
Muse released a new album on June 26th, "The Wow! Signal". For an old Muse listener, this is just honey to my ears. It's like an amalgamation of everything that's great about the band.