davek804's recent activity

  1. Comment on What's your take on capital and corporal punishment? in ~talk

    davek804
    Link
    I am completely against this idea. I'll make my point quite plainly. No human, under any circumstances, has the inalienable right to kill another human. That is my moral code. Adding the state's...

    I am completely against this idea. I'll make my point quite plainly. No human, under any circumstances, has the inalienable right to kill another human. That is my moral code.

    Adding the state's monopoly on violence doesn't change the equation at all. Furthermore, as a citizen, I accede to the state's authority and thus provide it my portion of its legitimacy. I would argue that when the state kills a human, in a representative democracy, that blood is on my hands.

    I don't like killing people through my tax dollars. It is morally abhorrent, in any modality.

    I will preemptively answer every whataboutism strawman in one fell swoop. No matter the crime: the perpetrator is removed from society, society pays for their monitoring and their sustenance. The perpetraitor will serve out the required sentence by law and then be returned to society when their debt is paid.

    3 votes
  2. Comment on I built an omni-directional ball-wheeled bike in ~engineering

    davek804
    Link Parent
    I watched the AT-AT this morning, too. Then I backed out of the rabbit hole. I can't help but think about the costs/ROI. Pretty cool to watch.

    I watched the AT-AT this morning, too. Then I backed out of the rabbit hole. I can't help but think about the costs/ROI. Pretty cool to watch.

    2 votes
  3. Comment on I built an omni-directional ball-wheeled bike in ~engineering

    davek804
    Link
    I saw this via blogs last week. It was a pretty fun watch. I was really struck by the guy's talent and knowledge. Impressive - if impractical - build. So cool to see how much can be done with 3d...

    I saw this via blogs last week. It was a pretty fun watch. I was really struck by the guy's talent and knowledge. Impressive - if impractical - build. So cool to see how much can be done with 3d printing nowadays.

    5 votes
  4. Comment on Looking for a simple lists app in ~tech

    davek804
    Link
    I use a combination of markdown and YAML in text files... but I'm also a heathen I suppose. shopping: groceries: - oranges - seitan - green onions household: - laundry detergent - soap hardware: -...

    I use a combination of markdown and YAML in text files... but I'm also a heathen I suppose.

    shopping:
      groceries:
        - oranges
        - seitan
        - green onions
      household:
        - laundry detergent
        - soap
      hardware:
        - snow shovel
    

    Obviously I don't care much whether it's perfectly formatted, because I'm not driving any system/application with it. I'm looking at it as a human. The crutch of the basic indentation/formatting/typing of the underlying language helps me organize things super easily.

    Plus side? I don't rely on any third party. Just a text file on my device(s).

    But again, I'm a heathen.

    Let's mock up your additional layers:

    shopping:
      storeA:
        groceries:
          - oranges
          - seitan
          - green onions
        household-goods:
          - lemon-pledge
          - mop
        random:
          - batteries
      storeB:
        - laundry detergent
        - soap
      storeC:
        - snow shovel
    

    It's kinda whatever. I'm done now ... I can't imagine you want my YAML nonsense anyways :D

    7 votes
  5. Comment on WEATHERCORE - Songs from the Weather Channel 1984-1996 in ~music

    davek804
    Link
    I'm sorry. But it's like each of these songs is background music to some rotating slides with sunbeams and clouds.

    I'm sorry. But it's like each of these songs is background music to some rotating slides with sunbeams and clouds.

    8 votes
  6. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Survival Weekly in ~games

  7. Comment on OK Go - A Stone Only Rolls Downhill (2025) in ~music

    davek804
    Link
    The message of the last five seconds before the credits seems incredibly clear to me. Put the screens down. You don't need sixty four of them, or one for sixty four minutes. Just see another...

    The message of the last five seconds before the credits seems incredibly clear to me.

    Put the screens down. You don't need sixty four of them, or one for sixty four minutes. Just see another person, in person. Even for a moment.

    5 votes
  8. Comment on Stablecoins are non-fungible, bank deposits are fungible in ~finance

    davek804
    Link Parent
    I don't deny that the document I linked is 15 years old (what's up, 2010...). But I'm not inclined to trust businesses that prey on the poor with usurious rates. Sure, the well-off and...

    I don't deny that the document I linked is 15 years old (what's up, 2010...).

    But I'm not inclined to trust businesses that prey on the poor with usurious rates.

    Sure, the well-off and well-educated can and do benefit from credit cards. And rewards are a nice way to slightly reduce the collective costs we as a society pay the payment processor.

    1 vote
  9. Comment on Stablecoins are non-fungible, bank deposits are fungible in ~finance

    davek804
    Link Parent
    Source: https://www.bostonfed.org/-/media/Documents/Workingpapers/PDF/ppdp1003.pdf

    For credit cards, consumers likely think most about their benefits: delayed
    payment—“buy now, pay later”—and the rewards earned—cash back, frequent flier miles,
    or other enticements. What most consumers do not know is that their decision to pay by
    credit card involves merchant fees, retail price increases, a nontrivial transfer of income from
    cash to card payers, and consequently a transfer from low-income to high-income consumers.

    In contrast, the typical merchant is acutely aware of the ramifications of his customers’
    decisions to pay with credit cards. For the privilege of accepting credit cards, U.S. merchants
    pay banks a fee that is proportional to the dollar value of the sale. The merchant’s bank
    then pays a proportional interchange fee to the consumer’s credit card bank.1 Naturally,
    merchants seek to pass the merchant fee to their customers. Merchants may want to recoup
    the merchant fee only from consumers who pay by credit card. In practice, however, credit
    card companies impose a “no-surcharge rule” (NSR) that prohibits U.S. merchants from
    doing so, and most merchants are reluctant to give cash discounts.2 Instead, merchants
    mark up their retail prices for all consumers by enough to recoup the merchant fees from
    credit card sales.

    Source: https://www.bostonfed.org/-/media/Documents/Workingpapers/PDF/ppdp1003.pdf

    2 votes
  10. Comment on Stablecoins are non-fungible, bank deposits are fungible in ~finance

    davek804
    Link Parent
    Credit card usage rewards aren't really a tip. They're refunding you a small percentage of the processing fee that the credit card company charges to merchants who utilize their payment processing...

    Credit card usage rewards aren't really a tip. They're refunding you a small percentage of the processing fee that the credit card company charges to merchants who utilize their payment processing services (and those merchants, who, in run, raised their prices on you by a minimum of the fee they are charged).

    Consumers are the losers. Credit card rewards are just helping you lose a little less.

    4 votes
  11. Comment on How UI helps you hate breakable weapons a bit less in ~games

    davek804
    Link Parent
    Yeah. I think I largely agree with you. I don't like durability mechanics on weapons. But I get why they exist. They're there for immersion, honesty, and mechanics' sake. In a similar vein, I...

    Yeah. I think I largely agree with you.

    I don't like durability mechanics on weapons. But I get why they exist. They're there for immersion, honesty, and mechanics' sake.

    In a similar vein, I respect a limited inventory for weapons. In BOTW I found the root level of slots bullshit. And I found the expansion mechanism somewhat bullshit. But neither made me stop playing. I accepted both as fair and acceptable mechanics.

    If I want a different mechanic, the world is free for me to design my game. I happily enjoyed their game and their story.

    5 votes
  12. Comment on Tildes Book Club - The Ministry for the Future - How is it going? in ~books

    davek804
    Link Parent
    Also, I'd like to hear a bit about your work if you'd be willing to share it in an anonymous fashion.

    Also, I'd like to hear a bit about your work if you'd be willing to share it in an anonymous fashion.

    3 votes
  13. Comment on Tildes Book Club - The Ministry for the Future - How is it going? in ~books

    davek804
    Link Parent
    Mmm. I agree with your feedback. I read the book a few years back. The thing that struck me around realism and our response to climate change was the pumping. He dedicated a decent number of...

    Mmm. I agree with your feedback. I read the book a few years back.

    The thing that struck me around realism and our response to climate change was the pumping. He dedicated a decent number of passages discussing the scale of the problem and just how fruitless the effort was from a physics perspective. We had to try, but it was going to cost more energy/emissions than it was going to help arrest the problem.

    4 votes
  14. Comment on Tildes Book Club - The Ministry for the Future - How is it going? in ~books

    davek804
    Link Parent
    I'm willing to listen if you've got anything you'd like to say about it! I certainly didn't find it an enjoyable or universally good read. I mostly appreciated the ethical questions it made me ask...

    I'm willing to listen if you've got anything you'd like to say about it! I certainly didn't find it an enjoyable or universally good read.

    I mostly appreciated the ethical questions it made me ask myself.

    2 votes
  15. Comment on Tildes Book Club - The Ministry for the Future - How is it going? in ~books

    davek804
    Link Parent
    I find the way the subject / target changes between chapters was kind of jarring. The series-of-short-stories aspect was a bit tight to keep pace.

    I find the way the subject / target changes between chapters was kind of jarring. The series-of-short-stories aspect was a bit tight to keep pace.

    1 vote
  16. Comment on Tildes Book Club - The Ministry for the Future - How is it going? in ~books

    davek804
    Link Parent
    If you couldn't work through the first of the three Mars books ... MFTF is a tough sell instead. I'd say his Science in the Capital series is quicker to pick up and enjoy, as was Aurora. Even 2312...

    If you couldn't work through the first of the three Mars books ... MFTF is a tough sell instead.

    I'd say his Science in the Capital series is quicker to pick up and enjoy, as was Aurora. Even 2312 picked up well.

    Red Moon, MFTF, and the Mars trilogy are all slower build up.

    3 votes
  17. Comment on What side-gigs or passive income methods have you found helpful for earning a small amount of extra money? in ~finance

    davek804
    Link Parent
    Not really. Quite similar, though . https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_network I'd say a few of these 'sourcing networks' have found me. It was questionable at first. You want to pay me $x to...

    Not really. Quite similar, though . https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_network

    I'd say a few of these 'sourcing networks' have found me. It was questionable at first. You want to pay me $x to take a survey, or $x10 for a 60 minute webcam interview?

    Turns out it's quite legit and you can do pretty well in this as a side hustle!

    I even saw there's an entire subreddit dedicated to it, prior to leaving the platform.

    4 votes
  18. Comment on What side-gigs or passive income methods have you found helpful for earning a small amount of extra money? in ~finance

    davek804
    Link
    Expert networks. I do well with those.

    Expert networks. I do well with those.

    2 votes
  19. Comment on Starting a community-maintained Tildes source code fork in ~tildes

    davek804
    Link
    Ya know, I think this is ridiculous and unnecessary. My entire career as a DevOps nerd has taught me containers are a FAD. Not one of my worst devs uses the containers I write for running their...

    Ya know, I think this is ridiculous and unnecessary. My entire career as a DevOps nerd has taught me containers are a FAD. Not one of my worst devs uses the containers I write for running their apps on servers or k8s. They keep using the local builds without even so much as a version manager.

    Containers are a FAD. You don't need one for the tildes development environment. Stop being such a bandwagoneer!

    /s

    8 votes
  20. Comment on CES 2025 in ~tech

    davek804
    Link Parent
    Yeah, I have an LG OLED TV I've been using for 1.5 years. The weakening pixels we call 'burn-in' isn't actually a debate ... It's a physical reality of the technology. On my TV, I don't see any...

    Yeah, I have an LG OLED TV I've been using for 1.5 years. The weakening pixels we call 'burn-in' isn't actually a debate ... It's a physical reality of the technology.

    On my TV, I don't see any degradation as a user. But when I run it through solid colors on the whole screen, I can see the lack of uniformity. It's not much, but it is there.

    And it'll always only go in one direction.

    I have no issues with the performance of either display, and I LOVE the brightness and lack of a backlight.

    It's an amazing technology. But it's not a joke that an IPS LCD will look closer to its original quality after a decade than a WOLED or QDOLED will.

    I honestly love reading about this stuff, and I definitely don't want to tie up my identity with any particular panel. OLED is amazing. But I do wonder if it's going to be a bridge technology.

    I'll never forget the amazing AMOLED screen on my Nexus One in 2010. Too bad it was garbage in the sunlight at the time. 🤣

    1 vote