derekiscool's recent activity

  1. Comment on When you were first getting your driver's license, what were you afraid of? in ~transport

    derekiscool
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    Like many dumb teenagers, I wasn't really afraid of anything. It's easy, when you're young and naive, to think that you're always in control. Now, at 30, I'm much more afraid (maybe cautious would...

    Like many dumb teenagers, I wasn't really afraid of anything. It's easy, when you're young and naive, to think that you're always in control.

    Now, at 30, I'm much more afraid (maybe cautious would maybe be a better word) of driving in general - mostly due to other drivers. You could be doing everything right and to the letter of the law, but still end up in a life-altering (or ending) crash.

    4 votes
  2. Comment on Asia turns back to coal as war chokes off natural gas in ~enviro

    derekiscool
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    Hopefully, this triggers society to have some clarity of thought and start turning to renewables

    Hopefully, this triggers society to have some clarity of thought and start turning to renewables

    5 votes
  3. Comment on The 49MB web page in ~comp

    derekiscool
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    First, I'm fascinated that you're able to use the web with JS disabled. But to your point, basically nobody outside of highly technical users has any idea that any of this is going on. On the...

    First, I'm fascinated that you're able to use the web with JS disabled.

    But to your point, basically nobody outside of highly technical users has any idea that any of this is going on.

    On the bright side, a good ad blocker can prevent nearly all of this crap.

    26 votes
  4. Comment on A top US counterterrorism official resigns, citing the Iran war (gifted link) in ~society

    derekiscool
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    There's also a great fear of retribution, I think. "Petty revenge at all costs" is a very driving character trait of Trump, and everybody sees it. Biden was so aware of this that he felt the need...

    There's also a great fear of retribution, I think. "Petty revenge at all costs" is a very driving character trait of Trump, and everybody sees it.

    Biden was so aware of this that he felt the need to blanket pardon his whole family to protect them from Trump.

    Everybody knows (even those that won't admit it) that he's fully weaponized ICE and the DOJ to go after his enemies.

    All of which makes the capitulation all the more infuriating, to be honest.

    9 votes
  5. Comment on Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports

    derekiscool
    Link Parent
    As far as I know, Russell didn't have any issues in the race, just the first run of Q3

    As far as I know, Russell didn't have any issues in the race, just the first run of Q3

    1 vote
  6. Comment on Why do I almost never catch colds anymore? in ~health

    derekiscool
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    Yup. After we started sending my kid to daycare, I spent about 75% of the next 3 months sick with one thing or another

    Try having kids and you’ll see how resilient your immune system really is.

    Yup. After we started sending my kid to daycare, I spent about 75% of the next 3 months sick with one thing or another

    16 votes
  7. Comment on What are you no longer a fan of? in ~talk

    derekiscool
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    I used to love hockey (watching it). Then there was a bit of a kerfuffle a few years ago about showing support for LGBTQ which basically led me (and many others) to realize that a large portion of...

    I used to love hockey (watching it). Then there was a bit of a kerfuffle a few years ago about showing support for LGBTQ which basically led me (and many others) to realize that a large portion of NHL players are homophobic/bigoted. I completely stopped watching after that. And I'm sad to see that I made the correct choice after seeing how (most of) the US players gleefully celebrated with a fascist government.

    13 votes
  8. Comment on US Pentagon declares Anthropic a threat to national security in ~society

    derekiscool
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    The absolute stupidity of banning your entire military industrial complex from using the best AI tool is astounding. I just can't comprehend doing something this moronic, petty, and damaging to...

    The absolute stupidity of banning your entire military industrial complex from using the best AI tool is astounding. I just can't comprehend doing something this moronic, petty, and damaging to the country because your feelings got hurt for being rejected.

    I have to imagine that when this goes to court, it will be overturned. There's 0 credible reason for this ban.

    7 votes
  9. Comment on US President Donald Trump reviews executive order for nationwide voter suppression in ~society

    derekiscool
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    A question for somebody who's literate in the legal system: Is there any actual legal basis for this? I read a summary of the powers granted by National Emergencies Act (NEA), and elections aren't...

    A question for somebody who's literate in the legal system: Is there any actual legal basis for this? I read a summary of the powers granted by National Emergencies Act (NEA), and elections aren't mentioned once. On top of that, wouldn't any law giving power of elections to the president be unconstitutional since it's very clearly spelled out that elections are run by the states?

    Edit - Putting on my conspiracy hat for a minute: One thing that intrigues me is the inclusion of banning voting machines and forcing hand-counted paper ballots. I'm actually all in favor of paper ballots and hand-counting them alongside the tabulation machines to verify accuracy. But there's some decent statistical evidence out there that voting machines in swing states were compromised in favor of republicans. Paired with the shady last-minute updates that were done to the machines, there's a very real possibility that the election was truly fraudulent in favor trump.

    I wouldn't be surprised to see the ban of voting machines disappear in the final version of this, and if it does - that all but screams confession to me.

    10 votes
  10. Comment on Netflix ditches deal for Warner Bros. Discovery after Paramount’s offer is deemed superior in ~movies

    derekiscool
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    It really does. Totally unrelated, but I just bought a 5TB HDD and downloaded BitTorrent for the first time in over a decade

    It really does. Totally unrelated, but I just bought a 5TB HDD and downloaded BitTorrent for the first time in over a decade

    9 votes
  11. Comment on Netflix ditches deal for Warner Bros. Discovery after Paramount’s offer is deemed superior in ~movies

    derekiscool
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    Whelp, this is incrediblely disappointing. Another giant media corporation soon-to-be directly controlled by a far-right billionaire family. Time to cancel HBO...

    Whelp, this is incrediblely disappointing. Another giant media corporation soon-to-be directly controlled by a far-right billionaire family. Time to cancel HBO...

    21 votes
  12. Comment on Discord: Getting global age assurance right: what we got wrong and what's changing in ~tech

    derekiscool
    Link Parent
    Like sparkle said, children have cards in their name as authorized users of a parent's credit card. My son is less than a year old and has a card in his name (to give him a head start on building...

    Like sparkle said, children have cards in their name as authorized users of a parent's credit card. My son is less than a year old and has a card in his name (to give him a head start on building credit, if you're wondering why.)

    1 vote
  13. Comment on Anyone get into caffeine (coffee/tea) as an adult? in ~food

    derekiscool
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    Not me personally, but my MiL started drinking coffee at ~56, just a few years before she retired. To paraphrase her, there were a lot of morning drives that would have been easier with caffeine....

    Not me personally, but my MiL started drinking coffee at ~56, just a few years before she retired. To paraphrase her, there were a lot of morning drives that would have been easier with caffeine.

    In my experience, as somebody who's gone through periods of lots of coffee or zero caffeine - once you get adjusted to it for the first time, the effects are kind of negligible even after long periods of abstinence.

  14. Comment on Leaked email suggests Ring plans to expand ‘search party’ surveillance beyond dogs in ~tech

    derekiscool
    Link Parent
    As far as I know, Eufy security and doorbell cams only store footage locally by default. Granted, the app is still the primary way to interact with them, so theoretically, it would be possible for...

    As far as I know, Eufy security and doorbell cams only store footage locally by default.

    Granted, the app is still the primary way to interact with them, so theoretically, it would be possible for them to access your footage. But you could also just disconnect it from wifi and access footage exclusively via the microSD if that's what you wanted.

    4 votes
  15. Comment on Warner Bros. Discovery considers restarting talks with Paramount in ~tv

    derekiscool
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    I would prefer not to have all media consolidated into mega corporations, but I uncomfortably find myself rooting for Netflix. Paramount ruins almost everything it touches, and the Ellison will...

    I would prefer not to have all media consolidated into mega corporations, but I uncomfortably find myself rooting for Netflix. Paramount ruins almost everything it touches, and the Ellison will certainly use the extra control of media to spread more right-wing propaganda.

    20 votes
  16. Comment on Border czar Tom Homan says Minnesota immigration surge is ending in ~society

    derekiscool
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    I hope the people of Minnesota get some peace and quiet soon. They've dealt with so much. I don't have faith that this will last, though, and I fear they are just moving on to terrorize the next...

    I hope the people of Minnesota get some peace and quiet soon. They've dealt with so much.

    I don't have faith that this will last, though, and I fear they are just moving on to terrorize the next blue city on the list.

    15 votes
  17. Comment on The ten best and ten worst US foreign policy decisions in ~humanities.history

    derekiscool
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    Regardless of opinions on the "accuracy" of the ordering/choices, there's some interesting history in this list. It's obviously too soon to fully judge the ramifications, but everything is...

    Regardless of opinions on the "accuracy" of the ordering/choices, there's some interesting history in this list.

    It's obviously too soon to fully judge the ramifications, but everything is pointing to the entire past year of foreign policy making the worst 10 list. It would be very interesting to revisit this list in 10-15 years.

    9 votes
  18. Comment on Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month in ~tech

    derekiscool
    Link Parent
    I don't have an issue with protecting children (and agree with you, in fact. They are very vulnerable and easy to manipulate), but I strongly disagree with basically every method that governments...

    I don't have an issue with protecting children (and agree with you, in fact. They are very vulnerable and easy to manipulate), but I strongly disagree with basically every method that governments are implementing. There are much more secure ways to do it and we should focus on those, in my opinion.

    7 votes
  19. Comment on Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month in ~tech

    derekiscool
    Link Parent
    I don't like any solution that requires me to send any personal information. It's just setting up the perfect system for tons of powerful actors to misuse your data (whether that be corporations...

    I don't like any solution that requires me to send any personal information. It's just setting up the perfect system for tons of powerful actors to misuse your data (whether that be corporations selling, leaking, and analyzing it, or the government creating profiles on us with nefarious purposes).

    Outside of the big social media platforms, I'm not sure I agree that there is much benefit to age verification anyway.

    The only age gating I would be comfortable with is some sort of standardized router level age-gating. Where incoming connections send include a flag indicating minimum age, and the verification is handled locally. And for cellular devices, it could be handled on the device as well.

    6 votes
  20. Comment on Why Google just issued a rare 100-year bond in ~finance

    derekiscool
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    Link Parent
    For a layman, *what does "no meaningful restrictive covenants" mean? Edit: *

    For a layman, *what does "no meaningful restrictive covenants" mean?

    Edit: *

    10 votes