elight's recent activity
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Comment on Gold is back — and it has a message for us in ~finance
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Comment on Two years to save the planet, says UN climate chief in ~enviro
elight Link ParentMaking it uninhabitable for ourselves? Yes.Making it uninhabitable for ourselves? Yes.
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Comment on Two years to save the planet, says UN climate chief in ~enviro
elight Link ParentSadly, mostly agree. The vast majority of the ability to change course lies with the richest and with the governments (largely run by the richest). Most of the rich have little incentive to change...Sadly, mostly agree. The vast majority of the ability to change course lies with the richest and with the governments (largely run by the richest). Most of the rich have little incentive to change how they operate so...
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
elight LinkYet no one has said that they're spreading "Managed Democracy" via Helldivers 2? Yes, it's a farce, heavily influenced by Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, similarly lampooning fascism. The game is...Yet no one has said that they're spreading "Managed Democracy" via Helldivers 2? Yes, it's a farce, heavily influenced by Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, similarly lampooning fascism.
The game is incredible—when it doesn't crash and when you aren't dying constantly at the high difficulty levels.
In a nutshell, it's fast-paced third-person co-op PvE where you're almost always outgunned and you are certainly always outnumbered. It's just you and up to 3 other maniacal Helldivers to save the day or somethjng.
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Comment on Two years to save the planet, says UN climate chief in ~enviro
elight LinkThe global-average temperature for the past twelve months (April 2023 – March 2024) is the highest on record, at 0.70°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.58°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial...The global-average temperature for the past twelve months (April 2023 – March 2024) is the highest on record, at 0.70°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.58°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average.
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Two years to save the planet, says UN climate chief
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Comment on Duty to Warn's John Gartner breaks down Donald Trump's cognitive decline in ~health.mental
elight Link ParentEverything has trade offs and unintended consequences. I tend to agree with you; I see multiculturalism as a good thing overall.Everything has trade offs and unintended consequences.
I tend to agree with you; I see multiculturalism as a good thing overall.
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Comment on Mass shooting in Chicago leaves one child dead, ten other people injured in Back of the Yards in ~news
elight Link ParentNot liberal of me but what I wouldn't give for a strict crackdown and ban on all firearms. If successful, sure, it would lead to knife violence. However, how often do you hear about mass knifing...Not liberal of me but what I wouldn't give for a strict crackdown and ban on all firearms. If successful, sure, it would lead to knife violence. However, how often do you hear about mass knifing incidents???
Getting there from here? Probably terribly ugly.
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Comment on Duty to Warn's John Gartner breaks down Donald Trump's cognitive decline in ~health.mental
elight Link ParentToo easy to say "a ton of other factors". It's almost a tautology as no system as big as the US operates on just one or two! So, agreed, my argument is a vast simplification. And it's not backed...Too easy to say "a ton of other factors". It's almost a tautology as no system as big as the US operates on just one or two!
So, agreed, my argument is a vast simplification. And it's not backed by a deep education in poli sci. It is backed by some modicum of historical knowledge at best.
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Comment on Duty to Warn's John Gartner breaks down Donald Trump's cognitive decline in ~health.mental
elight Link Parent"Casual" or "causal"? I suspect you meant the latter and got spellchecked as I nearly did. 😉 Fecking iOS!"Casual" or "causal"? I suspect you meant the latter and got spellchecked as I nearly did. 😉
Fecking iOS!
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Comment on Duty to Warn's John Gartner breaks down Donald Trump's cognitive decline in ~health.mental
elight (edited )Link ParentI was starting to reply and then realized the bad day I'm having was starting to cause me to ramble. Started over. No, I don't see multiculturalism as the cause. I see the necessary tolerance of...I was starting to reply and then realized the bad day I'm having was starting to cause me to ramble. Started over.
No, I don't see multiculturalism as the cause. I see the necessary tolerance of different cultures as creating an environment hospitable to cultural schism and divergence.
In the US, we started to move away from cultural indoctrination to embracing cultural differences. On the whole, a positive! This same tolerance allowed for slow perversion.
Put another way, give people more freedom, and some assholes will find ways to game the system for their own selfish gain at the cost of society. I see it as an enshittification of society; once all of the value can be extracted has been done so to ethical limits, some will find unethical ways to do same.
Ironically, I find myself making an argument for less freedom. I don't believe the freedom of speech or the freedom to "bear arms" should be absolute.
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Comment on ‘Heroes’ reboot in the works from series creator Tim Kring in ~tv
elight Link ParentIn its time, I found it profoundly moving. I tried rewatching the first episode last week. Its style of storytelling is antiquated. It hasn't aged well. I am saddened by this as my memory of it is...In its time, I found it profoundly moving.
I tried rewatching the first episode last week. Its style of storytelling is antiquated. It hasn't aged well. I am saddened by this as my memory of it is much like yours.
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Comment on Mass shooting in Chicago leaves one child dead, ten other people injured in Back of the Yards in ~news
elight Link ParentIt's sad and depraved that this has become normalized everywhere in the US. Other countries have strict laws around guns. But "freedoms". The cult of ignorance in my country is strong and...It's sad and depraved that this has become normalized everywhere in the US. Other countries have strict laws around guns. But "freedoms".
The cult of ignorance in my country is strong and self-destructive.
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Comment on Duty to Warn's John Gartner breaks down Donald Trump's cognitive decline in ~health.mental
elight (edited )LinkAmerica's obsession with "freedom" comes with the unintended consequence of the "freedom to be manipulated". We did this to ourselves through unintended consequences. The GOP is in full reality...America's obsession with "freedom" comes with the unintended consequence of the "freedom to be manipulated". We did this to ourselves through unintended consequences.
The GOP is in full reality distortion field. They reject how out of touch they have become with reality, instead projecting same on the Democrats.
In the US, the advent of conservative talk radio followed by Fox News further opened and moved the Overton Window. Ending the Fairness Doctrine, even perhaps with the good intention of supporting freedom of speech, was an enormous mistake.
I am liberal. I say this because what I'm about to write isn't: an unintended consequence of benevolent multiculturalism has been to allow subversive cultural manipulation and perversion. The cancer of populism and fascism has been growing under our noses since at least the 90s with Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh. At the time, we could almost dismiss them as cranks. Some did.
Look where that got us: Trump, Sean Hannity, Alex Jones, and on and on.
It's hard not to be cynical. It's hard not to see our world as a frog boiling in the water of its own making.
EDIT: I'd really appreciate some legitimate reason to believe the US will give up on its death cults. If anyone has one, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, I'm left with cynicism.
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Comment on What did you do to "prepare" for your marriage? in ~life
elight LinkDo read Orlov. My partner and I, together 10 years, both have ADHD. ADHD can be hard enough. ADHD compounded with a lifetime of trauma, either contributed by or contributing to the ADHD, is even...Do read Orlov. My partner and I, together 10 years, both have ADHD. ADHD can be hard enough. ADHD compounded with a lifetime of trauma, either contributed by or contributing to the ADHD, is even harder.
Understand that it will be a weird ride but also that there's a good chance that you'll have it harder than your neurotypical friends and family.
Hurt will happen. It's harder for us ADHDers to course correct for it. My chief frustration is that we have a hard time learning from our mistakes, even with an excellent counselor. Like most with ADHD, we have difficulty internalizing any sort of non-dopamine-heavy habit including these lessons. And, so, we repeat similar mistakes time and again, hurting one another despite trying to do better.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
elight (edited )LinkBuilding a "cyberdeck", a custom portable computer with a cyberpunk theme, to support my hardware hacking habit with an eye toward exploring the cyberpunk space by playing with Kali. My work...Building a "cyberdeck", a custom portable computer with a cyberpunk theme, to support my hardware hacking habit with an eye toward exploring the cyberpunk space by playing with Kali.
My work lately has been:
- imagining just how I will use the device and so its physical properties.
- From that, using OpenSCAD to design the parts that will make up the enclosure.
I'm using an RPi4b, for now, to keep power consumption lower, to take up physically less space, and to constrain cost. The integrated GPIO is also huge for this: it allows me to prototype and deploy microcontroller code on one device.
I looked into N-100 NUC-like devices that could run x86 Linux vs ARM Linux but not only did they cost more but the power consumption would be enough greater that battery life would be impacted. In my ideal world, I'd start with a Framework i3 board 11th Gen and an Pi for its GPIO and go from there but, again, power consumption. I'd really like portability here for fun but also greater utility.
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Comment on What Boeing did to all the guys who remember how to build a plane in ~transport
elight LinkApropos: "We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost-effective." —Kurt VonnegutApropos:
"We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost-effective."
—Kurt Vonnegut
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Comment on Retirement warning highlights fight over finance’s hardest problem in ~finance
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Comment on Retirement warning highlights fight over finance’s hardest problem in ~finance
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Comment on Retirement warning highlights fight over finance’s hardest problem in ~finance
elight LinkAs a Gen Xer, I'm terrified when I think about retirement. Yes, I've saved far more than the average. Yet that shift of risk from employer to employee means that I need to be an expert in money...As a Gen Xer, I'm terrified when I think about retirement. Yes, I've saved far more than the average. Yet that shift of risk from employer to employee means that I need to be an expert in money management to have any reasonable chance to maintain quality of life when (and if!!!) I ever get to retire.
The constant threat that Social Security may become illiquid and that the retirement age may go up further push the possibility of ever retiring further away.
Retirement, once something to aspire to, now feels like a pipe dream privilege solely for the exceedingly wealthy. The rest of us have to work for it, in some form, until we end.
According to goldprice.org, gold has been on a rocket since 2009. Gold went up 300% in 15 years.
However the S&P went up 500% over the same span of time and the DJIA about 400%.
Am I missing something here? Is this another form of doomerism? Granted I have difficulty disagreeing with this assessment.