hobbes64's recent activity
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 30 in ~society
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
hobbes64 LinkI don’t know. This feels a little bit like bait because most people think they are more competent than they really are.I don’t know. This feels a little bit like bait because most people think they are more competent than they really are.
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Comment on Boomer hate in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentI hear what you are saying. The situation sucks and it's way worse now than it was a few decades ago. But there may be some things you can do to help yourself. NOTE THIS IS A TANGENT AND I'M NOT...- Exemplary
I don't have investments
I hear what you are saying. The situation sucks and it's way worse now than it was a few decades ago. But there may be some things you can do to help yourself.
NOTE THIS IS A TANGENT AND I'M NOT TRYING TO SOUND LIKE A BOOMER BUT:
There is something I wish someone would have told me 20 years ago.
I think most people could have investments but they don't know how easy it is and how inexpensive.
You can go to vanguard and buy a total market fund. Maybe it could be a solo 401k plan for the tax advantages but it doesn't have to be. There are very small minimums. Maybe $1,000 to start the fund. The annual rate of the S&P 500 averages over 10 percent.If you started with $1,000 in 2001 and added $50 a month you would have $88,000 in that account today.
I know it's very hard for people to come up with the initial $1,000 and even $50 a month. But I think some people could do this and more and just don't think about it. I know of people who tried to save money to put into some real estate or start a small business or something. Those things are probably better for society but way more risk and way more work than an indexed mutual fund.
It's a bit of a cheat code because capital gains are not taxed as much as labor. Also the stock market is often unconnected from reality and is high even when people are out of work. It sucks, but it's been the reality for decades. Some of the things that annoying boomers say have some truth to it. It is sometimes possible to make sacrifices and put some money away. It's just harder now and you can't just stick it in Bank of America or hope your job creates a pension for you like the boomers could.
Of course when you have Trump and Republicans in charge who knows how soon there will be a complete market crash or worse. Then we'll all be eating cat food no matter what.
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Comment on Pam Bondi ousted as US attorney general in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentWhat a fun and wholesome brand! Let’s put him in charge of everything!What a fun and wholesome brand! Let’s put him in charge of everything!
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Comment on Pam Bondi ousted as US attorney general in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentEvery once in a while I venture onto r/conservative to see the reaction to something. There was a post about Pam Bondi right after the announcement of her firing and most of the top comments were...Every once in a while I venture onto r/conservative to see the reaction to something. There was a post about Pam Bondi right after the announcement of her firing and most of the top comments were very critical of her and happy to see her fired. A frequent topic was her handling of the Epstein files. There were very few posts critical of Trump for hiring her or directing her to suppress the files or for being the most prominent customer/partner of Epstein in the files. Somehow they think there’s evidence of criminal activity there but magically not by Trump. Or maybe they don’t think anything at all.
One can only get slight insights from browsing that subreddit because it is highly curated to present a certain narrative and certainly overrun with bots and other malignant actors. But sometimes on an early post you can see a little glimpse of the cognitive dissonance going on in a Trump supporter’s head.
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Comment on Here’s what the world had to say about the AI economy in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentThere's another strange thing happening with LLMs and how people don't have their guard up about them. We are good at detecting things that are a little off and artificial. If these were robots...There's another strange thing happening with LLMs and how people don't have their guard up about them.
We are good at detecting things that are a little off and artificial. If these were robots with almost human faces, and they talked to you and looked at you but they just had soulless eyes or moved a little strangely or their skin looked a little plastic... And if they praised you too much and sometimes said really weird or wrong things... We wouldn't trust them at all and we'd be creeped out.
But it's just text so we are not properly suspicious. We haven't evolved enough yet to see threats that don't have a face I guess.
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
hobbes64 LinkI think the Backrooms, or at least the concept of "liminal space" is like this if you just watch the first video and don't get into any lore details. It's just about a creepy place, at least...I think the Backrooms, or at least the concept of "liminal space" is like this if you just watch the first video and don't get into any lore details. It's just about a creepy place, at least initially. There are many such places in real life and they usually aren't associated with an antagonist.
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Comment on Boomer hate in ~society
hobbes64 LinkFirst of all, most of it is all fake because outrage sells and also keeping regular people mad at each other distracts from the billionaires who are picking everyone's pocket regardless of their...First of all, most of it is all fake because outrage sells and also keeping regular people mad at each other distracts from the billionaires who are picking everyone's pocket regardless of their age.
But on the other hand, there are several reasons for the specific anger at boomers. They grew up during probably the time of greatest wealth in the United States. They were often able to afford raising a family on a single income. But now they seem kind of indifferent to the struggles of younger people. Also it's a little confusing if you look at the 1960s and see how progressive they were when they were young, and they seemed to forget all that once they had money.
I get the sense from polling that the younger generation (maybe zoomers or whatever they're called now) are at least as conservative as boomers. And that probably has to do with propaganda served through social networks. Boomers got their propaganda from right wing TV and newspapers.
Anyway people are individuals and I know multiple boomers who are very progressive and are full of empathy, and many Gen X or Millennials who are right wing or "karens".
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Comment on You can finally change the goofy Gmail address you chose years ago in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkMy current email address is fine but I sometimes get mail intended for other people who apparently have the same name plus some numbers, and the sender forgets to add the numbers. I’ve gotten...My current email address is fine but I sometimes get mail intended for other people who apparently have the same name plus some numbers, and the sender forgets to add the numbers. I’ve gotten legal documents and police reports and receipts and other private information in various languages. For a while I tried to warn the senders but that doesn’t help so I just delete the messages now.
Btw I’m sure your first thought is that everyone gets these things and they’re phishing attacks but this is different.
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Comment on Artemis II April 1 launch in ~space
hobbes64 Link ParentYeah I thought the coverage was a bit poor. Then I went on reddit and there is a very large amount of similar complaints. The camera missed important parts, or was looking at the smoke instead of...Yeah I thought the coverage was a bit poor. Then I went on reddit and there is a very large amount of similar complaints. The camera missed important parts, or was looking at the smoke instead of the rocket on liftoff, or they kept showing computer graphics that looked like something from 20 years ago. Weird that they didn't do better.
Oh btw nice username lol.
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Comment on Can plants count? Study suggests they can track the number of events they experience. in ~science
hobbes64 LinkI recently thought about the topic of plants counting because there was a video on reddit the other day of a black widow spider getting trapped by a Venus flytrap. It kept walking at the edge of...I recently thought about the topic of plants counting because there was a video on reddit the other day of a black widow spider getting trapped by a Venus flytrap. It kept walking at the edge of the trap but it took a while before the trap was sprung. As far as I can tell, the detection of prey seems to require counting and a timer.
How Venus Flytraps Work - How Stuff Works
When an insect lands or crawls on the trap, it is likely to run into one of six, short, stiff hairs on the trap's inner surfaces. These are called trigger hairs, and they serve as a primitive motion detector for the plant. If two of these tiny hairs are brushed in close succession, or one hair is touched twice, the leaves close down upon the offending insect within half a second.
I understand that it's possible that it is neither counting or timing, but it looks like both are happening from the outside. This makes me think about when I first learned programming. There are a lot of techniques to do things that can be implemented in simple ways that aren't similar to how a thinking being would do them. For example, pseudo-random numbers.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 30 in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentWell that's a plainer way to say it than we often see in news stories. I'm used to euphemisms about his lying.The president has repeatedly lied about the outcome of the 2020 presidential
Well that's a plainer way to say it than we often see in news stories. I'm used to euphemisms about his lying.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 30 in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentHe can't. But he did. It's a bit of a pattern.The executive order is unconstitutional because the president can’t use governmental power to direct federal agencies to bar grants in “retaliation for saying things that he does not like,” Judge Randolph D. Moss of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said. His order grants the plaintiffs a permanent injunction from the government implementing or enforcing the executive order’s instruction to cease funding NPR and PBS.
He can't. But he did. It's a bit of a pattern.
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Comment on NASA's Artemis II L-1 countdown status news conference in ~space
hobbes64 LinkVery exciting! For some reason I haven't been following this closely and just realized it was coming up this week due to a video I saw on Nebula yesterday.Very exciting! For some reason I haven't been following this closely and just realized it was coming up this week due to a video I saw on Nebula yesterday.
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Comment on 'Banal and hollow': Why the quaint paintings of Thomas Kinkade divided the US in ~arts
hobbes64 LinkMy family didn’t have any Kincaid paintings but we did have some from Marty Bell. It’s a similar art style and they were sold in similar retail shops, but Marty Bell’s always feature a cottage and...My family didn’t have any Kincaid paintings but we did have some from Marty Bell. It’s a similar art style and they were sold in similar retail shops, but Marty Bell’s always feature a cottage and don’t have the “dreamy” quality that Kincaid’s have.
Oddly I don’t see a Wikipedia article about Marty Bell so I just linked some info about the paintings below. I seem to remember that she was related to Humphrey Bogart.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 30 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkAmerica Is Now a Rogue Superpower Washington’s conduct in the Iran war is accelerating global chaos and deepening America’s dangerous isolation. ...America Is Now a Rogue Superpower
Washington’s conduct in the Iran war is accelerating global chaos and deepening America’s dangerous isolation.Whenever and however America’s war with Iran ends, it has both exposed and exacerbated the dangers of our new, fractured, multipolar reality—driving deeper wedges between the United States and former friends and allies; strengthening the hands of the expansionist great powers, Russia and China; accelerating global political and economic chaos; and leaving the United States weaker and more isolated than at any time since the 1930s. Even success against Iran will be hollow if it hastens the collapse of the alliance system that for eight decades has been the true source of America’s power, influence, and security.
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Americans were not unerring stewards of world affairs. They could be selfish, self-righteous, paranoid, aggressive, and blundering, as well as indifferent and ignorant. They could be too confident about the scope of their power, and then too pessimistic about the possibilities of its use—in other words, Americans were not exceptional, even if their nation’s geopolitical circumstances were. Yet throughout the Cold War and for nearly four decades after it, allies and partners across the globe clung to the American order through thick and thin. It survived unpopular wars in Vietnam and Iraq. It survived made-in-America global economic calamities, such as the 2008 financial crisis. It even survived America’s relative economic and military decline. In fact, America’s great power was more than tolerated and forgiven: Other nations encouraged it, abetted it, and, with surprising frequency, legitimized it through multilateral institutions such as NATO and the United Nations, as well as in less formal coalitions. This, more than raw might, was what made the United States the most influential power in history.
Those days are now over and will not soon return. Nations that once bandwagoned with the United States will now remain aloof or align against it—not because they want to, but because the United States leaves them no choice, because it will neither protect them nor refrain from exploiting them. Welcome to the era of the rogue American superpower. It will be lonely and dangerous.
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Comment on Tom Scott: England — Official teaser for Nebula in ~travel
hobbes64 Link ParentI enjoyed this episode quite a bit. Well, at least I enjoyed the topic which I found very interesting, along with the details of how they actually make the bells and recycle the materials and deal...I enjoyed this episode quite a bit.
Well, at least I enjoyed the topic which I found very interesting, along with the details of how they actually make the bells and recycle the materials and deal with the danger of it.
I'm not sure if I loved the way it was presented but it didn't annoy me so I'll definitely keep watching the show. -
Comment on Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports
hobbes64 Link ParentWhen I watch a race on F1TV this stuff is not really mentioned and from the way the race is covered I can't really tell that the cars drivers are having so much trouble with the energy management....When I watch a race on F1TV this stuff is not really mentioned and from the way the race is covered I can't really tell that the cars drivers are having so much trouble with the energy management. So the racing looks deceptively good if you don't look too closely. I guess if I switched to the in-car views for a few laps I would notice this more and probably ruin the fun for myself.
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Comment on Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports
hobbes64 Link ParentRe George storming off: I'm pretty forgiving of drivers when they are emotional during and after a race. I've had the experience of going "on tilt" when playing sports and feeling bad about it...Re George storming off: I'm pretty forgiving of drivers when they are emotional during and after a race. I've had the experience of going "on tilt" when playing sports and feeling bad about it soon afterward. I'm less forgiving of the way Max acts where he holds a grudge for months or years afterward.
Two things about Kimi Antonelli.
One, is that he really reminds me of Spiderman. At least he reminds me of Tom Holland and how he is kind of young and innocent when he is being Peter Parker. He is very wholesome so far and I hope his success doesn't give him arrogance.Second, I haven't looked at r/formuladank for a while, but I expect someone to post a picture of the race leaderboard graphic that shows ANT, PIA, LEC with a comment like "What is this? A race for ANTs?"
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Comment on "CEO said a thing!" journalism in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentNot only that, but the media constantly “sanewashes” his statements to make them seem less stupid and crazy. A recent example of this was the deployment of ICE to airports to supplement TSA. There...Not only that, but the media constantly “sanewashes” his statements to make them seem less stupid and crazy. A recent example of this was the deployment of ICE to airports to supplement TSA. There were several articles, including by CNN, filling in how this could possibly work without much information from the government. Clearly the media did more work spinning this ridiculous decision than Trump did.
They should never give explanations for his bad decisions and they should quote his rambling nonsensical answers as given instead of translating them to coherent English.
It doesn't sound like him. I think it was posted by someone else.
I mean the grammar. The hateful message is on brand in that it's tasteless, unbecoming of the office, and tactically dumb. He's responsible regardless.