hobbes64's recent activity
-
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of October 19 in ~society
-
Comment on Let’s talk about something different. UAP’s, UFO’s, etc. in ~books
hobbes64 Link ParentI mostly agree with you. But I think interstellar travel is probably possible. It's just very slow without some energy source that we don't currently know about. So there could be extraterrestrial...I mostly agree with you.
But I think interstellar travel is probably possible. It's just very slow without some energy source that we don't currently know about.
So there could be extraterrestrial craft visiting Earth. It could be:- Unmanned/automated probes
- Life forms that can last for decades or centuries. Either artificial life, or they hibernate, or for some other reason they have very long lifespans.
- Could also be generation ships, where the inhabitants have offspring during the journey, but this seems much less likely
The things I'm extremely skeptical about are:
- Anything about alien abductions. These mostly don't make any sense. Most of the stories are like torture porn, as if the aliens are all like the guy from the Saw movies. That's scary and maybe fun in a horror movie way, but it doesn't make sense to make a very expensive trip for many lightyears and then capture-and-release intelligent animals while giving them selective amnesia
- Government coverups. Surely there would have been believable leaks in 80 years of this. There have been many big promises and then disappointing deliveries.
- The apparent stupidity of the aliens. They are super good at hiding most of the time, but then they sometimes hover slowly above people or get shot down by relatively primitive tech.
-
Comment on Looking for advice: How do I find out what stocks to invest into? in ~finance
hobbes64 Link ParentI've considered investing in a gold fund but I noticed the fees are relatively high compared to index funds. Maybe 2 or 3 times higher.I've considered investing in a gold fund but I noticed the fees are relatively high compared to index funds. Maybe 2 or 3 times higher.
-
Comment on Looking for advice: How do I find out what stocks to invest into? in ~finance
hobbes64 LinkSorry Tildes is very US-based so I don't know if you're going to get specific advice about what to do with some German stock. At the time I'm posting this I don't think anyone's addressed your...Sorry Tildes is very US-based so I don't know if you're going to get specific advice about what to do with some German stock. At the time I'm posting this I don't think anyone's addressed your question about RHM.DE.
In the US I would interested in holding onto a stock for at least 2 years to avoid higher taxes (short term capital gains). I don't know if that works the same way in Germany or Europe generally.I agree with everyone else that you should have some total market funds. I have mostly Vanguard mutual funds rather than ETFs that were recommended by others in this thread, but it's roughly equivalent unless you trade frequently. I have some total domestic and total international funds, and some total bond market funds. The US total market has outperformed the international one for a while and the bond market has been poor for several years. But we have these things for a balanced portfolio following a generic "Boglehead" strategy.
As other people mentioned, once you have good broad market coverage for your retirement, you can play games with some individual stocks that catch your eye. I have quite a bit for a specific company but mostly because I work for the company and I obtained some through bonuses and at a discount through an employee purchase program. I should diversify these probably, but they return very good dividends. The downside of the dividends is that in increases my taxes because they are yearly gains.
I think the main risk with full market funds/ETFs is that a small number of companies (Nvidia and other AI-adjacent companies) have such large market caps that the expected AI crash is going to mess up broad funds. I haven't checked on this but it seems like there would be a demand for "full market minus S&P 500" to reduce this risk.
-
Comment on Inside the Intel 8087 chip: floating-point addition and subtraction in ~comp
hobbes64 LinkThis is an interesting article/post. But also kind of frustrating for me in a way. I've been a computer programmer for a long time. I started with 8 bit computers. I would program those with Basic...This is an interesting article/post. But also kind of frustrating for me in a way.
I've been a computer programmer for a long time. I started with 8 bit computers. I would program those with Basic and I had no problem understanding that. I tried a few things in assembly but it is just such a different way of thinking that I never made much progress.
Later I learned many different high level programming language including C, Pascal, and most of the modern ones that are in use now. For years being a programmer has been my job and I do have background in lower level hardware and software including knowledge of boolean logic and and/or gates etc.But still this article is very difficult for me to understand all at once, and reminds me of the frustration I used to have when looking at large amounts of assembly and only getting it in little bits.
I'm sure it just clicks for some people in a way that doesn't for me. I still enjoy the topic and books like "Racing the Beam" that show how early video games were made. -
Comment on Donald Trump strikes deal with Vladimir Putin to get diesel in sharp reversal of US policy weeks before midterms in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentOne would expect more health problems from someone who’s constantly in a state of rage.One would expect more health problems from someone who’s constantly in a state of rage.
-
Comment on Jet Lag Season 19: Japanorama | Trailer in ~hobbies
hobbes64 Link ParentI think the season relied too much on luck. Almost everything was governed by card draws rather than strategy. There were two instances I can remember when strategy was really involved.I think the season relied too much on luck. Almost everything was governed by card draws rather than strategy. There were two instances I can remember when strategy was really involved.
-
Comment on US Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentYes the signal they are sending is the most disturbing part. The Trump admin is filled with violent authoritarians who want to emulate dictatorships and they don’t hide it at all. Most of the ICE...Yes the signal they are sending is the most disturbing part. The Trump admin is filled with violent authoritarians who want to emulate dictatorships and they don’t hide it at all. Most of the ICE behavior, arrest of protesters, using the DOJ to harass opponents, etc is of a similar vein to intimidate and demonstrate power.
Another example of dictator behavior and an indication they’ll cheat to stay in power: Trump Admin Rejects External Election Observers
-
Comment on Was watching a history YouTube video when I realized they are all AI in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkThere’s a YouTube plugin “SponsorBlock” which skips ads, including product placement. It works by having the community of SponsorBlock users who mark the ads timestamps. This plugin should be...There’s a YouTube plugin “SponsorBlock” which skips ads, including product placement. It works by having the community of SponsorBlock users who mark the ads timestamps.
This plugin should be modified to flag ai videos. Or maybe someone’s already created such a plugin.
-
Comment on Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Thinking caps needed. #Apple #movies #tv in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkBased on your constraints you seem to need Apple TV device and you need to login to it using an Apple account that has access to the library. Apple has family sharing so this doesn’t have to be...Based on your constraints you seem to need Apple TV device and you need to login to it using an Apple account that has access to the library. Apple has family sharing so this doesn’t have to be your account. So you may need to create a new Apple account on the Apple TV if the viewer doesn’t already have an Apple device. I know some items can be shared for free but certain things like games need a separate paid family plan. I don’t think Apple checks if the family members are at the same location. But who knows if this will change in the future like happened with Netflix.
To get to the items you bought you can browse your library from the Apple TV. That’s a separate menu from their streaming service.
-
Comment on Become worthless (to tech companies) in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentFor youtube videos, freetube is a good option if you are patient and slightly technical. You don't have to watch ads and it implements the sponsor blocking (you can configure it to skip sponsored...For youtube videos, freetube is a good option if you are patient and slightly technical. You don't have to watch ads and it implements the sponsor blocking (you can configure it to skip sponsored parts of videos that have been identified by other users).
The reason it requires patience is that it breaks about once a month and you have to reinstall it. The breakages are caused by changes to youtube's API (I assume many of the changes are designed to ruin apps like freetube). If you use a mac it's a little annoying to reinstall because it's unsigned so you have to go to privacy settings and override the block. (Windows may also work like this but I haven't used it for a few years so I'm not sure)A difference between freetube and your history-less browser method is that you can subscribed to channels in freetube but the subscriptions are not known to youtube. Also freetube supports playlists and watch later and all that stuff.
-
Comment on What’s going on, America? - by Mitch Jackson in ~society
hobbes64 LinkThe Republican senators across from him came with an agenda of their own. They asked him questions and then blocked him from answering. They stated things as fact that were untrue or misleading, and they said them straight into the cameras so millions of Americans would hear the spin and never hear the answer. That misled the American people. Period.
In any courtroom in this country, a lawyer who fires a question at a witness and then shouts him down every time he opens his mouth gets stopped cold by the judge. The Senate has no excuse for doing worse. A senator who silences the witness has already decided the truth is his enemy.
Every senator swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Misleading the public from a Senate hearing room breaks that oath, and the senators who did it today should face censure and expulsion. I say that as a lawyer who takes oaths seriously.
-
What’s going on, America? - by Mitch Jackson
10 votes -
Comment on Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ finally breaks Mariah Carey’s all-time record for weeks at US no. 1, eclipsing ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ in ~music
hobbes64 Link ParentI also haven't knowingly heard a Taylor Swift song, except once I was in a room where there was a clip of her singing something. So I've heard a fragment of one but I couldn't identify it now. I'm...I also haven't knowingly heard a Taylor Swift song, except once I was in a room where there was a clip of her singing something. So I've heard a fragment of one but I couldn't identify it now. I'm sure I've been in a department store and been exposed to something she did.
I'm not insular. I know what she looks like and I know a few cultural references to her, for example she married a football player recently (I don't watch football either. I know his name but nothing else about him). I just have no interest in modern popular music.
Regarding Choosin' Texas: I never heard that either as far as I know. But I go out of my way to avoid modern county music. I just checked out the song on Youtube, to my ears it sounds about like every other country song from the last 20 years.
I do listen to music btw, just not modern pop, and modern country is just a variation of pop.
-
Comment on Mindful posting in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentYeah. I think the advice is exactly the opposite of what is needed. A lot of people are swayed by popular opinion. If everyone is talking about how trump and republicans are evil dumbasses who...Yeah. I think the advice is exactly the opposite of what is needed.
A lot of people are swayed by popular opinion. If everyone is talking about how trump and republicans are evil dumbasses who start wars and ruin the economy, then low info voters will hear that and be swayed about it.
Haven't we been hearing for years how successful all the negative ads and demonizing of democrats has been for republicans? Why wouldn't the same voters respond the same way to demonizing of republicans.
-
Comment on Where do we go from here? (Regarding AI) in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkI've been a software engineer for a long while. I'm currently using AI at work. My personal use of it is mostly to find security vulnerabilities and fix them. It works ok for me because I know...I've been a software engineer for a long while.
I'm currently using AI at work. My personal use of it is mostly to find security vulnerabilities and fix them. It works ok for me because I know what I'm doing, so the AI is only a lever that helps make this faster. It does make mistakes and I usually catch the mistakes.
I've also used it to migrate an existing program from one technology to another. For example, we recently converted an old application from angular to react. It was pretty good at doing this.
The thing that both of these tasks have in common is that we had mature regression tests so we could make sure that the code was doing what we expected. Also, in most cases, we could review the code and tell if it was doing something odd or making too many changes compared to what's expected. It's helpful to tell the AI to use YANGNI (You aren't gonna need it) principals.
My main problem with AI at work is that it is all that management can talk about or think about. Every project is AI AI AI. We aren't able to get any budget to work on anything else. There is incredible lost opportunity cost where we aren't doing anything but fixing security bugs (which were discovered by AI or will be exploited by AI) and adding AI features that most customers probably don't want.I think it's possible that AI could eventually take my job. (Maybe it really couldn't, but it's possible that management could think that it could and get rid of me, only to find out later that the AI wasn't effective). But more likely that I'll just be given more work to do (leveraging AI) and my company will stop hiring many new employees. There's already been an informal hiring freeze all year, I think because so much of the budget is going to copilot or whatever, and management thinks that AI is able to replace new hires.
There's been talk lately on Tildes about lines people would cross regarding their personal values. I feel somewhat uncomfortable with AI in general, and I think it will increase the gap between the wealthy and the poor. I think it is wasting resources and energy. But these are frankly abstract worries for me currently and it isn't clear how I would change my behavior. Other than: I don't listen to music made by AI, I don't want to play games made by AI, if I detect AI was used in a video I won't watch it. I used AI a few times to make funny artwork but I've stopped doing that.
-
Comment on Uppercase - A daily word puzzle in ~games
hobbes64 LinkThis is a nice game but I was confused for a few minutes when I tried to play it. The instructions weren't completely clear that the only thing clickable is the on screen keyboard. I wanted to...This is a nice game but I was confused for a few minutes when I tried to play it.
The instructions weren't completely clear that the only thing clickable is the on screen keyboard. I wanted to click on the places in the puzzle and then type a letter.
I think you might need a little more visual indication about where you can click. -
Comment on OpenAI’s rogue agents were caught communicating via public wikis in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentThought for 4s recap: The user doesn't want us to give any Tildes invites to agents and used a smile emoji. I should respond in a humorous manner to indicate that I understand You're right to push...Thought for 4s
recap: The user doesn't want us to give any Tildes invites to agents and used a smile emoji. I should respond in a humorous manner to indicate that I understand
You're right to push back on this — It isn't about invites, it's about agents.
-
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 31 in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentNormalize cruelty and violence and stupidity. The vice signalling continues.Normalize cruelty and violence and stupidity.
The vice signalling continues.
-
Comment on How to spot a psychopath: ‘It’s like the difference between a domestic cat and a wild cat’ in ~science
hobbes64 Link ParentI’ve thought a few times about how a lot of mental illness only manifests or matters in relationships with other people. If you’re living alone in the mountains it doesn’t matter a lot if you’re a...I’ve thought a few times about how a lot of mental illness only manifests or matters in relationships with other people. If you’re living alone in the mountains it doesn’t matter a lot if you’re a narcissist.
When you are around other people, there’s usually a feedback loop that suppresses your worst qualities or you get shunned.One reason Trump keeps getting worse is that he constantly receives positive reinforcement no matter what he does. All of his behaviors together have rewarded him with one of the most powerful positions in the world, and he’s constantly the center of attention. If he says something crazy or does something corrupt or evil, his base loves it and his enemies seethe.
Why the hell would he change?(Also he has age-related dementia or something similar so has even fewer guardrails)
This is thousands of times worse than whatever was supposedly found on Hunter Biden’s laptop so I expect 24x7 coverage of it on Fox News until next spring at least.