hobbes64's recent activity
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Comment on Catherine O’Hara - legendary actress dead at 71 in ~movies
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Comment on Tech Oversight Report: Unsealed court documents show teen addiction was Meta, Google, Snap, and TikTok's top priority in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkHere’s another article about this on Ars Technica “IG is a drug”: Internal messages may doom Meta at social media addiction trialHere’s another article about this on Ars Technica
“IG is a drug”: Internal messages may doom Meta at social media addiction trial
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Comment on Amazon is closing its Fresh grocery, Go convenience stores in the US in ~finance
hobbes64 Link ParentI haven’t been in an Amazon Fresh store but I recently shopped at a Whole Foods Market. I noticed a number of things that I found interesting: About 1/4 of the shoppers were apparently workers...I haven’t been in an Amazon Fresh store but I recently shopped at a Whole Foods Market. I noticed a number of things that I found interesting:
- About 1/4 of the shoppers were apparently workers filling online orders. You could tell because they already had grocery bags in the carts while they were shopping
- A very high percentage of the floor space was taken up for expensive high-profit items. Like salad bars, full service deli, a hot soup bar. There were four different meat counters. One was seafood only. In some ways it seemed more like a restaurant than a grocery store.
- The front of the store had a line for Amazon returns and it was extremely fast and efficient.
I know that Whole Foods has always catered to higher income people but this Amazon version was catering to that so strongly that I don’t see how people with typical incomes would go there often.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of January 26 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkTrump Backpedals From Portraying Alex Pretti As a 'Domestic Terrorist' and 'Would-Be Assassin'Trump Backpedals From Portraying Alex Pretti As a 'Domestic Terrorist' and 'Would-Be Assassin'
In both cases, video evidence contradicted the government's version of events. Since millions of Americans have seen footage of the Good and Pretti shootings, which does not support the claim that either was bent on murder, Trump had to choose between sticking with a clearly false narrative, asking Americans to disbelieve their lying eyes, and back-pedaling from that blatantly inaccurate story. Although respect for reality has never been one of Trump's strong suits, he seems to have taken the latter course.
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Comment on Sony’s TV business is being taken over by TCL in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentYes I remember when Sony made the best devices. I have some old cassette tapes that I wanted to play so I looked around and there are very players few made now. There are some cheap ones made in...Yes I remember when Sony made the best devices.
I have some old cassette tapes that I wanted to play so I looked around and there are very players few made now. There are some cheap ones made in China and all the ones I tried are poorly designed and unreliable. I found out that Sony Walkman players that are over 30 years old are often still good after some maintenance of specific parts. There are repair kits for the common problems including capacitors, gears, and belts. Used players can sell for hundreds of dollars.
I miss the variety and quality of mechanical things from the not-too distant past. -
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of January 19 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkDonald Trump doesn't acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr. DayDonald Trump doesn't acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
President Donald Trump has not recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day through official statements, proclamation or activity. It is a departure from his first term and his predecessors.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of January 19 in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentTrump’s Letter to Norway Should Be the Last Straw ...Trump’s Letter to Norway Should Be the Last Straw
One could observe many things about this document. One is the childish grammar, including the strange capitalizations (“Complete and Total Control”). Another is the loose grasp of history. Donald Trump did not end eight wars. Greenland has been Danish territory for centuries. Its residents are Danish citizens who vote in Danish elections. There are many “written documents” establishing Danish sovereignty in Greenland, including some signed by the United States. In his second term, Trump has done nothing for NATO—an organization that the U.S. created and theoretically leads, and that has only ever been used in defense of American interests. If the European members of NATO have begun spending more on their own defense (budgets to which the U.S. never contributed), that’s because of the threat they feel from Russia.
Yet what matters isn’t the specific phrases, but the overall message: Donald Trump now genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him. Also, he really is maniacally, unhealthily obsessive about the Nobel Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government and certainly not the Danish government, determines the winner of that prize. Yet Trump now not only blames Norway for failing to give it to him, but is using it as a justification for an invasion of Greenland.
...
The people around Trump could find ways to stop him, as some did in his first term, but they seem too corrupt or too power-hungry to try. That leaves Republicans in Congress as the last barrier. They owe it to the American people, and to the world, to stop Trump from acting out his fantasy in Greenland and doing permanent damage to American interests.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of January 19 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkLetter from Trump to Norway's Prime Minister THE WHITE HOUSE Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars...Letter from Trump to Norway's Prime Minister
THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington, D.C. 20500Dear Jonas:
Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.
Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a "right of ownership" anyway? There are no written documents, it's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.
I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States.
The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you!
President DJT
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fvu3d57wd1beg1.jpeg
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Comment on Scott A. on Scott A. on Scott A. in ~comics
hobbes64 Link ParentYes. In my experience, the difference between managers and engineers (technical staff) is that managers are able to use politics to game the system to their advantage. They can extract limited...Yes.
In my experience, the difference between managers and engineers (technical staff) is that managers are able to use politics to game the system to their advantage. They can extract limited resources, money, or power from a company and often harm the company and the other employees in the process.
I've experienced many managers who blow into a company, amass some power and wealth, waste a bunch of money and time with ill-conceived projects, then leave to go do the same elsewhere. I don't see engineers do this.
This is true of society at large. The people who have the most success are usually politicians at some level, and they use political skills to manipulate systems to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The technical people are more interested in "the work", whatever that is, because it's interesting for them to solve puzzles and fix things.
I'm not saying that managers are generally evil or something. It's just that they are more likely to have skills that result in a tragedy of the commons. -
Comment on US President Donald Trump isn't building a ballroom in ~society
hobbes64 LinkThe important part is that they used private donations to prevent oversight so who knows what they are really doing in the foundation. The us government is incredibly broken from the perspective...The important part is that they used private donations to prevent oversight so who knows what they are really doing in the foundation.
The us government is incredibly broken from the perspective of people who want a representative democracy. The president does something unconstitutional and damaging to the country, the citizens, and the world almost every day and somehow hasn’t been removed from office and jailed.
I’m sure the billionaire donors are pleased though. -
Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
hobbes64 Link ParentI expected the temp to be a little closer relative to the outside temp. A 20 degree difference was strange to me especially when going in and out frequently.I expected the temp to be a little closer relative to the outside temp. A 20 degree difference was strange to me especially when going in and out frequently.
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Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
hobbes64 Link ParentOk I want to ask you a few questions about Canada. I’m from southwestern US which will explain my questions. These come from my experience visiting Toronto. Is it common to make the indoors...Ok I want to ask you a few questions about Canada. I’m from southwestern US which will explain my questions. These come from my experience visiting Toronto.
- Is it common to make the indoors incredibly hot compared to the outdoors? When I went, it was snowing outside but inside the airport and in restaurants it seemed like maybe 70F/ 21C. I’m guessing people dress in layers in colder climates but I don’t remember everyone taking off coats.
- Are a lot of people intolerant of spicy foods? I remember a big discussion in whether to get certain buffalo wings because they might be too spicy. Personally I can’t imagine Buffalo wings being too spicy compared to typical Mexican or Indian food.
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Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
hobbes64 LinkThis is not about a huge shock, but I'm very conscious about how different cultures allow different amounts of physical personal space. I'm from a place where we stand fairly far apart when...This is not about a huge shock, but I'm very conscious about how different cultures allow different amounts of physical personal space. I'm from a place where we stand fairly far apart when talking and feel uncomfortable if someone gets within that area. When I travel, I sometimes experience people who will come very close when talking, or in public areas people will bump into each other more often and that seems pretty odd to me. I mentioned it to a "close talker" once and they must have been pretty offended about it because they talked about it every time I saw them afterward.
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Comment on Pluribus full season discussion in ~tv
hobbes64 LinkI like the show very much. The questions that it poses are very interesting and it makes one think about our modern world. For example, maybe the hivemind is the media, and especially social...I like the show very much. The questions that it poses are very interesting and it makes one think about our modern world. For example, maybe the hivemind is the media, and especially social media, which allows you to know about everything but not really feel it properly because there is too much.
With a show like this, I often like listening to a podcast too. There was a lot of interesting commentary on The Prestige TV Podcast. I listened to the first episode of the official podcast too which had some interesting information about the original idea of the show and some of the difficulty making it.
I'm sometimes distracted a bit by technical aspects of a plot. I know it isn't the point of the show, but I think about how things could work and sometimes it doesn't make sense. For example, I don't think the hivemind makes sense and would basically require magic to work. They try to explain it as sort of a wifi signal, but nobody's finite brain could really hold all the information, it would need to be moved around as needed locally and certain knowledge would need to be swapped out to make room. It would have to keep syncing specialized data from somewhere else on the network and that would be slow.
From the perspective of the hivemind, I don't understand why they would be in a rush to convert the "indies" (people who are immune from the virus). Seems like you would like to keep them around because they could do things that the hivemind can't, like create new art or solve problems in different ways than a hivemind could.
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Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
hobbes64 Link ParentI noticed the brand recognition issue when I was a little kid and I was trying to figure out why McDonald's had commercials with a clown and strange costumed characters and sometimes didn't even...I noticed the brand recognition issue when I was a little kid and I was trying to figure out why McDonald's had commercials with a clown and strange costumed characters and sometimes didn't even mention food.
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Comment on Feeling weird about my career with respect to AI in ~life
hobbes64 LinkI have a lot of concerns about AI too, but with respect to programming, here is a different perspective. When I first became a programmer in the late '90s, I had a few books from college that I...I have a lot of concerns about AI too, but with respect to programming, here is a different perspective.
When I first became a programmer in the late '90s, I had a few books from college that I took with me everywhere. These books had algorithms and patterns. One of the books was "The C Programming Language", which showed the implementation of various low-level functions. I would refer to the books as needed.
A few years later, when java and then c# came out, programming became somewhat different. There were more high-level languages and things were moving a bit faster. I didn't ever have to figure out how to write a sort algorithm anymore, I just had to find which library had the best one. At this time, my colleagues and I would frequently go to bookshops and buy new books. We bought a lot of those O'Reilly books that have the animals on the covers. These books would usually be good and accurate for 6 months to a year. Things were speeding up though and you had to keep learning the new libraries etc.
A few years after that, things were speeding up again. Javascript was becoming a big thing. We stopped buying books to keep up, we would just go to sites like Stack Overflow (nee Experts Exchange).
Now we aren't searching the internet for answers. We are using copilot in vscode or intellij.
But it's really all the same thing, just sped up. It's slightly different in that copilot can kind of write some code for you, but that's hardly different than pasting a block of code from a book or from Stack Overflow. It's just happening faster. Also, a lot of the world thinks AI is more powerful than it is and that it can replace people. That's probably the dangerous part.
Early in my career I was kind of jealous of engineers who came before me when things were lower level. They often had to carefully write very low level code in assembly or whatever. It seems more satisfying than just calling someone else's libraries. I guess that is kind of what you are thinking, but magnified.
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Comment on Mac advice for a long time Windows user in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkIt took a while to get used to the differences but I now prefer the mac interface to windows. I agree with the other posters here that say you should try to get used to the differences instead of...It took a while to get used to the differences but I now prefer the mac interface to windows. I agree with the other posters here that say you should try to get used to the differences instead of overriding them.
It took me longest to get used to command instead of ctrl, but now I am able to automatically switch if I'm using mac or windows or linux.For a dev, the terminal shell is much better than windows command or powershell.
If you are working in a place is mostly a windows shop, you may have some issues with proxy and may need to setup cntlm.
For utility apps, I recommend
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Comment on Two visions for the future of AR smart glasses in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentYeah it sounds like a dystopia to me. Already people are not present most of the day, now they will be in la la land, being fed nonsense and distractions every moment.Yeah it sounds like a dystopia to me. Already people are not present most of the day, now they will be in la la land, being fed nonsense and distractions every moment.
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Comment on Let franchises end in ~movies
hobbes64 LinkHere is the link for the same essay on Nebula, in case you have that and prefer it to youtube: Let Franchises EndHere is the link for the same essay on Nebula, in case you have that and prefer it to youtube: Let Franchises End
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Comment on Bringing back the battleship? - Railguns, US shipbuilding and a 35,000 ton bad idea? in ~engineering
hobbes64 Link ParentRecent tweet from former US representative Adam Kinzinger:Recent tweet from former US representative Adam Kinzinger:
I propose renaming Earth, "Trump." The Trump
rotates around shiny trump every 12 trumps.
Each trump has approximately 30 trumps, and
each of those trumps has 24 trumps. Each
trump consists of 60 trumps.Won't be long now till someone introduces a bill.
I LOVE YOU SAMMY MAUDLIN! I WANT TO BEAR YOUR CHILDREN!
I’m thinking there are few people under 50 who understand that Lola Heatherton is vaguely referencing Lola Falana and Joey Heatherton, or who these people were.