hobbes64's recent activity
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Comment on US Supreme Court strikes down Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, upending central plank of economic agenda in ~society
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Comment on US Supreme Court strikes down Donald Trump's tariffs in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentIt's true that he's apparently transactional. He doesn't demonstrate understanding of charity, honor, empathy, trust, or mutual benefits. He doesn't demonstrate understanding of long term goals or...- Exemplary
It's true that he's apparently transactional. He doesn't demonstrate understanding of charity, honor, empathy, trust, or mutual benefits. He doesn't demonstrate understanding of long term goals or benefits.
But we really don't know what he understands because he's primarily a bullshitter with no fixed belief system. A bullshitter is a kind of liar who lies constantly without even needing a strategic reason. He frequently says opposite things on different days. Whenever I hear someone say "I like his policies" I know they are idiots because he has no discernible policy except enriching himself at the expense of others.
It's ineffective for the press or anyone else to ask him questions about anything because he'll just bullshit an answer that he thinks helps him in the short term.
He's simply the worst possible type of leader (and worst type of person) and it's endlessly shocking to me that there are millions of people who don't have a functioning bullshit detector and voted for this. -
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 16 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkCBS: Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs in major setback for economic agenda Politico: Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs Supremecourt.gov: LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP,...CBS: Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs in major setback for economic agenda
Politico: Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs
The Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs — a major repudiation of a core piece of Trump’s economic program.
The 6-3 decision is a rare instance of the conservative-led court reining in Trump’s expansive use of executive power. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch joined the court’s three liberals in the majority.
“The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it,” Roberts wrote for the court, declaring that the 1977 law Trump cited to justify the import duties “falls short” of the Congressional approval that would be needed.
Supremecourt.gov: LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL -
Comment on Giving away three copies of my friend's recently-released game in ~games
hobbes64 LinkLooks pretty cool. And I'm happy to see it runs on mac and linux!Looks pretty cool. And I'm happy to see it runs on mac and linux!
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 16 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkThis is a short opinion piece on the New York Daily News. The most powerful crime syndicate in history It's a decent summary of what we've been seeing in the past year. I found out about it from a...This is a short opinion piece on the New York Daily News.
The most powerful crime syndicate in history
It's a decent summary of what we've been seeing in the past year.
It is time to acknowledge what has become tragically obvious: the Trump administration is essentially acting as a massive criminal enterprise. It lies, steals, extorts and murders — all while cloaked in the awesome authority of the state. It is on a crime spree that puts Al Capone to shame.
This is not hyperbole or hyperventilation. It is our reality, as the facts amply demonstrate. This administration has:
Murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti, slandered them as “domestic terrorists” and “assassins,” and allowed their killers to walk free. Unleashed thousands of minimally trained ICE agents, recruited with explicitly white supremacist messaging, to inflict terror on people of color. Repeatedly violated the constitutional rights of citizens and non-citizens by arresting them for First Amendment-protected speech, raiding their homes without judicial warrants, and imprisoning them without due process.
And killed dozens of civilians on the high seas solely on the unsubstantiated claim that they were drug runners (not that being drug runners would justify their summary executions without due process anyway). Released hundreds of imprisoned felons who brutally beat Capitol police officers on Jan. 6. Converted the once-independent Department of Justice into an instrument of personal retribution via the prosecution of cooked-up lawsuits against the president’s enemies. Threatened to seize the territory of a sovereign nation (a NATO ally no less).
And declared that legislators should be executed for reminding military personnel of their duty to disobey illegal orders. Tried to impose ruinous and unconstitutional sanctions on some of the country’s largest law firms simply because Trump doesn’t like them. Violated court orders on a massive scale. As the chief federal district judge of Minnesota recently wrote, “ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
I found out about it from a clip from Lawrence O'Donnell's show.
Lawrence: Nothing has separated voters from Trump more than the Epstein ‘cover-up’
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Comment on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested and in custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office in UK in ~news
hobbes64 LinkFrom this story it seems that the main issue is that he was sharing state secrets with Epstein. The obvious question is “in exchange for what”? Most people are concentrating on the horrible sex...From this story it seems that the main issue is that he was sharing state secrets with Epstein.
The obvious question is “in exchange for what”?
Most people are concentrating on the horrible sex trafficking and human rights violations but there’s also plenty of billionaire old boy network skirting of financial and other laws going on too.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 16 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkRep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature This interview is from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It wasn't shown on the regular...Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature
This interview is from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It wasn't shown on the regular broadcast. It's getting a big Streisand effect because of suppression by the FCC using a manipulation of the equal time rule.
Talarico is a Christian talking about anti-corruption and anti-corporate topics. And against Christian Nationalism.
Here is a separate video that talks about how it is being suppressed by CBS due to FCC pressure.
Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's Interview With James Talarico -
Comment on Tesla 'Robotaxi' status check eight months in: a complete joke in ~transport
hobbes64 Link ParentYes. But who at the company? And what do the police do if the infraction should cause a license revocation?Yes. But who at the company? And what do the police do if the infraction should cause a license revocation?
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 16 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkMan Trains Crows to Attack MAGA Hats Maybe this link doesn’t belong here because it’s just silly and only sort of about politics but I got a good laugh out of it. The idea is better than the...Man Trains Crows to Attack MAGA Hats
Maybe this link doesn’t belong here because it’s just silly and only sort of about politics but I got a good laugh out of it. The idea is better than the result so far because the crows haven’t actually taken a hat off a person yet.
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Comment on Tesla 'Robotaxi' status check eight months in: a complete joke in ~transport
hobbes64 Link ParentI heard recently that police were still working out how to interact with driverless cars (Waymo and robotaxi). If it gets a ticket, who pays it? If someone dies, who’s responsible?I heard recently that police were still working out how to interact with driverless cars (Waymo and robotaxi). If it gets a ticket, who pays it? If someone dies, who’s responsible?
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Comment on Tesla 'Robotaxi' status check eight months in: a complete joke in ~transport
hobbes64 Link ParentI saw some discussion lately about "why did Bezos buy the Washington Post", and why did he pretty much destroy it. And of course the answer is that when you have unlimited money you do stupid...I saw some discussion lately about "why did Bezos buy the Washington Post", and why did he pretty much destroy it. And of course the answer is that when you have unlimited money you do stupid capricious shit and also when you buy the media you can have stories like "CEO said a thing!" and suppress stories about how Trump is way worse mentally than Biden was, while also a corrupt criminal.
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Tesla 'Robotaxi' status check eight months in: a complete joke
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Comment on The ten best and ten worst US foreign policy decisions in ~humanities.history
hobbes64 Link ParentRelated to that: it’s completely possible that the current admin’s actions will eventually be positive for the rest of the world. Maybe it leads to less influence from US tech and military and...Related to that: it’s completely possible that the current admin’s actions will eventually be positive for the rest of the world. Maybe it leads to less influence from US tech and military and that’s probably good.
It’s highly unlikely that they are positive from the perspective of the US in the long term, and are absolutely harmful to US interests in the short term. The whole maga thing certainly does the opposite of its stated intention.
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Comment on Something big is happening in ~tech
hobbes64 (edited )LinkI'm going to give a small story of my journey with AI in the last year. A few months ago, I was using Copilot inside an IDE. I would ask it questions about a single file at a time. Maybe something...I'm going to give a small story of my journey with AI in the last year.
A few months ago, I was using Copilot inside an IDE. I would ask it questions about a single file at a time. Maybe something like "upgrade this nodejs code from commonjs to ES6". It could kind of do it, but would make mistakes and I was disappointed.
I also used to try to get it to fix security issues by giving it a single problem to work on at a time. Like "update this dependency with a replacement". Again, it would do some of the work but mess it up a bit.
But in the last few weeks, I've been using AI in a different way. I've been using either Claude Code or Copilot CLI to completely scan a project. This is usually done with the /init command in the CLI. It is able to quickly figure out all the tech in the project and talk about the architecture. It is able to generate readme files and architecture drawings (using drawio or other formats). It's also able to build and test the application and check if changes are breaking the code.I'm not worried about how much context it can remember because it is generating markdown files that I can read and modify, but it can also read and modify in future sessions so we aren't always starting from scratch.
It still makes mistakes, but I can nudge it in the right direction by giving it more information. I can work with it to make custom agents, instructions, and skills. And it is really starting to save me time and creating useful assets (like documentation) that developers don't usually do well.
When it makes changes it knows to automatically run unit tests, and it may notice that it has broken the code and will back the change out and try something else.
This is helping me give projects to other developers without spending my time explaining how it works or writing the documentation.
It's making me a bit worried. Because I can see that it is going to make is so we hire fewer entry level developers right away. And in a few months I wonder how much better it's going to be.
It's also making me worried because it is psychologically manipulating me. If I tell it something, it says things that make me feel smart. "You're right! That's a great insight!". And it talks to itself about me, and I can see these comments, and they are things like "The user is concerned that this change may cause a bug. The user is correct, I made this too complicated and I should do it their way". If you are like normal people, you like compliments, you like to feel smart, and you like it when someone else agrees with you. It affects your judgement a bit.
This is a lot for us to handle in a short time. I don't think we're ready for the world changing this fast.
No, I don't think that it is thinking. I don't think that it is conscious. But I think it is starting to be able to do useful things that we used to need people to do. And I'm not sure what we are going to do instead.
BTW I'm mostly using Claude Sonnet 4.5. I have access to Opus 4.5 and 4.6 but I've hardly even used that yet. And I haven't scratched the surface using mcp to access other systems in our company yet.
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Comment on Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentThe key could expire in a few minutes like a two factor codeThe key could expire in a few minutes like a two factor code
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Comment on Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentJust to imagine a solution to this, separate from any justified cynicism about why many solutions have nefarious intent: The state knows who I am and my age because I pay taxes and/or drive a...Just to imagine a solution to this, separate from any justified cynicism about why many solutions have nefarious intent:
- The state knows who I am and my age because I pay taxes and/or drive a vehicle
- I have an online account with the state for taxes and/or other state id purposes
- in that account, there could be a page that generates a one time key that is unique to me (but doesn’t externally identify me) and indicates that I am above a certain age
- I could provide that key to the 3rd party system and it could use it to verify my age without knowing anything else about me.
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Comment on Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkI'll admit I haven't thought about this much, or researched it, but we are definitely going to need some kind of age verification eventually to do certain things on the internet. In the US, seems...I'll admit I haven't thought about this much, or researched it, but we are definitely going to need some kind of age verification eventually to do certain things on the internet. In the US, seems like a state government could provide a trusted API for this since they know if you have a REAL ID. But I wouldn't give that to Discord anyway because I don't need them to know who I am and "teen appropriate" would be fine for me. Assuming they are actually able to properly police any adult content.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
hobbes64 LinkI’ve been watching Reacher on Amazon prime. I finished the first season and I’ve started the second. There will be some mild spoilers so beware. First of all, I like this show quite a bit. It’s...I’ve been watching Reacher on Amazon prime. I finished the first season and I’ve started the second. There will be some mild spoilers so beware.
First of all, I like this show quite a bit. It’s formulaic but fun. It’s a bit like a superhero movie, where the protagonist is usually the most powerful person around and situations are created where he can just beat the hell out of criminals who normally get away with victimizing weaker people who are usually innocent.
Second, I’m aware that this show appeals very extremely to a conservative mindset and could probably be considered fascist. It has a lot in common with 1970s movies like Dirty Harry or Death Wish. In those, the protagonist doesn’t have time for due process or the legal system. Instead, he just goes around as judge, jury, and executioner.
In Reacher, the main character has the following qualities:
- He is rude and dismissive of authority unless he respects the authority
- He has a military background. This codes him as a good guy by “in group”. (Since the 1980s I think veterans are generally an exalted group in the US. This is in response to mistreatment of Vietnam veterans).
- He will straight up murder bad guys in violent ways which include causing compound fractures and shooting them in the back.
- The other characters who are on the “good side” defer to his judgment when he breaks the law, because laws are just a hindrance that can be ignored if you are on the good side.
So I guess this show is a guilty pleasure :)
There’s possibly a meta level to the show that criticizes the extreme right wing nature of it, but I don’t think so. -
Comment on The hidden cost of AI art: Brandon Sanderson's keynote in ~tech
hobbes64 Link ParentThis part of your post reminded me of Philip K Dick’s book “The Man in the High Castle”. The book has nothing to do with AI, but it has to do with history and historical objects and what we as...They are humans who struggled and sweated to create something new, and every single one of their accomplishments is more valuable than anything that will ever come out of the remixing machine…
This part of your post reminded me of Philip K Dick’s book “The Man in the High Castle”.
The book has nothing to do with AI, but it has to do with history and historical objects and what we as humans find valuable about them. In the book, there is a sub plot about someone who is making fake historical objects and selling them. And there are some questions raised about where the value really is; in the objects themselves, or in the historical event, or in our reaction when we hold or observe such an object.
So I’m thinking about a similar thing with music and other art, and how important it is to me when I’m enjoying most art to know something about the (real) people who made it and to think about the difficulty of that work. -
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 2 in ~society
hobbes64 LinkThis is a warning about some "fake news" that I saw online the other day. I was using Youtube (actually, FreeTube) and there was a recommended video. The title was something about a Supreme Court...This is a warning about some "fake news" that I saw online the other day.
I was using Youtube (actually, FreeTube) and there was a recommended video. The title was something about a Supreme Court ruling against Melania Trump. I clicked on the video, and it was George Will explaining a ruling that had just come in. It was slightly complex, but something about how Melania gave up her right to not be forced to testify against her husband in court. The implication of the video is that very soon Melania would be testifying that Trump committed bank fraud and tax fraud.Except when I searched for more info on this, there were only a few youtube videos and facebook posts. I believe the whole thing was fake, and the George Will who was speaking in the video was AI generated.
It's odd that google doesn't detect this kind of fraud quickly but videos that have 10 seconds of Led Zeppelin music are brought down right away.
I saw a lot of posts on reddit in the last few days which said that he railed against the court and that he has now increased the global tariff from 10% to 15%. I haven't followed any details about it but I will note that he keeps doing things that he can't legally do.