jaylittle's recent activity

  1. Comment on Red and blue US states: dichotomized maps mislead and reduce perceived voting influence in ~science

    jaylittle
    Link
    As a socially liberal person living in a very red state, let me be clear: My vote is less than meaningless. Doubly so in a presidential election. After dutifully voting for more than two decades,...

    As a socially liberal person living in a very red state, let me be clear: My vote is less than meaningless. Doubly so in a presidential election. After dutifully voting for more than two decades, I recently decided to basically just opt out because since I stopped voting for Republicans in 2004, I haven't voted for a single winning candidate (in this state) since.

    I will be voting in the upcoming Republican primary though. Anything to help curtail Trump's march to the Republican nomination. It also helps that since I live in SC, I figure Nikki Haley ought to at least have a snowball's chance here as she used to be our governor and was reasonably popular.

    7 votes
  2. Comment on We don't do DST at this company in ~comp

    jaylittle
    Link
    This was an interesting post, but the author is incorrect about how time is handled in Windows. By default Windows syncs the hardware clock to whatever the users local timezone indicates. Windows...

    This was an interesting post, but the author is incorrect about how time is handled in Windows. By default Windows syncs the hardware clock to whatever the users local timezone indicates. Windows can be configured to do what Linux does which is sync the hardware clock to UTC and then use the timezone offset to adjust date/time displays however via group policy / registry hack.

    I only know this from wasting years of time dual booting between Linux and Windows on the same hardware and having to configure one or the other upon reinstall to work in such a way that it would match what the other one was doing so as to avoid the hardware clock getting skewed as part of switching OSes.

    The reality is that storing time as UTC is the correct approach, its DST that is abhorrently idiotic. Shifting times twice a year for precisely zero good reason is a tradition that needs to go out the window sooner rather than later.

    EDIT: Arch Wiki has a great summary of how the OSes handle this: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/System_time

    The standard used by the hardware clock (CMOS clock, the BIOS time) is set by the operating system. By default, Windows uses localtime, macOS uses UTC, other UNIX and UNIX-like systems vary. An OS that uses the UTC standard will generally consider the hardware clock as UTC and make an adjustment to it to set the OS time at boot according to the time zone.
    ...
    To dual boot with Windows, it is recommended to configure Windows to use UTC, rather than Linux to use localtime. (Windows by default uses localtime [2].)

    3 votes
  3. Comment on People who manage small websites, how much does it cost you in time (and finances)? in ~comp

    jaylittle
    (edited )
    Link
    Been running my own blog as an independent website since 2001 using my custom written blog platform. Currently host it on a Debian shared VM at Linode / Akamai which costs me 24 USD a month (a bit...

    Been running my own blog as an independent website since 2001 using my custom written blog platform. Currently host it on a Debian shared VM at Linode / Akamai which costs me 24 USD a month (a bit overkill but I like having access to more resources than I need, just in case).

    I'm a firm believer in personal blogs. Carve out your own corner of the web if you want to ensure that you'll always have a place to express yourself.

    https://jaylittle.com/

    EDIT: Realized I skipped the time aspect of the question. This takes very little time on my part. The blog platform is pretty mature and does what I need it to do. Debian requires very little upkeep until I need to perform a major upgrade and even that it's only a few hours of my time. Backups and updates are scripted jobs so I don't manually deal with any of that.

    So the vast majority of my time is spent on content rather than the technical aspects of the thing.

    EDIT 2: Keep forgetting that Akamai recently raised their prices... so I corrected my monthly hosting cost

    3 votes
  4. Comment on Your Fitbit is useless – unless you consent to unlawful data sharing in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link
    Every single product Google makes relies upon unlawful data sharing. Duh.

    Every single product Google makes relies upon unlawful data sharing.

    Duh.

    3 votes
  5. Comment on It’s official: Cars are the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link
    Shit like this is why you'll have to pry my 2012 Avalon from my cold dead hands. Modern cars are a raging dumpster fire in so many ways....

    Shit like this is why you'll have to pry my 2012 Avalon from my cold dead hands. Modern cars are a raging dumpster fire in so many ways....

    21 votes
  6. Comment on David Brooks: Nikki Haley is the best Donald Trump alternative in ~misc

    jaylittle
    Link Parent
    Couldn't agree more. As a regular PBS News Hour viewer, David Brooks has basically become the poster child of what sane conservatism used to be for me. He's a breath of fresh air. Sadly he's also...

    Couldn't agree more. As a regular PBS News Hour viewer, David Brooks has basically become the poster child of what sane conservatism used to be for me. He's a breath of fresh air. Sadly he's also a constant reminder that the days of sane conservatism are also in the rear-view mirror and getting further away with every passing second.

    Cause his brand is dying out, not growing. Damn shame.

    7 votes
  7. Comment on David Brooks: Nikki Haley is the best Donald Trump alternative in ~misc

    jaylittle
    Link Parent
    Every Friday evening, I watch the PBS News Hour and they have a segment in which an anchor and two columists cover the weeks political events. David Brooks has been a columnist on that segment for...

    Every Friday evening, I watch the PBS News Hour and they have a segment in which an anchor and two columists cover the weeks political events. David Brooks has been a columnist on that segment for quite a few years and frankly... you are living in a different reality than I am.

    He's definitely one of the more sane conservatives. I have never heard him refer to either Marxism or Loose women either. He's hardly a moralist. Just a traditional conservative who happens to despise Trump and the complete and utter decline of the Republican party into a populism fueled mob of fools and conspiracy theorists who have no actual principles to speak of.

    14 votes
  8. Comment on Madison Reeve explains why she quit Linus Tech Tips (CW: self harm, slurs, sexual harassment) in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link Parent
    Returning prototype hardware to partners who loaned it to you for purposes of a review instead of auctioning it off to random third parties is something LMG should absolutely be doing 100% of the...

    Returning prototype hardware to partners who loaned it to you for purposes of a review instead of auctioning it off to random third parties is something LMG should absolutely be doing 100% of the time.

    This isn't about the review itself (which in and of itself was fucking terrible for numerous reasons that GN covered) but more about just basic professional courtesy.

    24 votes
  9. Comment on Failures in accuracy, ethics and responsibility with Linus Tech Tips and LMG as a whole in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link Parent
    Yeah Madison's story basically tells us that the problems at LTT are coming from the top down and the culture inside the company is incredibly toxic. Linus' response thus far indicates that there...

    Yeah Madison's story basically tells us that the problems at LTT are coming from the top down and the culture inside the company is incredibly toxic. Linus' response thus far indicates that there is no intent on actually changing anything.

    If your culture is all about going as fast as possible, quality be damned, then you either have to commit to changing the culture or own it. Linus isn't doing either which indicates to me that as far as he is concerned, everything is still business as usual.

    Fuck LTT.

    6 votes
  10. Comment on Madison Reeve explains why she quit Linus Tech Tips (CW: self harm, slurs, sexual harassment) in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link
    Having read all of this, I have to say: LTT is dead to me. They don't care about the quality of their data (e.g. many many errors) They don't care about their partners (e.g. Billet Labs) They...

    Having read all of this, I have to say: LTT is dead to me.

    They don't care about the quality of their data (e.g. many many errors)
    They don't care about their partners (e.g. Billet Labs)
    They don't care about their employees (e.g. Madison's story)
    They don't care about their customers (e.g. just trust me bro)

    Even if you view LTT and their associated media brands solely as a source of entertainment rather than a source of education, at some point enough is enough.

    I have reached that point.

    103 votes
  11. Comment on Famed hacker Kevin Mitnick dead at 59 in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link
    This one needs some more up votes. I guess Kevin is truly freed now. RIP

    This one needs some more up votes.

    I guess Kevin is truly freed now.

    RIP

    2 votes
  12. Comment on Apple Vision Pro headsets will require a head scan and vision prescription to customize the headset for each user in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link Parent
    Not by the metric of capitalism. Most if not all of those Quest headsets were sold at a loss. I got at least four nieces and nephews that each got their own... and guess what? After the novelty...

    Not by the metric of capitalism. Most if not all of those Quest headsets were sold at a loss. I got at least four nieces and nephews that each got their own... and guess what? After the novelty wore off three to six months after they received em, fuckers ended up in a corner gathering dust. Meanwhile those ass old Nintendo Switches are still going strong.

    The only people winning in VR land is whomever is making bank off Beat Sabre.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Apple Vision Pro headsets will require a head scan and vision prescription to customize the headset for each user in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link
    The evidence just continues to pile up which suggests that Apple has totally jumped the shark with the Vision Pro. I'm a huge fan of iOS and it's devices, but man, the Vision Pro is absolutely...

    The evidence just continues to pile up which suggests that Apple has totally jumped the shark with the Vision Pro. I'm a huge fan of iOS and it's devices, but man, the Vision Pro is absolutely going to be dead on arrival.

    I wish tech companies would stop trying to make AR and VR a thing. It ain't gonna happen. The smart money is holding out until we reach the holodeck level. Until then, who cares?

    2 votes
  14. Comment on Google seems to be running OCR on photos in my Gmail. Is this happening to you too? in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link
    If you value your privacy, you need to stop using gmail. There is no other correct answer.

    If you value your privacy, you need to stop using gmail. There is no other correct answer.

    1 vote
  15. Comment on What game(s) do you love that you never see brought up in conversation? in ~games

    jaylittle
    Link
    Caves of Qud Bioforge Wing Commander: Privateer Any SSI Gold Box Engine RPG

    Caves of Qud
    Bioforge
    Wing Commander: Privateer
    Any SSI Gold Box Engine RPG

    9 votes
  16. Comment on Iowa joins dozens of other US states in legalizing sales of raw milk in ~health

    jaylittle
    Link Parent
    Scared? No, not really. I already thought humans drinking pastuerized cow / goat / whatever milk was stupid. Humans drinking raw cow / goat / whatever milk is even more stupid. If stupid people...

    Scared?

    No, not really. I already thought humans drinking pastuerized cow / goat / whatever milk was stupid. Humans drinking raw cow / goat / whatever milk is even more stupid. If stupid people want to increase the chances that they off themselves along with their offspring and they have lobbied to make such things legal, at some point I just shrug my shoulders, walk away and let fate take the wheel.

    That is where I am at.

    2 votes
  17. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp

    jaylittle
    Link
    The only thing that surprises me here is that it took IBM this long to begin turning the screws on Redhat. As a general Linux desktop/laptop user, this makes me fear for the future of the...

    The only thing that surprises me here is that it took IBM this long to begin turning the screws on Redhat.

    As a general Linux desktop/laptop user, this makes me fear for the future of the platform. Redhat currently spends a lot of time and money working on things that benefit everybody else. As a Fedora user, I'm even more concerned.

    21 votes
  18. Comment on What did you do this week? in ~talk

    jaylittle
    (edited )
    Link
    Probably get fired from my second job as an IT Admin next week. Company was very much against adopting more stringent security measures when I started handling things for them a couple years back...

    Probably get fired from my second job as an IT Admin next week. Company was very much against adopting more stringent security measures when I started handling things for them a couple years back and eventually I just shrugged my shoulders and said fuck it figuring that in time they would pay some sort of price. Well that moment came over the last week when Chinese scammers cracked a Global Admin account on their Office 365 tenant and used that to read and send emails as the owner to the comptroller and convinced her to wire a great deal of money into bank accounts owned by the scammer.

    So I'm finally getting the chance to implement more security (basic shit like MFA), which is what I spent the end of this week feverishly doing, but they are ultra focused on trying to get the money back, so its been hard to get them to take it very seriously. But I suspect once they realize that the money is not coming back, the hammer is going to come down on myself and the comptroller as I'm the most obvious and easiest person to blame and she actually transferred the funds.

    I'm tempted to quit before it happens. Not sure what I'm going to do. Regardless I shouldn't be in charge of anybody's network but my own as I'm a web developer by trade. Going to be a rough week no matter which way it goes.

    5 votes
  19. Comment on Amazon will remove the Parler site from AWS in ~tech

    jaylittle
    Link
    I signed up for Parler yesterday just so I could get a gander at what kind of crap my family was seeing and let me tell ya - wow. After the initial round of doom scrolling I just started mocking...

    I signed up for Parler yesterday just so I could get a gander at what kind of crap my family was seeing and let me tell ya - wow. After the initial round of doom scrolling I just started mocking people as actual liberals are in very short supply there. Shocking, I tell you. Absolutely shocking.

    1 vote
  20. Comment on The philosophy of Star Trek: Is the Prime Directive ethical? in ~humanities

    jaylittle
    (edited )
    Link
    I think its exceptionally ethical. At it's core the I believe the idea behind the Prime Directive is that we must accept our inherent limitations as living beings in order to facilitate the common...

    I think its exceptionally ethical. At it's core the I believe the idea behind the Prime Directive is that we must accept our inherent limitations as living beings in order to facilitate the common cause of other living beings. To put it more simply, all too often in my 40+ years on this planet, I've decided to meddle in matters with the best of intentions only to realize too late that all I did was make things worse and wish I could go back in time and tell myself, "Leave it alone".

    That having been said, there are also situations where it would be absolutely paramount of act and the rule of the Prime Directive can and should be set aside, but those times are far and few between. Knowing when those times are... well that's tough. Various episodes of various series tackle this conflict in various ways. While I can't remember any of them off the top of my head, I vaguely recall some of them being quite good.

    In any case it's a question of ethics. Nobody said the answer was going to be easy or simple, did they? ;)

    1 vote