l_one's recent activity
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Comment on Iran's missile strike on Israel - The attack, defence & Israel's counter-strike in ~misc
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Comment on Is Tildes failing to thrive? in ~tildes
l_one (edited )LinkI'm one of the many who came to Tildes from the post-Reddit exodus. Tildes is, unquestionably, much smaller than Reddit in regard to userbase. It is also (to my understanding) semi-curated in...I'm one of the many who came to Tildes from the post-Reddit exodus.
Tildes is, unquestionably, much smaller than Reddit in regard to userbase. It is also (to my understanding) semi-curated in terms of what subjects are posted here.
That said, the average quality of discussion is, in my opinion, higher here than it was back at Reddit, with some exceptions of course (this is the internet and arguments still occur).
There are trade-offs. If you want a space where you can ask a specific subsection of the site: 'Hey, is anyone else experiencing these technical issues with this specific (non-Tildes) site as of 5 minutes ago?', you are going to be disappointed in the niche, real-time hivemind / information sharing available to you here. That is a direct result of scale, or lack thereof. It's not exactly a bad thing, and neither is it exactly a good thing, it's just a property of what Tildes is, the (intentional?) lack of a million different niche subsections for every imaginable subject, and the scale of the userbase here.
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Comment on Iran's missile strike on Israel - The attack, defence & Israel's counter-strike in ~misc
l_one (edited )LinkPerun's April 21st release on the recent state of interaction between Iran and Israel. Perun is an Australian Defence-Economics analyst who publishes content on Patreon and YouTube. From my...Perun's April 21st release on the recent state of interaction between Iran and Israel.
Perun is an Australian Defence-Economics analyst who publishes content on Patreon and YouTube. From my experience he produces thoughtful, in-depth, data-driven exploration and analysis on a range of defence topics with a side helping of dry humor. Generally he puts out a video every Sunday.
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Iran's missile strike on Israel - The attack, defence & Israel's counter-strike
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Comment on What is it like to have both ADHD and autism? in ~health.mental
l_one Link ParentHoly crap, it's not just me. Also similar neuro spectrum: Asperger's / ADD. I, quite strongly, experience this. Can I remember obscure technical details about the stuff that fascinates me? Yes!...I can't remember anything I don't have an interest in. Examples: names, pop culture, the location of all my pens.
Holy crap, it's not just me. Also similar neuro spectrum: Asperger's / ADD. I, quite strongly, experience this.
Can I remember obscure technical details about the stuff that fascinates me? Yes! Stuff that isn't interesting to me? Well, whatever that was that I was supposed to make a note of 20 seconds ago hopefully wasn't critically important.
Oh, and Caffeine is also my go-to chemical crutch for being effective and productive.
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Comment on What's the best way to avoid scams when being paid by strangers on the internet? in ~finance
l_one LinkYou could go the cryptocurrency route. Part of what crypto is good for is allowing for transferring funds between untrusted parties. There is a learning curve though. If you have to get into...You could go the cryptocurrency route. Part of what crypto is good for is allowing for transferring funds between untrusted parties.
There is a learning curve though. If you have to get into crypto just for this one transaction, it might not be worth your time.
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Comment on Linux Distro Recommendations in ~comp
l_one LinkFirst, I acknowledge confirmation bias. I use what I am recommending. Linux Mint, specifically the flagship Cinnamon desktop environment. I've used it for.... a decade now? Yeah, I think around a...First, I acknowledge confirmation bias. I use what I am recommending.
Linux Mint, specifically the flagship Cinnamon desktop environment.
I've used it for.... a decade now? Yeah, I think around a decade, since transitioning away from windows.
It is extremely windows-transition friendly and easy to adapt to. So many of the keyboard shortcuts and intuitive use-feel are the same. It is, by this point, very refined and you no longer have to be some uber-experienced computer / software tech to get into Linux or to be able to troubleshoot your way to fixing everything and get your desktop working correctly. Most cases will just be a smooth install with no troubleshooting needed.
Especially for your 'noob-friendly' request - Linux Mint Cinnamon.
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Comment on US told Russia that Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack in ~news
l_one Link ParentHmm, fair enough. Maybe I'm actually being too cynical?Hmm, fair enough. Maybe I'm actually being too cynical?
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Comment on US told Russia that Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack in ~news
l_one Link ParentI find it more likely it's cold practicality. This terrorist attack can and almost certainly will be used as propaganda: 'look how these foreign enemies are attacking the motherland, we must...I find it more likely it's cold practicality.
This terrorist attack can and almost certainly will be used as propaganda: 'look how these foreign enemies are attacking the motherland, we must continue this war out of self-defense! ..er, I mean, special military operation, definitely it isn't a war... ..because we made it illegal to call it that... ...yeah.
An attack on civilians in your own territory has a 'rally around the flag' effect. The US certainly wouldn't want anything to happen that would increase domestic support for the war. Simple as that.
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Comment on Given the well-known difficulties for men to maintain friendships as they age, has anyone managed to make new friends after their 40s? in ~life.men
l_one LinkI'm in a similar situation, especially with the Pandemic. When COVID-19 hit I did a fast and hard pivot away from any work that was customer-interactive. I took telecom infrastructure work and...I'm in a similar situation, especially with the Pandemic.
When COVID-19 hit I did a fast and hard pivot away from any work that was customer-interactive. I took telecom infrastructure work and corporate low-voltage contracting work which kept me largely away from physically being in proximity to other people, except in small numbers, short duration and infrequently. I rarely if ever interacted with other work personnel except by phone or text. I dropped playing in-person Magic: The Gathering (which I was very in to and played events 4 to 5 night a week). No more martial arts, even infrequently. I've now transitioned to an eBay store that I've setup for income and pretty much only go out to do auction pickups and grocery runs.
I have no friends for the most part. My best friend (a previous girlfriend) and I stay in infrequent contact. We wish each other happy birthday and talk on the phone once in a long while. I'll also visit my father. That's it for social interaction.
To be fair, my circumstances are a bit influenced by the ongoing precautions I take to not get COVID, since I live with my partner who is immunocompromised. Can't risk bringing it home to her.
I often find myself feeling listless and experiencing executive dysfunction to varying degrees of severity. I miss the world before COVID.
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Comment on AI models found to show language bias by recommending Black defendents be 'sentenced to death' in ~tech
l_one Link ParentNo, given race could be circumstantially derived from an amalgamation of other factors, giving you the same bias - the AI will hold the biases of the material it trained on, which will also...No, given race could be circumstantially derived from an amalgamation of other factors, giving you the same bias - the AI will hold the biases of the material it trained on, which will also contain the uncountable host of linking factors that would associate to race and/or other prejudicial leanings.
Arrested by officer X (who happens to arrest 80% African Americans)? Path to bias.
Defendant home address listed in county Y or district Z (which happens to have a higher percentage minority population)? Path to bias.
Hell, defendant accused of crime R, the total arrests for which have a statistical leaning of cases in that jurisdiction towards African Americans (which in turn have a corresponding correlation to higher prosecution and convictions because systemic racism)? Path to bias.
AI model training requires a HUGE pool of data to train on to be effective. If that data is real-world sampling, it will be VERY HARD (if not impossible) to have that training data free of the prejudices and biases that exist in humanity.
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Comment on ‘We’re hemorrhaging money’: US health clinics try to stay open after unprecedented cyberattack in ~health
l_one Link ParentThe financials of the US healthcare system have fully devolved into a pure wealth-extraction mechanism feeding on US citizens. $200 billion USD yearly profit buys all the senators you could want,...The financials of the US healthcare system have fully devolved into a pure wealth-extraction mechanism feeding on US citizens. $200 billion USD yearly profit buys all the senators you could want, and easily prevent any laws which would call out this blatant theft from gaining any traction.
Is it a free market? ...yes. Free from regulation and oversight, free for the strongest (in this case, the most wealthy) to solidly stand on top and freely do whatever they want, because when you make $200 billion a year, you get to write your own laws.
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Comment on The more I use Linux, the more I hate every distro in ~tech
l_one Link ParentAlso a Mint user here. I've run it for my desktop for... maybe a decade now? Yeah, I think it's been close to a decade. Very reliable, minimal issues.Also a Mint user here. I've run it for my desktop for... maybe a decade now? Yeah, I think it's been close to a decade. Very reliable, minimal issues.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
l_one LinkI've been trying (with on/off success - decided to do something at 235lbs, got down to 197lbs, then thanksgiving and re-addiction to sugar back up to ~215lbs, now back down to 210lbs) to reduce my...I've been trying (with on/off success - decided to do something at 235lbs, got down to 197lbs, then thanksgiving and re-addiction to sugar back up to ~215lbs, now back down to 210lbs) to reduce my weight, so I keep experimenting and looking for filling options or thing that satisfy cravings with generally low calorie counts.
Cereal satisfies sugar cravings, but is high calories and doesn't keep me filled - unless I use yogurt instead of milk. I found that using a ~1:2 ration of high-fat yogurt (Fage 5% fat yogurt) and very low-cal vanilla yogurt (Chobani 0 sugar vanilla) works really well. Instead of just carbs/sugar and liquid (milk) that my body processes quickly I get a good amount of fat/protien mixed in which is processed slower and keeps me sated longer.
I just recently started sipping cups of soup broth mix to satisfy savory/salt cravings without needing to worry about calories, not sure why I didn't think of that months ago.
Carrots are my most common go-to for fiber/filler veggie. They help keep me feeling fuller to last longer between being hungry and needing to make a meal.
Tried various options for 0-cal and very low-cal drinks: La-Croix for flavored seltzer water works for me and is cheap, and Costco has these 'Alani NU' energy drinks at 10 calories per that serve well to deliver caffeine and actually taste quite good.
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Comment on How do you even find quality appliances anymore? in ~life.home_improvement
l_one Link ParentFor me personally, I would not choose to have an ice maker, both to reduce complexity and also because it means the fridge will then need a water line input which is another source of failure...For me personally, I would not choose to have an ice maker, both to reduce complexity and also because it means the fridge will then need a water line input which is another source of failure (water leak damage is expensive and a horrible frustration to have fixed what with tearing floors apart).
I just use plastic ice cube trays in the freezer. Nothing to fail there.
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Comment on How do you even find quality appliances anymore? in ~life.home_improvement
l_one LinkGeneral tech contractor here: Buy dumb, buy simple, and consider buying old. Buy dumb: avoid smart features. Hell, avoid screens and buttons. Buy simple: literally the fewer features the better....General tech contractor here:
Buy dumb, buy simple, and consider buying old.
Buy dumb: avoid smart features. Hell, avoid screens and buttons.
Buy simple: literally the fewer features the better.
Consider buying old: many older items were manufactured before planned obselecence reached those production lines. This comes with the caveat of doing research. For washer/dryers, if you can find any that are 'Speed Queen' brand, get them.
Refrigerators: avoid ice makers, or at least if you must have an ice maker, select one that has the ice maker IN THE DAMN FREEZER SECTION. If it's in the door it is more likely to fail, if it is in the non-frozen section it will be competing thermally and cause problems. While there are exceptions, get freezer-on-top, not freezer-on-bottom. Much simpler, less to go wrong.
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Comment on Service jobs now require bizarre personality test from AI company - 404 Media investigation of Reddit post trend in ~life
l_one LinkSo, I have seen variations on this theme before and have come to my own conclusion about the root intent behind it, which I am confident is meant to be obscure. I do not believe this actually...So, I have seen variations on this theme before and have come to my own conclusion about the root intent behind it, which I am confident is meant to be obscure.
I do not believe this actually gives real, objective data on personality. That isn't the point.
The purpose of these bizarre, bullshit 'tests' and series of hoops candidates are forced to jump through is to filter out people who won't accept being abused and select for desperation.
A person who is willing to call this out for what it is and refuse to participate is filtered out.
A person who is financially desperate and has little choice but to accept what is dumped on them and jump through all these hoops is selected for, leaving the companies using these tools with a filtered pool of candidates far more likely to work for the lowest pay and accept being exploited.
After I clawed my way out of poverty and solidified myself in a better position of financial security (no debt, low expenses and money in the bank) I found myself in a position to not accept being treated like this and refused to participate in these kind of filtering tools.
And you know what? I still got contracts, I still got jobs. I found myself in the position of telling people "I'm sorry, but I don't see a good purpose in doing this and I have other demands on my time" and "no, I'm not willing to agree to these contract clauses as they are blatantly lopsided - can you please explain why you want me to waive my right to any legal proceeding and resolve any dispute through your in-house arbitration? That is clearly not only not in my favor, but also effectively hands you complete power in any dispute." These are parts of conversations I had with the owners of companies I did work for - admittedly small companies, not giant corporations - and it worked out in my favor. I still worked with them, still got paid, didn't have to jump through these bizarre hoops and got my contracts amended to versions that didn't cause me to cringe in disgust.
So that's my take on these practices. They are the current evolution of one of the tools being used to exploit people and filter out those who would object to being exploited.
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Comment on I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take this bizarre personality test in ~life
l_one LinkSo, I have seen variations on this theme before and have come to my own conclusion about the root intent behind it, which I am confident is meant to be obscure. I do not believe this actually...So, I have seen variations on this theme before and have come to my own conclusion about the root intent behind it, which I am confident is meant to be obscure.
I do not believe this actually gives real, objective data on personality. That isn't the point.
The purpose of these bizarre, bullshit 'tests' and series of hoops candidates are forced to jump through is to filter out people who won't accept being abused and select for desperation.
A person who is willing to call this out for what it is and refuse to participate is filtered out.
A person who is financially desperate and has little choice but to accept what is dumped on them and jump through all these hoops is selected for, leaving the companies using these tools with a filtered pool of candidates far more likely to work for the lowest pay and accept being exploited.
After I clawed my way out of poverty and solidified myself in a better position of financial security (no debt, low expenses and money in the bank) I found myself in a position to not accept being treated like this and refused to participate in these kind of filtering tools.
And you know what? I still got contracts, I still got jobs. I found myself in the position of telling people "I'm sorry, but I don't see a good purpose in doing this and I have other demands on my time" and "no, I'm not willing to agree to these contract clauses as they are blatantly lopsided - can you please explain why you want me to waive my right to any legal proceeding and resolve any dispute through your in-house arbitration? That is clearly not only not in my favor, but also effectively hands you complete power in any dispute." These are parts of conversations I had with the owners of companies I did work for - admittedly small companies, not giant corporations - and it worked out in my favor. I still worked with them, still got paid, didn't have to jump through these bizarre hoops and got my contracts amended to versions that didn't cause me to cringe in disgust.
So that's my take on these practices. They are the current evolution of one of the tools being used to exploit people and filter out those who would object to being exploited.
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Comment on How do/did you survive post-war social disarray and unreliable/non-existent supply chains? in ~talk
l_one Link ParentI remember reading this, I think over a decade ago, and it very much stuck with me. A valuable experience and point of view that I am glad I got to read.I remember reading this, I think over a decade ago, and it very much stuck with me. A valuable experience and point of view that I am glad I got to read.
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Comment on How do/did you survive post-war social disarray and unreliable/non-existent supply chains? in ~talk
l_one (edited )Link ParentI feel I should mention that I have been / thought of myself as a 'prepper' for decades now. But there is the stereotype associated with that word, and then there is a wide range of very different...I feel I should mention that I have been / thought of myself as a 'prepper' for decades now. But there is the stereotype associated with that word, and then there is a wide range of very different people doing very different things who either consider themselves to be preppers, or who others would consider to be preppers (or both).
For me, it means I have money in the bank (and cash) to cover most any random financial emergency. My girlfriend and I have a reasonably sized pantry: such that if for whatever reason come time I would usually do a grocery run, say instead we needed to not go out for anything for an extra few weeks? We still wouldn't be out of (nearly) anything except a few fresh produce items. We have water filter pitchers which we use all the time (tastes better after being filtered) - but this also means we keep water filtration capability in the home. I keep a can of spare diesel in my van (my van is a diesel), and a can of spare gas for helping out others on the roadside. I trained in, and later taught martial arts when I was younger and carry a pistol because I believe in the right to self defense and also that I don't get to choose or know ahead of time what day might be one of the worst of my life. I keep some spare non-perishable food and drink items in my van in case I get stuck somewhere (or just to have a snack available without needing to stop somewhere first), and reasonable equipment to get myself unstuck (shovel, maxtrax, jack and tire change stuff). I keep what many would call a bug out bag in my van - I just call it an overnight bag - with a quality power bank to charge my phone if the battery dies, a change of clothes in case I fall in the mud and get filthy, stuff like that which is actually likely to be helpful in commonly occurring minor inconveniences to moderate emergencies. I was a paramedic and keep a medical bag with me in the van as well. We have 2 cats, and I buy their catfood and litter in bulk every few months - saves fuel (in picking up the cat litter), saves shipping on ordering the catfood, and if, say, the company I order the catfood from was out of their preferred food for some reason, I could easily wait a few weeks or a month without having to transition my cats to a different food.
For me, being a prepper is just learning things that I think are likely to be useful and having stuff on-hand ahead of when I might need if for things that are reasonable / actually likely to happen. I don't, for example, keep iodine tablets to prevent the uptake of certain isotopes if a nuke goes off near me - that.... doesn't seem like a reasonable or likely thing in my view.
Hm, interesting.
I'm listening to one of his videos now (the one on targeting Russian oil infrastructure), thank you for sharing that.