mat's recent activity
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Comment on Why socialists should embrace luxury apartments in ~society
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Comment on Why socialists should embrace luxury apartments in ~society
mat LinkI don't care what kind of housing gets built, I care about who owns it. The state (aka the people) should own anything - anything - that's being rented. All new builds should be state projects. No...I don't care what kind of housing gets built, I care about who owns it. The state (aka the people) should own anything - anything - that's being rented. All new builds should be state projects. No private landlords, no private developers.
If my local council builds and owns a string of £5m luxury properties they rent out for £10k/month or sell for a profit then I'm fine with that. That's revenue we can spend on social care, education, etc.
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Comment on The candidates standing in the Clacton by-election in ~society
mat LinkMy friends kid went to school with Kai Stephens and apparently there were always a LOT of stories about him, um, getting far too friendly with the family dog. Like, way more stories than just...My friends kid went to school with Kai Stephens and apparently there were always a LOT of stories about him, um, getting far too friendly with the family dog. Like, way more stories than just general school gossip.
Make of that what you will.
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Comment on Silicon Valley has a science fiction problem in ~tech
mat LinkRemember that brief period where Musk was naming stuff as if he was founding The Culture? I recall thinking at the time how much he had utterly, absolutely, galactically not understood Banks's...Remember that brief period where Musk was naming stuff as if he was founding The Culture?
I recall thinking at the time how much he had utterly, absolutely, galactically not understood Banks's creation and if this was how The Culture got started then I didn't want any part of it.
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Comment on Need advice about work in ~life
mat Link ParentThe reason I'm not a software developer after 10+ years in the industry and instead work in a physical trade is that sitting at a desk for 8+ hours a day poking at a keyboard was horrendous for my...A lot of those jobs are hard on your body.
The reason I'm not a software developer after 10+ years in the industry and instead work in a physical trade is that sitting at a desk for 8+ hours a day poking at a keyboard was horrendous for my body.
Sure, bricklaying is a young person's job but plumbers and electricians and so on are not under the same kind of physical stress.
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Comment on Gift ideas for niece who’s into sewing? in ~life.women
mat Link ParentWhat @Banazir said, or you can get scissor sharpening tools/jigs which are not quite as good as doing it "properly" on a stone - but much better than having blunt scissors and have a much...What @Banazir said, or you can get scissor sharpening tools/jigs which are not quite as good as doing it "properly" on a stone - but much better than having blunt scissors and have a much shallower learning curve.
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Comment on Need advice about work in ~life
mat LinkIf you're willing/able to spend time getting training and/or working a low-paid apprentice position for a while, I'd suggest a skilled physical trade. Electrical is not getting replaced by AI any...If you're willing/able to spend time getting training and/or working a low-paid apprentice position for a while, I'd suggest a skilled physical trade. Electrical is not getting replaced by AI any time soon. You can make really good money if you're good at the job. Another bonus being you don't have to sit at a desk for eight hours a day. See also, plumbing, heating/cooling engineering, telecoms, etc. etc.
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Comment on Gift ideas for niece who’s into sewing? in ~life.women
mat Link ParentI'm pretty certain this is a myth, which I believe came about to try and keep non-sewers from borrowing fabric scissors and leaving them somewhere that's not my sewing box where they should be....(assuming they aren't used to cut materials other than fabric).
I'm pretty certain this is a myth, which I believe came about to try and keep non-sewers from borrowing fabric scissors and leaving them somewhere that's not my sewing box where they should be. Decent scissors are made from decent steel and decent steel doesn't give a crap about whether it's being used on paper or cotton or plastic or silk or whatever. There is not, to my reasonably informed knowledge as an occasional bladesmith, a type of steel which can happily cut denim but somehow gets blunted on cardboard.
Also you should sharpen scissors fairly regularly regardless of what you're cutting with them.
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Comment on Looking for headphone recommendations in ~music
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Comment on Gift ideas for niece who’s into sewing? in ~life.women
mat LinkMy niece is into sewing too. I got her a really nice pair of embroidery scissors. Good tools not only last a lifetime, but they make the process of making more enjoyable. She was really pleased...My niece is into sewing too. I got her a really nice pair of embroidery scissors. Good tools not only last a lifetime, but they make the process of making more enjoyable. She was really pleased and uses them a lot.
edit: she doesn't have to be into embroidery to use embroidery scissors - they get used as thread snips and for making little trim cuts and so on. They're useful little things and I wish I'd bought myself a set too! Stork pattern optional but it is traditional.
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Comment on Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle for $13,995 in US in ~transport
mat Link ParentI used to drive an MG Midget, which with it's roof up was probably about the same height as this. Maybe a bit shorter. But it is much longer, and wider (and even the Midget is small by modern...I used to drive an MG Midget, which with it's roof up was probably about the same height as this. Maybe a bit shorter. But it is much longer, and wider (and even the Midget is small by modern roadster standards). It never felt incredibly safe and did require the kind of assertive driving you're talking about, but I never really felt invisible. I drove a Smart Car for a bit and a Fiat Panda and they were similar. Small, but OK. Nippy too, so feel easy to get out of the way of trouble.
But the amount of space the Topolino doesn't take up is ridiculous, even compared to other small cars. I barely spotted the one I encountered and I was in my Transit at the time, which has excellent visibility.
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Comment on Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles in ~games
mat Link ParentA Radeon RX9060 GFX card is about the same price as an entire PS5 console. Add in RAM, an SSD, a motherboard, cooling, case, controller, PSU, etc, plus the time cost of getting it all assembled...A Radeon RX9060 GFX card is about the same price as an entire PS5 console. Add in RAM, an SSD, a motherboard, cooling, case, controller, PSU, etc, plus the time cost of getting it all assembled and working and there's your answer.
Should ram and compute prices crater drastically and/or the PS6 be as expensive as it's rumoured to be then maybe the equation balances differently.
Right now for the difference in price I can buy at least one new bike and/or a lot of bike upgrades and bikes are more fun.
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
mat Link ParentI didn't set up anything, my bank did. Non-optionally. Every one of it's 24 million customers have 2FA on their accounts. Not SMS based, it's through their secure app. They even use it for...Just because you personally have proper 2FA setup doesn't mean the vast majority of people do
I didn't set up anything, my bank did. Non-optionally. Every one of it's 24 million customers have 2FA on their accounts. Not SMS based, it's through their secure app. They even use it for authentication on phone calls. It's pretty hard to ring up and pretend to be me (or ring me and pretend to be my bank), even if you have my passport - not that I've written my password, memorable name and security number down in my passport anyway but I guess in theory someone might have done that. Going into a branch might be a little easier but I suspect merely having a customer under sixty turn up in person would ring some alarm bells.
Enjoy the 6-10 months of not having your money while you escalate and deal with investigations.
Last time I was a victim of fraud - via dodgy Direct Debits, not credit card - it took one phone call and the money was back in my account within 24 hours. Then it happened again the next month and.. same. Then I left that bank because they had terrible security protocols. My current bank is better, a couple of times I've got a message from them saying they stopped a suspicious payment before it even left my account.
When the banks are made the ones at fault for letting fraud happen, turns out it was pretty simple to prevent a lot of fraud - they just had to spend a bit of money on making their systems better, and it was cheaper to do that than pay out for customer's lost money. Scams are not so easy to deal with but they are a slightly different beast.
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Comment on Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle for $13,995 in US in ~transport
mat LinkHuh. I saw one of these in the wild for the first time just a few days ago. There is absolutely no. fucking. way I would drive one. I'm happy sharing the road with cars as a cyclist, because on my...Huh. I saw one of these in the wild for the first time just a few days ago. There is absolutely no. fucking. way I would drive one. I'm happy sharing the road with cars as a cyclist, because on my bike I'm relatively high up and can make eye contact with drivers. Also my lights are high up and my helmet has reflective strips and so on. I am visible. But this thing is so low and so small as to basically disappear into traffic. It has almost no protection for it's "riders" in case of an accident. Sure, crashing at 19mph on your own isn't so bad but it's the car that hits you which is where things get nasty.
I'm all for small EV city cars but this is a step too far, purely on the basis of safety.
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
mat Link ParentIf you have my passport that doesn't give you any kind of access to my bank account. Nor would my NI number. Or, really, my actual bank account details. My bank account has 2FA, pattern based...If you have my passport that doesn't give you any kind of access to my bank account. Nor would my NI number. Or, really, my actual bank account details. My bank account has 2FA, pattern based fraud detection and, purely for security purposes of course, is almost empty.
More seriously that's exactly why we have banks be responsible for fraud, not consumers. If I turn up and pretend to be you and borrow money, you're not liable for that. That is the bank's fault. That's why consumer protection laws matter, because data isn't secure and won't ever be.
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
mat Link ParentI didn't mention nation states for that very reason. States are not the only groups running bots all over social media. The dumb fuck far-right political activists are significantly active as...I didn't mention nation states for that very reason. States are not the only groups running bots all over social media. The dumb fuck far-right political activists are significantly active as well, at least in the UK, and they are not as smart nor as well resourced as the Russians or Americans or whoever.
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
mat Link ParentI dunno, I think it's relevant. What identity is matters when you're talking about identity! What you're talking about is my advertising profile, not my identity. That's boring. It's not me. I...I dunno, I think it's relevant. What identity is matters when you're talking about identity! What you're talking about is my advertising profile, not my identity. That's boring. It's not me. I don't care about that. Anyone is welcome to it. You can't steal something from me that I didn't create, don't own and don't care about.
I don't have a government ID and my credit card has so much fraud prevention and security baked into it that it's sometimes hard for me to spend money. Neither of which I have needed to prove my age so far anyway.
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
mat Link ParentYou don't have to hand over your whole identity. I'm not sure how you'd even do that. My identity isn't my passport or my credit card or my National Insurance number or anything discrete like...You don't have to hand over your whole identity. I'm not sure how you'd even do that. My identity isn't my passport or my credit card or my National Insurance number or anything discrete like that, it's a complex and ever-shifting arrangement of thoughts and opinions and preferences. All you have to do is prove your age. Having done so in several cases since the UK "omg won't somebody think of the children" adult content age-gate going up, that proof doesn't have to even include your name.
Sure, Meta et al would probably prefer your entire identity but if you've been using their services any amount of time they already know tonnes of stuff about you anyway.
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
mat Link ParentOf course. There's always a way around. But (a) it makes it harder work and (b) not all misinformation/propaganda is spread by nation states.Of course. There's always a way around. But (a) it makes it harder work and (b) not all misinformation/propaganda is spread by nation states.
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
mat Link ParentAdditional to that, you can still be unanonymous on Instagram and anonymous elsewhere. Also being age-verified internally at a platform doesn't mean I'm not still anonymous on the public facing...Additional to that, you can still be unanonymous on Instagram and anonymous elsewhere.
Also being age-verified internally at a platform doesn't mean I'm not still anonymous on the public facing side of it.
To be honest, a bit of unanonymity might be a good thing for social media. Harder to be a propaganda bot when you have to prove who you are to have an account. If the networks cared about such things, of course.
Fortunately the fact that your country elects a temporary King once every four years, and is so broken it's done that twice with Donald Fucking Trump, doesn't really affect me. At least on this issue. And I'm not sure, if it did, whether that would affect what I would like to have happen in an ideal world. If we're making wishes for the removal of the leech/landlord class entirely, why not tack in another wish to have a President who isn't... well, that guy. Neither thing is going to happen anyway.
I don't know if America has what we'd call "council houses", which are owned by the city/town/area they're located in but it's just that really, but more.