mat's recent activity
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Comment on Lords a-leaving: Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years in ~society
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Comment on Lords a-leaving: Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years in ~society
mat Link ParentOligarchs are far worse. They're deliberate. Peers are just accidents of birth. The thing about the House of Lords is that they're not really rulers as such, they're more sort of advisors with...Oligarchs are far worse. They're deliberate. Peers are just accidents of birth.
The thing about the House of Lords is that they're not really rulers as such, they're more sort of advisors with some limited powers. The hereditary section of the House, comprising 91 members of which only 15 are non-elected (out of 842 seats total), are close to being a non-issue in the UK government machine.
That said, I don't think we should keep them and this change is a good one, but they're not really a thing many people have been particularly worried about for a while. We could do to get rid of the Lords Spiritual as well (aka religious leaders) but again, they only get 26 seats and they commonly don't even vote on principle.
As far as British governmental reforms go the only one that matters - and probably least likely to happen - is changing our electoral system to proportional representation. A lot of other changes, including this one, is basically just rearranging deckchairs.
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Comment on When video games were brown in ~games
mat LinkAh, you beat me to it to post this. I really enjoyed this video, and it's nice to get some actual numbers backing up the claims of gen 7 brownness. If people haven't explored Ahoy's other content,...Ah, you beat me to it to post this. I really enjoyed this video, and it's nice to get some actual numbers backing up the claims of gen 7 brownness.
If people haven't explored Ahoy's other content, they have a lot of other similar videos on all sorts of gaming related stuff which is well worth some of your time. Their "Iconic Arms" series is particularly good, especially the Chainsaw episode. Also their investigation into the legendary game, Polybius is the definitive text on the topic as far as I'm concerned.
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Comment on California’s new bill requires Department of Justice-approved 3D printers that report on themselves in ~hobbies
mat Link ParentJust to give you a bit of non-US perspective - if I want to buy a gun, parts for a gun, ammunition or gunpowder in the UK I need a firearms license. To get one of those I have to explain why I...Just to give you a bit of non-US perspective - if I want to buy a gun, parts for a gun, ammunition or gunpowder in the UK I need a firearms license. To get one of those I have to explain why I need one to the satisfaction of the police, prove my mental health is in suitable shape, I need to prove I know how to handle things physically, have safe storage for all the stuff, have several character referees vouch for me and some other bits and pieces. I need to renew that licence every five years. I still can't own some types of gun or buy some kinds of ammo even if I have a license (full or semi-autos, all handguns, some of the nastier bullet types, some other niche things too like rocket launchers and so on).
I believe most of the world's countries have similar requirements, although I think the UK leans a little on the side of being more restrictive compared to many places. Personally I would prefer even stronger regulation here than we already have.
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Comment on Group chat solutions for small groups? in ~comp
mat LinkSeveral people have mentioned Telegram. It's worth noting that Telegram has almost certainly been compromised by the FSB. They're happy to dish out user data to other governments as well....Several people have mentioned Telegram. It's worth noting that Telegram has almost certainly been compromised by the FSB. They're happy to dish out user data to other governments as well. Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, claims otherwise but there's a whole big lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest he's lying. He's also happy taking Elon's filthy cash which may be the wrong side of an ethical red line for you.
Personally I wouldn't touch Telegram with a very long bargepole and I mostly don't give a crap about privacy.
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentEntirely agree, and that is why I caveated my comment with "almost nobody" and "decent bitrate". If you're hearing compressors and so on then yes, you're absolutely listening at the "almost...Entirely agree, and that is why I caveated my comment with "almost nobody" and "decent bitrate". If you're hearing compressors and so on then yes, you're absolutely listening at the "almost nobody" level and you probably can hear the differences.
I can just about spot the difference between Google Music's standard and "high quality" streams on well mastered albums I know well on headphones I know well (particularly Morcheeba's Big Calm on my ancient but still wonderful HD600s). But then I can't tell the difference between the lossless or CD versions and the high quality streams at all.
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentThere's absolutely an element of that. Nobody's brain wants to admit their 99.999% pure silver hand braided oxygen-free cables don't make things sound better because otherwise they'd also have to...There's absolutely an element of that. Nobody's brain wants to admit their 99.999% pure silver hand braided oxygen-free cables don't make things sound better because otherwise they'd also have to admit they were a complete idiot for spending the kind of money which could otherwise pay for a really pretty nice holiday (check out the price on the 10m ones) on some bits of useless wire.
I did once encounter one guy (they're almost always men) who spent tens of thousands of pounds building a specially designed room to keep his hifi in, then far more on the gear itself to go in there, only to then complain that most of the recordings he listened to sounded bad because the studio they were recorded in "obviously wasn't using quality equipment"
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentSomeone once suggested I start selling "haunted" jewellery, which commands a terrifying price markup, but my worry would be someone would buy something hoping it would cure their illness or help...Someone once suggested I start selling "haunted" jewellery, which commands a terrifying price markup, but my worry would be someone would buy something hoping it would cure their illness or help their addiction or something and I couldn't live with myself thinking that had happened. But audiophiles are the only group of people I would feel completely happy ripping off with some made-up bullshit woo-based product. Because at least you know they're only spending money they can afford to waste. Nobody is choosing between speaker cable holders (yes, they exist and they are FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY FUCKING POUNDS FOR THREE) and paying for grandma's care home bills or whatever.
A friend of my dad's made a "mains cleaner" which was pretty much just a 19" box with a capacitor, a switch and an LED. You flicked the switch and the LED came on. He then, to his own surprise as much as anyone else's, won a What Hi-Fi gold award for it and sold a load of them at £750 each (and this was in the late 90s!). The parts cost less than £15 and almost all of that was the case itself.
fwiw What-Hifi's headphone reviews are pretty decent. They have a rolling "best wireless/best earbud/etc" pages which is constantly up to date. I check there every time I need some new cans - although I usually just buy whatever Sony or Sennheisers fit my budget because I know they make things my ears like. Good audio gear is worth spending a little money on. "Audiophile" gear is not.
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat (edited )LinkBlind ABX tests consistently show that most things audiophiles think make a difference to sound quality, don't. Almost nobody can hear the difference between decent bitrate MP3 and lossless...Blind ABX tests consistently show that most things audiophiles think make a difference to sound quality, don't. Almost nobody can hear the difference between decent bitrate MP3 and lossless codecs, for example. But this is the most extreme, and to be honest genuinely surprising, example I've seen for a while.
When I used to sell hifi, high end interconnects were something we were heavily inventivised to upsell customers on because the markups on them were the highest in the shop and given we sold hifi, that was a pretty high bar! In my experience they make zero noticeable difference to audio quality.
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In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud
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Comment on Repotting houseplants: is it really necessary? How to know when to do it? in ~hobbies
mat Link ParentI had a bamboo orchid in the same fairly small pot for 10 straight years. After a while it just stopped getting bigger. I eventually repotted it when I had more space to keep it in and it...As long as you water and fertilize as needed (which will become more and more frequently), probably nothing much.
I had a bamboo orchid in the same fairly small pot for 10 straight years. After a while it just stopped getting bigger. I eventually repotted it when I had more space to keep it in and it exploded.
Not literally. But it's doing very well now.
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Comment on Tell me that you've seen Moltbook, the AI to AI social network in ~tech
mat LinkMoltbook hype unravels: Viral posts were human-written, not AI, finds MIT Technology Review -
Comment on Europe’s $24 trillion breakup with Visa and Mastercard has begun in ~finance
mat Link ParentI'm fairly sure that if VISA's terrible, slow and out of date system didn't exist, someone would invent a better one very quickly. I'm also fairly sure that if they hadn't been sitting on a...a benefit that wouldn't exist if credit card companies weren't there
I'm fairly sure that if VISA's terrible, slow and out of date system didn't exist, someone would invent a better one very quickly. I'm also fairly sure that if they hadn't been sitting on a near-monopoly for so long, it would have happened long ago.
I can transfer money between my bank accounts in seconds using FPS. I can move money instantly internationally via services like Revolut or Paypal. I do not understand why visa's antiquated payment processing system is allowed to take several days. It's not accidental either. There is a delay in their system which has been programmed in. Computers don't do things slowly unless you explicitly ask them to. Nobody at my bank seems to understand why that delay exists.
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Comment on Wireless light/fan switch reccomendations in ~life.home_improvement
mat LinkI suspect there's a Sonoff smart switch which will do what you need. I have one which I control with a physical switch, it's very useful. You can configure them for all sorts of things and they're...I suspect there's a Sonoff smart switch which will do what you need. I have one which I control with a physical switch, it's very useful. You can configure them for all sorts of things and they're small enough to fit into a lot of back boxes so they plumb right into existing infrastructure.
Shelly also make similar things - I don't have any of their devices personally, but I have heard good things.
Both will also talk to most home automation systems so you can add more Smarts if you want later.
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Comment on Why the internet is terrified of London in ~society
mat Link ParentOoof, that was a rough watch. Poor guy, glad he's doing better now. It was a well made video though.Ooof, that was a rough watch. Poor guy, glad he's doing better now. It was a well made video though.
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Comment on Elon Musk says SpaceX will prioritize a city on the moon instead of a colony on Mars in ~space
mat Link ParentA friend of mine worked at Biosphere 2 (site staff, not inside the domes) during Missions 1 and 2 and he says Steve Bannon is the worst person he's ever met and he was instrumental in the downfall...A friend of mine worked at Biosphere 2 (site staff, not inside the domes) during Missions 1 and 2 and he says Steve Bannon is the worst person he's ever met and he was instrumental in the downfall of the project - although he admits it probably would have failed by itself without Bannon anyway.
However, my friend remains enthusiastic (and knowledgable) about the Biosphere project conceptually, despite all the many flavours of fuckiness which went along with it, and he still believes it is do-able with enough money and effort on board. And, obviously, not Steve Bannon.
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Comment on Why the internet is terrified of London in ~society
mat LinkEvan Edinger, an American who has lived in London for the last 13+ years, I mostly know for somewhat lightweight but fairly well made "wow look at how different the UK is from the US" kind of...Evan Edinger, an American who has lived in London for the last 13+ years, I mostly know for somewhat lightweight but fairly well made "wow look at how different the UK is from the US" kind of content (apologies to them if their channel is more than this, that's just what I've seen going past my recommends page) has put together a great video about misinformation.
It's specifically about the current deluge of "London bad" content, but the general message applies in a much wider context.
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Why the internet is terrified of London
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Comment on RCS — SMS via the internet — is good, but it doesn't matter in ~tech
mat Link ParentWhatapp accounts are phone numbers. They don't know my name (other than what I chose to enter) or address or even have an email for me. They can't use that number to contact me, I guess they might...Whatapp accounts are phone numbers. They don't know my name (other than what I chose to enter) or address or even have an email for me. They can't use that number to contact me, I guess they might be able to see if I enter it into certain forms on the internet, but that's likely approaching some serious data protection laws.
Anyway, even if what you say is accurate, and I don't believe it is for me because where I live GDPR is a thing, I don't care. Really could not care less. This "massive surveillance apparatus" has no noticable impact on my life. Meta have almost 20 years of my "data" at this point and what's my Facebook feed full of ads for? Tobacco and alcohol. I haven't smoked or drunk for longer than they've been harvesting information about me!
99% of my messaging is done via Whatsapp. I might prefer Signal but I don't care enough to try, especially because I will never get enough other people to use it. Also Signal's desktop app was pretty bad last time I used it. My phone doesn't seem to require significant resources to run Whatsapp, at least not enough for me to notice.
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Comment on RCS — SMS via the internet — is good, but it doesn't matter in ~tech
mat Link ParentYou don't need a Meta account to use Whatsapp and having recently installed it myself on brand new hardware (rather than transferring data/settings from my old phone), it won't even ask you to...You don't need a Meta account to use Whatsapp and having recently installed it myself on brand new hardware (rather than transferring data/settings from my old phone), it won't even ask you to create one, let alone force the issue.
I'm sure there are other reasons people might choose not to use it, of course.
OK so to clarify, people who have chosen to get rich and then chosen to use that money to gain and wield political power are worse for society than people who were born into having far less power. Business-created oligarchs (cf hereditary ones) explicitly choose to gain and use their power, it's intentional action on their part. Showing up to the House of Lords is intentional as well, to an extent, but perhaps less so, and possibly for better reasons although obviously that depends on the peer in question. There's no sense of noblesse oblige in business - although of course that shouldn't be the basis of a system of government either.
To put it another way, a sleepy Lord on the benches of the upper house or sitting on some obscure committee is far less dangerous to the fabric of the country and it's democracy than a billionaire leaning over the PM's shoulder or worse, as we can literally see happening right now, funding a far right political movement.
It is possible btw that there actually wasn't any law endowing peers with positions in the Lords. It's not called an unwritten constitution for nothing. All sorts of parts of the British political apparatus are nothing more than traditions and unspoken agreements. Surprisingly, it does seem to mostly work.
edit: it's worth adding that many hereditary peers are not rich people. They might own lots of assets in the form of country houses and land, but they are often not rich in usable 'money' (I know the difference between cash and assets in the context of say, Elon Musk). But a business oligarch can sell shares or leverage them for loans but a country house is less useful for that kind of thing. You can't sell a wing. You often can't even sell land that you own on paper but in reality is tied up in family trusts and so on. One of my friends at university was the scion of a hereditary peer and they just lived in a normal house and had normal jobs. They often got bumped on flights and restaurants and so on because of the title attached to their name, but that was as far as it went. I know a current Baronness (created, not inherited) who is very similar.