mild_takes's recent activity

  1. Escaped monkeys and the post truth era

    ~talk Ask
    Its 2am and I should be asleep so I'm sorry if this is maybe just a weird midnight rant. Today I saw a news article on the other site about aggressive monkeys with covid and herpes escaping a...

    Its 2am and I should be asleep so I'm sorry if this is maybe just a weird midnight rant.

    Today I saw a news article on the other site about aggressive monkeys with covid and herpes escaping a crashed semi truck.

    My first reaction was "is this headline a joke" and I couldn't tell. Then I looked at the source (action news 5 or channel 5 action news, or... something) and even opened the page to have a look for clues of it being fake and without digging deeper I just couldn't tell if it was a legitimate news site or not. So I read the (short) article and looked for clues and it sounded probably legitimate. There was a photo of the scene with a monkey at the rear of a trailer but af this point I can't instantly spot AI images and who knows if it isn't just an old photo. Then I go to the reddit comment and they're parroting additional "facts" but nothing that felt substantial.

    I felt very struck by the feeling that I don't know if I can trust any information online unless it's REALLY from a trusted source, and I'm not really sure what sources I can trust anymore.

    Is this just me? Have you felt a significant change in the last few months? AI is playing a big part in my distrust, but Im also seeing echo chambers somehow get even worse.

    Also, it found out later that the monkeys weren't knfected with a bunch of viruses, it was some sort of miss-communication.

    25 votes

  2. Comment on At least 64 killed in Rio's largest police raid on gangs in ~news

    mild_takes
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    That's the size of a small army. 80+ arrested 50+ (gang members) dead. That ratio is insane. That's also insane. This is maybe a bit of a harsh opinion, but I feel like these gang members got what...

    about 2,500 security personnel

    That's the size of a small army.

    80+ arrested 50+ (gang members) dead. That ratio is insane.

    The Red Command (Comando Vermelho) responded with gunfire, burning barricades and dropping bombs from drones, officials said.

    That's also insane.

    This is maybe a bit of a harsh opinion, but I feel like these gang members got what they deserved. Organized crime is a serious scourge on society and the more power they gain, the more extreme measures must be taken to take away their power. If you're part of a gang that's willing to get into a gunfight with cops and drop bombs from drones then what is a country supposed to do...

    13 votes

  3. Comment on A 'death train' is haunting south Florida in ~transport

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    Ya, thats the right thing, and that makes sense. Building the system out in a way that you have enough heads up to stop in a good spot is definitely a strategy. BTW, blocks are kind of like the...

    I assumed they restructured the blocks (is that the right thing?) so that there was enough room outside campus for the whole train.

    Ya, thats the right thing, and that makes sense. Building the system out in a way that you have enough heads up to stop in a good spot is definitely a strategy.

    BTW, blocks are kind of like the zones where the system can detect a train (I don't know how to better describe that). You can have multiple blocks between signals or you can have one signal per block (right at the spots where the blocks change). So you usually have to change the blocks to move a light.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on A 'death train' is haunting south Florida in ~transport

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    I've seen pedestrian crossings built on walking trails just without warning lights. Trains have to whistle approaching them just like a regular crossing. It would probably work by kind of...

    I've seen pedestrian crossings built on walking trails just without warning lights. Trains have to whistle approaching them just like a regular crossing.

    It would probably work by kind of encouraging people to CROSS instead of lingering. Also giving people a nice path instead of hiking up the grade and hopping over rails. Thats all without warning lights.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on A 'death train' is haunting south Florida in ~transport

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    IIRC in the US there is no rule or law preventing trains from just blocking a crossing all day, which us crazy. I may be wrong, I don't know US operating rules. In Canada we can only be stopped on...

    IIRC in the US there is no rule or law preventing trains from just blocking a crossing all day, which us crazy. I may be wrong, I don't know US operating rules.

    In Canada we can only be stopped on public crossings for 5 minutes after a car shows up. The loophole if you block a crossing accidentally is to pull at 1 mph for as long as possible until you can go again.

    3 votes

  6. Comment on A 'death train' is haunting south Florida in ~transport

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    Strangely we have an area fenced off to prevent moose from getting hit. It's not the direction I normally travel though and it was in place before I hired on so I don't know about a before and...

    Strangely we have an area fenced off to prevent moose from getting hit. It's not the direction I normally travel though and it was in place before I hired on so I don't know about a before and after.

    I responded to @scroll_lock about wildlife crossings but I forgot to mention the wildlife fences. They do actually work and the fenced area ends on each side with a small bridge. The bridges act like a cattle guard and is a safe spot to cross (under) the tracks. Once in a while a moose gets in there and it usually ends in them getting hit.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on A 'death train' is haunting south Florida in ~transport

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    Fences stop average people from wandering in but if it's cutting off an existing route people travel then they end up geting cut.

    Fences stop average people from wandering in but if it's cutting off an existing route people travel then they end up geting cut.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on A 'death train' is haunting south Florida in ~transport

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    We don't have any of those where I am so I'm not sure. Familiarity seems to be a big factor though. We had a new elk herd move in and they seem to get hit way more than the other elk herd 100...

    We don't have any of those where I am so I'm not sure. Familiarity seems to be a big factor though. We had a new elk herd move in and they seem to get hit way more than the other elk herd 100 miles away.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on A 'death train' is haunting south Florida in ~transport

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    Ive said it before on tildes but I drive freight trains for a living. Before getting very far in the article I knew where this was going. Large population centers plus interactions with trains...

    Ive said it before on tildes but I drive freight trains for a living. Before getting very far in the article I knew where this was going. Large population centers plus interactions with trains equals people getting hit.

    Local groups will always oppose closing a grade crossing because they want to maintain the convenience of crossing there, even if someone dies occasionally. Individualistically, I get it. No one likes a detour. Tragedy of the commons. But they will also rarely themselves voluntarily help pay for a grade separation because no one wants to pay higher taxes, especially those who can afford it.

    If a crossing gets closed without doing a grade seperation then often you'll have pedestrians still crossing there. You've reduced the risk... for cars.

    Even some grade seperations don't eliminate risk. I was stoped once at a location with a major road underpass. Litterally as I was about to pull, a passing train warned me that a man with a bicycle was crossing over my train. People get killed doing this...

    Another thing that I've seen that's less than ideal are pedestrian overpasses/bridges. People aren't going to climb that when they can just walk over the track so you're back to the same problem.

    Elevating the rail is ideal for safety but you can't really just pop the tracks up and down, you need to have a long approach and descent, even longer for freight trains. As a result this makes the most sense in denser areas where you're eliminating multiple crossings in one shot.

    It really is mainly an issue of money like you suggest.

    I'm just glad that my terminal doesn't have too many incidents and the route I go REALLY doesnt. The only thing we regularly hit are animals. I don't like killing animals but it beats killing people. :-/

    34 votes

  10. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    Thats so laughable. One look at that trailer and you can tell it has such a strong African vibe that it's probably made by African people. A quick search and ya... the studio, Nyamakop, (if the...

    Thats so laughable. One look at that trailer and you can tell it has such a strong African vibe that it's probably made by African people. A quick search and ya... the studio, Nyamakop, (if the name isn't hint enough) is in South Africa.

    Some people need to get a life.

    6 votes

  11. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

    mild_takes
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Maybe you get brought in for questioning and either it's setup so you have dialog options or maybe real time ecents for like 30 minutes straight to simulate them trying to wear you down.

    there’s an investigation going on in the background

    Maybe you get brought in for questioning and either it's setup so you have dialog options or maybe real time ecents for like 30 minutes straight to simulate them trying to wear you down.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on A quarter of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is gone in ~society

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    I heard people talking about this kind of stuff probably 8 to 10 years ago. At the time the discussion was more about post 9/11 surveilance as well as corporate espionage done by border agents...

    IT department is modifying its policy to provide temporary devices for travel to the US like they do for travel to China.

    I heard people talking about this kind of stuff probably 8 to 10 years ago. At the time the discussion was more about post 9/11 surveilance as well as corporate espionage done by border agents collecting info and someone else handing it over to american businesses.

    I would be more worried about the US today than back then, but it may be an idea to have this policy for any border crossing regardless of the country or current politics.

    2 votes

  13. Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    Hah, I wish. Some guy on YouTube is working on setting that up as a stunt. I don't think it's really going to happen though.

    Hah, I wish.

    Some guy on YouTube is working on setting that up as a stunt. I don't think it's really going to happen though.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk

    mild_takes
    Link
    A race track (probably multiple tracks in a compound for different types of races) and a fleet of expensive cars plus seed money to start some race teams. It's not even that I'm into racing its...

    A race track (probably multiple tracks in a compound for different types of races) and a fleet of expensive cars plus seed money to start some race teams.

    It's not even that I'm into racing its just that it sounds heckin cool and motorsports is an easy way to spend a ton of cash.

    If I had money left over I'd use some to try bribing formula 1 into having a race at my facility because hell ya.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on GrapheneOS is finally ready to break free from Pixels, and it may never look back in ~tech

    mild_takes
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    Not sure what the phone will be but I'm glad to see a change happen. Maybe this will also open the door to having a device that comes with GrapheneOS pre-installed? I can handle the install...

    Not sure what the phone will be but I'm glad to see a change happen. Maybe this will also open the door to having a device that comes with GrapheneOS pre-installed? I can handle the install process just fine (its really easy) but others wanting access to a privacy/security focused phone may not be tech savvy or have access to a computer.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Synology caves, walks back some drive restrictions on upcoming NAS models in ~tech

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    Of, never heard of that one. It really makes me wonder what these companies are thinking. With coffee it's SO EASY to buy/use a regular coffee maker (it irks me keurig's even exist) and with NAS's...

    pulling a Keurig

    Of, never heard of that one. It really makes me wonder what these companies are thinking. With coffee it's SO EASY to buy/use a regular coffee maker (it irks me keurig's even exist) and with NAS's there are a lot of different brands that do similar things. I don't know too much about different NAS features but it can't be worth being screwed over.

    On a side note, did anyone else notice a ton of sponsored spots soon after synology initially pulled that crap? I saw a completely sponsored YouTube short from Xyla Foxlin and I don't think I've seen her doing a full on sponsored video like that before. The comments were NOT kind towards synology.

  17. Comment on White House in a bind as soybean sales to China plummet to zero in ~society

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    I get the feeling that most Americans are pretty distracted by everything else going on to notice this. It's been pretty crazy over the last week, month... year?

    I get the feeling that most Americans are pretty distracted by everything else going on to notice this. It's been pretty crazy over the last week, month... year?

    27 votes

  18. Comment on British Columbia Premier David Eby announces new Prince George, Surrey involuntary care facilities in ~health.mental

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    He is the overseer... of chaos.

    He is the overseer... of chaos.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on British Columbia Premier David Eby announces new Prince George, Surrey involuntary care facilities in ~health.mental

    mild_takes
    Link
    This comment gave me a laugh. The day crossroads burned down there were several very public incidents in Prince George. This meme photo circulated on Facebook and Reddit afterwards. In one day,...

    As a regional hub, Prince George makes sense for the site — and it has also had its fair share of street disorder recently. This includes the burning of the downtown CrossRoads brewery in an alleged arson.

    This comment gave me a laugh.

    The day crossroads burned down there were several very public incidents in Prince George. This meme photo circulated on Facebook and Reddit afterwards. In one day, starting from top right going clockwise... an ambulance was taken out by a stolen pickup truck with a boat on a trailer (in other photos the boat was also knocked off the trailer and randomly in the road), Crossroads (local brewery and restaurant) burned down, a man got pulled over in a Barbie Jeep and arrested for DUI (he had a suspended liscence due to a previous DUI), some sort of incident at Burger King with a cop role playing as an action hero, and Mr PG.

    6 votes

  20. Comment on British Columbia Premier David Eby announces new Prince George, Surrey involuntary care facilities in ~health.mental

    mild_takes
    Link Parent
    I hope we can get some more. Seeing that recent press event about Tylenol... it really made it obvious that it's only going to get harder to be a doctor in the US. We can either spend money on...

    It's nice to hear we are getting more healthcare workers from the US but it's really just a tiny fraction of what is needed.

    I hope we can get some more. Seeing that recent press event about Tylenol... it really made it obvious that it's only going to get harder to be a doctor in the US.

    the government is broke and already running huge deficits, multiple unions striking for higher pay and more to come. It's a tough situation we are in.

    We can either spend money on putting these people in facilities or we can keep spending money on the emergency care and services they use and the damage their causing in our society. This is a scary moment in terms of finances but I wonder if this is maybe even the cheaper option?

    3 votes