nacho's recent activity
-
Comment on Sperm from donor with cancer-causing gene at Denmark's European Sperm Bank was used to conceive almost 200 children across Europe in ~health
-
Comment on Without looking, do you have a vague idea of your coordinates? in ~talk
nacho Link ParentYeah coordinates regularly come up for work. I was off by less than 0.01 degrees latitude and longitude sitting in the office. Given minutes and seconds (i.e. XX° YY′ ZZ″ South, AA° BB′ CC″ West...Yeah coordinates regularly come up for work. I was off by less than 0.01 degrees latitude and longitude sitting in the office.
Given minutes and seconds (i.e. XX° YY′ ZZ″ South, AA° BB′ CC″ West format), I'd do considerably worse. Luckily I don't ever use sea charts, which is the only application I can think of where that's still standard.
-
Comment on Golden Globe nominations: ‘One Battle After Another’ leads film noms with nine in ~movies
nacho Link ParentYeah looks to be a very foreign-heavy year. I'd sorta count Kpop Demon hunters as "foreign". Barring major snubbs, it's winning at least a couple categories. It's wild to me that Pluribus has two...Yeah looks to be a very foreign-heavy year.
I'd sorta count Kpop Demon hunters as "foreign". Barring major snubbs, it's winning at least a couple categories.
It's wild to me that Pluribus has two tv-nominations even though it's only released six episodes thus far.
I'm surprised Black Mirror has nominations this year. I thought the most recent season fell extremely flat compared to previous episodes.
To me, the entire "Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television"-category seems misplaced. This is a format that doesn't deserve an award unless a bunch of other categories of similar niche content types are also given separate awards (a path I wouldn't go down).
-
Comment on Four proposals to improve the design of fuel economy standards in ~transport
nacho LinkI think one of the most important changes that doesn't require anything other than changing standards is moving from a "distance per volume" to a "volume per distance" standard for measuring fuel...I think one of the most important changes that doesn't require anything other than changing standards is moving from a "distance per volume" to a "volume per distance" standard for measuring fuel economy stated to consumers.
That would change behavior and purchasing patterns significantly, which is why it's resisted in the US oil companies.
Yes, numbers in miles per gallon or kilometers per liters is easier for estimating the range of your vehicle. But your vehicle already does that and gives you that number constantly updated simply as "range: ____ km/miles". It's not a needed number.
For emissions tracking or comparing fuel consumption, galons per 100 miles or liters per 100 km is a much better measure:
It's trivial to recognize how a light truck's fuel consumption (say 5 gallons per 100 miles) compares to a heavy semi that averages 17 gallons per 100 miles. This number also reflects that we're talking averages based on varied driving conditions, speed, congestion etc. and that the values in a single moment aren't important other than seeing that yes, hitting the throttle or brake consumes way more fuels than not pedaling to change driver behavior to efficient, but still safe ways of driving economically.
-
Comment on Can we maybe have an informal agreement to avoid posting articles that require you to sell your firstborn child to the devil just to read them? in ~tildes
nacho LinkOriginal reporting is often only available from the original source. I believe we should support original reporting. Those creating original reporting need to make money off their original...- Exemplary
Original reporting is often only available from the original source. I believe we should support original reporting.
Those creating original reporting need to make money off their original reporting or they cannot afford to make original reporting. If we aren't paying up front, that means giving them data or eyeballs on ads.
Good, independent news is more important than ever. I think we should agree to only post original sources.
If I choose not to accept the "terms" of the original source or it isn't even available in my country due to cookie laws/regulations, I believe it's on me to find an alternative source, not on those who take their time to share good content with us.
-
Comment on How Norway jeopardised its integrity overnight – Oslo abruptly changed the ethics rules for the world's largest sovereign wealth fund in ~finance
nacho LinkThis is an important conversation to have. There are some deficiencies in the otherwise good piece, that is quite informative to those who don't follow this $2 trillion dollar fund (it owns more...This is an important conversation to have.
There are some deficiencies in the otherwise good piece, that is quite informative to those who don't follow this $2 trillion dollar fund (it owns more than 1% of all publicly listed stocks by value).
I'll list three big gripes I have:
- Obviously the world's largest companies have platform effects that have led them to outperform others the last years. Not having "evidence" for this is lazy or an inexcusable lack of knowledge on behalf of the author.
Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla etc. We all know these companies are performing way above others and it'd be a huge loss of value to divest from big conglomerates or dominating interests due to marginal parts of their activity (like CAT).
- It is not Norway that determines whether or not the fund is seen as a political tool.
Therefore "there is a clear long-term political cost in giving up a framework that had insulated Norway’s investments from political pressure" relies on a false premise.
After the huge value gains the fund has had ( hundreds of billions of dollars) based off the war in Ukraine and higher oil and gas prices following, the fund with the very same rules is rightly viewed as a war-profiteering tool that's politically sanctioned by Norway.
Why not donate say 30% of the EXTRA gains due to the Ukraine war directly to Ukraine? European countries and parties are making new moral arguments on the ethics of Norway's spending of the fund. How far can you say "Well we have ethics rules, so all this extra gain is a-okay even though we all know it comes from an ongoing war we have an economic interest in lasting as long as possible as long as we're still pumping oil and gas".
- There is no "apolitical" move currently.
As outlined above, the fund is viewed as an economic actor. It would be viewed as an economic actor if the government doesn't follow the (now suspended) ethics board's recommendation to exclude a company.
There is no option where doing nothing in the current situation would ever be viewed as apolitical.
The whole premise of modern politics, especially on conflicts and values is that if you're not vocally supportive enough of the "correct side" you're supporting the other "wrong/amoral" side in the conflict. That's the whole idea behind identity-driven arguments that you're either with us or against us.
The whole idea of forcing others to take a stance on your one specific issue is the very modus operandi in a world after Trump's first year in his first term.
So what can the fund do? Changing governance rules seems to make a lot of sense. I struggle with other alternatives. The current ethics rules lead to all the political problems both nationally in Norway and internationally that the article scrapes the surface of.
-
Comment on NATO alphabet in ~talk
nacho LinkWhen people get me angry enough on the phone I do the whole: At, Bat, Cat, Fat, Gat, Hat, Mat, Nat, Pat, Rat, Sat, Tat, Vat, Yat, If passwords have many letters and you have to do many repetitions...When people get me angry enough on the phone I do the whole:
- At, Bat, Cat, Fat, Gat, Hat, Mat, Nat, Pat, Rat, Sat, Tat, Vat, Yat,
If passwords have many letters and you have to do many repetitions you can go even farther as needed with the non-words too for all other letters: Dat, Iat, Jat, Oat (not as in oats) etc.
This is innocuous enough that others end up dealing with it most of the time not thinking I'm being mega obtuse.
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
nacho LinkI'd build a full scale offshore wind farm! What a stupid idea, when it'll always be cheaper to do on land, where wind turbines are hugely profitable! Guaranteed money sink. Won't work. Things will...I'd build a full scale offshore wind farm! What a stupid idea, when it'll always be cheaper to do on land, where wind turbines are hugely profitable!
Guaranteed money sink. Won't work. Things will go wrong forcing billions in losses.
But someone will avoid the ridiculous mistakes we do the first time around, and that way we'll see if this is possible.
Even more ridiculous: If I don't lose the billions fast enough on the offshore wind farm, how about using that existing infrastructure to build nuclear fission reactors in international waters! Thus undercutting electricity prices to cut carbon emissions even further!
That'd be extra mega ridiculous.
Only downside: Some commercial companies actually think these are ideas that can make money. Someone needs to waste the billions first so they don't have to make those mistakes.
Why not magically rich, ridiculous me, so this reality can manifest sometimes in the future?
-
Comment on British Columbia rescuers use helicopter-mounted cell tower to find missing man in ~tech
nacho LinkI'm a little surprised this is its own news piece? The company itself says in the piece that their specific technology has been used in 200+ rescue operations previously. Maybe it's due to the...I'm a little surprised this is its own news piece? The company itself says in the piece that their specific technology has been used in 200+ rescue operations previously.
Maybe it's due to the strength of the tracking system or something? I'm struggling to see why this is a big deal.
Smith Myers is one of several manufacturers that've been putting these cell phone "towers" on rescue helicopters since the 1980s. It's standard gear on stuff like the AW 101, for example.
-
Comment on Czech Post halts parcel deliveries to US amid new tariff rules in ~society
nacho LinkMany other European countries have announced the same. There is no system for handling tarrifstolls packages worth less than a dollar value threshold, so postal services don't know what to do....Many other European countries have announced the same. There is no system for handling tarrifstolls packages worth less than a dollar value threshold, so postal services don't know what to do.
Royal Mail (UK), Belgian, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Luxembourg mail services, Australian Mail, Canada Mail, reportedly some DHL services, the list has been growing steadily the last couple of days.
There are a host of news articles about this. I can't seem to find anyone attempting to give an overview of all areas impacted though.
-
Comment on Europe's rich are watching Norway's election debate on wealth taxes – changes to taxation are at the heart of the centre-right's attempts to retake power in ~society
nacho Link ParentWealth taxes stimulate meaningless consumption. That's really bad for the environment. It's good for the planet that rich people do not spend millions on luxury to avoid wealth taxes by...Por que no los dos?
Wealth taxes stimulate meaningless consumption. That's really bad for the environment. It's good for the planet that rich people do not spend millions on luxury to avoid wealth taxes by consumption.
That's why not both.
Inheritance taxes can be designed so that you cannot simply dodge them by creating trusts or giving gifts to heirs or "charity".
Many countries manage this.
Taxing wealth and taxing capital gains/income are fundamentally different things.
If I own a house and have to pay a 1 percent wealth tax on the value of said house, I might have to sell the house to pay tax.
Only paying tax as gains are realized or wealth is transferred to another owner is entirely different, as are the moral arguments for those taxes.
(I'm in absolutely no way advocating for removing taxation on income/capital gains. To the contrary: We need to tax more types of asset transfers at the point in time when the assets are transferred. Like though significant inheritance taxes.)
-
Comment on Europe's rich are watching Norway's election debate on wealth taxes – changes to taxation are at the heart of the centre-right's attempts to retake power in ~society
nacho LinkWhat countries need are reasonable inheritance taxes. That's a much better solution than wealth taxes, for all parties involved. The moral arguments for inheritance taxes are much stronger than...What countries need are reasonable inheritance taxes. That's a much better solution than wealth taxes, for all parties involved.
The moral arguments for inheritance taxes are much stronger than re-taxing already taxed values if the value isn't spent/lost.
Wealth hoarding and huge inequality is perpetuated and reinforced by inheritance. Taxation when money goes from one generation to the next is a good idea.
-
Comment on What are your favorite and least favorite airports? in ~transport
nacho LinkAirports are mostly about where you have to go. The exception is when an itinerary requires layover(s) anyway, so you can choose between several routes where the number of hours door to door don't...Airports are mostly about where you have to go. The exception is when an itinerary requires layover(s) anyway, so you can choose between several routes where the number of hours door to door don't differ much in the end anyway.
That's the only time when airport preferences come into play, really. Even if it takes time on paper, I avoid the following three airports. It's just not worth it.
I avoid:
- All the London airports for transit. Especially Heathrow. They're terrible, delay-prone, expensive and ruin itineraries.
- Amsterdam (Schiphol), especially during weather/winter. Delay-prone both in- and outbound. Terminal switches happen regularly and suck due to distance. Many much better alternatives.
- Inbound to Newark. Immigration lines are often nightmarish. I dislike the food options/amenities for the hours you need to spend there to be sure you connect and get through immigration as planned.
When route durations and times are reasonably comparable, I prefer the following airports. For several of them, I'd rather go to one of the following even if it'll take longer on paper. When there are two or more layovers anyway, it's not like an hour saved or lost matters much. It's work/sleep time during the travel anyway, so it might as well be decent travel.
I prefer:
- Copenhagen or Iceland (Keflavik) to transit in Northern Europe. Get the job done where the above fail.
- Frankfurt. Efficient now they've managed to rehire enough staff post-covid. Good routes, decent food and shopping.
- Detroit for East Coast transit (Philly is good if connections match, especially inbound. Immigration is a breeze.)
- Atlanta. Connects well West and into the rest of the Americas. Works well. Decent food and services for a US airport.
- Singapore into Asia or the Pacific rather than any of the large Middle East hubs. All around nice, practical.
- San Diego if you have to connect on the West coast either going to Asia or elsewhere in the US. If the flights match, this is much preferable to LAX, Seattle etc.
- Into or out of China, nothing comes close to Guangzhou airport. Hong Kong was good until things got more complicated the last years. Not it's just extra hassle moving on, even though the airport itself is still great.
- New Dehli (Indira Gandhi int.) is good for Indian connections if I can't fly directly to where I need to go in India. It's preferable to many other layovers.
-
Comment on How to calculate how long a large project will be delayed? How likely it will be completed at all? in ~engineering
nacho LinkI strongly, strongly recommend the book "How Big Things Get Done" by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner. You need a book to answer this question in a satisfying way. This is that book. So far no-one...I strongly, strongly recommend the book "How Big Things Get Done" by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner.
You need a book to answer this question in a satisfying way. This is that book.
So far no-one has mentioned the key word to a number of the world's largest industries: Logistics.
Construction is all about logistics. Trade is all about logistics. Production/manufacture is all about logistics. Technology development is all about logistics.
How do you get people to spend as little time as possible waiting and as much time as possible doing the things needed to be done in the right order to finish. How do we wait as little as possible? The waiting is what costs money.
Logistics is the art of planning. It's the entrepreneurial organization of resources to get the most out of as little as possible to maximize whatever you're trying to do.
When and how will we know the price and completion date of the ship tunnel?
Someone will make a contractually binding bid for how much they're willing to accept as payment for doing the job under a particular set of constraints.
Sure, there may be delays. The company awarded the job may go bankrupt, but that's relatively rare. If the public institutions buying write good procurement contracts, things generally get delivered on time and on cost.
The issues here are extremely often one of two things:
- Estimations before the market has been tested to see what it'll cost and when it'll be done
- Public companies doing things themselves so they don't have to lock a due-date or a price in a way that isn't easy to renege on.
For guessing at when new technologies will mature, how much they'll cost and so on, all we've got are previous estimates and previous experiences developing previous technologies.
Those previous technologies are necessarily different to the new undeveloped technologies.
Another huge factor in play here are the systemic forces that lead to known underbudgeting to get a political project rolling, knowing that once money is spent, more money will follow.
Getting the ball rolling on building a project is what matters. That's a completely different game, and it's a huge business game with a lost of vested interests.
No other politician will stop a half-constructed bridge. If you start a bunch of things you can't afford to do all at once, you're forcing the hand of future politicians so they have to spend their limited time and agency on your project rather than whatever project they see as most important when they're in the deciding-chair.
This same dynamic exists for CEOs and companies, within families, within marriages and so on.
-
Comment on On being attractive in ~life
nacho LinkBeing attractive is also about a lot more things than physical appearance. It's also about behavior, smell, activities/interests, personality, how a person makes those around them feel, how those...Being attractive is also about a lot more things than physical appearance.
It's also about behavior, smell, activities/interests, personality, how a person makes those around them feel, how those around a person treat them and so on. On the internet, that often doesn't get the space it deserves based on how much it factors into things.
The male friend I have who gets hit on the most is also the heaviest of my friends. He's funny, flirty, extremely extroverted, dances and is good with kids (and love playing with them). He is present in the moment and attentive. When you give attention, of course you'll get more attention. And when you're seen getting attention, you get more attention.
Yes, there are factors that can't be changed or are hard to change.
Yes, appearance matters.
Yes, taking care of oneself matters in all regards, whether that's physical health, sleeping enough, personal hygiene, having a hair cut that suits you, being well-dressed, and yes, being at a healthy weight matter significantly.
In meatspace as opposed to online, appearance often isn't the first filter in a social setting. Behavior and interaction are way more important.
Being socially savvy is also an extremely important factor in succeeding professionally. Those who're stuck in the social mores of college or even high school when they're adults struggle.
-
Comment on Over twenty-one days of talking with ChatGPT, an otherwise perfectly sane man became convinced he was a superhero in ~tech
nacho Link ParentI think you're very right. I also think this is intentional. Tones of voice, "personalities", avatars and so on. Making LLMs "think" like people do, take breaks of different lengths between words...I think you're very right. I also think this is intentional. Tones of voice, "personalities", avatars and so on.
Making LLMs "think" like people do, take breaks of different lengths between words showing up etc. etc.
A lot of this is smoke and mirrors to make everyone forget these are just language models.
-
Comment on HiLobrow.com's the best 20th century adventure books in ~books
nacho LinkFun list! Surprising there's no Terry Pratchett and therefore no Discworld. No Tom Clancy (Jack Ryan series). Sophie's World was so huge in the mid 1990s that seems like a snub since it was such a...Fun list!
Surprising there's no Terry Pratchett and therefore no Discworld. No Tom Clancy (Jack Ryan series).
Sophie's World was so huge in the mid 1990s that seems like a snub since it was such a one-off.
- No Ian Fleming so no James Bond?
- No Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis?
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel surely deserves a spot in the last bracket.
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett surely deserves a spot just for the hundreds of millions of school children who have had this novel shape their early imaginations.
Some authors seem very heavily represented, and in several cases that's worthwhile.
There's very little Non-western literature here, as the compiler also notes. No Haruki Murakami though? The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini had an important role in showing the West that Afghanistan was more than a place to invade with people and a culture they didn't know anything about.
Lists are always hard. This is a pretty good one. I hope others have adventure books to suggest from this period! They're some of the best books, and I expect some of the books people will continue to read in the future because they're exciting and attention-gripping.
-
Comment on I've noticed an odd and possibly disturbing trend on Reddit lately in ~tech
nacho Link ParentI don't think it's standards so much as that they haven't experienced all the iterations through the years that are the reasons for rules against so many different title types. There's next to no...I don't think it's standards so much as that they haven't experienced all the iterations through the years that are the reasons for rules against so many different title types.
There's next to no transmission of mod knowhow between subreddits. All the mod spaces died years ago. New mods will take years to realize why those rules all the "old guard" mods put in place over the years are smart rules to have.
-
Comment on In landmark opinion, World Court says countries must address climate change threat in ~enviro
nacho Link ParentSolving climate change and reducing emissions plays out internationally as a wholly economic endeavor. This ruling doesn't change the economic calculus, and therefore won't lead to anything. I'm...Solving climate change and reducing emissions plays out internationally as a wholly economic endeavor.
This ruling doesn't change the economic calculus, and therefore won't lead to anything.
I'm struggling to remember an ICJ ruling that has forced the hand of a major power in recent years. The political calculus won't budge either.
One of the most difficult things with emissions is the gigantic economy of entrenched fossil fuel producers, consumers and systems.
They need to be usurped, and that requires more than green alternatives being cheaper. It requires change.
At least the ruling wasn't that there's no responsibility. This was entirely a situation that could have had a downside if the ruling were different. There was no upside with any result.
In today's political climate, energy self-sufficiency and energy systems are matters of national security. Militarization is sadly taking way too much of public money that could otherwise, at least in theory, be spent on the climate and nature crises.
-
Comment on Alerts fatigue, or would that be journalism fatigue? in ~news
nacho Link ParentAustralia sleeps at the same time, as do a majority of people in most societies. If I'm out of the news loop, so many conversations become "have you heard about ____" and someone having to explain...Australia sleeps at the same time, as do a majority of people in most societies.
If I'm out of the news loop, so many conversations become "have you heard about ____" and someone having to explain what has happened rather than discussing that same issue, implications, feelings etc.
That's what I'd lose and everyone loses if they're out of the loop: These important social aspects. The glue that keeps society together.
There's a reason many newspapers used to come out in print twice a day, and cities had mail 2. 3 or even 5 times a day: The ability to have a simultaneous conversation, in a society where people are living at the same present time with updated references has real value in many areas.
The Danish standard (that was put in place after this guy and others had so many kids) is a maximum 12 families (i.e. if they all want 2-3 kids we're talking dozens of half-siblings).
Even that sounds like a lot to me. I understand that it's hard to get both sperm and egg donors, but it just seems strange for all the kids who then end up with very complicated family situations due to no fault of their own.
Or I could just be old and out of touch.