nacho's recent activity
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Comment on Summer US box office hits all-time $4.76B record: how audiences surrendered to moviegoing in ~movies
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Comment on We surveyed 6,000 Americans. Here is the winning message for Democrats - Opinion, Dustin Guastella and Erica Etelson in ~society
nacho Link ParentI don't think it's worthwhile to have a long conversation about why an independent running as a Democrat, who was famously lauded by many progressives for not compromising, and whose whole...I don't think it's worthwhile to have a long conversation about why an independent running as a Democrat, who was famously lauded by many progressives for not compromising, and whose whole presidential campaign and political career was mostly shouting about "The establishment" was not a constructive, winning strategy for the Democrats.
That's even before we get into how Sanders didn't pull out of the 2016 primary for weeks after Clinton had won it, before we get into his messaging.
Or getting into Sanders' 2020 primary and labelling a bunch of what should-be allies as "caving to establishment pressure". And his congressional record of opposing incremental changes that could win votes because of viewing the need for drastic changes as the only option, although that change was way outside political reality.
That's also all before the survey this comment section is about, and how shouting at rich people, corporations, oligarchs etc. is not the winning message now. It probably wasn't then either, and Sanders has been making those shouts for decades.
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Comment on Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
nacho Link ParentOf course no-one can quantify unquantifiables, like the monetary or utilitarian value of the level of trust in a society that a good head of state can underpin. Or how much crime or hate,...Of course no-one can quantify unquantifiables, like the monetary or utilitarian value of the level of trust in a society that a good head of state can underpin.
Or how much crime or hate, loneliness, pain etc. is prevented by a head of state helping people be better versions of themselves and better compatriots to each other.
I believe royalty can accomplish things as heads of state that elected alternates can't.
The Norwegian royal family literally gains political and business access a non-royal head of state wouldn't.
Harald V literally called this bringing on the "snob factor".
As royalty, he could open doors a country of roughly 5 million people wouldn't be able to open due to being a king rather than a president.
Political doors, access to huge international businesses, securing Norwegian companies market access or meetings they'd otherwise never get.
This snob factor has been especially effective in The Middle East and Asia due to the position of royalty in those cultures.
Historically, there have been turning points in the country's situation too.
During the Second world War, the Norwegian royal family literally got presidential access in the US and prime ministerial access in the UK due to royalty having personal relationships letting them physically stay, live and mingle within the highest echelons of government, decades before Norway found oil or could even be considered a developed country.
The inequality of royalty is deeply unfair to the royal family itself who do not get to choose to be public figures, whose lives are not their own.
I'm sure we'll never get the public compensation right, but being a Nordic royal is no bed of roses.
I deeply, deeply believe a good monarch can provide benefits no elected head of state can by virtue of how democracy works (see other comment in this thread).
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Comment on Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
nacho (edited )Link ParentQuite the contrary! It's especially Nordic to realize that we're almost certainly always going to be better off with royalty than ex-politicians as presidents or heads of state. A king like Harald...- Exemplary
Quite the contrary! It's especially Nordic to realize that we're almost certainly always going to be better off with royalty than ex-politicians as presidents or heads of state.
A king like Harald V as spent his entire life in service for uniting everyone in a country in ways non-royalty could never accomplish.
By nature of being deeply invested in human values, deeply invested in politics, but never in party politics or policy the regent's role has a completely different reach and impact than otherwise.
You just don't get the same impact if a president were to say:
Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other. Norwegians believe in God, Allah, the Universe, and Nothing.
and
"Norway is above all people. Norwegians are from the north, south, and from all other regions of the country. Norwegians have also immigrated from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Poland, Sweden, Somalia and Syria. My grandparents immigrated from Denmark and England 110 years ago"
When a king who is not meant to rock the boat says this society changes. There is no political discussion. You recognize that this is a description of the reality of a country you cannot deny. Culture changes and progresses.
Any ex-politician or other elected president will never have the same ability to unify, and in a world where respect and unity are threatened, that's extremely important to have in your head of state.
Today Norway had moments of unity no president can provide:
89 years of openness, of selfless service, of hard work were met by respect. Parents showed their young children the Harald's body as his casket drove through Oslo. Those young children will tell their grandchildren about those memories.
There are generational perspectives at play. Harald follows his father and his father's father. The new king, Haakon VIII, will pass the torch to his daughter.
The royal family gains their legitimacy not by birth, but through generations of actions in service of their people.
And then we know we can just kick them out and pick a different system if that'll serve us better. Our Nordic democracies work. Our constitutions change when the people want them to.
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Comment on We surveyed 6,000 Americans. Here is the winning message for Democrats - Opinion, Dustin Guastella and Erica Etelson in ~society
nacho Link ParentAm I completely misunderstanding what you're saying? To me the article suggests exactly the opposite: The results here conclude pretty strongly that the messaging that "the unelectable left" has...Am I completely misunderstanding what you're saying? To me the article suggests exactly the opposite:
The results here conclude pretty strongly that the messaging that "the unelectable left" has been screaming about since 2016 is not popular and is not the right strategy:
- Shouting at rich people is not the winningest strategy.
- Shouting at corporations is not the winningest strategy.
- Shouting at fascism is not the winningest strategy.
- Shouting at plutocrats/oligarchs is not the winningest strategy.
- Shouting at discrimination/class is not the winningest strategy.
- Shouting at Trump is not the winningest strategy.
To be clear, this shouldn’t be understood as a plea for centrism or moderation. While it may seem like Democratic candidates are forced into a trade-off – either you opt to fire up the progressive base with ultra-liberal anti-Trump bromides or you aim to persuade Trump-voting working-class voters with a more conservative pitch – our results show that this is a false choice. The winning messages do neither; instead, they name a rigged system, call out the people rigging it, and promise to rebalance the economy in favor of those who work for a living. But they also avoid moral high-handedness and the preachy activist rhetoric that turns off many working-class, rural and swing voters. These are the lessons Democrats must internalize if they want to win back the working class, including some of the 59% of working-class white voters who, according to a March poll by Catalist, still plan to vote Republican in 2026.
The issue isn't progressive policy, but the way progressives talk about politics.
According to their polling, speaking to people's personal economy in a patriotic, positive way, getting working class folk their fair share in a way that is not overbearing, non-combative (and probably non-partisan) way seems to be the big deal.
Saying a large percentage of the country are brainwashed trumpists,, that others who don't share my opinions are irredeemable, that it's "us" against "them" and all the other main progressive messaging modes are not the winning plays.
Who could have guessed that we catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and people aren't in a mode to change their minds if they're being yelled at, antagonized or in other ways not being treated as thinking, sensible people?
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Comment on Stop Killing The Internet: No digital ID and no age verification in ~tech
nacho Link ParentI haven't seen the details. There are large differences between what a single company can agree to in a voluntary situation, and what can be forced through. How many of those concessions would be...I haven't seen the details. There are large differences between what a single company can agree to in a voluntary situation, and what can be forced through.
How many of those concessions would be unconstitutional to impose by force on all companies in the US? I expect most of the important ones.
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Comment on Artists built a site to escape AI. Scrapers are coming for it anyway. in ~tech
nacho Link ParentYou can't necessarily take photos for commercial use, even of art that's published long enough to be in the public domain. Rather: You'd explicitly have to know you can use photos commercially. If...You can't necessarily take photos for commercial use, even of art that's published long enough to be in the public domain. Rather: You'd explicitly have to know you can use photos commercially. If that's not listed, in most countries it'd be illegal to use those photos commercially.
A lot of museums have public access images or licensed images you can purchase rights to use.
A lot of museums and similar also have restrictions against taking pictures for commercial use in their venue (like wedding photos or whatever).
Museums can also totally have complete restrictions against any photography, just like concert halls, movie theaters and whatever else.
All of these restrictions are very, very common. Some public museums (UK, US etc.) are large exceptions, but this is generally rare, in my experience.
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Comment on What's something that's more challenging for you than it is for others? in ~talk
nacho LinkI struggle with taking financial risk. Like I know and can rationally explain and understand that if I took more risk in many financial decisions, that'll leave me better off. In terms of savings,...I struggle with taking financial risk.
Like I know and can rationally explain and understand that if I took more risk in many financial decisions, that'll leave me better off.
In terms of savings, pensions, using the stock markets, not over-insuring myself, all sorts of things like that.
I know I struggle with this and make irrational decisions that only hurt me, even though the risks are very small in comparison to the expected gains.
I know even if the risks manifest 100% negatively in a worst case scenario, the consequences for me are still very small and won't effectively impact the things that matter to me in life.
Yet I still struggle taking these risks. When there are positions I don't reason myself into, it's impossible to reason myself out of them. It's just that feeling of it being nice to be safe and not actually managing to pull the trigger on rational decisions leading to more risk.
I've often wondered what it'd be like if somehow the risks were automatically higher and I had to opt out of risk rather than opting into more risk, whether I'd then actually actively lower the risk. I don't know myself well enough to feel confident about what'd actually happen, and haven't been in a situation where that's manifested.
Maybe sometime I'll find out?
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Comment on What's something that's more challenging for you than it is for others? in ~talk
nacho Link ParentAlongside this great evidence, a friend of mine spoke to an observation I can't let go of: She thinks people don't "think" at the same speed. I think she's right. I'll try to explain: We know...Alongside this great evidence, a friend of mine spoke to an observation I can't let go of:
- She thinks people don't "think" at the same speed.
I think she's right. I'll try to explain:
We know people who don't understand what we're talking about when we try to describe thinking about things or trains of thought that happen without an internal monologue keeping up.
In effect, one of our mutual friends describes that his process of reasoning goes as fast as his inner voice can speak. So if someone presents a totally new concept he's never heard of before, he needs time to "talk through" the implications inside his head before he can respond. It's something like taling through a math problem on the radio, but it goes somewhat faster than he can type/actually speak.
As far as I can understand (it's super difficult to talk about how things work inside our heads when it's so different from some different people) he reads the same way, essentially.
I have a friend who's a military aircraft controller. She can easily catch everything five people talk about at the same time and respond/participate in all those five conversations. I fall off at two conversations and speaking myself at the same time. There may be an element of training, but her mind just works differently.
She and I can talk "twice as fast" i.e. we're both talking continually at the same time and responding to what the other person's saying sequentially as we go along. Contrastingly, I know people who can't follow what other people are saying if they're talking because when they're talking that "fills" their capacity for thought as sentences and arguments form in real time.
Some people can read about a concept, say practice theory for the first time and immediately think of a number of use cases, implementations, synthesizing what's being said before they get to the next parts where that's outlined. Others need much more time internalizing concepts.
We all have strengths and weaknesses. Others have social awareness, bodily control, visual acuity, spatial awareness, the ability to understand another's point of view, or all sorts of other talents/skills (for lack of a better word) "strong readers" or "quick speakers" don't.
I think we easily undervalue other other skills that aren't "book smarts" in ways society is essentially rigged to value.
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Comment on What's something that's more challenging for you than it is for others? in ~talk
nacho Link ParentIt was in college that I decided not to become a professional musician, which the three other players in my quartet took hard, given how many gigs we played together. College did not take kindly...It was in college that I decided not to become a professional musician, which the three other players in my quartet took hard, given how many gigs we played together. College did not take kindly to me "stealing" an orchestral seat from a potential musician either by out-competing folks with ambition in the auditions.
My experience is that those of my friends who today live as improvisational musicians practice way, way, way more than anyone who's playing known pieces.
Next to no-one is "good" at improvising or can intuitively think in chord progressions or theoretically design a solo. Even those who've got perfect pitch. It just takes a tremendous amount of practice.
Even worse is trying to play a monophonic melody or tune. Broken chords and "theory-built" compositions? Sure. Humming an original tune? Worst nightmare to get as a question on an exam.
A friend of mine who's a dinner/cocktail pianist says it takes at least four weeks to practice up to his normal level (we're talking 7+ hours of practice a day, every day) if he's been on vacation without a piano for two weeks. An orchestral musician can go a couple months due to a broken arm or whatever and still play a concert the next day once they can physically play the instrument for that long.
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Comment on Have you ever been outed? in ~lgbt
nacho Link ParentWow. Thanks for sharing that! Great to hear your parents also took to their senses. It's wild how many folks I "know" who met through Neopets and are still together. Your story makes 6 couples. To...Wow. Thanks for sharing that! Great to hear your parents also took to their senses.
It's wild how many folks I "know" who met through Neopets and are still together. Your story makes 6 couples. To me that's pretty surprising, but it probably shouldn't be?
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Comment on Head of Norway's sovereign wealth fund warns that soaring AI-driven stock valuations could trigger a sharp correction in ~finance
nacho Link ParentI think the standard is like 8 years, language test and social studies test? No idea if you marry or have family connections.I think the standard is like 8 years, language test and social studies test?
No idea if you marry or have family connections.
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Comment on Head of Norway's sovereign wealth fund warns that soaring AI-driven stock valuations could trigger a sharp correction in ~finance
nacho Link ParentYeah, you're both right. From the fund manager's point of view: It's not a bubble until it pops, right? I've seen several European funds have lowered their US exposure, partly because of Trump...Yeah, you're both right.
From the fund manager's point of view: It's not a bubble until it pops, right?
I've seen several European funds have lowered their US exposure, partly because of Trump adding risk, partly as a proxy for not having rules that force them to sit on insane value in an eerily small number of US tech companies.
Then again, as long as others believe in the bubble, that's potentially leaving money on the table as long as you're just that little bit less greedy than the others so you get out before the bubble bursts.
Granted, Norway's sovereign wealth fund is in a weird position: It owns around 1.5 percent of all listed companies (!) So if the market goes down, your 1.5 percent of like 70.000 companies is still 1.5 percent of "everything".
You aren't realizing losses anyway, the task is hedging the fact that Norway has 4 times GDP in the bank from deflation. And that ownership-power means a tiny country that isn't part of the EU retains market access around the globe.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
nacho LinkIt's mushroom season. I've been picking a ton of mushrooms, and mostly just pan frying them in butter with pepper. Also, different mushroom risottos (and "barley-ottos"), mushroom cream pastas,...It's mushroom season. I've been picking a ton of mushrooms, and mostly just pan frying them in butter with pepper.
Also, different mushroom risottos (and "barley-ottos"), mushroom cream pastas, mushroom soups etc.
The weather has been wet for a long time, so this mushroom season has been crazy, and will likely last for a long time to boot. That means it's around 2-3 weeks between pick and I can go back to the exact same place and pick just as much once more.
Yum, mushrooms!
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tildes
nacho Link ParentI think "I'd like a source" is a better solution than "minsinformation", if adding something is appropriate at all. If I'm invested in something someone else is saying, or think it's worth...I think "I'd like a source" is a better solution than "minsinformation", if adding something is appropriate at all.
If I'm invested in something someone else is saying, or think it's worth engaging with their comment, I personally like to look things up.
I don't think it's reasonable to demand others do my work for me in that setting; most of the time it's extremely easy finding stuff with a single AI-powered search.
Most claims people make are already established in the field and not controversial except for us laypeople.
If making very specific claims where there's only one source for a factoid or whatever, that's probably not a major use case for a "citation"-label. Or?
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Comment on Sanity check - always-on machine + laptop with remote desktop in ~tech
nacho LinkI guess I'm a snob. Unlike others in this thread, the latency gets to me. 50-100ms is frustrating when I do stuff where there's a lot of clicking or jumping between interfaces. I'm blessed with...I guess I'm a snob.
Unlike others in this thread, the latency gets to me. 50-100ms is frustrating when I do stuff where there's a lot of clicking or jumping between interfaces.
I'm blessed with extremely generous wireless networking speeds due to work, so I've tried running games in high resolutions with high graphics settings and sending the stream to a remote device. That works well, but drains battery rapidly due to the volume of traffic sent (and receiving a large signal. Especially sending high quality sound seems to tax my "dumb" endpoint device).
Consequently, I have a powerful laptop.
However, for compiling, doing math, rendering, exporting files etc, what you outline is amazing and works terrifically, even just being on 4G/5G network out in the field.
But if you need to do those things, I'd maybe expect terminal access to a much stronger machine/environment from work anyway?
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Comment on Ukrainian aircraft in Leipzig near which drone was found was loaded with ammunition in ~society
nacho Link ParentAfter Nordstream and the whole handling of that, I'm more cautious than before on ascribing intent/origination of the attack before there's actual information. Is this meant to strum up more...After Nordstream and the whole handling of that, I'm more cautious than before on ascribing intent/origination of the attack before there's actual information.
Is this meant to strum up more support/military aid for Ukraine? If the Russians are this desperate, why's this the only case we've ever heard of?
Is this an independent copy-cat or whatever that's not related to either party?
Whatever the facts, this is a really serious event, that leads to a lot of questions, also relating to ensuring the security of NATO deliveries to Ukraine.
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Comment on Others that also have an aversion to onions, when is it OK? in ~food
nacho LinkMaybe slightly off-topic, but Indian food is probably the food culture where it's easiest to get non-onion food, if that's your thing and you ask in advance. There's the whole culture of Jain food...Maybe slightly off-topic, but Indian food is probably the food culture where it's easiest to get non-onion food, if that's your thing and you ask in advance.
There's the whole culture of Jain food that's somewhat prevalent in India, so if you ask for something without onions/garlic, they'll either be honest about not being able to, or know that you don't want any onions in sauces or whatever either.
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Comment on Do you own/run a business? What is it, where is it, how do you get customers? in ~finance
nacho LinkAs I've posted previously: I ran a one-person network company. "We" got bought by a huge multinational with the agreement that I would have to work for the new mother company for at least five...As I've posted previously:
I ran a one-person network company. "We" got bought by a huge multinational with the agreement that I would have to work for the new mother company for at least five years. I'm economically set for life. I'd do it again knowing what I do now.
The five years have passed. I now manage several employees, do completely different things than I used to and get paid a lot for my technical skill set. I mostly deal with emergency issues for our largest clients when they have issues, especially if the issues aren't actually on our end.
The buying company agreed to put a lot of things in writing to ensure the sale would go through. I'm sure they've made a lot of money on the deal, but it was totally worth it for me. I never had ambitions for building a large company or dedicating my entire life to work. I never had aspirations for getting really rich; not having to worry about money again isn't something I would say no to.
To the questions (in order):
I sold networking solutions to large companies, maintained them.
The business was entirely online-based. I'd only meet customers at their locations if they insisted.
I got a foot in the door, got a good reputation and customers found me more than I found them. The business got good within the first three months, so good I didn't have to worry about recruiting customers, so I know very little about that.
I made way more when I ran my own company than now, but selling the thing made me never have to worry about money again, and I can stop working whenever I want or do whatever I want for the rest of my life.
The best thing about running my own business was that I could just do stuff. Didn't have to have meetings or difficult decisions etc. Many things customers expected would take weeks to decide or whatever I could agree to then and there, or quickly and deliver quickly too.
If I'd done it again, I'd probably hired someone to handle the "office stuff". That way I'd have more time to do the fun things (and I'd also made way more money, even paying someone handsomely to get a person to do the job long-term). I would also probably have sold the company sooner for more if I'd built things that way. Otherwise, I was incredibly lucky and found a niche others didn't see where there was a huge willingness to pay money to save on bad networking systems.
What bothered me the most about running my own business was when stuff broke, or customers got downtime from other services/equipment so I'd essentially be on call 24/7/365. That was paid very, very handsomely when they did silly things I'd have to fix, but it's a hassle having to bring a computer and be sure you have a fast internet connection that can handle a heavy-duty VPN wherever you are, always.
I was working in an adjacent field, had an acquaintance say their large employer needed such-and-such system. I said I could build that in a couple weeks, could surely sell it to a couple smaller companies quickly to demonstrate that it worked, and others were willing to pay for it. Then I'd get back to him in a couple months. I ended up getting a bank and a software startup as my two first customers. That made getting new customers VERY easy as they both said they'd be references if I neede it (which I did until the first huge company told their suppliers they should buy my service as it'd saved them quite a bit of money and they were safer to boot.
(Sorry I'm a little vague on the details, giving more I'd be real easy to identify)
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Comment on The Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next great observatory, is ready to launch Aug 30 in ~space
nacho Link ParentAmazing! There was so much hype around James Web in my circles. Do you have any idea why there's been so little about Nancy Grace Roman? Do you think it's strategic while Republicans have been...Amazing!
There was so much hype around James Web in my circles.
Do you have any idea why there's been so little about Nancy Grace Roman? Do you think it's strategic while Republicans have been cutting this that and the other for no reason?
Interesting numbers.
I have to say though, it seems strange to say something about the box office summer without looking at what other things people were spending their time on this summer (except not subscribing to streaming services, according to the numbers).
How was the weather?
How about trends in other activities? Museums? Sporting events? Restaurants?
Thinking about what my friends do, there wasn't much of a movie-going trend this summer. People did a lot of things locally because they travelled less because of prices.
I'd be very interested in more context here, and more anecdotal stuff on what may have really caused all these people to poll the way they did to augment the statistics.