norb's recent activity
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Comment on Eight of the top ten online shows are spreading climate misinformation in ~enviro
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Comment on US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said to have shared attack details in second Signal chat with his wife and brother (gifted link) in ~society
norb Link ParentWhy not both? I think they two sides of the same coin, and for Trump himself are a part of his entire approach.I keep trying to figure out if they are really this evil and incompetent, or if it is intentional to swamp the news every day with a new scandal to cripple response to all the illegal and unconstitutional things that are happening.
Why not both? I think they two sides of the same coin, and for Trump himself are a part of his entire approach.
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Comment on Why billion-dollar American football teams pay for hundreds of muddy balls a year | Big Business in ~sports.american_football
norb LinkThis story reminds me of Baseball Rubbing Mud The Story Behind MLB's Baseball Mud YoutubeThis story reminds me of Baseball Rubbing Mud
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Comment on Pay what you want for every Wheel of Time book (supporting the ACLU) in ~books
norb Link ParentI am not a huge Sanderson fan, but I enjoy what I've read of his stuff. I think his writing is more "surface level" and he relies on his quick pacing and interesting ideas around magic and systems...I'm sure the Sanderson ones are much quicker reads, not a huge fan of his writing though.
I am not a huge Sanderson fan, but I enjoy what I've read of his stuff. I think his writing is more "surface level" and he relies on his quick pacing and interesting ideas around magic and systems than depth for his characters. I think he was a great person to finish out Wheel of Time since he could get it done in a quick manner, and most of the character development was pretty set in stone. He just had to get them where they needed to go and be entertaining along the way.
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Comment on Pay what you want for every Wheel of Time book (supporting the ACLU) in ~books
norb Link ParentA lot of people find books 8-9-10 a slog. As someone that started the series around the time Fires of Heaven came out, and then had to wait years between books, when those first came out I was in...A lot of people find books 8-9-10 a slog. As someone that started the series around the time Fires of Heaven came out, and then had to wait years between books, when those first came out I was in that boat. On a re-read though, I've found that set not as much of a struggle. They kind of work as one grouping, and when you can read them back to back it feels better paced.
Also, the Sanderson books are great! The change of pace and his own inventions in the ways to use the power are really well done. He misses the tone of the characters a bit in the first one, but by the end he seemed to get it down. I am glad he got to finish the series and did it so well.
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Comment on What are your favorite music videos? in ~music
norb LinkSmack My Bitch Up by the Prodigy. WARNING: Nudity, drug use, violence in this one. I was lucky enough to catch this the only time it aired on MTV wayyyyy back in the day. It's stuck with me ever...Smack My Bitch Up by the Prodigy. WARNING: Nudity, drug use, violence in this one. I was lucky enough to catch this the only time it aired on MTV wayyyyy back in the day. It's stuck with me ever since.
Scrape by Unsane. Just a bunch of skateboarder wipe outs. Some nasty ones in there too.
Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana. Just because it's so fucking weird.
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Comment on Help me understand how half of USA is on board with the idea of creating "short term pain" in ~society
norb Link ParentYou're not wrong, but I think one thing you are missing is the arrogance most of us in the US have (being an American I think I can speak on this). Being arrogant about how great your country is...You're not wrong, but I think one thing you are missing is the arrogance most of us in the US have (being an American I think I can speak on this). Being arrogant about how great your country is while simultaneously not having a understanding of the major ways in which it fails is a recipe for people to knock you down a peg or two.
We export culture more than anything else, and part of that is exporting the idea of American exceptionalism. It also include exporting the idea that the country is infallible. And that American power is always justified in all ways at all times.
So when outsiders see/read stories like mentioned above, even if they are "edge cases" it becomes a knee jerk reaction to say "Look at how dumb Americans are" or "Look how bad their system is" as a way to confront or combat the story we put out in the world.
Not to say that it doesn't get tiring being on the receiving end of this, but I think this is something Americans do too. It doesn't excuse any of it, but we all have a mental model of the world and certain prejudices that we carry around all the time.
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Comment on Help me understand how half of USA is on board with the idea of creating "short term pain" in ~society
norb Link ParentCan't suffer when you've been deluded into thinking you aren't....Can't suffer when you've been deluded into thinking you aren't....
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Comment on US FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado in ~society
norb LinkNew article with a few more details: https://www.wired.com/story/xiaofeng-wang-indiana-university-research-probe-china/ To be honest, it raises more questions for me though. And of course, the...New article with a few more details: https://www.wired.com/story/xiaofeng-wang-indiana-university-research-probe-china/
To be honest, it raises more questions for me though. And of course, the Trump admin is also called out for their typical behavior.
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Comment on US Federal prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing in ~society
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Comment on US Federal prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing in ~society
norb Link ParentIt is my understanding that the commerce clause of the Constitution is what they use as the basis for laws that deal with just about anything crossing state lines. I think there has been arguments...Use of the Internet leading to automatic federal jurisdiction is a claim that makes me want to know whether some judge or statute has already granted this.
It is my understanding that the commerce clause of the Constitution is what they use as the basis for laws that deal with just about anything crossing state lines. I think there has been arguments that the commerce clause should apply to just commerce and not criminal acts - but I am not anything near a lawyer or constitutional scholar so I very well may be wrong there.
As far as the internet goes, our laws are still based on things like US mail and phones. The technology outpaces laws by a large amount. Often this ends up in things being applied in a way that doesn't really make sense based on reality, but in the world of law it "fits." Again, IANAL.
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Comment on US FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado in ~society
norb Link ParentMy wild speculation; wouldn't be the first Chinese national that has been charged with stealing state secrets or patents or whatever to sell or take back to China....My wild speculation; wouldn't be the first Chinese national that has been charged with stealing state secrets or patents or whatever to sell or take back to China.
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Comment on Do you have games that you play (almost) exclusively? in ~games
norb Link ParentOh man I had such an obsession with Myst, Riven, and Myst III! I even read the books! Those games were so different and interesting at that time. They kind of spun up their own genre for awhile...but the first one to really scratch this itch for me was Riven back in '97.
Oh man I had such an obsession with Myst, Riven, and Myst III! I even read the books!
Those games were so different and interesting at that time. They kind of spun up their own genre for awhile there.
I have tried to go back and play the remakes and they lost their power over me. Maybe because I already did it all and spent so much time on them in the past? Or the gameplay just isn't as compelling anymore? Anyways, I was a little sad about that.
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Comment on Do you have games that you play (almost) exclusively? in ~games
norb LinkI tend to consume most long form media one at a time. One book at a time, one game at a time, one TV show at a time. I don't watch a lot of TV or movies anymore, mostly read and game. The game I...I tend to consume most long form media one at a time. One book at a time, one game at a time, one TV show at a time. I don't watch a lot of TV or movies anymore, mostly read and game.
The game I have probably spent the most time in is No Man's Sky. I will go back to that and play it along side another game. For example, there's a new expedition out and I'm working on that a bit. But once I finish the expedition I will probably put it down again. I have 1500+ hours in NMS.
The game I'm currently playing though is Marvel Snap. I have 800 hours of that tracked on Steam, but that is probably about 1/2 of my total playtime if I had to guess. I played on iOS for about a year before I got the Steam version.
For me, I like to just really get into a game or book and find it hard to put the same level of effort or attention in when I'm actively reading or playing two at the same time. I will occasionally interrupt a game or book with another one, then go back to the first one.
I think this has something to do with the kind of obsession I get for things, but also due to my limited amount of free time at this time in my life. I also have no issue dropping something if I don't enjoy it or it doesn't turn out to be what I thought it would be. Younger me would've powered through something just to finish it and say I did. Older me realizes time is finite so why waste it?
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Comment on US President Donald Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’ in ~society
norb Link ParentAll of it is just doublespeak. They co-opt the language used for diversity, inclusion, equity, fairness, etc. and then turn it on it's head to make it mean the opposite. Then they use it to...All of it is just doublespeak. They co-opt the language used for diversity, inclusion, equity, fairness, etc. and then turn it on it's head to make it mean the opposite. Then they use it to actually reduce all of those things.
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Comment on She challenges one school book a week. She says she’ll never stop. (2023) in ~society
norb Link ParentI think the martyr complex/syndrome makes the most sense here, yeah. Also I think her argument is that the undeveloped minds of children are harmed by this, not adults. She's only fighting these...If we assume this lady has good judgement, then surely that's evidence that reading problematic material isn't actually such a problem. Unless she's claiming to be over a thousand times more "closed minded" of course. But I suppose it's most likely she simply views herself as a martyr. Or utterly lacks self awareness.
I think the martyr complex/syndrome makes the most sense here, yeah.
Also I think her argument is that the undeveloped minds of children are harmed by this, not adults. She's only fighting these books in her local schools, not regular public libraries. Now, there is the knock on effect of people taking her list and trying to get public libraries to ban these - which is how she "finds" these books in the first place. There's probably some interesting ideas here in a self-propagating system around these "controversial" books and these lists and how the whole thing feeds itself.
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Comment on She challenges one school book a week. She says she’ll never stop. (2023) in ~society
norb Link ParentHonestly, what I was thinking about the most was something like Common Sense Media - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/Honestly, what I was thinking about the most was something like Common Sense Media - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
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Comment on She challenges one school book a week. She says she’ll never stop. (2023) in ~society
norb LinkMy library will only allow me to request 5 books a month for them to add to their catalog. Why can't we just rate-limit these people that are obviously abusing the system? I read this entire...My library will only allow me to request 5 books a month for them to add to their catalog. Why can't we just rate-limit these people that are obviously abusing the system?
I read this entire article, and honestly, I think this woman's heart is in the right place. I think she would better serve everyone by setting up a site to publish her findings.
For some titles, she tallied the number of curse words, including language describing human genitalia. For each, she wrote out a short plot summary; eventually, she would write 6,556 words of such synopses. She carefully listed every page she found objectionable. Over the next 14 months, she would identify 1,335 pages as problematic, about 5.5 percent of the 24,172 pages she read.
Share that, let other people do the same, and she will achieve a lot more by giving parents the information they need to make judgments, rather than just trying pass these judgements herself in one school district.
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Comment on Rust | Official trailer in ~movies
norb Link ParentYeah I can agree with this probably for a lot of actors, and maybe it's also true for someone of Alec Baldwin's stature, but to me if your production company is putting the movie together, and you...Onto the producer bit: people way overstate what this means. Actors take producing credits to get more creative control or as part of a desired career expansion. While this will often lead to influence over on-screen casting choices, hiring and management decisions for technical staff are not something an actor producer would normally get involved in. Maybe if they had a bad interaction personally they'd make a stink about someone on crew they don't like, but generally that stuff will fall to more technical producers or even just department heads.
Yeah I can agree with this probably for a lot of actors, and maybe it's also true for someone of Alec Baldwin's stature, but to me if your production company is putting the movie together, and you are a producer of some sort on there, YOU still have some level of responsibility for everything that goes on with the production. Baldwin is using his name, his reputation, and (probably) his money to get this thing off the ground. As a good leader, he should take some level of responsibility for these things.
I ultimately agree that the on set work he's doing as an actor should not require him to be overly concerned with the safety of the weapons being used, as that is the armorer's job. But as a leader of the organization there is a better way to deal with it than start throwing people under the bus.
Whoever her actual supervisor was got pretty lucky from a media perspective. It almost certainly wasn't Alec Baldwin, but someone was her direct supervisor and that person presumably had received reports of her previous issues but didn't oust her. If media wasn't so determined to go after Baldwin in particular it may have been a big problematic story for that person.
One of the Assistant Directors was sentenced to jail, but sounds like he got out of that by pleading down.
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Comment on Rust | Official trailer in ~movies
norb Link ParentYeah that's fair. Imprecise wording on my part. But like I said, I am not a lawyer.Yeah that's fair. Imprecise wording on my part. But like I said, I am not a lawyer.
My guess is they think they have enough money to shield themselves from any consequences, and at the end they will be the lords they've always wanted to be with a little fiefdom of serfs to rule over.
Personally, I think natural climate change will have a hard time completely wiping out humanity. We're very adaptable and resourceful. Now, something like a nuclear holocaust probably has a much better chance of wiping all of us out. A quick change that endangers or ruins a large percentage of our food resources will be what does it - not the relatively slow environmental disaster unfolding currently. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people will die in the up coming changes but I don't think it will be an extinction level event.
Again, just my humble uninformed opinion.