norb's recent activity
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Comment on New policy changes for Southwest Airlines in ~travel
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Comment on Suggest a remote desktop program? in ~tech
norb LinkI realize this isn't the best answer, and it relies on an evil corporation, but maybe for a short term use case like you have this might be ok. https://remotedesktop.google.com/ I have used this...I realize this isn't the best answer, and it relies on an evil corporation, but maybe for a short term use case like you have this might be ok.
https://remotedesktop.google.com/
I have used this in the past for a quick fix to get to a computer and it seemed reliable and worked fairly well. It doesn't require a bunch of extra work, and you can access from outside your network automatically. You can just delete the software when you get home and be done.
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Comment on California Governor Gavin Newsom "completely aligns" with Charlie Kirk on trans athlete issue, and agreed about restricting gender affirming care for prisoners and youths, in podcast in ~lgbt
norb Link ParentThere are some universities that cannot offer sports scholarships, so they find ways to offer specific academic scholarships to athletes. I think this is a different issue than trans athletes in...There are some universities that cannot offer sports scholarships, so they find ways to offer specific academic scholarships to athletes. I think this is a different issue than trans athletes in general.
On that front, I would argue that if universities are now able and willing to pay athletes, they should not be giving out scholarships to those students that are getting paid.
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Comment on California Governor Gavin Newsom "completely aligns" with Charlie Kirk on trans athlete issue, and agreed about restricting gender affirming care for prisoners and youths, in podcast in ~lgbt
norb Link ParentI do understand all of this, and I would agree to some extent, but more to the point I was making (and probably not very clearly or explicitly, so my fault there) is that this is such a minor...I do understand all of this, and I would agree to some extent, but more to the point I was making (and probably not very clearly or explicitly, so my fault there) is that this is such a minor problem that we're out here arguing over removing a certain type of person from society based on a minuscule amount of people - in other words it's a made up problem.
There are not a bunch of men going through everything required to become a trans woman just so they can dominate women's sports. That does not happen.
In my state they've made a huge deal about this in high school sports. There are about 10 trans women in high school athletics in a state of 10+ million people.
So as u/Akir said, let the sports organizations regulate this as they see fit. Doing this through legislation is the wrong place as it leads to worse overall outcomes that affect things outside of sports.
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Comment on California Governor Gavin Newsom "completely aligns" with Charlie Kirk on trans athlete issue, and agreed about restricting gender affirming care for prisoners and youths, in podcast in ~lgbt
norb Link ParentThis is just classic GOP misdirection where they find a wedge issue that they know people don't really understand, or doesn't affect that many, but "feels bad" to a lot of "regular" people and...But it surprises me how much time we're spending on this.
This is just classic GOP misdirection where they find a wedge issue that they know people don't really understand, or doesn't affect that many, but "feels bad" to a lot of "regular" people and then they just hammer it over and over and over and Democrats are then forced to their back foot, alienating some portion of their constituents, and have to concede these "small things" to the GOP mindset, which then in turn sets things another step backwards and gives the GOP wins with their Christian base.
They did this with interracial marriage back in the 60s/70s, gay rights in the 80s/90s, and now trans rights here in the 2020s. Yet again an old playbook that still works and people eat it up.
The flip side of that is by bringing attention to these issues they often backfire in the long term because once people get used to the idea they think "wait, that isn't so bad." But that then pushes the GOP on to the new thing to be bigots about.
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Comment on Melbourne start-up launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells in ~science
norb LinkI find this 1. very interesting, 2. very cool in a futuristic sci-fi way, and 3. very disturbing in a "what are we actually building here?" way. If this type of "brain" becomes developed enough to...I find this 1. very interesting, 2. very cool in a futuristic sci-fi way, and 3. very disturbing in a "what are we actually building here?" way.
If this type of "brain" becomes developed enough to replace what we currently do in the AI space, the power consumption savings along might be astronomical. But at the same time what are the ethics of these "brain in a jar" systems? How do we know we're not just making some sort of intelligence sitting there in pain?
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Melbourne start-up launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells
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Comment on Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 3 + 4 | Reveal trailer in ~games
norb LinkJust found out that this isn't by Vicarious Visions, who did the 1+2 remake. Hopefully these other devs are able to get the same level of quality. I've tried the other remakes, and no one else was...Just found out that this isn't by Vicarious Visions, who did the 1+2 remake. Hopefully these other devs are able to get the same level of quality.
I've tried the other remakes, and no one else was able to quite match the "feel" of the originals. THPS 1+2 did that very well, IMO.
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Comment on Ghost – Satanized (2025) in ~music
norb Link ParentI didn't know that! He sounds very different on this one. I do appreciate the entire aesthetic they go for, the music just isn't for me.I didn't know that! He sounds very different on this one.
I do appreciate the entire aesthetic they go for, the music just isn't for me.
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Comment on Why Techdirt is now a democracy blog (whether we like it or not) in ~society
norb Link ParentI mean, disrupting elections is a quick way to do it - also mostly a computerized operation. The thing that's hard about disrupting elections in this country is everything on that front is handled...So I'm skeptical of the idea that authoritarian rule can be done using computers alone. It seems like they'd need a lot more goons?
I mean, disrupting elections is a quick way to do it - also mostly a computerized operation. The thing that's hard about disrupting elections in this country is everything on that front is handled by the states, which means in 50 different ways. Some states it goes to the county level, so you've got a lot of moving parts to disrupt. That said, it probably only takes swinging votes in a few key places to have an outsized impact.
I personally believe Musk is here to loot as much business as he can under the guise of "rooting out waste." Trump already said he wants "everyone in the private sector" so that's a goal as well.
Then of course, you have the "if we break enough stuff, people will finally get angry and cause damage and then we can just implement marshal law" and at that point, it's over. So we'll see.
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Comment on Ghost – Satanized (2025) in ~music
norb LinkI have found this band to be very polarizing. It seems people only fall into "This is the most boring catchy riff with bland vocals I've ever heard" or "I LOVE THIS GIVE ME MORE." I don't really...I have found this band to be very polarizing. It seems people only fall into "This is the most boring catchy riff with bland vocals I've ever heard" or "I LOVE THIS GIVE ME MORE." I don't really know anyone that is on the fence.
For full disclosure, I fall into that first category. And for some reason I always give the new stuff a listen and always come away with the same opinion. And honestly, I think this new vocalist a step back.
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Comment on Donald Trump administration are limiting toilet paper and other maintenance purchases at US national parks with one dollar credit card limit for staff in ~society
norb Link ParentTrump already told everyone we won't have to vote again - he also said multiple times on the campaign trail "I don't need" or "I don't want" your vote. I honestly think that was him being his most...Anyone concerned with the long term political, ballot box viability of their movement
Trump already told everyone we won't have to vote again - he also said multiple times on the campaign trail "I don't need" or "I don't want" your vote. I honestly think that was him being his most honest. They expect to either circumvent and/or suspend elections. Full stop.
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Comment on US tariff war risks sinking world into new Great Depression, International Chamber of Commerce warns in ~finance
norb Link ParentI think people do see it and do know it, but they prioritize or value other things over this. A lot of people have been hurting for a long time - opioid epidemic, loss of good paying jobs that...They are both clearly immoral sociopaths. It’s been hard for me to accept that almost half of people aren’t able to detect this.
I think people do see it and do know it, but they prioritize or value other things over this. A lot of people have been hurting for a long time - opioid epidemic, loss of good paying jobs that don't require thousand or hundreds of thousands of dollars of education debt, medical debt that can ruin you, loss of education, increasing costs for basic things while being told "the economy is great!", etc. etc. etc.
I think these people are now to the point where, as long as someone else is getting hurt, they feel better. I think it is that simple. Both parties have failed them at this point, and that's why we live in a failed state. I also think it will get worse still yet.
We also have an epidemic of people who cannot think more than one step past what is in front of them. They know their own budgets are bad when there's debt, so that must be bad for the government too, right? And so let's "fix" that by cutting ... well anything ... and then things will get better! But that's not how macroeconomics works, those services being cut are the ones they depend on (but don't realize they do), and it's actually a minuscule amount of the overall budget. But again, other people are getting hurt (in their minds - leopards are feasting either way) so that makes them feel like others can feel the same way they do.
I am saddened by the fact that we've come to a point where the "fuck you I got mine" and "fuck you I'm hurting so you should too" crowds have basically taken over.
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Comment on Everything is Chrome in ~tech
norb Link ParentOne add-on I have found absolutely useful for keeping "personal" and "work" containers separated easily is this one: https://github.com/chronakis/firefox-sticky-window-containers With this setup,...One add-on I have found absolutely useful for keeping "personal" and "work" containers separated easily is this one: https://github.com/chronakis/firefox-sticky-window-containers
With this setup, you can have one window open with a work container tab and one open with a private container tab, and additional tabs you open in each will stay in that container. To be honest, it's one of those things that Firefox should do natively but for some reason doesn't.
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Comment on US tariff war risks sinking world into new Great Depression, International Chamber of Commerce warns in ~finance
norb Link ParentI'm going to ahead and say "Yes" to all three of these questions. But to be honest, this is people who think they know a lot more than they do liking the smell of their own farts and moving ahead...Is this just about funding tax cuts? Do Musk and Trump really believe in their own hype? Are they Russian agents?
I'm going to ahead and say "Yes" to all three of these questions.
But to be honest, this is people who think they know a lot more than they do liking the smell of their own farts and moving ahead as they see best, with the added bonus of knowing they can mop up a lot of extra "value" out of any downfalls.
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Comment on Any troubleshooting recomendations for cable internet? in ~comp
norb Link ParentI was also going to come and suggest this, or something similar. In my experience dealing with cable companies for internet, you can at least take a machine and plug it directly into the modem or...I was also going to come and suggest this, or something similar. In my experience dealing with cable companies for internet, you can at least take a machine and plug it directly into the modem or their router and go from there. If you have done this and can show connectivity problems the company is more likely to listen.
BYOM (bring your own modem) introduces another set of issues, in that I have had two separate cable companies refuse to troubleshoot anything when I had my own modem as it is "not their device" so you have to be careful on that front. No matter that the modem I had was explicitly listed on their page of approved modems.
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Comment on A Signal update fends off a phishing technique used in Russian espionage in ~tech
norb Link ParentWeirdly I just set up a $5 a month donation to them today. Mainly for similar reasons as u/ewintr stated.Weirdly I just set up a $5 a month donation to them today.
Mainly for similar reasons as u/ewintr stated.
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Comment on A quarter of US shoppers have dumped favorite stores over political stances in ~society
norb Link ParentFrom the article I took “not supporting” to mean intentionally avoiding companies based on a political stance and “opting out” as just spending less overall without a specific political agenda....From the article I took “not supporting” to mean intentionally avoiding companies based on a political stance and “opting out” as just spending less overall without a specific political agenda.
But yeah it’s confusing and that’s just my interpretation reading between the lines.
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Comment on Bluejeweled in ~games
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
norb Link ParentDwarf Fortress is a game that I've read so much about, downloaded and tried multiple times, and just cannot get into it. And it's a game that's right up my alley! I have yet to try the version...Dwarf Fortress is a game that I've read so much about, downloaded and tried multiple times, and just cannot get into it. And it's a game that's right up my alley!
I have yet to try the version that isn't just text based and maybe that would bring me in, but I also kind of don't want to get that involved lol
I am in the same boat (plane?). Southwest was an easy way to make quick trips to see family out of state. Doubtful we'll be using them going forward, even though we had direct flights from our city to the destination.
And in all honesty, it probably means we'll just travel to visit less, which was probably inevitable due to increasing costs across the board for airline flights, but this will speed that along.