qob's recent activity

  1. Comment on Reddit, AI spam bots explore new ways to show ads in your feed in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    When was the internet not ad-infested? It has always been a cat-and-mouse game between advertising companies and users. The only solution I see is a cultural change. We simply need to pay for...

    When was the internet not ad-infested? It has always been a cat-and-mouse game between advertising companies and users.

    The only solution I see is a cultural change. We simply need to pay for services and make them non-profit. It doesn't have to cost much since websites make fractions of pennies per impression, and if we remove the multi-billion dollar ad industry from the equation, we can save a lot of money. But since everyone thinks ads are a good way to pay for services, we don't have good micropayment solutions to make that happen.

    This situation won't change until users realize that paying via ads is more expensive than paying services directly, and I don't see any trend in that direction. Maybe the system needs to crash dramatically first, like it usually does.

    14 votes

  2. Comment on Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient in ~enviro

    qob
    Link Parent
    What I mean by "play it safe" is to assume that animals can experience joy and pain and treat them as such. It's not always possible to not hurt them in some way. If someone wants to steal my...

    What I mean by "play it safe" is to assume that animals can experience joy and pain and treat them as such. It's not always possible to not hurt them in some way. If someone wants to steal my wallet or eat me, I'm going to give them a hard time, regardles of the species they belong to. Where to draw the line is an open question and something everyone ultimately has to decide for themselves. In my book, this is true for humans and other animals. In both cases, it's been an debated for thousands of years.

    5 votes

  3. Comment on Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient in ~enviro

    qob
    Link
    Would you make the same arguments regarding human consciousness? Because, scientifically, we don't know humans are conscious. As you said, we don't even know what consciousness physically is. I...

    Would you make the same arguments regarding human consciousness? Because, scientifically, we don't know humans are conscious. As you said, we don't even know what consciousness physically is.

    I assume you treat your fellow humans like they can experience joy and pain even though you can't prove it. Why not play it safe with other animals until we know for sure?

    10 votes

  4. Comment on TV shows or movies like 1883 or The Last of Us? in ~tv

    qob
    Link Parent
    OK, it's on my list. Thank you for taking the time to convince me.

    OK, it's on my list. Thank you for taking the time to convince me.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on TV shows or movies like 1883 or The Last of Us? in ~tv

    qob
    Link Parent
    In my experience, most popular apocalypse movies cover both sides, top-down and bottom-up. There's usually some regular Joe Nobody, sometimes a low-ranking (wannabe) scientist, who is the only one...

    In my experience, most popular apocalypse movies cover both sides, top-down and bottom-up. There's usually some regular Joe Nobody, sometimes a low-ranking (wannabe) scientist, who is the only one who sees the real threat and has to join up with some other nobodys for the fight for survival while the president and his cronies laugh them off until it's too late.

    I really like your "top-down Zombie apocalypse" idea. I think World War Z did this, but we need more of that. There's still some suspension of disbelief because I think zombies, even the running kind, wouldn't be much of a threat to an organised army. But that's an issue with most zombie apocalypse stories and they are still enjoyable.

    I generally would like to see more classic stories from a different perspective. For a long time I've had this idea of a classic action movie with lots of gun fights and car chases and general destruction, and part two would cover the legal battles over all the mayhem where our hero and his nemesis would sit in court and face the innocent bystanders whose lives were seriously impacted. It would probably have to dance on a very thin line between serious court movie and comedy to work.

    I haven't seen The Mountain Between Us. Sounds interesting. Thanks!

    1 vote

  6. Comment on TV shows or movies like 1883 or The Last of Us? in ~tv

    qob
    Link Parent
    Seen that one. Didn't bring me to tears, but I enjoyed it. It's similar to Wayne which I liked a bit more I think.

    Seen that one. Didn't bring me to tears, but I enjoyed it. It's similar to Wayne which I liked a bit more I think.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on TV shows or movies like 1883 or The Last of Us? in ~tv

    qob
    Link Parent
    I didn't like Lost because it had too much artificial drama: Situations that would never happen unless the only goal is a maximized emotional response from an audience. I'm fine with unanswered...

    I didn't like Lost because it had too much artificial drama: Situations that would never happen unless the only goal is a maximized emotional response from an audience. I'm fine with unanswered mysteries, but I don't understand why the characters themselves aren't even looking for an explanation. Every episode was asking more questions and no question was ever really answered. It's drama that is set in a vacuum. No rules of the real world or an imaginary world stand in the way of drama. Drama is god and it will do anything at any time for no reason at all.

    Spoilers If you find a luxurious bunker in the middle of the jungle on a deserted island, one of your first questions to its inhabitants would be something like "how did you get here?", "where does all this stuff come from?" and "what are you doing here?", etc, but the Lost characters don't care about any of that and because there much more room for drama in the issue of distributing the newly found delicious food, showers, etc among the survivors of the plane crash.

    But I agree that HBO is better in this regard. I missed that The Leftovers was from them. I should probably check it out.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on TV shows or movies like 1883 or The Last of Us? in ~tv

    qob
    Link Parent
    I remember considering it but decided against it because I was afraid it would feel like a waste of time like Lost.

    I remember considering it but decided against it because I was afraid it would feel like a waste of time like Lost.

  9. Comment on TV shows or movies like 1883 or The Last of Us? in ~tv

    qob
    Link Parent
    Who hasn't seen The Wire? :) I've seen it several times because it's so good, and anyone who suggests it for any reason gets my approval, but I don't see how that fits my description. I would...

    Who hasn't seen The Wire? :)

    I've seen it several times because it's so good, and anyone who suggests it for any reason gets my approval, but I don't see how that fits my description. I would categorize 1883 and The Last of Us as "emotion porn" while I remember The Wire as mostly political.

  10. TV shows or movies like 1883 or The Last of Us?

    ~tv Ask (recommendations)
    Warning: this post may contain spoilers

    I've just finished 1883. I haven't shed so many tears over a stupid show in a long time, if ever, and I want more of it. It was similar when I watched several lets-plays of The Last of Us.

    I'm not sure I can pin down what I'm looking for. I think it's the journey through hostile territory and thriving in it. There's mostly suffering and hardship, and every small moment of joy is only followed by more bad times. But for the protagonist this is food, it only makes them grow and become more fierce. Not necessarily to their advantage, but that's drama I guess.

    Any suggestions are appreciated!

    20 votes

  11. Comment on The more I use Linux, the more I hate every distro in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    I agree. I've been running testing for decades and the last time there was a serious issue it had probably something to do with something ancient like X11 modelines. I've pinned Firefox to...

    I agree. I've been running testing for decades and the last time there was a serious issue it had probably something to do with something ancient like X11 modelines.

    I've pinned Firefox to unstable, and sometimes there are dependency problems because of that. But they are very easy to resolve with aptitude.

    I don't love Debian. It has its issues. It's like my dinner table: I don't love it, it has some spots and marks, but it does what it's supposed to do and I don't see a reason to replace it.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on The real danger to civilisation isn't runaway AI it's runaway capitalism (2017) in ~misc

    qob
    Link Parent
    Some years ago I read an article that argued corporations are somewhat like AIs. The difference is that they don't run on computers, they run on people. They are even self-healing: If a human or a...

    Some years ago I read an article that argued corporations are somewhat like AIs. The difference is that they don't run on computers, they run on people. They are even self-healing: If a human or a unit doesn't perform well, it is replaced by the system.

    13 votes

  13. Comment on CMV: Once civilization is fully developed, life will be unfulfilling and boring. Humanity is also doomed to go extinct. These two reasons make life not worth living. in ~talk

    qob
    Link Parent
    But it wouldn't be the same. The fact that you ask these questions means that you care, and that's all there is to life: You care. About people, about the beauty of nature, about what the future...

    But it wouldn't be the same. The fact that you ask these questions means that you care, and that's all there is to life: You care. About people, about the beauty of nature, about what the future might bring, about the lessons of the past.

    If you don't see a difference between a life of joy and fulfilment and a life of pain and fear, it doesn't matter if it lasts only a few decades, trillions of years or for eternity. And if you do see a difference, the difference is relevant even on the smallest time scales.

    Imagine time is crammed into a flat dimension you can watch from above, like you can watch different parts of a painting. You can look at different points in time like you can on a painting. You notice that some parts of that painting are better than others. Doesn't it matter if the overall painting is good or bad?

    6 votes

  14. Comment on Can anyone recommend a printer/scanner combo that works with Linux with no additional drivers? in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    Downloading drivers from a website is exactly what I don't want. I'm limited to the supported distros and any update of my distro's packages can break the foreign packages. If the manufacturer...

    Downloading drivers from a website is exactly what I don't want. I'm limited to the supported distros and any update of my distro's packages can break the foreign packages. If the manufacturer decides that they must sell more printers, they can stop supporting my 3 year old model and I end up with a large paperweight. This also increases the attack surface if the website gets hacked.

  15. Comment on Hurt my lower back by bending over, any tips for healing and comfort? in ~health

    qob
    Link Parent
    I meant doing these movements as a pain relief is probably not going to help. OP said the pain started after bending down, so I doubt doing the same thing even more is going to make it better.

    I'd strongly advice against bending over or squatting.

    never doing these movements means you will lose muscle and mobility over time

    I meant doing these movements as a pain relief is probably not going to help. OP said the pain started after bending down, so I doubt doing the same thing even more is going to make it better.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Hurt my lower back by bending over, any tips for healing and comfort? in ~health

    qob
    Link
    I've had back pain for years until a disc slipped and now I have some permanent albeit mild nerve damage. This was a few years back and what seems to have fixed the issue for me is planks. I do...

    I've had back pain for years until a disc slipped and now I have some permanent albeit mild nerve damage.

    This was a few years back and what seems to have fixed the issue for me is planks. I do them three times for as long as I can. I stop as soon as there is any pain in my lower back, or preferably before. I suggest to ask a professional about doing planks properly or at least do some online research yourself.

    I'd strongly advice against bending over or squatting. I never have back pain anymore unless I do that too much.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Can anyone recommend a printer/scanner combo that works with Linux with no additional drivers? in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    Really? My parents have an Epson EcoTank and the scanner doesn't work with Debian at all. It isn't even detected. Which packages did you install? I couldn't find any Epson-related packages.

    Really? My parents have an Epson EcoTank and the scanner doesn't work with Debian at all. It isn't even detected.

    Which packages did you install? I couldn't find any Epson-related packages.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Can anyone recommend a printer/scanner combo that works with Linux with no additional drivers? in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    Scanning to a USB stick sounds like an acceptable fallback solution if the scanner doesn't work. Thanks!

    Scanning to a USB stick sounds like an acceptable fallback solution if the scanner doesn't work. Thanks!

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Can anyone recommend a printer/scanner combo that works with Linux with no additional drivers? in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    HP is special though because they provide open source drivers that are packaged on most distros. As shitty as their devices are, their Linux support has always been great.

    HP is special though because they provide open source drivers that are packaged on most distros. As shitty as their devices are, their Linux support has always been great.

    5 votes

  20. Comment on Can anyone recommend a printer/scanner combo that works with Linux with no additional drivers? in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    I'm less worried about the printer and more about the scanner. My parents have a printer/scanner device from Epson where the printer works great but the scanner doesn't work at all.

    I'm less worried about the printer and more about the scanner. My parents have a printer/scanner device from Epson where the printer works great but the scanner doesn't work at all.

    3 votes