redwall_hp's recent activity
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Comment on What if AI just makes us work harder? in ~tech
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Comment on Pam Bondi ousted as US attorney general in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentAlso: changes of personnel are a wrench in the gears of an organization. Things in flight get delayed, priorities change, knowledge is lost. The more disarray this administration throws itself...Also: changes of personnel are a wrench in the gears of an organization. Things in flight get delayed, priorities change, knowledge is lost. The more disarray this administration throws itself into, the less bad things they can achieve.
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Comment on Artemis II April 1 launch in ~space
redwall_hp Link ParentAll I imagine is the scared Kerbal faces now.All I imagine is the scared Kerbal faces now.
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools' Day 2026 on the internet in ~talk
redwall_hp Link ParentStill nothing compared to the historical hardcore Final Fantasy XIV housing. You get a shortage of houses that whole servers compete for, ballooning costs of tens of millions of gil, camping out...Still nothing compared to the historical hardcore Final Fantasy XIV housing. You get a shortage of houses that whole servers compete for, ballooning costs of tens of millions of gil, camping out to spam-click the purchase button the second the sale starts...
Oh, and if you don't log in for a couple of months, the house gets bulldozed and the lot goes up on the market again. (The only thing in the game that pressures you to log in. They have a strong culture of maintaining a "you can play as much or as little as you want" environment.)
They more recently switched to lottery system and added more housing plots, to alleviate some of it, but it's still very much a tiny model of real world housing.
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools' Day 2026 on the internet in ~talk
redwall_hp LinkMiHoYo, the company that made Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai Star Rail, released a cover of Never Gonna Give You Up with some of their characters. Solid reference to the 2008 Astley...MiHoYo, the company that made Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai Star Rail, released a cover of Never Gonna Give You Up with some of their characters. Solid reference to the 2008 Astley Apocalypse on YouTube...
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Comment on Haruka - Acid techno garage mix in Japanese sake brewery (2026) in ~music
redwall_hp LinkNice. My usual DJ only streams on weekends, so this is perfect for while I'm making dinner. If only I had sake on hand...Nice. My usual DJ only streams on weekends, so this is perfect for while I'm making dinner. If only I had sake on hand...
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Comment on No Kings protests live updates: hundreds of thousands rally in cities around the world against US President Donald Trump and his administration in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentSame. There are a lot of nice small businesses, but the As a Small Business Owner™️ crowd is full of racist Trumpy types and fraudsters. It's been interesting to see some of the louder ones in...Same. There are a lot of nice small businesses, but the As a Small Business Owner™️ crowd is full of racist Trumpy types and fraudsters. It's been interesting to see some of the louder ones in some places get prosecuted for PPP loan fraud.
And the money isn't reliable. I've seen some horror stories of late payroll, wage theft and other stuff. That's much less of an issue with larger businesses that have more scrutiny on them. Wage theft still happens, especially with franchised fast food (because they're still a local business), but it's often less flagrant.
My brother did get a payout from a labor investigation of the big box retailer he worked at once, though. They were effectively paying different hourly rates based where they assigned the front end staff that day (e.g. service desk vs cashier) and underpaying people. The state labor department slapped them for that and everyone got back pay based on records.
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
redwall_hp Link ParentI knew there was something I was missing about rice cookers the first time I had the chance to go to an H Mart. They had a section that was basically a showroom for microcomputer rice cookers.I knew there was something I was missing about rice cookers the first time I had the chance to go to an H Mart. They had a section that was basically a showroom for microcomputer rice cookers.
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentAlso, Samsung washing machines play Schubert's Die Forelle when the load is done. (I'd pay extra for the ability to load my own MIDI files onto my appliances. Then I could change it up with a...Also, Samsung washing machines play Schubert's Die Forelle when the load is done. (I'd pay extra for the ability to load my own MIDI files onto my appliances. Then I could change it up with a little Nyan Cat or somesuch now and then.)
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
🎵 Starting to make rice right now, come back later when it's done
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
redwall_hp Link ParentLPT: nobody really needs an appliance to burn bread, but everyone needs a Zojirushi rice cooker.LPT: nobody really needs an appliance to burn bread, but everyone needs a Zojirushi rice cooker.
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
redwall_hp Link ParentStrongly agree on Zojirushi. I have the NS-WAC-10 model that Target carries, which is a little bit less fancy, but still a micom type one that produces good results. (I got it with a bunch of...Strongly agree on Zojirushi. I have the NS-WAC-10 model that Target carries, which is a little bit less fancy, but still a micom type one that produces good results. (I got it with a bunch of Target gift card money, or I might have opted for the other model.)
I'd describe it as the perfect rice you get at a restaurant, every time.
A couple of other notes:
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They play a little song when they're done. This is very important. It ensures your rice is as happy as the cooker.
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They have timers, like coffee makers. You can rinse your rice and get it ready, and tell it you want it done at a specific time. (This is very helpful if you want to have fresh rice in the morning to pack with lunch, if you bring lunches to work or school.)
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Comment on Air Canada CEO will retire this year after his English-only crash message was criticized in ~transport
redwall_hp Link ParentImagine English isn't your language, and the English have had a history of violently "expelling" your ancestors from nearby areas (that's what the Cajuns of Louisiana are: displaced Acadians from...Imagine English isn't your language, and the English have had a history of violently "expelling" your ancestors from nearby areas (that's what the Cajuns of Louisiana are: displaced Acadians from parts of what is now Maine) and trying to eradicate the language you speak.
Quebec is the largest safe haven of the French language in Canada, and legally requires its use in many cases. Like signage around Montreal will be bilingual. Statements from an airline flying out of Quebec kind of fit.
I grew up in Maine, and have literally met Franco-Americans under 60 who said that their parents specifically didn't want them to learn French so they wouldn't be discriminated against. (Under a century ago, schools even used corporal punishment on students for speaking it.)
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Comment on TV series suggestions in ~tv
redwall_hp LinkSince you liked Shogun, I recommend Tokyo Vice. It's also largely in Japanese. It's about an American journalist in 90s Tokyo, getting on a yakuza group's shit list. I watched both shows fairly...Since you liked Shogun, I recommend Tokyo Vice. It's also largely in Japanese. It's about an American journalist in 90s Tokyo, getting on a yakuza group's shit list. I watched both shows fairly close to each other, and they have similar levels of drama and detail.
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Comment on Reddit will implement human verification to tag and combat bots in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentIt's been a few years since I've used Reddit, but I think this was underway quite some time ago. Even eight years ago, it was very common to see the same AskReddit posts reposted over and over...It's been a few years since I've used Reddit, but I think this was underway quite some time ago. Even eight years ago, it was very common to see the same AskReddit posts reposted over and over again, and if you Googled the text of many of the top comments, you'd find some other user posted it verbatim before. Karma farming operations were using discussions that already existed to programmatically create plausible account activity, on accounts that could later be used for astroturfing. No LLMs required, just API access or scraping.
When GPT3 dropped, years before ChatGPT, I noticed some comments appearing occasionally that made no sense but seemed like plausible human speech. I suspect people were plugging GPT3 into Reddit bots as soon as the model became available on the API.
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Comment on Everyone but US President Donald Trump understands what he’s done - allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentMany of those groups that opposed the Anglican Church were themselves splinters from it though. Puritans were just radical Anglicans, who finally separated completely after Cromwell was deposed....Many of those groups that opposed the Anglican Church were themselves splinters from it though. Puritans were just radical Anglicans, who finally separated completely after Cromwell was deposed. They inhabit the same broader cultural sphere.
Many of the early colonies were also not English. They were French, Spanish and Dutch. Then the major 19th century and earl 20th century immigration wave dramatically changed the demographics of the country, very heavily in the northeast.
The anti-Catholic sentiment is the point. People were shitty about John F Kennedy being Irish in the 60s, and that same undercurrent hasn't gone away. The new world "old money" still deeply resents that the newer immigrants supplanted their power in the industrial boom that followed. The 1600s are a red herring, it's the shift that happened over time and where the cultural split started.
Also, what do Joe Biden, Barrack Obama and Bill Clinton have in common, besides party affiliation? I can find "Catholic" on their Wikipedia pages.
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Comment on Everyone but US President Donald Trump understands what he’s done - allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing in ~society
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentIt's something that leans more Catholic, even if people no longer are. Even if your family gravitated toward some other religion or you're an atheist (my grandparents on both sides were Catholic,...It's something that leans more Catholic, even if people no longer are. Even if your family gravitated toward some other religion or you're an atheist (my grandparents on both sides were Catholic, but I'm squarely atheist), Catholic Guilt still lurks around. You should probably be doing good things to make sure you don't go to hell (even if you really don't think it exists). All the time. Maybe feel a little bad if you're not. The why isn't necessary...the weird sense is just built in.
Protestant faiths tend to put more emphasis on "if you're faithful you go to heaven, and bad people are people who don't believe." Good acts don't matter as much, but you need to save™️ (convert) people. Because you're either good or you're not, for the inherent reason of faith. (It's a very, very wide area to cover though, so that's a major generalization. But, uh...Southern Baptists, which are also "slavery flavored baptism," because the northern ones said that was wrong.)
This also lines up with progressive democratic values (heavy emphasis on lifting people out of poverty, giving opportunity, fixing injustices) vs the tribalism of the republicans (the bad Other is why you, the good in-group, don't have nice things).
It's hardly a hard and fast rule, but those are strong multi-generational influences. You can also look at it through the lens of the 19th/20th century immigrants from Poland/Ireland/Italy/etc vs the earlier ones.
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Comment on Everyone but US President Donald Trump understands what he’s done - allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentMy memory of what happened with Pennsylvania is foggy, but my assumption is the more belligerent sects didn't take too kindly to them and their influence would have been more vestigial as the...My memory of what happened with Pennsylvania is foggy, but my assumption is the more belligerent sects didn't take too kindly to them and their influence would have been more vestigial as the centuries have passed. Pennsylvania did have an element of being a haven for the Quakers after being pushed out of one place or another.
Notably, the French, Dutch and Spanish were all there...and then they weren't. Many times, that changed through violence. (e.g. the "expulsion" of the Acadians during the Seven Years War.)
Anyway, many of those separate sets of values are passed along through generations, even among the non-religious. One of the ones I like to get people with: is good something you are or something you do (and worry if you're doing enough)?
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Comment on Everyone but US President Donald Trump understands what he’s done - allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing in ~society
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentHenry the VIII, more or less. The blue/red state divide fuzzily overlaps with "culturally Catholic" or "culturally Anglican." The early ruling class of the American colonies were also (Anglican)...Or does it really all go all the way back to the Civil War?
Henry the VIII, more or less.
The blue/red state divide fuzzily overlaps with "culturally Catholic" or "culturally Anglican."
The early ruling class of the American colonies were also (Anglican) governors appointed by the crown, and wealthy people descended from that extinct aristocratic era deeply resent the greater power of the wealthy mercantile class, which is less likely to be English and more into the Catholic-derived cultural sphere. And so do their impotent malcontent followers.
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Comment on What’s something you’re putting up with? in ~talk
redwall_hp Link ParentMy apartment has four AC units outside my window, for the apartments on that section (vertical slice on one side) of the building. Having a 20 gal fish tank with a little waterfall covers a lot of...My apartment has four AC units outside my window, for the apartments on that section (vertical slice on one side) of the building. Having a 20 gal fish tank with a little waterfall covers a lot of it up lol.
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Comment on Interesting material types for fantasy resources/macguffins other than crystals or metals? in ~creative
redwall_hp LinkWheel of Time has a fully synthetic material, cuendillar, formed with magic. It's something random powerful artifacts and buildings and other stuff from the distant past are made from, but the...Wheel of Time has a fully synthetic material, cuendillar, formed with magic. It's something random powerful artifacts and buildings and other stuff from the distant past are made from, but the technique to make it was lost. Basically indestructible white glass.
Final Fantasy revolves around aether, which is more of an energy type (with several elemental classes) used as a component in things. Crystals are important because they can concentrate aether, but aether itself is everywhere. "This machine collects aether and will do a bad thing with it," is a pretty common MacGuffin.
I do like having an LLM hooked up to Confluence, Slack, and assorted other sources of documentation and institutional knowledge. It cuts down on research time, and finds Confluence pages better than Confluence's search.
They're better than Google these days for quickly looking up random aquatics while you're working.
I still think generating and using code longer than a few trivial lines is professional malpractice.
And there's going to be a copyright reckoning sooner or later. The Supreme Court already declined to hear an appeal on the ruling that AI outputs do not meet the legal requirements for copyright to apply (insufficient human authorship), and I don't anticipate most of the world agreeing to throw out the Berne Convention to make a few billionaires more powerful...so we're eventually going to have compliance issues where LLM code will have to be tracked and labeled and kept under a certain percentage to keep products from becoming public domain. If you think SOX, PCI, GDPR compliance is a pain, just wait!
I also suspect there will be a high profile case, sooner or later, where someone tries to copyright-launder the wrong company and get nailed to the wall for illegally replicating their product from a decompilation or source leak.