redwall_hp's recent activity
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Comment on Nintendo pre-announces a Switch 2 announcement is coming… eventually in ~games
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Comment on Heat death of the internet in ~tech
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentIf is the operative word. From what we've been hearing out of the antitrust investigations lately, Google has very shady internal communications policies that avoid paper trails, and setting...If is the operative word. From what we've been hearing out of the antitrust investigations lately, Google has very shady internal communications policies that avoid paper trails, and setting expectations for things to implement without putting them in written requirements.
I'm sure there isn't an explicit function that parses the page and checks for the AdSense URI, but I wouldn't be surprised if some machine learning element in the ranking system was trained in such a way that "desirable" pages in the training set mostly had AdSense placements and undesirable ones mostly did not. "Coincidentally," of course.
Finding metrics that correlate with other metrics you can't legally use is an unfortunately common thing.
Google also controls both sides of the search and ads equation. It's a commonly held notion that SEO is the reason why recipe sites are full of expository text instead of just a simple recipe...but that's also a product of the AdSense content policies. To be approved to host ads, your site has to meet certain criteria, which incentivize the same sort of behavior as the search optimization side.
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Comment on Heat death of the internet in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentI put forward that it may well be intentional. The search leadership was been replaced by people who live in the ad world, after building a near monopoly on ad networks for web sites. The...inability to rein in malicious SEO
I put forward that it may well be intentional. The search leadership was been replaced by people who live in the ad world, after building a near monopoly on ad networks for web sites.
The optimization path is simple: Google no longer wants you to quickly find what you're looking for. Google wants to maximize the number of AdSense impressions they can force you to see. They want you to see the ads on the search results page, and they want to to click many links out to pages that are also AdSense partners. Spammy sites with SEO fluff and AdSense placements make Google more money, so they're optimizing for what is now the status quo. I wouldn't be surprised if the presence of the JavaScript tag for AdSense banners was even a factor in ranking.
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Comment on The biggest box office bombs of 2023; Disney leads with four entries in ~movies
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentThe film was definitely okay. Not great, but entertaining enough. My biggest annoyance was their lexical abuse of the antikythera mechanism. Ascribing mystical properties to it is all well and...The film was definitely okay. Not great, but entertaining enough. My biggest annoyance was their lexical abuse of the antikythera mechanism. Ascribing mystical properties to it is all well and good for a turn of the century pulp adventure, but it's called "the antikythera mechanism" because it's a mechanism found off of Antikythera. Which is an island off of Kythira, hence the name.
And yes, I've read the entire "Gears from the Greeks" academic paper (De Solla Price, 1974).
Anyway, the film made me realize we need an Indiana Jones animated series. Hitching it to Harrison Ford forever obviously isn't going to happen, so we might as well have something in a medium that can fully lean into the pulp adventure style and not worry about being compared too closely to the originals. That way we can perpetually stay in the proper time frame instead of continuously pushing forward out of the era the films were intended for.
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Comment on ‘The Fall Guy’ box office disappointment hurts more than opening weekend in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentI have the Alamo pass and go approximately weekly, as long as there are things that seem at least interesting. If I'm going to eat dinner out, I might as well see a movie too. I've seen plenty of...I have the Alamo pass and go approximately weekly, as long as there are things that seem at least interesting. If I'm going to eat dinner out, I might as well see a movie too. I've seen plenty of films that didn't perform well or are hardly talked about, but were great. (I'd actually be tempted to rank Killers of the Flower Moon over Oppenheimer.) American Fiction, Gran Turismo, Dungeons and Dragons and A Haunting in Venice were a handful that were entertaining and underrated.
I just saw The Fall Guy last night. It was a fun action comedy and I definitely recommend it. A couple of nights prior, I saw The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which was also good.
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Comment on The biggest box office bombs of 2023; Disney leads with four entries in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentI'd buy quantum camp for Batman and Robin (the best Batman movie ever made) but I still had trouble finishing Hocus Pocus 2. Maybe I'll have to revisit it with alcohol some day...I'd buy quantum camp for Batman and Robin (the best Batman movie ever made) but I still had trouble finishing Hocus Pocus 2. Maybe I'll have to revisit it with alcohol some day...
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Comment on The world owes Spider-Man 3 an apology in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentIt has a massive amount of world building, a nice Star Trek style plot that gives it some political depth necessary to set up the fall of a civilization, and some of the best music and fights in...It has a massive amount of world building, a nice Star Trek style plot that gives it some political depth necessary to set up the fall of a civilization, and some of the best music and fights in the series. The weak points are excessive attempts at comic relief and some of the VFX could have used a little bit more time for CGI quality to improve.
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Comment on The world owes Spider-Man 3 an apology in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentThe prequels were always as good as the original trilogy. Feel free to read that as the prequels being underrated or the original trilogy has never been quality beyond fun entertainment in the...The prequels were always as good as the original trilogy. Feel free to read that as the prequels being underrated or the original trilogy has never been quality beyond fun entertainment in the first place.
My first experience with Star Wars was the Special Edition VHS release, and the prequels as they came out (and the Expanded Universe books). The prequel era was peak Star Wars, with its extensive world building and emphasis on the Jedi as galactic peacekeepers.
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Comment on Data show that the amount of sexual content in top films has sharply declined since 2000 in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentLegislators are a small group of people. I don't think the will of the people was any better represented then than today. Worse, for sure, given that was squarely in the time period of Jim Crow...Legislators are a small group of people. I don't think the will of the people was any better represented then than today. Worse, for sure, given that was squarely in the time period of Jim Crow laws.
Also, a bunch of regressive dead people decided it for a much larger, more evolved population now. Hell, I'm not even sure if that's before or after my great grandparents came here.
The Hays Code was trash then, and so are the MPAA policies that came after.
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Comment on The biggest box office bombs of 2023; Disney leads with four entries in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentThat's the exact definition of "cult classic." Half of the films that have stuck around from the 80s and 90s and are now being milked for every cent weren't phenomenal at the box office but had a...That's the exact definition of "cult classic." Half of the films that have stuck around from the 80s and 90s and are now being milked for every cent weren't phenomenal at the box office but had a following.
Hocus Pocus comes to mind, for a Disney film. It was reported as a loss, but built up a following and was played as cheap filler on TV around Halloween for decades. Disney still doesn't understand what made it liked to begin with, given the truly awful sequel they made to cash in.
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Comment on US senior homes refuse to pick up fallen residents, dial 911. ‘Why are they calling us?’ in ~health
redwall_hp Link ParentThis is why big American technology monopolists are being all shockedpikachu.jpg right now after the DMA was instituted in Europe. They think they can maliciously comply with the letter of the law...This is why big American technology monopolists are being all shockedpikachu.jpg right now after the DMA was instituted in Europe. They think they can maliciously comply with the letter of the law and not have the EU come after them for violating the spirit of the law. We have a strong culture of "haha, the law only says this, so I can circumvent it and fuck people over by finding the corner case," which simply doesn't fly elsewhere.
US justices are very inconsistent and like to pick and choose between strict textual interpretations of law and pulling out a dusty 200-year-old dictionary and speculating on the intent of dead oligarchs, depending on what suits the interest of modern oligarchs.
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Comment on California junk fee ban could upend restaurant industry in ~food
redwall_hp Link ParentIn fact, it doesn't quite go far enough: Taxes should also be included in the advertised price, as they are in other countries. A common complaint from people visiting the US is getting "scammed"...In fact, it doesn't quite go far enough:
all charges besides taxes will become illegal
Taxes should also be included in the advertised price, as they are in other countries. A common complaint from people visiting the US is getting "scammed" by that. We're all used to that form of drip pricing, but it's still wrong. Tipping also needs to be abolished.
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Comment on Is TV advertising still relevant? Does anybody under 60 even watch traditional TV anymore? in ~tv
redwall_hp Link ParentNot just low resolution, but distorted too. I recall seeing Golden Girls at a hotel and Hallmark had stretched the 4:3 video to 16:9. The lower third graphics looked correct, so it wasn't the TV....Not just low resolution, but distorted too. I recall seeing Golden Girls at a hotel and Hallmark had stretched the 4:3 video to 16:9. The lower third graphics looked correct, so it wasn't the TV.
Honestly, every time I've been at a hotel in the past couple of years, it's not been hard to predict what will be on after 8:00. Basically Golden Girls, Frasier, South Park and The Office on Hallmark and Comedy Central, and the rest is reality TV fluff, movies that streaming services don't want to pay for, and sportsball.
I just hope more hotels will get with the times and have TVs that support AirPlay. It's kind of pointless as things stand.
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Comment on Google lays off hundreds of ‘Core’ employees, moves some positions to India and Mexico in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentThe sad thing is someone wrote a famous book railing against that mentality...in the 70s. So nothing has changed. It's called The Mythical Man Month, and it has some very useful insights often...I think it's a common strategic mistake to view engineers as interchangeable laborers who produce X units of software per day, rather than as professionals and repositories of institutional knowledge.
The sad thing is someone wrote a famous book railing against that mentality...in the 70s. So nothing has changed.
It's called The Mythical Man Month, and it has some very useful insights often applied to planning and managing software projects, though not as often as they should be.
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Comment on Google lays off hundreds of ‘Core’ employees, moves some positions to India and Mexico in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentThey come in and are gone in three years. It's the same way engineers tend to hop companies for pay increases...only that environment of short term thinking and not investing in employee growth is...They come in and are gone in three years. It's the same way engineers tend to hop companies for pay increases...only that environment of short term thinking and not investing in employee growth is fostered by the execs who bounce from company to company, making cuts and celebrating the "growth" they create while hacking away at the foundation.
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Comment on Is there an intuitive (but powerful) music thingie? in ~music
redwall_hp Link ParentFor something more piano-ish, I'm a fan of the Arturia Minilab. You get a two octave keyboard and a bunch of programmable knobs that integrate well with the bundled software: you get the lite...For something more piano-ish, I'm a fan of the Arturia Minilab. You get a two octave keyboard and a bunch of programmable knobs that integrate well with the bundled software: you get the lite version of Analog Lab from the Arturia V collection and the basic eight-track lite version of Ableton for free, either of which would cost about what the ~$100 controller costs on their own. It's definitely a good starting place, with a lot of flexibility.
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Comment on The tech baron seeking to “ethnically cleanse” San Francisco in ~life
redwall_hp Link ParentCan we stop letting conservative business fucks (full-on fascists in this case) claim the word "tech?" Actual engineers and technologists are a varied bunch, with actual skills, and don't tend to...Can we stop letting conservative business fucks (full-on fascists in this case) claim the word "tech?" Actual engineers and technologists are a varied bunch, with actual skills, and don't tend to think much of managerial/money people...unlike the Ivy business school frat crowd that has seized control of consumer technology companies, eliminating the product-focused cultures and turning everything into engagement optimization and nickel-and-diming.
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Comment on What we learned about the publishing industry from Penguin vs. US Department of Justice in ~books
redwall_hp Link ParentLibraries rebind books too. What typically wears out is the binding; it's not like the words magically disappear from the pages. When books go out of print, libraries working to preserve access is...Libraries rebind books too. What typically wears out is the binding; it's not like the words magically disappear from the pages. When books go out of print, libraries working to preserve access is super important.
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Comment on Digital books are costing local libraries a ton in ~books
redwall_hp LinkPreservation is typically also part of the purpose of a library: when a book is out of print, libraries may rebind them if they're damaged and try to maximize longevity. On a distributed level,...Preservation is typically also part of the purpose of a library: when a book is out of print, libraries may rebind them if they're damaged and try to maximize longevity. On a distributed level, this keeps books available that you can no longer purchase. Books that are rare and considered important may be taken out of circulation and only read on premise.
The scummy situation with ebooks eliminates that and actively causes the opposite. If a book expires after a set number of uses, and is no longer available in the future, it's a knowledge black hole. It's stealing from the future.
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Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech
redwall_hp LinkThey should just close it rather than sell it, and throw down messages explaining what happened so ~170M people will be very pissed off and know where to direct their anger. The whole thing has...They should just close it rather than sell it, and throw down messages explaining what happened so ~170M people will be very pissed off and know where to direct their anger.
The whole thing has been another transparent attempt at Republican media takeover anyway. The Facebook/Instagram empire is in the hands of a conservative, Musk seized control of Twitter recently, and now this. It's clearly an attempt at partisan control of mass communications to shape discourse away from left-leaning talk.
Apple does an announcement for an announcement twice a year: I had an email in my inbox at least a month ago about today's product announcement, which they live-streamed.
The only difference is Nintendo isn't being cagey about what's being announced; the actual details are still forthcoming, and now buyers and investors know to expect it.