smeg's recent activity
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Comment on What short standalone book is worth more than its page count? in ~books
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Comment on Is this really what renting is like now? (Pennsylvania, USA) in ~life
smeg Link ParentMy state, Arkansas, has absolutely zero renters rights. The lease can have literally any condition that isn't prohibited by federal contract law. Renters' can have zero expectations for delivery...My state, Arkansas, has absolutely zero renters rights. The lease can have literally any condition that isn't prohibited by federal contract law. Renters' can have zero expectations for delivery of a rental unit, habitability, etc
Also, a landlord can have you charged for a crime and jailed for not paying rent. It's often used as a quicker way to bypass the eviction process.
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Comment on Remote work to wipe out $800 billion from office values, McKinsey says in ~life
smeg Link ParentWhen homeowners took loans they couldn't afford in 2008 and prior, we let them suffer the consequences of their bad investments. We could have bailed out homeowners and prevented a massive...When homeowners took loans they couldn't afford in 2008 and prior, we let them suffer the consequences of their bad investments. We could have bailed out homeowners and prevented a massive economic crash, but the idea of helping the "little guy" was completely unacceptable. Instead, we helped the banks and let people go into foreclosure.
Now, when faced with a similar economic choice, with the same general scenario but with different groups of people at risk of harm, I don't see why the priorities should suddenly change. Let the investors see the outcome of their risks, bail out the banks if needed.
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Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
smeg LinkTake a large company where access to corporate systems was handed out arbitrarily/at-request since it was a tiny startup, where some systems are behind single sign-on and others aren't, where...Take a large company where access to corporate systems was handed out arbitrarily/at-request since it was a tiny startup, where some systems are behind single sign-on and others aren't, where provisioning is sometimes handled by IT but mostly handled by the owning department, and try to build a logical schema for access based on division, department, team, etc. without breaking anyone's existing access, without breaking any existing processes, and without the time necessary to do the discovery needed to uncover every contingent scenario. Also, there's massive employee growth, turnover, and restructuring constantly occurring and it's impossible to track down stakeholders. Everything is supposed to be sourced from the HR platform, where HR has absolutely terrible data entry practices. And you're new and have authority over nobody and nothing.
I'm starting with automating provisioning in the productivity/email suite, including email groups that align with the org chart (as best as can be done), since IT entirely controls this system and it will help provide visibility into the org's structure and behaviors. Simultaneously, I'm getting every product behind SSO so compliance doesn't have a fit. Then I'll tackle HR's data entry practices so other access items can be automated.
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Comment on GM announces Ultra Cruise, enabling true hands-free driving across 95% of driving scenarios in ~transport
smeg LinkStill waiting for GM to provide a non-explosive battery for my Bolt.Still waiting for GM to provide a non-explosive battery for my Bolt.
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Comment on Climate change won't stop while America hates trains and walking in ~enviro
smeg LinkI was recently remarking on the fact that my child arrives home from school at the same time, whether we pick him up in a car or he takes the bus home (due to the line and congestion for car...I was recently remarking on the fact that my child arrives home from school at the same time, whether we pick him up in a car or he takes the bus home (due to the line and congestion for car pickup).
When I lived in South Korea, I relished not driving. Walking and subway trains, the occasional bus. It was so much more efficient, and less costly.
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Comment on Moderators of hundreds of popular subreddits sign open letter calling on Reddit founders to do more to combat COVID-19 disinformation in ~tech
smeg Link ParentOn the sub for the state I live in, every post about COVID ravaging the state has more than a few comments about how the vaccines are deadly, the virus isn't real, it's all deep state Nazi...On the sub for the state I live in, every post about COVID ravaging the state has more than a few comments about how the vaccines are deadly, the virus isn't real, it's all deep state Nazi control, take ivermectin, natural immunity, etc etc. It's nearly always heavily downvoted, but it's there.
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Comment on I’m scared of the person TikTok thinks I am in ~tech
smeg LinkYouTube's algorithm made a bad recommendation for me today. I regularly watch videos on EVs, solar panels, and mocking sovereign citizens and anti-maskers. But somehow YouTube decided I would like...YouTube's algorithm made a bad recommendation for me today. I regularly watch videos on EVs, solar panels, and mocking sovereign citizens and anti-maskers. But somehow YouTube decided I would like a Charlie Kirk cancel culture whining video.
It made some demographic assumptions (white, male, Arkansas) and entirely ignored every piece of evidence to the contrary. The algorithms, if nothing else, seem to veer toward the outrageous.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~humanities
smeg Link ParentThat's a fair literary critique and a good emphasis on the nuance in the totality of Tolkien's collected works, but the overriding theme is how Númenóreans are the pique of epic human character,...That's a fair literary critique and a good emphasis on the nuance in the totality of Tolkien's collected works, but the overriding theme is how Númenóreans are the pique of epic human character, both positive and negative, and they are literally divinely gifted with this superior status.
I don't think it's unfair to characterize LOTR (and maybe The Hobbit) as the core narrative and ultimately the final battle of good and evil, and the rest of the collected works are more background, broad histories, and incomplete vignettes. In that view, the Númenórean race rises to the occasion to reclaim its heritage, and though its strength and purity of character, vanquish evil once and for all, bringing about an era of global peace under its rule.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~humanities
smeg LinkWas Tolkien personally racist or anti-semitic? No, he even refused to provide proof to Nazi Germany that he wasn't a jew, in order to publish there, as he found the whole thing despicable. Is the...Was Tolkien personally racist or anti-semitic? No, he even refused to provide proof to Nazi Germany that he wasn't a jew, in order to publish there, as he found the whole thing despicable.
Is the world he created very analogous to a view of the real world that is highly imperialistic and racialized? Yes. Middle Earth's greatest kingdoms are established by a great race of people from the northwest, and although their kingdoms has dissipated and retracted, re-establishing them under a descendant from that northwestern race is the only way to keep back the demon-worshipping hordes from the east and south. In a letter, Tolkien even describes the Orcs as "Mongoloid" and uses other racial descriptors.
You can imagine the British Empire at its peak, conquering and "civilizing" the hordes of the world, the one true beacon of enlightenment and freedom. And that's how the geography and races of Middle Earth are roughly structured.
Literary theorists often link Tolkien's worldview to the Anglo-Saxonism that was in vogue around the turn of the 20th century, or to Nordic race theory - the idea that vikings and northern Germanic peoples established the strongest and truest of Europe's free kingdoms.
It isn't that Tolkien was personally a racist, he very much was not. But he couldn't help but structure his fictional world with the same paradigms and views that were common among academics of his day.
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Comment on The rise of fear-based social media like Nextdoor, Citizen, and now Amazon’s Neighbors in ~tech
smeg LinkI primarily use Nextdoor to keep track of city council issues that pertain to my neighborhood. But it's definitely used by certain people in the neighborhood to share paranoid spins on what were...I primarily use Nextdoor to keep track of city council issues that pertain to my neighborhood. But it's definitely used by certain people in the neighborhood to share paranoid spins on what were probably innocuous events (someone 'suspicious' ringing the door, etc).
My HOA doesn't use it at all, though, because they aren't the "Neighborhood Lead" and can't use it to censor people like they do on their Facebook page.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Clear, straightforward, and amazing detail of life in the Gulag.