spctrvl's recent activity
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Comment on Homeownership can bring out the worst in you in ~life
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Comment on Open letter to NASA Administrator Nelson from Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos in ~space
spctrvl Link ParentI'm more in favor of asteroid mining than moon mining, but it's not one or the other. And there really aren't environmental concerns even theoretically with mining the moon. The scale you'd need...I'm more in favor of asteroid mining than moon mining, but it's not one or the other. And there really aren't environmental concerns even theoretically with mining the moon. The scale you'd need to operate at is totally ludicrous for it to have gravitational impacts, orders of magnitude of orders of magnitude more than the total historical resource consumption of humanity, and the rest is totally baseless speculation.
As far as I'm concerned, I agree that the main problem is a social one with capitalism, but we're going to need to overthrow it anyway if we're to survive long term, whether we leave earth or not, so I don't see it as a reason to not do things in the interim.
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Comment on Open letter to NASA Administrator Nelson from Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos in ~space
spctrvl Link ParentWhat do you mean? Seems to me that if we have to mine, it's best to do it where there's no biosphere to damage. Mining is incredibly destructive. My only problem with Bezos' vision is that the...Mining the moon, really? We'll never learn.
What do you mean? Seems to me that if we have to mine, it's best to do it where there's no biosphere to damage. Mining is incredibly destructive. My only problem with Bezos' vision is that the next steps for humanity being taken on the whims of capitalist tyrants is going to taint the whole venture for decades or centuries to come.
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Comment on Recommend me a small SBC! in ~comp
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Comment on US railroads should be nationalized in ~enviro
spctrvl Link ParentCan you imagine the free advertising you'd get from high speed rail occupying what used to be an interior lane of an interstate zooming by standstill traffic at 200kph?Can you imagine the free advertising you'd get from high speed rail occupying what used to be an interior lane of an interstate zooming by standstill traffic at 200kph?
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Comment on A letter on justice and open debate in ~humanities
spctrvl Link ParentWhat you need to keep in mind is the context and subtext of the article. The thing about these kinds of articles, open letters, whatever, is that shorn of examples or specifics that some might...What you need to keep in mind is the context and subtext of the article. The thing about these kinds of articles, open letters, whatever, is that shorn of examples or specifics that some might find objectionable, they're presented in a way that's practically impossible to disagree with, and carry no real information on the "controversy" that they're writing about within the text. The subtext is practically the only part that carries information.
The subtext of this article is that it's expressing concerns about the direction that academia is taking at a time when it's confronting a long history of entertaining, platforming, and even promoting the ideas of white supremacists, transphobes, and other bigots out of, generously, some misguided sense of "free academic inquiry". There is of course a case for teaching controversial subjects and ideas, but that's accepted by most of the people calling for academic reform. The overwhelming majority of the activists that this letter decries are also believers in free academic inquiry, and don't want information censored or whatever, but contextualized so that universities aren't just acting as repeaters for bad ideas. The text of the article is staking out a position in a debate that does not exist, which gives the subtext of the article rather more sinister implications.
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Comment on Tuvix will never die in ~tv
spctrvl Link ParentI think Voyager really suffered from the reset button mentality. It wasn't a good idea to enforce such an episodic structure on that kind of a story. Odd too, since in Deep Space 9, you had one of...I think Voyager really suffered from the reset button mentality. It wasn't a good idea to enforce such an episodic structure on that kind of a story. Odd too, since in Deep Space 9, you had one of the highly regarded pioneers of arc based television running simultaneously.
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Comment on PG&E will bury 10,000 miles of power lines so they don't spark wildfires in ~enviro
spctrvl Link ParentIdeally, large climate change prevention and ruggedization funding programs from the federal (or possibly state) government.Ideally, large climate change prevention and ruggedization funding programs from the federal (or possibly state) government.
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Comment on ‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late’: Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients in ~health.coronavirus
spctrvl Link ParentThe humane path forward is that birth rates are already falling dramatically on their own, as a result of female empowerment and education and easily accessible birth control. Neomalthusianism is...The humane path forward is that birth rates are already falling dramatically on their own, as a result of female empowerment and education and easily accessible birth control. Neomalthusianism is pseudoscience that's going to lead to a lot of unnecessary human suffering if it's not kept well in check, as did similar thinking embodied in eugenics in the last century.
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Comment on A practical take on Steam Deck performance (but really just general observations intended for Reddit hype) in ~games
spctrvl Link ParentCPU, yes, GPU, no, not even close. Vega 56 is likely multiples of the performance of the deck's GPU, the saving grace for the latter being the screen's resolution being half that of 1080p.CPU, yes, GPU, no, not even close. Vega 56 is likely multiples of the performance of the deck's GPU, the saving grace for the latter being the screen's resolution being half that of 1080p.
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Comment on Advocating for rich civilians in ~talk
spctrvl Link ParentI honestly don't think so. There's a kernel of truth in there, in the improvements to quality of life and social progress made over the last century or two, but it's used to extrapolate an...I honestly don't think so. There's a kernel of truth in there, in the improvements to quality of life and social progress made over the last century or two, but it's used to extrapolate an incoherent ideology that is in direct opposition to further progress and that probably would've opposed the same earlier progress it extols had it been contemporary. There's a couple Jacobin articles that broadly summarize my views.
I don't think he's popular and respected because his ideas are good. I think he's popular and respected because his ideas are convenient.
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Comment on Advocating for rich civilians in ~talk
spctrvl Link ParentI suppose we interpreted that phrase somewhat differently, but I think the only real difference is that most of those I listed think the benevolent billionaires to save us are already here....I suppose we interpreted that phrase somewhat differently, but I think the only real difference is that most of those I listed think the benevolent billionaires to save us are already here. Certainly I think Pinker embodies the "wait for billionaires to save the world" bit, since his whole philosophy seems to be (uncharitably), "See how much social progress has happened, isn't it great? Also fuck people fighting for social progress, it happens on its own because capitalism and they're derailing the whole thing, just sit back and wait for the market and the job creators to fix things."
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Comment on Advocating for rich civilians in ~talk
spctrvl Link ParentReally? That's surprising to me, I find it an immensely common trope, propagated both by non-billionaires like Steven Pinker, Peter Singer, many other effective altruism advocates, Gates...Really? That's surprising to me, I find it an immensely common trope, propagated both by non-billionaires like Steven Pinker, Peter Singer, many other effective altruism advocates, Gates Foundation dickriders, and most prominently the cult of Musk, as well by billionaires themselves, both in promoting their philanthropic organizations and in the marketing of actual, for profit goods and services.
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Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
spctrvl Link ParentYou don't need to know where it comes from to know what it means.You don't need to know where it comes from to know what it means.
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Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
spctrvl Link ParentUsing orthogonal in that context is a little formal, but not at all uncommon. Certainly I don't expect most writers I've seen use the phrase to have first encountered it in a math course.Using orthogonal in that context is a little formal, but not at all uncommon. Certainly I don't expect most writers I've seen use the phrase to have first encountered it in a math course.
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Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
spctrvl Link ParentI'm not the parent poster, but I feel similarly, and I love reader view.I'm not the parent poster, but I feel similarly, and I love reader view.
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Comment on A practical take on Steam Deck performance (but really just general observations intended for Reddit hype) in ~games
spctrvl Link ParentThey certainly have, I've got a laptop with Thunderbolt 4, which USB 4 is a subset of, though it is quite new. And there were AMD boards with Thunderbolt 3 at least as early as 2019, but I'm not...They certainly have, I've got a laptop with Thunderbolt 4, which USB 4 is a subset of, though it is quite new. And there were AMD boards with Thunderbolt 3 at least as early as 2019, but I'm not sure how expensive or involved that was to implement. At any rate, it's understandable valve left it out considering the apparent struggle to hit their target price, but still disappointing.
And as an early serial Switch owner, I can dump my copies :)
Likewise!
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Comment on A practical take on Steam Deck performance (but really just general observations intended for Reddit hype) in ~games
spctrvl Link ParentYeah, I did some digging and the bigger issue might just be finding an m.2 2230 for sale. They're out there, but pretty hard to find from first party sellers. At least I feel better about the...Yeah, I did some digging and the bigger issue might just be finding an m.2 2230 for sale. They're out there, but pretty hard to find from first party sellers. At least I feel better about the decision.
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Comment on A practical take on Steam Deck performance (but really just general observations intended for Reddit hype) in ~games
spctrvl Link ParentApparently all models use a socketed m.2 2230 drive, though it's "not intended to be user serviceable". Intended or not, I might've gone with the eMMC model if I'd known that earlier, but it's...I was under the impression that NVME drive is soldered, not m.2
Apparently all models use a socketed m.2 2230 drive, though it's "not intended to be user serviceable". Intended or not, I might've gone with the eMMC model if I'd known that earlier, but it's possible the interface for that is locked to the listed 1xPCIe 2.0.
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Comment on A practical take on Steam Deck performance (but really just general observations intended for Reddit hype) in ~games
spctrvl LinkI went ahead and put a reserve in for the 256GB model. It was just too interesting to pass up, being linux-centric portable open hardware developed by one of the biggest companies in gaming, and I...I went ahead and put a reserve in for the 256GB model. It was just too interesting to pass up, being linux-centric portable open hardware developed by one of the biggest companies in gaming, and I also love Valve hardware (bring back the steam controller). I was a little disappointed they didn't go with thunderbolt 4 for the main interface, since that's no longer limited to intel hardware and would've opened up all kinds of external GPU craziness for docked mode, but it's not really that big of a deal for me since I've already got a gaming PC.
One of the more interesting possibilities, though, is opening up later generations of consoles for portable emulation. Right now you're hard pressed to get decent dedicated handheld gaming hardware that can emulate past the dreamcast, even a rooted switch struggles with gamecube emulation, and PS2 is right out. But with hardware specs like these, forget the PS2, I seriously think you could go all the way to the PS3 and the Wii U. I played through Persona 5 a couple years ago on an overclocked i7-2600k, and I think you can run Breath of the Wild on that class of hardware these days too, since cemu's gotten more optimized. Those are some of the more taxing games on those platforms, and even on a tight power budget, this CPU should be comfortably more powerful than that venerable old chip.
I think we'd be better off redeveloping depopulated formerly urban areas like you get in the rust belt, as long as we approach it with the full conversion mindset, or filling out edge cities. Cities typically are where they are for reasons, and I don't see just building new ones from scratch in essentially random areas (relative to existing population centers) working out too well in terms of attracting residents and businesses on anything like the desired time scales. Look at China's empty cities.