sqew's recent activity
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Comment on Candice Owens and the death of the decay of the American brain in ~society
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Comment on Useful patterns for building HTML tools in ~comp
sqew LinkI read this yesterday and thought it was interesting. I'm more of a systems software person, but I do periodically have a need to make something that'll run in a browser. These seem like good...I read this yesterday and thought it was interesting. I'm more of a systems software person, but I do periodically have a need to make something that'll run in a browser.
These seem like good strategies (maybe minus the AI for me...) to make little, working tools that don't require me to get up to speed on the JS framework-of-the-week.
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Useful patterns for building HTML tools
7 votes -
Comment on Why Japan has issued an advisory for a possible megaquake in the country’s north in ~enviro
sqew Link ParentI had to google “NERV” because I was thinking of NERV from Neon Genesis Evangelion… but apparently this NERV is a warning app that uses Neon Genesis Evangelion theming? I love it!I had to google “NERV” because I was thinking of NERV from Neon Genesis Evangelion… but apparently this NERV is a warning app that uses Neon Genesis Evangelion theming?
I love it!
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Comment on How to actually feed America (food bank logistics) in ~society
sqew Link ParentI worked at a food bank/kitchen for a while, and this is spot on. Most of the grocery stores we picked up from in bulk gave us a mix of good stuff to effectively garbage. It was pretty clear that...I worked at a food bank/kitchen for a while, and this is spot on. Most of the grocery stores we picked up from in bulk gave us a mix of good stuff to effectively garbage.
It was pretty clear that employees were just told “all near-spoiled produce goes here, anything expiring today goes here”. The notable exception was Trader Joes, which put a solid amount of employee time into making sure everything they gave us was good and usable.
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Comment on This climbing gear is designed to fail in ~hobbies
sqew Link ParentI’ve been climbing for about a year! Almost entirely indoors, though. Such a fun hobby and way to exercise.I’ve been climbing for about a year! Almost entirely indoors, though. Such a fun hobby and way to exercise.
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Comment on “The Edmund Fitzgerald - First divers on the Fitz” in ~humanities.history
sqew LinkSaw this old article by one of the two divers who went down to the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1995 posted on the anniversary of the wreck today. Thought it was interesting, given the extremely technical...Saw this old article by one of the two divers who went down to the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1995 posted on the anniversary of the wreck today. Thought it was interesting, given the extremely technical nature of a dive that deep and cold.
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“The Edmund Fitzgerald - First divers on the Fitz”
13 votes -
Comment on Cataloging your home library in ~books
sqew LinkI'm no expert on library stuff specifically, but my $0.02 would be to do it in a spreadsheet or something just to get a feel for it and have the data on hand. You can fill it out bit by bit and...I'm no expert on library stuff specifically, but my $0.02 would be to do it in a spreadsheet or something just to get a feel for it and have the data on hand. You can fill it out bit by bit and then you have the data collected if you ever want to switch to some fancier system.
(this is just what works for me, since I constantly let the perfect be the enemy of the good...)
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Comment on Astronauts stranded in space after their return capsule is struck by mystery object in orbit in ~space
sqew Link ParentUnfortunately, we're stuck with the results of the various ASAT tests over the last few decades. Hopefully, we can make progress on reducing the number of dead satellites to flatten the growth of...Unfortunately, we're stuck with the results of the various ASAT tests over the last few decades. Hopefully, we can make progress on reducing the number of dead satellites to flatten the growth of the cascade.
I'm particularly excited about electrodynamic tethers (example). Anything that's small enough to fit on J Random Satellite and provides some benefit while it's on orbit has a good chance of getting meaningful adoption, I think.
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Comment on Tilderinos in ~talk
sqew Link ParentFor some reason, "tilderen" sounds very Tolkien to me, which I like.For some reason, "tilderen" sounds very Tolkien to me, which I like.
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Comment on Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ in ~society
sqew Link ParentOf course, sorry if I came across as thinking you were. I just want someone to come up with a copy-able structure for one of these things.Of course, sorry if I came across as thinking you were. I just want someone to come up with a copy-able structure for one of these things.
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Comment on Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ in ~society
sqew Link ParentTo your last point, I'm rooting for Mamdani on this if only so that they might be able to model something that's tightly scoped to the market failures at hand. Something that other...To your last point, I'm rooting for Mamdani on this if only so that they might be able to model something that's tightly scoped to the market failures at hand. Something that other cities/counties/states can point to and copy, although I'm sure plenty of them would bungle it and create a graft machine.
e.g. my own city has an on and off thing about doing municipal fiber internet loosely based on some of the successful ones around the country, although I'm not confident they won't bungle it by paying Comcast or someone to build and run it.
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Comment on Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ in ~society
sqew Link ParentTrue, I guess for the utilities part I mean "mess" as in the "private but publicly controlled through regulation, providing incentives to increase costs to justify increased rates" problem. I'm...True, I guess for the utilities part I mean "mess" as in the "private but publicly controlled through regulation, providing incentives to increase costs to justify increased rates" problem.
I'm coming at it from a "people need food, government exists to serve people's needs, especially in ways private enterprises refuse to, how do we best do that" perspective. So I think I do fundamentally agree with you there.
In general, I don't care so much about unfair competition with private businesses as I do a) figuring out something that can be sold to the average person with a knee-jerk reaction to the government doing things and b) thinking about ways to structure it so that you don't end up with an organization that serves to perpetuate itself more than it does to handle the problem it was created to solve.
Edit: went and read @hungariantoast's comment, and yup, 100% agree. I think there's a huge problem in the US with the cult of "private business" that causes people to justify the existence of ones that don't deserve to exist.
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Comment on Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ in ~society
sqew Link ParentThis general concept is something I think about relatively often. Lots of folks in my life are hardcore "capitalism is the best possible system, competition must be allowed unencumbered", but it...I think a lack of a profit incentive and external funding can absolutely provide a good service, especially if there isn't another accessible store in the area. Maybe it won't work but I'm not so worried about competition.
This general concept is something I think about relatively often. Lots of folks in my life are hardcore "capitalism is the best possible system, competition must be allowed unencumbered", but it seems like there are areas of the economy where the incentives are such that no one bothers to compete to provide a valuable or necessary service (happy to admit, you can probably analyze some of these as potentially resulting from government interference with competition).
From there, it's not too far of a leap to the idea that a semi-public organization existing to fill the need with better incentives might be a good thing to do? But I do think you really, really need to dial in the incentives for that organization so that they don't drive everyone out of business or end up with a mess like public utilities have.
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Comment on Donald Trump says nuclear weapons testing to resume in US after more than thirty years in ~society
sqew Link ParentMy understanding is that, yes, the DoE labs that build and maintain the weapons would love to test them to make sure their computer modeling is right, but, also, they’re pretty darn sure they’re...My understanding is that, yes, the DoE labs that build and maintain the weapons would love to test them to make sure their computer modeling is right, but, also, they’re pretty darn sure they’re right, having spent the last 30y checking their work to be sure.
We’ve built some insane machinery like the National Ignition Facility in order to be able to keep getting really good experimental info on the physics of nuclear explosions without having to do them anymore.
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Comment on There’s a reason US electricity prices are rising. And it’s not data centers. in ~enviro
sqew Link ParentFrom what I've been reading the last few years, it seems like this is and will continue to be a gigantic issue for the US and other countries for the next several decades. A lot of the...So now people today are paying for it.
From what I've been reading the last few years, it seems like this is and will continue to be a gigantic issue for the US and other countries for the next several decades. A lot of the infrastructure for modern life was built out quickly in the last century, and it trundled along just fine for its service life. But now it's time to replace it, and political desires to do something exciting to get reelected don't exactly encourage saying "we're going to invest heavily in upgrading our sewage system".
Combine that with the fact that sprawling suburbs as a whole can't cover the cost of providing services to each lot at what people will consider a "reasonable" tax rate, and you have a time bomb for a good chunk of municipalities in the US.
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What diagramming tools do folks use?
I've gotten very tired of fighting the GUI of my company's self-hosted charts.io instance, so I've been looking around at diagramming tools. I saw D2 posted on Hacker News, which seems like an...
I've gotten very tired of fighting the GUI of my company's self-hosted charts.io instance, so I've been looking around at diagramming tools. I saw D2 posted on Hacker News, which seems like an interesting option, but I'm curious if anyone around here has a beloved tool to recommend.
I think my main use-case would be diagramming how components of a software system go together, although sometimes I'm interested in making wiring diagrams and stuff, too. Something that lets you specify overall dimension constraints for diagrams would probably help, since I often need to throw a diagram into a PowerPoint.
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Comment on Starship Flight 11 successful in ~space
sqew LinkLinked to SpaceX site since they have a direct link to the video. Super cool, once again. No burn through on the fins this time, it looked like.Linked to SpaceX site since they have a direct link to the video. Super cool, once again. No burn through on the fins this time, it looked like.
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Starship Flight 11 successful
24 votes
I read this the other day when it was posted, and am coming back to it now after randomly seeing an r/conspiracy post about yesterday's shooting at Brown.
It sucks and is disturbing to see how many people have fallen so far into these compounding delusions about everything that goes on in the world around them.