stu2b50's recent activity
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Comment on Nassim Taleb: Bitcoin failed as a currency and became a speculative ponzi scheme in ~finance
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Comment on Why Amazon workers sided with the company over a union in ~finance
stu2b50 LinkI thought this was an interesting retrospective, given that the NYT went and got some actual responses from the many workers who voted "No". There's no way around facing the fact that an...I thought this was an interesting retrospective, given that the NYT went and got some actual responses from the many workers who voted "No". There's no way around facing the fact that an absolutely overwhelming amount of the people who voted voted for "No" - when you consider all the people who didn't vote, it's even worse.
To have a better shot in the future, you have to listen and examine why people thought as they did; simply calling them idiots, as is common on every Reddit thread on the topic, is not, in my opinion, productive, or respectful of the fact that these are, in fact, autonomous people voting on their own future.
When Graham Brooks received his ballot in early February, asking whether he wanted to form a union at the Amazon warehouse in Alabama where he works, he did not hesitate. He marked the NO box, and mailed the ballot in.
After almost six years of working as a reporter at nearby newspapers, Mr. Brooks, 29, makes about $1.55 more an hour at Amazon, and is optimistic he can move up.
“I personally didn’t see the need for a union,” he said. “If I was being treated differently, I may have voted differently.”
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For some workers at the warehouse, like Mr. Brooks, the minimum wage of $15 an hour is more than they made in previous jobs and provided a powerful incentive to side with the company. Amazon’s health insurance, which kicks in on the first day of employment, also encouraged loyalty, workers said.
Carla Johnson, 44, said she had learned she had brain cancer just a few months after starting work last year at the warehouse, which is in Bessemer, Ala. Amazon’s health care covered her treatment.
“I was able to come in Day 1 with benefits, and that could have possibly made the difference in life or death,” Ms. Johnson said at a press event that Amazon organized after the vote.
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Patricia Rivera, who worked at the Bessemer warehouse from September until January, said many of her co-workers in their 20s or younger had opposed the union because they felt pressured by Amazon’s anti-union campaign and felt that the wages and benefits were solid.
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When a union representative called her about the vote, Ms. Johnson said, he couldn’t answer a pointed question about what the union could promise to deliver.
“He hung up on me,” she said. “If you try to sell me something, I need you to be able to sell that product.”
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Danny Eafford, 59, said he had taken every opportunity to tell co-workers at the warehouse that he strongly opposed the union, arguing that it wouldn’t improve their situation. He said he had told colleagues about how a union let him down when he lost a job years ago at the Postal Service.
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In talking with congregants, Mr. Matthews said, he has come to believe that workers were too scared to push for more and risk what they have.
“You don’t want to turn over the proverbial apple cart because those apples are sweet — larger than the apples I had before — so you don’t mess with it,” he said.
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He pointed to the high rate of turnover among employees, estimating that up to 25 percent of Amazon workers who would have been eligible to vote in early January had left by the end of voting in late March — potentially more than the company’s entire margin of victory. Mr. Appelbaum surmised that people who had left would have been more likely to support the union because they were typically less satisfied with their jobs.
tl;dr, reasons included
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Workers considered pay and benefits good, did not want to rock the boat
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Poor messaging on the Union's side
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Bad prior experience with unions
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High turnover leading to disgruntled workers leaving rather, causing the remaining unionization voters to self select for those who are not disgruntled.
Not mentioned in the article, but I also suspect that few people considered Amazon to be a "career", just a short time gig - as such, you have less incentive to try and build a stable career for yourself with collective bargaining.
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Why Amazon workers sided with the company over a union
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Comment on Edward Snowden NFT sells for more than $5.4 million in ~finance
stu2b50 LinkThis case is very interesting, because in many of the NFT sales it begs the question: did it really need to be a blockchain NFT? Was there really no entity that either is or could be the central,...This case is very interesting, because in many of the NFT sales it begs the question: did it really need to be a blockchain NFT? Was there really no entity that either is or could be the central, trusted unit (cough NBA cough)? Or is it just riding the coattails of hot magical technical buzzwords?
In this case, yes! No Snowden org will be able to sell memorabilia on ebay, or give out patreon rewards, or start SnowdenTradingCards.com, because the US government has it out for him, and any such operation would be at serious threat to be shut down. In this case, people who trust the Ethereum blockchain can ensure that it is Snowden that is selling this token, and it will be Snowden's ETH wallet that will gain the Ethereum.
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Comment on Released: Docker Desktop for Mac [Apple Silicon] in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkThe developer preview has been out since just a few weeks after the M1 macs were released, but it's good to see that it's matured enough for a release. Docker on the M1 is fairly important, as...The developer preview has been out since just a few weeks after the M1 macs were released, but it's good to see that it's matured enough for a release.
Docker on the M1 is fairly important, as Macbooks are heavily used inside software companies as local dev machines for Linux boxes in prod. You get a POSIX compliant OS that has mature corporate control systems (which Linux does not).
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Released: Docker Desktop for Mac [Apple Silicon]
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Comment on Reuters puts its website behind a paywall in ~news
stu2b50 Link ParentI can get why, though. If the ad revenue isn't working out for them, I think it's very possible a low subscription fee would just end with them being shoved out by the NYT and WaPo, who really own...I can get why, though. If the ad revenue isn't working out for them, I think it's very possible a low subscription fee would just end with them being shoved out by the NYT and WaPo, who really own that space right now.
Instead, they're going to go up market to the more lucrative professional market, where as more of a business necessity (to keep up with the latest happenings ASAP), the demand curve is way more inelastic. Many of these subscriptions get expensed by companies for their employees. As the first quote indicates, this price is on-par for what Bloomberg, WSJ, FT cost.
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Comment on Thread of Brian Armstrong seeking cofounder on HN (2012) in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentThere's still valuable content on hackernews. Many great creators still almost exclusively post their creations to "Show HN", and it more than any other social media gets consistent posts from...There's still valuable content on hackernews. Many great creators still almost exclusively post their creations to "Show HN", and it more than any other social media gets consistent posts from people in high positions (i.e you see Patrick Collison every once in a while).
It's also an indication to me that many of the ills people attribute to Reddit from their monetization are more fundamental than a greedy company, since hackernews is and has always been a side thing for ycombinator.
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Comment on What game(s) have you tried to repeatedly get into but ultimately could not? in ~games
stu2b50 LinkThe Witcher 3 and Skyrim. Was pretty hyped for both, and really enjoyed Witcher 2. I think in the end what I realized is that I just don't like open world games and would prefer a linear story...The Witcher 3 and Skyrim. Was pretty hyped for both, and really enjoyed Witcher 2.
I think in the end what I realized is that I just don't like open world games and would prefer a linear story progression.
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Comment on Thread of Brian Armstrong seeking cofounder on HN (2012) in ~tech
stu2b50 (edited )LinkReminds me of the infamous "lol just use FTP" Dropbox hnews thread. edit: although looking back at each, the Dropbox one has responses that are far less hostile. It does seem that hackernews had a...Reminds me of the infamous "lol just use FTP" Dropbox hnews thread.
edit: although looking back at each, the Dropbox one has responses that are far less hostile. It does seem that hackernews had a shift at some point to where you can almost always predict the average stance of a post in a thread: always negative to whatever the subject is.
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Comment on Discord will start designating entire servers as NSFW, and prevent all under-18 users from accessing them, as well as all users on iOS in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentI dunno, I think the app store policies are pretty reasonable and useful. It's just good QoL to have NSFW content not be displayed by default; there's a reason Reddit, for example, mosaics...I dunno, I think the app store policies are pretty reasonable and useful. It's just good QoL to have NSFW content not be displayed by default; there's a reason Reddit, for example, mosaics thumbnails until you opt in. You can't click on a seemingly innocuous app and have NSFW content blasted on your screen. Some people are cool with that, some people aren't, and sometimes the social context you're in makes it unacceptable, so an opt-in requirement is fine IMO.
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Comment on The US military will fully leave Afghanistan on September 11, twenty years after the 9/11 attacks in ~news
stu2b50 Link ParentWhich is why I expected Biden to take more of a "we'll leave when it's safe to leave" approach, but this is in direct opposition to that. So, while this gives the US military more time to dot...Which is why I expected Biden to take more of a "we'll leave when it's safe to leave" approach, but this is in direct opposition to that. So, while this gives the US military more time to dot their i's and cross their t's, it's fundamentally a continuation of Trump's original May date in spirit. That's not necessarily the wrong decision, I don't think there's any clear victories here, but it is a decision, with consequences for the people on the ground. It is almost certainly the most popular path in the US, so it makes sense from that angle.
That's why the "hope" was oriented around a multinational conference with the other major powers in the region - perhaps a peace brokered by countries that share a border will be more longlasting.
Additionally, I hope that the difference in the lives of many people in Afghanistan is not forgotten for the ultimate failure of the US intervention. To those who are do not subscribe to Taliban-esque orthodox, their lives are going to greatly decrease in quality.
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Comment on The US military will fully leave Afghanistan on September 11, twenty years after the 9/11 attacks in ~news
stu2b50 Link ParentThat's why this is a complicated issue. From a purely American point of view, it's clear: we're spending lives and money in the region for little to no gain. But it's another thing entirely to the...That's why this is a complicated issue. From a purely American point of view, it's clear: we're spending lives and money in the region for little to no gain.
But it's another thing entirely to the millions of lives in Afghanistan that you are dooming to more civil war, and likely, eventual Taliban rule. America did swoop in there, prop up this government, implicitly under the promise of making it work.
There was some talk about the US trying to hold a multinational discussion on the region with other countries, to hopefully broker out some longer lasting agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government (and by being multinational to involve the US less in keeping it upheld), but given the timelines looks pretty unlikely.
I don't think there's any possible resolution to this that doesn't involve pain somewhere or another.
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Comment on Discord will start designating entire servers as NSFW, and prevent all under-18 users from accessing them, as well as all users on iOS in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkI'm not surprised, Discord was going to have a reckoning sooner or later regarding kids mingling with adults on their servers, whether that be pre-emptive policy like this, or a lawsuit later.I'm not surprised, Discord was going to have a reckoning sooner or later regarding kids mingling with adults on their servers, whether that be pre-emptive policy like this, or a lawsuit later.
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Comment on Do I need a new computer? in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkIn that case, why not get a desktop? Using a laptop like that just seems like burning through a lithium ion battery for no good reason (plus, more fan noise). Since you don't play games, render...I am also unsure if I need to stick with a laptop-I almost never take my computer anywhere and have it hooked up to a monitor anyway.
In that case, why not get a desktop? Using a laptop like that just seems like burning through a lithium ion battery for no good reason (plus, more fan noise). Since you don't play games, render videos, etc. you can do just fine with integrated graphics, which gives you quite a bit of leeway in the budget.
In that vein, although AMD makes good CPUs, stock flies off the shelves and the high end chips as of yet do not come with any kind of integrated graphics and now is an incredibly shitty time to buy any kind of GPU, so I'd stick with something from Intel.
With $1000, you can probably grab an i7, a suitably sized M.2 SSD (512GB or 1 TB) for boot, 16 or 32 GB of RAM, a decentish $150ish motherboard, any random case, good PSU ($80ish) and you're good to go. Prebuilts would work fine too. The one catch is that for whatever reasons desktop PCs, unlike literally any other computing device, regularly do not come with any kind of wifi support - so you'll have to buy those separately, and make sure there's Linux compatibility.
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Comment on Epic Games has completed a $1 billion funding round at a $28.7 billion valuation, including another $200M investment from Sony in ~games
stu2b50 LinkInteresting; they've been fairly conservative with their equity sale, then. Epic is a fairly old company for one that remains private, that Sweeney has stayed majority holder despite dilution and...Epic continues to have only a single class of common stock outstanding and CEO Tim Sweeney remains the controlling shareholder of the company.
Interesting; they've been fairly conservative with their equity sale, then. Epic is a fairly old company for one that remains private, that Sweeney has stayed majority holder despite dilution and without share class shenanigans is interesting.
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Comment on Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is very excited about the Epic Games Store losing a ton of money in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentSince they own Rocket League, Fall Guys, and Fortnite now, I could see them doing some kind cross-game battle pass-like thing, where one purchase gets you MTXs and things in all 3 games. Could be...Since they own Rocket League, Fall Guys, and Fortnite now, I could see them doing some kind cross-game battle pass-like thing, where one purchase gets you MTXs and things in all 3 games. Could be compelling.
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Comment on Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is very excited about the Epic Games Store losing a ton of money in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentThe steam UI is fugly and slow. Especially the store page, which just opens a webview of the store's page, but the store isn't even a SPA so it feels extra bad. The new chat UI classes horribly...The steam UI is fugly and slow. Especially the store page, which just opens a webview of the store's page, but the store isn't even a SPA so it feels extra bad. The new chat UI classes horribly with the old parts of Steam. I also wish there was a more ergonomic way to turn offline mode on.
It's also bloated and uses far more resources than a launcher should, even in comparison to all the electron ones that are out there.
Steam is the #1 program I wish I didn't need to have launched, but do.
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Comment on What does analog have that digital doesn't? in ~talk
stu2b50 Link ParentOne thing with physical books is that for whatever reason I can navigate them much more easily than ebooks. This never comes up when reading for entertainment, since I'll just read linearly...One thing with physical books is that for whatever reason I can navigate them much more easily than ebooks. This never comes up when reading for entertainment, since I'll just read linearly forward, but when you need the book for reference (i.e book essays back in university or more often now textbooks and other instructional material), I at least am much more able to flip to the approximate location of something I know is in the book.
Now, there's no reason this should be true; you can cmd (or ctrl) f in a ebook. You can do the pseudo-binary search that you do with real books just as easily. You can place infinite, labeled bookmarks. But I'm still just less accurate (or it feels less accurate).
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Comment on [SOLVED] Tech Support Request: Finding the biggest files of a specific type in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentYep. --printf is not part of the find program as defined by POSIX, and not something any of the BSD userland finds have. You can, of course, install the GNU versions of the POSIX userland in...Yep. --printf is not part of the
findprogram as defined by POSIX, and not something any of the BSD userland finds have.You can, of course, install the GNU versions of the POSIX userland in macOS, which considering how prevalent GNU/Linux (thanks stallman, finally a time where that's useful to specify) is on the server, a very likely place to use the command line, may be useful, so you can have portability between them.
Personally, I think it's not been a major contributor. It likely contributed some, but the bulk of the price increase on the 3rd party market has been from gaming demand.
For one, if you're a crypto miner, it's a pretty simple equation; there's a bunch of calculators you can go where you can plug in the price of the card, the price of electricity, and you can see how long it takes to break even. At most of the scalper prices, it just does not make sense to buy them. Crypto miners had a much bigger impact likely in the beginning, when they were being sold at near MSRP from retailers; there were probably a bunch of miners who placed large orders or pulled strings to buy large orders.
Secondly, from the Steam hardware surveys, we know that there actually are quite a few people with 30x series cards. The 3070 is the 15th or so most popular card - which is quite something, because most of the top cards are much cheaper, like the 1050ti, the 2nd most popular, or the 1060, and so forth. I doubt all of these people somehow bought them at MSRP; I bet many, many gamers spent $1000+ on scalped cards on ebay.
You can also see this in many at-home hobbies. No one's mining with PS5s. The price of timber has also gone up like 10x - 2x4s might help with mining actual ores, but not so much with repeatedly doing SHA hashes.
All this leads me to believe that most of the price increase is a the general trend that at home hobbyist activities have had a very sharp increase in demand, and for computer hardware, a stagnated supply from the chip shortage.