theoreticallyme's recent activity
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Comment on ‘Deadpool 3’, ‘Gladiator 2’, ‘Beetlejuice 2’, ‘Juror No. 2’ and ‘Venom 3’ among productions to restart ASAP as Hollywood gets back to work post-actors strike in ~movies
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Comment on The most enjoyable character builds in Baldur’s Gate 3 in ~games
theoreticallyme Link ParentI got a great summoner build with Spore Druid 9/Life Cleric 3 for Aid. You summon 4 fungal zombies from Spore Druid, 2 ice mephits, a water elemental, a dryad, a wood woad and skeletons from...I got a great summoner build with Spore Druid 9/Life Cleric 3 for Aid. You summon 4 fungal zombies from Spore Druid, 2 ice mephits, a water elemental, a dryad, a wood woad and skeletons from animate dead, buff their HP with a high ranked Aid or Heros Feast spell and have a really tanky army build.
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Comment on What compensation will make you accept on-call without regrets? in ~tech
theoreticallyme Link ParentI think this is exactly right. It’s more than just compensation and PTO, it’s also about having a process that protects your time and enough people and flexibility to not wreck your life and day...I think this is exactly right. It’s more than just compensation and PTO, it’s also about having a process that protects your time and enough people and flexibility to not wreck your life and day job. My company offers something very close to this and reserves about 30% of engineering capacity to reduce live sites and, even with all that, being on call makes the engineers I work with (I’m PM) basically write off the week every 2 months.
If the company doesn’t have both a reasonable compensation plan, enough staff to handle the burden, and a process to actively reduce the on-call incident rate then move on. If they say they can’t afford this then they aren’t charging enough to fund 24-7 support.
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Comment on X user “super pissed” that Musk ordered takeover of his @music account in ~tech
theoreticallyme Link ParentAdvice is something that can be given or received. I give you advice about usage. You are being given advice now. Advise is something you do. You advise the President. I advise you to use...Advice is something that can be given or received. I give you advice about usage. You are being given advice now.
Advise is something you do. You advise the President. I advise you to use advice/advice correctly.
These can be used together to move from something generic to something specific. They gave me advice on how to drive. They advised me to stop at Stop signs.
I’m sure there are grammar rules around this but I was a literature major so I’ve just read a lot.
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Comment on The Block Protocol in ~comp
theoreticallyme Link ParentI also thought about OLE and I’ll use this to talk about Apple’s lesser known version of the same thing, OpenDoc. In today’s dollars that’s about $440 for the PIM and $520 for the database. I...(Lurking in the background is Microsoft's Object Linking and Embedding, which I believe was pretty successful?)
I also thought about OLE and I’ll use this to talk about Apple’s lesser known version of the same thing, OpenDoc.
After three years of development on OpenDoc itself, the first OpenDoc-based product release was Apple's CyberDog web browser in May 1996. The second was on August 1, 1996, of IBM's two packages of OpenDoc components for OS/2, available on the Club OpenDoc website for a 30 day free trial: the Person Pak is "components aimed at organizing names, addresses, and other personal information", for use with personal information management (PIM) applications, at $229; and the Table Pak "to store rows and columns in a database file" at $269. IBM then anticipated the release of 50 more components by the end of 1996.
In today’s dollars that’s about $440 for the PIM and $520 for the database. I played around with Cyberdog and OpenDoc when they released and it was pretty cool but I’ve never seen these “raw surface that you plop components that ‘someone’ will build” working. Its either too simple to be useful or too complex to use.
Expect one of these “powered by AI” coming soon. Given the name, I was surprised this one wasn’t blockchain based.
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Comment on Shutting down Feminist Frequency in ~games
theoreticallyme Link ParentThis is a point I think about a lot. Over the past few generations we’ve scaled up the amount of information a person knew about the world and the number of people they interact with dramatically....I think the internet and humanity as a whole are slowly learning how to operate in larger public spaces and I wanted to quickly reflect on how uplifting and wholesome and awesome that is!
This is a point I think about a lot. Over the past few generations we’ve scaled up the amount of information a person knew about the world and the number of people they interact with dramatically. We regularly interact in public spaces frequented by cities and regions worth of people and it takes a while to understand that sense of scale. If 10,000 people in your town believed the moon was fake you’d be really worried about what was happening. If 10,000 people on the internet believe the moon was fake they just have a Discord somewhere and randomly pop up to get into arguments with people who are now really worried about what’s happening.
The examples you give are small but really hopeful ways in which we’re learning to understand that the world is a REALLY big and diverse place and you’re now regularly interacting with parts of it that think about thinks in totally different ways than you. I wanted to join you in thinking that this is a great sign!
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Comment on Happy Baldur's Gate 3 Day! What are you going to play? in ~games
theoreticallyme LinkI really want to try multi-classing after trying all the single sub-classes in early access. Maybe Sorcerer 8/Warlock 2/Fighter 2 for a blaster build or maybe an attempt at a hexblade pally...I really want to try multi-classing after trying all the single sub-classes in early access. Maybe Sorcerer 8/Warlock 2/Fighter 2 for a blaster build or maybe an attempt at a hexblade pally without the hexblade with something like Warlock 3/Paladin 9.
Of the single classes I tried out I really liked a Battlemaster Archer dex based character as well. Knowing my playstyle, I’ll probably get all of those up to around level 5 or something before deciding. I’ve played so much early access I can do act 1 in my sleep now.
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Comment on Shutting down Feminist Frequency in ~games
theoreticallyme Link ParentSteve Bannon was pushing gamergate articles at Breitbart and used the same tactics on the Trump campaign. You’re totally right to see parallels here. It’s a lot of the same people.Steve Bannon was pushing gamergate articles at Breitbart and used the same tactics on the Trump campaign. You’re totally right to see parallels here. It’s a lot of the same people.
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Comment on Shutting down Feminist Frequency in ~games
theoreticallyme Link ParentTropes was also very intro 101-level content. The followups people went to were what became “breadtube” and everything that’s happened after that. They had a podcast I used to listen to but it was...Tropes was also very intro 101-level content. The followups people went to were what became “breadtube” and everything that’s happened after that. They had a podcast I used to listen to but it was nothing particularly special in a media criticism land that was becoming increasingly crowded.
It’s crazy to think all the GamerGate stuff happened a decade ago. It was terrifying as I was following a lot of the key players on social media from indie game podcasts/forums and seeing people have to run from their houses from 8chan/KiA trolls.
I’m not surprised she’s taking a break and she’s earned it. Go figure out the next chapter.
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Comment on Not all porn is created equal - is there such a thing as a healthy pornography? in ~life
theoreticallyme (edited )Link ParentAt a certain point, all of us are exploited and trade our bodies for resources we need to survive. Like I said, there are systemic reasons that, due to patriarchy, make sex work a rational choice...At a certain point, all of us are exploited and trade our bodies for resources we need to survive. Like I said, there are systemic reasons that, due to patriarchy, make sex work a rational choice for some women. It’s impossible to address under current systems.
I think you can choose to not watch pornography or to pay sex workers for content because even though there’s economic exploitation, at least people can eat. I really hate that we’ve normalized porn being free and shared widely without the workers being compensated fairly. It’s the worst of all worlds.
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Comment on Anyone have any interesting facts or wild stories to share about strange characters in history? I can start - with Marquis de Sade. in ~humanities.history
theoreticallyme LinkJay Gould is one of my favorites. He was one of the railroad barons in the era right after the civil war when the US had almost no economic regulations and Gould was one of the people who proved...Jay Gould is one of my favorites. He was one of the railroad barons in the era right after the civil war when the US had almost no economic regulations and Gould was one of the people who proved why we needed them.
Gould is best know for cornering the gold market in the US when the dollar was backed by gold. He literally owned the money supply and US Grant had to ask him to stop. He started buying stock in gold through intermediaries and eventually his corner became known and he could manipulate the dollar.
There was another incident in which he shorted a rivals stock and then spread a rumor on the trading floor that his rival had died, making a ton in profits due to his short. There’s the time he tried to kidnap a business rival for a rival railroad who owed him money. All fun times.
I was really interested in how the US stopped accepting blatant corruption and nepotism and settled for more sneaky corruption and nepotism like we have today. Gould was a great example of the sort of person who flourishes when we have no rules. He’d have loved crypto.
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Comment on Not all porn is created equal - is there such a thing as a healthy pornography? in ~life
theoreticallyme LinkI think there is a version of pornography that doesn’t involve harm but I think the current systems we have make that almost impossible to find. I know people who’ve done sex work (camming) and...I think there is a version of pornography that doesn’t involve harm but I think the current systems we have make that almost impossible to find.
I know people who’ve done sex work (camming) and I’ve talked with them about it. In those cases, they had experience working both with studios (hated it, super exploitative) and independently. As an independent model, it was possible to not be sexually exploited. They could set their own lines of consent by refusing to do certain things and they had enough tools to be able to hold to it (and critically, no management forcing them to do things they didn’t want to). Studios were exploitative and dangerous.
They were certainly economically exploited, both by camming being the most economically viable profession they could choose as relatively educated women and by a system, both as studios and independents that frequently fucks over models for cash wherever it can. For soft economic-exploitation, these women were able to support extended families on a single income or support their family working while kids were at school and being full time moms outside of that. Working 2 or 3 non-sex work jobs were needed for the same cash and you’d miss family time. There are systemic patriarchal reasons why that’s the case. They also were just ripped off frequently by any layer they’d operate in due to the legal gray/black market status of sex work. Banks gave them a hard time about opening accounts, payment processors would hold payments up because you couldn’t do much. Anyone who was a middleman like a studio or a hosting site was taking at least 20-30% and usually for doing nothing.
There were ways they could maintain control over both what they were willing to consent to and control over their money but it involved driving everyone to a site you controlled. It was hard for someone who’s not a name-brand to be able to do that with any success.
So, to the original question, I think it’s theoretically possible to find sex workers and directly support them financially. In a world where most people ridicule people for paying for porn on the internet, studios and sites take huge chunks of revenue and anything you put online will always spread out of your control, I think practically, that’s a very hard thing to do right now.
The short term solution to help solve this is to completely decriminalize sex work and treat labor violations like you do in any other industry. That would eliminate a lot of places where workers are ripped off or abused. The long term solution involves eliminating capitalism and patriarchy.
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Comment on Intellectual property attorney claims that more than 900 companies have trademarked X, Musk's company will face lawsuits in ~tech
theoreticallyme Link ParentThat’s the real problem. The vast majority of these trademarks won’t be a problem but, with so many, how much space is left for Musk? Particularly since it seems like the owners of some of the...That’s the real problem. The vast majority of these trademarks won’t be a problem but, with so many, how much space is left for Musk? Particularly since it seems like the owners of some of the areas he wants to operate in are big and well funded.
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Comment on Dust management? in ~life.home_improvement
theoreticallyme LinkMy brother has asthma so bad he’s unable to work in a normal office and dust is one of the reasons why. My parents have built an environment in their home that is less triggering so I know some...My brother has asthma so bad he’s unable to work in a normal office and dust is one of the reasons why. My parents have built an environment in their home that is less triggering so I know some tactics that can help reduce dust in an environment.
As others have said, you’ll never eliminate dust. However, there are things you can do to reduce its creation and spread. Combined with cleaning you can reduce the amount of dust in an environment. Note that this is more and not less work and, depending on how far you go, expensive changes to your home. Here’s some advice I haven’t seen here from small changes to large.
I live in an apartment on a busy street. The amount of particulate dust I can see on my window sill is disturbing. Even if you live in a more rural area, if you are surrounded by loose blowing soil, you may have a lot of dirt accumulating in your house. If you’re in a relatively humid and green area maybe this works but take a look at the amount of car soot you see and think about if you want to let that in your house or body more than you have to. Others have posted links to filtering solutions and I’d look into those for sure, especially if you’re sensitive to smoke more than dust mites.Dust covers for pillows and mattresses. A huge amount of dust comes from us as dead skin and gets trapped in pillows and mattresses. Since people don’t clean them often, this leads to a big dust and dust mite problem. You can cover your pillows and mattresses in plastic dust covers that limit this and then clean your sheets and pillow cases frequently to cut down on accumulation.
Remove rugs and carpets for hard surfaces wherever possible. Just like pillows and mattresses, our dead skin and hair accumulates in rugs and carpets. That material attracts dust mites. Vacuuming will reduce this but never eliminate it. Moving to hard surfaces won’t eliminate the build up but will make it more obvious and make cleaning it a little easier.
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Comment on 'The Three-Body Problem' is... bad in ~books
theoreticallyme Link ParentI completely agree about the sexism. I kept writing to my friends while reading that some of this read very much like reading a reddit forum about women. The science in the series was great and I...I completely agree about the sexism. I kept writing to my friends while reading that some of this read very much like reading a reddit forum about women. The science in the series was great and I liked the writer of the fourth book that unofficially completes the series even if it ended up in somewhat weird christian allegory. However, it was really tough to get through the actual story itself.
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Comment on Concerns about new facial recognition software implemented by TSA at US airports in ~transport
theoreticallyme Link ParentMy friend worked on solving racial bias problems in face recognition for a big tech company. From what he’s told me, it’s a training data problem. Tech companies first scanned who was convenient...My friend worked on solving racial bias problems in face recognition for a big tech company. From what he’s told me, it’s a training data problem. Tech companies first scanned who was convenient and that meant more light faces than dark and encoded tech hiring biases into the system. The solution was to go and capture face data in places like Africa to remove training biases.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
theoreticallyme LinkI’m reading “Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records” and listing to stuff I missed in the 90s. Totally loving Meat Puppets - ii, especially “Lost”. It’s nothing like the Black Flag...I’m reading “Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records” and listing to stuff I missed in the 90s.
Totally loving Meat Puppets - ii, especially “Lost”. It’s nothing like the Black Flag / Bad Brains hardcore I liked back in the day but it totally clicks for me now
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Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech
theoreticallyme LinkResEdit taught me a lot of how to practically design software UI. Back in the pre-OSX days MacOS had applications with resource forks (no idea how this was actually structured, I just remember how...ResEdit taught me a lot of how to practically design software UI. Back in the pre-OSX days MacOS had applications with resource forks (no idea how this was actually structured, I just remember how the app worked 30 years ago) and ResEdit let you browse that. There was a bunch of random code I didn't understand but there was a paint-like editor that let you edit parts of the UI and you could see your changes in real time!
I could change the style of the menu bar and it would change what menu bars looked like in that application. I could see that a menu bar was made up of a square that stretched to be the grabby bit and 2 squares with triangles in them for the end.
I later ended up working in software as a designer for years and I I totally loved ResEdit because it was the first place where I learned how things actually were put together. I'm glad there's things like open sourced projects and open repositories as well as a lot more instruction to help the curious kids today.
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Comment on I'm a little concerned with the prevalence and popularity of topics and videos seemingly designed to upset people and "get people fired up" in social media in ~talk
theoreticallyme Link ParentMeasurement and metrics tie to this. It's easier to measure engagement. It's easy to build in telemetry to track it and there are common measures and industry standards that all measure the amount...Measurement and metrics tie to this. It's easier to measure engagement. It's easy to build in telemetry to track it and there are common measures and industry standards that all measure the amount of time people spend looking at your thing and the number of actions they take on it.
It takes more effort to track if that engagement is driving a culture or a community in the right direction or not. Coming from reddit, places like AskHistorians were able to do that but it took a lot of concerted effort from real people who shared goals and values and took efforts to shape their community towards what they wanted. It wasn't something you could do from a dashboard in a presentation and it required having an idea of what you wanted to end up with. It also directly conflicted with the idea of an open forum where anyone could say whatever they wanted. It required aggressive moderation from real people to work.
On your last point I agree with you. I was around for the early optimism of the internet in the late 80s and 90s and I think a lot of those values of free information and decentralizing participation and creation are so far from what we have now its not recognizable. I really have enjoyed the perspectives from people all over the world but I think we're generations away from being able to fully grapple with what it means to connect the planet.
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Comment on I'm a little concerned with the prevalence and popularity of topics and videos seemingly designed to upset people and "get people fired up" in social media in ~talk
theoreticallyme Link ParentI had always recognized reddit was a site that focused on negativity but since leaving and spending time reading here and browsing tumblr it's very noticeable. One theory I had for that on reddit...I had always recognized reddit was a site that focused on negativity but since leaving and spending time reading here and browsing tumblr it's very noticeable.
One theory I had for that on reddit was that people realized they were performing for a large audience that would reward them with karma. That led to escalation instead of de-escalation as you needed to one-up the last commenter to win more points. Reddit communities tended to get worse over time, both due to size and due to the establishment of dug-in cultures that frequently rewarded terrible behavior. If you add subreddits dedicated to re-contextualizing violence as justified or deserved you get a hellsite.
Starting the “12 Angry Men” cinematic universe with a Juror No 2 solo outing is a bold choice. Let’s see if it works 11 films later!