TheRtRevKaiser's recent activity
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Comment on Waving goodbye, carrying my bundle on a stick in ~talk
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Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentI think people have a general sense that many of the systems that exist in our culture are harmful and extractive, but they don't see any way to make things better and they may not even understand...I think people have a general sense that many of the systems that exist in our culture are harmful and extractive, but they don't see any way to make things better and they may not even understand what is wrong or what it is that they feel (which is why scapegoating groups like immigrants is effective). People are frustrated that corporations are permitted to make decisions that prioritize profit over human life and I think the Mangione case was cathartic for some because of that feeling of powerlessness.
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Comment on Is Flowers for Algernon sci-fi? in ~books
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentYeah I think you hit the nail on the head here, sci-fi is just a really big umbrella. I think of it a little like Metal music. If somebody tells you they're into metal that really gives you so...Yeah I think you hit the nail on the head here, sci-fi is just a really big umbrella. I think of it a little like Metal music. If somebody tells you they're into metal that really gives you so little info about what they really like except that it probably has a guitar (probably). Like, Metalcore, Black Metal, and, like, Grindcore really aren't gonna appeal to the same people necessarily, and that's fine. I find the stuff that I vibe with, try to branch out and find things to appreciate about other subgenres, but it's okay if it's not for me if somebody's getting something out of it. That doesn't make it "not metal" or anything.
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Comment on Is Flowers for Algernon sci-fi? in ~books
TheRtRevKaiser LinkI think Flowers for Algernon is a type of sci-fi that doesn't get as much attention in recent times as it used to - where the "sci-fi" aspect is mostly just a catalyst or a useful hand-wave for...I think Flowers for Algernon is a type of sci-fi that doesn't get as much attention in recent times as it used to - where the "sci-fi" aspect is mostly just a catalyst or a useful hand-wave for something specific the author wants to explore, but not really the focus itself. Like, Fahrenheit 451 and Nineteen Eighty-four are both technically (dystopian) Sci-fi, but really any sci-fi elements are set dressing or are used as a way to get at the social commentary the author wanted to make. I think this is probably the real difference between "soft" and "hard" sci-fi - in "hard" sci-fi the technological or scientific aspect is a focal point, and the author wants to examine what the world or society would look like if x was true. In "soft" sci-fi, I think, the author has a story they want to tell and the technology is just a plot device to enable telling that story. Personally I don't think one is "more sci-fi" than the other, but I do think they're differently sci-fi, or maybe different subgenres if you prefer, and readers might like one approach over the other but I don't think that makes one more or less valid than the other, IMO.
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Comment on Is it time to include pronouns? in ~tildes
TheRtRevKaiser (edited )Link ParentYeah I tend to think of @ing someone as explicitly getting their attention, like saying "Hey Joe, what do you think?" It always feels kind of rude if I'm just referring to something that person...Yeah I tend to think of @ing someone as explicitly getting their attention, like saying "Hey Joe, what do you think?" It always feels kind of rude if I'm just referring to something that person did/said.
ETA: just had a minor panic attack when I thought I had pinged someone with the username 'ing', but fortunately that link just leads to a 404 😅
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Comment on What is your Mandela effect moment? in ~movies
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentYeah this one gets me. I very much remember the cornucopia.Yeah this one gets me. I very much remember the cornucopia.
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Comment on Why normal people aren’t using AI agents in ~tech
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentAlright, now I know you're full of it... /shave successfully set up printing on Windows
Alright, now I know you're full of it... /s
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Comment on New Zealand has a new official language — English in ~society
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentIt makes plenty of sense to me if you are trying to redress some of the long-term effects of colonialism. It would be one thing if places like NZ existed in a vacuum - if there were two language...It makes plenty of sense to me if you are trying to redress some of the long-term effects of colonialism. It would be one thing if places like NZ existed in a vacuum - if there were two language groups coexisting with no other historical context and one is bigger then sure, the argument that more people will understand agency names in the majority language holds water. But it's kind of messed up for European colonizers to move into a place that is already occupied, then systematically oppress, enslave, and kill the folks that were there before until the language of the colonizer is the majority language (often this is accomplished systematically as well, by outlawing the use of native languages in schools or by just straight up stealing native children and giving them to colonizer families or institutions to be raised within the colonial culture.) and then arguing "well, most people understand our language so no point in using yours for anything". You address that sort of thing by (somewhat artificially) encouraging the use of the minority language in public, teaching it in schools, etc. There might be some mild inconvenience to the majority population, but that seems like a small thing to ask to allow those cultures to coexist in a way that doesn't continue the trend toward cultural and linguistic extinction.
ETA: I'm not from NZ (Aoteorea?). I'm sure there is history and nuance there that is different from other colonies. I'm speaking generally, as someone who thinks that it's worthwhile to try and preserve cultures that were nearly wiped out by colonialism, because it is too late for some and because I think we're generally better off when cultures are able to coexist even when that is mildly inconvenient to me.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheRtRevKaiser (edited )Link ParentImmaculate vibes on both of the Strange games. Those two games probably came closest to filling to the gap left by Book of Hours for me. Speaking of which, I keep meaning to pick up the DLC for...Immaculate vibes on both of the Strange games. Those two games probably came closest to filling to the gap left by Book of Hours for me. Speaking of which, I keep meaning to pick up the DLC for that game and giving it another go...
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Comment on Why does Opera GX rarely come up in browser discussions? in ~tech
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentYeah a lot of browser preference is very subjective for sure. I don't generally want to sync between devices so that's not been much of a priority for me. I think firefox has tab sync now so that...Yeah a lot of browser preference is very subjective for sure. I don't generally want to sync between devices so that's not been much of a priority for me. I think firefox has tab sync now so that has probably flowed downstream to Zen as well.
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Comment on Why does Opera GX rarely come up in browser discussions? in ~tech
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentI wanted to like Vivaldi, but I found their built in adblocker to not be up to the task much of the time. I wound up switching to Zen, a Firefox fork, instead. I've enjoyed that pretty well so...I wanted to like Vivaldi, but I found their built in adblocker to not be up to the task much of the time. I wound up switching to Zen, a Firefox fork, instead. I've enjoyed that pretty well so far, and it's nice to have support for UBO which I barely ever see letting an ad through, including on YouTube.
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Comment on UBlock Origin got turned off with my most recent Brave browser update. Any alternatives? in ~tech
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentYou're absolutely right that there's not a firefox fork that has all of the features of Vivaldi. I recently swapped to Zen after getting frustrated with Vivaldi and have mostly been pleased with...You're absolutely right that there's not a firefox fork that has all of the features of Vivaldi. I recently swapped to Zen after getting frustrated with Vivaldi and have mostly been pleased with it, but ymmv.
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
TheRtRevKaiser LinkMy daughter tore an (unintentional) hole in her favorite overalls. I wanted to try and mend them, but I wasn't confident I'd be able to do it in a way that wasn't obvious, so I decided to just do...My daughter tore an (unintentional) hole in her favorite overalls. I wanted to try and mend them, but I wasn't confident I'd be able to do it in a way that wasn't obvious, so I decided to just do the exact opposite and make it decorative instead.
I think it turned out pretty nice, and while I was at it I did some backstitching around the edges of the hole that was already in the knee to keep it from tearing like this again quite so easily, or from fraying further. All in all I was pretty pleased with how the whole thing turned out!
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Comment on OpenAI and Anthropic endorse call for US government to "pace" AI progress in ~comp
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentI mean, a classic pattern in regulatory capture is companies benefiting from a lax regulatory regime, getting big/capturing market share, and then lobbying regulators for regulations that will...I mean, a classic pattern in regulatory capture is companies benefiting from a lax regulatory regime, getting big/capturing market share, and then lobbying regulators for regulations that will make it difficult/impossible for smaller companies to become major competitors. I think the skepticism is warranted, I don't particularly believe that these companies have our best interests at heart.
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Comment on Game Pass was supposed to save Xbox – instead, it’s killing the company in ~games
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentThat's true to an extent, but as it has gone on they've been adding more and more big titles as day one gamepass drops, and the way I play games means I'm rarely playing anything day 1 anyway, so...That's true to an extent, but as it has gone on they've been adding more and more big titles as day one gamepass drops, and the way I play games means I'm rarely playing anything day 1 anyway, so it's really been mostly upside for me. If the price goes up much more or the start putting fewer games on it I'll probably dip, but for a while at least it's been quite nice.
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Comment on Reminder to myself that my employer does not give a shit about me in ~life
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentI mean, a "union of all adults" kind of seems like an elected government with extra steps to me...I mean, a "union of all adults" kind of seems like an elected government with extra steps to me...
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Comment on What pre-NES games do you still recommend today? in ~games
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentNot the person you're replying to, but the Interactive Fiction Database has info and reviews on lots of different IF games, plus generally has links to where to get the game/parser needed.Not the person you're replying to, but the Interactive Fiction Database has info and reviews on lots of different IF games, plus generally has links to where to get the game/parser needed.
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Comment on Avengers: Doomsday | Official trailer in ~movies
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentYeah I need to catch up on a couple of things - haven't seen Thunderbolts*, the new Fantastic 4, or Loki S2 - but honestly I'm not mad at this trailer. It actually kinda got me interested. It's...Yeah I need to catch up on a couple of things - haven't seen Thunderbolts*, the new Fantastic 4, or Loki S2 - but honestly I'm not mad at this trailer. It actually kinda got me interested. It's gonna be stupid but I like the MCU's particular brand of stupid.
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Comment on How are you different than you were last week? in ~life
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentThanks for the CC, I've come across this site before, and there's a lot of good stuff there, although I don't always fully relate to everything. The essay that the "Am I Trans" page is based on is...Thanks for the CC, I've come across this site before, and there's a lot of good stuff there, although I don't always fully relate to everything. The essay that the "Am I Trans" page is based on is probably the single piece of writing that most fully made me admit to myself that there was something going on - I found myself ugly crying about halfway through and I thought to myself, "this is definitely not how a cis person would react to reading this".
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Comment on How are you different than you were last week? in ~life
TheRtRevKaiser Link ParentHey, congrats on this big step. I'm in a similar place, exploring my identity and trying to figure things out. I recently started talking more in-depth with my therapist about my questions around...Hey, congrats on this big step. I'm in a similar place, exploring my identity and trying to figure things out. I recently started talking more in-depth with my therapist about my questions around gender, and confided in a group of friends as well. Little baby steps, and it feels scary, but also feels good.
I think this is also part of why the requested features have retreated from "please more robust moderation" years ago to "please let me block certain people" or "a way for the community to label frustrating behavior". Even if others think that those particular feature requests might cause more problems than they solve, or not solve the problem in the first place, the fact that they're being asked for probably means that there's a real felt need. And I've been here long enough to know that this is definitely not the first time that this conversation has been had.