unkz's recent activity

  1. Comment on I think that we won’t see any new and radical new gaming input devices or form factors anymore in ~games

    unkz
    Link Parent
    That's certainly part of why I specified a 5-10 year horizon.

    That's certainly part of why I specified a 5-10 year horizon.

    1 vote
  2. Comment on I think that we won’t see any new and radical new gaming input devices or form factors anymore in ~games

    unkz
    Link Parent
    Well, no, because there is no real AR platform yet. But Google Glass 2026 looks insanely promising. We won't see what developer creativity unlocks until we convince a critical mass of people to...

    Well, no, because there is no real AR platform yet. But Google Glass 2026 looks insanely promising. We won't see what developer creativity unlocks until we convince a critical mass of people to stick a monitor less than an inch from their eyeballs though.

    I'm expecting eye/head tracking to become prominent controls though. Something I'm particularly looking forward to are interactive escape rooms built dynamically around my current environment.

  3. Comment on I think that we won’t see any new and radical new gaming input devices or form factors anymore in ~games

    unkz
    (edited )
    Link
    I suspect that at some point, in the 5-10 year range, AR (not VR) interfaces are going to become, if not ubiquitous, extremely common, and from there gaming will spread to that format.

    I suspect that at some point, in the 5-10 year range, AR (not VR) interfaces are going to become, if not ubiquitous, extremely common, and from there gaming will spread to that format.

    15 votes
  4. Comment on Anyone else a bit unnerved by the number of visible satellites? in ~space

    unkz
    Link Parent
    They are reflecting the sun off polished metal surfaces in a dark sky. You won’t see satellites that are in earth’s shadow. They also aren’t that far away, starlink is like 550 km.

    They are reflecting the sun off polished metal surfaces in a dark sky. You won’t see satellites that are in earth’s shadow. They also aren’t that far away, starlink is like 550 km.

    11 votes
  5. Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society

    unkz
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Not a single one of those is the legal name of the street, so it’s completely irrelevant to me. As I mentioned further down in the thread, I would not care in the slightest if “šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm”...

    Is it also stupid and a monstrosity that they printed signs for Spadina Ave. in Mandarin Chinese in Toronto to celebrate the fact that it's Chinatown? Greek signs on the Danforth? Urdu and Punjabi in some other areas? People can still refer to those streets with their Latin alphabet characters.

    Not a single one of those is the legal name of the street, so it’s completely irrelevant to me. As I mentioned further down in the thread, I would not care in the slightest if “šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm” were simply printed on the sign and I am in fact in favour of informational place name signage in non-English/French languages, including indigenous languages.

  6. Comment on Railway solar project turns unused track space into energy in ~enviro

    unkz
    Link Parent
    SNCF Réseau manages nearly 28,000 km of rail line in France. That is a lot of cleared land available for solar that they are mostly not using at any given point in time. By my rough calculations,...

    SNCF Réseau manages nearly 28,000 km of rail line in France. That is a lot of cleared land available for solar that they are mostly not using at any given point in time. By my rough calculations, that would be about 40 square kilometers assuming 1.435 m between rails. No idea how much of that would be usable for this project, but that would surely cost tens of millions of dollars just to acquire that much land?

    6 votes
  7. Comment on US will revoke passports for parents who owe child support in ~society

    unkz
    Link
    Certainly might make it hard for some people to vote. I wonder if that’s a factor in their thinking.

    Certainly might make it hard for some people to vote. I wonder if that’s a factor in their thinking.

    6 votes
  8. Comment on Norway is reopening three gasfields that it shut down last century as demand from Europe for alternatives to Russian and Middle Eastern supply increases in ~enviro

    unkz
    Link Parent
    But I do know enough of your income to know that you think paying more for heating isn’t a big deal to you. Because you can make adjustments elsewhere. You aren’t on the edge.

    But I do know enough of your income to know that you think paying more for heating isn’t a big deal to you. Because you can make adjustments elsewhere. You aren’t on the edge.

    2 votes
  9. Comment on Norway is reopening three gasfields that it shut down last century as demand from Europe for alternatives to Russian and Middle Eastern supply increases in ~enviro

    unkz
    Link Parent
    Spoken like someone with disposable income. For someone living on the edge, more money spent on heat means less money spent on food. This is some avocado toast logic.

    The current geopolitical context would have been a pretty good excuse to raise prices, incentivizing a more frugal mindset, without facing the backlash of actually actively raising those prices...

    Spoken like someone with disposable income. For someone living on the edge, more money spent on heat means less money spent on food. This is some avocado toast logic.

    2 votes
  10. Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society

    unkz
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    There is a difference between effective altruism and Effective Altruism. The main thrust of Effective Altruism is basically: if you have the capacity to acquire capital efficiently, then you...

    There is a difference between effective altruism and Effective Altruism. The main thrust of Effective Altruism is basically: if you have the capacity to acquire capital efficiently, then you should stop being good, and acquire as much capital as possible, which you then use to pay other people to be good on your behalf. Eg. Malaria nets, which is where this line of reasoning begins but it gets derailed immediately because:

    The other weird prong of EA is longtermism which is tied in somewhat closely with the kind of stupid found on lesswrong.

    Longtermism is basically, we can do more to help net global happiness by accelerating AGI than we could spending those resources in reducing present suffering because future humans have equal moral weight as current humans.

    So the two dovetail in this incestuous way: the best and most moral thing to do is to acquire capital, and shockingly the most moral way to spend that capital is on my hobbies rather than actual real world present day suffering alleviation.

    I’m not sure if you are familiar with this movement, but check out the writing of Will MacAskill if not.

    13 votes
  11. Comment on What was the best job you ever had? in ~life

    unkz
    Link Parent
    Things were touch and go for the first decade, and I came perilously close to bankruptcy a couple times but once I flipped my first company I was more or less set for life. Probably halfway...

    Things were touch and go for the first decade, and I came perilously close to bankruptcy a couple times but once I flipped my first company I was more or less set for life. Probably halfway through the 12 month earnout was when I knew I was set.

    8 votes
  12. Comment on What was the best job you ever had? in ~life

    unkz
    Link
    Self employment. I’m still doing it, for almost the past 30 years. My first job was my childhood dream job though, hardware/software design for a startup in the 90s. It was an amazing opportunity...

    Self employment. I’m still doing it, for almost the past 30 years.

    My first job was my childhood dream job though, hardware/software design for a startup in the 90s. It was an amazing opportunity that taught me a lot about business and technology. I left to get more money, which I don’t really regret.

    10 votes
  13. Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society

    unkz
    Link Parent
    I would actually have no issue if it were just a sign and not the legal name of the street. I am in favour of multilingual signage. I also support the road side display of place names in native...

    I would actually have no issue if it were just a sign and not the legal name of the street. I am in favour of multilingual signage. I also support the road side display of place names in native languages, eg “Siyám Smánit” for the Chief.

    3 votes
  14. Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society

    unkz
    Link Parent
    I was born in and live in Vancouver. I’m fully immersed in the local political situation.

    I was born in and live in Vancouver. I’m fully immersed in the local political situation.

    7 votes
  15. Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society

    unkz
    Link Parent
    I don't have an issue with information being presented in multiple languages.

    I don't have an issue with information being presented in multiple languages.

    6 votes
  16. Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society

    unkz
    Link Parent
    I don’t even know what point you are trying to make here. Île de Vancouver is easy to type. I long press the letter I. This is a standard letter in one of the two official languages of Canada....

    I don’t even know what point you are trying to make here.

    Île de Vancouver is easy to type. I long press the letter I. This is a standard letter in one of the two official languages of Canada. Even without the accent, Ile de Vancouver is easily recognizable.

    This isn’t about indigenous people. I would be as irritated if some politician decided to legally rename a street in Chinatown using hanzi or a street in little Japan in kanji.

    6 votes
  17. Comment on Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent in ~tech

    unkz
    Link Parent
    How is that different “at this point” than before?

    How is that different “at this point” than before?

    18 votes
  18. Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society

    unkz
    Link Parent
    I’m going to push back on the indigenous naming of things. “šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street” as well as Musqueamview is a stupid thing to do. Even if I could remember this, it’s not physically possible...

    I’m going to push back on the indigenous naming of things. “šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street” as well as Musqueamview is a stupid thing to do. Even if I could remember this, it’s not physically possible for me to communicate this without cut and paste. And that’s only about half the technical burden of this dual naming monstrosity.

    Musqueamview is totally fine with me. I do not care about replacing Trutch Street. I am supportive of renaming things that were named after assholes.

    https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/musqueamview-street-signs-unveiled-today-at-community-celebration.aspx

    14 votes
  19. Comment on Accessing the internet through only google.com in ~tech

    unkz
    Link Parent
    Of course the risk of raid and arrest or attracting police attention of any kind is not good. Depending on what you have going on, you may find yourself prosecuted for something else unrelated...

    Of course the risk of raid and arrest or attracting police attention of any kind is not good. Depending on what you have going on, you may find yourself prosecuted for something else unrelated that the police find on your property. I wouldn’t run a tor exit from my meth lab for instance.

    3 votes
  20. Comment on Health Canada approves 1st generic version of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic in ~health

    unkz
    Link Parent
    Yeah, you need a prescription, but it’s very easy. I know more than a few people on it who have no plausible reason for it. Just aesthetics and biohacking.

    Yeah, you need a prescription, but it’s very easy. I know more than a few people on it who have no plausible reason for it. Just aesthetics and biohacking.

    4 votes