wowbagger's recent activity
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Comment on Bethesda’s Oblivion Unreal Engine 5 remake could be releasing sooner than you think in ~games
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Comment on New policy changes for Southwest Airlines in ~travel
wowbagger Link ParentBilling by weight for luggage seems fair, but why include the weight of the person too? At 190cm, plane travel is already miserable for me. Charging me extra for something I have no control over...Billing by weight for luggage seems fair, but why include the weight of the person too? At 190cm, plane travel is already miserable for me. Charging me extra for something I have no control over is adding injury to insult.
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Comment on What's a feeling you sometimes experience that you don't have a name for? in ~talk
wowbagger LinkHere's one I've felt for a long time but only just recently learned that there is a name for it, thanks to Depths of Wikipedia on Bluesky: Resistentialism. I get it most while in the kitchen. Some...Here's one I've felt for a long time but only just recently learned that there is a name for it, thanks to Depths of Wikipedia on Bluesky: Resistentialism.
I get it most while in the kitchen. Some days it just seems that the knives and bowls are out to get me, I'm constantly dropping things or sloshing things or fumbling things. Surely the explanation can't be that I have clumsy days and dextrous days - the objects must be conniving!
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Comment on I used to teach students. Now I catch ChatGPT cheats. in ~tech
wowbagger Link ParentIf anything this just highlights the difference, IMO. A calculator's limitations are knowable and you can compensate for them. An LLM is the quintessential black box, there is no way to predict...If anything this just highlights the difference, IMO. A calculator's limitations are knowable and you can compensate for them. An LLM is the quintessential black box, there is no way to predict the mistakes it will make.
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Comment on Tildes Video Thread in ~misc
wowbagger LinkA Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges – Practical Engineering As a structural engineer in a different industry, this one scratched every single itch for me. Some of those bridges are gorgeous! One...A Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges – Practical Engineering
As a structural engineer in a different industry, this one scratched every single itch for me. Some of those bridges are gorgeous! One of Grady's best IMO
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Comment on I just turned 29 last month, what are some things I should be thinking about before my 30s? in ~talk
wowbagger Link ParentI'm also turning 29 at the end of the month. Lots of 96ers around Tildes it seems!I'm also turning 29 at the end of the month. Lots of 96ers around Tildes it seems!
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Comment on US Space Force official warns there is not enough room to prep satellites as commercial and government missions ramp up in ~space
wowbagger LinkKind of an inevitable problem as the US's presence in space continues to increase. We've been launching mostly from just Kennedy and Vandenberg for decades, and NASA's funding is in such constant...Kind of an inevitable problem as the US's presence in space continues to increase. We've been launching mostly from just Kennedy and Vandenberg for decades, and NASA's funding is in such constant jeopardy that infrastructure upgrades are at the very bottom of the priority list. If you want to be able to send more stuff to space, maybe give the space agency a respectable budget for once?
I'm personally in favor of further increasing launch operations from Wallops. Currently nothing human-rated launches from there, it's just ISS resupplies and sounding rockets. It would be good not to have all of our launch facility eggs in one hurricane-prone Floridian basket.
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Comment on Looking for a visualization of North American political boundaries over time in ~humanities.history
wowbagger LinkNot sure if this helps a whole lot, but the Wikimedia Commons page for that gif you posted links to this version, which is slowed down a bit. You can also extract each frame to an image album to...Not sure if this helps a whole lot, but the Wikimedia Commons page for that gif you posted links to this version, which is slowed down a bit. You can also extract each frame to an image album to let you scroll forward and back, like so.
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Comment on After a shaky debate performance top US Democrats talk about replacing Joe Biden on the ticket in ~society
wowbagger Link ParentThe two terms don't have to be consecutive. The 22nd amendment only specifies that you can't be elected president more than twice, so it applies even to non-consecutive terms.The two terms don't have to be consecutive. The 22nd amendment only specifies that you can't be elected president more than twice, so it applies even to non-consecutive terms.
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Comment on Faulty valve scuttles Starliner’s first crew launch in ~space
wowbagger Link ParentI wouldn't say it's splitting hairs. It's a joint venture between LockMart and Boeing's Space Division, who aren't even the ones who have been in the news lately for QA issues. As...- Exemplary
I wouldn't say it's splitting hairs. It's a joint venture between LockMart and Boeing's Space Division, who aren't even the ones who have been in the news lately for QA issues. As @PleasantlyAverage said, they're a completely different group of engineers. They've been operating the Atlas V and Delta IV since 2006 without a single launch failure, and they just launched the first Vulcan in January which was also a success.
Launch scrubs happen all the time due to hardware, electrical, and weather issues. I know folks are out for blood when it comes to Boeing but ULA is a very reliable launch services provider and this particular scrub isn't really newsworthy. The very fact that they noticed the issue and postponed the launch means that they're doing things properly.
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Comment on Stops along a drive from Texas to Pennsylvania in ~travel
wowbagger Link ParentI'd also add Mammoth Cave to the parks list, it looks like you'll be driving right past it. Just make sure to reserve a cave tour way ahead of the time; the self-guided section is really small so...I'd also add Mammoth Cave to the parks list, it looks like you'll be driving right past it. Just make sure to reserve a cave tour way ahead of the time; the self-guided section is really small so you don't get to see much of the cave unless you book a spot on a tour. And they sell out really fast.
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Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space
wowbagger Link ParentOrbital period is super easy to calculate, it's just a^3/2 if you're using Astronomical Units. At 500 AU that's only about 11,000 years, which may be mind-numbingly slow on a human time scale but...Orbital period is super easy to calculate, it's just a^3/2 if you're using Astronomical Units. At 500 AU that's only about 11,000 years, which may be mind-numbingly slow on a human time scale but in a cosmic sense it's nothing.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
wowbagger (edited )Link ParentHow can you say this so confidently right after you say that you don't even use TikTok? I do use it, and I see loads of nuanced discussion from a wide range of the political spectrum. I also see...Algorithms don't allow for nuanced discussion. Issues get simplified down to black or white conflicts and it increases division in society.
How can you say this so confidently right after you say that you don't even use TikTok? I do use it, and I see loads of nuanced discussion from a wide range of the political spectrum. I also see so much good science content, so much clever comedy, so many differing views on gender, mental health, and economic issues. There are many many passionate creators making high quality content for TikTok – the only way one ends up in an echo chamber is if one creates it for themself, and that can just as easily be done on Reddit or Tildes or whatever other non-"traditional" social media you refer to.
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Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space
wowbagger (edited )Link ParentWhile there's no exact number1 associated with the mass required for a body to clear its orbit, something with a mass of 5 Earths would almost certainly qualify, even at 500 AU. For reference,...While there's no exact number1 associated with the mass required for a body to clear its orbit, something with a mass of 5 Earths would almost certainly qualify, even at 500 AU. For reference, Pluto (dwarf planet) is 0.0025 Earth-masses and Mercury (planet) is 0.0553 Earth-masses.
1. There have been criteria put forward, however. If you use the method that doesn't require any empirical data, Jean-Luc Margot's Π, you get a Π-value of 3.3 for the parameters listed in the paper which is well above the Π=1 required to clear the neighborhood. Pluto has a Π-value of 0.028
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Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space
wowbagger Link ParentWebb is exactly the wrong telescope for something like this, it has a very small field of view – more akin to a telephoto lens. What you need to find a planet is a survey telescope. I believe WISE...Webb is exactly the wrong telescope for something like this, it has a very small field of view – more akin to a telephoto lens. What you need to find a planet is a survey telescope. I believe WISE did briefly search for Planet 9 and came up empty, but that was only a 16-inch mirror. The upcoming Roman Space Telescope is also an infrared survey telescope and has a much better chance of finding something with its nearly 8-foot primary mirror.
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Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space
wowbagger Link ParentThat is much, much easier said than done. The baseline these researchers used for their simulations assumes a semi-major axis of 500 AU, an eccentricity of 0.25, and an inclination of 20 degrees....That is much, much easier said than done. The baseline these researchers used for their simulations assumes a semi-major axis of 500 AU, an eccentricity of 0.25, and an inclination of 20 degrees. So not only is their best guess at its location 10 times further from the sun than Pluto, it's also in a far less circular orbit than the other planets and tilted way out of the ecliptic. And it's only 5 earth-masses. And those are all still just guesses. Studies like these are really important for justifying and informing the search for this needle in the spatial haystack.
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Comment on Kroger’s panopticon: Making criminals of grocery shoppers in ~tech
wowbagger Link ParentSure, but the topic here is co-ops as an alternative to chain grocery stores. I'm probably more willing to accept additional friction to my shopping experience than most, and as I said in my first...Sure, but the topic here is co-ops as an alternative to chain grocery stores. I'm probably more willing to accept additional friction to my shopping experience than most, and as I said in my first comment I do still shop there with the understanding that it's going to be a lower quality and more expensive experience. But until the co-op can provide a similar level of service to the major chains then it's not going to be the main option for most. It's just another form of the personal responsibility argument vis-à-vis climate change or transit – unless the most sustainable option is either the most convenient or only option, most people are not going to choose it.
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Comment on Kroger’s panopticon: Making criminals of grocery shoppers in ~tech
wowbagger Link ParentI understand that, but when my menu for the week includes a Mexican dish and the co-op is out of cilantro, avocados, and jalapeños, it stops being a mere inconvenience and just means I have to go...I understand that, but when my menu for the week includes a Mexican dish and the co-op is out of cilantro, avocados, and jalapeños, it stops being a mere inconvenience and just means I have to go to the other store anyway. So not only did I take the extra time to walk there and back, and pay the 25% premium, I also have to get in the car and drive somewhere afterwards. After that happens enough times it makes me less likely to go to the co-op at all, unless I know for a fact they're going to have everything I need.
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Comment on Kroger’s panopticon: Making criminals of grocery shoppers in ~tech
wowbagger (edited )Link ParentCo-ops are not a silver bullet. My closest grocery store is a co-op. I can walk there easily in under 20 minutes without crossing any major roads. Despite that I still typically get in the car and...Co-ops are not a silver bullet. My closest grocery store is a co-op. I can walk there easily in under 20 minutes without crossing any major roads. Despite that I still typically get in the car and go to one of the chain stores, for two reasons:
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They're much cheaper. I spend 20-30% more at the co-op, and there doesn't seem to be any single driver. All items are just slightly more costly. That's despite each co-op member being required to make a $100 deposit into the development fund. They just don't have the scale to compete on price.
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The variety is much better. I'm guessing it's for similar economy-of-scale reasons, but the co-op just doesn't have certain things and other items they sell out of quickly. For instance, I can almost never find cilantro at the co-op unless I make a point of going early on a weekday. Other things are less important but still enough to make me prefer the large chains – like a specific brand of seltzer that I can only find at Safeway or Giant.
It's really a bummer, because I much prefer to support the local business. Oftentimes I bite the bullet and shop there anyway, just accepting that I likely won't find everything I want. But that's hard to stomach when it also comes at a premium.
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Comment on Two years to save the planet, says UN climate chief in ~enviro
wowbagger Link ParentAren't we creating new water every time we burn a hydrocarbon? I don't remember much chemistry either but I thought the products of simple combustion were CO2 and water vapor.Aren't we creating new water every time we burn a hydrocarbon? I don't remember much chemistry either but I thought the products of simple combustion were CO2 and water vapor.
By the way, both Skyblivion dependencies are heavily discounted for the Steam Spring Sale right now. I just bought both Oblivion+DLC and Skyrim Special Edition for $15 USD total.