zap's recent activity
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Comment on I don't get all the love for The Orville in ~tv
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Comment on What it’s like to write a finale your fans hate. (Interview with Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore in the context of the controversial Game of Thrones ending.) in ~tv
zap Link ParentDefinitely. I'm not a writer, but it does seem like it's much easier to pull on threads here or there in the middle of a story than to tie em all up in a neat little bow at the end of a story....Definitely. I'm not a writer, but it does seem like it's much easier to pull on threads here or there in the middle of a story than to tie em all up in a neat little bow at the end of a story. Intrigue is always more exciting than explanation.
And people may not have been happy with the general plot of the BSG finale, but the character moments were mostly perfect. Adama and Laura's final scene together in the raptor, for instance.
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Comment on What it’s like to write a finale your fans hate. (Interview with Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore in the context of the controversial Game of Thrones ending.) in ~tv
zap LinkI just finished BSG last week, and at first I was unsure of how I felt about the finale, but after thinking about it, I really like it. The series could not have satisfactorily ended any other...I just finished BSG last week, and at first I was unsure of how I felt about the finale, but after thinking about it, I really like it. The series could not have satisfactorily ended any other way. Aside for a few minor nitpicks (like the "Daniel" story not leading anywhere and a few cheesy moments), I don't see what there is to dislike about it!
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Comment on Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz ousted in no-confidence vote in ~news
zap LinkWow, what a story. Articles on these events say that the ruling body of Austria will now consist of a board of technocrats until elections in September. Does anyone know how these people are...Wow, what a story. Articles on these events say that the ruling body of Austria will now consist of a board of technocrats until elections in September. Does anyone know how these people are appointed? Does the outgoing Chancellor Kurz do it? How many are there? Is there going to be a technocrat for each ministerial position? Does this happen with regularity in Austria?
I've never heard of a technocracy being implemented by a stable country in real life (admittedly, I don't know much about politics outside the Anglo world), so I'm extremely curious about how this process works.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
zap Link ParentI stopped watching for a week during the Cain arc in season 2 because I needed a break from how stressful the show was at that point! That was a fantastic little story, though. I don't mind the...I stopped watching for a week during the Cain arc in season 2 because I needed a break from how stressful the show was at that point! That was a fantastic little story, though. I don't mind the weird stuff, as I'm a sucker for sci-fi spirituality (I love the Bajoran religious episodes of DS9, for instance), but I know some folks are put off by it. The last moments of the finale were pretty strange, though.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
zap LinkI just finished watching Battlestar Galactica (the reboot) for the first time and it was amazing. Seriously one of the best TV series I've ever seen. It kinda went off the rails a little bit at...I just finished watching Battlestar Galactica (the reboot) for the first time and it was amazing. Seriously one of the best TV series I've ever seen. It kinda went off the rails a little bit at the end there, and the first two seasons are definitely the best, but even at its weakest points, it's still pretty solid. And the CGI holds up very well, especially in the space scenes.
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Comment on Nevada bans so-called gay and trans panic defenses in ~lgbt
zap Link Parent"My client experienced what is known among the top psychologists of the world as "hair panic." He only became aware that the victim had hair on her head when she took off her hat. The hat had..."My client experienced what is known among the top psychologists of the world as "hair panic." He only became aware that the victim had hair on her head when she took off her hat. The hat had obscured the entire top of her head, so my client was caught completely unaware when the victim revealed her hidden locks. The victim had neglected to tell to him that she was not bald, despite having many opportunities to do so, and so, acting in a state of complete and utter shock, my client bludgeoned her to death."
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~science
zap Link ParentWith regard to your last two paragraphs, I completely agree. I was fortunate to earn my bachelor's in computer science at a small liberal arts school. I learned about literature, music, history,...With regard to your last two paragraphs, I completely agree. I was fortunate to earn my bachelor's in computer science at a small liberal arts school. I learned about literature, music, history, economics, psychology, anthropology, etc. while I was there, and my friends in the humanities and arts learned sciences and mathematics. We were certainly not experts in any of these topics, but we were conversant enough to have discussions about them, and bring knowledge from many fields into our own primary work. There was an incredible cross-pollination of ideas happening every day there.
When I got to grad school at a large state university, hardly any of my peers had knowledge from any fields but computer science, IT, or software engineering. Few people I worked with were interested in the world around them, and would disparage academic study outside of STEM as being "easy" or without purpose or a waste of time. They would mock contemporary art and scoff at gender studies. It was extremely disheartening to see this subset of the future scientists and engineers of the world.
Our society can do better than this, and I hope we will, though I do sometimes fear I won't be alive long enough to see meaningful education reform. Young people should be given the opportunity to blossom in every direction. A flower pruned of half its petals is only beautiful from one angle.
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Comment on any interest in a ~comp book club? in ~comp
zap LinkI'm down to do this, though I haven't got any suggestions of my own at the moment. I'm pretty open to reading about anything computation-related.I'm down to do this, though I haven't got any suggestions of my own at the moment. I'm pretty open to reading about anything computation-related.
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Comment on Meet the table busser who’s worked at the same pancake house for fifty-four years and still makes minimum wage in ~finance
zap LinkI once had a job that required a two-hour commute each way. Two trains and a bus, in fact, just like Othea Loggan. It wasn't an experience I'd ever like to repeat, though it gave me the...I once had a job that required a two-hour commute each way. Two trains and a bus, in fact, just like Othea Loggan. It wasn't an experience I'd ever like to repeat, though it gave me the opportunity to do a lot of reading! There isn't much else you can do on the subway.
It's a relatively minor part of the story, but it sheds some light on an aspect of poverty that is frequently left out of the conversation, at least in the US. If you aren't wealthy enough to afford a car, you have to rely on public transit systems, and in sprawled-out American cities, a commute by transit can take a long time. You might spend 8 hours a day at your job and another 4 hours a day simply getting to and from that job. That means you have less time to sleep, less time to take care of duties that aren't related to your job (shopping, cooking, cleaning), and less time to spend with your friends and family. If you work more than one job, as many poor people do, the difficulties of transportation are compounded. In this way (and others), people with low incomes are effectively penalized simply for being poor.
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Comment on How to build an observation hive part 1 - Episode 82: "View hive" in ~hobbies
zap Link ParentI started watching their videos last week and I'm totally enthralled. Without a doubt, it's one of the best YouTube channels out there.I started watching their videos last week and I'm totally enthralled. Without a doubt, it's one of the best YouTube channels out there.
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Comment on Should deleting comments be the standard behaviour, or can we consider a less censored approach by default? in ~tildes
zap (edited )LinkComments that break site rules regarding bigotry and personal attacks should absolutely be removed. I stopped using Twitter and most of Reddit (except for /r/AskHistorians and other subs with good...Comments that break site rules regarding bigotry and personal attacks should absolutely be removed. I stopped using Twitter and most of Reddit (except for /r/AskHistorians and other subs with good moderation) because I was tired of seeing people saying terrible things. It's incredibly depressing to watch a community be corrupted by hate while mods refuse to do anything about it. When I say hate, I'm not just talking about outright slurs and blatant prejudice. Users who are "Just Asking Questions" and engaging in other bad-faith behavior must not be tolerated. Comments like these are not only distracting, but deeply damaging to the community and are never worth reading.
For comments that are innocent but contribute nothing (one-word comments, low-effort memes and the like) I would be fine with a moderator simply collapsing them or hiding them in some way.
It could be nice to have a little message left beneath a removed comment explaining why it was removed, but I can take it or leave it. Of course, we only have one moderator site-wide right now (and they're doing a great job!) so this would probably be infeasible at the present moment.
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Comment on Political correctness: Where do we draw the line on drawing lines? in ~talk
zap Link ParentMany Jewish people aren't offended by the word Jew, but that doesn't mean it isn't a descriptor imposed upon us by Gentile society, as Indian is for Native Americans or Gypsy is for Roma and Sinti...Many Jewish people aren't offended by the word Jew, but that doesn't mean it isn't a descriptor imposed upon us by Gentile society, as Indian is for Native Americans or Gypsy is for Roma and Sinti people. We traditionally call ourselves B'nei Yisroel, or Ivrim, or Yidn (which is itself a reclaimed slur related to the word Jew).
It is impractical, as a Jewish person, to be angry when someone calls you "Jew". It's too common. White supremacists like to hide behind this cover. When they spit the word "Jew" at you with all their venom, they can then turn around and say "What? Isn't that what you are?" as though they've done nothing wrong or offensive.
In general, it is kinder to use "Jewish person/people".
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Comment on Let's talk about recent good experience in ~talk
zap Link ParentI know this is said often, but it really seems to be true: screwing up is the best way to learn something new. I was just talking with a friend of mine about toilet repair a couple of hours ago....I know this is said often, but it really seems to be true: screwing up is the best way to learn something new. I was just talking with a friend of mine about toilet repair a couple of hours ago. We both had the same experience, separately, of screwing up the valve assembly in the tank the first time we tried to make repairs when our toilets broke. When you're looking at a mess of your own creation, knowing the steps you took to make that mess, you're able to figure out at least some (depending on the complexity of the system) of the mistakes you made. Then you can try again with that knowledge in hand. Nothing will teach you how to do something right better than doing something wrong!
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Comment on So uh, how do you pronounce Tilde? in ~talk
zap Link ParentOf course. Thanks right back for making my first interaction on Tildes a friendly and interesting one!Of course. Thanks right back for making my first interaction on Tildes a friendly and interesting one!
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Comment on So uh, how do you pronounce Tilde? in ~talk
zap Link ParentI think we're all in complete agreement here, but it's hard to tell because we're using the concepts of letters and phonemes interchangeably. To be clear, I was saying that the letter 'S', in the...I think we're all in complete agreement here, but it's hard to tell because we're using the concepts of letters and phonemes interchangeably. To be clear, I was saying that the letter 'S', in the context of word tildes, is pronounced as a voiced alveolar fricative in English and a voiceless alveolar fricative in Spanish. The first sound is represented in IPA as /z/, while the second is represented in IPA as /s/. In English and Spanish orthography, however, both of these sounds are represented by the letter 'S' :)
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Comment on So uh, how do you pronounce Tilde? in ~talk
zap Link ParentYou are right, of course, but I think @Arishaig was just saying that they use the unvoiced 'S' to pluralize tildes (as one would in Spanish) rather than the voiced 'S' (as one would in English).You are right, of course, but I think @Arishaig was just saying that they use the unvoiced 'S' to pluralize tildes (as one would in Spanish) rather than the voiced 'S' (as one would in English).
I mean no disrespect, but I have a lot of trouble understanding this point of view. The Orville isn't like Star Trek. The Orville is like TNG, specifically. Except it's a pale imitation of TNG.
Something that's great about Star Trek is that every series has its own style and its own way of storytelling. DIS is no exception to this. It's not an imitation. It takes the best elements of TOS, DS9, and ENT, blends them together, and then covers the whole thing in its own idiosyncratic special sauce.
When I watch DIS, I feel nostalgic, like I'm a kid watching Trek with my parents again. When I watch The Orville... I just don't feel anything.
DIS is also more in line with the Trek universe ideologically. For instance, it came out of the gate swinging hard at nationalism, in a way that may have been somewhat shallow but was still satisfying to watch. The Orville feels pretty milquetoast in comparison.
I could go on and on. Discovery already has some of the best episodes of Trek ever aired, especially in season 2. So, when I see people online saying that The Orville is better than Discovery, or that it's more "trekky," I feel like I'm the victim of a strange prank.
This isn't really directed at you. I don't want you to feel like I'm deriding you for your opinion. I'm just frustrated. The things that people are saying about DIS are exactly what they said about TNG, DS9, and ENT. It really depresses me that we have to have this same conversation every time a new series comes out.