zipf_slaw's recent activity

  1. Comment on Smartphones arrived just before the US fertility rate plunged. One study says it’s a direct cause. in ~health

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Two statements. When written like that, are we to assume they are related?

    "Dinosaurs couldn't read. Now they are extinct." is a true statement.

    Two statements. When written like that, are we to assume they are related?

    1 vote

  2. Comment on So I fell for a phishing in ~comp

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    I believe this is best practice these days even if you don't suspect issues. It's easier than ever to manage the freezes, so it's kind of simple to keep it locked proactively. Mine has been locked...

    In the U.S., if you suspect your identity is at risk, you should place a freeze on your credit reports with all three reporting bureaus.

    I believe this is best practice these days even if you don't suspect issues. It's easier than ever to manage the freezes, so it's kind of simple to keep it locked proactively. Mine has been locked for over 5 years now

    12 votes

  3. Comment on What are your gaming idiosyncracies? in ~games

    zipf_slaw
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    I hate using WASD, largely because it's not symmetric. I prefer to shift the keyboard over and use the numpad for my D-pad.

    I hate using WASD, largely because it's not symmetric. I prefer to shift the keyboard over and use the numpad for my D-pad.

    4 votes

  4. Comment on Alternatives to a straw hat in ~life.style

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    oh, I know and agree, I was differentiating on the name "fireman", which usually intends to mean structural, whereas "firefighter" is more vague but tends to lean wildland.

    oh, I know and agree, I was differentiating on the name "fireman", which usually intends to mean structural, whereas "firefighter" is more vague but tends to lean wildland.

  5. Comment on Alternatives to a straw hat in ~life.style

    zipf_slaw
    Link
    you said no straw hats, and i'm normally in agreement, but i found a hat by St Florian that is shaped like a fireman's hat that i quite like, and have had one for a couple few years now....

    you said no straw hats, and i'm normally in agreement, but i found a hat by St Florian that is shaped like a fireman's hat that i quite like, and have had one for a couple few years now.

    https://saintflorianclothing.com/collections/headwear/products/the-straw-firefighter-hat

    and while i'm not a fireman, i was a wildland firefighter for a couple years, so i think i earned the ability to wear it non-satiricaly

    5 votes

  6. Comment on How has inflation changed your quality of life? in ~finance

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    The folks on San Juan Hill who were displaced for the Lincoln Center may disagree. Or the residents of New London who were kicked out of home via Eminent Domain for a 'economic development'...

    The folks on San Juan Hill who were displaced for the Lincoln Center may disagree.

    Or the residents of New London who were kicked out of home via Eminent Domain for a 'economic development' project that was "suspiciously favorable to Pfizer" (Justice Thomas' words) and wound up never materializing.

    Or, more broadly, the financial institutions who rig the economy so that they privatize the gains and socialize the losses (2008 bailouts) and use predatory lending, robo-signing, and aggressive foreclosure practices to apply even more leverage against home owners, then swoop in and grab the property at a discount.

    11 votes

  7. Comment on How has inflation changed your quality of life? in ~finance

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Setting aside the wild world of squatting, before, it was physical size and prowess, but now those with financial size and prowess can still take it from you...

    someone bigger and stronger could (and did) come along and kick you out. Ownership is what prevents that.

    Setting aside the wild world of squatting, before, it was physical size and prowess, but now those with financial size and prowess can still take it from you...

    8 votes

  8. Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    I think it comes down to how it sounds when you say it out loud. Some words just have a nice... woody sound to them. "Pork", or "Johnson", you see, very woody sound to them. Not like, "tinkle"...

    I think it comes down to how it sounds when you say it out loud. Some words just have a nice... woody sound to them. "Pork", or "Johnson", you see, very woody sound to them. Not like, "tinkle" or... or "Leslie", or "genital", these are unpleasant, or tinny sounding.

    101 337 is a terribly tinny sounding number, most displeasing to the ears. Whereas 482 820, now that has a nice woody sound to it and makes you want to say it all day!! Mmmmm, woody...

    15 votes

  9. Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Surgeon = most, Doctor = least? Strange if true, as you need to be a doctor before you can be a surgeon...

    Surgeon = most, Doctor = least? Strange if true, as you need to be a doctor before you can be a surgeon...

    5 votes

  10. Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk

  11. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    zipf_slaw
    Link
    I'm most of the way through Solaris (audiobook) and have barely started in on DCC #7 and Children of Ruin (book 2).

    I'm most of the way through Solaris (audiobook) and have barely started in on DCC #7 and Children of Ruin (book 2).

    1 vote

  12. Comment on 'The report's so stupid': The DNC 2024 autopsy is roiling US Democrats in ~society

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    I've always read that, when stripped of inflammatory terms, US-ians tend to be more aligned with liberal stances on policy issues. Went looking for those facts and found this: source

    I've always read that, when stripped of inflammatory terms, US-ians tend to be more aligned with liberal stances on policy issues. Went looking for those facts and found this:

    In our new article in Sociological Inquiry, we analyzed public opinion data from 2004 to 2020 to develop a more nuanced picture of American political attitudes. Our aim was to do a better job of figuring out what Americans actually think about politics, including policies related to race and racism.

    Using a new analytic method that doesn’t force us to think in terms of dimensions at all, we found that, over the past two decades, Americans can be broadly divided into five different groups.

    In most years, slightly less than half of all Americans had consistently liberal or conservative views on policies related to the economy, morality and race, and thus fall into one of two groups.

    “Consistent Conservatives” tend to believe that the free market should be given free rein in the economy, are generally anti-abortion, tend to say that they support “traditional family ties” and oppose most government efforts to address racial disparities. These Americans almost exclusively identify themselves as Republicans.

    “Consistent Liberals” strongly support government intervention in the economy, tend to be in favor of abortion rights and pro-same-sex marriage and feel that the government has a responsibility to help address discrimination against Black Americans. They mostly identify as Democrats.

    But the majority of Americans, who don’t fall into one of these two groups, are not necessarily “moderates,” as they are often characterized. Many have very strong views on certain issues, but can’t be pigeonholed as being on the left or right in general.

    Instead, we find that these Americans can be classified as one of three groups, whose size and relationship to the two major parties change from one election cycle to the next:

    “Racial Justice Communitarians” have liberal views on economic issues like taxes and redistribution and moderate or conservative views on moral issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. They also strongly believe that the government has a responsibility to address racial discrimination. This group likely includes many of the Black evangelicals who strongly supported Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, but were also deeply uncomfortable with his expression of support for same-sex marriage in 2012.

    “Nativist Communitarians” also have liberal views on economics and conservative views on moral issues, but they are extremely conservative with respect to race and immigration, in some cases even more so than Consistent Conservatives. Picture, for instance, those voters in 2016 who were attracted to both Bernie Sanders’ economic populism and Donald Trump’s attacks on immigrants.

    “Libertarians,” who we find became much more prominent after the tea party protests of 2010, are conservative on economic issues, liberal on social issues and have mixed but generally conservative views in regard to racial issues. Think here of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who think that the government has no business telling them how to run their company – or telling gay couples that they can’t get married.

    source

    3 votes

  13. Comment on The Gen Alpha melody in ~music

  14. Comment on TSA announces TSA Gold+ in ~transport

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    I wouldn't appreciate the patchwork and inconsistent security measures that vary by airport, despite being in the same country. To take a somewhat unrelated example: I just flew in and back from...

    I wouldn't appreciate the patchwork and inconsistent security measures that vary by airport, despite being in the same country.

    To take a somewhat unrelated example: I just flew in and back from Canada last week: flying in the US and to Calgary, no shoes off at checkpoint. Flying from Calgary to Vancouver, no shoes off. Flying from Vancouver to US, shoes must be removed. Whyyyy?

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Meh, at least it's not as childish as the models S,3,X,Y.

    Meh, at least it's not as childish as the models S,3,X,Y.

    8 votes

  16. Comment on The 100 best novels of all time published in English in ~books

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Agreed, especially if that other world hasn't invented quotation marks.

    The quality of the prose is practically otherworldly

    Agreed, especially if that other world hasn't invented quotation marks.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Square peg in a round hole: airpower against mobile targets and missiles in ~society

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Just wondering , did you swap your 'former/latter' designations here? Or does 'former' relate to timeline of development rather than order of mention?

    It's a similar story with the HIMARS and the weapon it was derived from, the MLRS, which the army still has. The former is heavy, slow, and well armored, the latter is light, fast, and flexible

    Just wondering , did you swap your 'former/latter' designations here? Or does 'former' relate to timeline of development rather than order of mention?

    5 votes

  18. Comment on The everything, everywhere, all at once corruption story in ~society

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    It's a Gish Gallop of crime.

    It's a Gish Gallop of crime.

    6 votes

  19. Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Good luck getting full trade-in value if you do your own maintenance. I've been "penalized" for not having records of all maintenance done on a car I was trading in to a dealer when purchasing...

    Good luck getting full trade-in value if you do your own maintenance. I've been "penalized" for not having records of all maintenance done on a car I was trading in to a dealer when purchasing another. I basically stopped doing my own car maintenance at that point.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Lost/losing the drive for friendship in ~health.mental

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Find the local parks and rec group and attend any volunteer events llke park cleanups. Find a local food bank and volunteer to fill boxes. While there, strike up a conversation with people who...

    Find the local parks and rec group and attend any volunteer events llke park cleanups. Find a local food bank and volunteer to fill boxes. While there, strike up a conversation with people who look like they know others that are there. The people you meet there will generally be pre-pre-filtered to be relatively "good" people.

    1 vote