zipf_slaw's recent activity
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Comment on How has inflation changed your quality of life? in ~finance
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Comment on How has inflation changed your quality of life? in ~finance
zipf_slaw Link ParentSetting 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...
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Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk
zipf_slaw Link ParentI 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...
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Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk
zipf_slaw Link ParentSurgeon = 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...
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Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
zipf_slaw LinkI'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).
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Comment on 'The report's so stupid': The DNC 2024 autopsy is roiling US Democrats in ~society
zipf_slaw Link ParentI'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: sourceI'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.
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Comment on The Gen Alpha melody in ~music
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Comment on TSA announces TSA Gold+ in ~transport
zipf_slaw Link ParentI 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?
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Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport
zipf_slaw Link ParentMeh, 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.
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Comment on The 100 best novels of all time published in English in ~books
zipf_slaw Link ParentAgreed, 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.
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Comment on Square peg in a round hole: airpower against mobile targets and missiles in ~society
zipf_slaw Link ParentJust 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?
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Comment on The everything, everywhere, all at once corruption story in ~society
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Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport
zipf_slaw Link ParentGood 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.
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Comment on Lost/losing the drive for friendship in ~health.mental
zipf_slaw Link ParentFind 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.
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Comment on USA to mandate surveillance tech for new cars also determing fitness to drive by 2027 in ~transport
zipf_slaw Link ParentI think 'planned obsolescence' has a new meaning these days. Before, your only option for PO was to engineer the failure into the system which was challenging (light bulbs are a famous example),...I think 'planned obsolescence' has a new meaning these days. Before, your only option for PO was to engineer the failure into the system which was challenging (light bulbs are a famous example), but these days it's quite a bit easier to make something obselete when all you have to do is take down or reallocate some servers. Look at how many Google projects have evaporated... killedbygoogle.com
If your access to everything is at their whim, "obsolescence" is a Sword of Damocles.
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Comment on Any one use mesh networks like mesh core? in ~tech
zipf_slaw Link ParentAntenna is the default 2" that comes with the Heltec V3. And it's not just during the commute to work where I get no 'activity', but also while at work, where the radio is right next to a window...Antenna is the default 2" that comes with the Heltec V3. And it's not just during the commute to work where I get no 'activity', but also while at work, where the radio is right next to a window that overlooks a fairly active arterial road. And again, I don't need better battery life because I don't use the radio on its own, I always have it in my EDC utility pouch plugged into a power bank.
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Comment on “Dungeon Crawler Carl” now available to libraries exclusively on Libby in ~books
zipf_slaw Link ParentI've purchased book 1 and 2 in paperback within the last few weeks. Large print, but whatevI've purchased book 1 and 2 in paperback within the last few weeks. Large print, but whatev
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Comment on Any one use mesh networks like mesh core? in ~tech
zipf_slaw LinkI have a couple small meshtastic Heltec V3 radios which I've dabbled with, but unfortunately we live in a place with poor line of sight to neighboring areas (in kind of a depression) and even...I have a couple small meshtastic Heltec V3 radios which I've dabbled with, but unfortunately we live in a place with poor line of sight to neighboring areas (in kind of a depression) and even though I take it to work into a busy suburb of a metro area, I rarely see any local activity, so it hasn't been all that useful. Strangely enough, I'm now visiting my parents in a more rural area but with good LOS across a small town valley, and I'm seeing lots of devices and even some conversations.
I have it in a utility pouch constantly plugged into a power bank that I keep topped off, so battery life isn't an issue (but it does run down quickly).
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Comment on At long last, InfoWars is ours - The Onion in ~news
zipf_slaw Link ParentYou talking about the Late Show, or the Colbert Report, or both? The latter didn't seem to fall flat, to me.You talking about the Late Show, or the Colbert Report, or both? The latter didn't seem to fall flat, to me.
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.