MagicShel @ MagicShel @programming.dev

25+ yr Java/JS dev

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2 yr. ago

I wouldn't call it ignorance. My bliss is based on considerable reading and contemplation. Way more than ought to be necessary, all things considered. I wish some of the understanding I've developed over the years would've been explained when I was young. There are things which, once explained, drive the logical mind to an inevitable conclusion.

It's like if you filled a grapeskin with a nutty-oily, semi solid jelly substance.

That's such a visceral description, I already hate it without experiencing it for myself. Sounds like really wet, soft steak fat which I can't stand either.

Are we sure it wasn't this Melon?

Write.as is closed at the free tier now, but I found paper.wf so that'll work. Now I just need to figure out what I want to do with it. I can do professional blogging on GitHub, so I'll have to find another voice and topic.

I've been there. Posted my story, but I didn't talk about the lifelong anxiety that comes with a lengthy layoff. Continually pursued higher pay at shittier jobs to try to get ahead of things for when the rug gets pulled out from under me again. It's corrosive. Losing income and insurance when everyone is counting on you to provide makes you feel like your self-worth is completely tied to your job and ability to provide.

I like some of the ideas presented here. That said...

“It’s not a winning strategy, and it’s not the sure-fire sort of like zinger that Democrats think it is,” says Insha Rahman, the director of Vera Action, which advocates for criminal justice reform. “Calling Trump a convicted felon doesn’t really stick on him because he doesn’t fit the trope of what a convicted felon is, because it is a dog whistle—it is linking race and criminality.”

I disagree with this whole line of thought. I get this person has a good agenda but seeing everything through that lens I think blinds her to other perspectives.

I think it's good and powerful to call Trump a felon. It drives home a particular point to his base — that they are following a criminal. He's one of the bad guys and she's one of the good guys. Is it a nuanced message? No. There's a lot of good points she makes about messaging and framing. But I think it does hit home especially with low-information voters.

Furthermore, I think it highlights many of the points she wants to make with nuance, just very bluntly. Is there a racist connotation to the word felon? Well pointing out the white guy is a felon attacks that. Is there stigma about being a felon? Pointing out Trump is one undercuts, for some, that a felon can only be a violent criminal.

I just think it's a little silly to see people's positive reaction to that message and say, "No, this isn't going to help you win." But I agree with everything else.

He'll get his security briefings from Putin, thank you very much.

Which time?

First time happened after I'd been with my first real job for ten years because the business was changing and there wasn't a role for me. I was out of work for 7 shitty months trying to have my own business starting from the few customers we had left when they let me go. It was right after I bought a house and had a baby. It was fucking awful.

Second time was after COVID. First we all took a 10% pay cut to avoid layoffs. Then two months later when federal assistance expired, they cut 1/3 of the company across the board. I'm a little fucking bitter about that to be honest, but I had a new remote job lined up within a couple of weeks that paid quite a bit better.

Last time was 5 months ago. Just got hired this week. Start next month. It sucked. Wiped out my whole retirement savings, so I get to start over at 51. But we made it through and potentially I won't have to switch companies again.

This is really why I come here. Real talk. Whether it's serious or funny, it's nice to be able to feel like I'm interacting with real people like we're just hanging out, challenging and affirming one another and appreciating different perspectives. You didn't have to agree with me, though I'm gratified we could come to an accord. Deep respect, my friend.

I've visited a scant handful of countries. And you want me to pick a least favorite? Let's start by enumerating my options: US, Canada, Thailand, Mexico, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Laos.

I guess I'll have to say Jamaica because they were pushy as hell with tourists, but not in a scary way. I don't have anything bad to say about my experiences in any of the rest. Canada gets too cold in the winter, but not while I was there. I could occasionally hear gunfire in the distance from the resort in Mexico, but it was never worrisome—I can sometimes hear a gun range from my house. That's it. I'm pretty easy to please, I guess.

That doesn't seem very demure mindful yesman of you.

I don't see anyone open for no cost right now (at least not in English). Might see about self-hosting if it'll run on a raspberry pi.

Do you have any opinions on or comparison of the two?

I mostly get what you're saying, though I don't have the requisite understanding to follow formal proofs, but if there is one thing I do know for certain, it's that "understanding" is anthropomorphizing and shorthand for something that is very much not understanding in a human context at all.

I get that it can be hard to find the right words to explain a some of these emergent phenomena, but I think it's misleading to use words that make AI appear to have a thought process akin to anything we could understand as such—at least in settings where folks might not understand the shorthand as such.

And maybe everyone here is aware of that, but it makes me uneasy, hence this comment to hopefully make that point.

There are people who, for various reasons (some well-meaning, some nefarious), put the plight of Palestinians above all other concerns, and decry anyone who doesn't do the same. And they think the solution is to hold the rest of the left hostage by letting Trump win if they don't get their way (though to be fair, I think most of them live in solid blue states where they can do what they want without actually hurting the election, and I don't see any reason why they shouldn't do so).

But people will make choices based on their own needs. How many queer folks are going to choose to allow Trump to win for the sake of Palestinians? Some, I've no doubt, but enough in swing states to change the outcome? Seems doubtful.

Israel is the most complicated thing in geopolitics, perhaps ever. It'll never be solved in a way that leaves anyone hands clean. I support the right to protest and solicit money to help civilians in need and get the message out and to lobby politicians. I think anyone in a swing state who lets this dictate their vote is shooting themselves in the foot for no possible gain. I guess it's their vote, but it's just as frustrating watching them as watching poor Republicans vote against their own interests every election.

It probably makes me a bad person, but he didn't die and I could give a fuck about the attempt or the commission.

I recommend the asterism to instead be adopted as the symbol for astigmatism.

"Please read our pinned posts and click these unrelated icons to indicate the topics you'd like to argue about."

Funny how that seems to be the case. But — and I'm OOTL here — I know Taylor dislikes Trump to the point of arguing with her parent's and managers about going public with that. I also hear her boyfriend and his family are Republicans. So it may be just to forestall a war between themselves or their fans, they both just agreed to sit politics out this year.

That would be really disappointing. Taylor shouldn't let her guy silence her. But I get it. My wife and I don't talk religion because she's religious and I'm vehemently atheist. It works. We have five kids and a happy marriage. Maybe that's all Taylor and whatshisname want, too.

Fair enough. I think there's a fair bit of everyone talking past each other. Yeah, I can see your point about chasing upvotes on posts. I mostly post whatever I'm going to post without regard to votes, but I do enjoy making a popular comment and when I get lots of downvotes I do a quick check if I'm the asshole (sometimes yes, sometimes no). I can see where you'd want to disincentivize low quality shit-posting for upvotes. I'm pretty sure I'd shit-post anyway, though.

But consider: sometimes funny content chains of everyone joking around release tension and provide a way to engage with a post when I don't have anything of value to say. Engagement is what drives social media. Am I going to comment if I get no engagement? A vote at least says someone saw it and I'm not shouting into the void. And if no one votes or comments my post, how do I know anyone has seen it at all?

If this place were nothing but high quality serious content, I feel like it would be closer to Wikipedia than Reddit. Of course, you're free to disagree if you find none of this persuasive. I say all that because OP invited folks to explain why they disagreed. I'm not trying to come across as an argumentative prick, I just feel like folks are using words that clearly mean different things to different people. Like I don't think you and OP are thinking of the same thing. I'm not even sure OP was talking about the same thing at the end as he was in the beginning.

Being able to quantify reach and count likes or upvotes or good stats has been a feature of social media forever. Mastodon doesn't have or display upvotes, you just get notified when a post is favorited. It works there. But I engage way less there. But what soaks to me might not speak to someone else.

Anyway, that's all. Thanks for the response.