nivenkos @ nivenkos @lemmy.world

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9

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225

Joined

2 yr. ago

You should definitely look up how China works - where local politicians have to be civil servants first, and pass exams, etc.

It's far from perfect either since it means the high-level politicians are all civil servants, but at least it puts a minimum level of meritocracy - and also means the "Deep State" of civil servants is clearer.

Which is wonderful - we got much cheaper telephone calls, and eventually women were able to learn more useful skills and work on more critical work where they're required.

Automation is fantastic.

Stopping wealth accumulation, high barriers of entry and risk for entrepreneurs (e.g. hassle and bureaucracy filing extra taxes, getting separate bank accounts, data privacy protections, high cost of living / properties, high interest rates, etc.) and providing free, widespread access to education are the real problems that need to be solved.

I never wrote anything about minorities. A child will cost far, far, far more than 10k - the point is it'd be a deposit that you get back when they're born to pay for things.

It's not about putting people off doing, but stopping them re-offending. If they're in prison for 40 years for murder, they can't murder someone else. If it's only 5 years, they can.

This isn't some theoretical thing either - it's the current reality in Europe. Almost every criminal has prior convictions, often serious ones.

https://polisen.se/aktuellt/nyheter/2023/mars/atta-ars-fangelse-for-valdtakt-grov-misshandel-och-manniskorov/ - here's one example:

Gärningsmannen har tidigare dömts för liknande brott, senast 2017 till drygt fyra års fängelse och 2009 till sju års fängelse.

Two prior convictions for sexual violence - then committed a horrific kidnapping and rape after his second release.

Or this one: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-55666623 - already a known sex offender, went on to commit further crimes.

Or this guy - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-56569863 - an illegal asylum seeker who had avoided deportation so far, etc.

There's one sentence that guarantees no re-offending, and I think we need it for serious violent crime (especially repeat offences).

Not eugenics but just ensuring that they have a fair start in their life.

It's bizarre that if you adopt a dog they'll check how much room you have, any criminal record, your income source, etc. - but you can have a child with none of that.

And then society and the child end up paying for it - via benefit payments, crime, drug problems, etc.

Just simple things like paying a 10k deposit, no recent violent criminal record, etc. would go a long way.

Hopefully liberalisation - let AI do the tasks that it can do.

Generating 3d models and sprites will liberate thousands of indie film-makers and game developers - just like cheaper computers and cameras have made it more accessible too.

It's a tool like any other - we should embrace it for productivity and lowering the barrier to entry.

Also for copyright and IP - we really need reforms to abolish software patents globally, greatly reduce the extent of copyright (to ~10 years) and likewise for patents. This will encourage the creation of more novel works to get copyright, and also allow for a massive growth in the creative use of existing popular works (and for training AI models).

Yeah, it's shocking how many people still believe the lockdowns were a good idea despite so much evidence to the contrary in Sweden, etc. and now skyrocketing inflation and interest rates.

Nah, then even fewer people will go into it than now, and those that do will have made their money elsewhere / family wealth like it is already.

Only on Runescape, it taught me enough for life.

My ex-gf was almost victim to one of the Nintedo Switch selling sites when there was a shortage. They constantly changed domains and had it really professional looking, but buying anything from scalpers is risky especially when it looks too good to be true like that.

I live in a country with ID cards and digital ID now and it's far from totalitarian. Nice for being able to sort out your taxes and mortgage online though.

This sort of anti-technology stuff is really holding society back (just like the anti-GM, anti-vaccine stuff, etc.)

• Tax accumulated wealth and use it to level the playing field (land value tax, inheritance tax, wealth tax) - it is accumulated wealth that should be taxed, not income.
• Invest in education and research heavily, and focus on STEM + Medicine - stuff like algebra and programming should be taught much earlier.
• Destroy the vestiges of extreme conservatism like monarchism and religion (still very prevalent in Europe).
• Invest in Nuclear Fusion and electrification to alleviate environmental problems without "de-growth".
• Punish violent crime much more severely (it shouldn't be the case that a few criminals can commit 100+ crimes freely).
• Introduce a child licence for having children (like we already have for adopting dogs!)
• Introduce ID cards, digital ID, full genetic sequencing and fingerprinting, etc. - this helps both criminal investigations and the delivery of services and healthcare.

The way things are going is scary though. My salary in real-terms has plummeted around 30% since I started a new job 2 years ago due to the weakening currency, high inflation, increasing utility bills (the energy crisis, and inflation), and high interest rates affecting the mortgage at renewal and the maintenance fee (that just went up 15% today!). And I'm lucky to still keep my job, I know a lot of people who haven't been so fortunate.

And then the so-called "Left" push for "de-growth" and reducing consumption - just making us even poorer (already living without a car is restrictive and a hassle, but it's so expensive now), doing nothing to combat violent crime, and more concerned with fringe issues like the LGBTQIA2S+ community.

I honestly think if things carry on like this we'll see the resurgence of real fascism as people face severely declining living standards and lose patience - just look at Zemmour and Bukele for example. And such concentration of power never works out well in the end.

I understand their point - the bar has been raised a lot for indies over the year - localisation, controller support, ultrawide support, scalable UI and text, colorblind support, modding, multiplayer, etc. are all much more "required" nowadays, but that's just the way things go - there was a time when even save-games weren't necessary.

But saying it'll harm the indie CRPGs is bizarre. This will greatly increase the audience for CRPGs as far more people try it out, and then want to try other titles when they finish it. I'd expect Solasta, Pathfinder, Pillars Of Eternity to all benefit in a few months (the only down-side being that none of these have multiplayer).

But I wish more companies would release their tooling as Open Source like id Software used to. It'd help to alleviate this a bit, even just auxiliary stuff for popular engines.

Yeah, BG3 has a much more interesting story it seems. Whereas D:OS2 was better for multiplayer and the GM mode really.

I'd recommend watching some videos on the BG3 backstory, particularly the Descent Into Avernus story and the Gith vs. the mindflayers.

Larian made one of the best RPGs ever with D:OS2 - that's really what allowed them to take that gamble.

What I love is that it really focuses on gameplay and player choice and options.

It's so fun to risk different rolls, etc. and different ways of doing things.

I just wish it had a day-night schedule, NPC schedules and a living world like Ultima VII / Oblivion, but it's hard to balance with the hand-crafted quests.

But then they ramp the difference up to $10 once everyone is subscribed.

It's already happened with games like Redfall - just pump out any crap to keep up the "content" numbers.

And then raise prices once you've got a large market.

In the end it'll be like Netflix - mass-produced, low-quality games for a steep subscription - more aimed at sitting your children down to keep them quiet, than a high quality experience for gamers.

I'd just use https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_value_available.html for an estimate of value / price, and then build a spreadsheet with the same results for good candidate components but the prices in your market.

For memory, hard drive and power supply just check you meet your requirements and check reviews (and buy an established brand).

I think the hardest decision right now is deciding between DDR4 and DDR5, as that'll affect your motherboard options too.

But there is no universally best option as the prices and availability vary massively by market (and even moreso if you include second-hand too!). Even asking others isn't that helpful if they aren't in the same market as you.

Remember to always buy electrical tape, extra thermal paste and cleaning alcohol too. The anti-static band is worth it if you are somewhere dry / with a lot of static shocks, but most components have better protection these days. And always read the motherboard and case manuals first, so you don't make it way harder for yourself to connect the front USB ports, etc. later on.

Focus slightly less on school and university and more on life skills - learning to drive much earlier, learning languages, etc. - they had a much bigger impact on my life in the end.

Why not force Apple too?