oxjox @ oxjox @lemmy.ml

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1,258

Joined

2 yr. ago

At first glance, I feel like your in parentheses statements maybe should not be left beneath the surface.

I would have trade my iPhone 16 for this just for the smaller camera but the lack of MagSafe is preventing that. Oh well :(

Synthwave sent me down the path of Vaporwave > Chillwave > Darkwave. There's a not-unrelated genre called Mallsoft. Somehow that got me into Library Music. I found a lot of music on Bandcamp and archive.org. You can get downloads of full albums and discographies for a few dollars, name your price, or for free.

If you're looking to do a deeper dive, the genre and sub genres are largely credited with being kicked off by Macintosh Plus - Floral Shoppe in 2011.

I listen to this stuff all day long while I'm working at home. My vaporware playlist is literally 7 days long (2350 songs). Here's some of my picks.

https://interloperecords.bandcamp.com/album/--7

https://9rhythm9.bandcamp.com/album/kmart

https://dreytnien.bandcamp.com/album/silicon-reality

https://obliqueoccasions.bandcamp.com/album/v1

https://obliqueoccasions.bandcamp.com/album/remnants

https://catsystemcorp.bandcamp.com/album/palm-mall

https://catsystemcorp.bandcamp.com/album/sunday-television-2

More Links
https://archive.org/search?query=synthwave
https://archive.org/search?query=vaporwave
https://archive.org/search?query=mallsoft

I've actually been rewatching some episodes of All In The Family airing on Pluto TV. It's remarkable (1) how little has changed and (2) how we've lost such great quality television over the past forty years.

Why install an app when you can just use the bank's website?

The Republican agenda for over 50 years has been to eliminate federal agencies. Reagan was overwhelmingly elected and he campaigned on closing Carter's recently created department of education.

If it's not explicitly in the constitution, they believe it should be operated by the states or by a corporation. It's not about "why do they want to close it", it's "why should this exist" - especially when (they think) a corporation could do it better. Bonus: corporations make money and you can invest in them to make money for yourself.

Generally, the idea is a very small federal government and more sovereignty for each state. It's easy to misunderstand this when conservatives are also calling for federal restrictions on health and freedoms. Don't fool yourself to believe there's consistency in politics.

The world was very different two hundred and fifty years ago. Our lives, commerce, and opinions are no longer impeded by state boundaries. The reason for this country to exist still remains but the context has changed. Anyone holding conservative ideas is, intentionally or not, holding this country back.

Moreover, if you think this administration gives a shit about anyone but themselves and corporations, you my sweet innocent child are truly out of the loop.

Again, going back to Reagan, Americans have been convinced that the government is bad and enriching corporations is good. Trickle down economics is still by and large considered good for workers. You give tax breaks to the billionaires and corporations and, in theory, they can employ more people. Of course we know now that trickle down economics has been a failure and that enriching the poor and middle class is best for the entire economy.

The United States is a failure. It came close but it doesn't scale. We need a new Constitution and Bill of Rights that more explicitly outlines the responsibility of the federal government and what The People can trust it to do for them. If you want a truly Democratic Republic, we also need to make election day a holiday, fund election campaigns strictly through taxpayer dollars, and implement ranked choice or STAR voting. Footnote - the new constitution would have to explicitly say election campaigns are an exception to any free speech clause because fuck Citizen's United.

I laughed at this very loudly.

This is peak r/NotTheOnion.

Here's the bill from Georgia rep Buddy Carter: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1161

The "in general" part of your statement is doing a lot of work here. It's a bit more complicated.

It's absolutely true that many manufacturers are using cheaper materials and near-slave wage labor to make clothing. Industry, in general, has changed dramatically in the past 10-15 years as we're seeing a flood of low cost garment makers who can ship direct to consumers at a fraction of what we're used to paying for clothes. There's a substantial portion of the industry (Shein, et al) that's putting out ultra trendy clothing for tens of dollars.

There's also still good quality brands out there but their stuff costs more than the cheap(ly made) stuff. Most consumers don't see or understand the value in spending more today for something that will last more than five years. Especially in regard to fashion; trends and styles change so why would you want to wear something more than five years. Also, a lot of people do not know how to properly care for their clothing.

Consumers have greatly benefitted from certain international trade regulations at the expense of quality materials and craftsmanship and unfair wages. Speaking on behalf of Americans, the costs of our goods would be noticeably higher without the legislation passed during the Reagan and Clinton administrations. You could also argue we'd be able to afford it if the jobs remained in this country and we were being paid fair wages.

I'd argue that WAGES are what have been enshittified more than anything else. People are making less money today than they did 30 years ago.

For reference, I looked up Levis 501 Jeans from 1996 and today.
1996 - $37.99 | 2025 - $79.50

If I run this through the inflation calculator, $38 in 1996 is worth $75.97 today.

Now, if you convert $50k, that should equal $100k today. I have my doubts that a job that paid $50k in 1996 is paying $100k today. I'm not sure about my math / source but it appears to me that the median hourly wage in 1996 was $18.94 and in 2024 $24.75. Adjusted for inflation, it should be $37.99 today.

A lot of people do not share the same opinions or views or reality that I do. I try to put myself in their position, I try to not allow click bait and misinformation to cloud my efforts. I mean, a lot of the "news" in the past two weeks has been a bit exaggerated to spark fear and engagement. I can not overstate how massive the issue is around the media manipulation and the public's lack of intelligence.

But holy fucking shit:

In addition to Black History Month, the agency also ordered the suspension of events marking Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, Women’s History Month, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Look, if you want to remove DEI policies and hire and promote staff based solely on their merits, at its face, that's not terribly difficult to agree with. The issue is that you continue to exert your racism over and over and enforce our belief that your belief that caucasians are superior to all other races and you just want to wipe out all other races that this nation was literally built on the backs of.

These people see diversity as a threat to their livelihoods. This country has given white people an inherited advantage since before its inception. "DEI" means they might have to work harder to prove their merit. Their advantages are being stripped away and their exceptionalism culture is being diluted.

For the life of me, I - a straight white American male - can not understand the desire to preserve your "whiteness". That's just me though. There are plenty of people in the US with lineage in Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria, China, etc who embrace their country of origin and family history. My favorite thing about this country is its diversity. We should be more inclusive of it all while not living in fear that someone's going to take our job based on the color of their skin. The racism in this country goes so deep and we're missing out on learning from each other.

These national holidays are supposed to promote the entire fucking point of this country - inclusion and diversity.

I was going to ask, teaspoon or tablespoon. No, it's the whole spoon. LOL

That’s the equivalent of an entire standard plastic spoon, Campen said.

“Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, that’s about 50% higher,” he said. “That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic.”

Apple released a more user friendly version of this in 2021 https://www.apple.com/privacy/docs/A_Day_in_the_Life_of_Your_Data.pdf

I think it's safe to say that, at this point, most people know that their information is being sucked up. But very few care at all. Some of the people I've spoken with are actually in favor of being tracked because they find it beneficial and they want better ads. I don't know if this is a real desire for them or if they've been brainwashed.

The chance of your personal data being used against you is increasing every day. Leaks are happening all the time; largely from databases presumed to be more secure than an app on your phone. Still, relatively few people are really affected by this.

Please tell me otherwise but it seems that the worst thing the data collecting raised in this post could do is manipulate an algorithm to show you ads or social media content or other website content (most concerning, political propaganda).

That's to say, okay - this is weird but you have to tell people why they should care if you want them to raise concern. WHY is this "terrifying"? I mean, I can speculate but even the worst case scenarios I've told people about have barely raise an eyebrow.

Hold the phone.

Are you saying the same people that let the dogs out are the one's responsible for this mess??

It all makes sense now!!

First - Theoretically, his larger actions with tariffs could lead to lower federal taxes or get rid of them entirely. This essentially becomes a tax for being poor.

Second - Tariffs, when implemented properly, are supposed to strengthen American businesses. The problem is the US doesn't really have the ability to compete with foreign manufacturing - especially now that we're deporting our near-slave labor.

What exactly is the problem that applying tariffs to Canadian goods will solve?

"illegal immigration and drugs" (I don't get it either) https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyjsemotiuk/2025/01/31/tariff-on-canada-not-justified-by-us-immigration-and-drug-claims/ EDIT: Ah, of course. Because it was never about tariffs. It was Trump being a dick to get what he wants.

This freaking tariff thing is ridiculous. The President of the United States doesn't know how to implement them and the general public doesn't know why they're used (both believe they do).

This entire country is full of morons because we value political identity and virtue signaling over knowledge and rational thought. The way we get information now is largely engineered by algorithms so you only know what already aligns with your existing ideologies. Everyone has a strong opinion about something they know very little about. This strengthens the walls that divide us because we're arguing for "our side" rather than based on the vast complex realities of a subject. Most people should not be engaging in a conversation, let alone a political stance, about tariffs.

I'm certainly not an economist or trade expert so I won't bother adding to the misinformation. However, this particular president seems to know far less about the economy and American history than do I. Moreover, the fact that he has point towards the import of illegal drugs as the reason for the tariffs is just bonkers.

Edit: Since I posted this, I've been more mindful of the tone and rhetoric with what I'm reading online. It's apparent the left are being taken advantage of just as much as the right was years ago. While it seems there's more responsible reporting from what is now, I guess, regarded as "the left" (apparently neutral reporting is left-leaning), everything else is misinformation and propaganda. And a lot of blatant lies. Engagement is all that matters, despite the truth. I can not say both sides are 'the same' but they are both living in misinformation bubbles and that's not good.

I live about ten miles from here, closer to center city Philly. So, a few of my relatives who evidently lack any ability to look at a map were asking if I was okay and sending me info before I heard about it.

What’s so nuts about this is the missile-like trajectory of this aircraft. Even more than 9/11, this relatively tiny incident feels more like what so many other countries experience so frequently.

At first I thought you were advocating for stocking up on Dr Pepper - ,wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too’

Yep https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2007701/uk-gold-shortage-london-donald-trump

I don't know about $TRUMP but this administration is absolutely attempting to tank the dollar in favor of crypto.

Every action taken by the GOP (since Reagan) is to deplete the federal government. They want everything not explicitly in the constitution (basically everything but the DOD) to go to the states or to a corporation.

In this case, pushing commerce towards crypto means investors can make money from betting on money. Same reason why they're supporting charter schools, wanting to privatize social security, etc.

If I were a conspiracy theorist, given the rumors that Barron is pushing his dad towards Crypto, tanking the dollar and replacing it with $TRUMP would mean, one day, Barron could be in charge of the world's currency.

“The Trump White House will speak to all media outlets and personalities, not just the legacy media that are seated in this room,” Leavitt said. She cited a Gallup poll showing low trust in media in the United States, particularly among younger people.

I'm not a younger person but my diminished trust in legacy media is largely due to it being influenced by social media and influencers and not holding up to the standards or responsibilities they're trusted with.

Do people, younger people, have a higher trust among podcasters than ABC, CBS, PBS, Reuters?

It's clear now why the metric system hasn't caught on even after the US officially adopted it. This country I live in is full of pathetic fragile losers who have to demand everything is America first.