ThrowdoBaggins's recent activity
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Comment on This 'bats—t crazy' Bay Area grandma just set a major record in ~sports
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentWould you classify flat-earthers as superstitious then? They hold a belief that is disproven, but not necessarily built on supernatural explanations, so I’ve always categorised them differently in...Would you classify flat-earthers as superstitious then? They hold a belief that is disproven, but not necessarily built on supernatural explanations, so I’ve always categorised them differently in my own mind
Edit: now that I’ve thought about it, I can also apply your definition to the discussion around quantum physics interpretations of many-worlds versus Copenhagen interpretation versus pilot-wave theory and others that share this space
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’m on board with everything else you’ve mentioned here, but I think I’ll slightly disagree with your premise here — if dissolved minerals are electrically conductive, then moving water can induce...Finally, while water is not electrically conductive, the minerals in the water typically are. But it's not doing any magnetizing either unless there's an electric current flowing through it
I’m on board with everything else you’ve mentioned here, but I think I’ll slightly disagree with your premise here — if dissolved minerals are electrically conductive, then moving water can induce potential, and a moving source of potential is enough to induce a magnetic field.
Of course the actual amounts are infinitesimal, so even if you had a high pressure pipeline of the saltiest water possible, you’d still be basically unable to get any magnetic reading outside the pipe.
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentAh, I love that. “There are two people in town who can do that, so you’ve got a 50/50 on either the best or the worst person available”Ah, I love that. “There are two people in town who can do that, so you’ve got a 50/50 on either the best or the worst person available”
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Comment on The woman who built up Edinburgh's army of street stitchers in ~life.style
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentYes Swiss is the style I’ve been trying. It will look excellent once I have it done, but you’re right that it takes patience! Even with good eyesight, because I’m working with such compact...Yes Swiss is the style I’ve been trying. It will look excellent once I have it done, but you’re right that it takes patience!
Even with good eyesight, because I’m working with such compact stitches (and the jumpers are a few years old so they’re all a little bit fuzzy too) bright direct lighting is crucial to see what I’m doing. I’ve got a floor lamp/reading lamp that I can point directly at the work while I go.
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Comment on The woman who built up Edinburgh's army of street stitchers in ~life.style
ThrowdoBaggins LinkI’ve recently been looking into darning, since a few of my wool jumpers have gotten moth holes in them. It’s tricky because the work is very fine (~10 stitches per inch) and I’m struggling a bit...I’ve recently been looking into darning, since a few of my wool jumpers have gotten moth holes in them. It’s tricky because the work is very fine (~10 stitches per inch) and I’m struggling a bit even with a steady hand and good eyesight, but it’s so satisfying once I have one done and it can rejoin the lineup in my wardrobe instead of throwing it out to replace it.
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Comment on Nicolas Cage to star in Spider-Man Noir live-action series in ~tv
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’m in the same boat. I’ve never paid much attention to the many variants of comic characters across the multiverses and reboots, but even the small taste of Spider-Man Noir in the Spiderverse...I’m in the same boat. I’ve never paid much attention to the many variants of comic characters across the multiverses and reboots, but even the small taste of Spider-Man Noir in the Spiderverse animated movies have me very excited to see more!
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Comment on No love for fiction or literary pursuits on Tildes? in ~tildes
ThrowdoBaggins LinkI feel like I’ve been summoned by name, but I don’t self describe as a huge literary person. I guess I feel a little self-conscious of the fact that I’ve predominantly read only a single author...I feel like I’ve been summoned by name, but I don’t self describe as a huge literary person. I guess I feel a little self-conscious of the fact that I’ve predominantly read only a single author for the last decade or more, and I’m a very slow reader.
However, as we’re part way through May, I’ve been subscribed to Dracula Daily, and that’s been great fun to finally be reading!
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Comment on California says restaurants must bake all of their add-on fees into menu prices in ~finance
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI guess it depends on how the unit price requirements are set up — in Melbourne Australia I’ve only ever seen “per 100 sheets” for toilet rolls and paper towels, and unless one company has...I guess it depends on how the unit price requirements are set up — in Melbourne Australia I’ve only ever seen “per 100 sheets” for toilet rolls and paper towels, and unless one company has significantly smaller or larger sheets, it basically doesn’t matter how many sheets per roll, you’ve got a decent comparison.
Queue the recent uptick of “select a size” paper towels that a number of companies have started adopting. For the first time in decades, they now sell paper towels that are about 1/3rd shorter than the typical length, which oh no totally aren’t about misleading customers with unit pricing shenanigans and they’re totally actually about being environmentally friendly by using slightly less paper per wipe up, as per the marketing! For sure!
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Comment on Seattle’s law mandating higher pay for food delivery workers is a case study in backfire economics in ~finance
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’ve used a lot of different delivery apps, and ordered to my own home or to a friends place or moved house, so I can confirm there are definitely limits to delivery radius (although how that...I’ve used a lot of different delivery apps, and ordered to my own home or to a friends place or moved house, so I can confirm there are definitely limits to delivery radius (although how that compares to pre-delivery-app radii I have no idea) because sometimes I’ll be ordering from a place and adding items to my cart, and then realise the address is incorrect and change it, and then the app will tell me that I can’t order from that store anymore due to distance. Usually phrased like “this restaurant doesn’t deliver to your area”
Sparksbet is correct that once you update your address, the restaurants just vanish from the list of options.
Many (all?) delivery apps these days ask you for a location or address before they’ll show you the list of stores to scroll through.
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Comment on The disinformation machine: How susceptible are we to AI propaganda? in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentTo try to address the concept you’ve illustrated here, I don’t think I can explain why people have that as a genuine fear, as it’s one I don’t have. In the same way that I’m not aware of an...To try to address the concept you’ve illustrated here, I don’t think I can explain why people have that as a genuine fear, as it’s one I don’t have.
In the same way that I’m not aware of an asteroid currently on a collision course with Earth, therefore I currently have no genuine fear about that possibility. That’s not to say that in the future, an asteroid can’t be a genuine threat, only that there’s not one currently, and I can’t see a path from where we are now to a future that contains threatening asteroids.
In my mind, even the most clever and evil AI is only as dangerous as the agency it has in the world. So until there’s any suggestion that there’s an AI which has agency in the world more than a real life person, I’m no more afraid of an AI than I am of a person.
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Comment on Ubisoft shut down The Crew. Here is what we can do about it. in ~games
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentRipped off? That’s a judgement call of value, I won’t weigh in on that. But misled at the time of purchase? Absolutely. And I think an easy way to illustrate that it was misleading is to consider...Yeah it sucks they can't play it anymore, but it's not like they were ripped off or anything.
Ripped off? That’s a judgement call of value, I won’t weigh in on that.
But misled at the time of purchase? Absolutely.
And I think an easy way to illustrate that it was misleading is to consider the counter factual: would Ubisoft consider making sure that at the time of purchase, big warning text saying “this game will be impossible to play after X date” would pop up on screen? I strongly suspect they would never dare to, because they would (accurately) assume that would hurt sales.
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Comment on Ubisoft shut down The Crew. Here is what we can do about it. in ~games
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentOn the other hand, if they had foresight, they could have released the offline mode months in advance of the license end date and then have them delisted just before the license ends. That way,...And so it might not be as simple as, "they should just release the server code, or add an offline mode" since to do that they would probably also have to modify all the game's car assets so they no longer represented real car models, which require licenses to use.
On the other hand, if they had foresight, they could have released the offline mode months in advance of the license end date and then have them delisted just before the license ends. That way, players who wanted to download the server code and take them offline could do so without Ubisoft themselves being liable for distributing unlicensed content
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Comment on Bitwarden transitions from Manifest V2 to V3 in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentIf anything could be more blatantly anti-competition, it’s hard to imagine, and yet I haven’t heard any politicians from any country kicking up a stink about it… I’m even sorta surprised that I...If anything could be more blatantly anti-competition, it’s hard to imagine, and yet I haven’t heard any politicians from any country kicking up a stink about it… I’m even sorta surprised that I haven’t heard other big advertisers kicking up a fuss too?
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Comment on Extreme G5 geomagnetic storm reaches Earth, NOAA says, following "unusual" solar event in ~space
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI was out of the city that night, so light pollution wasn’t a big factor. I was able to see (albeit faintly) the Aurora Australis with my own eyes even as far north as -37.4° — never seen any...I was out of the city that night, so light pollution wasn’t a big factor. I was able to see (albeit faintly) the Aurora Australis with my own eyes even as far north as -37.4° — never seen any Aurora before, so this was a real treat to see half the sky glowing pink and green!
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Comment on Bike brands start to adopt C-V2X to warn cyclists about cars in ~transport
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentFrom all your examples there, it sounds like your public transport options were always substandard (and also only buses?) and not well supported. I’m currently living in Melbourne Australia which...From all your examples there, it sounds like your public transport options were always substandard (and also only buses?) and not well supported. I’m currently living in Melbourne Australia which has a large metro train network great for long distances, which connects and synchronises to the bus network to get you to where you need to be, and if your destinations are within about 10-15km of the city centre there’s also a frequent tram service. Unless I’m travelling to and from particularly obscure areas, it’s usually only one or two connections.
On weekdays around peak service (anything that gets you into the city by 9am, or leaves the city around 5pm) trains are every 3-4 minutes, and they’re usually packed. I know people do drive into the CBD for work, but it’s much more common to drive to their suburban station and take the train in.
Don’t get me wrong, we still own a car, and it still gets plenty of use. But for most situations, it’s just much more convenient to take public transport. And I think that’s because here, public transport over the decades has had financial support and infrastructure development, whereas it sounds like a lot of North American cities have most of the funds that could have gone into public transport go into car-centric development over the decades instead.
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Comment on Meet AdVon, the AI-powered content monster infecting the media industry in ~creative
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI feel like it should be possible for any publication above X readership to keep track of this kind of stuff, and have labels like how packaged food you buy has to have nutrition labels and...I feel like it should be possible for any publication above X readership to keep track of this kind of stuff, and have labels like how packaged food you buy has to have nutrition labels and ingredients listed. It requires the entire company to be on board from the top down and from the inside out, but it’s certainly not impossible.
One could argue that it’s an enormous burden to change the rules, but once the rules are in place, you just don’t design processes that can’t be in compliance. Just like packaged food doesn’t have a chef wandering through the factory adding extra salt or herbs to a batch as it’s being made. The end result is required to be labelled, therefore you change the process from the very first step to arrive where you need to be.
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Comment on Bike brands start to adopt C-V2X to warn cyclists about cars in ~transport
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentImagine a world where following up on this, Audi and the VW Group actually also published and stuck to maximum hood heights and vehicle weights and stopping distances! No, sorry, I’m getting a bit...There's just one problem with C-V2X: Only Audi and the VW Group have officially and publicly talked about using it.
Imagine a world where following up on this, Audi and the VW Group actually also published and stuck to maximum hood heights and vehicle weights and stopping distances!
No, sorry, I’m getting a bit carried away there… the car companies don’t want actual safety for people outside their cars, they just want to cash in brownie points for pretending to care…
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Comment on Slop is the new name for unwanted AI-generated content in ~comp
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI don’t know how software development or etiquette or any of that stuff applies to your situation, but if it was me, I’d just reject/delete the change request and ask your least-competent AI to...I don’t know how software development or etiquette or any of that stuff applies to your situation, but if it was me, I’d just reject/delete the change request and ask your least-competent AI to write an inaccurate page-long email explaining why that code change request won’t be used…
But then again maybe you shouldn’t take my advice, being just a random stranger with no skin in the game and no professional reputation to uphold…
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Comment on Reddit shares soar 14% after company reports revenue pop in debut earnings report in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentIf I’m remembering correctly, one (maybe both?) of those were made by Deimos, the creator of Tildes…If I’m remembering correctly, one (maybe both?) of those were made by Deimos, the creator of Tildes…
I think I got about halfway through the article when I gave up. It’s an interesting story, and quite a feat, but on mobile I don’t have ad blockers.
The number of times my reading was interrupted by not just auto playing ads, but ads that automatically made themselves full screen without me interacting with them at all is just too user-hostile for me.