hobbes64's recent activity
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Comment on Postmodernism, conservatism, reactionarism: A brief attempt at deconstructing the purist fans in ~humanities
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
hobbes64 Link ParentAs a person who is (mostly) vegetarian, I just want to point out that animals kill each other all the time. And sometimes just for fun. There have been some articles lately about how many animals...As a person who is (mostly) vegetarian, I just want to point out that animals kill each other all the time. And sometimes just for fun.
There have been some articles lately about how many animals probably have consciousness in a way that lets them suffer more than was commonly believed. It also implies that they may know that they are causing suffering in other animals.
The Earth (and known universe I guess) is a very cruel place, as OP noticed. To be alive is to suffer and cause suffering. It isn't just that humans are cruel. You can go into your yard and watch cats murdering birds and spiders murdering insects.
I feel like I'm not making my point very well. I'm trying to say that yes I think it's better to not eat meat, but the world is a messed up place so it's not surprising we are too.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
hobbes64 Link ParentHow much I hate ads depends on their subject and their presentation. These are not too bad: I don't mind ads in newspapers and magazines because I can choose how long I spend looking at them....How much I hate ads depends on their subject and their presentation.
These are not too bad:
- I don't mind ads in newspapers and magazines because I can choose how long I spend looking at them. Maybe I don't like the "subscribe" papers that fall out of some magazines.
- I don't mind billboards too much for the same reason.
- I don't mind ads on race tracks or on race cars, or on the wall at a sports event. It's just the name of a product, it's fine
- I don't mind static ads on a web page or app as long as they don't stick on the page, or blink, or have sound.
I absolutely hate the following types of ads:
- An unskippable ad in the middle of a video, or at the start of a DVD
- Ads in a place where you are forced to be, like in a waiting room
- Ads for things that shouldn't be advertised, such as prescription drugs. "Ask your doctor if xyz is right for you". No, I don't think I will
- Anything that autoplays and you can't scroll away from it, especially if it has sound.
There are some things in the middle that I dislike but don't anger me, like ads on public transportation.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
hobbes64 Link ParentArt has always been a commodity. Putting a value on it is one way to appreciate it. People have always been paid for art, so I don't think capitalism is specifically ruining it. Historically art...Art has always been a commodity. Putting a value on it is one way to appreciate it. People have always been paid for art, so I don't think capitalism is specifically ruining it. Historically art was commissioned by a king or church, is that really better than being paid for by amazon or something?
To clarify, I believe that greed and quests for power ruin everything, whether in the form of capitalism or religion or various authoritarian leaders. I still can enjoy Bach or Michelangelo's work even if they got paid from some corrupt pope or whatever. -
Comment on EA is looking at putting in-game ads in AAA games — 'We'll be very thoughtful as we move into that,' says CEO in ~games
hobbes64 Link ParentBurnout Paradise is mentioned in the article. I had that game and I remember the ads on billboards. I don't remember it being a big problem even though I really hate ads. The billboards didn't...Burnout Paradise is mentioned in the article. I had that game and I remember the ads on billboards. I don't remember it being a big problem even though I really hate ads. The billboards didn't slow down the game or change the experience much.
In retrospect it actually does bother me a little just thinking about that because I'm tired of seeing ads everywhere I look. And there's no way that EA is going to come up with a way that is less annoying than having ads on billboards in a car game.
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Comment on The United States leads the world in airline safety. That’s because of the way we assign blame when accidents do happen. in ~transport
hobbes64 LinkIt's a little weird which things trigger our empathy, but two quotes about the responsible controlelr trigger mine for sure. I've made mistakes in my life and I know the horrible feeling when I...It's a little weird which things trigger our empathy, but two quotes about the responsible controlelr trigger mine for sure.
It was a devastating realization, but an important one, so in an act of great bravery, she returned to the tower, pointed to flight 5569, and told her supervisor, “This is what I believe USAir hit.”
Cutting straight to the case, Wascher was not punished in any way. At first, after being escorted, inconsolable, from the tower premises, her colleagues took her to a hotel and stood guard outside her room to keep the media at bay. Months later, Wascher testified before the NTSB hearings, providing a faithful and earnest recounting of the events as she recalled them. She was even given the opportunity to return to the control tower, but she declined. No one was ever charged with a crime.
I've made mistakes in my life and I know the horrible feeling when I realized it. Owning up to them is hard. I feel very fortunate that I never made such a tragic one.
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Comment on The world owes Spider-Man 3 an apology in ~movies
hobbes64 Link ParentI don't think the prequels were good and I find it odd that they are being "redeemed". At best they were ok. As someone who saw all the Star Wars movies in the theaters, here was my opinion at the...I don't think the prequels were good and I find it odd that they are being "redeemed". At best they were ok. As someone who saw all the Star Wars movies in the theaters, here was my opinion at the time I saw them and my opinion hasn't changed. Yes I understand that seeing something when you are a kid is different when you are an adult, but if I go back and watch other things I saw as a kid I'm able to recognize whether they are actually good or not.
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Star Wars: Completely mind blowing, amazing special effects. My friends and I could hardly believe how great it was and how different it was from anything we'd every seen. The Millennium Falcon in particular was a brilliant design both inside and out. Thought about hundreds of details for years later. We didn't think about the plot much because of the spectacle.
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Empire Strikes Back: Incredible hype for it and it lived up to the hype. Fantastic world building, and special effects, memorable set pieces. The plot surprises were fun.
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Return of the Jedi: Slightly disappointing. Too many Muppets and Muppet humor (like a belching monster or whatever). The big set pieces and space battles had too much going on. Still the end of the movie had a good payoff and resolution. I liked the new space ships like B-Wing and A-Wing.
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Episode I: I remember liking this. World building was top notch, even better than the originals. The script seemed to meander and spent too much time on pod racing and things like that. I thought the cast was very good. Didn't like Jar Jar, seemed like a return to Muppet humor which I don't hate but didn't like that here.
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Episode II: It was ok. I remember being disappointed a bit. Plot had too many callbacks to the older movies. Still liked the cast.
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Episode III: Hated it. It's just a depressing story about someone becoming evil and murdering little kids and turning on all of his friends. Hearing about the fall of someone is one thing, but seeing it just made me unhappy. Special effects were too busy again. I don't know why this is the most popular of the prequels, but I also don't understand the appeal of the "Saw" movies. After watching this movie in the theater we were kind of depressed and came home and watch "A New Hope" to cleanse our palate.
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Comment on ‘Snowpiercer’ season 4 moves to AMC after being scrapped at TNT in ~tv
hobbes64 Link ParentThe premise of the show is a very good commentary on social classes. When I'm watching it, I sometimes get very annoyed thinking about a world where you get to have a life of relative luxury just...The premise of the show is a very good commentary on social classes.
When I'm watching it, I sometimes get very annoyed thinking about a world where you get to have a life of relative luxury just because you had the luck or money years ago to buy a certain ticket. And how almost everyone's life would improve dramatically if the few at the top would agree to have just a little less. Then of course I see that our world is exactly the same on a larger scale. -
Comment on Former US President Donald Trump will speak at the Libertarian National Convention in ~misc
hobbes64 Link ParentThis is key. For things Trump cares about, which is always some selfish thing, he cannot be swayed. For everything else, he'll just parrot the last idea that someone said on Fox News or wherever....This is key.
For things Trump cares about, which is always some selfish thing, he cannot be swayed.
For everything else, he'll just parrot the last idea that someone said on Fox News or wherever. He really has no morality or compass or interest in governing or talking about things that his little bird brain can't understand. That's why he'll be in a meeting about geopolitics and start talking about Rosie O'Donnel or windmills.
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Comment on "No CGI" is really just invisible CGI in ~movies
hobbes64 Link ParentI remember thinking the most recent Ant Man movie had bad CGI. Maybe it was technically great but the scenes were from another universe or microverse or whatever it was so none of the objects in...I remember thinking the most recent Ant Man movie had bad CGI. Maybe it was technically great but the scenes were from another universe or microverse or whatever it was so none of the objects in the scenes except for the humans were recognizable. No amount of particle effects and shadows and moving objects make something that alien look real. Well, it's possible to make alien things look real but you have to model weight and realistic acceleration and things like that and that usually feels missing from superhero movies.
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Comment on The comfortable problem of mid TV (gifted link) in ~tv
hobbes64 Link ParentI think the point of the article is that many shows seem to be better than they are due to high budgets or big names. Also that many good shows require too much attention and we can only tolerate...I think the point of the article is that many shows seem to be better than they are due to high budgets or big names. Also that many good shows require too much attention and we can only tolerate a certain amount of that so "mid" shows are sometimes popular because we don't always want to be challenged.
I remember hearing for a long time that The Wire was one of the best shows. I actually had to restart watching it twice over a few years because the first few episodes are kind of dense and confusing so I lost interest. It took half a season for me to understand how good it was.
There have been other articles about how modern TV allows users to watch shows in order so there can be continuity or progression. In older shows most episodes are independent of each other because there was no way to know the order especially in reruns. But this ability to have multi-episode or multi-season arcs adds to the commitment when deciding to watch something.
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Comment on How Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Movie Critic’ fell apart in ~movies
hobbes64 Link ParentI don't know how serious it ever was, but I remember he expressed interest in making a Star Trek film. I think that could have been pretty great.I don't know how serious it ever was, but I remember he expressed interest in making a Star Trek film. I think that could have been pretty great.
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Comment on Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix 2024 - Results in ~sports.motorsports
hobbes64 Link ParentI'm not an expert, but I've been watching F1 for a few decades and there has been a long line of regulations that don't make sense to me. For example, in the late 90's they added grooves to the...I'm not an expert, but I've been watching F1 for a few decades and there has been a long line of regulations that don't make sense to me.
For example, in the late 90's they added grooves to the tires to reduce grip because the cars were getting too fast. But this was complicated because you have to make sure that the teams don't run the tires bald which would result in more grip. Seems like they could have just mandated narrower tires.In the last decade or so they have been trying things to reduce the turbulence behind the cars so passing is better. But you know what would make the turbulence less of a problem? Reduce the downforce available to the cars. Maybe even take the wings off the cars. You might object that this is taking away a lot of the technology that comes out of F1. But the advertised purpose of the technical gains from racing is to benefit regular cars, which generally don't use wings or spoilers.
Supposedly most of the grip now comes from ground effect. I'm not sure if that is affected much by turbulence, but if it is, just reduce the problem by making the teams raise the cars a bit.The cars are also hybrid which makes them too big an heavy. It's nice to get development in hybrid tech, but if they can't use full electric cars yet in this series they should transition to ever smaller gasoline engines.
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Comment on AI and the end of writing in ~tech
hobbes64 LinkThanks for posting this, it's more interesting that I expected, not like most articles I've seen lately which either dismiss AI as a boondoggle or spread fear about it. Personally, I keep noticing...Thanks for posting this, it's more interesting that I expected, not like most articles I've seen lately which either dismiss AI as a boondoggle or spread fear about it.
Personally, I keep noticing machines that have been around for years that parallel AI quite a bit.
A dishwasher machine doesn't know what dishes are, or what you do with them. It (usually) doesn't know what clean means. It could sort of know what "dry" means if it has a humidity sensor.
Newer clothes washers don't know what clothes are, but maybe they have a sensor that weighs how many you put in so it can run a little longer if it's a lot. But it doesn't know if you are putting in wearable clothes are paper towels or something else.
A bread machine does not know what bread is. It never tasted bread. You put some flour in a machine and it jostles it around for a while and then heats it up. It just happens to work but it can't recover if you forget to put water or yeast in.
I've used Copilot a few times for programming tasks. Sometimes it is helpful in that it is faster than checking stackoverflow or something. But just as often it confidently tells me a lot of wrong things and it really isn't as good as promised (yet) of doing mundane work for me. Unfortunately a lot of managers probably think it is better than it is.
Anyway, like the machines I mentioned, the thing that is called "AI" can be a useful tool in the right hands, but applications are pretty narrow.
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Comment on Donald Trump’s lawyers told the court that no one would give him a bond. Then he got a lifeline, but they didn’t tell the judges. in ~misc
hobbes64 Link ParentI think that the people who are most successful in life (by shallow capitalistic measurements) are basically sociopaths. In fact, I assume that many powerful people raise their children to be like...I think that the people who are most successful in life (by shallow capitalistic measurements) are basically sociopaths. In fact, I assume that many powerful people raise their children to be like wolves among sheep. This gives them a big advantage. To them, only suckers follow rules.
It's The Prisoner's Dilemma. The "defectors" run rampant because the "cooperators" do what they are supposed to do. If we all acted like Trump then society would collapse in a few days.
By the way it's unlikely that Trump is any happier than you. He has more stuff but it's obvious he's miserable with an insatiable need to win and cheat and steal. He must know at some level that he's never earned anything, never had a real friend, never had a non-transactional relationship with anyone. It must suck for him, and certainly sucks for all of us who have to hear about him constantly. -
Comment on Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2024 - Results in ~sports.motorsports
hobbes64 Link ParentTires waste and pollution are a problem in F1 that I don't hear much talk about. Supposedly they are trying to be more "green" by having hybrids and arranging the calendar a certain way. But tires...Tires waste and pollution are a problem in F1 that I don't hear much talk about. Supposedly they are trying to be more "green" by having hybrids and arranging the calendar a certain way. But tires are just a big consumable polluting item that they use way too much of. It is very wasteful to make soft tires that only last a few laps and then have to be thrown out (or maybe used as fuel in a cement factory as mentioned in the article I linked). Even if they were recyclable, the soft tires are leaving the maximum possible amount of little particles and pollution during races.
Yes I know that there's no way that F1 is really good for the environment, but the tires are just ridiculous. -
Comment on 93 years of Shatner in ~tv
hobbes64 Link ParentI guess TJ Hooker was a substantial role. It ran for 4 years. I guess it wasn't considered a very good show though.I guess TJ Hooker was a substantial role. It ran for 4 years. I guess it wasn't considered a very good show though.
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Comment on US libraries struggle to afford the demand for e-books and seek new state laws in fight with publishers in ~books
hobbes64 LinkI don't know much about book publishers but I assume they are predatory like music publishers, who like to talk about how much the artists need money to live while taking most of it. So this made...“They do have a funding problem, but the answer is not to take it out of the pockets of authors and destroy the rights of creators and pass unconstitutional legislation,” said Shelley Husband, senior vice president of government affairs at the Association of American Publishers, noting how more people than ever can access e-material that might otherwise have been purchased from booksellers.
I don't know much about book publishers but I assume they are predatory like music publishers, who like to talk about how much the artists need money to live while taking most of it. So this made me curious about how much authors get compared to publishers. Here is an article that talks about that a little: janefriedman.com
Here is the table from the article:
List price Publisher’s net Author’s net Consumer ebook sale (agency model) $14.99 $10.49 (70%) Library ebook license (agency model) $55 $38.50 (70%) Library ebook license (wholesale model) $55 $27.50 (50%) Hardcover sale (library or retail) $27.99 $13.99 (50%) This is only one source but there are other sites that show the breakdown for amazon and other ebook publishers and distributors. It seems like it's a sliding scale where more expensive books give more to the author.
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Comment on Automakers are sharing consumers’ driving behavior with insurance companies (gifted link) in ~transport
hobbes64 LinkOh cool I assume this also means that if the data looks good then I'll get a big discount on my insurance.Oh cool I assume this also means that if the data looks good then I'll get a big discount on my insurance.
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Comment on ‘Way too much news’: US conservatives face a fragmented media map in ~news
hobbes64 LinkOk here are most of the conservative news sources listed in the article and holy cow it is just a basket of deplorable misinformation. I don't think any of these are considered anything but...Ok here are most of the conservative news sources listed in the article and holy cow it is just a basket of deplorable misinformation. I don't think any of these are considered anything but propaganda and nonsense, where the most reasonable one is run by Rupert Fucking Murdoch:
- Fox News
- Julie Kelly
- Tucker Carlson
- Substack
- Epoch Times
- Gateway Pundit
- Brietbart
- Daily Wire
- TikTok
- Rumble
Yes I agree with what you said except...
It's way too much fun to poke fun at things and complain about them. Not important things. But things like Star Wars movies.
I liked Phantom Menace when it came out. I didn't think it was very good, but I had fun seeing it. I didn't feel like it needed to be watched again. Anyway I rarely watch the same movie multiple times. But it's super fun to complain about it and pick it apart. When the Red Letter Media video about the Phantom Menace came out, I thought it was just the best thing. The way they noticed all the dumb things, like how Jedis all dress like Obi-Wan in the prequels, even though Obi Wan was supposedly in disguise as a local desert person - that's just great stuff to realize and mock. I'm so glad that the prequels came out because there is an entire hilarious industry now of memes and videos about the bad dialog and plot holes.
Sci-fi and fantasy is particularly enjoyable to nitpick at because it requires worldbuilding which is hard and it is almost impossible to make it completely consistent. Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, even LOTR. All of these stories have so many little issues that we can discover and laugh about, but most of us still love them and are glad that even the shows that aren't great were made.
So I'm sure there are many total assholes like you described who have their identity tied up in some fictional world. But there are way more people who just are having fun. I do have to admit that some of the actors in the films, and probably a lot of people who worked on them feel bad. Hopefully most of them are laughing all the way to the bank because in order to be a highly derided sci-fi/fantasy project you have to be really popular..