vord's recent activity
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Comment on Police are not primarily crime fighters in ~life
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Comment on Those who journal, how do you do so authentically? (How to stop “self-editing” or “censoring” yourself and your thoughts?) in ~health.mental
vord LinkI don't journal often, but when I do, I have a simple rule: Write in pen, on paper. Write single sentence thoughts, independently of each other. I often start with a leading question like: "What...I don't journal often, but when I do, I have a simple rule:
Write in pen, on paper. Write single sentence thoughts, independently of each other. I often start with a leading question like: "What has been bothering me?"
Then I see where it takes me.
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Comment on Police are not primarily crime fighters in ~life
vord Link ParentI mean, it's a pretty concise summary, and only sensationalist insofar that it runs completely counter to the primary narrative spouted by public figureheads (and often the public itself)...I mean, it's a pretty concise summary, and only sensationalist insofar that it runs completely counter to the primary narrative spouted by public figureheads (and often the public itself) regarding policing in the USA.
The TL;DR is that they're mostly harassing black kids, and spending 80%+ of their time on traffic violations that more often than not end with warnings or no action. This is re-enforcing older, existing research that has confirmed much of the same, with new and better data....as the USA has notoriously bad collection on policing data.
"2022 California data further supports findings that police are not primarily crime fighters, consistent with most other research that's been done on this topic since 2015 or so" doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
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Comment on Donald Trump - Joe Biden US Presidential debates to take place on June 27th and September 10th in ~misc
vord Link ParentJoe Biden will be 83 upon swearing in in January 2025. Trump will be 77 upon hopefully being thrown in a jail cell for treason. Using death-clock, putting in neutral outlook, no drinking, Biden...Joe Biden will be 83 upon swearing in in January 2025.
Trump will be 77 upon hopefully being thrown in a jail cell for treason.Using death-clock, putting in neutral outlook, no drinking, Biden has 2 years left and Trump has 4. And that's not taking into account how medical ailments affect ability to do the job.
Frankly, I think it's worthwhile to consider restricting people from running for office as a non-incumbent if they're over the age of 65, with something akin to cognitive and health testing. And just outright mandatory retirement for anybody over the age of 75, even outside of politics.
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Comment on Donald Trump - Joe Biden US Presidential debates to take place on June 27th and September 10th in ~misc
vord Link ParentIf I were Biden, I'd needle Trump right off the bat with something akin to "Oh, this is the best the Republicans could do, prop up the loser I already beat instead of sending someone new?" Trump...If I were Biden, I'd needle Trump right off the bat with something akin to "Oh, this is the best the Republicans could do, prop up the loser I already beat instead of sending someone new?" Trump is one hell of a narcissist, and that kind of belittling right off the bat would likely derail any semblance of coherent thoughts he may have been able to express before.
This is probably why I wouldn't be a great politician though.
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
vord Link ParentThank you for this. This is very fun.the spoose
Thank you for this. This is very fun.
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Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech
vord (edited )Link ParentI feel like it's very much one of those things where you don't notice how its impacting your life unless it's really impacting your life. Most people probably don't care about how bad the...I don't feel like my privacy is being compromised at all, and I do literally nothing to protect it.
I feel like it's very much one of those things where you don't notice how its impacting your life unless it's really impacting your life. Most people probably don't care about how bad the interplay of insurance and medicine is until they're in a car accident or are otherwise suffering because they can't afford the medical care. But I won't expound on that further, because ultimately, it's a fruitless discussion.
It may also be kinda like noticing stuff like systemic sexism.....I didn't get the problem (as a white man) for a long time, until several very-enlightening discussions and IRL manifestations really opened my eyes and now I can't unsee it. It's why "woke" was such a great way of describing noticing systemic racism.
The worst is really a thing that's mostly lurked under the surface. It's that all this data collection and privacy invasion is a waste. It's that our best and brightest minds and gigantic swaths of labor is all being expended for the sole purpose of getting you to buy stuff that you didn't want or need. Not inventing new things, or making old things better.....just trying to figure out better ways to manipulate people.
And we wonder why our planet is burning. We never let people be content with what we have, we perpetually try to get them to buy more. So we make more stuff and bombard people with ads to get them to buy the stuff and then throw the old stuff in the trash and pollute the planet.
We wonder why everyone is so susceptible to disinformation. I'll bet it's in no small part that we're perpetually exposed to advertising which is being honed each day to be more and more effective.
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Comment on Winamp has announced that it is opening up its source code to enable collaborative development of its legendary player for Windows in ~tech
vord LinkThis is actually somewhat exciting. No other music player was ever quite as nice as Winamp. I'm curious to see what surprises that it holds.This is actually somewhat exciting. No other music player was ever quite as nice as Winamp. I'm curious to see what surprises that it holds.
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Comment on Computer Scientists Invent an Efficient New Way to Count in ~comp
vord Link ParentThat's really the kicker that limits its usefulness for many applications. Not to say there isn't some great ways it can be applied, but there's an old idiom in the USA: "Close Only Counts in...then estimate the number of unique elements.
That's really the kicker that limits its usefulness for many applications. Not to say there isn't some great ways it can be applied, but there's an old idiom in the USA: "Close Only Counts in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades."
This algorithm is useless if you need complete accuracy.
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Comment on Indiana judge rules tacos, burritos are sandwiches in ~food
vord LinkI think they could just simplify the bejesus out of the whole law by focusing in on this: Add in something like a "no more than 5 regional locations" clause and you've basically eliminated the...I think they could just simplify the bejesus out of the whole law by focusing in on this:
Would not have outdoor seating, drive through service, or serve alcohol
Add in something like a "no more than 5 regional locations" clause and you've basically eliminated the worst of the toxic food joints, without needing to get into the semantics about what exactly is a sandwich (and for the purposes of this law, they'd probably want to exclude KFC as well, even though fried chicken is definitely not a sandwich).
America would do well to explicitly ban accessing any service other than fueling or washing cars from being drive-through. It'll both reduce demand for fast food and be a small victory for dismantling car culture.
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Comment on How do you organize your Linux packages? in ~comp
vord Link ParentFair...I'm not in the Mac ecosystem yet (although my workplace is considering sending me one), so I'm mostly hearing 2ndhand there.Fair...I'm not in the Mac ecosystem yet (although my workplace is considering sending me one), so I'm mostly hearing 2ndhand there.
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Comment on How do you organize your Linux packages? in ~comp
vord Link ParentYou could also just use Homebrew on Linux as well, apparently.You could also just use Homebrew on Linux as well, apparently.
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Comment on How do you organize your Linux packages? in ~comp
vord LinkSo for general operating system stuff, use the native package manager. But anything you're actively developing should be as isolated from the operating system as possible. I recall hearing...So for general operating system stuff, use the native package manager. But anything you're actively developing should be as isolated from the operating system as possible. I recall hearing secondhand this isn't really a problem with Mac/Homebrew as Homebrew doesn't mess with operating system stuff.
So on Linux, it's probably best to use that language's tooling installed from that language's website into your userspace, rather than in the operating system. Or leveraging containers as much as possible. You never want to pollute your system install with all the imports from NPM or PIP.
If you want to install Python tools on your system that aren't available (or you need more recent) from your distro, the best answer is to install pipx from your distro, as it bundles all the deps together and prevents dependency hell if two tools rely on different versions.
I have a small script that sets all my important bitwarden secrets to ENV variables when I need to. It works well enough for my purposes. All other stuff just gets grabbed as part of the system backup.
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Comment on Dune: Prophecy | Official teaser in ~tv
vord Link ParentOh I get that modern viewing audiences thought obscure...but then most people probably thought LoTR was obscure circa 1990-something. Course it probably helps that more people read books back...Oh I get that modern viewing audiences thought obscure...but then most people probably thought LoTR was obscure circa 1990-something.
Course it probably helps that more people read books back before cable TV hit the scene.
Science fiction is also one of the most-read genres, especially around when it came out.
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
vord Link ParentThat's not true at all. Otherwise compasses wouldn't work.That's not true at all.
Otherwise compasses wouldn't work.
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Comment on Dune: Prophecy | Official teaser in ~tv
vord (edited )Link ParentThis is a really weird thing to hear. Dune is right up there with LoTR in terms of impactful legacy...bestselling sci-fi novel in history. David Lynch adapted Dune at his peak career. Which would...This is a really weird thing to hear. Dune is right up there with LoTR in terms of impactful legacy...bestselling sci-fi novel in history.
David Lynch adapted Dune at his peak career. Which would be roughly be akin to saying "Oh we're going to have Christopher Nolan adapt LoTR instead of Peter Jackson" shortly after the release of Memento.
Just because it's hard to adapt doesn't mean it's obscure...
I'll be sitting here in my corner reading Insomnia again....
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
vord Link ParentOh yes, this is kind of what I'm referring to, not saying its supernatural or anything. I've developed a pretty good sense of being able to detect rain about 30 minutes out if I've been outside...Oh yes, this is kind of what I'm referring to, not saying its supernatural or anything.
I've developed a pretty good sense of being able to detect rain about 30 minutes out if I've been outside for > 4 hours. I attribute it to working summer camps in my teen years (in the 90s), where even as a staffer I was in unconditioned space or outdoors 99% of my summer. It's almost certainly no more than being attuned to humidity, temp, and pressure changes around me.
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Comment on Experimental real property tax basis-set rate based on usable area per person in ~finance
vord Link ParentTaxes out my way are about $1,000 a month, rent about $2600 for a 3BR/1BA condo. You own a single-family home, thats $1600 in revenue. Convert it into a duplex, drop rent by $300 because lower...Taxes out my way are about $1,000 a month, rent about $2600 for a 3BR/1BA condo.
You own a single-family home, thats $1600 in revenue. Convert it into a duplex, drop rent by $300 because lower quality, you've got $2,600 in revenue, and your rent is only $2,300 instead of the next door neighbor who is charging $2,600.
It gives competitive advantage to landlords building denser housing, and creates a viscous cycle of more affordable housing because if you don't build more density as a landlord, you'll be outpriced by one who does.
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
vord Link ParentKeep in mind our nervous system is a giant electrical signalling mechanism, and we're very tactile creatures. My wife can split food into even portions by weight, without even trying. Like to the...Keep in mind our nervous system is a giant electrical signalling mechanism, and we're very tactile creatures.
My wife can split food into even portions by weight, without even trying. Like to the tune of less that 1% error (<3g deviation on 500g).
I have no doubt that there's some % of the population that is sensitive enough to changes in electromagnetic fields that would occur when doing dowsing (for water or wires) that a large population sample would still do better than random guessing.
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Comment on Experimental real property tax basis-set rate based on usable area per person in ~finance
vord (edited )Link ParentThis is what's different. A 2-family rental on 1/10th an acre will pay same taxes as a 5-family apartment building on 1/10th an acre with a land tax. Since the building itself is excluded from the...The nature of the structure and attachments to the land
This is what's different. A 2-family rental on 1/10th an acre will pay same taxes as a 5-family apartment building on 1/10th an acre with a land tax. Since the building itself is excluded from the tax equation, there's no penalty for a more-expensive building on the same land, which translates to incentives for denser housing.
Most property taxes in the USA are a function of land + improvement. Land taxes are only the land.
The ideal balance in rate is a high enough tax rate that landlording single family homes is unprofitable while still affordable for primary residents, especially as a transition period.
It's a lack of proper seperation of duties.
Traffic cops are important, helping direct flow of traffic and ticketing violations, including parking violations. But they don't need guns to do that.
Being an official witness to gather testimony and gather evidence as a neutral third party is important. But that neutrality is compromised when you exist as part of the same unit doing prosecution.
Being a mediator in public spaces is important, to help keep situations from escalating. But having to juggle that with the above, and also carrying a gun, reduces your ability to specialize at that.