Captain Janeway

@Captain Janeway@lemmy.world
6 Post – 214 Comments
Joined 1 years ago

People don't like to admit that we are ants. We are valuable and important. Each one of us is unique and deserves a full, good, life. But we are also ants. We are susceptible to group think, mob behavior, and we tend to follow the scent trail most of the time. It's not a bad thing. It's tied to our evolutionary desire to be a part of a community; to fit in and blend in.

But it also means individuals are likely to do what keeps them alive. We are likely all bad in some way or another.

But as long as you aren't, actively, willfully, or gleefully harming people, you're probably ok.

I hope so. I don't want to manage two different address spaces in my head. I prefer if one standard is just the standard.

It's pretty simple. Medical devices should have certain expectations for time and support. This happens in other industries all the time. Product support has to be guaranteed. And if you can't guarantee product support, make your software open source. That's not a law, just a "I'm not an asshole" placeholder. Open source schematics and software won't fix everything, but it shows good faith effort to help people fucking not go blind.

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Thermostats are easy to change out. So this isn't a huge deal. But I don't love the idea that tech isn't built to be self-hosted or maintained in any meaningful way. If you're not shipping an open source version of your software when you close up, you're an asshole.

Yeah, self hosting isn't for most lay people if it's just a GitHub repo. But GitHub repos quickly become adopted by nerds like me who build tooling around it that eventually let lay people self host software with the click of a button.

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Crunch wrap supreme.

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We're getting closer and closer to wrapping back around and just having community. Just remove the sex aspect and boom you got a community going.

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Software engineering is just what any "engineering" field would be if they didn't have standards. We have some geniuses and we have some idiots.

Mechanical engineers, civil engineers, electrical engineers, etc. are often forced to adhere to some sort of standard. It means something to say "I'm a civil engineer" (in most developed nations). You are genuinely liable in some instances for your work. You have to adhere to codes and policies and formats.

Software engineering is the wild west right now. No rules. No standards. And in most industries we may never need a standard because software rarely kills.

However, software is becoming increasingly important in our daily lives. There will likely come a day wherein similar standards take precedence and the name "software engineer" is only allowed to those who adhere to those standards and have the proper certs/licenses. I believe Canada already does this.

Software engineers would be responsible for critical software, e.g: ensuring phones connecting to an emergency operator don't fail, building pacemakers, securing medical records, etc. I know some of these tasks already have "experts" behind them. But I don't think software has any licensing/governing.

Directly opposed to "engineering" would be the grunt work which I do.

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Just a reminder that during the pandemic these companies were given money to stay afloat and they immediately laid off the staff and have - apparently - neglected all meaningful maintenance.

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The word "observed" has largely been conflated with human perception in the layperson's understanding of quantum mechanics. When they were first experimenting with the dual slit experiment, they were simply trying to make measurements to predict where an electron might end up after entering one of the two slits. However they soon discovered that their measurements changed the behavior of the electron. That behavior has been denoted as an observation however observation is very vague.

It's better to say "a measurement which causes a wave-function collapse" rather than an observation. When phrased that way, it feels a lot more explicit and it allows lay people like myself to ask the next question "what causes a wave function to collapse?"

Source: I just asked my physics PhD wife about this a couple nights ago and she did her best to explain it to me.

If anyone can explain what exactly causes the wave function to collapse, id appreciate it. Because I can't understand anything I read online.

Also this meme checks out. A person could observe their CPU with the right conditions and instruments to cause a wave function collapse. But I believe a Qbit can reset its state no?

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Clowns are notorious for fitting many people in small vehicles.

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BIG BEND, Wis. (WISN) - Five members of a local police department quit on the same day. Those five represent nearly half of the department. The Village of Big Bend announced the resignations on its Facebook page. ... Anderson says the Village president’s plan to dissolve the Fire and Police Commission in early December was the last straw for him and the five officers who quit.

It's funny that these "heroes" can't even handle public scrutiny. Imagine if nurses quit every time a hospital made bad organizational or budgetary choices. If your job is actually important for a community, you don't quit it. You can't quit it. It's a duty and a responsibility to your fellow man. These cops are quitting over political discourse. If that's all it takes, sounds like they weren't doing much to begin with.

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Rittenhouse was invited to speak at Wednesday's event by the university's Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter. Founded in 2012, the non-profit promotes conservative politics at schools and college campuses.

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I'm not very pro-working but why not fire the manager that didn't notice the employee's lack of output? Seems suss that by just keeping a computing online, you can circumvent actually producing anything.

As always, measure output not the how or why something gets done.

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500+ people for a videogame is insane. That's kind of cool - despite the problems they faced. I feel like these games don't reflect the number of people being hired for them. I'm not sure it should linearly scale (probably not), but they seem like they scale down rather than up with an increase in staff.

I feel like modern producers are missing the forest for the trees. Games are not successful for being infinitely large. Skyrim is small by today's standards. So is Oblivion. So are hundreds of other contemporary indie games that have captured the hearts of thousands.

It's not about more content. It's about content that feels deeper. Depth over breadth. Baldurs Gate 3 proves that out. I don't think you can expect these large groups of 500 people to all work towards a deeper game without major changes in roles. I'm no expert by any means, but I am a software engineer with some side-hobby game development experience. I think games are flat because mechanics aren't growing with the power. We're getting graphics, dialogue, and places. But the places aren't any more "deep" than 5 years ago. The dialogue isn't more interesting. The graphics are nice - but hardly why people buy games. I want to capture the "anything is possible" feeling when I hop into a game. BG3 recaptured that illusion for me for a long time.

/Rant

TL;Dr developers can't throw more bodies at this problem. It's an artistic and structural problem. They need to reframe how they create the art. It can't be mass produced without ending up flat.

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I don't want to sound like a dick, but I don't really think Panera is at fault here. Their lemonade is no more caffeinated than standard Starbucks venti drinks.

Dennis Brown, of Fleming Island, Florida, drank three Charged Lemonades from a local Panera on Oct. 9 and then suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on his way home, the suit says.

390mg of caffeine is a lot. But it's also commonly found in large cups of coffee. And this individual had three of them. I think Florida might want to consider ensuring mentally impaired people like Dennis Brown are better equipped to navigate a world which has leaned heavily into caffeine as a stimulant. I don't believe that Panera is some bastion of justice and good will. I'm sure their lemonade makes every attempt to "hook" members on their product with high levels of caffeine and hiding it under sugar. However, I think this lawsuit might just mean that caffeine levels should be treated like calories: we should mandate that an estimate is listed next to the beverage so those with heart problems or the health conscientious can make more informed decisions.

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Just divide that number by two until it's small enough to make the request under the free version.

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Maybe 1, 1, 1 -> 49, 48, 47 is a better example though. But same thing.

For sure. But what do we do?

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Still should be at the bottom of the form IMO.

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Off lights let you know if it's broken. If it's on, it's obviously working. If it's off and the light is on, it's getting power. If it's off and plugged in, but not displaying the light - that indicates it's broken or not getting power.

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I use Starlink because I only have one other satellite competitor in my area, which I used to rely on. Previously, I had a 500GB limit and only 15-25mbps on any given day. Now, I have unlimited data and get 35mbps-70mpbs on any given day. Often above 50mbps.

It's cheaper, it's faster, and it's easier to manage/setup/move/etc.

I think Elon is an idiot. I don't even like that I have to use satellite internet. America used to have programs to build infrastructure like fiber optics across the nation for everyone. Our ability to service each other has diminished so greatly that it's easier for me to connect to a satellite than it is to crowd source laying cables in my area.

It's way faster, cheaper, and reliable to just dig trenches and lay cable. But Starlink provides me with something I can use for remote work, entertainment, and communication. It's a decent product. I just think it's like solving a drought by melting the ice caps.

If we spent half the energy on improving our lives that we spend on fucking people over, we'd have a utopia by now. Or at least less lead in our pipes.

America is a global superpower which - apparently - spends some of its most secretive efforts on petty lashbacks to Chinese propaganda. And I'll be damned if our most secretive efforts don't also end up costing us the most taxes (relative to their effective output). I know that Twitter opens its firehouse of data to government programs to support social media analysis. I'm sure Google and Meta do as well. They are aiding these psychological campaigns.

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"we"

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The people who work there are generally nice. The DMV - however - is a beauracratic nightmare. It's simply over complicated. Why must I register my car? A license and insruance should be all I need. I don't register my shoes. I don't register my computers. A car is no different. I understand having an authority which says "I own this vehicle". But registering every year is basically just a waste of paper.

Why do we now need 2 forms proving residency to get a star on an ID in order to fly between states? Should the homeless not be allowed to fly?

Why do I need to fill out so much of it in person? I did everything I could online, but still they required me to pick up a packet of forms. Plus I had to retake my driver's license test despite owning a valid license in my state. At this point, they should be able to - at least - fill out everything online. Hell, I should never have to go in person except in the case of taking a photo (which arguably is kind of dumb, but I can understand the security reasons for it).

The DMV has convoluted forms, much like taxes. Filling out their forms should be idiot proof. But I - an idiot - have made mistakes on multiple occasions.

After all the forms and all the verification, human error still makes it a crapshoot. Believe it or not, I had my birthday entered incorrectly on a license. I owned a valid driver's license which lied about my month, day, and year of birth. At what point do we not just ask ourselves: what are we doing here?

And I have to pay for my license? That's absurd. In many cases, licenses are required by the government. How many times have you heard an officer demand a license despite a person not driving a car at the time? If a cop demands it as proof of my ID, then the government should provide it free (what else are taxes for?) Not to mention the fact that voting laws are starting to come up requiring a license. A license which you can only get if you pass a test, have a proof of residence, and have cash to afford it. I am very against disenfranchising the homeless (or anyone who meets that criteria) from voting.

The DMV is just what most poorly funded and poorly designed government entities end up becoming: a barrier for access to things that should be easy to access.

I've traveled all over the world and seen many systems. I've lived in many states. America is king of the poorly designed system.

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I tried it so you don't have to. It didn't work.

Yeah my plan (dream) has always been like this:

  • Use the internet while I have it (assuming people just all disappear suddenly) to download survival guides, solar panel repair/installation PDFs, maps, etc. Anything I can think of, I'll download
  • Gas only lasts so long. I can use chemicals that extend it, but it's definitely limited. I'd start with a gas powered truck and eventually move into electric vehicles. Batteries aren't forever either... But I'd try.
  • I'd move to a warm, temperate climate
  • I'd find a building that claims it is powered by solar panels most of the year. I'd use that as my home
  • I'd immediately begin trying to farm. I have a black thumb so this would take me some years to get done correctly. But I'd hopefully have some potatoes and grain growing by the end of a year
  • In the meantime, I might find things to occupy my time such as: finding videogames to play, raising chickens, fishing, collecting guns/ammo, collecting books to preserve, storing solar panels, backup equipment, etc.

My end goal would be to survive as long as I'm happy. I'm pretty introverted so that would last a while. I'd use animals to keep me company. I believe nature would take us over pretty quickly. It would be hard to maintain the house, solar, etc. forever. But if I could, I would.

My wife and I already do a lot of foraging in our area and we have several guides for edible food. We also do some canning and prepping for disasters.

I don't think a disaster would be a picnic. People are the problem. But if they disappeared suddenly, I think it would be pretty livable.

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What starting jobs does your plant offer right now? Are they hiring? I'm not interested but I am wondering if your experience is colored at all by a different job market.

Did you have any experience prior to 3 years ago?

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Blue - Eiffel 65. I was ~6 when I discovered it. My poor mother had to listen to that on repeat. I ended up growing up with severe depression. I guess I really am blue.

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Who governs this body of K.O.S. targets? Is it a democratically elected position? What happens if the wrong person is elected to this position and suddenly Muslims, queer, or communists are placed on this list?

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The child is alive. He may get out of prison earlier than that. Not sure if it's possible that he'd still be responsible for back pay of the alimony. No idea how that works.

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The Greeks actually also invented steam engines. But they didn't know what to do with them. So instead it was just a fancy art piece that spins super fast.

They also invented a lot of other stuff: door bells that sound like birds chirping, automatic doors, clocks which tracked the year, etc.

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This is definitely something being discussed: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy-ui/issues/1113

I personally don't really stress over finding the different communities. I just subscribe to the ones that have a critical mass of users or - if there isn't a community with a lot of users - I just subscribe to the one local to me. If there isn't one local to me, I just randomly pick one.

Paper waste is really something that was overstated in the early 2000s. Yes paper is made from trees. But trees are renewable compared to the silicon and carbon consumed in these electronic tags. It's way more environmentally friendly to use paper.

Obviously don't pet service dogs. Just to be clear. This photo was intentionally photoshopped to make it appear as though the airport was saying "Travel Advisory: when traveling don't pet dogs". As in, when in the UK never touch a dog. I thought it was funny/cutesy. I didn't intend on sparking a big debate about the ethics of petting dogs or the rules about service dogs.

Don't touch service dogs.

Pet dogs if you know them or are introduced to them.

Basic dog rules people. Teach your children

It was pretty fucking stupid to ask him those questions. In addition, being a member of the CCP isn't as big of a deal as this senator is making it out to be. We aren't living in McCarthyism are we? Are we afraid of ideas?

America is afraid of ideas though. We have a long history of banning ideas from within our borders. By way of example, ideological restrictions on naturalization. We basically didn't allow people to become citizens if they believed in communism as a valid government structure.

If the CEO of TikTok was born in China and moved to Singapore (or America for that matter), does that preclude him from doing business with America? Why? Are we so insecure as a nation that we must ban an entire country from our internet activity?

I'll be the first to admit that TikTok - and apps like it - are security vulnerabilities. However, this entire debate has nothing to do with national security. If it were, Meta or X would also be under fire for selling advertising/user data to foreign countries, no? Plenty of these social media companies have entire sectors of their organization providing APIs and SAAS solutions for consuming data. Twitter has something which is essentially a firehose of all tweets being posted in any country that match a search query of yours. Is that not a security risk? It comes with geo information, timestamps, hashtags, urls, etc.

If this is about security, focus on user protections. The EU has shown a lot of promise in this area. I was the first to say "you can't moderate the internet", but they've done it. If you've ever been to a country within the EU in the past 5 years, you'll notice those "accept/deny cookie" popups are far less spammy and easier to deny. In addition, most companies I've worked for in America have adhered to GDPR standards.

I believe we should protect locations, names, birthdays, emails, phone numbers, addresses, etc. Data should be opt-in and not opt-out. Is this hard to mandate? Yes. Of course there are going to be bad actors. But laws should not be written to catch all criminals. They should be written to promote what our society values. Do we value privacy or not?

I'd be far more impressed with a senator questioning tech companies about their data protections and their willingness to agree to not sell user data. But I somehow doubt that's going to happen in our Congress.

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There in lies the rub, though. Most vegans are vegan for a moral reason that they believe applies to you:

  • Animals deserve life / don't deserve livestock conditions
  • "Growing" meat is speeding up global warming compared to growing crop

There are more fringe reasons for veganism such as: diet, health, etc. But those aren't relevant to the point I'm making.

"Live and let live" doesn't apply to situations where we're talking about global warming or the abuse of animals. Most vegans are trying to educate others and - yeah - they probably vote for things that would result in more expensive meat or less meat being available in your local markets. I believe most vegans are hoping their efforts will slow global warming and provide better living conditions for livestock.

I'm not trying to sit on a moral podium here and judge. I eat meat too. I'm not vegan. Though I've tried to reduce how much meat I eat in yet another small, feckless, civilian effort to slow global warming. All I'm saying is: I sympathize with people who want to improve the world and I understand why they spend time and effort talking about being vegan.

But meat in america is cheaper than the vegan stuff and definitely tastier. So it's hard for us to meaningfully change.

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I'd pick teleport but I'm afraid of the splicing consequences.

I'd rather just see inside empty objects. I'm sure I could use this in some circumstances. Being able to "know" if a box is empty or not could be perceived as super natural. There is probably a lot of money in that. Plus, a lot of gambling opportunities in things like that cup game. What defines a container? That could change things.

Controlling any toaster with my mind is ambiguous. I'll assume it only works on toasters with power. So I can only turn them on/off to make toast. I could use this power to destroy countries. Power draw of a toaster isn't too bad, but every toaster being turned on at the same time might damage an energy sector. It would take a while to debug as well.

I like the free gravel.

I think I'd pick free gravel and... Seeing inside empty objects. Seems like the most profitable with the least chance of a monkeys paw.

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Just got back from Germany. Your transit system is heaven to this American. Never let it die. Even the fact that two of my trains were heavily delayed and one was cancelled, I was still in awe of it all; it's such an inspiring set of infrastructure.

That's really sweet.