nickwitha_k (he/him)

@nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
4 Post – 850 Comments
Joined 12 months ago

Good call. You might try games like Tomb Raider or the first Prince of Persia reboot for movement accuracy.

ETA: Just to be absolutely clear, the "/J" was "jerk" like the old "circlejerk" subs, not serious. You probably know that but I'd rather be sure and not assume as I don't think being dicks to eachother makes the world a better place.

L2P n00b! /J

In seriousness though, I find the trackpads to be very useful for precision. Unfortunately, you have to build up the skill, like anything else. Work at it over time and you should get there. For practice, really depends on what you want to play. I'd suggest something that has a good system for criticals/headshots. Looks like Aim Lab might work on the deck, so maybe try that?

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But we're talking about the federal government, not states...

Federal law puts elections in the hands of the States.

The Senate is the trickier one to solve. It was not intended to be a proportional body originally. In the short term, the balance could be impacted by not treating politicians as above the law and actually prosecuting crimes that they have openly committed.

State legislatures effectively are only going to be fixed with a new court or voters overcoming the gerrymandering.

A plan to keep Republicans out of office permanently so that they can never wield this new power in retaliation (even Lincoln messed up on that one)

That one is simpler than it sounds. Restore the proportionality of the House of Representatives (broken by the Apportionment Act of 1911). The GOP is a minority party and would not have a chance if their voice wasn't amplified.

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Noone who even "jokes" about wanting to be a dictator or president for life (like he said after meeting Xi Jinping) deserves to be anywhere near a seat of power. Any feedback on the rest? Like his habit of quoting Mein Kampf, praising Hitler, or how much people who identify as nazis love him? Don't see any of that as the slightest bit problematic?

Is the book and its methods intended for neurodivergent people? If not, it is important to be aware that it may have limited use to people with ADHD as our dopamine signaling in the executive function parts of our prefrontal cortex is all kinds of fucked.

That said, I'm ecstatic to read that you found it helpful and really appreciate your correct characterization of one of the maladaptive coping mechanisms that we often try to use.

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I both love and hate this so much. The performance and recording is incredible but any super tech nerdy parody just causes me immense internal cringe. I couldn't make it more than a third of the way through that and I love working with K8S.

So, we've got an old, racist guy who lied through most of his statements and refused to possibly say that he would accept the results of the election vs an old guy with a history of a speech impediment that showed signs of his speech impediment and regularly pointed out the lies spouted off by his convicted felon opponent. Why are the media companies banking Trump again?

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Hey, be fair. He actively worked to make it worse and committed literal acts of piracy, stealing PPE intended for blue states and giving them to his son-in-law to resell. Remember when Boston had to borrow the Pats private jet to prevent the PPE that the city bought from being stolen? You bet your ass Pepperidge Farm fucking remembers.

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It's not just a speech impediment, it's a speech impediment in a fucking 81 year old man who shouldn't be dealing with a stressful job in politics. Been around many octogenarians? He did great for someone his age.

If he were up against someone in their 30s or 40s, it would be terrible but, against an old racist nazi who can only seem to make complete statements when they are provably false? Well, I'd still prefer someone else but at least he has the balls to actually say the forbidden words of "you're lying" and he's the only choice that we're allowed to have as infuriating as that is.

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Absolutely the best kind of space crashloopbackoff.

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I dunno. IMO, he didn't sound terrible. He sounded like an 81 year old who probably shouldn't have been shoved into the nomination but the other frontrunner last time could have forced some representation of the left, so the DNC did it anyway. At least he made an effort to make sentences and call out lies, which the moderators should have.

I hate that our choices are a guy who should be retired vs a nazi that should be retired.

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While I think that Joe's got some dated views, being 81, if you're honest, you've got to acknowledge that the immigration bill was nothing more than calling the GOP bluff and getting extra fodder for election ads. They knew that the GOP wouldn't allow it to pass. It's politics at its most bullshit; playing with human lives for points.

For the bussing, that was fifty, 5 0 years ago and his views have clearly changed. Yes, he has no legitimate place in politics at his age but neither does his opponent, who has been known to admire fascist and authoritarians of yore and the modern day.

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I really hope not. He is as corpo as it gets, shielding PGE from actual consequences.

I did watch it. It was not great but, I'm still left with the impression that people set really unrealistic expectations for an 81 year old with a history of speech impediment. Those things come back in novel ways as we get older. IMO, the whole thing borders on elder abuse but, that's where we're at. Just disappointing to see the "left-wing" (corpo) media immediately on the attack - they seem to be trying to carry more water due Trump.

Also, I am not sure if the shell-shocked look of the talking head before she started speaking was from the debate or the words on the teleprompter.

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I think that she prefers "Academy Award-nominated character actor, and producer Margot Robbie".

A person's view shouldn't have to change on racial justice and equality,

So you don't believe in forgiveness or redemption? People aren't allowed to ever change and improve themselves and are forever to be judged for every shitty thing they ever do? I dunno. I'd not want to live like that with any amount of self-reflection. I further might be inclined to question the authenticity of your claimed beliefs.

even if his far-right border policy was a gambit that's really irresponsible, given the GOP could've easily just accepted the no-strings attached policy win.

That I do agree with. The seemingly constant use of "pied piper" and similar strategies by major Dems in order to avoid the slightest possibility of leftward movement is infuriating.

Trump won for the undecided tonight that watches the debate and uses it to make s decision.

Anyone who was "undecided" tonight was going to support Trump anyway, either directly or with a "protest vote". Basically, to they were either lying to themselves or others and are quite alright with a nazi.

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No. I didn't tend to follow MSM. I think that's it's mostly that he snuggles up to dictators, says he wants to be a dictator, quotes Hitler, praises Hitler, and is supported by people waving about swastikas and spouting nazi slogans.

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Agreed. I didn't think that it would have made much of a difference, however, even if Biden came across as a master orator. "Undecided" folks are probably just going to use whatever they take from it to justify whatever decision they were likely already going to make.

It absolutely wasn't just a stutter. It was an 81 year old with a history of speech impediment - things like that can manifest differently in old age. Maybe it's from having grown up with a mother who was a nurse at an assisted living facility but, I really think that anyone who was shocked was setting expectations that are disconnected from the reality of how age impacts our communication abilities. If setting the bar at standards for people 10, 20, or 50 years younger, yeah, it was terrible. Relative to people of advanced age? He did well. When you're that old, 4 years in a high-stress position is a long time.

It's a bullshit choice as neither are in an age range where they should have power over long-term policy. It's also pretty horrific in terms of ethics. But, a soggy turnip would be better than any nazi, much less a nazi who is a compulsive liar intent on using the political system for revenge and installing himself as dictator.

Columbine happened when I was a kid and nothing of any substance has been done since.

So what it’s really like is only having to do half the work?

If it's automating the interesting problem solving side of things and leaving just debugging code that one isn't familiar with, I really don't see value to humanity in such use cases. That's really just making debugging more time consuming and removing the majority of fulfilling work in development (in ways that are likely harder to maintain and may be subject to future legal action for license violations). Better to let it do things that it actually does well and keep engaged programmers.

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I, for one, do like to iron. I'd probably not like it if it was mandatory for all clothing though. What really has happened is societal changes leading to much more casual attire expectations (not that we could afford to dress like previous generations) alongside advancements in textile technology that have resulted in garments less likely to show wrinkles.

...He was younger and the videos, being campaign videos, are edited to show him in the best possible light?

ETA: To be clear, I don't think that he or anyone else too old to have to worry about the long-term consequences of their actions should be in office. But, he's the only non-nazi choice available.

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Yup.

Really more of anachronistic 19th/20th century century jest. There are two components here. The handgun and the cartridge.

The your of handgun depicted is called a Derringer, which is typically a small, concealable gun that typically fires 2 shots before requiring reloading. Generally, Derringers fire small calibers because even something like a full 9mm will cause substantial recoil when there is no semi-automatic action or mass to absorb some of it. We'll come back to the particular Derringer shortly.

The .45-70 is a copper-cased, centerfire rifle cartridge developed for the US military in the late 19th century. The full classification of the original load being .45-70-405. This meant a .45 caliber (11.4mm) nominal bore diameter, 70 grains (4.54g) of black powder, and a 405 grain (26.25g) projectile. At the time of its adoption, it was recorded as having an effective lethal range of 1,000yds (910m). In 1879, a 500 grain projectile variant was developed with a legal range of 3,500yds (3,200m) - just to repeat this craziness, in 1879, the US military created a blackpowder rifle round capable of causing lethal injuries to those 3.2km away.

In modern times, the .45-70-405 is considered sufficient to hunt all big game in North America, including grizzlies and polar bears.

Now, back to that firearm. It appears to be an American Derringer Model M-4 Alaskan Survival. I highly doubt that any of the designers for a moment thought "a .45-70 Derringer is a good idea" and instead likely made it for novelty or to see if it could be done. I found some fun data on the M-4. It has a 4.1" (104mm) barrel length and, firing a 300 grain projectile, exerts 76.18 ft•lbs (103.29 joules) of recoil energy on its user. By compare, a similarly sized Glock 19 9mm firing a 124 grain projectile exerts 5.77 ft•lbs (7.83 joules) and the iconic Magnum Research Desert Eagle in .50AE only exerts 25.46 ft•lbs (34.52 joules) with a 300 grain projectile. So, the risk of injury to the operator is likely rather high and the manufacture and sale is likely rather irresponsible.

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Very good questions. While I'm a pacifist, I know a lot about firearms, how they mechanically work, etc (likely an "on the spectrum" thing as a direct sibling has an autism diagnosis).

One of the important aspects of technique of firing a gun is the hold. Handguns are held differently from rifles and different types of handguns, sometimes even models of the same category, must also be held differently. This is both for marksmanship and for safety. For example, holding a revolver like one holds most pistols puts the support hand in front of the cylinder, which can cause burns or potentially digit amputations (I've heard of but have but haven't read any case studies of the later) due to hot gases and metal escaping from the gap between the cylinder and the barrel or holding many models of pistol too high on the backstrap is likely to cause the slide and/or hammer (if present) to "bite" the hand in the web between the thumb and forefinger. "Hammer bite" is painful but not usually a cause for great concern.

Bear with me (rawr) for a bit here because this stuff is relevant to your questions. Derringers, however, are notorious for a number of safety-related issues. First, they are small and seem unthreatening to those who are new to firearms. This is bad because they are also cheap and rather more prone to pose accidental dangers than other types of handgun.

Most basic Derringers are built cheap and simple. This means that, unlike modern revolvers, they rarely have mechanisms like a trigger safeties (mechanism that prevents the trigger from being pulled if a "sub-trigger" isn't also pulled), safety switch/catch ("normal" safety mechanism found on pistols, rifles, and shotguns that prevents the mechanism from firing until switched to "fire"), or transfer bar safety (a relatively new safety mechanism that reduces the likelihood of a hammer-fired gun going off if dropped). Do note that none of these mechanisms are infallible (see: Tiger King for a disturbing example of a transfer bar failing to function). Additionally, Derringers frequently do not have trigger guards. Their cheap and handy size leads many new owners to put Derringers directly in their pockets, without a pocket holster (a vital piece of safety equipment for ALL pocket carrying). With their lack of safety mechanisms, this has led to numerous and not infrequently fatal unintentional discharges (self-inflicted severing of femoral artery).

In addition to all of these, Derringers are frequently hard to hold correctly, due to their compact size. My thoughts on possible injuries from the .45-70 Derringer in particular are mainly related to the recoil. Because there is only the mass of the Derringer and curved handle to mitigate the recoil would be one getting full-on punched in the hand.

The force is exerted along the bore axis (if you do the physics vector chart thingies, the arrows point straight back down the barrel). The handle has a curve to encourage it to roll but that first impulse is likely going to hit on the tiny bit of the arc furthest back before it starts to pivot. Without extra padding in gloves or another way to deflect, dissipate, or distribute that energy, fractures to hand bones are well within the range of possibility. There are further dangers of holding the firearm incorrectly, like getting smacked in the face and/or dropping it, which could lead to accidental discharge.

Overall, this firearm is a fabulously terrible idea.

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Yeah... I'm pretty sure you need an iron for those. A decent iron can probably do everything that a hand steamer can so, might as well just go with a nice iron.

Fuck yes it is. I think I've ironed more this century than my Boomer mother. And none of it was out of necessity.

After working as a farm hand one summer, it was like a switch flipped in my head and I really started to like button-ups and the like. Probably something along the lines of "this clothing is completely different from my work clothing and doesn't have animal shit on it".

No-iron shirts and slacks are still the way to go but, getting those wrinkles that escape is just so satisfying.

You're very welcome! Also, look at the shape of handguns prior to the advent of self-contained cartridges. They also tend to have a curve to them for the same reasons. You may also see a tendency in modern large-frame revolvers and some 20th century combat revolvers to sometimes have a straighter grip. The goal there being to make re-acquiring the target for a follow-up shot faster. The former use the mass of the gun and sometimes advanced elastomers to soak up some of the recoil, while the later used the mass of the gun and not giving a fuck about the soldier firing it for that purpose.

Give it a try. Hit up a thrift store and get some great tacky suits from the 70s and 80s, if you can find em. It's a bit of fun to wear them when it's not necessary or expected. I probably wouldn't wear a really nice wedding/funeral suit in such cases because I spill fucking everything and would become destitute from the dry cleaning bills.

Now, if it were a social expectation/requirement, it would suck and not be fun. But, as a choice that one can make, it's great sometimes.

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Absolutely there with you. Hence my suggestion of thrift store.

And for wearing one to the office? I also work from home so, would only likely do so to confuse my wife.

The Salvation Army is the shit tier of "charities". Not only are they anti-LGBTQ but they have a long history of anti-union action and supporting strikebreakers. Ever wonder why so many US Labor Movement songs are to the tune of hymns? It's not because of their familiar tune. It's because the Salvation Army would send their band to labor actions and play as loud as possible to try to drown out organizers and make attendees uncomfortable.

I try to be more positive on this platform but with these scumbags, I cannot. They're in the company of the Pinkertons and other murderers and thugs for hire.

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That is adorable.

Raising the floor should cause all other wages to increase as well. No need to bucket-crab. All worker wages have been stagnant for almost a half-century, while their efforts have created more and more wealth due to technological advances.

What are we doing to help people build enough wealth to own a home? because minimum wage is never going to afford it, even if it you make it $50/hr by 2030.

That's literally what minimum wage was intended to be. A living wage that allowed one to have a family, save for a house, and retirement. That sort of stuff was near reality in the mid-20th century. Even the character Al Bundy on Married with Children was portrayed as being able to afford a house and support a family on a single income as a shoe salesman, without being thought an unusual premise.

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"...And it has been causing me great anxiety that is preventing me from doing other things that I intend to do."

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Basically the case, yes. It varies state by state and there are some federal laws but, the enforcement is lacking to say the least and funding tends to be gutted to make it worse. Effectively, since Reagan, there's been an unending attack on labor rights and regulations. Currently, multiple states are passing laws to bring back child labor and workers who try to unionize are getting axed with no real repercussions.

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[ In fake Scottish accent ] They're natural enemies. Like fascists and leftists! Or neoliberals and leftists! Or moderates and leftists! Or leftists and leftists! Damn leftists! They ruined leftism!