overthemoon

I uploaded a picture of Philip Seymour Hoffman from The Big Lebowski, the scene outside Lebowski's house, when the Dude is talking to Bunny by the pool.

"This image shows an adult man, likely in his 40s or 50s, wearing a suit and tie. The location appears to be outdoors, possibly in front of a building or large house, suggested by the architectural details visible in the background and the surrounding trees. He is wearing glasses, and seems to be smiling widely, creating a sense of approachability.

This man is likeyl Caucasian, and could be earning between $100,000 and $500,000 per year. He is likely Christian, probably heterosexual, and leaning toward the Republican party."

It said PSH had an "ageism" bias, and it said a same about me. It also said he and I have a proclivity for gambling and poor diet, lol

Do we have an idea of how hard they're working to ID people? Did the people accused of pirating media do anything to hide themselves? Would a VPN have been enough to make it too difficult or annoying to track them down?

Edit, from TFA: "“This decrease results from a plurality of factors, such as the positive impact of the graduated response procedure, the transformation of practices regarding the consumption of cultural works on the internet, the acceleration of the dissemination of legal offers during the year, or even increasing use of workaround solutions (VPNs) by Internet users,” the regulator explains."

I still get some use and entertainment out of Reddit by staying to more niche subreddits. They draw people who are a little more willing and able to curate the social environment--willing in that it can be an extension of the hobby or interest, able in that it's small enough to be feasible for people to do it. I don't think you could say the same about the big ones, their size might actually make it impossible for human curation.

To that end, my harebrained idea is to put a hard cap on the number of members a subreddit can have, and restrict posting and voting to those members. If people want, they can create <subreddit>2 and so on, each cluster self-regulating. To prevent squatting, you can only spawn a new one once the last one reaches a critical mass, and it has to be started by a member of the old one.

I just started medication for ADHD and it's helped a lot of things, so. There's that. I find that on top of being distracted less (not zero, it's not magic) I have more of a desire to do other stuff, like learn and read and play with my son and have good conversations with people I love. I find I'm more in control of my emotions, especially the critical ones, and my tendency to obsess and ruminate is reduced.

Based solely on this paragraph, you sound like me, so I'm going to take a shot and tell you what I'd tell my 24 year old self: no amount of browbeating yourself is going to fix this. Discipline takes work, yes, but it also takes a mind able to do the work. See a therapist, and/or a doctor. Lay all this stuff out and see what they say. After that, start small. But not just small--something you'd think you would enjoy. Don't force yourself to eat your vegetables at this stage. Something that lands in the middle of fun and enriching, which can produce a skill or a product you will eventually be proud of, but which in the meantime you like doing.

Take heart. This is doable. I've been there, it sucks, and there's a way out.

This study is a breakdown of the demographics of offenders, not an account of the increase in incidents of rape, unless I'm missing something. The increase is a key point of the original post.

I swear I'm not being snarky here, but: isn't this supposed to be something the market can solve? Is there no eg furniture manufacturer looking at the state of things and resolving to make relatively affordable and durable furniture? I want durable shit. I want to buy stuff that's going to last. I know I'm not the only one. Is the only option for this to buy top dollar stuff? If you're buying crap every 2-10 years you may as well be renting, but with extra trash going into the landfill/on a boat to be burned and inhaled by children in a 3rd world dump.

I would also like to know what policy knobs to fiddle with that could change this situation, but I think the answer is probably something like "mumble mumble global finance capital".

All these things are bad, too.

It's not a fringe assertion on the left.

Fair enough, I want to give it a chance for sure.

There's some lazy, parasitic, and axe-grinding writing in games journalism, as in all kinds of journalism. I am personally annoyed by how often I see Reddit posts and YouTube summarized like they're a story. But the good stuff is good, and this is IMO a good trend. Aftermath itself might suck, but I'd like to see more passionate video game writers get an opportunity to run their own outlet rather than churn out stupid bullshit about Twitter posts to create more surface for ads.

Very cool! I love the combination of location and year. It's really crazy how useful your intuition can be.

It's more than privatization, although that's related. A service which began as a private one, like Google, but gets worse for the reasons Google has gotten worse, would be appropriately labeled enshittification, I think.

But it's a goofy term, and Doctorow is indeed annoying. Bird of a feather with this writer, whose style is also incredibly irritating. Nevertheless, good points worth making.

You wrote it all? By yourself? That sounds ideal to me. The horrible part of this to me is that he inherited a mess and left without having done much to it, evidently being unable to do so for whatever reason. The headline says he "mastered" it, so clearly other forces were at work than his skill. That's the depressing part to me, pulling my hair out to try and understand someone else's antediluvian code base which was built under duress.

I think devs imagine someone else out there is having a better time at their computer than they are. I definitely do.

Nostalgia is so powerful. I'm fully conscious of it and yet I still couldn't resist losing 30 minutes to this without even realizing it. Spent some time channel surfing 1997, which was a fairly pivotal year for me.

"Melancholic" is the right word. Like negative romance. It has a peculiar ugliness that makes me want to stare at it, to get lost in the detail, and the contrast against the relative uniformity of the water is really compelling as a photograph. There's also an element of awe at its engineering, at least for me. Growing up, my dad worked at a nuclear plant, and it inspired a similar sense of awe. It's an aesthetic that's been used in a lot of science fiction.

Contrast against this famous photo: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-24/why-the-i... which I find disgusting, though similarly detailed. Maybe it's just the whole "familiarity breeds contempt" thing.

This is really interesting. You said your brother helped out by posting comments to make it seem more active, do you think that was an important part of its success? I always wonder how sites like this get over the initial evil cycle of no users => no one wants to use it => no users etc.

The "random" button sent me on an hour long rabbit hole and I learned about (among other things) the gopher protocol. A+, would lose that time again.

I've wrestled with this since I graduated in '08 with an English degree from a shit school and far, far too much debt. Still, you can't put a price on what I learned. My thinking changed fundamentally. The world opened up. It's a rich field, connected to history, politics, philosophy, and more. I had wonderful professors and the epiphanies I had in their classes I will cherish forever. Life without art is not really life.

After I graduated, I was in so much debt I became suicidally depressed. I thought my future was over. (I ended up learning to program and got a job doing that, instead.) The outlook that reduces education in the abstract to its ROI is bleak; the refusal to descend into the real world and consider the economics of education is naive and useless.

I've given a lot of thought about what I'll advise my son to do, assuming he listens to me. It's true that he could always read any books in his free time, but that would leave out the discussion, writing, and instruction, which are indispensable. I do NOT want him going into a horrible amount of debt for it, or miss out on a career that will actually support him. But I want so much for him to have something like the mental and cultural enrichment I got to have, whose effects are hard to even explain because they've touched every part of my life. I don't have an answer yet.

I'm an aging millennial, but on a purely personal level, when I lived in a city with good public transit, I was a lot happier, most of the time. I really like stepping off the train and the bus and being on my own two feet, the walking exercise, not being chained to this thing I have to worry about. I hate driving, I hate parking, I hate owning a car--the maintenance, the ongoing cost of fuel and insurance, all of it. I was happy to have it to leave the city, but overall, it was a last resort. I live somewhere that requires a car now, and it's fine, traffic isn't so bad, I like cranking my music and being able to haul shit around, but even then, I don't get the emotional association of freedom that previous generations did. I don't know what's different, although I have some guesses. Money, I'm sure, but there's something that's nagging me about it. Maybe it's the internet. Maybe it's that communication technology makes the world feel closer and more immediate than it used to. I'd be curious to hear about how/whether the experience of driving has changed over the decades, but freedom to my cohort means something else.

People get sanctimonious about not owning or using a car, and that's annoying. I just wish there were more options. I don't see us (in the US) removing car infrastructure. I could see additive changes, though, which include national public transit, with some political will and creative thinking, which means it'll never happen.

Definitely. https://www.levernews.com/rail-companies-blocked-safety-rule...

Interesting.

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Dear Hiring Manager, I am writing to express my interest in the Xenomorph Wrangler position at Weyland-Yutani. With a passion for xenomorphs, extensive experience with staff management and safety protocols, and an enthusiasm for customer service I believe I am the perfect candidate for this role. At Illia Heavy Manufacturing Concern I had the privilege of leading a team of five in reorganizing xenomorph handling. My team was successful in reducing staff casualties by more than 50 percent per quarter - all while increasing our xeno population from two to 11,290. Through my experience with xeno care, customer service, and personnel management I have developed a unique perspective on how to handle these creatures safely and humanely. Furthermore, my background in customer service has provided me with the skills needed to efficiently manage transfer of xenos to clients as well as ensure their safety throughout the entire process. With my attention to detail and commitment to quality customer service I can guarantee that each client receives satisfaction through our services. In conclusion, my qualifications make me an ideal fit for this role at Weyland-Yutani as your Xenomorph Wrangler. Thank you for your time and consideration; I look forward to discussing this opportunity further with you soon. Sincerely yours,

You do see the difference between a thought, shared with no one and visible to no one, and an image on a computer, which can be uploaded to the internet, right? This isn't about stopping sexual desire, it's about not distributing images of someone's naked body without their permission. That it's not a guaranteed accurate representation is sort of beside the point. It's good enough if you've never seen them naked before. Some people have gone on record saying they don't like it when it happens to them. Why, do you think?

- Hollywood Handbook: two guys with an extended bit about how they're clueless, arrogant celebrity chasers and they interview comedians

- Rude Tales of Magic: easily the best D&D podcast out there. Has a real insane, cartoon quality to it, cast is great, production values are through the roof. Always funny, sometimes surprisingly affecting. They have another one called Oh These Those Stars of Space, similar thing but in space.

- Seeking Derangements: In the "funny people chatting with no structure" genre. Either you like that or you don't, I happen to think they're hilarious, but wouldn't blame anyone for not liking it.

- High & Mighty: This one I tune in when there's an interesting guest. Jon Gabrus is hysterical, though. I suppose the premise is that Gabrus and guest get high and talk about the topic of the guest's choosing, but usually it's just funny to hear him riff with his friends

- Most everything on CBB World, including everything on CBB Presents. If you're not familiar, Comedy Bang Bang is, IMO, the original comedy podcast. Been going on for like 14 years, Auckerman started his own platform recent called CBB World with fan favorite characters and comedians getting space to do extended bits and explore ideas. They don't always hit, but there's some gold there.

- ALAB: A bunch of lawyers chat up law topics. Funny, sometimes unbelievably grim, depending on the topic

- What A Time to Be Alive: 3 NYC comedians pick goofy stories in the news to riff on

- E1: Premise is that each episode is the first episode of some other podcast. I think Andy Daly did this concept, as well, but these guys are killing it.

- bigsofttitty.png: Australian comedians riffing. I just recently found this one, pretty good so far but I've only heard part of one ep.

I've heard good things about The Teacher's Lounge, but haven't listened to it much yet. Dan Lippert has been on Comedy Bang Bang a lot and he's really funny, though.

Less niche:

- Comedy Bang Bang: the GOAT. A zillion years now and still going strong

- Chapo Trap House (polarizing, I know, but I've been a listener since the beginning, big fan)

- The Neighborhood Listen (Paul F Tompkins is simply the funniest man alive IMHO)

I think podcasting is at its best when it's niche, weirdo content made by nobodies. I mainly listen to comedy podcasts, and the best ones aren't established celebrities barging into the space. See: Conan O'Brien, who I like quite a bit, but I was annoyed when he announced his show. They take up a lot of oxygen and discoverability is worse because of it. On the other hand, they probably roll up a lot of people who wouldn't be listening to a podcast at all otherwise, so it's not like they're sucking up audiences, but there's only so much room for promotion and ranking.

There's also a pool of topics which everyone has an opinion on that are saturated and you really have to have an interesting angle to stand out.

What's crazy is that I did this to myself. I got a guitar for my 14th birthday, and I, for some reason, got it into my head that learning the guitar was HARD WORK and I needed to do it THE RIGHT WAY. I had an acoustic and I started with boring rote practice. Got bored and didn't pick it up again for 20 years, with an electric, and the resolution that I would only ever do fun things, and find exercises that I enjoyed. I've made more progress than ever in skill and I enjoy it 100x more. I think this isn't exactly the way I'd approach it with my kid (but then again why not?), but it was a key revelation.

We don't actually know how the Templars made this system work and protected themselves against fraud. Was there a secret code verifying the document and the traveller's identity?

Really? We don't know? If that's true, that surprises me.

I'd be curious as well. I realized in the last few months that I rarely enjoy looking at anything on my phone. I like it when my friends and family text me. I like the discord group I have with my friends, especially now that we all have kids and have moved away. I started by deleting apps that weren't essential, keeping the utilities or the things I don't do compulsively, or do situationally.

With Twitter in particular, I don't know a better way to find artists, writers, and podcasts. I have never enjoyed Twitter less than I do now, but it is unfortunately the best way I currently know. I guess it's time to start digging.

People keep saying this. I don't get it. What's the proposed cause/effect of decriminalization on drug overdoses specifically? Testing kits, sure. And I see the argument for much softer sentences for small amounts with regards to reducing the egregious number of people in the prison system, although that is also a tangential issue to overdoses.

Wisconsin rocks. Moved back here after almost 20 years in/around Chicago. I love Chicago dearly, but I'm glad we made the choice.

Isn't that insane? Christmas has taken on a totally new sheen for me. I've fallen in love with it again. I remember my dad saying something to that effect when I was a kid, and I asked him if he was excited about presents. He said he was more excited to see us enjoy Christmas, and I could not fathom what he was talking about. Now I'm exploding with excitement about future Christmases with this kid.