SwingingTheLamp

joined 2 years ago
[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 1 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

This is a completely false account of what happened, and is emblematic of why I'm completely done with the Democratic Party.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 1 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

Trying to change leadership away from evil policy is "literally nothing." Yup, this is why I'm totally done with the Democratic Party.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 1 points 11 hours ago (5 children)

That's funny, I seem to recall an Uncommitted movement...

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 1 points 18 hours ago (7 children)

"Good" isn't a natural phenomenon that just needs a little space to establish a foothold. It takes deliberate action, effort, and sacrifice. And society doesn't magically reach a stable state. That's ridiculous.

Each election may have a bad and a worse outcome, but it's relative. Voting for the less-bad is a strategy that works even when both parties push toward evil. It works even when the choices are a party that supports genocide quietly and one that supports genocide loudly. If the "practical left" is just voting for the less-bad, while shitting on and shunning the people trying to do the hard work because the magical Fairy of Good hasn't yet shown up to establish that foothold with a wave of the wand, then I question how practical and how left that faction actually is.

I've been thinking about sharing my rule for making Lemmy a better place by having more discussions, and keeping even the arguments respectful:

Never tell another person what they are/think/believe/want.

The rule of thumb is just like in intimate relationships: Use "I" statements instead of "you" statements. Don't tell people "you obviously think..." or "you support..." or "you are..." Yes, that applies even to racists, transphobes, tankies, everybody. At best, it will never change the other person's opinion, because everybody is the hero of their own story. At worst, other people judge you to be the asshole. If somebody is truly vile (like Neo-Nazis), disengage. It's up to the community moderator or instance admin to remove them.

In my experience learning Windows 10 for my job, the results of searching for how to do something are: 'click-this' tutorials that don't work because Microsoft changed something in the next edition, editing the registry, or PowerShell commands. The registry editing sometimes doesn't work because Microsoft changed something. The PowerShell method is the way to go, because Microsoft has embraced the command line.

Enough farmland? I suggest reading up on the Ogallala Aquifer. Also, where the best climate zones for agriculture will be 50 years from now.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

No, I'm done giving him the benefit of the doubt. The President of the United States should be able to clearly articulate a thought.

Oil lamps. They have the same appeal that's behind the resurgent popularity of vinyl records. They're hefty, kinesthetic items that feel good in the hand. There's a little ritual that goes into using them. There's the sensory appeal. I bought a Thomas & Williams miner's lamp that was said to have been a prize that the original owner won in a regatta in the 1920's. It's all shiny brass, with a heavy, solid feel, and the parts fit together with such a satisfying precision. There's feeling the heat of the flame, and the slight scent of kerosene that it emits.

(Although, I'm not sure that they're outdated, since they're still manufactured and sold as yacht lamps, and you can still get parts. Last month, I ordered a brand new glass chimney for it.)

I felt the same way about the Hulu episodes until Quids Game, which I just straight-up hated, at first. No real connection to the larger premise, just torture porn in the form of weird aliens playing with/killing off the familiar characters.

Later, it hit me: The episode is a meta-commentary on the Hulu seasons. The "quids" are self-insert characters for the writers, poking fun at themselves. They aren't doing a coherent storyline with this reboot, they're just playing with familiar characters in different scenarios, and wringing out a few new jokes in a way that they couldn't do with the established canon. In a way, it's Futurama fanfic by Futurama writers.

From that perspective, I've found the reboot a lot more enjoyable. The good parts are a bonus, and the duds are forgettable.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 14 points 5 days ago (1 children)

True, but speaking scientifically, there is sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis.

(If shooting one CEO didn't change anything, we can keep trying.)

 

Today, I searched DDG for information on Rythmnbox and Jellyfin. For the very first time that I've ever seen it, one of the top results was from Lemmy. Huzzah!

396
Where's the mayor? (midwest.social)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social to c/lemmyshitpost@lemmy.world
 

One man commits a horrific crime. The other man shoots a CEO. The difference in response by our politicians is illuminating.

 

Kelly: Is there a downside? I'm thinking of people trying to find a parking place, for starters.

Horowitz: So we see that in places that have actually eliminated parking minimums, that we see fewer people driving at all and having cars and we see vehicle miles traveled decrease because people can get around via other mechanisms.

Well, now, would you look at that?! If we change the incentives, if we stop incentivizing driving by law, people change their behavior. In this case, they can save a ton of money by not needing a car.

 

A crane lifts pads for the hands-free mooring system at the Welland Canal locks into place. Credit: Michel Gosselin. Video and more photos here.

 

Yeah, basically that. I'm back at work in Windows land on a Monday morning, and pondering what sadist at Microsoft included these features. It's not hyperbole to say that the startup repair, and the troubleshooters in settings, have never fixed an issue I've encountered with Windows. Not even once. Is this typical?

ETA: I've learned from reading the responses that the Windows troubleshooters primarily look for missing or broken drivers, and sometimes fix things just by restarting a service, so they're useful if you have troublesome hardware.

 

They say that if you want to get away with murder, use a car as the weapon. By the way, Wisconsin has no jaywalking law, so they're letting a killer off the hook for, like, reasons?

 

"There’s probably nothing that we do that causes more suffering to wild animals than driving."

 

Lost cause or not, this is still typical of the traffic infrastructure we're building. Notice, this is a designated "bicycle boulevard."

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