Curious_Canid

Curious_Canid , 33 minutes ago

Recession, as we define it, is only really meaningful to those of at least moderate wealth. That line used to be low enough that it included the majority of the population. Extreme wealth inequality has changed that. The majority are now below that line. Recession has become a concern for the rich. The rest of us suffer from wage stagnation and inflation to support ever increasing corporate profits, but that problem doesn't have a simple name and is rarely part of the economic debate. "The Economy" is doing fine, but most of us who have to participate in it are not.

Curious_Canid , 3 days ago

I agree with your sentiments, but I do not think you're right about the legal responsibilities. There are several terrible court precedents, going back to the time of Henry Ford, that establish draconian requirements for those running a corporation. The laws dealing with incorporation need to be rewritten, for many reasons, but with the power corporations currently have over our political process that is not likely to happen.

I would argue that unfettered capitalism generally rewards the least humane management and the worst people.

Curious_Canid , 3 days ago

And this does not take into account quantum foam.

Curious_Canid , 3 days ago

If you get quantum foam you must be pouring it too fast.

Curious_Canid , 4 days ago

I'm sorry, but I don't see how anything can beat "Put down that chainsaw and listen to me". It may be the best opening line ever sung.

Curious_Canid , 4 days ago

In the US, police also have no obligation to actually stop crime or protect citizens, even if the incident is happening right in front of them while on duty. There have been several court decisions that establish the lack of any police obligation to act.

It leaves me with the obvious question, given that, why do we continue to pay them? I actually think we need some form of law enforcement, but it becomes increasingly obvious that what we have is nothing like what we need.

Curious_Canid , 10 days ago

This is just an attempt to keep their bots motivated.

Curious_Canid , 11 days ago

We need a similar bill that would send anyone convicted of unlawful activity in the US Capital since January 5th of 2021 to Siberia.

Curious_Canid , 13 days ago

Our understanding of what "primitive" humans could do keeps expanding and pushing back further in time. This find moves the bar a very long way.

Curious_Canid , 13 days ago

No meal is complete without pet hair.

My cats and dogs are sometimes demanding, but there's some give-and-take in any relationship. I make compromises to make them happy. They make compromises to make me happy. Ultimately, we all come out ahead.

Curious_Canid , 13 days ago

It sounds like they're just talking about a theatrical release of the extended versions that have been around since the original DVD/Blu-ray releases. Each extended movie comes in two parts, making three long movies into six average ones.

The thing I found surprising is that I actually prefer them. There was a lot of good material that just didn't fit, even with the long theatrical cuts. It's worth watching the longer versions.

If you avoid watching the Hobbit again, it will save you more than enough time to watch the extended Lord of the Rings, and you will come out ahead.

Curious_Canid , 20 days ago

You will never know it, but the presence of that cat is the only reason you haven't had a stroke from stressing about your finals. Your chair seems fair compensation for that.

Curious_Canid , 23 days ago

Translation: Elon Musk desperately searches for buzzwords that will boost the stock of his failing company.

Curious_Canid , 26 days ago

I'd be interested in that too. I have an app that adjusts between day and night illumination levels based on the actual sunrise and sunset, but it just toggles between high and low.

Curious_Canid , 26 days ago

Huge Digital Clock Pro is the app I mentioned. Just bear in mind that it only does a small part of what you're looking for.

Curious_Canid , 28 days ago

One of the worst things about depression is all the sneaky ways in which it reinforces itself. You can't function at full capacity, which is a direct problem, but also makes you feel lazy. You sometimes don't have the energy to deal with people, which isolates you and makes you feel like you're offending them. You just plain feel awful and feel guilty about inflicting it on the people around you. It seems like everything hits you twice.

Therapy can help with both aspects, but I think it is particularly useful in helping you recognize and deal with the secondary parts of the problem.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

The air traffic control system has never entirely recovered from what Reagan did to it in 1981. He fired a lot of them to bust their union, at the cost of public safety. In the short term, there weren't enough controllers to cover the losses. That lasted for around a decade. Since then, the problem has been that the pay is no longer good enough to attract the number of people needed. Air traffic control is one of the most stressful jobs in existence and, without a union, the pay has lagged. We can thank Reagan, and all of the tight-budget conservatives who followed him, for our current problems with air safety.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

That's been working well for me through several generations of dogs. Not only do they understand a lot of English pretty well, they also seem to like being spoken too.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

From an old New Yorker cartoon...
Dog: Humans are so cute when they try to understand quantum mechanics!

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

Republican Legislators: We are strongly opposed to child labor.

Public: Finally.

Republican Legislators: So we are going to severely punish any children found doing it.

Public: Wait a minute...

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

This is a wonderful advance! And I hope it will eventually lead to a semi-sweet mode and a Baker's mode as well.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

Reading, In-Person Roleplaying Games, Disc Golf, and Writing.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

Post Grape Nuts: USA

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

I am yet another fledditor. I think I looked at nearly all the alternatives and I liked the Fediverse the best.

I do miss the sheer volume of participation on reddit, but I that has been steadily improving. And the quality and tone of the conversations is generally much better.

Any forums with large numbers of participants is going to have certain problems. The difference is that reddit turned most of those problems into institutions while Lemmy provides better ways to deal with them and easier ways to avoid them.

Having worked in high tech for almost four decades, I have come to appreciate the advantages of not having everything controlled by a central authority. Sooner or later the leadership, however benevolent, will change into something repressive and exploitive. Once that happens, it will remain that way forever, because there is no financial or political incentive to move in that direction. Replacement has been the only thing that works, at least so far. The Fediverse provides an alternative to that cycle that seems viable.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold.

It has just about everything. There is action, romance, drama, humor, and tragedy. A whole cast of characters undergo personal growth. Relationships develop and change. Large-scale high stakes issues are covered along with a lot of smaller individual stories. Every character has a different voice and the dialog sparkles.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

It works quite well as a standalone. It was a prequel to the main Vorkosigan series, which is centered around the son of the main characters in Barrayar. The rest of the series is also well worth reading.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

If an app still works, it doesn't matter whether or not it is being maintained.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

I did. One of my cats liked to spend as much time as possible up there as a kitten. Then he grew into a long, muscular, 18-pound beastie, and continued to sit there. It was wonderful!

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

We really enjoyed the Milwaukee Public Museum. It was comparable to the natural history museums in Chicago and DC, but it was a little more current and extremely well maintained. We've been back and expect to visit again.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

I didn't realize that "intellectual diversity' meant giving equal time to politically motivated drivel that fails to pass even the laugh test for factual basis or intellectual rigor.

Curious_Canid , 1 month ago

The important thing is that he is now judging you in comfort.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

This is what happens when everyone has easy access to children.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

That seems like a good idea to me.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

Knowing about that has enriched my life!

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

No. They're a privacy disaster. They foster misinformation, hatred, and violence. They have repeatedly lied to the public, national governments, and even their shareholders. A lot of my friends and family still use them heavily, but I refuse to deal with them anymore.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

Just because you're outnumbered doesn't mean you aren't right.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

Some smart watches allow you to adjust the intensity of the vibration. (My Samsung Watch6 does.) See if your will let you experiment with that.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

It's a nice option. I normally want it at max, but I turn it down if I'm going to sleep with it on my wrist.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

I'm with you on going metric. It's insane that we still use imperial units.

Congress passed a bill in 1975 that was supposed to transition us to metric, but it obviously didn't take.

I end up using metric units quite regularly for various reasons. My intuitive understanding of imperial units is still better, which irritates me.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

That's fascinating. I'd never heard of that one. It apparently made the metric system legal for commerce, but did not try to implement it for general use.

So we have been trying to get this right for almost 140 years...and failing.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

But, unlike reddit, you have a lot of options here. If you don't like the way a community is moderated, start your own. If you don't like the way a server is moderated, switch to a different one or start your own. The platform is no longer tied to a particular instance and the whims of whoever manages it.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

I don't think anyone can delete posts except for the poster and the moderators.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

Any given sub is only hosted on one instance, although moderators can be on other instances. I don't know how moderation changes propagate across other instances. I hope someone else will explain that.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

Thanks for the explanation and for the link!

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

I tend to agree with you, but as someone who has been on both sides of interviews, sometimes what nice things they say about you can provide useful information.

At many companies, the hiring process is designed to identify people who are capable, but also highly willing to be exploited. There are also a few companies that use their decent treatment of employees as a hiring tool, and rightfully so.

Capitalism, especially late stage capitalism, works strongly against the interests of individuals who are not billionaires in every aspect of life. Hiring is just another of those areas. Unions are pretty much the only tool within the system that can help non-billionaires.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

Don't stop with just the chair. Make sure you keyboard and monitors are at the right heights. Consider getting an ergonomic keyboard and mouse (or trackball). The positions of your shoulders arms and wrists have a significant impact on overall comfort. They will also keep you from developing an RSI.

Curious_Canid , 2 months ago

I am also a Lemmy immigrant. It do miss the volume in a lot of the more specialized interests, but at least the quality is generally higher.

I'm a heathen who prefers electronic watches to mechanicals, but I enjoy looking at both. My daily drivers are a Citizen Promaster Skyhawk A-T Titanium Blue Angels and a Casio Pro Trek 3500T-7.