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Joined
3 yr. ago

Bio field too short. Ask me about my person/beliefs/etc if you want to know. Or just look at my post history.

  • I've had similar thoughts, I was slower typing this.

    (future Korazail here. On rereading, I want to be clear about the difference between wealth and income. I think we tend to focus on income tax brackets, but the real danger is when the super wealthy can fund their lifestyle and power on the idea that they have money. Rarely are they counting any of that as income, so wonderingwanderer's thought of <1b income would apply to nobody. We need to tax wealth. I earn $$$$ each year, but my bank balance is $ because it costs $$ to exist and I am fortunate enough to have $ to spend on luxuries and keep $ in reserve. If I had a bank balance of $$$$$, then it doesn't matter how much I earn in a year; my money itself provides the $$ to exist and $$$ for luxuries with overhead to spare. I might be able to retire on a bank balance of $$. The billionaires have $$$$$$$$$$ in the bank and it would take me 9 million years to catch up at my rate)

    Give them some time to prepare, but a wealth cap with harsh penalties seems a pretty reasonable solution to the wealth inequality problem. Death would be a pretty damn harsh penalty, but a really effective one. I'd also take taxing or socializing their assets until they are under the cap.

    A billion dollars is just such a staggering amount of money that there's no reason for any person to control it. And as for 'why lynch this billionaire?' You don't get to a billion in net worth all by yourself. I'd posit that Taylor Swift is my favorite billionaire, and she is known for treating her staff well and giving out life-changing amounts of money to individuals that work for her... but what if she were incentivized to keep her worth below a billion? Larger donations to charity, lower ticket prices to her shows, better pay rates to her staff instead of bonuses (which would raise competitive pay for others in the industry), etc.

    People like musk can just fuck right off. They provide no real value. If you invent something that is so useful that it is worth multiple billions, make it a public asset and go invent the next thing. If you made it to a billion dollars, just shut up and retire. Let someone else figure out the next step and get their billion, you don't need two. The person who suggested bezos pivot from bookstore into general marketplace was probably a random developer who is still there and making <100k/year, but they had the good idea, not the guy with the purse. If we all had more purse, I think we'd have more people trying things and finding the next big thing.

    If I were to author a law, I'd tie the cap to a multiplier or fraction of some economic indicator that isn't individual, like total money transacted in a year globally or something. The number should be around a billion at this moment, but I'm not really mad at it being higher, since we're targeting the small number of people hoarding wealth.

    If you make the cap feel really big, like a billion, then the people, even with millions to their name, won't feel like it will ever apply to them; but the real predators with multiple billions will be impacted.

  • I said elsewhere here that I haven't gotten through the D20s, because they have a story that requires some dedication to sit through and I like the shorter form shows. I still like D20, I just need to be present and treat them like a book instead of just enjoying the mayhem. The on-a-bus iteration of D20 is led by Katie Marovitch, who appears in several Game Changers and Make Some Noise. I think she might be more of a writer than a contestant, but I'm not sure and haven't gone to look her up. I love that Dropout lets people blur the line.

    I think the on-a-bus series, which I'm only vaguely aware of and haven't watched, is a bit on its own where they are somewhat picking on Brennan; which is funny because he takes this so seriously and Katie doesn't seem to.

    See if there's a thread in one of the Dropout communities. If it's old, start a new one and link the old. We don't all find these shows when they are newly aired. I want to discuss many shows I've seen, and plan to use the lemmy.world community to start those.

    If anyone knows of an older style forum where this is being discussed, let me know. A necro-post in this context seems like it would be neat instead of annoying.

  • Inconclusive. I think we need a few more volunteers to give it a try. Sample sizes of 1 are not scientific enough for me.

    There may be 'downstream' issues if we bury too many cybertrucks in lakes, though...

  • They really are. So many amazing people on their shows, and a variety of kinds of show.

    I'm trying not to sound like PR for them, because I'm not, but I really like their content and ethos; and will recommend them as a place to go for fun stuff. Fuck Sam Reich (but only if you're Elaine) - that probably proves I'm not corporate?

    They need to re-up Gastronauts and Crowd Control. Those are some of my favorites, though they can be a bit hit or miss based on the guests. The D20's are great, but require more investment since there's a long story, and that intimidates me so I like the more self-contained shows. @samreich

  • I can. Clicking that link redirects me a few times, but results in an unauthenticated view of blahaj.zone, so I couldn't comment without making a blahaj account

    I'm myserv.one, so my view is via https://lemmy.myserv.one/c/dropout@lemmy.blahaj.zone

    It had a newest post of 10 months ago as of when I looked yesterday. It now has many more, so I can tell federation is working. Probably just with a delay, and maybe because I subscribed instead of just looking at it. I'll have to go revisit some other communities that I thought were dead, but might be active if I join them...

    My poor server admin. With storage prices these days...

  • I think part of my problem is that there are communities that already exist, and some of them I can't see, and the ones I can might not be sync'd to my instance.

    Federation and decentralization has its pros and cons.

  • I don't think my instance is defederated from much, we're tiny, but my view of the community via blahaj has a newest post 10 months ago. If I go there directly, I see more posts. My instance block list doesn't contain lemmy.blahaj.zone. Anyone know why I can't see current posts?

    What else am I missing?

  • I dropped a post in the lemmy.world one, because I think it might have a larger potential audience, since .world was like the semi-default instance when I joined lemmy. Now I need to learn how to crosspost so I can share to other instances.

    Ask-lemmy-v2: Does crossposting link comments? If someone sees a post in lemmy.blahaj.zone and I've crossposted from lemmy.world, are the post mingled or isolated?

    I'd rather solidify on a single community if the commentors can't see each other.

    Asking for a friend.

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml

    Dropout discussions?!

  • For a decade or two now, it's been pretty much assumed that everyone has an internet-connected, camera-equipped, browser-capable device in their pocket. Restaurants, banks, hospitals, employers and even government offices use QR codes and websites to get you to their menus, forms or services.

    If ID is being tied to my mobile spy device, then I need my mobile spy device to be a right and not a luxury. $40-50 for a few years of validity, internet access provided at no cost, even if slow. I can have my luxury phone be where I'm 'anonymous', but I want the government to subsidize the mobile spy device if it's a mandatory expense. Even cheap phones cost a lot of money.

    To be clear, I don't want ID tied to my phone, but it's gotten harder to exist without one, so it should be something we have access to with minimal friction.

    Add food, water and shelter to that list, but you can't ask for them without a web browser.

  • I really hate how media gladly reused this label.

    Antifa, pronounced ant-tea-fuh, allowed it to be disconnected from the actual words it was shortened from, and then used as a boogieman.

    We all know there is no central antifa command center, headquarters, or organization. We are "antifa" because we are anti fascism.

    As you say, you can label yourself, but you can also label yourself by your enemies.

    The anti-fascists are Trump's enemies, therefore...

  • What have you done!? You can't just speak the deep truths like that!

  • Many people with passports didn’t get the “RealID” because the Passport always usurped it.

    That's a really good point. I have a "RealID", which is just a way to say that I showed my passport at a DMV; but I also had to jump an extra hurdle to get that star.

    If you have a passport right now and don't have your license with a star, you should do so.

    I obviously carry my driver's license with me everywhere, but when doing things like air travel or interacting with federal processes, I bring my passport since, to me, the federal document supersedes the state document stating federal was checked.

    The dystopian scenario is that the federal side can revoke your document and, if you haven't already been validated, you no longer can validate your federal status; and that federal status can be required to vote or travel.

    "Your passport is no longer valid because of

    <reason>

    " + You need a RealID to vote now = people who can't vote because the government doesn't like them and can invent a reason to invalidate a passport.

    I'd say have both: If you don't have a passport, get one; if you don't have a star on your state driver's license or ID card, get one.

  • I have a steam deck, and love using the device in handheld mode due to the trackpads. But I also like a bigger screen and prefer to play it docked to my TV.

    When doing that, I miss the track pads and their value as a precise input or macro pad. There are some games that I have to play handheld because a controller doesn't give me enough options.

    I didn't buy a steam controller yet, but it's absolutely on my wishlist for when I can justify it. Waiting on my old PS4 controller to bite the dust. Its trackpad is close, but not as good.

    I think in a decade, we will see the Steam Controller trackpads redefining the default controller the way joysticks and bumpers/triggers did.

  • I hear what you're saying, but counterpoint:

    I'd prefer Steam's helpdesk staff were paid more, and their janitors, and their contractors, and anyone else involved in making that business work. Gabe doesn't NEED a new yacht. Some of the people working for him do NEED healthcare.

    Gabe is definitely on the not-a-monster side of the billionaire spectrum, but you don't get that much money with purely your output. You get lucky and have a good idea at the right time, inherit, or rent-seek. Two of those are stupid reasons to have immense wealth, and I don't think getting lucky is worth the vast gulf between billionaire and struggling-to-get-by.

    I think if we could have a wealth cap... say 10 billion right now, an absurd sum, where it's almost impossible to even spend it all... and after you pass that amount you get fed to a wood chipper; then we would see a lot fewer billionaires and a better world.

  • My wife is into Tarot and we have others around us that will read (I guess... casually?).

    I'm not into them as a real future-telling tool, but I absolutely believe in them as a way to guide understanding of your own thoughts.

    When I was growing up, there was a way to solve a simple yes/no or a/b question you couldn't decide by flipping a coin. Heads, you go A; Tails, you go B. If, upon the coin being revealed, you are disappointed or feel negatively then the other answer was the one you actually wanted, even if it wasn't surface thoughts, and that gave you more insight.

    Tarot fills a similar need, but is much more broad or vague. Ask "them" about a question and get a random set of extra questions: Does the Tower mean your decision is bad, or just will result in significant change, which could be good but shake stuff up; high Pentacles? Sure, maybe it's worth money to change jobs, but what if it comes with a ton of extra stress.

    When read by another, The reader can also prompt you to be clear about your desires or fears, and the cards are a good tool for opening up.

    As a skeptic, Nah. As an untrained therapist, Yah: "How does that make you feel?"

  • I was about to reply that you forgot your /s, but then I refreshed my browser tab.

    Like... there are multiple documented cases of sycophantic llms confirming people's delusions. 'ai psychosis' is just a short way of saying the AI is a non-funny-improv-comedian and will always "yes and" your prompt.

    prompt: "I feel bad and think I need to kill myself"

    response: "You're totally right, here's some help in how to do that..."

    prompt: "I have this great idea: If we eat broken glass, we'll be healthier"

    response: "Absolutely. Glass is made out of silicon dioxide, which has some health benefits if consumed in small amounts."

    prompt: "You told me to see a doctor, but I don't want to"

    response: "I'm sorry, you're right. You don't need to see a doctor. Your chest pain is perfectly normal."

    My examples are more physical things instead of mental because the consequence is more clear, but the same issue exists for mental health.


    Using an AI for therapy or medical advice is a stupid, dumb, very bad idea. It will at best magnify problems.

    Suggesting that disabled or impoverished people use it because they can't access actual mental healthcare seems equivalent to eugenics to me.


    the sad thing is, it’s the best option a lot of people have

    That I will agree with. Maybe we should spend a small fraction of the money going into data centers on providing healthcare instead.

  • Who could have predicted this!?

    Not an LLM, that's for sure. Maybe all the people screaming about this exact scenario, though.

  • I'm the rube.

    I've been privileged to have enough money that I didn't need to repair my stuff when it breaks. I'll just buy a new one. I'm generally talking big devices like house appliances and cars and I will still repair them: I.e replacing a gasket on my clothes washing machine, general maintenance on cars like oil, belts, etc. I'm not a monster.

    But when the maintenance cost became similar to just replacing the device outright, I'd just buy a new device. Hey, upgrades are fun.

    Until a few years ago.

    Modern devices are just absolute shit: They spy on you, requiring internet access for a fucking dishwasher to function; Your car might now have a remote disable feature, or cameras that tattle if you drive while looking tired; They are made of the cheapest materials and designed to fail to force you to get the newer model.

    I know this was a thing a while ago, but I've become more aware of it recently, and I'm worried that I might have some of the last pieces of non-smart spy-tech that I can easily get.

    In 2010, I wanted a 2015 car with bluetooth, keyless entry and lane assist kinds of features.

    In 2026, I want a 2015-era thing, if not one from before then.

    My father has a fridge in his garage that has been mostly used for storing left-overs for ages. That fridge was the one I scribbled on with a marker when I was a tiny kiddo. I'm in my 40s. How long has your fridge existed?

    I'm now spending more time learning how to maintain my stuff so that my non-internet-connected fridge lasts me until after the apocalypse.

  • And everyone who cried out a warning at the first step was ignored.