blitzen
@blitzen@lemmy.ca
- Comment on This boomer couple would be hit with $700,000 tax bill if they sold their mansion 1 week ago:
3.5 million is the increase in value over what they paid. That means they were making well over $100,000 every year for the past three decades, and they are complaining about paying cap gains.
Fucking Boomers.
- Comment on YSK that Gerrymandering allows politicians to choose their own voters. In many countries, it's illegal. Gerrymandering is common in the United States 1 week ago:
I don’t see why FPTP voting are inherent to voting districts. I would agree FPTP voting is problematic, but don’t necessarily agree abolishing districts would be the way to solve it.
I’ll admit to being largely uneducated on political theory, but nothing you said has convinced me districted voting is inherently bad.
- Comment on YSK that Gerrymandering allows politicians to choose their own voters. In many countries, it's illegal. Gerrymandering is common in the United States 1 week ago:
I feel like you are misunderstanding representative government. There is value in districts, provided they are drawn apolitically. Without it, people living in sparsely populated areas would effectively have their unique needs unmet.
I am not saying the system is without critique. There is loads wrong with it as is, as the gerrymandering problem illustrates. But while one person / one vote would be ideal for an office like president (and it should be changed so this is the case), it would have other issues if it were used for all offices.
- Comment on YSK that Gerrymandering allows politicians to choose their own voters. In many countries, it's illegal. Gerrymandering is common in the United States 1 week ago:
Well, each vote is counted. Gerrymandering affects (federal level in the US) only the House of Representatives, and districts are drawn (ideally) proportional to population. How those lines are drawn are not and cannot be objective; Gerrymandering is when that subjectivity allows for bias.
- Comment on Spotify fans threaten to return to piracy as music streamer introduces new face-scanning age checks in the UK 1 week ago:
“Normal” people would put in their child’s social security number if it meant $2.99 off their subscription.
- Comment on It's time to boycott U.S. digital services! Here's a chart to help you do so: 1 week ago:
Discovery isn’t a huge part of how I consume music, but your point is well taken.
I’ve been using hooks into last.fm to suggest things I might like, and it’s worked pretty well.
- Comment on It's time to boycott U.S. digital services! Here's a chart to help you do so: 1 week ago:
That’s a real Sophie’s choice there. Or, reverse Sophie’s choice. Spotify isn’t American, but it’s also a horrible horrible company to support.
Piracy is my choice here.
- Comment on Tea app leak worsens with second database exposing user chats 2 weeks ago:
I don’t think anyone questions the “point” of the app. But the devil, as they say, is in the details.
- Comment on Tea app leak worsens with second database exposing user chats 2 weeks ago:
You’re not adding much to the “this app is appropriate” argument.
- Comment on Tea app leak worsens with second database exposing user chats 2 weeks ago:
In the current environment, at-risk people (women, immigrants, etc) who might have “at-risk” activities (abortion, immigration, etc) don’t have the luxury of relying on a privacy policy. I am not blaming them, I am simply stating how it must be if they are to avoid adverse actions.
This particular instance involved poorly secured data; what happens when warrantless demands are made by the government?
The Tea debacle proves that sensitive data cannot be trusted once out of your hands.
- Comment on Tea app leak worsens with second database exposing user chats 2 weeks ago:
Everyone is talking about the poor security practices, which is fair. Or they are talking about the appropriateness of such an app existing, which is also fair.
But the immediate take away should be, especially in today’s political environment, that we cannot and should not trust sensitive data that leaves our device, particularly if you are of any kind of non privileged group.
- Comment on Women’s ‘red flag’ app Tea is a privacy nightmare 2 weeks ago:
There’s no “matching” on this app, because men aren’t allowed. By its very design, you can’t avoid the unilateral one-sidedness.
- Comment on Women’s ‘red flag’ app Tea is a privacy nightmare 2 weeks ago:
Something like Megan’s law but for domestic violence. I’m still not thrilled with the potential for abuse, but at least it wouldn’t be hearsay.
I’m sure the police unions would object, for obvious reasons.
- Comment on Women’s ‘red flag’ app Tea is a privacy nightmare 2 weeks ago:
I feel that the app filled a need of women we should not ignore. But the app, both this specific app and also the overall concept, is just too rife with downsides to be workable.
So we, as men and as society need to reevaluate why women feel the need for such an app, and reinvest in the criminal justice system to hold victimizers more accountable.
It’s okay to call this app and similar Facebook groups unacceptable. But that’s not enough, we must also call for stronger protections for victims of criminal behavior.
- Comment on Apple sues YouTuber who leaked iOS 26’s new “Liquid Glass” software redesign 3 weeks ago:
I’m on the beta. And I started hating it, then went to disliking it to simply not preferring it.
Being in beta, they are still making tweaks. I think, somewhat unexpectedly, the final build will be kinda nice.
- Comment on What else should I self-host? 4 weeks ago:
I’ve had the same problem with getting Actual set up.
- Comment on goodbye plex 1 month ago:
PlexAmp is so good. Nothing else comes close.
- Comment on Operation Narnia: Iran’s nuclear scientists reportedly killed simultaneously using special weapon 1 month ago:
I generally don’t believe Iran was on its way to building nuclear weapons, only nuclear energy. But, if we were to entertain for a moment the notion that they were, this is all pretty badass no?
But, since it’s not the case this whole thing is frightening. Israel is a terrorist state and I’m tired of pretending otherwise.
- Comment on The "standard" car charger is usually overkill—but your electrician might not know that [32:26] 1 month ago:
Let’s agree to simply not tell people what they do and do not need.
- Comment on The "standard" car charger is usually overkill—but your electrician might not know that [32:26] 1 month ago:
I just explained this in the comment you replied to.
You explained how it’s doable when you drive 60 miles, which I admit will be most people most days (12 hours of charging at 5 miles per hour charged.) Average EV has 293 miles of range currently; even if you arrived home with 20% battery remaining and you only wanted to recharge to 80%, that’s (at 5 miles per hour charged) over 25 hours. Empty to full is over 58 hours!
At least once every few months we take a day trip to the nearest “big” city, which is 105 miles away. Typically a Sunday. Leave on a full battery, arrive home nearly empty. 8 hours of charging, and I maybe have enough for the next day. I will run a deficit until the weekend.
Again, I’m certainly not saying that a L2 charger is a must for all people, or even most people. But I would not agree that L1 is enough for most people.
- Comment on The "standard" car charger is usually overkill—but your electrician might not know that [32:26] 1 month ago:
It factually is not.
Factually, it’s not either. Both are statements of opinion, although I’d say saying the word “usually” should have some degree of proof behind it.
My statement of “might be” recognizes that there are many instances that L1 makes sense, and I agree with the video that for those for whom it does shouldn’t needlessly install a 240v outlet. Sounds like you’re among those.
I’d say that, sadly, most EV drivers drive more than 40 miles per day on average, and that the moment you drive more than 60 miles per day you’ll have difficulty recharging to full. Most days, you’ll have no trouble recharging overnight. But if you’re like me, you might take a day trip over 100 miles away a handful of times per year. When that happens, I’d arrive home with very little battery left; am I supposed to have the ability to charge for 50 hours?
- Comment on The "standard" car charger is usually overkill—but your electrician might not know that [32:26] 1 month ago:
30-35 miles, depending on the season.
- Comment on The "standard" car charger is usually overkill—but your electrician might not know that [32:26] 1 month ago:
I think “might be overkill” would be a better title and position than “usually overkill.”
There is absolutely a subset of EV drivers that could get by with a level 1 charger (ignoring time of day rates), but most people would fall behind anytime they drive further than the average number of miles. Sure, taking 10 hours to recharge your Chevy Bolt overnight when you’ve driven 40 miles is doable; 64 hours when you’ve returned home from a longer trip isn’t.
I own a PHEV, and installing a level 2 charge has been one of the best quality of life and financial changes.
- Comment on EV Tax Credit Ending Dec. 31, Effectively Increasing Prices Up to 28%. See How Popular EVs are Impacted. 2 months ago:
For shame, OP, removing a key word in the title. When you posted this, and as I type this reply, this legislation has passed the house but not the senate. Whether or not it will is yet to be seen, but the tax credit is not yet set to expire.
- Comment on In 2025, Apple still makes it hard to play your own MP3s, so I wrote my own app 2 months ago:
I keep Apple Music too, because it does offer a lot of value for the price. The inclusion of Classical makes it a no-brainer for me.
- Comment on In 2025, Apple still makes it hard to play your own MP3s, so I wrote my own app 2 months ago:
Look into PlexAmp for lossless streaming. It’s pretty dope.
- Comment on In 2025, Apple still makes it hard to play your own MP3s, so I wrote my own app 2 months ago:
It’s called Music on the Mac, but it’s still basically iTunes. You might have it installed and not realize it.
Note, the syncing process happens in a Finder window.
- Comment on In 2025, Apple still makes it hard to play your own MP3s, so I wrote my own app 2 months ago:
Did you ever have an iPod? Do you remember how you had to have a library on the computer which then synced to your iPod? That’s how this works. Create a local library on a computer, and then sync that library Apple Music.
- Comment on In 2025, Apple still makes it hard to play your own MP3s, so I wrote my own app 2 months ago:
You do not.
- Comment on In 2025, Apple still makes it hard to play your own MP3s, so I wrote my own app 2 months ago:
Apples own Music app (without Apple Music subscription), VLC, PlexAmp…
It’s not hard if you look.