gila

@gila@lemm.ee

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨(Scottsdale, AZ) Gila Monster or Chuckwalla?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t think it’s a gila

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Disposable vapes to be banned in England and Wales from June⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  To address youth vaping. The outcome of that has been that youth vaping is significantly higher than in other OECD member countries, and kids are now getting them from the ‘vape dealer’ whom may have other illicit drugs available. Cigarettes aren’t banned, only made unaffordable via progressive excise tax. That’s had its own unintended consequences of launching a new market for “chop chop” i.e. illegally grown unprocessed tobacco, as well as black market imports that sidestep the plain packaging laws, and tobacco gang wars in Sydney and Melbourne.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Disposable vapes to be banned in England and Wales from June⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  The disposable black market & associated disproportionate rise in youth vaping in Australia results from the illegality of all vapes, not just disposables. It’s hard to imagine it becoming a burgeoning black market predicated solely on that vapers find the highly available, better value, relatively environmentally friendly option untenable. Overall a sensible move I think coming from a pro-vape perspective

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨unwatchable!!⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes, venom is poisonous. It is a subset of poisons that are injected via bites or stings.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Google Pixel phones sold with security vulnerability, report finds⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  If it was simply not included in the stock rom rather than being made inactive except for in the OEM rom, you’d still have a device with a bunch of active bloatware

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨"I'm in prison for blowing the whistle on the Australian Defence Force"⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t think there’s any reason why Oakes’ recollection of McBride’s intent trumps what McBride has publicly said about his intent. Doesn’t the court have a word for that?

  It seems fairly logical to me. He had the personal experience of witnessing soldiers unfairly scapegoated by superiors. His substantiation for the unfairness is that those superiors were complicit in war crimes. That the motive was there for superiors to make false specific allegations of misconduct in order to sweep systemic issues under the rug.

  If McBride were a perfect witness, he’d have been motivated enough by war crimes to speak up. But the doubt about his awareness of what he was exposing is an appeal to authority which flies in the face of Occam’s razor.

  Simply, whistleblowing as a means of recourse only became preferable after his fellow soldiers, whom made the same choice he personally did to sacrifice their normal lives to enlist, presumably with virtuous intent i.e in Australia’s name, were effectively betrayed by their own.

  That might leave something to be desired about his morals, but this must be considered in context, and “not whistleblowing” isn’t something that could reasonably be prosecuted. Oakes is right to conclude that our military personnel should have been more closely monitored in general. That doesn’t speak to the specific conduct of the soldiers McBride aimed to exonerate, though.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨My (re)discovery of roguelites⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I really liked enter the gungeon. It was one of the first roguelites I played. It’s fairly basic in terms of mechanics compared to some newer entries in the genre. But it’s just good arcadey fun. Bonus is that it runs on a lot of systems. It’s still one of my go to’s for plane trips or other offline scenarios

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Have we as users already given up on self-curation via blocks and filters? It seems an essential consideration for the design of this platform.

  The recent wave of posts add nothing new to the discussion that I can tell. Maybe we need a sidebar link to help remind people of the instance federation principles, and perhaps help guide them toward use of the features Lemmy provides?

  I appreciate the agnosticism. Preserving federation should never be considered as indicative of any position held by the instance, it’s just what’s best for the network.

  I don’t have much to add to the local community but have been really pleased that I’m able to interact with most other instances from this one and plan to donate when I can.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Slack is now using all content, including DMs, to train LLMs⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  It also explicitly states in the posted screengrab that the opting-out user’s workspace won’t contribute to the underlying models. How would that be separate from using info on their workspace as training data for any kind of model? My interpretation of that is the data would be used to inference on the models, not train them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Nintendo Switch Is Removing Integration for X, Formerly Twitter⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Correct me if I’m wrong, but on PS5 you’ll need to send individual images to a friend, to be able to download them from your chat session on the mobile app. Or on Xbox, you’ll need to pay for OneDrive or it’ll be removed after 90 days. Both more annoying from my perspective.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Nintendo Switch Is Removing Integration for X, Formerly Twitter⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Good news, they have had a better fix for several years now. About a month after the PS5 came out, so what you described was possibly an actual factor in it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨After announcing increased prices, Spotify to Pay Songwriters About $150 Million Less Next Year⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yup

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨After announcing increased prices, Spotify to Pay Songwriters About $150 Million Less Next Year⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  As an Apple hater; Apple Music. Cheaper, good cross-platform frontends, more equitable to artists (though by no means satisfactorily so), has a Wrapped equivalent (though who actually cares). Maybe Spotify added something it doesn’t have in the several years since I switched but, I doubt it

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨TikTok sues U.S. government, saying potential ban violates First Amendment⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  You put forward a couple of different points - I’m not conflating things, just hoping to skip past the constitutional one (which in my opinion is non-sequitur) to address the other. I might have boiled it down to a one-liner, but here’s some light further reading/viewing which may help to scratch below the surface of why this corruption as you put is probably happening: youtu.be/Fhgm5b8BR0k

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨TikTok sues U.S. government, saying potential ban violates First Amendment⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  If Tiktok doesn’t deserve to spy on Americans, is it the counterpoint that US big tech does?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨the struggle⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Might be worth waiting for a couple decades without a major replication crisis in your field of study before holding academic rigor over the heads of others but go off king

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Windows 10 reaches 70% market share as Windows 11 keeps declining⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I think we just need to move on from this methodology of data collection. Firefox is often cited as very unpopular because it blocks statcounter tracking by default, social networks have absorbed some search volume too. I do think it makes logical sense that people are dropping 11; I did so myself last year. But this data is likely bad, so it’s pointless to try and extract a reason based on it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Steam will stop issuing refunds if you play two hours of a game before launch day⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I completely disagree. A dev conceding to release in early access = a dev committing to later release a finished product which the early accessor will also receive a license to play. Without the latter part, early access becomes a moot system in principle, just a pathway provided by platforms to monetise unfinished games, which may never be finished.

  And the value proposition for that finished product shouldn’t be affected at all by its pre-launch state. Early access isn’t for the benefit of consumers. That many games remain in “early access” for an extended period of time (such that sufficient gameplay value can be extracted prior to the end of early access) isn’t really anything to do with the concept of early access itself.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Reefer Madness⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Hey no problem. Thinking more about it, I suppose in like a palliative care context, anything goes really. At least in recreational states, a graded supply of things like pre-rolled doobies would be there for compounders to access.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Reefer Madness⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Sorry, I only meant to talk about smoking as a delivery method for various substances. Of any popularly smoked substance tobacco is by far the worst.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Reefer Madness⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Canna industry vet here. Usually weed is not prescribed for smoking. Where it is, that’s unhealthy to the point that it casts doubt on the validity of the treatment plan. However this was not the case 20 years ago, as even during that short time knowledge about the urgency of smoking-related health outcomes has propagated much more widely. At that time it was judged by many doctors that on balance the smoking delivery method was agreeable in lieu of a better option - but now we have mulyiole. Thus, smoking as a prescribed delivery method would cast significant doubt over the validity of any treatment plan designed today. Most people just smoke what they’re given of their own accord.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Reefer Madness⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  If your doctor prescribes you something for smoking, get a new doctor. That said, crack is the worst for your teeth due to clenching, and tobacco is the worst for pretty much everything else imaginable. Smoking generally is the unhealthiest habit people have, but it’s specifically due to inhaling the free radicals produced by combustion, not “a foreign substance” (we are all continuously breathing foreign substances). If you were just able to take out the combustion part somehow, you could- ah shit they’re already marketing it to kids

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is "Dear X" considered more formal than "To X" in e-mail/writing?⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  “Dear” to someone you aren’t familiar with has a slightly different purpose I think, it communicates that you’re seeking the recipient’s mutual participation in a social group by engaging with your communication. You acknowledge their position of being ‘dear’ to general society to positively reinforce their participation in it, specifically with regard to your letter.

  These days it’s fairly trivial to contact pretty much anyone about any matter. Being more connected we are continuously engaged, so it sounds funny/out of place to use in an everyday context. You could use it sarcastically to imply that the recipient is careless or doesn’t like you (they need encouragement to engage in communication generally/personally with you).

  But it would still be appropriate in a context where the recipient is hard to contact, like a public or official person with whom communication is sought after

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨United Scams of Assholes⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Hmm, ‘A special court’ possibly gives even too harsh an impression of a tenancy tribunal hearing to the 3rd-party litigation capital of the world! Mine was just over the phone, pre-covid, landlord was no show no answer, got the bond. The legal advice I got leading up to it was free and easy to access. To be fair though, OP is saying the landlord should need to legally justify withholding the bond in court by default, which isn’t exactly how it works in NZ, although the effect is similar in most cases.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨New Zealand tightens visa rules after migration hits ‘unsustainable’ levels⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Housing market seems still in a downswing anyway, fark it’d be great to get back over there.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨CFCs⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah I lived in Auckland for a bit, they don’t care as much about sunscreen. More sun safety conscious than Pacific Northwesterners in my experience, but probably closer to that group than myself as a fair-skinned Aussie that’s used to getting burnt after just sitting outside in the shade for awhile

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Biden Administration Is Said to Slow Early Stage of Shift to Electric Cars⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Practically, the biggest obstacle to overcoming EV suppression is Tesla. They is mainly profitable through sales of carbon credits via various emissions offset schemes, which they sell to other manufacturers such that they can show required carbon offsets by just paying some money. A whole lot easier than upending their business model to actually produce EV’s, and creates a positive feedback loop where Tesla retains position as only significant EV game in town. The EV development right now is targeting China, not the US.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft revives aggressive Windows 11 upgrade campaign with intrusive popups for Windows 10 users⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t think entry level users are what will be converted, at least first. It’s users like you and me. Users that, for whatever reason, haven’t preferred Linux historically. I’ve tried the new popular distro every few years to ‘check in’ with Linux, and each time I ended up running into some issue which reaffirmed my preference for Windows sooner or later.

  Until I tried Debian 12 a couple of months ago, that is. Between nonfree drivers, Wayland and its compatibility throughout the ecosystem, and updates to GNOME, it’s honestly been refreshingly user-friendly and feels more optimised than Windows.

  Importantly, in searching for alternatives to Windows-only software I use, I didn’t have any problems and in one case actually ended up finding new software I prefer.

  The peace of mind of my OS not trying to sell me something or trying to farm my engagement is nice too, but not why I’d recommend giving it a try. I’ve always gotten behind it in principle support of free software, but now I can get behind it actually using it. I’d recommend it because it genuinely seems better in my general use.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Music Piracy Is Back, Baby⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  This makes me sad. I had so much fun growing up learning about compression and encoding, ripping, tagging, spectral analysis. Listening to 24/96 vinyl FLACs on my parents old stereo with my pinky up. Hanging out with a bunch of 40-year olds on IRC. Good times, man

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I had some that looked exactly like this⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Not far off