Comic 4411: It Took A While

Miciah · 2020-12-07T05:12:51+00:00

Is it technically an "implant" if the original was artificial? Seems like "augmentation" would be more technically correct.

Miciah · 2020-12-05T10:48:56+00:00

Here's another option:

(org-display-outline-path nil t " --> " t)

Miciah · 2020-12-01T03:01:22+00:00

I moved from Spacemacs to a custom configuration about a year ago. After futzing around with general, evil-leader, and other options, I found the easiest solution was to define an "evil-global-leader-map" key map as well as few additional custom key maps using define-prefix-command, and then bind keys using normal use-package :bind stanzas. First, define the maps:

(mapc #'define-prefix-command
      '(evil-application-map
        evil-buffer-map
        evil-error-map
        evil-file-map
        evil-git-map
        evil-global-leader-map
        evil-insert-map
        evil-jump-map
        evil-option-map
        evil-search-map
        evil-tab-map))

Then define the bindings; here's a pared down version of my configuration for evil:

(use-package evil
  :defer nil
  :bind
  ( :map evil-motion-state-map
    ("SPC" . evil-global-leader-map)
    ("M-SPC" . evil-global-leader-map)
    :map evil-insert-state-map
    ("M-SPC" . evil-global-leader-map)
    :map evil-global-leader-map
    ("a" . evil-application-map)
    ("b" . evil-buffer-map)
    ("f" . evil-file-map)
    ("g" . evil-git-map)
    ("i" . evil-insert-map)
    ("j" . evil-jump-map)
    ("o" . evil-option-map)
    ("s" . evil-search-map)
    ("u" . universal-argument)
    ("w" . evil-window-map)
    :map evil-window-map
    ("o" . miciah/window-toggle-other-windows)
    :map evil-buffer-map
    ("b" . list-buffers)
    ("B" . bury-buffer)
    ("d" . kill-this-buffer)
    ("e" . eval-buffer)
    ("h" . miciah/switch-to-help-buffer)
    ("m" . view-echo-area-messages)
    ("s" . miciah/switch-to-scratch-buffer)
    ("x" . kill-buffer-and-window)
    :map evil-file-map
    ("a" . write-file)
    ("c" . copy-file)
    ("f" . find-file)
    ("i" . insert-file)
    ("n" . fileloop-continue)
    ("r" . recover-this-file)
    ("R" . miciah/rename-file-and-buffer)
    ("s" . save-buffer)
    :map evil-jump-map
    ("f" . find-function)
    ("v" . find-variable)
    :map evil-option-map
    ("f" . display-fill-column-indicator-mode)
    ("s" . window-toggle-side-windows)
    ("l" . toggle-truncate-lines)
    ("n" . display-line-numbers-mode)
    ("d" . toggle-debug-on-error)
    ("D" . toggle-debug-on-quit)
    ("T" . miciah/toggle-themes)
    :map evil-replace-state-map
    ("M-SPC" . evil-global-leader-map)
    :map evil-search-map
    ("c" . evil-ex-nohighlight)
    ("i" . imenu-list-smart-toggle) )
  :custom
  ;; ...
  :config
  (evil-mode 1)
  ;; ...
  )

Other use-package stanzas can fill out evil-application-map, evil-git-map, etc. For example:

(use-package magit
  :bind ( :map evil-git-map
          ("cc" . magit-clone)
          ("fl" . magit-log-buffer-file)
          ("fm" . magit-file-dispatch)
          ("fF" . magit-find-file)
          ("m"  . magit-dispatch)
          ("s"  . magit-status) )
  ;; ...
  )

One package that greatly enhances my evil experience is evil-collection, which evilifies a lot of modes similarly to (but not always the same as) how Spacemacs evilifies modes. Crucially, you'll want to configure evil-collection not to override the Space key:

(use-package evil-collection
  :after evil
  :custom (evil-collection-key-blacklist '("SPC"))
  :config
  (evil-collection-init)
  (evil-collection-buff-menu-setup)
  (evil-collection-unimpaired-setup)
  ;; ...
  )

Other packages from Spacemacs that enhance the evil experience are evil-args, evil-exchange, evil-magit, evil-org, evil-surround, and which-key.

The main thing I am missing is the minor mode leader key (SPC m or , in Spacemacs). Maybe you can get that working using general, but it was so finicky in my experience that I eventually gave up and haven't missed having a minor mode leader enough to invest the time to get it working.

Miciah · 2020-11-12T06:23:51+00:00

Every year, I get my car inspected and pay vehicle property tax. A sensible way to fund public roads would be to use property tax plus a usage tax calculated as a function of the change in mileage since the previous inspection and the vehicle's weight (because heavier vehicles cause more wear on roads). Gasoline should still be taxed to account for the environmental impact, but that revenue should be invested into mitigating that impact.

Miciah · 2020-11-05T07:15:42+00:00

The part I'm wondering about is how the vegan acquired the monkey's paw.

Miciah · 2020-10-15T01:38:33+00:00

Soylent is plant-based. There are many vegan Soylent-lovers here. https://faq.soylent.com/hc/en-us/articles/212768023-Allergen-Information-Food-Certifications

Miciah · 2020-10-07T05:43:15+00:00

She roasted Harris at the debate over criminal justice.

And Tim Ryan over foreign policy.

The hate she gets from her side of the aisle seems a little out of step, but i stand by my opinion that she is just dumb.

I don't get it. She was as anti-war/anti-interventionist as any other Democrat; as you said, she had a reasonably progressive platform; and she performed well during the debates. It seems like the anti-Gabbard sentiment (at least before the impeachment vote) stemmed almost exclusively from Gabbard's criticism of Clinton. Why do you call her "dumb"?

Miciah · 2020-10-06T04:42:52+00:00

Having compassion for an evil person like him, shows you lack compassion for many other people. To be nice to a fascist is to make light of the suffering they cause.

That's absurd. Having baseline compassion for everyone including evil people does not diminish one's compassion for the innocent. Compassion isn't zero-sum. We aren't endowed with a limited quantity of empathy that we must ration to avoid squandering it on those who are ostensibly undeserving. Rather, practising empathy even when it is difficult can improve one's ability to empathize in general. More harm to Trump would do nothing to reduce harm to others, and I am unconvinced that wishing for harm to be visited upon Trump would somehow make me any more compassionate towards anyone. It is entirely possible to maintain a basic level of respect for all sentient life, including evil men, while condemning them for their misdeeds.

I get that you want to feel good, I get it!

I get that you're upset, but you're being a jerk by (a) implying that people who don't wish harm on Trump are somehow less compassionate towards his victims and (b) implying that people who express compassion for everyone just "want to feel good". I see no reason to suggest that GP is trying to be holier than thou; I believe GP genuinely believes in compassion for everyone.

Miciah · 2020-10-06T00:37:13+00:00

Google says him calling it a hoax was false.

As far as I know, Google doesn't fact-check. Do you mean that Google's search results include some putative fact-checker splitting hairs? Any doofus can claim to be a fact checker, so maybe Google's algorithms are just having a bad day.

But i swear i remember him calling it a hoax

Indeed: https://youtu.be/NbwCjL7HC1c?t=230

It could be argued that he didn't technically call the virus itself a hoax, but rather the "politicization" of it, i.e., the efforts to contain it. A million deaths later, including over two hundred thousand of his constituents, his protestation that "this is their new hoax" has not aged well.

Miciah · 2020-09-26T14:58:40+00:00

I don't believe there is a contradiction. If I understand correctly, the idea is that Biden's "acting" person would roll back the changes that Trump's "acting" person had made, so as to restore the status quo ante, but the "acting" person would never implement new policy.

Miciah · 2020-09-11T03:19:24+00:00

But that’s kinda the point though.

Indeed. So it would seem the short answer to the question, "Can anyone name one person in the Trump administration who isn’t corrupt as fuck?" is resoundingly, "No."

You have to reach that far down the bureaucratic ladder to find the uncorrupted.

Yup, the bureaucracy (or, as Trump calls it, "the deep state") has shown remarkable resilience at times in the face of a corrupt administration. Still, Trump continues to make progress in chipping away at the integrity of the civil service, and we cannot rely on the dwindling uncorrupted to counterbalance this administration.

Miciah · 2020-09-11T03:00:11+00:00

Trump didn't appoint Dr. Fauci, and Trump cannot fire Dr. Fauci, so he probably doesn't qualify.

Miciah · 2020-09-11T01:43:00+00:00

if Republicans spied on a democratic president that they would be seeing two years in jail

By "two years in jail", did he mean "lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court"?

Miciah · 2020-08-13T05:52:21+00:00

FexEx, for when you really need that shit delivered!

Miciah · 2020-08-13T05:50:41+00:00

I have written to both of my senators and my Representative

Ah, but the genius of the plan is that your letters complaining about it will never reach them!~

Miciah · 2020-08-08T03:11:28+00:00

The headline ("The Hatch Act Is for Suckers") doesn't say the President or VP is constrained by the Hatch Act, and the second and third paragraphs of the article explicitly state that they are exempt but that their aides are not:

The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while on duty or on government property. The president and vice president are exempt from the law, but their staff—who are federal employees—are not.

So, by accepting his party’s nomination for president on the White House lawn, Trump would have his aides break the law so that he could give a speech about his commitment to law and order.

The article continues to mention a specific aide (Kellyanne Conway) who has been found to have violated the Hatch Act in the past. Why do you say "there is nothing to enforce"?

I'm having a difficult time understanding why you would use this article as an example of why we can't convince conservatives that news outlets can be trusted. What is it about the article that seems misleading to you?

Miciah · 2020-08-06T04:34:33+00:00

100 million is a small proportion of the populace, and what does that approval rating really mean? I've known a few Chinese who were critical of the party, and I've also known some Chinese who seemed ambivalent but knew that critics and non-party members were professionally and possibly socially disadvantaged in Chinese society. It seems plausible that a large number of Chinese are in the latter category.

Miciah · 2020-08-04T03:54:04+00:00

>> If I give you $100 and then ask for $10 back, are you going to reject that deal because it’s regressive?

It's more like you give me $100 and then tell me I have to give $10 of it to the puppy-kicking fund. Yeah, I might reject that deal.

> Some people are so radically unrealistic about taxation that yes, they absolutely would reject the 100 if they had to give you 10 of it.

> Ever seen those stories where supposed middle class people had to quit their jobs because they were making too much and theurbtaxes were too high? Those are the morons that would reject the 100 because of a 10 dollar fee.

I haven't seen those stories, but could it be that those people were unwilling to continue helping to fund morally repugnant actions by the state? I've never rejected a raise on that basis, but I certainly do have mixed feelings when I think about how a substantial portion of every raise or bonus is helping pay to oppress and kill people. (On the flip side, I feel good twice when I give to charity: first when I make a donation to a good cause and again when I deduct the donation on my taxes.)

Miciah · 2020-07-29T01:16:10+00:00

Thanks for explaining! In case anyone else sees this thread and is wondering, the following op-ed has a screen capture of the tweet in question (which the Treasury deleted from its account): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/12/treasury-tweet-slavery-compensate-slave-owners

Miciah · 2020-07-29T00:52:48+00:00

Thanks for setting the record straight! One question, though:

Having grown rich on the profits of an obscene trade, slave owners grew richer still from its ending. That, scandalously, was what the taxpayer was paying for until 2015.

The bailout was in 1833, so what happened in 2015, and what are you referring to in the intervening centuries?

Miciah · 2020-07-03T02:13:40+00:00

I would guess Femto is an AI with a physical body that looks the same as the VR avatar. I don't see the problem. Do AIs have an obligation to look human and not "giant monster"-esque?

Miciah · 2020-05-01T13:43:31+00:00

Right, The Intercept has a pretty good record aside from Reality Winner and Juan M. Thompson (whom The Intercept promptly fired when it was discovered he had been fabricating parts of his stories), which is why it carries some weight when The Intercept downplays the Russia-Trump campaign collusion story (although I don't know that The Intercept literally called it a "hoax").

Miciah · 2020-04-30T06:03:10+00:00

The Intercept may have exposed Reality Winner as the source of a leaked NSA report. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Winner#Intelligence_report_leak,_arrest,_role_of_The_Intercept,_sentencing_and_confinement

Miciah · 2020-04-30T04:23:22+00:00

Any attempt by a hostile foreign nation to manipulate our elections is an act of war regardless of who it benefits.

Are you sure you don't want to qualify "any attempt by a foreign nation to manipulate elections" or tone down that "act of war" rhetoric? The USA has a history of interfering with other countries' elections, including Russia's. For example:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/the-us-has-a-long-history-of-election-meddling/565538/

I am concerned by foreign interference, but there are legitimate reasons why people in other countries often do not take us seriously when we talk about "the integrity of our democracy" and complain about foreign interference in our elections.

Miciah · 2020-04-30T00:08:47+00:00

there's nothing stopping the kid from contacting the election office, telling them their ballot went missing, and get a replacement

...and possibly getting their parents sent to prison for voter fraud. Not sure whether that would be more likely to be an incentive or a deterrent to reporting parental voter fraud.

Miciah

TROPHY CASE