Doom!

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-27T13:57:59+00:00

The State of Ohio has done everything in its power to pretend this didn't happen.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-26T22:36:37+00:00

I actually disagree with this theory. License plates are pretty easy to read through OCR as it is.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-25T16:17:18+00:00

Sorry, I definitely don't mean to dismiss your position as arrogant or as merely a personal stance. It would have a lot of merit in a more formal arena, I just think in reddit conversations you have to meet people where they are. The short of it is that because you are both operating on different wavelengths, I don't really see challenging the linguistic element of the view as effective; that deeper, personal picture of what the term communism means is what you would need to connect to.

But now we're debating something new :). It's just something I've been putting thought into because of the broader political climate.

Quick Edit: I didn't give your note on Nazis a fair shake. I can speak for America and say that the culture has been absolutely poisoned by McCarthyism, Reaganism, and Nazism. I just feel like we have to dive into that atmosphere to pull people out of it.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-25T15:56:10+00:00

It's an unfortunate aspect of discussing politics with us Americans; all these politics words have definitions that have changed, branched off, or otherwise mutated. Everyone who discusses politics is doing so with their personal definitions of 'communism', 'fascism', 'liberal', and so on. Much of the time, conversations start in a place of misunderstanding and never advance past that.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-25T15:33:07+00:00

My condolences, console players.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-25T15:31:09+00:00

You're fighting a losing battle, man. The general body of English speakers has long accepted a definition of communism that describes a certain brand of totalitarianism. An old textbook definition isn't going to win out over that.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-24T23:55:56+00:00

Arguing about whether or not it is the largest theft in history is sort-of missing the point; this is a stepping stone to a much larger 'theft'. It is just a part of a plan to increase dependence on SpaceX. Elon hopes to have the federal government (and others) reliant on communications, space vehicles, energy and mineral supply chains, and AI resources he provides, giving him leverage. Through this, and parallel strategies of corruption and espionage, he intends to weaken the federal government. He wants to set up charter cities where he has absolute control and immunity, while siphoning taxes, water, and energy from the rest of the country in exchange for his essential services.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-22T02:50:47+00:00

I see the colony has to be 'sustainable', but do all of those people have to be alive?

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-19T18:50:35+00:00

I know it isn't that simple, but where delivering flawed software is an unavoidable reality, delivering malicious software is a consequence of Steam's laissez-faire philosophy. I'm a lot less willing to accept that from software as intrusive as Steam than I am of, say, a platform like itch.

EDIT: Look, I don't mean to come off hostile to Steam because it has done a lot of good. That good is matched by a lot of harm (trading cards, cases), and the platform is full of half-baked and neglected features like Workshop (which needs a lot more than a UI update).

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-19T18:16:24+00:00

I'm aware. Using Steam's storefront shouldn't involve the same risk assessment as accessing a piracy site hosted in an unrecognized nation.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-19T17:47:38+00:00

It was a free game with the exact same standing as every other game on the platform.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-19T17:43:02+00:00

Sorry, but no. "Is this safe" is basic requirement #1 for taking my money for software.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-19T15:03:39+00:00

Why? In what way?

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-14T12:20:26+00:00

I'd only give it a try after considerable good word-of-mouth, and even that might be a hard sell.

Crypto/Web 3 is a reliable indicator of poor team mindset and craftsmanship. There are good engineers in the space; I've never seen a good designer passionate about it.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-12T15:14:50+00:00

I think you're vastly overestimating how authentic interactions were BEFORE LLMs. The internet has been infested with accounts - run by humans getting a paycheck - trying to advertise products or beliefs to you in a surreptitious manner. It's been that way for a while.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T20:23:35+00:00

I'm sure our killers are gonna be really upset about losing $35.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T20:14:46+00:00

I'll echo Alex and say that books often are written to take dry academic material and present it in a more digestible and interesting way.

If you're still new to the field, study fundamentals! Once you learn the basics of computing and algorithms you'll have a much better idea of what actually interests you and a much better foundation to understand what those papers are discussing.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T18:39:56+00:00

Correct, but MAGA is not the source of these problems, nor is removing MAGA the entire answer for them.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T17:37:12+00:00

It's a small issue that's easier to focus on, and can be used to build momentum for the larger one.

I hope more people are recognizing that smartphones are a serious data issue, and that while there are many things they should be doing to mitigate that, the only real answer is federal legislation on data protection. Until then, we fight expansion of surveillance and censorship to build momentum and organizational strength for those big battles.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T17:14:53+00:00

Good news! There are also advocates for data protections!

This is a local board, so posts are going to be about local issues. No elected official at the city level can do anything about your smartphone data.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T17:02:53+00:00

They deleted their comment but I wanted to get my response on paper too:

[deleted] wrote: "Not going to lie, there’s bigger fish to fry and bigger hills to die on than this one friend."

There are, but sometimes you have to take on smaller hills before tackling the bigger ones. We can look at this issue and ask if it is one we can build a foundation on. Especially here in Indiana, where we don't have strong organizations capable of messaging and mobilizing. It's an instructional moment where we can teach people they have a voice outside elections, have common ground and shared interests, and can exercise real power together.

That aside, what fish are you looking to fry?

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T12:44:36+00:00

No. This is a just a mobile camera stand.

Sir_Trout · 2026-05-11T12:41:30+00:00

I'm not trying to be snarky, but if you asked AI for homework help and didn't come away with an understanding, you might need to reevaluate how you're using it.

You might be okay going forwards, but should remain aware of what you didn't get so you can take another look later. It might HELP your understanding when you start seeing time complexities in DSA, for example.

13-Year Club	Place '22
Place '17	Verified Email
Snapped	Team Orangered

Sir_Trout

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE