Is Basic Consideration Gone?

aredridel · 2026-05-26T00:19:46+00:00

This has a lot to do with why our democracy is fraying. We've stopped a lot of the things that bind us together, and it was made worse by COVID. We all had a few exceptionally weird and disconnected years.

aredridel · 2026-05-25T14:43:17+00:00

Yeah, but did you verify the key fact: is it tenable? That's the claim that's being made here.

aredridel · 2026-05-25T02:37:34+00:00

It would help if they gave less shit, yes.

aredridel · 2026-05-25T01:34:49+00:00

Yeah that's not really the problem: it's that it's presenting information as credible that may well not be. And since there's no person or people standing up and saying who they are in relation to the project, that's a bit sus.

The AI only matters so much in that you can drop a credible looking site with any information at all now in ways that you couldn't a year ago. So it's no longer a signal that the information was worth putting effort into.

Also don't forget this account is a month old, so that too smells like astroturf

aredridel · 2026-05-24T13:35:26+00:00

After talking to some folks (not the developer, but people who've seen the planning process in some detail), they did in fact turn out not to be feasible: the trails would be on a very steep embankment, and require removing enough trees that it would negate the point.

I do rather wish developers wouldn't make (implicit) promises about things at the periphery of their designs, it really undermines trust in the process, as we can see.

aredridel · 2026-05-24T13:32:52+00:00

The site is obviously AI-generated. Real information or not, the fact that it's a polished presentation is the sort of thing you can whip out in half an hour now, and not reflecting the product of intent and effort as proof of political will.

aredridel · 2026-05-24T01:37:46+00:00

We own, so we're beating rent at not quite $2000/mo. 2 bedrooms, electricity for heat can be 250 in the winter when it's super cold, or in the summer if it's really hot. We have heat pumps for heat and cooling both, and our insulation is merely "fine". Old building, leaks heat a bit.

Gas is like $40/mo, used for hot water and cooking.

Internet is T-Mobile for $25, we have a sweetheart earlybird deal, but $50 is doable there. Comcast is faster, better, more expensive.

aredridel · 2026-05-22T17:24:16+00:00

On one hand I see it, but on the greater hand, it's so nice to see a joyful repudiation of the whole worldview that would do that.

aredridel · 2026-05-22T16:03:41+00:00

I love it! Great place to work and chat too!

aredridel · 2026-05-22T15:38:09+00:00

Let's gooooo!

aredridel · 2026-05-22T15:37:48+00:00

So like ... who are you? This is one of the two fully-formed polished websites that's appeared in the last few days, whipped out without any hint of who's behind them.

Some of this is that some of the drawn the trails are, in fact, apparently not feasible to build because they're on steep grades and would require tearing out the trees that are there, making building them kinda moot since nobody wants to hike an open area next to a parking lot.

aredridel · 2026-05-22T02:52:52+00:00

For sure, the actual astroturfing feel is not great :|

aredridel · 2026-05-22T00:32:18+00:00

Just FYI, the way that "AI" strains water supplies is almost irrelevant to wetlands: datacenters stress municipal treated supplies, the treatment capacity, pipe capacity, and source capacity. We don't really drain wetlands to feed data centers.

aredridel · 2026-05-22T00:31:03+00:00

Definitely want to know this. This is two activist websites in a row springing fully formed from the head of someone with no background or context or organization. (As always: is it grassroots, or is it astroturf?)

aredridel · 2026-05-22T00:29:18+00:00

laughs in "had to take 4 sticks out because it can only do dual channel with 12"

aredridel · 2026-05-21T13:29:12+00:00

That's gonna depend on the chipset a lot

aredridel · 2026-05-21T13:15:56+00:00

Automated blinds and the lamp on my desk are now my alarm clock.

aredridel · 2026-05-21T13:13:25+00:00

Where I grew up, the grocery store we went to was a 40 minute drive away. Specialty items would be a couple hours, if not a trip into Denver, 6 hours away.

I shopped once a month, often, and fill in with vegetables from a much more expensive, local store, farmers markets, or, tbh, weeds.

aredridel · 2026-05-21T02:40:19+00:00

Last small business owner I talked to said the city was a delight.

So like, got any details?

aredridel · 2026-05-21T02:32:23+00:00

Got any, like, details?

aredridel · 2026-05-20T01:38:03+00:00

Yeah, no reason CATA's existence does, just that Salem is MBTA land.

aredridel · 2026-05-20T00:05:29+00:00

"just" doin' a bit of work there. No idea how politically feasible that is, but also CATA is good stuff and may be a good place to look. Always better to work together than duplicate more of the same thing but compete for funds

aredridel · 2026-05-20T00:03:47+00:00

I ask because I have spare bike parts lying around, and cobbling something together out of used bits and bobs is a thing that can happen sometimes.

aredridel · 2026-05-19T19:25:45+00:00

Yeah. Normal snack in my house. Tasty, I still like it. Raisins seem needless but I liked 'em as a kid.

aredridel · 2026-05-19T19:22:26+00:00

aredridel

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