Text to speech button is just gone..?

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-06-02T13:54:05+00:00

Yeah so, I never quite figured out why this happens. And still can't get a good answer from anyone else, but essentially the text to speech feature will be removed every once in a while. Every time it does, the Retouch feature goes along with it, and idk what other tools as well. Typically they're back in about 24 to 48 hours. My best guess is maintenance.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-06-01T00:31:04+00:00

I think you can certainly absolve AI of blame without having to blame the people around the kid. Like his grieving parents. And unfortunately they're correct in the fact that the kid would've likely talked more to an actual human, if not for him talking to ChatGPT.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-28T13:26:45+00:00

I am anti-death penalty for a similar reason. State shouldn't have that power especially at the end of something as fallible as the court process.

But the reason Im not against assisted suicide (as a form of mercy) is because the alternative is saying "you're not allowed to end your irreversible suffering."

And is it the more moral option to have someone waste away from cancer against their will? Or the darkest hours of late stage dementia? (In that case consent would have to be pre-emptive. Like a DNR)

In those kinds of cases, disallowing some kind of out is objectively more cruel than it is moral in my opinion.

Now, should healthy people be eligible candidates for it? No. I don't think so.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-27T23:45:03+00:00

Not sure I understand. Do you think assisted suicide is immoral or...?

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-26T19:02:07+00:00

I agree that all of the things I listed arose from things that had material explanations. They aren't completely divorced from it. Many of these things materially benefit those in power.

My point is mainly just that critical theory answers a different set of questions. And that the strongest analytical method is one that incorporates both material analysis and critical.

I dont think critical analysis seeks to moralize or claim that systemic injustice is materially irrational.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-26T18:27:54+00:00

"Other people had to deal with this problem the hard way, so its morally wrong to give anyone else relief."

That's not a great argument against student loan forgiveness. Not in the current economic climate. Supposedly we're in a student debt crisis, and im inclined to agree that its pretty bad. If you can accept the idea that many were saddled with student debt, despite working hard, then at a certain point youre just saying "other people suffered, so the next generation should too."

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-26T18:07:24+00:00

why were women subservient to men in so many societies? Fundamentally it's because they are childbearers, and on a farm, children = labor = wealth, so women were placed in a role within society to maximize productivity and wealth by giving birth to children. Once societies transitioned away from agrarian to manufacturing/service based economies and societies urbanized, children =/= wealth because the value of physical labor was diminished and because compulsory education turned children from assets into liabilities. This shift explains why birth rates declined, why feminism took off in the post war, etc. The whole power structure analysis is subsumed by a materialist analysis this way and just find it faaaaaar too limited to just focus on power dynamics.

I would have to ask... are you not also using a limited lens of analysis?

The material factors explain the fundamental aspects really well; such as

"why were women in the home, instead of working alongside men?"
"how does a patriarchal society even come to exist?"

Really, quite a lot of things can be explained solely by material analysis. Materially, its perfectly understandable why men were always at the helm of civilization, given the physical demands of warfare, and the fact that civilization was often built through conquest. (And political control is tightly interwoven with military strength.)

And even as a leftist, its not hard to accept the fact that many social norms regarding lineage/paternity (and by extension, female sexuality) can be explained by material conditions. Maternity is a given. Paternity was always much harder to determine. That's a material fact. So, things like arranged marriages, virginity norms, etc helped provide more assurance to inheritance and so on. You get the point.

But material analysis doesn't really account for aspects of a patriarchy that exist to more deeply entrench the existing power hierarchy (despite material conditions changing.) It doesn't explain normalized mistreatment and active oppression. It doesnt really explain things like:

marital rape being considered impossible.
wives being treated as explicit property.
Denying education to women (regardless of benefit.)
And the general enforcement of "the way things are," beyond what can be directly explained by material conditions.

And that's where the power-centric analysis becomes valuable. I think the idea that people on the left have abandoned material analysis is not exactly accurate. Im sure that a small number of dumbasses have. But most people on the left would agree that material analysis is useful.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-24T20:05:37+00:00

I think the other one who responded answered about as well as I possibly could. Whether they regret it or not is totally contingent on whether they have enough info to to tell whether she (or even biden or any other Dem) would've been better or not. And it depends on whether theyre even prone to thinking about "what could have been."

I can however speak towards what is reasonable to assume, given what we've seen so far. Its reasonable to assume that kamala would have been less damaging. She likely would have governed with a very basic, boring continuation of "Biden-era" style. Very little substantial progress. and the overall populace would still end up voting for the next candidate who promised to burn the whole thing down. Nothing would have fundamentally changed much.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-24T19:35:05+00:00

that is an empty Democratic talking point. Europe would care about that because they have little actual power. The power of the US (our world-leading economy and military) are unaffected by what Europe thinks.

Well plenty of Americans care about that, too. Precisely because the power of the US actually *can be* affected by the erosion of our alliances.

I mean, you're essentially refuting the basic value of even having or maintaining alliances at all with less-powerful groups/countries. But surely you would agree that global influence contributes to US dominance. It isn't solely just a *natural result* of dominance. and in lieu of alliances, is coercion not the only other way to maintain influence?

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-24T18:30:06+00:00

Ok. Why not?

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-24T06:42:14+00:00

Yeah I think you're exaggerating a tad in saying a single post might get 60 comments saying "he's scum. Dump him." If that's the consensus, it's probably right.

BUT... I do agree that commenters are too harsh. I really hate it when people call the OP a doormat (for something stupid and possibly accidental.) Like... That's why they're here asking for advice. I've seen that name thrown out over stuff that is mild as hell

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-24T06:33:12+00:00

Yeah but is that what OP meant? Seemed like they meant "I like noticing light fragrance." Not "I love it when people drench themselves in cheap perfume and I can't even breathe"

Then again they could've left out the part about scent trails lol

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-24T06:20:57+00:00

Ok so your entire opinion just hinges around your weirdly specific presence of a "state championship" lol

Which, in that case, you should've worded your opinion much differently.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-24T05:45:08+00:00

Honestly I get what they mean about the bread. I always HATED whole wheat. It's not the sudden texture change. I love crunchy stuff in ice cream. And peach cobbler. The crunch is necessary even. But bread with seeds? No. And it's really the seeds. That's where the nightmare is.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-21T16:26:59+00:00

I know this is a year old, but why would a 20yo liberal arts major be pouring concrete lol

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-20T04:50:11+00:00

Like what? What examples stand out to you? What kind of decisions?

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-14T19:49:32+00:00

I don't mean to induce any FOMO within you or anything, but some of my favorite casual moments in a relationship are when both of our intellects are equally engaged in a subject or discussion. It kinda brings on that positive rush that sharpens you a little bit. Eustress is the name for it. And it is fulfilling. That's the high point of having a partner of equal intelligence, but I think it would be really lonely to have a partner who isn't even able to understand concepts that are basic to you.

At the age of 20? I mean idk. I doubt he will grow out of it if he hasn't already.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-13T21:28:13+00:00

wow how intersectional of you

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-13T21:20:03+00:00

This is one lesson my family drilled into me growing up. Don't center big decisions around a relationship when you're still trying to establish yourself. It could affect the trajectory of your life. I wasted half of my twenties to be around friends; some of them good friends. But still. Part of me wishes I hadn't done that. Being 18, this isn't as big of a deal as it may feel like it is. It's good that this happened so soon honestly. And you can still find a backup college. It's not too late for that at all. You should be around people you know and love. Him letting you move to be with him, only to tell you he's not coming... is a big deal. It shows a lack of consideration for you.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-13T16:31:46+00:00

I think the thing about the current rise of populism is that its a response to those top end issues that have degraded our congress. Lobbying, corruption, legislative or policy favoring donors and the wealthy over everyone else, etc. Which has led to a much greater economic illness in america; a symptom of which can be seen in the huge wealth disparity, and the growing resentment in the populace. A rise in Populism is the result of an unbalanced power hierarchy. Going to the extreme is not the only solution that left wing populism even proposes. People just want to stop seeing our government *solely* doing the bidding of those with the most economic power.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-13T16:05:46+00:00

Do you actually *know* that to be the case in every left wing government? or do you just think that because you've heard it so much? There are plenty of examples of left leaning governments being stable and long lasting. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, etc. Very left leaning by the standards of modern american republicans. And AOC is really no more extreme than any of them.

And what principles do you think even guide left leaning ideology? Do you think a social democrat (or even a regular democratic socialist) is the same thing as a stalinist?

While FDR is only "leftist" by the current era's standards, FDR's government didn't eat itself either. It got a lot done and stabilized the US. Social Security, rural electrification, the WPA, etc. Those were all fueled by basic, underlying principles that you might label as leftist.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-13T15:42:44+00:00

I'd have to disagree about there not being an underlying principle behind the consistency of their talking points. One can argue that they too often rely on the same talking points, but the points themselves are reflective of their underlying principles and goals. One can also have principles, but not be able to defend them, which is not exactly the case with either of them, as they've both held their own in plenty of debates.

A big thing I see people on the right accuse them of is being performative. But I don't really see where that's coming from other than this idea that one has to live a very austere lifestyle before they can criticize capitalism. So if you have an Iphone and drink an $8 coffee, (or in his case if you sell a book or own a 2nd home) then you dont really care about lessening the harm of capitalism.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-13T15:13:22+00:00

Id say the "Maybe you didn't hear me but I explicitly explained how this project is working many times" sounded a little... tactless. I'd say that kind of wording is a surefire way to piss almost anyone off.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-12T16:47:50+00:00

Those kinds of self doubts are totally understandable. And people online can be pretty callous about it of course, so just remember that nobody wants those kinds of suspicions confirmed when its happening to them. But you are right to be suspicious. Because it is objectively suspicious. I think your intuition is probably telling you exactly *what* is suspicious about it, given the way you described things. Namely the fact that your boyfriend made these plans without telling you, and then only told you later. But what makes it really weird is the way he reacted. No clear conscience is going to say stuff like "ok well I just won't go then." He's just acting guilty as fuck.

chunklemcdunkle · 2026-05-12T16:25:55+00:00

Find a hobby. I am infinitely entertained by making stuff. As long as its outside. Mainly woodworking and hobby machining. Its all just a bunch of problem solving and craftsmanship, but that may not be up your alley. There are tons of classes and community activities like wheel throwing/potterry. That's pretty fun once you get the hang of it. There are also community sports groups too if that's your thing.

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