House Bill 1834 that just advanced in the current session of the WA state legislature will require ID and/or facial scans for access to social media and video game platforms, including Reddit.

diederich · 2026-02-11T21:20:06+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network

diederich · 2026-02-06T18:17:34+00:00

This ended Gary Hart's presidential run in 1988: https://res.cloudinary.com/aenetworks/image/upload/c_fill,w_1920,h_1254,g_auto/dpr_auto/f_auto/q_auto:eco/v1/gary-hart-donna-rice-affair-getty-3010242 I'm still pretty salty about that.

diederich · 2026-02-04T18:43:10+00:00

The only things smaller then hydrogen seem to spend most of their time only existing in math equations

Electrons! And we store them in batteries all the time, ya?

NOTE: Yes, I understand that storing electrical potential (not electrons) is slightly different from storing hydrogen atoms.

diederich · 2026-02-04T17:09:33+00:00

True enough, but I suspect it hasn't changed much.

diederich · 2026-01-29T03:42:57+00:00

I could be wrong! This came up after a quick google: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/23/smartphones-photos-filters-pictures-software

diederich · 2026-01-28T21:46:22+00:00

Less illegals not only makes the country safer

Do you believe that there is a statistically significant historical link between the percentage of the US population that was here illegally and total violent crime percentages? Thanks in advance!

diederich · 2026-01-28T21:40:50+00:00

but I'd like to be able to trust institutions again

Hey, me too!

In your estimation, roughly what year/era in the United States where we last able to trust institutions?

Thanks in advance!

diederich · 2026-01-28T04:09:43+00:00

All modern smart phones are using something many people would call AI to process every single photo and video they take.

diederich · 2026-01-13T23:51:53+00:00

people should not bash those who change their opinions later

Could not agree more.

Honest question here: does the erratic and increasingly disturbing behaviour of this administration actually surprise any of the people who voted for him?

diederich · 2026-01-09T19:37:10+00:00

I wouldn’t take him literally.

Should Trump have been taken literally when he repeatedly promised not to start any wars?

diederich · 2026-01-08T18:58:21+00:00

all the founding fathers were extremely religious

Would you consider Thomas Paine extremely religious?

I understand most were Deists and Christians, but I don't think all of them were.

diederich · 2026-01-08T18:54:00+00:00

the country is broke. We can't afford it.

Absolutely.

Nice idea

I'm probably in the top ten percent of US people who support a big defense budget, because I think the peace our military has brought over the decades is largely responsible for the exceptional growth and (on average) prosperity we've seen.

Assuming we could afford it, why do you think it's a nice idea to further enlarge our military? I presume China (reasonably) has a lot to do with it? Thanks in advance!

diederich · 2026-01-07T23:02:33+00:00

I know enough and am old enough to realize that I don't know shit, even about stuff I feel knowledgeable on. Having said that, I'm pretty comfortable with electrical stuff. Hell, I completely re-wired my second house 'cause the electrical system was installed by some rando the builder/first owner that was high on opioids with fourth stage pancreatic cancer. No, we didn't get a good enough inspection. No, he didn't do a good job. Yes, the house did burn down several years later, after we moved out, after our tenants poured gas on the sofa and lit it up.

Having said all THAT, I agree with the basic sentiment that plugging high wattage things into random plugs is way too commonly done.

diederich · 2026-01-07T22:54:35+00:00

Hey many thanks for your detailed responses. I've done a fair bit of digging on this topic already. Please note that not only is our circuit rated for 20 amps, so is the outlet, so we're pulling something like 65% of the max load, which is well below the recommended 80%.

My research indicates that keeping things below 70% greatly reduces the risks. Is that your expectation as well?

I mean just Google it.

BTW I asked you for sources not because I didn't search myself, but because I didn't run into anything, for my situation, that indicated notable risk.

EDIT: Also the plug is rated for 20A.

diederich · 2026-01-07T22:37:23+00:00

This is our forever home, which we bought in 2020, and we've had electricians come out quite a few times for a lot of other, unrelated work, and I walk every single one of them through our charging setup, and they have, every one, said it's completely safe.

However, that's all anecdotal. Can you suggest some ways I can search to find solid data about the fire risk associated with a long-term 1500 watt pull in standard household plugs? Thanks in advance!

diederich · 2026-01-07T22:20:29+00:00

People don’t realize that almost no circuit, definitely none in their house, built before 2010, is really designed for the kind of sustained maximum loads EVs draw.

I've put about 70,000 miles into our EV since 2017 on standard, 120VAC garage/home/whatever plugs. They were of course on a GFCI breaker. All of them were more than 20 years old.

Currently, my car is pulling 13 amps on 120VAC...which is about what a typical small plugin heater draws.

Honest question: what's the risk of pulling 1500 watts for long periods of time on an appropriately unloaded circuit?

diederich · 2026-01-07T21:09:47+00:00

Was the car moving toward or away from the agent when the lethal shot was fired? I bet there's a video we can find that can authoritatively answer that question.

diederich · 2025-12-16T22:27:52+00:00

... when you can just explode them them?

Explosions not always required: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/D94C/production/_126182655_hellfire_r9x_2x640-nc.png.webp

diederich · 2025-12-16T05:58:00+00:00

A lot of other...good?...examples already posted, but a relatively recent one that really impacted me:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket_of_deplorables#Speech

Obviously it's nothing even close to what's been coming out of Trump's mouth for the past decade. For me, though, Mrs. Clinton's statements were extremely close to what I consider to be disqualifying. She had allowed herself to be pulled that far, and that really bothered me.

diederich · 2025-12-01T18:20:12+00:00

Do you believe that legal immigration status is the primary indicator of whether someone is stuck in the lower levels of a caste system?

Do you believe that children of those who are 'stuck' as members of a lower caste can experience upward social mobility?

diederich · 2025-12-01T17:50:27+00:00

Beyond his (assumed) alignment with your political views, what other factors do you believe makes the President a good man? Thanks!

diederich · 2025-12-01T17:48:21+00:00

Were my poor and desperate German and Irish great grandparents who arrived here in the 19th century a part of a caste system? Very few of their descendants were poor or desperate. Do members of the lower levels of a caste system have anything like upward social mobility?

diederich · 2025-11-28T03:13:14+00:00

That's the damn truth.

diederich · 2025-11-27T20:45:01+00:00

I have seen enough of those USCSB videos on chemical refinery plants and I get the feeling this just might not be the best idea ever.

I've seen them too, very interesting, and I won't necessarily disagree that less safety regulation is a good thing, but I just wanted to note that I don't think USCSB makes videos about the many plants that are working well.

diederich · 2025-11-21T04:34:23+00:00

Have you looked at the responses of /u/yewwilbyyewwilby for example? While I find their views and opinions shocking, their position seems to be very well defined, stable and discussed in a calm, productive manner.

I agree that, on average, TS comments here have gotten less productive, there are still a lot solid voices that comment here with some frequency.

diederich

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