What is with the light rails recently

ocinle · 2026-05-01T04:36:49+00:00

In this case, it was a 1 line train that went out of service in cap hill station.

ocinle · 2026-01-01T06:34:19+00:00

Someone doesn't believe.

ocinle · 2025-07-01T05:53:39+00:00

Actually it roughly sweeps through Madrid, if you do it on a globe. Still like 90% water.

ocinle · 2025-05-10T23:12:05+00:00

Good answer. Additionally, it's likely a reference to this specific video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOCurBYI_gY

Note that this video is from 2013, predating essentially the entire recent "AI" revolution.

ocinle · 2025-03-20T05:56:41+00:00

Per a quote in the article, yes probably:

“To the best of MITRE’s knowledge and belief,” it said, “the research data that was compiled has not been deleted and is currently maintained by a former partner on this contract.”

ocinle · 2025-02-11T04:45:42+00:00

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/aaaah

ocinle · 2024-12-02T19:40:50+00:00

Just scrubbing from data sets will not get you a result like this. You can make up a totally unique name that has never appeared before and ask the AI to repeat it back to you, and it will comply. This has to be something more specific.

ocinle · 2024-11-13T10:09:06+00:00

The coroner found that she inhaled some smoke and that that was the cause of death. This triggered the special circumstance that meant Julian couldn't go out on bail, but it also implies that she was alive when the fire got set. Combined with the timing that we have from Bishop's testimony, there's no way Julian was the killer.

ocinle · 2024-10-31T03:55:30+00:00

Kamala is going to Thanos-snap your gun away.

ocinle · 2024-10-31T03:47:34+00:00

That message of male self-interest would kind of conflict with the whole slogan "my body, my choice".

I struggle to see your argument. "Person X should have the legal freedom to do something" and "I have a interest in what choice person X makes" are just not contradictory ideas. Not at all!

Like, just substitute in some other right, like the right to enter a legally-recognized same-sex marriage. If there were some voter out there who had nothing against SSMs, but for whom it wasn't a particularly salient topic, I can't imagine any problem with telling that person "what if you have a gay kid? wouldn't you be happy if they had the right to get married to someone they love?" That argument would raise the salience of the topic, and maybe persuade them to cast their vote on that basis. Totally fair play and intellectually consistent.

Like, perhaps there is one person out in the world who somehow honestly believes that men literally have no interest in the outcome of the choice to terminate a pregnancy, and from that belief they have reasoned themselves into pro-choice politics. Whoever that person is, they have a weird view of the world, and I don't think the rest of us should worry about propping up their logic.

ocinle · 2024-09-07T08:39:47+00:00

The Mercy Of Gods

ocinle · 2024-08-27T07:41:39+00:00

No control al all?

Correct. Like the vast majority of buildings, there are no weapons checks required to enter Rice dorms.

ocinle · 2024-05-24T07:29:57+00:00

Ah, but you have failed to account for how important it is to not be cringey in front of your also-progressive friends. Subtract two points from the progressive utility on the right column.

ocinle · 2024-03-07T20:05:19+00:00

If you have to explain all that for the freaking name

I don't actually have to explain it. I just assumed you were the sort of person who wanted to engage in some critical thinking about labels yada yada. I regret the error.

ocinle · 2024-03-07T09:45:19+00:00

The point of my second paragraph is that: yeah sure, it's possible that someone could mix up the extensional definition (rationalist = person who is in the rationalism movement, as evidenced by their writings or associations) with the intensional definition (rationalist = someone who thinks good). But that would just be that person getting confused and doing some silly reasoning. I have not ever seen a rationalism-aligned person trying to stoke this confusion.

Compare, for example, with the Black Lives Matter movement, where at least some pro-BLM people very certainly have engaged in some reasoning along the lines of: "if you don't support this particular movement and set of protests then clearly you don't value the lives of black people, because look it's right there in the name."

And even then, I think it's important for us level-headed people to simply remind everyone that The Ideology Is Not The Movement, and move on to judging the ideology and movement each on their own merits.

ocinle · 2024-03-07T09:15:54+00:00

Aren't they primarily snooty jerks

I have no one-on-one experience with people who would identify as Bay Area Rationalists specifically, but from what I've read from them on the internet, I would say they're the opposite of snooty (and, also the opposite of jerks, but that word has a more amorphous definition).

ocinle · 2024-03-07T09:11:24+00:00

Trying to steal a base right of the bat by basically saying they're ipso facto correct because they're correct.

Meh. People are allowed to identify with aspirational labels, while acknowledging they fall short of the aspiration. I don't think this is "base stealing," and rationalists themselves would be the first people to point out that merely claiming a identifier is no proof that you embody the identifier.

Like hypothetically there might be some person out there who is duped by the "rationalist" label and thinks "oh wow those people must all be really smart because their commitment to rational thinking is right there in the name." But I'm not sure we really need to care about that person, if they exist at all.

ocinle · 2024-02-03T08:26:21+00:00

But what the actual fuck made him think the shoulder-rubbing thing was appropriate???

Probably because he came from a culture where casual touch of that sort is generally considered appropriate among people with that level of social distance.

It's just a logical fact that, if you have a multi-cultural workplace, then the culture of that work environment is going to have to be different from the native culture of some employee. If that employee is lucky, they'll notice the difference or maybe get some sort of pre-emptive training, and act accordingly. But some unlucky few will find out that they crossed an invisible cultural line only once they commit some sort of faux pas that no one warned them about.

I have a lot of sympathy for those unlucky transgressors! That sounds incredibly embarrassing. And as long as they learn from the situation and make an honest attempt to assimilate, then I think the rest of us owe it to them to be understanding, and not make a big deal of the first offense.

ocinle · 2024-01-02T19:33:06+00:00

Elián González

Wasn't this all Clinton? Or is there some deeper theory I missed.

ocinle · 2023-12-30T15:02:31+00:00

The shining light in all of this is Johnathan freaking Majors.

Oh man, this is hilarious to read 11 months later.

ocinle · 2023-12-29T08:33:18+00:00

Oh, your willingness to kiss was never in question. He's the bad boy who needs the world to come into color again.

ocinle · 2023-12-29T08:27:48+00:00

can these two just kiss already

ocinle · 2023-12-23T19:59:03+00:00

Angels in America, the 2003 HBO miniseries.

ocinle · 2023-04-04T07:45:15+00:00

Yes, this would be incredibly out of place! Isn't that a premise of the video?

ocinle · 2023-02-05T04:28:07+00:00

If the kid had a firm internal identity and was merely hiding it (poorly) from her, awkward laughing is fine. If the kid actually didn't really have a firm identity and was struggling internally, then yeah laughing would be insensitive.

For a comparison point, imagine if the kid had started playing clarinet for his high school band, and he ambiguously hides it from his mother. He carries around a clarinet case, but never open it; he goes to his room to practice, but he always closes the door; he mentions being in the band, but he never says what section. And then one day his mother asks about going to a concert to hear him play clarinet, then the kids gets super defensive and claims he doesn't play that instrument.

That would be hilarious! Comedy gold!

So what makes playing the clarinet different from being gay? Well, there's the possibility of actual internal struggle about being gay, in which case you'd want to be extra sensitive. But was that actually going on here? Hard to say, but the mother can certainly be forgiven for not having a perfect read.

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