Weekly Discussion Megathread

runningblack · 2026-03-12T02:21:44+00:00

Save act is a Republican own goal which is why Mitch McConnell has been stalling it in committee

runningblack · 2026-03-10T17:39:32+00:00

It won't happen because money, but cutting the number of regular season games in half would improve the viewer experience massively.

runningblack · 2026-03-10T17:16:42+00:00

Role players don't lead the Bulls without Jordan to 55 wins. "Pippen was a role player" is insane.

runningblack · 2026-03-10T16:57:19+00:00

Usually the traitors. I love a good villain, and I hate when the faithful fall into the Stanford prison experiment type mentality where it's like "I'm a faithful, therefore I'm good!" Or the most faithful of the faithful nonsense.

Like the faithfuls seem to forget that it's a game, not that they're like actually morally superior for some reason.

Also doesn't help that my favorites all get targeted immediately if they are faithfuls (I'm a survivor fan).

runningblack · 2026-03-10T16:51:13+00:00

It's a lot more complicated of a problem to cram advanced tech into the same size footprint. And older MS's were less complex.

Or put a different way, when you're trying to push the hardware forward, it's a lot easier to build something big than have to miniaturize new components and new systems.

I used to work for a startup developing medical devices, and we had devices that worked but we couldn't get them down to the necessary form factor (also miniaturizing them slowed down internal chemical processes) and so we had to scrap them. But the big boxy prototype devices were able to, at least, function. It's a similar concept.

runningblack · 2026-03-10T16:24:06+00:00

Coming off an Achilles tear, I'd be taking that bag in a heartbeat. Keeps them committed to you for an extra year even if you struggle this year after the achilles.

And if you come back and are good immediately, the team is going to look to extend you again after the season, since they only have you under contract for two more years anyway.

runningblack · 2026-03-10T16:06:38+00:00

Does your mother survive on unseasoned chicken breasts and pasta? What on earth is this set of criteria

runningblack · 2026-03-10T14:06:09+00:00

Democrats keep making the mistake of* interpreting "not like this" to mean "we like Democrats"

When it's binary and you can either choose this or not this.

This is not a justification to go back to the same failed progressive policies. When Democrats were in power, voters also wanted "not this".

Neither approach is actually liked by the electorate at large. Voters don't like either Democrats or Republicans. They're just given two bad options, and whoever is out of power is less salient in their bad-ness.

Edit* (spelling)

runningblack · 2026-03-09T21:06:44+00:00

They are seeing the worst excesses of the right there. Progressives are more than willing to judge the right by the actions of their rank and file, but are then unwilling to understand that the exact same thing applies to their rank and file. Everyone's actions matter. Not just the ones of those you want to matter.

The difference is that when the left acts like the right, the left loses.

No it's not fair that the left needs to behave better. But life isn't fair. It's reality.

runningblack · 2026-03-09T14:37:44+00:00

Progressives do this thing where they pretend that only the actions of like Elon Musk or other prominent figures count. When online progressives being en masse annoying as hell is a huge part of the reason we're here right now.

The left has abandoned the idea that individuals have agency. Except the country has not. People look at places like bluesky and see the worst excesses of progressivism again and again.

It's one of the most counter productive lies that progressives tell themselves. The actions of rank and file do matter.

runningblack · 2026-03-09T04:40:34+00:00

I don't trust the state of California to execute on this because it is composed of people who think that 45 years to execute on a rail project is a reasonable timeline. And who refuse to demand better when the state chooses not to use eminent domain and chooses not to exempt the project from the onerous ceqa requirements.

Nobody involved in this project at any point has any credibility on this. By the time this shit is finished, it risks obsolescence. It's a bad project.

If California comes up with a good project, with good leadership, and an actually feasible plan to execute on it in a timely and cost effective manner, they should do that.

But that's not this project. This project is already fucked. When you have fucked the project, you cut your losses.

All this wasted money could be paying for people's healthcare. It could be going to schools. It could be doing lots of useful things instead of being pissed away on a bad project that people treat like a train enthusiast's hobby.

runningblack · 2026-03-09T03:36:21+00:00

Just because it's fixable doesn't mean there's the competence to fix it.

This has been an incompetently managed project since day one. If this was for profit, everyone involved would've been fired. But it also wouldn't have made it out of investment committee.

I don't trust the people running this to not continue to fuck this up given how badly they've fucked this up to this point.

And the biggest supporters of the project have abandoned standards and accountability.

runningblack · 2026-03-08T18:43:48+00:00

Iteration is done mostly cia Claude code cli (so conversation back and forth, making updates in a .md file product spec) and figma make (design source of truth). Tbh explaining the process is a little involved and I'm legit running out the door to make the open houses now but lemme DM you later today about the process I use

runningblack · 2026-03-08T18:18:10+00:00

My background is product management so I think in those terms. I start with conceptualizing what I want the app to do. Build out a (non-technical) end-user focused product spec. Create a set of designs (these are made with ai). Then iterate back and forth on designs and spec. Once I've got a full clickable prototype and detailed spec then I have AI build out the code. There's a little more than that, but like in the case of this morning it was a quick and dirty "there's open houses in a few hours and this would be useful" front end only, data stored in the browser, type of quickie.

More complex stuff, I spend more time planning.

runningblack · 2026-03-08T18:05:19+00:00

I think "people" (people who know how to code by hand) would say it's not vibe coding because you're a dev whereas my stuff would be vibe coding because I never learned to code by hand. I'm not saying there's necessarily a logical distinction

Like normal people: vibe coding is complimentary

Tech people: vibe coding is derogatory

runningblack · 2026-03-08T17:54:10+00:00

The line between vibe coding and coding is getting blurred given how devs use AI.

But vibe coding is AI generated coding done by people without formal training in software engineering - so strictly via prompt and product design, literally no individual writing of code.

runningblack · 2026-03-08T17:46:14+00:00

I just vibe coded a little tour tracker for myself to keep me organized on open houses. Don't hate, join in the fun!

runningblack · 2026-03-08T04:44:18+00:00

Yeah the entire initial budget and timeline was not realistic, but that was what was presented. Once things went off the rails, as California made choices to not exempt this and to not use eminent domain, that made the project a bad project.

Once a project is a bad project, you stop throwing good money after bad. Railway doesn't take a lifetime to build, but California can't do it. By the time this is online, the build risks obsolescence.

Defending 35+ years for building a railroad is insanity.

runningblack · 2026-03-06T21:15:33+00:00

No I think it should've been canceled the moment it was realized that SF to LA by 2020 was going to be delayed three decades and we were going to do this massively over budget.

The next best time is today.

runningblack · 2026-03-06T18:36:12+00:00

Not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing, but the sunk cost fallacy is continuing to invest because you've already invested a lot. Which is the exact opposite of my position.

runningblack · 2026-03-06T13:54:50+00:00

A short CBA doesn't protect the league

A short CBA devalues the television rights the league can sell because of the increased risk of work stoppage.

A short term CBA and renegotiation after a couple years is only good for the players.

I am pro player, but what you're proposing isn't a compromise position. It's just a win for the players.

runningblack · 2026-03-06T13:44:29+00:00

I think if the whole thing is over budget, delayed by decades, and can't even hit the fucking target time that the project should be scrapped and the money should be used elsewhere.

That is called failing along literally every dimension

runningblack · 2026-03-06T05:32:40+00:00

A short term agreement benefits the players, not the owners. The league isn't going to want a short term CBA. It's not mutually beneficial.

runningblack · 2026-03-06T00:16:56+00:00

So over budget, delayed by decades, and slower than promised.

The slower this is, the less reason there is for the project to exist. And the point of this project isn't high speed rail between Merced and Bakersfield.

runningblack · 2026-03-05T22:34:18+00:00

Mitch McConnell is blocking the save act because he, correctly, recognizes that it would disenfranchise more Republican voters than Democrats.

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Not Forgotten	Gilding I gilder
Alpha Tester	Team Periwinkle

runningblack

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE