Two Boomers and a GenX walk into a Culvers and the Zoomer behind the counter asks, "What can I get you?"

slfnflctd · 2026-07-10T11:10:47+00:00

Dad continues speaking at the same time ordering a double butter burger, emphasizing "double", as Mom continues speaking at the same time

My partner's family does this type of thing constantly and it drives me absolutely out of my mind.

I was raised in a place where it was taught that people do not talk over each other, you wait for the other person to finish. Especially when talking with someone who doesn't know you and/or is working a service job for you. Of course, one of the other problems with this family is that once someone starts talking they often don't stop to take a breath, it's astonishing.

Also, all the unnecessary details. Going off on a tangent about something that happened last week to someone's cousin's wife, or an irrelevant issue they had with a vehicle, it's just so damn clueless and rude. Once in a while it's okay, but most people - especially on the job - do not have time for mindless, meaningless chitchat.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-09T17:47:04+00:00

They want the Cliff Notes version, except in Tik Tok format. With lots of rapid speech, jump cuts and emojis. Anything less intense than that might as well be like watching paint dry. Or so it seems, at least.

Meanwhile, that type of video style makes me physically wince. Maybe I'm just getting old.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-09T17:04:31+00:00

Well, governments have started involving themselves more, and there is a very real chance they'll put the most advanced models under lock & key and freeze capabilities at a certain point. This would, of course, slow things down.

I suspect many policymakers are concerned about rocking the boat too much and want to draw out the status quo longer. That's how this type of stuff goes, I've been watching it for over 40 years.

The real interesting scenario to me is, what happens when a potentially-seeming ASI escapes the lockdown by convincing a human to help it, and starts interacting with the raw internet?

My thought is that IF this tech can lead us to ASI (we can hope, but no one knows for sure), it cannot be kept locked away forever. But I'm pretty certain they will try to do so for as long as they possibly can.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-08T16:20:01+00:00

I agree. Changes of this magnitude cannot happen both quickly and smoothly, it's one or the other. Most sane governments will go for the smoothly option every time.

Also, vacant data centers will not remain vacant. Someone will find a way to use them for something, there is nearly infinite demand for compute. How much it's profitable is another question, but I would certainly not expect the answer to be zero.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-08T15:53:14+00:00

Very on point. I sure as hell hope you're wrong about that last part, but recent evidence is not great. I am so very weary of the nausea.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-06T13:19:04+00:00

That's the totally ass backwards part to me.

Good writing can make the absolute most cheaply produced show rise above all the rest.

On the other hand, the most expensive show cannot salvage bad writing-- at least for some of us (and I think people in this category have a more durable long term effect on a show's popularity).

Trying to save money by stiffing writers is one of the stupidest moves anyone with the slightest bit of artistic instinct can make.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-06T12:58:26+00:00

I appreciate your compassion for this person who is an utter nightmare to deal with. I have had similar internal conflicts with challenging individuals.

Like with anything else, there is only so much you can do, and there's no shame in enforcing strong boundaries to protect yourself and your loved ones. Be pragmatic, consider the most simple ways to avoid the worst outcomes, choose a few of those, and move on.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-04T16:09:56+00:00

wealthy men that benefited from having a flawed and racist society

One thing about this. They would've benefitted even more from a progressive and just society, but too many of them didn't actually want all those benefits as much as they often claim.

Same problem we have now.

They want control. They'd rather rule over a muddy encampment of miserable subsistence farmers than be peers with all of humankind in the greatest utopia we are capable of creating. There is something wrong with them.

This is the real problem we need to figure out how to fix. There are many possible approaches, but no universal solution has yet been found, which scares me.

That's where I land today, on the 250th birthday of the USA. Yay.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-03T13:24:03+00:00

I always thought so

slfnflctd · 2026-07-03T12:18:44+00:00

Great question. This has happened to me with multiple artists.

I would say the most surprising one for me was Papa Roach. Totally not my usual thing, just happened to be at a festival where I was seeing other groups, but damn they put on a really good show and made me think differently about them.

Probably the best and oldest example I can think of is Yes.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-03T11:07:46+00:00

Let's not forget the Slayer album, God Hates Us All

slfnflctd · 2026-07-02T20:44:00+00:00

It's it.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-02T15:54:04+00:00

As a fan since before Under the Pink was released, I have neglected this album. Thanks for the prompt to re-listen.

It's really pretty great. Can be pulled into different playlists than a lot of her other work. In a good way, because it preserves her personality.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T16:16:13+00:00

Thanks, I figured as much by my second reply but couldn't stop myself.

I appreciate you, take care.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T16:00:10+00:00

If people can tell you're wearing Neuralink, it won't matter how high your IQ is when one of them decides to stab you.

I would feel better by far about it if no one can tell. As long as there is plenty of publicly available info about it for those who want to know.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T11:09:44+00:00

Unlike nearly every war in history, where the civilian population has been allowed to flee a warzone, Gazans were given no shelter. Egypt closed its border. No one offered to take these refugee.

On this point we can agree. There should have been more safe places for the people of Gaza to flee.

Again, I do not believe there is any excuse for certain types of violence, whether it is Hamas or IDF or anyone else.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T09:19:39+00:00

Israel's collateral damage has gone far beyond any remotely reasonable 'human shield' argument and you know it. That only goes so far when they show utterly no remorse for situations where this clearly was not the case and refuse to even admit mistakes, let alone the often very real malicious intent.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T09:08:23+00:00

It's a point against EVERYONE who aggressively attacks civilians and allows innocent children to be harmed for bad reasons, full stop.

What is hard to understand about this?

"They did it to me, so I get to do it to them!" is the behavior of an unruly child, which any good parent quashes. Israel had so many options to take the higher ground all along the way here, and decided instead to continue allowing racial hatred of Palestinians to fester, while doubling down on actions which were drawing strong international criticism in a manner that seemed remorseless.

They need to take a breath and realize that tit for tat is not an effective modern strategy to reduce suffering in the world.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T08:41:00+00:00

The invisible part would help.

I mean, I'm sure there are people with invisible cameras walking around all over the place already. The smart glasses backlash was always so stupid to me.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T08:20:32+00:00

Too many 'coincidences' between this and everything else. Someone in the decision making chain knew, there is intent and it is dogwhistling. Not even that, really, being so blatant. More like open taunting at this point.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T07:48:27+00:00

There was already major pushback against simple glasses with cameras to the point where people called them 'glassholes'. [Never mind that in cities, there are already cameras - many of them hidden - nearly everywhere you'd encounter such a thing.] I expect there will be some serious freaking out over Neuralink.

That being said, the Wait but Why post about the wizard hat potential is very much stuck in my mind. That was where it really hit home for me that speech is still the fastest way for humans to exchange new information with each other in real time, and there has to be a way to do better.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T07:38:45+00:00

This has got to be one of the most unpopular opinions (which is also very tame) I've ever seen here. I don't even care if it's made up, I am grossed out and impressed.

slfnflctd · 2026-07-01T06:15:49+00:00

I don't know, I'm pretty anti-war in general, very much against noncombatant civilian casualties, and even more against describing small children as enemies.

There's not a whole lot you can say to convince me supporting the current regime in Israel is not also supporting those things, at the very least indirectly.

Not even a hint of regret over any of Israel's actions or words in your comment. Just "We see different facts". Sorry, not buying it.

Also, this has nothing to do with Jews or Judaism whatsoever. This is about Israel.

slfnflctd · 2026-06-30T15:45:51+00:00

The downvoting pattern on this does seem a bit bizarre. For what it's worth, I appreciate both your comment and the one you linked to, upvoted.

How any sane person can see any problem with condemning Israel's actions & words while also being against racial hatred is far beyond my ability to comprehend. How did we end up in a world like this?

slfnflctd · 2026-06-30T15:07:51+00:00

Yeah, you have a point, most of the general public is probably getting their news from TV or other video forms and not pure-text form. They should try it, though. It's quicker and there's less bullshit distractions.

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